How We Know
Or when he touches human uncleanness – any such uncleanness whereby one becomes unclean – and, though he has known it, the fact has escaped him, but later he realizes his guilt; Leviticus 5:3
Known – Leviticus describes proper worship. Its rituals and regulations govern the procedures for maintaining purity before the Lord in order to enter into worship. Many of the processes required in Leviticus concern accidental violations of ritual purity, and the steps needed to remove the impurity that results from those unintentional infractions. Most readers in Christian circles not only find these rituals confusing, they don’t even know why they are necessary. That’s because the Christian idea of proper worship has replaced Hebraic requirements with requirements invented by the Church. In general, the Church no longer acknowledges the Levitical need for ritual purity. It has substituted its own version of purity rituals, calling them biblical.
Buried in this text is a small, but familiar, Hebrew word that reveals our real dilemma. That word is yada’. This Hebrew verb covers the wide range of knowing, perceiving, learning, discerning, experiencing, considering and confessing. But the key to all this is that yada’ is about “ultimate knowledge, not initial knowledge.”[1] Yada’ does not describe those things we suspect are true or imagine might be true. Yada’ is about what we know to be certain. In Hebrew thought, yada’ describes knowing the essence and purpose of something, that is, knowing it as it moves in the world. In this regard, yada’ is not about collected “facts.” It is about seeing into the ordered reality represented by the essential fit of something into the grand movement of life under God. When I say, “I know you,” I do not mean “I have your name on my computerized address book” or, “I recognize your picture from Facebook.” When I say, “I know you,” in Hebrew, I mean that I see into your purpose in the movement of life. I see how you fit into the fabric of God’s ordered existence. I see the essence of your being here.
When a man becomes ritually unclean, even though he knows in hindsight that he should have recognized the fit of his act into God’s ordered existence, but for some reason he did not comprehend the essence of that action as it occurred, then he is guilty. The perspective of this verse is not the perspective of the man as the act occurs. It is the perspective of the man after he knows for certain. In that moment, he realizes that he did know (in the ultimate and final sense) that his act was impure because its purpose didn’t change simply as a result of the passage of time. Its purpose was always a violation of ritual purity. Now he knows, and now he is accountable.
Sha’ul used the same Hebraic understanding in his comments about seeing in a glass dimly. Now we guess. Now we suspect. Now we act on the basis of so-far-as-we-know information. But the day is coming when it will be clear and we will discover what we have only dimly perceived is known in its ultimate form.
Does that mean all is hazy and uncertain? Of course not. Some things are now as certain as they will every be. Why? Because some things have been revealed to us by the One who already ultimately knows. Those things we can trust completely, not because we know them with certainty but because we know completely the One who reveals them.
Yada’ depends on batah (trust) and batah means to act with confidence on the character of the revealer. Now you know how you know.
Topical Index: know, yada’, Leviticus 5:3
[1] Baruch Levine, The JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus, p. 32
Interesting that you should post this today! I was just thinking about our version of worship vs. the version of worship that God asked for (while I was sitting in church wondering how much of what we do is really part of how people used to worship idols that we’ve preempted and used in our services)! Would that book, Constantine’s Bible be a good place to read more about that? Or is there a better resource? (Yes, I’m a nerd… I asked for that book for my birthday in a couple of months. Okay, that and I dream of the B&N Nook or the iPad LOL! – massively wishful thinking!).
If the way we worship at church (I go to Discovery Church, if anyone knows of it) is different from the prescribed ritual in the Old Testament, is it wrong? We sing, and obviously the Psalms talk about praising God with music and songs of joy (this would be my favorite part). But I’m pretty sure the lecture part and the tithes/offerings part are very different. I think about this every time I go, wondering if I’m offending God rather than worshiping Him, even though it’s the only way I know how. Thoughts?
“worship idols that we’ve preempted and used in our services”
Hi Amanda,
Just for the sake of discussion and to keep it simple, let’s say we have three things:
1 Thesis: Judaism
2 Antithesis: Paganism
3 Synthesis: Christianity
In Judaism, as I understand it, God is eternal spirit, who is not born and does not die.
In Paganism, a “dying-and-rising” god (or goddess), is a generic category for deities found within agrarian societies who were the focus of myths and rituals representing the annual death and rebirth of the deity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life-death-rebirth_deity
In Christianity, we have God the Father who is spirit and God the Son who dies and rises.
