God’s Last Name
“Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10 NASB
My people – About a month ago we examined thirteen changes that radically affect interpreting the Bible. The first few involved names. “Jesus is not his name” was at the top of the list. Maybe it should have been second. Maybe the most important name change that alters how people read the Bible is this one: God. You see, for most people, the God of the Bible is God. He is not first and foremost the God of Israel. Israel has been removed from the modifier of God. Now He is just that singular divine being of all, no longer uniquely associated with a particular people. Abraham Heschel makes a very important point about this:
A Christian ought to ponder seriously the tremendous implications of a process begun in early Christian history. I mean the conscious or unconscious dejudaization of Christianity, affecting the Church’s way of thinking, its inner life as well as its relationship to the past and present reality of Israel—the father and mother of the very being of Christianity. The children did not arise to call the mother blessed; instead, they called the mother blind. Some theologians continue to act as if they did not know the meaning of “honor your father and mother”; others, anxious to prove the superiority of the church, speak as if they suffered from a spiritual Oedipus complex. A Christian ought to realize that a world without Israel will be a world without the God of Israel.[1]
And that is precisely the world we have today—a world without the God of Israel. Instead, we have the god of Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin and Luther. We have the institutional god of the late Holy Roman Empire. We have the god of evangelical recruitment, the god of the next world, the god of numbers, power and status. As Peter Leithart notes, Christianity today is simply institutionalized worldliness. But could we have expected anything else? We have not been rescued from Egypt because we, those of us who have adopted the religion of the West, never left. We elected to stay behind and absorb our pagan gods into the Christian brand.
Sometimes I am criticized for being so harsh about Christianity. I try to make a distinction between those who are Christian (who grew up in a world they never understood, and who are attempting to be devoted to the God they think they know) and Christianity as a religion. But few people get it. They look at all the good Christians have done (and they have done a lot) and conclude that the religion must be right. They forget the unspeakable history of the Church, or they just never bothered to look. You see, faith is not the same as religion. Faith is personal. Religion is public, professional and profitable. Maybe you’re like me. You grew up in a world where God didn’t have a last name, and then one day you realized His last name is “of Israel” and everything changed.
Topical Index: God, Israel, Christian, Christianity, Exodus 3:10
[1] Abraham Heschel, I Asked for Wonder, pp. 144-145.
incredibly important comments which provide very helpful context!!! well done. forceful yet truthful.
Is it time for the disciples of Jesus to ask him again “Will you now restore the kingdom to Israel”? I suspect that it is indeed time for the true Messiah of Israel to appear and inaugerate a righteous kingdom, ruling from Jerusalem! The US embassy is now there in town. I have great respect for the courage and leadership shown to achieve this. Eventually the envoys of the whole world will gather there to take direction! May it come speedily in our time!
I did grow up this way….. very VERY different gods. It’s super creepy, to me, that you speak LITERALLY what I talk about with those around me….. I JUST had a similar conversation with my mom (whom I adore!) about this exact idea. But then you come along and sling truth so very well. I have this book by Heschel. Perhaps I should open it….
Skip! You slay! I love it!! B”H for TW andfoe what you bring to my table…. such great questions to chew! Thank you!!!
Hi Lesli…Personally, I would have changed those adjectives from “super creepy” to something like, awesome, ironic or exciting etc. But, perhaps I’m just dating myself and it’s just a generational difference that I should get used to and flex with. ?
At any rate…how wonderful it is that you can have such a thought provoking conversation with your mom…and that she will listen. I applaud you…keep the conversations going. ?
Judi… I apologize! It’s true super creepy does connotate negative ideas, but it’s the word I chose at the moment…. I find it absolutely mind blowing how connected most humans are and am continually surprised (I don’t know why because… well… G-d) at how similar we really are and if we remain authentic, it shows more. Maybe I should start complementing people by saying “your authenticity is showing”…. ?
….a world without Israel will be a world without the God of Israel…. Really? Matthew 3:9 “I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham”.
But, had He done that, don’t you think those “new children” would also be positioned in the land of Israel? Weren’t the stones in Israel? He could have raised up “new children” but, my understanding is that God’s choice of land was always Israel. Guess we’ll never know for sure since it didn’t happen.
