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Drawing Enemy Lines

Friday, November 16th, 2012 | Author:

you will be covered with shame, and you will be cut off forever  Obadiah 10  NASB

Shame – The Hebrew word bushah is used only four times in the Old Testament.  It describes King David’s personal shame and distress and it describes the shame associated with the destruction under God’s judgment.  In Obadiah, the nation of Edom is completely destroyed because these people rejoiced at the plight and calamity of another nation.  God speaks through Obadiah to pronounce a terrible judgment on them brought about because of their lack of compassion.

There are two important thoughts involved in this judgment.  The first is the idea of identity.  When we begin to think that we are different (better?) than our enemies, we make the terrible mistake of ignoring our common identity under God.  We are all the same.  We are all sinners, all dependent, all mortal, all vulnerable, all hurting, all in need of mercy.  As soon as we begin to act as though the world is full of “us” and “them,” we step away from the common bond God created and the unity God desires.  The common purpose of being human is to join together in worship of the Lord as the one family of God.

The second idea is that God is the only real judge of life and the only real prosecutor of circumstances.  He controls history.  When we gloat or rejoice over the calamity of those “other” people, we forget that God’s hand is also on us.  We are not exempt from His judgment either.  In fact, just a bit of self-analysis will probably reveal that we share all of the same potential rebellious acts as the ones we quickly condemn.  The only difference between saint and sinner is the handiwork of God, not a hierarchy of moral superiority.

Obadiah forces us to ask, “Who is my enemy?”  If I take Yeshua at His word, I will see that the greatest enemy of all is me.  I am the one who tries to play God.  Yeshua tells me to pray for those who mistreat me and to love them with self-sacrificing actions.  Yeshua points toward my commonality with my enemy, not my separation.

Obadiah would tell us to weep for those under God’s judgment.  He would tell us to plead for God’s mercy in their lives.   God’s word to Obadiah is a reminder that shame follows gleeful exuberance over the plight of my enemies.  The man next door, the people in that other neighborhood, the evil ethnic group around the world are only reminders of the truth, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

Topical Index:  shame, bushah, enemy, Obadiah 10, judgment

 

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The Faithful Traitor

Wednesday, December 07th, 2011 | Author:

For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  Romans 5:10 NASB

Enemies – No one could ever have imagined such a statement.  Today those who are followers of the Christ don’t give this verse a second thought, but when Paul wrote these words the idea was scandalous at best, perhaps even insane.  In the Greek world, a man might sacrifice himself for his city, his friends and his family, but he would never do so for an enemy.  Enemies were the ones who were supposed to die.  The very idea of a hero implied extraordinary concern for the beloved, not the hated.

Even rabbinic Judaism didn’t teach this kind of insanity.  Telushkin claims, contra Yeshua, that “Judaism does not demand that one love one’s enemies, though it is untrue to claim, as Matthew does, that Jewish law commands one to hate one’s enemies (see Matt. 5:43).  What the Torah and later biblical writings insist on is justice, not love, toward one’s enemies.”[1]  Ignoring Telushkin’s misunderstanding of Matthew, we can see that even rabbinic Judaism considered Yeshua’s approach unwarranted and Paul’s proclamation unfounded.  No man dies for someone who seeks to harm him.  Paul’s claim is absolutely unique in both the Greek and Jewish worlds.

Yet that is precisely what Yeshua and Sha’ul taught.  If it were not for the false dichotomy between biblical, Hebraic faith and rabbinic, Hellenized Judaism, Jews might have understood Yeshua in the same light as they understood Hillel and Akiva, as a great sage who explained the deeper meanings of Torah.  If it were not for the unwarranted animosity between Christianity and Judaism, scholars like Telushkin might realize that Yeshua stands in the line of the other great rabbis, clarifying the implications of God’s revelation in much that same way that previous sages had.  If it were not for all these impediments, all of us might see that Yeshua and Sha’ul illuminate the further reaches of God’s grace, extended to those who stood against Him.  In fact, everything about God’s actions toward men reveals the essence of the good news:  God loves His enemies – us!

But this means we need to revise our thinking about heroes.  Our Western world idolizes those who sacrifice for the common good.  Our heroes demonstrate remarkable efforts on behalf of friends, family or country.  But if you or I should act on behalf of an enemy, we are called traitors.  Yeshua was a traitor, not a hero.  Yeshua came to repair the breach between God and His enemies.  He sacrificed Himself so that enemies might be brought into the Kingdom.  He did not win the battle for men.  He won the battle for God, and in so doing, he destroyed the enmity between God and Man from God’s side of the equation.  Why should we be surprised that the crowd shouted, “Crucify him!”  He was a traitor to their cause.  He became the enemy of men in order to be the savior of Man.

