Metaphysical meaning of Hormah (mbd)
Hormah, hôr'-mah (Heb.)--shut in; devoted; consecrated; dedicated; an asylum- a sanctuary; never to be redeemed; devoted to destruction; destroyed; laid waste; exterminated; a fortress.
"And Jehovah hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and the name of the place was called Hormah" (Num. 21:3). In the margin, "devoted" is given in place of "utterly destroyed," and we are told that Hormah is from the same root as herem, a devoted thing. Hormah was also a city that Judah and Simeon took from the Canaanites, and it was allotted to Simeon (Judg. 1:17; Josh. 19:4). In Joshua 15:30 Hormah is mentioned as a city of Judah.
Meta. A seeming paradox in Christian overcoming: the letting go and utter destruction of error beliefs and ideas, and at the same time the devoting or dedicating, consecrating to God, to high and spiritual use, of all the energy, substance, power, faith, intelligence, and strength that have been given to promotion of error. When we give up old activities and deny them out of consciousness, it appears at first as though we were putting away our very life, our power of action, of accomplishment, of usefulness. This, however, is not the case. All the good, all the powers of Being, that in our ignorance we used to perpetuate the error, or the limitation, is dedicated to Spirit, is preserved, and is set into constructive action to the upbuilding and spiritualizing of our. organism. Thus Hormah, this place of overcoming in us, becomes a fortress and a sanctuary, a place of retreat and seclusion (an asylum) for many of our inner thoughts during processes of adjustment in consciousness.
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Preceding Entry: Horites
Following Entry: Horonaim
