Archive for April 22nd, 2009

Seeing God’s Past

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 | Author:

January 9, 2008  You shall not make for yourself an image  Deuteronomy 5:8

The Idolatry of the Future

Image – It’s all connected.  Let me show you how.  Idolatry is the substitution of devotion to something other than God.  Keep that in mind as we look at a story from the life of Moses.  In Exodus 33:23, God fulfills Moses’ request to see His glory by passing before Moses and allowing Moses to see et-achorai*, usually translated “back part.”  But when we examine the word, we find that it is derived from the same root (achor) that give rise to the word acharyith, the Hebrew word for the future (remember that man in the row boat?).  It is a word about direction, not body parts.  So, God does not show Moses His back.  He actually shows Moses the direction where He has been.  In other words, when God’s glory passes by, Moses is allowed to see where God has already been.  From the human perspective, God’s glory is seen after the fact.

This is critically important, because we live in a Greek-oriented world where we are encouraged to look to the future for our security, meaning and significance.  We live under the idolatry of evolution, thinking that the best is yet to come, that the world is headed toward advancement and that God has yet to finish His plan before His work is complete.  We worship the future in every concern about tomorrow.  The world pushes us to ask what we will become, what tomorrow will be like and where we are going.  None of this is the direction that God wants us to incorporate into our being.

Moses sees God in the past.  He sees where God has already been.  In exactly the same way, God asks us to look at the past to see who we really are and who He is, and to worship Him on that basis.  In the Hebrew world, God created everything good.  It was not incomplete, waiting for some future date to be finished.  It was done, finished and good at the beginning.  If you want to see what being human is supposed to be like, you don’t have to peer into the next century.  You have to look back to Adam and the original creation.  We started out perfect.  We are not moving toward perfection.  We are moving toward redemption and restoration, toward recovering what we once were.  Social evolution suggests that the past has nothing of value because it has been eclipsed by today and tomorrow.  We have bought the lie.  We think that our real meaning lies ahead of us in time.  But God wants us to get re-directed and see that who we are has been established in Creation and in the resurrection of Jesus.  God has already given us our identity.  The problem is that we are looking the wrong way.

Please notice that if your true identity lies in the future, it will depend on you.  However, if you are who you are because God has already done His work in the past, then there is nothing for you to earn in the future to make you complete.  Imagine how important this is the next time you ask a child, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

You think that you are not an idol worshipper?  Look again!  Look at all those things in your life that point you toward a future fulfillment, a future significance, a future destiny.  Ask yourself how many of your actions are dictated, dedicated and directed by future issues.  Then read the history of Israel.  Look where God has already been and recognize that who you are and what you are is settled in His past actions, not your future plans.  Stop worshipping what the world tells you are going to be and start living according to the God Who has directed all that has come to be.

When we cut ourselves off from the history of God’s actions in the past, we are like men trying to walk with one leg.  There is going to be a lot of falling and stumbling.  Is that how you want to get through life?

(*Notes on pronunciation:  Hebrew has a guttural sound like the German “ach”.  This is usually spelled as a “k” or a “ch” or a “c“.  However, there is a lot of variation in Hebrew phonetics, so some conventions need to be adopted.  Just remember that no matter what the spelling, the phonetic is that “ach” guttural.)

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Who Counts?

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 | Author:

As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.  Psalm 16:3

Majestic Ones – Isn’t it nice to know that when we become His servants, God calls us majestic (or excellent).  The way up is down.  Down to the ground in humility and acknowledged unworthiness.  Then God lifts, up into His presence.  Push the button for the basement instead of the penthouse.  God resides at the bottom, not the top – out in the wilderness, not in the city.

So, who are these majestic ones that are the beneficiaries of His delight?  This He also explains.  The ve adirei (majestic ones) are the doshim (saints).  And who are these?  The root word of doshim is qadosh, the Hebrew word that means sacred or holy.  These are the ones who are set apart for God.  That’s what it means to be holy – to be put aside for God’s use.  But we all knew this, didn’t we?

Oh, yes.  God calls the ones who are set aside for His purposes saints.  Actually, He calls them the “set aside ones.”  You might find it interesting that the singular “saint” is never used in Scripture.  There is no Saint Paul or Saint Peter.  There are only all those who are set aside. 

So, how is someone set aside for God’s purposes?  Do you have to get a special calling or an anointing or a divine whisper?  No, all you need to do is follow His instructions.  Those who practice the Way, who follow God’s directions for living, are automatically set aside because they no longer subscribe to the patterns of this age.  Of course, there is another implication here.  If I am not set apart, if there is no difference between what I do and what the rest of the world does, then I am not one of the saints in the earth and God does not delight in me.