In churches today, this God, Jesus, is represented by a crucifix and his body and blood is consumed symbolically.
I’v never read Constantine’s Bible, but seems to me that somehow he had to reconcile these conflicting ideologies.
Just one point here. The thesis-antithesis-synthesis model (Hegelian) is really a Greek construct born out of a conflict of facts and values (thank you Kant). As such, it forces the thought process into a paradigm that inevitably leads to certain cognitive Greek-based solutions, none of which fit the biblical Hebraic worldview. This is what logicians call a “category” mistake – a case where the paradigm determines in advance what can be considered open to rational argument. Remove the paradigm and the syllogism falls apart. So, we must be careful not to read into the text, or into the history, what is not part of the original thought patters.
Hi Skip,
Your point is well taken.
I guess in my view Christianity is itself a Greek-based solution to reconciling the the pagan myth of the dying god with the Hebrew belief that God is one eternal spirit.
These two contradictory notions are synthesized into a logical construct and packaged in the Christian religion:
Thesis: God the Father
Antithesis: God the Son
Synthesis: the Holy Spirit
Maybe I’m too simplistic, but I don’t see a need for reconciliation. God is. Yeshua is. Even as the sacrifice, even in dying He didn’t stay dead… so He’s still eternal.
Or maybe that’s because I’ve grown up in a Christian mindset where they’ve all been blended together.
The earliest Christ followers still did things in a Jewish way, as part of the Jewish faith. I guess I wanted to know how the Jewish faith worshiped. Obviously there were the sacrifices, which we don’t do today. But what was worship then? Or how do I go about researching for this information? The “web” seems like such an inconsistent place. And when I read Leviticus, it seems like it’s primarily about the sacrificial system. Or maybe I’m missing it.
I agree, Christianity (as we currently understand it) is a Greek-based synthesis. But I am interested in the biblical text, not necessarily the Hellenized alteration that we call Christianity. It is the biblical text that must inform our lives. And the biblical text is Eastern Semitic, not Western Hellenization.
“Maybe I’m too simplistic, but I don’t see a need for reconciliation. God is. Yeshua is.”
Hi Amanda,
I agree, my point is that there is a logical need for reconcilation in the Christian view.
If there is one God and you have two characters (Yahweh and Yeshua) who are different (father and son no less), one or the other has to be God or else you have two Gods, logically speaking.
For me there is no contradiction or need for reconciliation because in my view there is one God and there is Jesus the Messiah. Jesus died on the cross, but God/Spirit is eternal.
On the web, I think Wiki has good information.
I would recommend The Jerusalem Bible 1966 edition, which is out of print but available online.
I would recommend reading the Bible from end to end and for a basic understanding listen to Rabbi Bob Gorelik’s tapes; his work complements Skip’s, but it is more basic appreciation rather than advanced linguistic analysis.
Let’s not forget that the Hebraic view contains an important logical category called mystery. This category is rejected by the Greek epistemology since it defies rational (from the human perspective) elaboration. Nearly all mystics and many of the prophets experience this category but only the courageously foolish attempt to “explain” it logically. Yet the Scriptures clearly employ mystery as an integral part of the story of God and His people (e.g. God is the author of both good and evil – Isaiah). Furthermore, since Hebrew is phenomenological rather than analytic, we often have descriptions that seem irreconcilable because the language communicates them as they appear. Thus, Father and Son are nouns that describe the way things appear to us, but are not categories that allow us to draw the conclusion that they are two separate beings (in the Greek sense of the term “being”). The preoccupation with logical reconciliation stems from a prior commitment to the Greek epistemology and metaphysics, a commitment that the Semitic mind did not embrace. Reading the Jerusalem Bible (which I have) might help but its translation foundation is Greek, not Hebraic.
We have the same problem with our contemporary definition of inspiration. The Hebrew phrase is “the Word of the Lord became in Hosea” but we translated “came to Hosea” because we have no way of logically articulating the idea of a message “becoming” in a man. The Semitic viewpoint is that the Word was manifest in Hosea – that’s what it “looks like” – but how that happens is a mystery.
