Tag-Archive for » Torah «

CLEAR – SO FAR

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013 | Author:

The last day or two brought a flurry of comments, especially about the idea that I suggested regarding closing the door on those who stand in opposition to God’s ways.  I am sure that in a one page Today’s Word I did not communicate perfectly what I had in mind.  All to the good since as a result of my apparent cloudy communication a lot of people were energized to react and write.  That means you thought about it.  But just to make things clear from my side, let me articulate where I am and why I said what I did.

Since we are quite familiar with the Greek model of bullet points, I’ll use it.

1.  After years of study, I came to the conclusion that many of the essential and critical doctrines that underlie Christian theology, all Christian theology – Catholic or Protestant – are in reality based on essentially Greek philosophical ideas, especially the Greek idea of perfection and person.  This study is more or less encapsulated in my doctoral work, now published as God, Time and the Limits of Omniscience.

2.  Since that time, I have realized (again with considerable study) that this Greek foundation of Christian thought is not an accident.  I now am convinced that the early Church fathers. not to be confused with the apostles, were significantly influenced by two critical motivations:  1) to incorporate their Hellenistic philosophy into their new-found religion, now called Christianity; and 2) to separate the identity markers of this new religion from Judaism.  To do this, the early fathers redefined a series of crucial cultural and religious markers, in particular, circumcision, dietary laws, Sabbath, atonement and the unity of God.  These redefined concepts were much more in line with the current cultural practices (e.g., the consumption of pork and the worship on the day of the sun god) and were philosophically the children of the Greek thinkers, not the Jewish prophets.  At this point in my life, I am convinced that a careful examination of both the history and the philosophy of the early centuries following the crucifixion confirm without doubt this trend, a trend that is still the majority opinion of Christians today, but which has now come under serious examination by important scholars.

3.  For me, this implies that the apostolic writings are not set in an ante-Nicene environment but rather in a thoroughly Jewish understanding of God and the world.  In other words, the New Testament is Jewish, not Christian as Christianity is understood after the middle of the 2nd century.  The concepts, language, practices and beliefs of the apostles are Jewish.  The only difference between the expressions of the apostles and the expressions of the rabbinic sages is the assertion that Yeshua is the expected Jewish Messiah.  Otherwise, the theology, practices, rituals and expectations for the community fit completely within one or more of the sects of Judaism in the first century.

4.  This is acknowledged by scholars on both sides of the issue – that is, both Jews and Christians.  The real separation between Jews and Christians today is the separation caused by the assertions of the Church on two critical issues – the Trinity and the place of the Mosaic Torah.  Even those Jews who acknowledge that Yeshua is thoroughly Jewish in his teaching and practice are unable to recognize him as the Messiah because the Church has adopted a replacement theology and claims that the Torah has been abolished.  No Jew, either in the first century or today, could have or will accept these claims, and rightly so since they deny everything about God’s revelation in the Tanakh.  I am convinced that the apostles and the followers of the Messiah in the first century did not embrace these two Christian claims.  I believe that both Scripture (the full Bible) and history bear this out.  The first century followers of Yeshua, whether Jew or Gentile, understood his Messianic claim within the context of Judaism and they practiced obedience to the Mosaic Torah as a sign of their acceptance of this claim.  Examination of the New Testament documents in the culture of the first century absolutely confirms this.

5.  What this means is that Christianity was formed as a competitive religion sometime between 135AD and 325AD.  The essential tenets of this new religion were anti-Jewish in their inception, and later became anti-Semitic in their practice.  This was in line with some of the prevailing intellectual culture of the later Roman Empire.  This formation was not based on Scriptural claims although Scriptural claims were used as proof-texts for the shift.  It was rather the product of political, social and intellectual motivations which we can now identify from the historical records.  In particular, the replacement of Sabbath, abolishing the dietary laws and substituting a single baptism as the sign of the “new” covenant for the “old” circumcision were attempts to remove affiliation with Judaism and to redefine the faith of the apostles.