For Israel, this distinction was pretty clear.  Israel was called to follow the Torah.  That was the guide book for being set apart.  It covered a lot more than religious ceremony.  It covered business, family, community, morality and even how we think (the tenth commandment).  It included everything from punishment for theft to marital fidelity.  The reason that there is no apparent difference between civil and religious law in Torah is because there is no difference.  How we live is either set apart in all that we do, or it isn’t.  Israel was a nation established by God for His purposes and those purposes meant that it had to act very differently than other nations.

Why is this so difficult for us?  Is it because we don’t want to be “Jewish”?  Is it because we really do believe that there is a separation between the Old and the New Covenants?  Is it because we have hidden bias?  How do we as Christians pick and choose what “set apart” means for us?  We want nine of the commandments but we don’t want the diet.  We want the blessings but we don’t want the scrupulous living.  Something doesn’t add up.  But, who’s counting?  Only God, I’m afraid.

Topical Index:  ve adirei, doshim, qadosh, holy, set apart, saints, Psalm 16:3, delight

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Día 8 – Propaganda Teológica

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 | Author:

Por tanto, que nadie se constituya en vuestro juez con respecto a comida o bebida, o en cuanto a día de fiesta, o luna nueva, o día de reposo; cosas que [sólo] son sombra de lo que ha de venir, pero el cuerpo pertenece a Cristo. (Col 2:16-17 LBLA)

Sólo – Cuando lees en este versículo la palabra “sólo”, ¿te comunica la idea que esas cosas que Pablo recién describió son de menor importancia? Vemos que Pablo hace una lista de esas actividades que son parte de la observancia a la Torá pero cuando los traductores agregan la palabra “sólo” a este texto, le cambian el énfasis, ¿no crees? Como no existe equivalente griego para la palabra “sólo”, los traductores la incorporan la palabra en sangría o en corchetes. ¡Más les vale! Lo que han hecho es alterar el texto para que lea según su sesgo teológico. Pareciera que el texto descuenta la observancia a la Torá   Intenta leer el verso sin la palabra “solo” y recibirás un mensaje diferente. La versión de las Américas está comprometida a una teología de dos pactos, y la traducción la incluye en éste versículo sin dar al lector ninguna explicación o justificación.

Otras versiones son aun peores. La versión Sagradas Escrituras llega a cambiarle el tiempo al griego para que éste versículo lea, “lo cual es la sombra de lo que estaba por venir; más el cuerpo es del Cristo.” Esta es propaganda teológica abierta disfrazada como traducción certera. También verás que el resto del versículo se ha cambiado para disminuir aun más la conexión a la Torá agregando la palabra “empero.” Ahora ya saben por qué frecuentemente me refiero a la versión en inglés NIV (Nueva Versión Internacional) como la “Versión Casi Inspirada.” Los traductores alteran, agregan o restan del griego y del hebreo para comunicar su posición teológica particular. Claro que no le dicen al lector sobre éstas decisiones, así que el pobre lector no sabe que está siendo alimentado propaganda teológica por cucharadas, no una traducción apropiada.

Estas dos versiones, en castellano y en inglés, no son las únicas con perspectiva anti-semita. Algunas versiones cambian el tiempo y las frases secundarias. Algunas agregan palabras sutiles. Algunas traducen el versículo como está escrito en el texto original. A menos que conozcas los sesgos de los comités traductores, siempre estarás sujeto a sus interpretaciones, que permanecen escondidas en las palabras que escogieron. No existe traducción castellana que manifieste el significado pleno del griego o hebreo. Y como puedes ver, esto no solo es el resultado de la dificultad de capturar matices y profundidades de significado en un idioma y convertirlo en otro. Aquí también están en juego las alteraciones deliberadas..

¿Entonces qué hacemos? Si te sientes descorazonado, no te desanimes. Si, si lees las traducciones tendrás que ser más cuidadoso con lo que dices que es la Palabra de Dios, pero ahora ya conoces algunas de las alertas rojas. Por lo menos la versión de las Américas sangra (coloca en cursivas) las palabras. Otras no se toman la molestia de decirte que cambiaron el texto. Ahora sabrás que se requieren varias Biblias en castellano para acercarte más al original. Y claro, podrías comenzar a explorar una interlineal cuando creas que el texto castellano no suena del todo bien. Adicionalmente, existen una serie de vínculos de Internet que pueden asistir. Solo busca las explicaciones que reconozcan plenamente e hecho que estos escritores eran judíos.

Existe un movimiento activo para recapturar la herencia cultural que perdimos cuando el cristianismo dejo sus verdaderas raíces. Es un esfuerzo para comprender la perspectiva de Dios desde la perspectiva del pueblo que El escogió para Su revelación. En cuanto nos acercamos al final de este año, valdría la pena de comprometernos de mirar a Jesús más de cerca, al Mesías judío. Estoy muy seguro que descubrirás que has sido injertado en un estilo de vida mucho más rico de lo que imaginaste. Que seas bendecido en tu diligencia a descubrir lo que en realidad dijo Dios.

Category: La Palabra de Hoy  | Tags: ,  | 3 Comments