Amanda, you wrote:
You’re right, Leviticus is primarily about the sacrificial system (or, more generally, the instructions for living). There are 13 different sacrifices described, each of which teach us of Messiah Yeshua and also connect with the 13 attributes of the mercy of God listed in Exodus 34:6-7.
BTW, when Paul says in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present yourselves as a living sacrifice, Holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship…”, he is referring back to Exodus 34 and the sacrificial system as detailed in Leviticus.
Of course since there is no altar and no temple the sacrificial system cannot be in operation, however they can still teach us about Messiah and His work of redemption and restoration.
Tell me more of the cross of the Christ. What about this (His) cross? What was it’s purpose? What was it’s meaning? Why did we crucify Christ? Why did G-d hang on a tree?
Or let’s just stay in the “Old” Covenant then. Was there a blood sacrifice offered one a year in the holy of holies? Tell me more about the ashes of the red heifer. What was the “meaning”/”pupose” of this?
Tell me about the “covering of animal skin” G-d made for the guilty pair in the garden. Why did He do that? Tell me please- why do I need a Savior?
Or what about this “concept” of sin? Does “sin” still exist in this “informed”/”modern” world today? Sounds like such an old fashioned- out-dated word to me. What do I know about sin? For that matter- what do I know about the Bible and it’s claims to be the word of the LORD? Is it just a collection of random colorful stories?
And (again) what about this cross story/event? Did G-d really have to die or is this just some made up story by a bunch of idealogues with nothing better to do on a rainy day?
How many times must a place my hand on a hot stove before I realize the burner/element is on? (Am I smarter than a fifth grader?) I wonder.
“These things have I written to you that believe on the name of the Son of G-d; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of G-d.” (1 John 5.13)
Is it possible to “know” (yes, experientially sir) NOT (merely) a collection of “Biblical” facts. Yeah- right- don’t confuse me with the facts. (brother John..) Where have I been all my life..- I wonder.
“All we like sheep (with a brain the size and quality of a walnut) – have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way. And the LORD has laid on Him (Who?) the iniquity of us all. Hello? – Can you hear me now? Anybody home? -The lights are on, but nobodies home..
“Therefore, if anyone is in the Messiah, he is a new creation. Old things have disappeared, and-look!-all things have become new! ” (2 Corinthians 5:17) How do we “know” this to be true? -You know what I’m sayin’? -Is it okay for me to remove my hand from the hot burner on the stove now?
Get covered up with enough scars- you’ll have some “yada” knowledge. Just how many scars is it gonna take before we recognize and realize the burner is hot? -I wonder.
Can G-d be trusted? Has He ever (once) lied? Yes, to the first. No, to the second.
And what about the cross of the Christ? Was it the Messiah who we crucified? Was it G-d who died in my place? Was He resurrected on the third day? Does He, who once was dead and buried,- now live? Is it possible to “know” this?
“and this is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, (because I know Him in whom I have put my trust), and I am persuaded that He can keep safe until that Day what He has entrusted to me.” (2 Timothy 1.12) “Of David. A maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” (Psalm 32.1) Is it possible to “know” this?
“Therefore, there is no longer any condemnation awaiting those who are in union with the Messiah Yeshua.” (Romans 8.1) Oh?..- really? -Did G-d say that? (sound familiar?) “It is written”. (sound familiar?)
(from Steve Green- “Oh, I Want To Know You More”)
Just the time I feel
that I’ve been caught
in the mire of self.
Just the time I feel
my mind’s been bought
by worldly wealth.
That’s when the breeze begins
to blow, I know
the Spirit’s Call.
And all my worldly wanderings
just melt into His Love.
Oh, I want to know You more!
Deep within my soul I want to know You,
Oh, I want to know You.
To feel Your Heart and know Your Mind,
looking in Your eyes stirs up within me,
cries that says I want to know You
Oh, I want to know You more.
Oh, I want to know You more.
When my daily deeds
ordinarily lose life and song,
my heart begins to bleed,
-sensitivity to Him is gone.
I’ve run the race but set my own pace
and face a shattered soul,
Now the Gentle Arms of Jesus
warm my hunger to be whole.
And Oh, I want to know You more!
Deep within my soul I want to know You,
Oh, I want to know You.
And I would give my final breath
to know You in Your Death and Resurrection,
Oh, I want to know You more.