6.  I am convinced that the true practice of faith in the God of Israel and the Messiah Yeshua requires, for Christians, a complete overhaul of their assumptions about Torah, the relationship to the Jews and the faith of the apostles, and for Jews, an examination not of the teaching of the Church concerning Jesus and Paul but of the record of their teachings found in the New Testament, stripped of the subsequent layers of Christian theology.  With this platform, I believe that faithfulness to Yeshua includes Torah obedience.  It is not optional, although it is obviously adapted to the culture of the believer, that is, it must find expression where and when we live since we no longer live in Israel in the first century.  Nevertheless, Torah obedience is the objective, not because it provides a means of salvation (which has never been the case) but because it is the way that God wants His people to live in this world as a sign of His sovereignty over their lives and a demarcation of their difference.  This also implies that Judaism today is not the same as the Judaism practiced by the first century followers of Yeshua, and we can trace the development of contemporary Judaism from the historical record just as surely and easily as we can trace the development of contemporary Christianity.  In other words, I am not trying to become “Jewish.”

7.  Therefore, I reject the artificial and theologically-motivated separation of “Law” and “Grace.”  I cannot find such a separation in Scripture nor in the practice of followers of the Messiah until after the introduction of Greek philosophical categories and anti-Judaism.  This means that I hold myself responsible for Torah observance as best as I am able, and that I encourage and teach such as a true reflection of the apostolic, Messianic faith.   While I understand that most Christians are ignorant of the conditions, both theologically and historically, that led them to conclude the “Law” does not apply to them, this is a grave error and needs to be addressed and illuminated, both historically and theologically.

8.  Ultimately, the choice is about identification.  One may identify with Messianic believers of the first century by adopting the markers that they embraced.  These include the Sabbath, the dietary regulations, circumcision and the rest of Torah as it applies to the gender, location and opportunities of a person’s life.  Or one may identify with the Christian markers, that is, Sunday worship, the absence (or selective endorsement) of Torah, a “spiritual” circumcision and a theology based in Greek thought.  Or one can become Jewish, adopting the path of the Talmud and its commentators over the last 2000 years.  But this choice is not the same as the choices made by followers of Yeshua in the first century and one should be brave enough to acknowledge so.  We can be Messianic, Jewish or we can be Christian, but we cannot be consciously a combination of these options.

9.  I believe that this identification issue separates the entire world into Christian, Jew or Messianic.  My desire is to embrace the identification markers that were consistent with followers of Yeshua.  These are biblical as opposed to theological.  I continue to examine the Scriptures to be sure that I am in alignment with these – and only these.  I only want to do what God has revealed, but in order to do that I must be knowledgeable of the other “religious” cultures so that my faith isn’t based on mistakes and assumptions.

10.  And I am learning in spite of mistakes.

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Unsociable Etiquette

Friday, May 10th, 2013 | Author:

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting.  2 John 10  NASB

This teaching – John gets nasty.  If someone comes to you with a message that doesn’t square with the truth of the Messiah, don’t let him in the door.  Don’t even say, “Hello.”  Send him away!

But we don’t listen to John, do we?  A member of a false cult comes to our door pedaling their deliberate misinformation about Yeshua.  We think we must be nice to them.  We listen.  We talk.  We make them think that we might somehow be interested.  They leave literature and go away promising to come back later.  What!  Are you kidding me?  Did we think that somehow we would “evangelize” them?  There is no transformation in words, only in deeds, and all we did was confuse the message.  We didn’t point to the mezuzah and tell them that we serve the God of Israel.  But, of course, we didn’t say that to the visitors from the church either.

What teaching is so important that John tells us to practice unsociable behavior?  “This teaching” (ten didachen) is the claim of the humanity of Yeshua.  It stands in utter opposition to the gnostic claims circulating in John’s time.  Is this all we have to worry about?  Doesn’t the humanity of Yeshua entail His Torah obedience (isn’t that what the stories are about?) and doesn’t that imply our commitment to the same teaching?  Aren’t we supposed to be like Him?  If someone comes to you and says, “Oh, I believe that Jesus was human and He is God,” but then he goes on to tell you that “Jesus didn’t keep kashrut,” or “Jesus taught that we aren’t under the Law and it doesn’t apply to us,” would you not be concerned?  Would you treat that person as if they were in fellowship with the Father and in agreement with you?  Would your social etiquette outweigh your commitment to the truth?  We can easily identify those who are “heretics” according to the Church.  After all, we learned all this sitting in the pews.  But even so we don’t usually close the door on them.  And we certainly don’t close the door on the ones who, perhaps in ignorance, continue to teach what only the Church invented in its fervent attempt to not be Jewish.  What’s wrong with us?  Are we content to completely ignore John’s warning?  Or do we parcel it out so that all we have to worry about is Docetism and no one we know is Docetic these days.

