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Selective Ethics

Tuesday, August 14th, 2012 | Author:

 and now Israel, what does the LORD require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, . . .   Deuteronomy 10:12  ESV

Israel – One of the principal differences between the Greek-Christian biblical worldview and the Hebrew-Semitic worldview is the scope of the precepts.  Greek thinking is universalized thinking.  That means the vocabulary, the theology and the ethics are applied as if they were meant for all people.  There is good reason for this universal tendency.  After all, YHWH is not simply the local god of Israel.  He is the Almighty, the One True God, the Sovereign, the only Creator, the Master of the Universe.  Hebrew Scriptures constantly reiterate this theme.  All other “gods” are false and non-existent.  It’s easy to project universal consequences from this ontological superiority.  Even without Christian theology, Greek philosophy thought in terms of absolutes.  The Greeks did not define Man as Athenian or Spartan or Mycenaean.  Man was Man wherever he happened to appear.  Truth was truth.  Law was law.  The highest ethical principles were held to be the same for all human beings.  It was a small step for Christian theology to move from this philosophical foundation to the claim that Christian doctrine is true for all or that the Christian idea of salvation is the only right answer.  For the most part, Christian theology universalized the first three chapters of Genesis, applied the Messianic prophecies of the Tanakh to Yeshua and concentrated on the doctrines of salvation, the Church and heavenly reward in the New Testament.  As the “new” Israel, the actual history of Israel (which occupied most of the Bible) could be set aside as no longer relevant.

But notice how Moses delivers the obligations of Torah.  “And now Israel.”  Moses doesn’t say, “And now to everyone in the world.”  He doesn’t add that these commandments apply to Egyptians, Sumerians or anyone else for that matter.  He says that God’s requirements are for Israel.  God is Israel’s God.  God has a special relationship with Israel.  God reveals His demands to Israel.  God makes covenant commitments to Israel.  The Italians, the Norwegians, the Chinese and the Nigerians aren’t included.  Does that mean they can’t be included? Of course not.  They can become part of Israel.  But there is no Torah for Germans or Russians or Iranians.  The Torah, God’s instructions for how He desires His people to live, is given to His people – Israel.

The point here is that in this sense Torah is not universal.  God doesn’t demand that everyone walk in His ways, love Him or serve Him.  He just demands that those who choose to align themselves with Israel, who become part of the Kingdom of His children,  walk in His ways, love Him and serve Him.  In fact, if you think that you are connected to the God of Israel but you do not walk in His ways, love Him or serve Him, then we can raise serious questions about your claim.  There is no biblical example of any person who lived in opposition to God’s way, who did not love Him or who did not serve Him and yet was considered one of His children.

Torah is not for everyone.  It is only for those who love God and want to serve Him.  It is the guidebook of the righteous.  No pagan is expected to follow Torah.  In fact, no pagan is able to follow Torah.  When the Christian Church universalizes some of the requirements of Torah, it attempts to apply a selective ethics designed for the few to the masses.  The result is morality by legislation, either religiously or politically or both.  And that results in a nightmare of hopeless confusion and a vast majority of people who really don’t understand the “rules” they are supposed to follow.  They never signed up as citizens of the Kingdom of the God of Israel.  There are consequences for not accepting the invitation to join the Kingdom, of course.  But there is no expectation that people who do not join the Kingdom will still live according to God’s ways.  They won’t, even if the government or the Church tries to make them.

If you want to follow God, obey His ways.  But don’t expect your nation, your culture or even your Church to do so.  Torah is for the few, the proud, the servants of the Most High – and not for anyone else.

Topical Index:  Torah, Israel, ethics, Deuteronomy 10:12

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Community Requirements

Saturday, August 29th, 2009 | Author:

“And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God demand of you?  Only this:  . . .” Deuteronomy 10:12

Demand – We don’t like the sound of this, do we?  What God demands doesn’t sound much like the gentle, compassionate God we hear about in church.  We would rather have this Hebrew word translated asks.  In fact, that’s what the word usually means.  It is sha’al and it is used almost two hundred times in Scripture for asking.  You will find it in God’s instructions about the questions children ask of parents, about asking for help, about asking the proper form of worship or legal proceedings and dozens of other uses.  But here the translation of the Jewish Publication Society has decided sha’al should be translated “demands.”  Why did they choose something so harsh?

The answer begins with the context.  Moses has just recounted the history of the people of Israel in the desert experience.  It is a rather sad history of disobedience, revolt and hard-heartedness.  In spite of all that, God graciously provides a land for the people.  He promised it to Abraham and He does not break His promises.  But circumstances for the people have changed.  They are no longer under the authority of Pharaoh.  Now they belong to God.  He is their sovereign ruler, and like any ruler of any kingdom, He has expectations of His citizens.  In fact, these expectations are more than just kingly desires.  They are conditions of occupancy.  If you want to live in the land of the King of kings, you must submit to His demands.  It might sound harsh to a people who is used to voting on the rules they live by, but in the 10th Century BC, it would have been so common no one would have lifted an eyebrow.  We don’t live in the time of Moses, but maybe we should.  All our protests about God’s demands might fade into the desert sand if we just understood that the Kingdom is a monarchy and its citizens are under the direct rule of the King.