Oh, I want to know You more.
Oh, I want to know You more…
The Lord requires complete submission to Him and Him alone. As a “deer panting for the water”, I posed the question to our congregation…have you come to worship the King or for some other reason? What is the motive of your heart? Have you come prepared to worship or are you burdened with the cares of this present world? Have you been with Him this morning, yesterday and last Monday? Or do you wait until you enter the building to go through the motions until your emotions get charged up by the music or someone else’s enthusiastic expression of heartfelt gratitude? I know this may sound harsh and rather confrontational. I “cut my teeth” in pentecostalism and emotive expression appears to be the norm here. Along with the lack of concern for how the Scriptures expound on the royal law of love given by the King, worship has become a contrived “appointed time” to go through a series of ordered activities of culturally approved and accepted practice. As Yeshua addressed the nature of true worship in John 4, the truth becomes clear…worship takes place in the heart…in and through the Spirit. The woman was bragging on the legacy of Jacob being the giver and constructor of the well. She was so focused on the physical landmark as an institutional shrine from one of her “early church fathers”. Tradition dictated the form of worship and Jesus told her she did not even know what she was worshipping. What He offered her transcended the well containing water unable to quench the thirst within her soul, the thirst she could not quench through the worship on the mountain or her serial marriages. He offered her what she was parched and dying for…LIVING WATER! She was able to enter true worship when she saw Him through the eyes of her heart opened to His love.
Look at our Lord…watch how He submitted and yielded all the power and glory to the Father. He had (has) all power and authority, yet conceded His will to the plan and eternal purpose of God. His spirit was in the constant position of bowing in honor of His Father. The Word describes Him as meek and lowly, noting His demeanor of Spirit. Many examples of worship are in the context of relationship with one another with respect for how Father asks us to treat our brother and our neighbor. Come to think about it…the term obeisance and obedience are very much related to the submission to a higher authority. What a beautiful Word we have been given to help us live for Him.
I like the question you asked your congregation! “Going to church” has become a cultural thing, for sure. I always liked the saying “Going to church makes you a Christian about as much as going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger.” 🙂 I think you make a good point that worship takes place in the heart – therefore it’s the heart’s focus that matters. Does my heart yearn and ache to praise and thank my Lord? Or do I “go to church” because it’s something I’m supposed to do?
As a fresh convert many years ago, I was educated in the “traditions” of men by well intentioned people who taught me what they knew. Its like a story I heard recently about traditions:
A little girl was watching her mother make bread. Mother rolled and kneaded the dough repeatedly. Once she had rolled and kneaded it enough, and it was ready to go into the oven, the little girl saw her mother cut either side of the dough off before placing it in the pan. Little girl asked: “Mother why did you cut the sides off the dough before putting it in the pan?” Mother replied: “I do it like that because your grandma did it that way.”
Little girl went to grandma and asked: “Grandma, Mother cut off the sides of the bread dough before putting it in the pan. I asked her why she did that and she said she saw you do it. Why cut the sides off Grandma?” Grandma replied: “Your great-Grandma did it like that.”
Little girl went to her Great-Grandma and asked her why her mother and grandmother cut the sides off the dough before baking it. Great-Grandma thought for awhile and laughed loudly and said; “That was so long ago, I don’t remember why I did it like that.”
I am so thankful, the Lord saw fit to open my eyes to see some of the ways I was taught do not line up with the Scriptures. Still learning and being challenged by much of what I am seeing and do not see contained in the Word. Believers are learners, taught by Yeshua the Word through the Spirit. Unlike others who are defined in the Scriptures as “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3:7
What an exciting life we have in Christ! God Blesses His People.
“Let’s not forget that the Hebraic view contains an important logical category called mystery.”
Hi Skip,
I definitely agree with your comments on the importance of mystery.
And would just like to say that I recommended The Jerusalem Bible because the translation in English is very beautiful and fun to read.
Although it is a Catholic translation, The Jerusalem Bible was used in the Humanities Department at UCSD, where the Professors of philosophy, literature, and history were mostly Jews.
So I don’t mean to advocate a particular ideological perspective.
But I do find the English translations in the online Blue Letter Bible to be rather dull and at times poorly written.
Got it. The original is always the best, right?