Iamsrael LoL
Literally true. But be careful. This can be (and is!) incorrectly being applied to the literal LAND of Israel today, but I am afraid that those who are calling for us to support political Israel are using that ignorance you so lament against us. Since when can a political agenda ‘use’ the Body of Christ for its own ends? I am concerned that if we let ourselves be used by the world, we run the risk of being cut out of the Body.
Because we didn’t know that physical Israel was supposed to be the vector of YHVH to the WORLD; that it was instituted to be the way the world returned to the Most High, we could not see that we cannot come to Him except through what He commissioned Israel to give to us, which is Torah. This caused us to “call the mother blind”, and abandon her by the roadside. First mistake. Because of that mistake, we have lost what Paul labored so hard to explain about Messiah being the Vine. Incidentally, I don’t think political Israel is actually getting life from that Vine; therefore, it is a mistake to think that they are getting somewhere. We were commissioned to get them reattached. We cannot do that if we are trying to follow them. That just means both end up in the same ditch, as Yeshua tried to warn us.
BUT, because of the first mistake, I think we also made it where we could not see the second mistake, which is that physical Israel itself was supposed to come along WITH US as we followed Christ, so, we abandoned her again. I think we abandon her every time we choose to argue with her over her blindness (yes, she IS “blind” to Messiah) instead of seeking ways to share Him. I also think we shut her out when we choose to argue with her over the ridiculous fight that I think Hellenism afforded both camps when it comes to WHAT God may or may not be. What if we chose instead to end the fights by identifying the original causes and repenting? If we have been given the task of carrying the blind mother, then shouldn’t we be making the first moves?
There may be no harder task for us or one that brings greater joy to the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob than to see his children finally arise, shake off their slumber and stupor and of one accord slay their sacred cows, however guilded and gold they may be.
Our seemingly inordinate affection with the physical land of Israel, political Zionism and Rabbinic Judiasm may well be the lowing noise in the background of our paradigm that keeps us in bondage. Maybe it is nigh time for us to honestly answer the question Samuel asked of Saul: “What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”
So this Creator who chose Israel, who did not begin an existence with Israel adopted “of Israel”’as a last name? This Is a strange argument with a premise I obviously don’t get.
The point is that what we know of this God, YHVH, is His revelation THROUGH Israel. Take away that connection and we are just guessing about Him.
Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse”. Take away the revelation through Israel, and YHWH’s power and divine nature are still all around you:)
p.s. Not trying to diminish the revelation through Israel, though..
But without them the Son of God makes little sense. The reason He went to such great pains with that tribe was so that when He did send His Son, people would recognize Him.
Also, what is sin: what is life: what is our relationship with YHWH, and exactly WHO He is: try those subjects with others who have no exposure to that revelation. You will find it hard.
Increasingly, all around us, no matter how many people say they go to church, the population is more and more pagan. In that culture, the power of God is almost completely obscured by false gods and we are ALL separated from nature; a very few tiny primitive tribes notwithstanding. Nature is a very good teacher, but hardly any of us go to that school any more, sadly. Miserable excuse, I know.
Evangelists of today need a message for the ‘new’ primitives: a way to introduce YHWH and to show His power and reveal His divine nature because I am afraid it has all been paved over, as Joni Mitchell sang in her song Big Yellow Taxi.
Ironically enough, the tribe that had all teachings in knowledge and wisdom didn’t recognize him (Yeshua)….Just like in Joni Mitchell’s song: “they took all the trees and put them in museums, – and they charge people dollar and half to see them”, God was “bottled up” and “sold” to the “members only” clubs (somehow that hasn’t changed), so I completely agree with you on the need for “back to basics / “new primitive” message.
