A Small Addition
For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. I Corinthians 1:21
Message Preached – The Greek text in this verse does not contain the word “message.” It simply reads “through the foolishness of preaching.” Why do you suppose that the NASB changes this from an action to a thing? What’s the difference between the foolishness of preaching and the foolishness of the message preached? Could it be that Paul’s Greek emphasizes the dynamic of life in action whereas the translators have converted the meaning to a set of propositions? The Greek word is kerugma. It is a noun so there is justification for adding the English word “message.” It does mean message or proclamation. But there is an ambiguity inherent in this word. It can mean both the message (the content) and the action of proclaiming (the act). Which meaning is in view is often very difficult to determine. What is clear in this translation is that the English pushes us toward content only. Why do you think this translation ignores the alternative?
This Greek term is connected with the Hebrew qol. But the Hebrew is not principally about a message. It is about a voice or a sound. It’s used for all kinds of sounds, from God’s voice to the noise of chariots. Etymologically, this word is derived from a root meaning “to call aloud.” As you can see, it is not about the message. It is about the action.
This causes us to pause and reflect. How much of our understanding or contemporary evangelicalism is based on certain propositions? How much do we rely on the message, the content, rather than the action? If Paul is thinking like a Hebrew, is he suggesting that the foolishness God uses is what we do, not just what we say? Is God’s wisdom located in the counter-cultural living of those who follow Him? Would it make any difference to the world if our message was not accompanied by our way of living?
This separation between thought and deed comes to us through the Greek separation of mental and physical. But that dichotomy does not exist in Hebrew. What I say is what I do or else I am a liar. God is what He says. I must be the same. To proclaim the content of a message but fail to act upon it is to lie to the audience. No wonder congregations collapse when the preacher’s life is exposed as a fraud. We expect content and action to flow together. Paul would have expected the same thing. There is no message without intertwined action.
It is indeed unfortunate, perhaps tragic, that translations like this one draw lines of distinction between what we say and what we do. The world is filled to the brim with those who proclaim the message of the Christ, but who don’t live in alignment with the God of Israel, the very God the message endorses. What kind of impact does that have on the pagan world? They look. They see. They see hypocrisy. They see adherents claiming a place in heaven whose lives are filled with tidbits from hell. They see religion without relationship – not just with God but with each other. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s way past time to stop preaching a message. It’s time to live according to God’s instructions and to shut up until we do.
Topical Index: message, preaching, kerugma, qol, 1 Corinthians 1:21
“But that dichotomy does not exist in Hebrew. What I say is what I do or else I am a liar. God is what He says. I must be the same.”
Makes me think of the movie Heat (1995), which I tend to watch every three months for inspiration.
My favorite line is spoken by Al Pacino, who plays Lt. Vincent Hanna: “I say what I mean and I do what I say.”
My other favorite line is spoken by Robert De Niro, who plays his adversary Neil McCauley: “That’s the discipline.”
I understand what you are saying, but it is irrelevant in one sense if there are those who say one thing and do another, in respect to the translation. I agree that I must do, (It would be absurd not to), but what exactly am I to do, if not THE message or some message. One is unable to do without having something to do.
You are going to have to have a content, as all action does, even a chaotic one.
It is interesting that my company’s slogan or motto was essentially the movie line quoted by Michael, but had been since 1969.
This will be difficult to put in writing, but let’s try: One of the greatest problems I ever had to solve as a Pastor was how to stop the congregation from inventing things to do for God. Every time I turned around they were suggesting new outreach programmes, devising evangelistic campaigns, launching new clubs or societies. And their excuse was: “We have to be doing…” or “The Bible tells us we should be doing…” And the truth is they were on a guilt-trip caused by feeling that they weren’t doing enough to save the lost – but, somehow, the ‘lost’ in Christian circles has moved away from the biblical definition. They sincerely tried to face each event in their day with reference to WWJD?
Of course, life is not about ‘doing nothing’… but the things we should be doing – if we are in relationship with God – are the things that Scripture tells us God IS doing, not what He might do if a situation arises. When God proposed to the Jewish people, they replied: “All you say to us, we will do.” And that was the end of “doing”! They promised ‘to do’ because they weren’t yet married to God; they were innocent tzaddiks who wanted to commit. But, once you are married, you get on with ‘being married’ – ‘being’ the best spouse. You don’t ‘do marriage’… you’re either married or your not.