Let’s back up a few verses to see what “this teaching” includes.  How about verse 6?  “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments.”  Does that mean just the commandment of love?  The verse continues, “This is the commandment just as you have heard from the beginning.”  Does John mean from the beginning of Yeshua’s arrival, or does he mean “In the beginning was the Word”?  Can you have “in the beginning was the Word” and not have what Moses delivered?  Maybe we need to get better at nasty evangelism.

Topical Index:  this teaching, didache, Docetism, Torah, love, 2 John 10

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Paul’s Law

Tuesday, March 05th, 2013 | Author:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.  Philippians 4:8  NASB

Right – What is “right”?  You will probably ask for clarification before you answer that one.  After all, “right” means something very different when it comes to software applications or ethical decisions.  The umbrella of meaning could cover the “right” coffee and the “right” choice of spouse (and you better not get confused about those).  Our word has just as much under one roof as Paul’s word, dikaios.  According to the TDNT, there are four separate but related meanings for this adjective:  conforming customs, fulfilled obligations, legal norms and ethical virtues.  Context tells us which one Paul has in mind.  Sometimes!  Sometimes we have to guess, since we can’t send him an email asking for clarification.  What this means is that a simple translation often doesn’t capture the subtlety of Paul’s language.  In fact, simple translations, like using one word to capture what Paul means, often steer us in the wrong direction because our language also has umbrellas of meaning that might not overlap with Paul’s.

Of course, “right” implies a standard.  “Right” isn’t whatever you want it to be.  So when Paul says dikaia, he assumes that his readers know what the standard is.  As a Pharisee and a rabbi, Paul would never suggest that you set your own standard.  Paul is no modern day liberal theologian.  He is a traditionalist, a conservative, a follower of the Way, and that means he holds the Torah, both written and oral, as the standard of all his behavior. The Greek word actually comes from a root (dike) that means “just” and therefore implies “law.”  It could hardly be clearer to his readers.  When Paul says, “whatever is right,” he means “whatever God says.”

Does that mean Paul is a rigid literalist?  No, that caricature of Judaism doesn’t fit either.  Look at the way Paul incorporates the Tanakh in his letters.  He freely modifies material from the prophets in order to adapt their statements to his arguments.  He applies Scripture to novel situations by altering the context of the Tanakh’s message.  He recognizes that the Tanakh must be adaptable to new circumstances.  Every rabbi knew this.  That’s why God’s word is a living document.  In spite of the flexibility of the Word of God in application, Paul believed that every word and every letter of the Tanakh was God-breathed.  There is an inevitable tension here.  Scripture was written for specific people at specific times in specific circumstances, but it is flexible enough to be applied to many other circumstances.  The trick is knowing how it is applied to us – and quite often that can’t be determined by simply reading the literal meaning of the text.

What is right?  Go look in the Book.  Find the foundation there.  Then avail yourself of prayer, community and commentary to see how this foundation applies to you today.

Topical Index:  right, dikaios, Torah, Philippians 4:8

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Torah – and all that stuff

Friday, February 08th, 2013 | Author:

Today I got an email from a long-time reader.  It said:

Skip, I have been reading your posts regularly for many years now. I am unclear of the bottom line: Are we to be Torah bound as if Jews? If so how do we apply the 600+ Laws/Kingdom rules in our current society? If selectively, which ones, how and why or why not? I am a bit thick so dumb it down for me please. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Since this might be a question for a lot of readers, I thought I would answer it publicly.

I believe that we Gentiles are grafted into the commonwealth of Israel.  That means that we leave our past culture and kingdom and adopt a new culture and kingdom, the Kingdom of God, the God of Israel.  This is no different than Gentiles who came into the Messianic fellowship in the first century.  As James remarked, “They are taught Moses every week in synagogue.”  So, cultural conversion is part of the process.  I am not “saved” in order to get to heaven.  I am saved in order to become part of what God is doing in the restoration of the earth, that His will might be done on earth as it is in heaven.  And for that I need to be part of His Kingdom here.