Enemy – echthrous – from the word for hatred, is the opposite of agapetos (beloved).  Hero and beloved go together.  Traitor and enemy do too.  Maybe we need to adjust our accolades and cheer the one who reconciled at the cost of being rejected.  Maybe we must start by examining what it means to be God’s enemies before we can assert that we are God’s friends.

Topical Index:  enemy, friend, echthrous, agapetos, traitor, hero, Romans 5:10

 

[1] Joseph Telushkin, Hillel:  If Not Now, When?, p. 137.

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Fire Insurance

Saturday, July 16th, 2011 | Author:

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you. Proverbs 25:21-22

Will reward – Does this translation make sense to you?  Is God promising to give you a reward for acting as He would act toward those who oppose you?  Are we supposed to bless our enemies in order that we get something from God?  Maybe there’s another way to look at this familiar verse.  Maybe the LXX translation (“the Lord will reward you with good things”) misdirects us.  Commentators suggest that “reward” is a synonym for reconciliation, but I see nothing here that supports this view.  We are to act benevolently, period.  There is no promise that this will result in a change of heart in our enemy.  God “rewards,” not the enemy.  Apparently something else is happening.

The Hebrew verb used here is shalam.  You will notice immediately that it is connected to shalom.  Shalam means “to be safe, to be completed.”  By extension it becomes a description of reconciliation, peace, reward and restoration, but its primary meaning is simply protection.  If we used this meaning, then our verse would say, “for you will heap red-hot blessings on his head, and YHWH will protect you.”  Doesn’t that make more sense?  We are facing our personal enemies.  They hate us and the oppose God.  They are enemies because they do not wish us shalom.  But we are to act with shalom toward them.  By doing so, we make ourselves vulnerable.  But God will protect! It seems to me that the context of these verses require the primary use of shalam, not the extended metaphorical uses.  If I am going to act benevolently toward someone who intends me harm, I need protection.  That’s what God promises.  Not material gain.  Not personal reconciliation.  Protection.

I can act benevolently toward those who are my enemies because God is sovereign and He promises that when I act on His behalf, He will watch over me.

What a relief!  We can confidently proceed with the fulfillment of Torah obligations toward enemies.  We have nothing to fear because He is sovereign.  We don’t do it for the money.  We don’t do it for the chance of reconciliation.  We do it because He loved us when we were enemies.  But we bless with His blessing – and that’s what we really need.

Topical Index: enemy, reward, shalam, protect, Proverbs 25:21-22

 

 

 

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All in the Family

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 | Author:

“And a second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:39  NASB

Love – We all know that this Greek word is agapao.  Agape love is the standard of Christian concern.  We also recognize that it is self-sacrificing love, based not on what I might receive from another but solely on my response to what I have received from God.  Yeshua echoes the rabbis in the primacy of this command.  His emphasis places us in the heart of Torah where specific legal obligations toward another are outweighed by an ethical lifestyle that extends beyond requirements of the law.  To love another is to treat the person as God would – and not an ounce less.

Of course, Greek has another word for love, phileo.  The difference is dramatic.  Phileo is love extended on the basis of feelings of affection.  It is reciprocal love.  It has a significant place inside the Body because inside the Body there is communal intra-dependency.  Unfortunately, phileo is often substituted for agapao.  When this happens,  the hallmark of God’s character expressed in my life goes missing.  It isn’t missing because I am unloving.  It is missing because I love those who love me.  And why not?  It’s natural, comfortable and rewarding.  It just isn’t agapao.

That’s why Yeshua regards the signature of agapao as the love of an enemy.  That raises an interesting question.  Who do you love?  Make your list.  Then see if there are any who don’t reciprocate.  Now you realize why “love” is a command, not a description of any inner feeling.  You are to love your enemies even if you don’t like them!

We have learned that our enemies may not be those who carry a gun or declare threats against us.  An enemy of God is my enemy.  That means those who rebel against His authority and direction are my enemies.  Most of them are really “good” people.  I might even like some of them.  But they are nevertheless enemies because what they represent is rebellion against the rightful rule of the Creator.  God tells me to love them, not with affection and camaraderie (although that certainly won’t hurt) but rather with self-sacrifice that draws them nearer to the Father.  Now look at the list again.  Perhaps there is someone who needs compassion even though you are not inclined to give it.  Perhaps there is someone who needs assistance in spite of the fact that they are ungrateful.  Perhaps there is someone who needs forgiveness even though they do not forgive.  God loves His enemies.  We know because we were once opposed to Him.  Now we understand the power of compelling love.  And now it’s our turn to show it.