What about Torah? Well, Torah is part of the dowry given by God for His bride – it isn’t the contract. If it is seen as anything other than a gift – maybe a contract or list of “do’s and don’ts” – we’ve taken on the yoke of legalism that we are supposed to keep well away from! Torah is not about what you “do”, it is about what you are; it’s about your state of “being”. As someone once said, “It’s not where you’re at, it’s where you belong.” Honestly, the only thing we should be DOING is repenting. We listened to Rabbi Ben-Tzion Krasnianski tonight and he reminded us that even when we are at our highest point spiritually, we still need to repent for not fully recognising God for Who He is and giving Him due respect.
Everyone has the instructions for what God actually expects of them encoded into their DNA. When you connect with God, through His commandments (commandment = mitzvot = connection) you are being what God created you to be. The only thing that God really wants you to do is to keep your yetzer hara in check! Oh, and we need to pray, pray and pray again – even those prayers where we moan about the fact that it is difficult to “just be”. Thank God each day for being given life again, then go out and live!
Every day the Jew wakes and prays: “I gratefully thank You, O Living and Eternal King, for You have returned my soul within me with compassion – abundant is Your faithfulness! My God, the soul You have placed within me is pure. You created it; You fashioned it. You breathed it into me; You safeguard it within me, and eventually You will take it from me, and restore it to me in Time to Come. As long as the soul is within me, I gratefully thank You, LORD, my God and the God of my forefathers, Master of all works, Lord of all souls. Blessed are You, LORD, who restores souls to all.” And they go into the world – not to “try to be the people they think God wants them to be” (that’s doing!) they just go and ‘be’. I hope some of this means something.
I think this teaching sums up the statement “actions speaker louder than words”. It reminds me of what St. Francis of Assisi said. “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words”. It is so easy to proclaim something but to live it is another thing. The world we live in says we are Christian but the actions are telling something totally different. Let’s speak up with our lives.
“It reminds me of what St. Francis of Assisi said. “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words”.
Hey Steve,
I’ve always liked St Francis for some reason, even thought I wanted to be a Franciscan monk back in the 7th grade
From Wiki, I found the following content regarding St Francis:
Saint Francis of Assisi (Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone; 1181/1182 – October 3, 1226)[2] was a Catholic deacon and preacher. He also was the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans
“Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone; 1181” is an interesting group of words to me.
I’m sitting here in my condo at 1118 Abbott Ave, but I was born and raised in San Bernardino at 6774 Glasgow.
Giovanna (Vanna) Genesio is one of my dearest friends, and her son Giancarlo is my God Son.
I named him about 30 years ago after, Giancarlo Giannini, the actor who played Bond’s nemesis in 007 Casino Royale, in Man on Fire (2004), and in my favorite movie, Swept Away (1974).
But the most uncanny thing for me is that, until last night, the only person I ever told that I watched Heat every three months for inspiration was a guy named Steve.
When I worked with Steve, I worked on Layer 4 – 7 switches.
**This causes us to pause and reflect.** Yes- it does. It is a “action” known in some worlds as “thinking.” It involves the brain. Both halves. Some refer to this as a brain. Grey matter that fills up the void in the head. Packing material G-d uses so we don’t rattle while we run around. Think-ing is an activity. It qualifies for an “action.” Sometimes it hurts to think. So we don’t.
So, do what I say. Don’t think about it. Just do it. No thought involved, no “selah” here. Be a Christian and leave your brain at the door. I believe (oops.. sorry, that involved a mental process.. I didn’t mean too- it just slipped out. Hebrew only- do,do,do,do,do- Reminds me (another mental process) of the march of the ants. (do they have tiny ant brains?).
Here is a message- (BTW- who said this?) and who was the recipient of this? “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (I Corinthians 2.2). A rather foolish message. Christ on the cross. “Determined?” (does that involve the will?) “to know”- does this involve the brain? and then there’s something about a cross. A bloody, horrific, torturous death of a common criminal. Who is this Jesus anyway? Who knows?- Who cares? (the “message” of today- ignorance and apathy- running rampant among us.
And then there is this “news” of Him being risen from the dead. “Jesus is LORD”, they say. Well, maybe the man was right after all- it all depends on what “is” is.