Every kingdom has a system of governance, social expectations and practices that identify its citizens as members of the kingdom.  I could not be a Roman citizen without meeting the Roman Empire’s requirements.  Neither can I be a citizen of the Kingdom of God without meeting God’s requirements.  Salvation is merely my entry invitation.  It is not a guide to how I should live as a citizen of the Kingdom.  And by the way, neither is “love” a guide to how I should live.  It is a nice ambiguous concept, but it lacks all the details.  Fortunately, God knew that we needed the details.  Unlike all other ancient Middle-Eastern gods, the God of Israel provides a clear instruction booklet about what it means to be one of His own.  He provided that booklet to the children of Israel after they left Egypt because He was establishing a new Kingdom, His Kingdom, and His children needed to know how to live differently than they had in Egypt.  Other ancient gods merely demanded worship but did not provide instructions.  YHWH does both.  Aren’t you glad?  What would it be like to live under a God who never told you what He expected?  Oh, never mind, that’s what Christians under “grace” already have.  You already know what that is like.

This means that Torah is not rules and regulations.  Torah is freedom from ignorance about what God wants, freedom from worry that I will make an accidental mistake and freedom from concern about my purpose and destiny.  Torah tells me how to please God and engage with others.  Without it, I am walking in the dark.

Because Gentiles are grafted into Israel, Torah applies to them just as it applies to all citizens of the Kingdom.  But here’s the caveat.  Torah only applies to those who are the direct object of any particular commandment.  So, if you aren’t a Levite, no commandment to the Levites applies to you.  If you aren’t in Israel, commandments for people living in the land do not apply to you.  If there is no Temple, then commandments that require actions at the Temple cannot apply.  If you are a man, you have different requirements than if you are a woman.  You get the idea.  All of the commandments are instructions about how to live in God’s Kingdom, but not all of the commandments are for you.  You have to decide which ones apply to you according to the commandment and your own circumstances.

Matt Woodward and I sat down one evening and went through all 613 Torah commandments.  When we were done, we found less than 10 that applied to us that we weren’t doing at the time.  Most of the ones that did apply were already part of our lives.  We only needed to do something about incorporating 10 more.  Hundreds, literally, did not apply to us.

Clear your head.  Torah is not binding you.  That is a Greek reaction of the idea of regulations.  Torah frees you.  Torah is  not Jewish.  It is God’s living instructions for all who are in His Kingdom.  Following Torah does not make you Jewish.  In fact, some commands of Torah don’t apply to Gentiles at all because Gentiles are not Jews.  And contemporary Judaism is not the same as the Judaism of Yeshua’s time.  Don’t let that scare you off either.  We don’t selectively choose which Torah commands apply to us.  Our circumstances and the command itself provide the selection process.  It is determined by God, not by you and me.

So, don’t get overwhelmed.  Go read the 613.  Alter your life according to the ones that apply to you.  Be happy that you know. Delight God and please others. Enjoy the freedom of knowing what God demands and how to do it.  And have fun.

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Steady as She Goes

Wednesday, January 02nd, 2013 | Author:

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,  Ephesians 4:1  NASB

To walk – There is little doubt about Paul’s Hebrew idiom behind this Greek word, peripatesai (from the verb paripateo).  “To walk” is the common metaphor for “living according to a specific code of conduct,” and in Hebrew thought that code of conduct was Torah.  Some Christian theologians might argue that Paul revised or abandoned this Hebraic view when he “converted” to Christianity, but the text doesn’t support this.  In fact, at the end of his ministry in Israel, Paul still defends himself as a Pharisee who observes both the written and oral Torah (see Acts 24:14-16).  We have studied this too many times to mention.  Paul and all the other apostles were Jewish in their outlook and practice.