Don’t be confused by feelings on this one.  Act as God would act toward another no matter what the cost.  Then you will know what it means to love His way.

Topical Index:  enemy, love, agapao, phileo, Matthew 22:39

 

 

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Friendly Reminder (2)

Sunday, July 10th, 2011 | Author:

Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4  (almost NASB)

Friend of the world – Who is a philos tou kosmou (friend of the world)?  This is a vitally important question, perhaps equal to the scribe’s inquiry, “Who is my neighbor?”  If we have the wrong answer to this question, we might fall prey to the same seduction Havvah experienced.

Here’s the simple answer:  a friend of the world is an enemy of God.  Obvious, but perhaps not too helpful, until we realize that God has given us quite an exhaustive list of the thoughts and behaviors of those who wish to befriend the world.  That list is found in the 613 Torah commandments.  A friend of the world disregards God’s instructions for living, replacing His instructions with guidance from the kosmos.  Since there can only be one true God, replacing His instructions with different directions about life can only mean that the replacements come from a false god.  To be a friend of the world is to be idolatrous.  To be a friend of the world is to serve a god other than YHWH.  It doesn’t require debauchery, treachery or megalomania.  It only requires asserting that God’s instructions don’t matter.

Was that a body blow?  Did that remark suddenly cause you to shudder?  If it is true that Torah disobedience puts you in the position of an idolater, are you still able to claim friendship with the Most High God?  Do you have a greater appreciation for the dilemma facing Havvah?  She wanted to do all that she was expected to do.  She wanted to be the best ‘ezer kenegdo she could possibly be.  Don’t you want something similar?  Don’t you want to be all you can be, all God intended you to be?  But are you willing to manifest that desire within the boundaries God sets?  Havvah doesn’t sin because she is selfish or power-hungry or rebellious.  She sins because she desires to improve God’s plan.  The desire is genuine and noble.  The means are sinful.  She befriends what the world has to offer in order to do what God wants.  I wonder how many of us do the same.

Of course, this truth entails two imperatives.  The first is that I must know the 613.  Not all apply to me, of course, but to ignore or disregard them is an act of rebellion, according to the implication in James.  So I must look and see which apply to me.

The second is that I am called to love my enemies.  Now I realize that this commandment (one of the 613) extends to those who willfully or ignorantly disregard the 613.  They are my enemies because they are God’s enemies because they serve another master.  And I must love them with such a compelling love that they return to the 613, the fellowship of His community and the experience of His presence.  Love of enemies doesn’t mean simply turning the other cheek to those who carry a gun.  It can also mean caring for those who carry an altered Book.

Topical Index:  enemy, friend, world, James 4:4, commandments, Havvah

 

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Only Human

Saturday, November 27th, 2010 | Author:

“for the word of YHWH has been to me a reproach and derision all the day.” Jeremiah 20:8

Reproach – Jeremiah tells us that he desperately tried not to speak God’s words.  He tried to shut them up within his heart.  But it was no use.  They became a burning fire that had to be released.  And every time he spoke, he suffered.

Are God’s words burning coals inside of you?  Do His words plague you?  Do you wake at night with His thoughts on your mind?  Do you weep when you see the world with His eyes?  Are you unable to contain the compassion, the angst, the wrath that the Lord has placed within you?  The greatest travesty of the faithful today is the absence of unquenchable fire within.  Today we are complacent co-conspirators in silencing God’s words to the world.  Oh, we mouth the right vocabulary.  We say the right evangelical lines at the right occasions.  But where is the reproach?  Where is the struggle to contain?  Where is the boiling over, the bursting forth, the explosive agony of revealing the thoughts of our God?

Jeremiah is a lot more like us than we might imagine.  He didn’t want to be an outcast.  He didn’t want to be on the wrong side of political power.  He didn’t want to be castigated, punished, excommunicated and ridiculed.  Who would?  Not me, and probably not you (although you may be more willing than I am).  After all, most of us are only human.  What Jeremiah knew, and what he had to learn again and again, is that God doesn’t really care if we are only human.  Of course, He cares immeasurably that we are human.  He created us that way and loves us that way.  But He doesn’t really care that we often excuse ourselves as human.  God knows exactly what He demands of us and He knows that His demands do not exceed our capacity because He insures that we are able to do all He asks.  It is simply our unwillingness to conform ourselves to His will that puts us in such terrible inner trauma.  The truth is often hard to swallow but is nevertheless, the truth.  God gives us assignments for His purposes, not ours.