**this separation between thought and deed**?? What planet did this come from? The Bible I read says “the (very) thought of foolishness is sin”. “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”. Is G-d concerned with my thinking? And what of the word “repent?” Doesn’t this involve some sort of mental process? “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. -“futile thinking?” Psalm 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. Is God in all of my thoughts?- (gives me something to think about..)
Back to the Book and back to the message:- the cross of Christ. It is both central and crucial. Rabbi Sha’ul knew it. He went everywhere “proclaiming” it. (and at great cost to himself- he was “thought” a fool. But what we also “see” in this verse are two kinds of wisdom. The wisdom of this world and the wisdom of G-d. They do not parallel each other. They are polar opposites. Selah.
l think we must be a little bit smart, first l don’t have the pleasure to know all, but we still discusing things that hapenned almost 2000 years ago,l appreciate skip points of view, he’s trying to lead o teach us to the I century thinking, because the ‘fathers’ of our ‘church’ were pagans!not even close our Elohim people with helenestic way of think and act and there were centuries of this way of thinking til luther, who was part of this system too and the proof of this is that he published a booklet the jews and their lies in 1543 ,3 years before he died what l’m trying to say is that our view is based in the same root of the fathers of the church, as l see these fathers didn’t put much attention to de O.T. because they were focused on their theology of churchianity(church+cristianity) this doesn’t mean they didn’t make some changes too in the O.T and created antisemitism, and with antisemitism they avoided a lot of work to make the changes in the O.T. to fix with the theology of churchianity and in this way our eyes and mind are focus in the N.T and that’s why we still trying to explain or figure out what rabi shaul,kefa or others are saying in the N.T.
Thanks Skip
Just to say- I am not by any means “Greek” centric. Neither am I “Hebrew” centric, because my dear friends, (he says, breaking out little worn-out hammer)- “it’s not either/or it’s both.” Salvation (deliverance) is to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. My friends- G-d so loved the world. And it’s a mighty big world out there. I also am simple enuf to believe- when our Bible (for it is our Bible) says, “for all have sinned”, it means “all”. A very little, “big” word.
Christ is the key. You know the drill. -If any man be “in Christ.” “Whosoever will” may come. I am not small enough to believe, if someone does not worship YHWH as I do- they are so wrong. Yeshua Himself said, “other sheep have I which are not of this fold.” And I also am painfully aware, our G-d (I said our G-d) is a G-d of unity. There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: (Proverbs 6.16) and among the six is “he that soweth discord (and division) among the brethren.”
I know who it is that “soweth discord among the brethren” and you do too. Our message and mission is one of reconciliation and restoration of relationship. -With G-d and with each other. We need to remain focused on the task G-d has given to each of us. We (all) drink of the same cup. We (all) are partakers of the heavenly Bread of Life. “Life Together” is such a lovely thing. -Luther is not my hero, Yeshua is. Now I will learn from Luther. If I pay close enough attention, I can learn from every man. Sometimes I learn what to do- sometimes I learn what not to do- but, of course, the main thing is- Am I teachable? (- sounds like “live and learn”, doesn’t it?
Just a few words (as most of my students know, that means a long aside). I really don’t think it is “both.” In my studies, I see the influence of Greek philosophy and the Hellenism that emerged in the 2nd sand 3rd centuries as incompatible with the biblical God. That does not mean that the men who followed these Greek idea were not serious believers. I would not call them pagans in the sense that they deliberately worshipped a false god or that they deliberately turned from the true god. They did what they believed was right – but that does not mean what they believed was true. They moved away from the Hebrew culture, away from Hebraic thinking and the Tanakh in order to establish Christianity as a separate religion from Judaism. I believe they were grossly mistaken and that the subsequent philosophy and theology they developed cannot be reconciled with the biblical text. But this does not imply they were against God. They attempted to worship the true God but in ignorance. Only God knows if this resulted from deliberate rejection of His words or if it came about because of the powerful attraction of Greek rationality. Either way, the result misdirected the Church and pushed all of us toward an incipient anti-Semitism (which most Christians do not even recognize). It certainly created a theology of a God who is not recognizable as the biblical God.
So, I am unable to attempt to bridge this gap by pleading for tolerance and unity. Unity does not exist without truth. Tolerance is of no purpose if it stands opposed to God’s word. This is the point where we say, “What does the text tell us?” and those who cannot reconcile their positions with the text must be told so. What they do as a result is another matter, but there is no point in trying to sign Cum By Yah with them.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s way past time to stop preaching a message. It’s time to live according to God’s instructions and to shut up until we do.”