With this in mind, we need to read Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians as his fervent desire that they also embrace Torah obedience.  Why should Gentiles bother with these Jewish requirements?  Paul provides the answer.  First, Torah is not viewed as requirements.  Because Torah outlines the way God wants His people to live in this world (and the next), Torah obedience is first and foremost the expression of faithful loyalty to God.  Following the directions of the King isn’t really about keeping the laws of the Kingdom.  It is really about honoring the King.  The fact that we do this by keeping His commandments is the by-product of a desire to honor Him, but the motivation doesn’t come from external compulsion.  It comes from love for Him.  This is why Scripture constantly decries those who merely follow the rules.  The behavior may be externally the same, but it is the heart of the matter that matters.

Secondly, Torah is the way we become human.  To be in His image is to behave as He behaves, and Torah is how God behaves.  So, when I follow Torah, I become like Him and that means I become more and more human.  Torah obedience is all for my benefit.  I can become what He designed me to be as I bring my life into conformity with His design.  What else can it mean to have the goal of being conformed to His image?

Thirdly, Torah is freedom.  In the ancient world, all men knew that the gods were in charge of life.  But other than YHWH, the gods did not reveal how man should live.  So if you were a pagan Gentile, you knew that you had to do something about pleasing the gods or face the consequences, but you really had no idea what the gods actually required.  This led to enormous anxiety.  You never knew if your actions would result in punishment or reward.  Then along comes Moses and he tells you exactly what God wants.  What FREEDOM!  What RELIEF!  Now I finally can do what God asks without fear.  Torah is my escape from fear and anxiety.  Torah is freedom from worry.

“To walk in a manner worthy” has nothing to do with rule-bound behavior.  It has everything to do with honor, humanity and freedom.  Is that how you look at it?

Topical Index:  walk, paripateo, Torah, Ephesians 4:1

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Paul’s Measuring Stick

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012 | Author:

Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  2 Timothy 1:13  NASB

Standard – “The Torah was the absolute standard against which all other beliefs and practices were measured.  If a ruling or teaching did not agree with Torah (at least as the Sages interpreted it), it simply was not received.  Clearly, to propose new teaching that went contrary to Torah or even to suggest that the Torah was no longer viable was outside the realm of possibility for the Sages.”[1]  Hegg’s remark makes it abundantly clear that a rabbinic Pharisee like Paul would not dare to propose any theological claim or practical application that ignored, rejected or contradicted Torah.  The “standard of sound words” that Paul entrusts to Timothy is Torah; nothing more, nothing less.

But this raises some very knotty problems, doesn’t it?  What do we do about the idea that the Church replaced Israel?  What do we do about the concept that faith is correct thinking?  What do we do about the Trinity (do I even dare raise the subject?)?  What of the idea that we are “eternally saved” regardless of our subsequent actions?  The answers to all of these questions are to be found in Torah, if we are to follow the exegetical practice of Paul.  In other words, if you can’t find support for a theological proposition within the first five books of the Tanakh, then you are on very shaky ground.

Paul uses the Greek word hypotyposin in this verse.  With a little creative observation, you can see its relationship to our word “type” or “prototype.”  Classical Greek texts use this word for “mold” or “form.”  In the LXX it translates the Hebrew words for “model” or even “idol.”  But once we examine the rabbinic material that would have been quite evident in Paul’s own background, we find that there can be only one meaning for this Greek word in Paul’s directive to Timothy.  The only “mold” for righteous living and understanding is Torah.  There is no other revelation from God Himself for the conduct of the community.  And, of course, Paul only had the Tanakh as his Bible.  Paul echoes the Sages:  If it isn’t in Torah, it isn’t!

This is hardly a threat.  It is rather a challenge.  We, who have been entrusted with Ketuvim Netzarim (the New Testament), are privileged to read men who poured over those Torah texts in order to show believers just how Torah is connected to their interpretations.  We are rewarded because of their diligence.  But in an age when so many no longer understand these Torah connections, we are called to rewrite them, to illuminate, articulate and demonstrate how each interpretation found in Paul and John and James and the rest, yes, even in Yeshua Himself, is based not on something new but rather on something very old.

Why is this so absolutely necessary now, after all these centuries?  There are two reasons.  First, the Christian community has lost touch with its foundation in the revelation of God to Israel.  If we are going to fully embrace who we are and where we come from, then we must walk the Emmaus road with Him and discover how all the Law and the Prophets spoke of Him.  It’s wonderful to have the efforts of the first century authors available to us, but we are not merely first century readers.  We belong to a much older revelation – and we need to know it.