The Hebrew word herpah has some pretty terrible associations.  It is used to hurl insults toward enemies, to describe the uncircumcised (outsiders), those without children and those who are widows.  There is nothing pleasant about herpah.  Jeremiah knew only too well that the words of the Lord spoken with his mouth would make him an enemy to his own people.  He wanted to shut up, but he just couldn’t contain himself.  Perhaps today we have more psychological barriers than Jeremiah so we are able to restrain God’s message to make it comfortable.  We say that we only want to be relevant, but if we learn anything from Jeremiah, the truth is probably that we want to protect ourselves.  What would life be like if we spoke so boldly that we became enemies of our own culture?  Perhaps that’s just too hard to think about.  Let’s just go the mall.

Topical Index: reproach, herpah, enemy, Jeremiah 20:8

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Textual Emendation

Monday, April 19th, 2010 | Author:

“you have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’” Matthew 5:43

Enemy – Who said that?  Who said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy”?  If you look at the reference in Leviticus 19:18, you won’t find the second part of this citation.  In fact, you will find an entire section devoted to care and concern for your neighbor.  There is not a word about hating your enemy.  In fact, if you search Leviticus for verses about an enemy (Hebrew ‘oyev), you will find most of them in chapters 26 and 27, the discussion is about what will happen with enemies when the people are obedient and when they are not.  While there are descriptions about pursuing enemies when God is with the people, there is nothing about hating enemies.

Now you know why Yeshua doesn’t say, “It is written.”  He comments on what has been taught about enemies, not what is written in God’s Word.  Some popular teaching and the accumulation of folk wisdom distinguished between love for a neighbor and hatred for an enemy.  The common interpretation of the relationship to enemies emended the text.  It added “and hate your enemy.”  Yeshua rejects this folk wisdom as incompatible with God’s actions toward enemies.  If we are to emulate the behavior of the Father, we will do what He did – love our enemies and do good to those who reject and disparage us.  In other words, Yeshua points away from the common understanding and toward the deeper principle of the Torah.  That deeper principle is based in the character of God.  When we express God’s character, we fulfill the requirements of the Torah.

Of course, loving your enemies is not a “reasonable” thing to do.  In a world where self-interest predominates, doing good to those who intend to harm you is simply crazy.  Who would ever do such a thing?  Our natural inclination is self-protection and retaliation.  But the principle underlying Torah is the denial of self-interest and abandoned trust in God.  As we have already seen, this does not entail allowing evil to have its way.  Justice matters.  But it does entail setting aside our self-absorbed view of life.  God’s plans are bigger than our plans and we cannot base our decisions on what we think best.  Yeshua is not suggesting acquiescence.  He is asking us to re-evaluate our motivation.  He is asking us to make ethical decisions on the basis of God’s agenda, not our own.

The line between self-motivation and godly obedience is often very thin and sometimes nearly invisible.  Only the one deciding can really tell the difference.  But the difference is important enough to be illuminated by Yeshua’s commentary.  The resulting action might not look any different.  That doesn’t matter here.  What matters is a thorough examination of the reason we take action.  Dependence, humility and obedience always come before categorizing another as an enemy.  Lines drawn in the sand aren’t always drawn with God’s finger.  Knowing when they are drawn with my finger prevents me from overstepping God’s point of view.

Who are your enemies?  What is your obligation toward them?  Who draws the line for you?

Topical Index:  enemy, hate, ‘oyev, Matthew 5:43, Leviticus 19:18

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The Captives’ Cry

Tuesday, March 02nd, 2010 | Author:

and when you seek for me you will find me, when you search for me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

Seek/Search – How many times have you heard this verse given as motivation for seeking God?  It seems to be a favorite when we need exhortation and encouragement.  But how many of us know anything about its context?  When God tells the children of Israel that they will need to seek Him with all their hearts, His words have a very important setting.  Without the setting, the real message gets lost.