Very powerful statement.
Thank you, Skip.
Apologies for all of you if my comment causes divisions, or maybe hurts someone’s feelings that’s maybe because my mind works faster than my mouth or hands (my mistake)and my english is not fluently as l want is not my native language,and thanks skip for the last part of your comment and Melinda wise and beautiful words
Antonio
no feelings hurt here Antonio, my brother- we are on a quest for Truth! Send out thy light, send out thy truth. Our comments might seem a little “salty” at times, but as the Word says- “iron sharpens iron”. (it’s a good thing we have a little Holy Spirit “oil” on the sharpening stone!)
I’m a long way from leaving this place- this is where the “meat” is! I also am after Biblical truth. My opinion really doesn’t matter a hill of beans. It’s not what I say, but what He says through His word.
Does that make me a Biblicist? (I don’t even know what that means!) Let me pause a minute and look it up. Nope- don’t qualify. Oh, well. I’ll tell you who I am then. I am someone who believes the Bible to be much more than a book. I also am someone who believes G-d says what He means and means what He says. G-d don’t play. (at least not the way we do). YHWH shoots straight from the hip and aims at the heart.
I have found (mostly through this G-d sent website), our Bible is a gold mine, when we learn to dig with a Hebrew shovel. So many “hidden, Hebrew blessings in this book, – it will take several lifetimes to discover them all. I believe the Living Word is the fulfillment of the written Word. Our entire Bible (the all of it) has a central theme- that being- “behold, the Lamb of G-d”. I believe Jesus is the Christ the Son of the (now) living G-d and I believe He is G-d, the (now) living Son. I believe Jesus to be the G-d/man. In Him is the union of the human and the Divine. He is the second Adam, the Son of Man. (the only perfect man who ever lived!). I could fill up pages with his titles and credentials, but I will suffice to say we (all) serve a living Savior.
I believe no man has a handle on YHWH. I believe no man ever will. He is too big for our finite minds. It would be like an ant trying to plumb the depths of the universe. We know nothing until YHWH reveals it unto us.
I believe in the covenants. There are multiple covenants, culminating in the blood covenant. This is the New Testament (or covenant) in His blood. I believe Skip could use a bit more of the color red in his research. If you wish to “camp out” in the Hebrew world of the Old Testament, I have no problem with this at all. I would love to do this. Let’s talk about “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin”, lets’ talk about the mercy seat, Yom Kippor- the Day of Atonement. Let’s talk about the acceptable sacrifice of Abel and the shunned sacrifice of Cain. Let’s talk about the Gospel according to the Old Testament. Not a problem.
What was shadow in the Old has become sunlight in the New. What was concealed in the Old, has been revealed in the New. But my friends- yesterday and tomorrow are both included the day called today, and G-d is here is the “right now.” He is Emmanuel (a Hebrew name!)- G-d with us, today- right here.
This I know- G-d is love. How do I know this? “It is written.” Shall we make a list?- it’s going to be a long one if we do.
We need to know G-d’s words, and Skip you are the one to do it. I know you have heard His words: “feed my sheep”.
What’s in it for me? (how Greek!- lol!)- I want all of us to say- “thus saith the LORD” – to have no doubt, the leather-bound book of mystery we possess is the Lamb’s book of life. To live life without fear (366 times “it is written”- “fear not”). Yes, we need to know G-d’s book. “All” of it. -“Every word of G-d is pure”-from Genesis to maps. Our past, present and future – all revealed in the pages of a book we seldom if ever read. “These two have married and no man shall part, dust on the Bible and drought on the the heart.”
Now what of the Jew? (I am Goyim, just to be clear, but like the red-headed step child, I am adopted into the family.). Perhaps the O.T. professor I mentioned a few days ago was right- Hebrew will be the language we speak in Heaven. I do not belive in replacement theology. G-d is far from through with the Jew. There are multitudes of things- yet to be concerning YHWH’s chosen ones- the Jew. (Yes, I believe the Jew to be the chosen ones of YHWH). Israel has been, is, and will be the apple of His eye and Jerusalem is the navel of the earth. When we read in our bibles, “brethren, my hearts desire for Israel is that they might be delivered”, -it is the voice of El speaking through Sha’ul.