Secondly, of course, is that we who follow Yeshua HaMashiach will never be able to embrace our brothers and sisters in Abraham until we see the Torah as the common basis of our faith.  God’s revelation to Moses is the fundamental and essential document of our faith – and the “our” is fully inclusive.  Until we break down the artificial barrier erected by men who attempted to move away from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we will have no common ground at all.  We must know in order that we may hear and obey and live the shema with all who worship YHWH.

So, go to work all you hearers of the word.  Dig it out.  Find the connections.  Become Pauline.

Topical Index:  standard, hypotyposin, Torah, 2 Timothy 1:13

 

[1] Tim Hegg, The Letter Writer, p. 139.

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Logical Alternative

Thursday, November 08th, 2012 | Author:

What say we say then?  Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase?  Romans 6:1  NASB

To continue – Who is Paul writing to in this letter?  You must answer this question before you can interpret his words.  There are several possibilities.  Is he writing to Jews in the Roman synagogue?  Unlikely.  They would certainly know that sin is insanity and death.  Their entire history would remind them of the enormous consequences of disobedience.  Is he writing to “Christians” in Rome?  The word itself is problematic since there were no “Christians” in Rome in the sense that we understand the term, but if we suppose that the term captures those who believed Yeshua was the promised Messiah, then we once again have Jews (who need no reminding of the seriousness of sin) and Gentile converts.  Only the Gentiles require admonishment on this subject.  And since Paul is clearly speaking to those who have experienced God’s graciousness, we may rightly conclude that he is addressing Gentiles who have come into the community on the profession of faith in the Jewish Messiah.

This helps us see why Paul poses the question.  No Jew, Messianic or not, would ever suggest that one should continue to sin in order to extend God’s grace.  But those who come from a world of liberty and license might actually believe that the greater the magnitude of sin the greater the glory of forgiveness.  They might carry their past paradigm of pagan excess into the synagogue community.  They might conclude that the marvelous relief experienced in the removal of guilt opens the door to endless dismissal.  In other words, they might infer that being under grace carries no obligation for obedience.  No Jew would be so foolish, but those who never knew the freedom of Torah could surmise that life without guilt means life without rules.  Only Gentiles ignorant of the consequences of sin would come to such a conclusion.   Paul is quick to point out that this interpretation of the function of grace is insane!

“To continue” is the Greek epimenomen, from the verb epimeno.  It means to remain on the present course, to stay in the same direction, literally “to rest in a given place of state.”  This is the man who accepts grace but does not move away from his past.  This is the man who wants forgiveness without hesed, without obligation.  This man is insane!

Amazingly, many in the Christian Church teach precisely the opposite of Paul’s claim.  In other words, perhaps without realizing it, they answer Paul’s question, “Yes, we should continue in sin so that God may have more room to forgive.”  Why do I say such an outrageous thing?  Because for Paul, obedience means a life under Torah but for many today, Torah means the absence of grace.  Insane!

Topical Index:  grace, Torah, to continue, epimeno, Romans 6:1

CORRECTION:  Yesterday’s comment about the re-election of Obama produced a lot of responses.  Two readers noted that the citation attributed to Tyler (Tytler) is not verified.  My mistake.  I got that quotation from another source that I trusted.  So, here’s the link about all the fuss over who actually said what.  But, while we don’t know who actually said this first, I still agree that it represents what I have experienced as I travel from country to country and see governments in all states of rise and fall – and it seem consistent with what I know about history.  So, Tyler (Tytler) might not be the author, but it sure sounds like the truth to me.  And in case we are looking for verifiable sources, I suggest James Black’s When Nations Die, which pretty much says the same thing about several trends across empires.  Sorry for the mistake.  Please forgive me.

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A Substitute for God

Monday, September 17th, 2012 | Author:

“May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.  Ruth 2:12  NASB

Under whose wings – Do you realize that Boaz is the one who actually fulfills the blessing of the Lord that he himself pronounces over Ruth?  With the same words, Ruth asks Boaz to cover her with his wings, translated in 3:9 as “covering” (NASB).  Boaz desires God to provide for Ruth.  Ruth recognizes that God will do so through Boaz.  Boaz speaks a self-fulfilling prophecy.