XXX
However much we humans think otherwise I don’t think the God of Israel has (or needs) a Plan B “to show His power and reveal His divine nature”. He has shown it and He will show it yet again (recall the flood, Mt Sinai, the Babylonian captivity, the Resurrection, the diaspora, the holocaust). All of these events were Jewcentric, but for the world at large to observe and learn. However what is coming is for all humanity, both the believing and unbelieving, Jew and Christian, everyone will experience this God of Israel that we have tried for so long to ignore, explain or tame. In that day all will tremble and cry out for the rocks to fall on them. If you fail to learn by observing and hearing, then you will learn from experience, as C.S. Lewis reminds us: “Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn”. Throughout history the Jews learned, but then forgot and had to “rinse and repeat”. Christians, for the most part, have never learned through the brutality of experience, but will yet; and, I fear, it will be of such ferocity that we will want to forget it, but can’t. Maybe our study and prayers ought to be less of the “bless me Lord” variety and more on the practice of reverence and awe for this God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob…and Job.
maybe, if we ought to practice reverence and awe, it should be renamed to an obligatory confession under duress. Reverence and awe is something you cannot help but express because you are genuinely amazed by the person, experience or revelation:)
Yes. So many good points here with which I agree and with strong emotion! “The God of ISRAEL” name is very significantly distinct from “the God of the Bible” name as most think of it, though it is ridiculous that one should think of the latter as distinctly different from the former. And I too hate “the god of Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin and Luther”, and “the institutional god of the late Holy Roman Empire”, as well as “the god of evangelical recruitment, the god of the next world, the god of numbers, power and status”
However, just as it is important for people to not forget that God is “the God of ISRAEL”, it is just as important, if not more important, that HIS PEOPLE, “Israel”, not forget who is THEIR GOD! And they HAVE forgotten it so many times, even landing up in Egypt and after a couple hundred years of being in the bondage of slavery, and still not learning their lesson, within a very short time of their deliverance and within a mere 30 days of their covenant with Him as HIS PEOPLE and as a nation of priests, they forgot who is “the GOD of ISRAEL”. And they are STILL forgetting who is their God, in that they deny Yeshua as their Messiah, and to a great extent they have forgotten their God’s instructions, have lived according to their own traditions, and have taken up their own cause, along with many Christians and apparently the “global elite” – the cause of ZIONISM.
And then there is this claim, that “…..a world without Israel will be a world without the God of Israel”? Really??? So the God of Israel only exists because of Israel? I wonder who it is that He would have been the God of after the golden calf incident when He told Moses that He would wipe them all out and start over again with another people. And certainly more could be said about THAT Heschel (not the Messiah) statement!
Also, not only has Christianity removed Israel from the modifier of God, but Judaism has removed God from Israel as a modifier of Israel.
I’m all in favor of being critical about and opposing the false teaching of Christianity when it comes to the “deISRAELIZATION” (though NOT the “dejudaization”) of Christianity, but let’s take a full swipe with the sickle or at least if only using pruning scissors, we work to get all the weeds out of the garden.
It’s certainly time to have this robust discussion, I couldn’t agree more. I am tired of the polarized sides insisting that the other ‘accept’ them verbatim. Both are going to have to agree to meet in the middle, but that cannot happen unless and until both decide to do what it takes to do that, which is to really hear each other. Time to speak up!
Excellent suggestion Miss Laurita. How would we resolve this disagreement?
Should we maybe try to work with what we agree on or the similarities we find in the historic records not the differences.
You said something earlier that got me really thinking…. My paraphrasing is Israel is not the North African tribe but those that crossed over after wrestling with God and overcoming…
If I recall correct Job, is the very first record of this very discussion issue and how did that debate turn out???
God only defended and changed Job’ life not his friends… Should we maybe start here. Or should we start with Abraham moving through to Moses working towards Yeshua. Not the same rules but specific rules with differences but with common agreeing issues…
Good suggestions. You got me thinking about Job and his friends. Michael Stanley points out that when God Himself shows up, the debate is over. that is one option. But that does not include Israel OR apostate Christianity (in their salvation, anyway) because when we see Him, it is too late to choose: “every knee will bow” then, whether willingly or unwillingly.
Short of the Second Coming, however, I have noticed that, historically, the best way to solve arguments is to have a common enemy show up. Differences are quickly forgotten when your back is up against your brother (or mother). We would be able to quickly see the truth that unites us against that backdrop. (I know the evangelicals think that we share common POLITICAL enemies with physical Israel, but since when has that ever been able to solve spiritual differences? For example, to this day, I don’t see the evangelicals embracing the Sabbath – or the Jews embracing Yeshua, either – because of that supposed solidarity – a very big difference!). Nope. Political solidarity is not effective at cross pollination of the truth. I think it takes actual spiritual solidarity – a common spiritual enemy – to clarify spiritual truth.