As it is written, “Look! I am placing a stone in Zion over which people will stumble- a large rock that will make them fall- and the one who believes in him will never be ashamed.” And the stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. (Matthew 23.37)
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. (Zechariah 12.10). Look on who?- the ONE they have pierced. -Who might that be? But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53.6) Who is being described here? -Who is this man? What is His name?
Hi Brother Carl – Can I ask a question? You quite often post the verse (or part verse) “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin”. Now, this verse does have a very powerful meaning – but I know that it is often used out of context… some folk link it to Leviticus Ch17 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.” I wondered how you were using it when you use it in your comments? No hurry – I probably won’t visit the site until after Shabbat. Blessings!
Skip: this is not about today’s word,lt’s about what you wrote in would not call them pagan, this began about 135 of our age (this calendar is solar, for me pagan because is not made for the holy one) with rabi gamaliel II who added to the amidah the 19th pray this is a curse for the Yeshua followers, this was took for montano a cibeles priest, (to be a cibeles priest include castration) then he became let’s say christian and founded a sect named montano’s in nearly 190’s appears tertulian a wealthy roman lawyer and philosopher that became christian too and he was the montano’s sect disciple, he’s the father of the holy trinity,it passed several years, in 300 age appears emperor constantine a sumus pontificius of mithra( workship the sun, babylon religion,started with nimrood and his wife) in his biography it said that he was workshipping the sun the day before he died and in his deathbed he became christian, not comfirmed , this pagan emperor make a law that said , the emperor is the only one who can rule any kind of religion cult, it was born the catholic(means universal)church and was comfirmed at the nicea’s concilium and goes to the year 382 when emperor damasus made the comission to agustin to write the vulgata where was inlcude, to be a christian you must confess the holy trinity and also l found in the catholic’s church catechism numbers 2168 through 2195 where they tried so hard to explain why the broke the 3er commandment and they wrote we must have the reunion in the day of the sun,(number 2174) they don`t write domingo like in spanish( because in english it makes sense sunday=the day of the sun ) , as l say before our calendar is a reminder of pagans gods and with these shorts histories facts let me call these people pagans please.
Antonio
Thanks Carl, l think most us that being here are thinking the same way we’re seeking the truth maybe we don`t use the same words( it seems that depends on our background) and believe we’re guiding by the ruaj hakodesh (holy spirit) of YHWH because around the world there’s thousands of people thinking like we do, and we’re doing like Yeshua and his talmidin did, we’re talking about scriptures if we have some meals like they had we’re completely like them,l’m also a goyim this is just a word and l know for sure that l’m not word in front of YHWH for Yeshua cause
Antonio
gladly- “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1.19)
Heb 9:2-5 “For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle, which is, called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.”
Rom 3:23-26 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
The Greek word for Mercy Seat is ‘hilasterion’. It is used here in Romans 3:25 where Paul says (literally) that God presented Christ as a propitiation or ‘mercy seat’. This means that Jesus Christ is the mercy seat.
The Mercy Seat did not derive its worth from the purity of its gold but from the fact that it was the place where the blood of sacrifice was sprinkled in the presence of Yahweh.
The word for “mercy seat” is the same root for the word “atonement”. It means to cover, cancel, appease, or cleanse.
The Greek equivalent is the word “propitiation”.
And as you have previously mentioned: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
(Isaiah 53:7) “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.”
The next day John sees Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. (John 1.29)
And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered–to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” (Revelation 5:12). I will be there among them! (-so looking forward to that glad day!)
Yes, brother Ian- the Bible is our “Him-book.”
This from Rabbi Sha’ul: “Sha’ul, a slave of the Messiah Yeshua, an emissary because I was called and set apart for the Good News of God.” (Romans 12.1) So what is this “gospel?” Again Rabbi Sha’ul speaks: (1 Corinthians 2.2) “for I had decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Yeshua the Messiah, and even him only as someone who had been executed on a stake (the Tzlav) as a criminal.”.
And isn’t this rather strange?- “No one is taking it from me; I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This is what my Father has commanded me.” (John 10.18) “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth. (Isaiah 53.7)
In Matthew 16:16- Shim`on Kefa answered, “You are the Mashiach, the Son of the living G-d.” 17 “Shim`on Bar-Yochanan,” Yeshua said to him, “how blessed you are!”
If Yeshua was pleased with Peter,- should not our confession be the same?