Of course, sha’al isn’t usually about stern demands.  It’s usually about reasonable questions and requests.  I think God’s demands are always questions and requests.  That doesn’t mean God isn’t demanding.  He is.  The Ten Commandments are demands for certain kinds of behavior and attitudes.  But beneath those demands is the goodness of God.  His demands do not rest of dictatorial authority.  They rest of loving creativity. God loves His children.  Therefore, God can expect – and demand – behavior of His children.  This is the meaning of divine jealousy.  So put away the backdrop of the divine moral policeman or the heavenly judge.  Yes, in some sense God really is the Judge of all mankind and we must be constantly aware of His right to judge.  But God is kind.  He says of Himself that He is compassionate, merciful and long-suffering.  That does not give us opportunity to trample on His authority, but it does give us a chance.  He doesn’t ask or demand more than we can do.  He shows forbearance (what a wonderful word).  But most of all, He loves.  Celebrate His goodness buried inside His demands.  The King has spoken and His words are joyfully received.

Topical Index:  demands, sha’al, ask, love, Deuteronomy 10:12

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Heart and soul

Thursday, September 16th, 2004 | Author:

“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”  Deuteronomy 10:12

Heart and soul – Four verbs are all that God requires.  Fear, walk, love and serve.  But there is a quality that goes along with this core.  It is the quality of total consumption.  God is not interested in any partial commitments.  He wants it all!  This is described in Hebrew by the words “heart and soul”. 

Lev is the “richest biblical term for the totality of man’s inner or immaterial nature” (Anchor Bible).  This includes the emotions, the will and mind.  God wants your feelings, your choices and your thinking.  If you are worshipping Him, following Him, loving Him and serving Him, everything that you are will be wrapped up in Him.  It’s not just the Hollywood emotional version of love.  It is what you think about, what you choose to do and how you feel.

Nephesh is the word for “soul”.   If “heart” covers the emotions, will and mind, what could be left for this word?  Maybe we can find out if we look deeper.  Nefesh comes from the common Hebrew word for breath.  It is used in the verse that says God breathed life into Man.  There are many nuances to this word but perhaps this one will help us see just how encompassing God’s request is.  God’s breath in us gives us life itself.  God’s request is His desire for us to return that gift of life to its creator.  It is simply the acknowledgement of His right to our lives.  He made us.  We belong to Him.  But God doesn’t demand that we return our existence to its Creator.  He asks.  “Remember Who made you and offer yourselves to your Creator.”

If you thought “fear, walk, love and serve” were too difficult, just remember this:  God made you to do exactly what He asks of you.  You were designed to fear, walk, love and serve.  Be yourself! 

 

 

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Require

Tuesday, September 14th, 2004 | Author:

“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”  Deuteronomy 10:12

Require – I have so much trouble with this.  I often catch myself thinking that God is interested in what I am doing, that He measures my worthiness on the basis of how well I am handling the tasks before me.  I end up feeling inadequate.  I want to please Him so I work as hard as I can to successfully complete the tasks I think He sends my way.  Then I end up doubting myself, wondering if I am still trying to make things happen by carrying the load on my own shoulders.  I fall into the trap of thinking that God expects me to take care of myself by doing all the things I can.  I forget that what He asks of me is all about my devotion to Him, not about how many things I can get done.

Do you ever feel this way?  You know that God loves you and wants to provide for you.  You want to serve Him.  But suddenly you discover that you are overwhelmed with “to do” lists.  You start thinking that all the “to do” items are part of God’s program for your life, so you have to do them all, excellently.  You find that you can’t.  Your self worth erodes.  The lists get longer.  You have become a victim of the cult of “doing”.  How freeing it is to realize that God is perfectly capable of “doing” all He wants done in your life.  What He asks of you is not more things to do but rather a deeper devotion to Him, even if you aren’t doing anything else. 

Sha’al is the word for “ask”.  The translation “require” seems a bit strong, but of course, when God asks, we better comply.  Still, it’s nice to know that God asks for our devotion.  He doesn’t ask us to complete the big “to do” list.  He wants our love and commitment.  He wants our deepest desires for Him.  We are the ones who rush to perform as a substitute for passion.  We do it to each other, to our children and our spouses.  And we do it to God.  We jump on the “doing” treadmill instead of resting on the embrace of passionate devotion.  I don’t know about you, but I am worn out from doing.  Still, I have to remind myself that God asks for my embrace, not my endeavors.

 

 

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