Anonymous Asks (382)

“Is there an NT equivalent for sackcloth and ashes? If so, how should we practice it?”

The expression “sackcloth and ashes” occurs in only three Old Testament passages in precisely that form. In another two places both words appear in the same context separately. Both words are common in the OT, and both were well-known signs of public mourning. The mourner would wear the sackcloth and sit (or sometimes roll) in the ashes, and/or sprinkle them on his head.

Fun? Not really. But in ancient times, if you were in distress and wanted your neighbors to know it, that’s the way you told them. Sackcloth and ashes.

That Wacky Old Testament (1)

Taken in isolation or viewed from a distance of several thousand years and from a completely different cultural background, almost any Bible instruction may initially seem a little alien.

People are generally uninterested in doing historical research or establishing cultural context before they start forming opinions. It’s a whole lot of work … and, let’s face it, it’s fun to mock things. It makes us feel intelligent or morally superior.

So taking a poke at certain of the Old Testament commands that God gave through Moses to the people of Israel as “weird” is becoming increasingly trendy.