Hi Carl – OK, I’m back in circulation! Thank you for doing that – I note that you make overwhelming use of the New Testament in your answer. When Tara and I first set out in our quest to determine if the claims about Yeshua were true, we automatically made the NT the yard-stick, too. The problem is that, over-time, the ‘translation of the NT’ (that’s my ‘benefit of the doubt’ statement) has come to fully intimate the belief that all mankind is tainted by ‘original sin’ – and that that sin needs to be ‘paid for’. This is not the Hebrew understanding. [And, indeed, if the sin in the garden did need to be atoned for, Orthodox Judaism teaches that Abraham atoned for Adam’s and Havvah’s idolatry by singling God out from all the household gods and swearing allegiance to Him].
Now, the sacrifical system is truly a mystery – not least because (since the destruction of the Temple) the Hebrew sages have written little about it – however, what is taught is that it was humankind that initiated animal sacrifices not God… God regulated them. God does not need them or our admission of guilt to know whether we have not followed the instructions He gave. The sages say that sacrifice – preceeded by teshuvah (which is far more than we understand by our modern-day understanding of repentance) – is supposed to be ‘reflexive’. That is, we pull ourselves up and admit to ourselves (at the soul level) that we have missed the mark. We don’t have to admit it to God… He knows! The offering or sacrifice only has worth (and meaning) if we make it with kavanah.
The rabbis say that it is clear that the sacrifice of animals was not God’s preferred way because God repeatedly tells His people that He has “not desired” them… and by the countless times that people (single and whole nations) are forgiven their sin without any blood being shed.
So, I suppose my next question is: “Do you hold to the doctrine of ‘original sin’ – and, if you do, why?” [And, if possible, can you use the Tanakh – the Word that God’s people had to live by for a couple of thousands of year – to do that?] Believe me, I’m not trying to be awkward – and, incidentally, I do believe that Jesus/Yeshua could die as an atonement. So, I’m not asking you to defend your faith!
I have a question (and I promise I’m not asking to be rude. I’m truly curious because as I’m trying to understand the new things I’m learning and discovering the role of Torah and the “non-translated” God of the Torah I get confused about/by some of the things I was taught growing up). I get confused about the whole sacrifice thing because it seems to be part of worship… yet, it’s not really possible today (so another question would be, other than living life obedient to Him, what is worship?). My question is, what do you see the role of Yeshua as being? And if shedding of blood is not required, how does He fit into us (me, as a Gentile) being grafted into Israel and choosing to obey the Law that God has given?
Thanks! And I truly am not trying to be rude. I really am wonderinf, because this is still quite new and, as Alice says, “Curioser and curiouser” in some ways.
Hi Amanda
It’s a public holiday in the UK and Ian and I have been out most of the day. We saw your question this morning and had hoped to send you some kind of reply by now, but we haven’t got round to it yet. So, I thought I’d just say that if we don’t manage it tonight (I’m just preparing our meal), we’ll make sure that we do it tomorrow. Tara.
Hi Amanda – We’ve said before that there isn’t much detail about the spiritual meaning of the sacrificial system, but we are happy to give you “a taster” of what we have understood from listening to Jewish teachers and through our own study (again, we are not experts and may have misunderstood). If any of this is not clear please do ask and we’ll see if we can share anything else that might help.
The Gemara says, “Whoever toils in Torah needs neither sin offering, nor burnt offering, nor guilt offering nor mincha (a gift worthy of the One to whom it is given).”
When Scripture describes the giving of a mincha offering in Leviticus Ch2 v1 it says: “And if a person brings a meal offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour.” In Hebrew this verse begins “ve-nefesh ki yakriv” – literally “a soul when he offers”. The sages say that when this ‘korban’ (sacrifice or gift) of a meal-offering is mentioned in Scripture, the word for ‘soul’ (nefesh) is used for a special reason. In context, it is usually poor people who bring the voluntary meal-offering – it was not the best they could bring… it was the best they could afford – and the sages say that it is as if God is saying, “I reckon it to him as though he has sacrificed his soul.”
Rabbi Eisberg says that this is the essence of offering sacrifices of any description. It was Cain that brought the first korban. The Torah says that Cain brought an offering from the fruit of the soil (the implication is that it wasn’t ‘the best’ that he had, it was just whatever was to hand). Now, Cain could have done better, but he was the first one to have the idea of giving to God – he had no competition at that point. The rabbi says that other writings show that Cain figured that, as he had subdued the ground as he had been taught, that it would be OK to bring anything produced by that which had been subdued to say ‘thank you’.