While the self-fulfillment of blessings is repeated in the story of Ruth with other characters, there is another connection here that cannot be overlooked.  Ruth is the female superior to Abraham.  As Trible notes, “Divine promise motivated and sustained his [Abraham’s] leap of faith.  Besides, Abraham was a man, with a wife and other possessions to accompany him.  Ruth stands alone; she possesses nothing.  No God has called her; no deity has promised her blessing; no human being has come to her aid. . . . Consequently, not even Abraham’s leap of faith surpasses this decision of Ruth’s.”[1]  Trible observes that the story requires Boaz to provide the interaction with God that Abraham received directly.

The point is important.  First, it deliberately connects the story of Ruth with the story of Abraham.  We should be on the lookout for other connecting fibers.  To miss the parallels is to miss the true depth of the narrative.  Secondly, it reminds us that the appeal for the direct intervention of God in our circumstances is near blasphemy.  Ruth is the superior model of divine activity hidden in the ordinary events and characters of the human drama.  To expect, even demand, that God show Himself before we act is arrogant, presumptuous and perhaps even sinful.  God does show Himself – in whatever ways He happens to choose.  It is up to us to recognize His handiwork in disguise, and at times even become the instruments by which His work is accomplished.

There could hardly be a more fitting story for Torah guidance.  Ruth is the quintessential outsider.  Her very existence is an affront to the Torah.  She carries the stigma of scandalous beginnings and broken covenants.  Her pagan background allows speculation about sexual impropriety.  She comes with nothing but a bad reputation.  But she demonstrates a faithfulness greater than Abraham.  If we do the same, will not the Judge of all the earth judge justly with us?  Ruth is our sister, our mother and our priestess.  Do we honor her for who she really is?

Topical Index: under whose wings, Abraham, Boaz, Torah, Ruth 2:12, kanaf


[1] Phyllis Trible, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality, p. 173.

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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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The Scales of Justice

Monday, July 30th, 2012 | Author:

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  Matthew 11:29  ESV

Yoke – Yesterday we connected Paul’s idea of “bond” with Yeshua’s statement about “yoke.”  “Freedom comes in chains,” we said.  When Yeshua invites us to take His yoke, He is not offering liberty.  He is offering glorious constraint; constraint that instructs us in a way of life delivered from toxic anxiety and confusion.  But the Greek word zygos has another meaning that heightens His invitation.  Zygos also means “scales.”  It is found in Revelation 6:5 and in Leviticus 26:26 (LXX).  The horseman of judgment comes with scales in his hand.  He will weigh the deeds of men.  But by what standard?  Both the rabbis and Yeshua tell us that the standard for these scales is the “yoke” of the law (Torah), an excellent wordplay in Greek!

Do you suppose that the translator of Yeshua’s words in Matthew’s Greek had this wordplay in mind?  When you hear, “Take my yoke upon you,” do you also hear, “Take my scales upon you”?  Do you connect “yoke” and “law”?  It would be hard to read the Greek translation of Yeshua’s Hebrew without making this connection.

Far too often we read this verse without its connection to Jeremiah or its nuances in Greek.  We read the verse with the eyes of Plato and Aristotle.  We think Yeshua is offering assistance (forgiveness and restoration) without obligation, at least without obligation to others.  We want rest, not duty.  So we convert zygos into something akin to “removing all my burdens.”  We look for Platonic peace, that is, freedom from everyone else.  But zygos as “scales” can never provide such fictitious folly.  All of Torah is about obligation – to God and to others.  The “Law” is a way of living in the world, among those who occupy the same place and time.  When we take on Yeshua’s zygos, we take on the standard which the third horseman brings.  There is no rest without scales just as there is no peace without chains.

Perhaps this is enough for today.  Perhaps we have already been convicted of our ungodly desire to be “free” of all those burdens of others.  Perhaps the horseman finds us wanting.

Topical Index:  Matthew 11:29, yoke, zygos, freedom, law, Torah

TRAVEL NOTES:  In about a week, I will be traveling to Europe where I will lecture on a cruise ship through the Greek islands.  Don’t worry, Today’s Word will continue as usual and all your book orders will be taken care of without delay.  I will just be out of email contact for some time.

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