Jeremiah was a prophet of the Babylonian captivity.  Terrible things were coming upon disobedient Israel.  The truth is that God loved Israel so much that He punished them severely in order for them to confront their spiritual adultery.  His punishment leveled the once great nation.  It sent many to the grave and many more into bondage in Babylon.  No one welcomed Jeremiah’s pronouncement.  In fact, there were all kinds of self-proclaimed naysayers who told the people that “don’t worry, be happy, God would never do such terrible things.”  How wrong they were!

But Jeremiah does not leave Israel with doom and gloom.  God will hear them and restore them – after they are obedient to His command about the context.  God’s desire for restoration is not unusual, but the context is shocking.  It’s found in verse 7.  God tells His people to “seek the well-being of the city” of Babylon.  Can you imagine that?  These people have been hauled off by invaders, and God tells them to actively pursue the prosperity and good will for their captors!  He tells them to settle down in enemy territory and do all that they can to make life better for the bad guys.  God uses the word that means studying and inquiring into His Law when He tells His people to seek shalom for the enemies.  Then – and only then – will they be ready to search for Him.

Oh, by the way, there are two different Hebrew words in verses 12 and 13 translated by  the English words “seek” and “search.”  The first is baqash.  It means to try to obtain, in particular, to obtain the presence of someone.  When the people try to obtain God’s presence, He will be prepared to receive them, after they seek shalom for their enemies.  The second word is darash, the word used in verse 7 and again in verse 13.  Searching for God with all your heart is intimately connected with honoring, examining and obeying His word.  Did you notice that God does not ask His people to seek (barash) the presence of the Babylonian conquerors?  Pursing presence is reserved for Him.  But He does request His people to darash (examine and inquire after) shalom for the enemies.  How is that done?  By obeying His word, of course.

Go ahead and use this verse when things get tough.  But remember the context.  Do you expect God to come running to your rescue when your enemies know nothing except your disdain and hostility?  Do you think God’s compassion belongs only to you?

Topical Index:  Compassion, Enemy

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Mental Geography

Friday, June 20th, 2008 | Author:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Samaria – Acts is the story of the fulfillment of the Great Commission, but if we read it only as a geography lesson, we will never understand the depth of Jesus’ command.  The great commission is not simply about territorial expansion.  It is about a change in my mental topology.  The word that makes it all crystal clear is “Samaria.”

Think about the Great Commission once more.  It’s not about a command to go.  It is about choosing disciples as I go along the road of life.  It’s about deliberately making apprentices of those who are outsiders.  Too often we think of discipling as a mentoring process for believers, but Jesus is quite clear that His plan is to reach to those who are goyim (the nations), the ones who are not a part of Israel.  Discipling is an action that I take on behalf of someone who stands apart from God.  I ask that person to follow me around for a few years, observing, evaluating and finally, copying me.  Why?  Because I am in total service to the Master and my life is His living witness.

So, whom do I choose?  Jesus has a few words of wisdom on this topic as well.  My choices will include those nearest to me (my neighbors where I live – Jerusalem), those who are in my same community (Judea) and those who present a slightly different problem.  These are my Samaritans.  Who are these people?  They are my enemies.  Yes, that’s right.  I am to choose as my disciples those who would do me harm.  There was no love lost between Jews and Samaritans.  They had been at war for nearly a thousand years.  So, when Jesus says that His Great Commission is to be the method of operation among Samaritans, He might was well have been telling His disciples to embrace all those they considered detestable.  Jesus wanted His disciples to apply the love of neighbor to the love of my enemy.  He was deadly serious about it.

In fact, this is exactly what He did.  Jesus chose Judas as a disciple.  Jesus knew His betrayer, but that did not stop Him from pouring His life into this treacherous man.  Jesus must have known Judas was stealing.  He must have known Judas was dangerous.  He certainly knew when Judas sold Him out.  But Jesus did exactly what He asks each of His followers to do – to choose from the neighborhood, the community and the enemies – to demonstrate what it means to love by turning His attention to the enemy.  Jesus asks us to change our thinking about who matters.  He asks us to take on God’s perspective and to live life poured out.  If He can do it, why can’t I?

Perhaps we need to rethink our entire concept of evangelism.  It has almost nothing to do with transferring information to someone else in order to get them to the pearly gates.  Evangelism is not really about “them” at all.  It’s about me.  It’s about the change that must come to pass in my heart so that I also weep over the lost enemies of God.  It’s about giving up myself, my agenda, my protection in order that I can be the living witness to the God Who hung on a cross.  If there is anyone on earth who needs to see God is action, it is my enemy.  And if there is anyone on earth who needs to erase enemy territory from mental geography, it’s me.

Topical Index:  Enemy

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