We are told that Abel, on the other hand, brought a fat sheep. Abel’s gift was accepted (the sages say that it was consumed by fire), but Cain’s gift was not. Now it should be abundantly clear that God has as many sheep as he needs; he doesn’t need our sheep. So why was Abel’s gift accepted? Because Abel brought the best that he had to show his love for God. God doesn’t need a nice thing – he needs you.
Cain didn’t bring a worthless gift – but he didn’t take the time to look out the best gift that he could find to show how much God meant to him. He didn’t focus on who God was, but only on what God could do. He was grateful, but he didn’t feel the need to draw closer.
There is a Hebrew word transliterated ‘Khaser’ which means ‘needy, lacking, in want of, failing, make lower’. It is actually possible to have plenty and still be ‘poor’ – and there is a positive and negative aspect to this… we can be ‘wanting’ or ‘poor’ because we have failed to ‘hit the target’, or we could be hungry for more and ‘khaser’ could apply in that situation, too. Either way, ‘khaser’ indicates that we recognise that we do not have (within the limit of our own resources) that thing that will make us ‘rich’ – we will have to abandon our own way and turn back to the only true reality – God’s way.
A great Rebbe taught that as we are made in the image of God, that we have, like our Father, a compulsive desire to give. If we love God, we will want to give Him gifts – and, in honesty, it is not the gift that is the measure of our love, it is the giving and the manner in which we give that is the greater gift. Let’s not be naïve, even the pagans loved their gods. Man is created with the desire to give, and will come up with countless different variations on a theme to honour a god; it was this natural response that Adonai had to regulate once the Israelites were in the Land.
Mankind may have started making offerings as gifts intended to show love, devotion and gratitude, but what do you do when you start feeling guilty? Or fearful? You bring a bigger gift – something that you hope will appease or impress. Amongst the pagans, this led to more perverse and extreme practices. But, as this type of thing couldn’t happen within the structure of the Temple service, the gifts and offerings became little more than obligations. It became that (for many) the offerings were not made from a pure heart with a keen sense of purpose, nor were they given in love… and so God removed the Temple.
[By the way, don’t get the impression that a Jew was at the Temple every other day making an animal sacrifice for sin – they weren’t. Remember, it would be your intention to do your best to fulfil Torah – and it isn’t as hard as you might think. Additionally, Jews value life – even animal life – they would not have taken any pleasure in having to kill an animal because of something that they had done. It is the physical act of ending the animal’s life that God uses to bring the sinner to his senses.]
So does serving God mean sacrificing your life for God? Was the animal intended to take the place of the sinner? No. The animal was not a substitute in that sense; it was a very potent symbol of reality. The sages say that humans have two powerful forces (souls) at work within them – the nefesh which has a deep longing for material or physical pleasures, and the neshama which is ever drawn towards Godliness and sanctity. The difference in longing between these two souls (note: these are not the two yetzer) means that that aspect of us which desires to serve God, and submit to the reality that God’s reality is the One reality, is constantly at odds with that aspect which seeks to serve the needs of the body (guf). If serving the body/physical/earthly is allowed to become the precedent for any reasonable period of time, then a second reality is established.
In Genesis Ch1 v28, adam is told to ‘subdue’ the earth – that is to “harness its potential and use its resources for your benefit”… it’s the same with the neshama and the nefesh; the neshama is to harness the nefesh (utilising the uniting energies of the ruach – symbolically, the heart, or emotions) in order to move towards fulfilling the Godly potential breathed into us. In carrying out the animal sacrifices, mankind was reminded, not only what should be God’s judgement upon the transgressor, but the reason for our failing – that we had not subdued and ruled over the animal within us. The Jew did not look at the animal and think “That’s me”… he looked and thought “That should be me, and could be me… and I need to be as focused on subduing my animal soul as I have been in killing that animal.”
OK – so we saw the correct wording of Leviticus Ch2… now let’s go back a chapter; Ch1 v2: “When a man from [among] you brings a sacrifice to the Lord; from animals…” This verse starts, “Adam ki yakriv mikem…” which literally means: “When a person will bring an offering of you…” This reminded the Jew that they should be bringing their animal soul to be sacrificed (“of you”). But how can we live without the animal or physical passions and longings… we can’t (as I’ve said sometime before, we would die if we didn’t eat… that’s a physical desire). The answer is that the word that is translated ‘sacrifice’ (korban) comes from a root word ‘kiruv’ meaning “to draw close.”
The Scripture is saying that, through enacting the animal sacrifice, the Jews were identifying with the cause of their “lack” and making themselves into a korban – they were bringing the harnessed essence of the animal in themselves to God. Humankind has a choice – they can take control of their desires and longings and positively focus them in service to God. But, isn’t this, ultimately, also self-centred… no, because in living a meaningful, submitted life (nefesh) in line with Torah, we are in a place to help others move towards realising their potential.
So (briefly) how does that work out today? We have many things that (even without too much thought) we could easily identify as an “object of our desires” – it is these that we have to sacrifice. We do not sacrifice ourselves or the life that we are living in relationship with God – God abhors human sacrifice (both real and representative) – but we do have to sacrifice (with the right intention and focus) those things, dreams, talents, pleasures, etc. that we are in bondage to and which (putting it bluntly) we can (and sometimes, prefer to) take part in without much thought towards God and His purposes. Those things that create a reality where we do what we want.
The sages say, with reference to Leviticus Ch1, that the use of the word ‘adam’ for man is unusual – it is more common to use ‘ish’. A midrash says that this is supposed to make us think of the first man, Adam. The teaching is that you are not supposed to bring an offering of anything that doesn’t rightfully belong to you – Adam, of course, couldn’t have taken anything from anyone else, because he was the only ‘adam’. However, Hebrew could make this clear simply by adding the word ‘lachem’ (which means ‘to you’) – but this verse uses ‘mikem’ (meaning ‘of you’, ‘from you’, or ‘among you’). The sages say that, immediately after the creation, when the adam was alone – before he and havvah ate from the Tree of Knowledge – that adam was totally focused on the mission for which God had created him. The teaching is that a transgression of God’s will separates you – not from God – but from the neshama that is the source of Godly life. But, Torah teaches that, within every human, there is the pure spark of God that remains ever true to God, no matter how much it is over-powered by our animal desires.
It is by fanning this spark and bringing it to life – by fanning the flame and enlivening the neshama and restoring it to its rightful rule – that man achieves atonement. It is by returning to the true order, to the One reality, by bringing Light into the darkness and chaos of a Kingdom divided (we are the Kingdom) that we right past wrongs and draw closer to God.
When the adam within you makes an offering of the ‘choice beast’ from your flock (any strong desire or longing that draws you away from God), and if it is offered with kavanah to symbolise that you have conquered your animal soul, then God will accept your offering and draw you closer. And we move forward, seeking to turn all of our life into a korban.
We’ll stop there for this post!
Ian & Tara, I’m assuming you don’t recognize Paul as a true prophet? You apparently believe that sin is not fatal and that we each have a spark of divinity within us that just needs nurturing?
Wow! That’s an awesome answer! Thanks for taking so much time to answer my questions. I’ll probably have to read it several more times to totally absorb it all. So if the sacrificial system was to remind us that we should subdue the animal-like instinct/desires that lead us away from God and obedience to Him/Torah, was Yeshua’s death a final covering for the sins that the animal sacrifices at the Temple couldn’t do (ultimately our failure to be obedient and seek Him first) and to provide a way for us to be restored in our relationship with Him? That sounds so 20th century theology, though. Is it something more?
From Every Stormy Wind That Blows
Hugh Stowell, 1799–1865
1From ev’ry stormy wind that blows,
From ev’ry swelling tide of woes,
There is a calm, a sure retreat:
‘Tis found beneath the mercy seat.
There is a place where Jesus sheds
The oil of gladness on our heads;
A place than all besides more sweet;
It is the blood-bought mercy seat.
There is a scene where spirits blend,
Where Friend holds fellowship with friend;
Though sundered far, by faith they meet
around one common mercy seat.
There, there, on eagles’ wings we soar,
And time and sense seem all no more;
And heaven comes down, our souls to greet,
And glory crowns the mercy seat.
Oh, let my hand forget her skill,
My tongue be silent, cold, and still,
This bounding heart forget to beat,
If I forget the mercy seat!
Ah! Whither could we flee for aid,
When tempted, desolate, dismayed:
Or how the hosts of hell defeat,
Had suff’ring saints no mercy seat.
Ah! there on eagle wings we soar,
And sin and sense molest no more:
and heav’n comes down our souls to greet,
While glory crowns the mercy seat.