The way the pagan world is progressing (in the ranks of both Jews and Christians alike, too) the real believers in both camps may shortly find themselves surrounded by the idolators and the practitioners of witchcraft and the makers of oppressive anti-Torah laws on all sides. I think the fight will be the first thing to disappear if or when we get to that point. It has happened before, of course. At the turn of the last century, there was a big push to legislate the Sunday Blue Laws at the national level. At that point, both Jews and Sabbath-keeping Christians united to fight them. The consequence was the formation of coalitions to protect religious liberty. What has happened before could happen again, as those same blue laws are creeping back upon us.
Isaiah 45 comes to mind. As do other callings to be the anointed or the Christ for others.
Does the new covenant not boil down to… “Ye are the anointed Sons and Daughters of the living God the everlasting priesthood…” Being inscribed by God himself.
No second coming but a manifestation in our lives, if we submit as so often reiterated on this forum, overcoming death that separates us from the divine relationship.
Any idea how we can do this, as walking humbly, praying and congregating does not change us. That which is revealed through this unity Christ in our midst is which saves…
Are we so unfaithful, for a lack of a better word, that we forget that united in applying His teachings… not worshipping and calling out his name is what will save…
Is it not this that world awaits to be saved?
Is it not this that we desire?
BUT
Resulting from our knowledge based, self righteous convictions we keep shutting the door and not opening it as the ongoing call is…
In the anointment, word of truth taking on flesh, the sons and daughters of YHVH is revealed…
I had a discussion just yesterday with a more serious believer than myself. And the testimony is the inscribing is happening we are just not listening.
Laurita, Surely you jest when you suggest that Sunday Blue laws are in anyway a real threat to our society and the greatest potential opportunity for which Jews and Christians can spiritually unite and push back evil. How can you ignore the Islamic elephant in the room that is crushing every Christian and Jewish ideal, tradition, belief and increasingly the lives of its adherents? If you label it “Political” is it therefore somehow irrelevant to the spiritual realm or our lives? Many maintain, myself included, that Radical Isalm is THE final and most serious of all the enemies of both the Jews and Christians. We only have to look at spiritually castrated Europe to see their slow, pitiful, but ultimate demise. But, it is feared (by the same many) that the few nations which have any Christian or Jewish backbone will not fare so easy a fate as death by assimilation. I hate to be an alarmist, but if one does not see the handwriting on the wall writ large, they are either asleep or decieved. Radical Islam and Shiria law is an existential threat to all mankind. It is a political movement under the guise of religion, and it is so demonically inspired that it cannot coexist with Judaism or Christianity or any other religion for that matter. Thus we see both Sunni and Shia looking for a physical and spiritual fight and the leaders of Israel and America willing to oblige them by soon obliterating (some of) them into oblivion or suffering the same fate. It isn’t about “effective cross pollination of the truth”, it is also about physical survival. It is written that “The dead cannot praise God, nor can they can make converts, do good or bring the Kingdom to fruition. Make no mistake we do have a common spiritual and political enemy – one that wants to kill, murder and destroy us, our children, our religion and our way of life. We are already “surrounded by the idolators and the practitioners of witchcraft and the makers of oppressive anti-Torah laws” it is called Islam. It is Shari Law. It is Jihad. There is war in the air, but apparently only one side is fully aware of its cosmic scope, urgency and importance. Someone please sound the shofar and not sing us a lullaby.
There were as many huge political issues threatening Israel in the days of Messiah as there are now, but He ignored them all. They besieged Jerusalem and burned the Temple but you see NOTHING about that in the rest of the NT! WHY? Because political issues of the world do not, in fact, change any of the issues of eternity. I have also noticed that political issues only served to drive a wedge in between Israel and the Body of Christ then; not unite them.
I am afraid that Islam, as a deliberate arm of the man-made dialectic, will only end in a desperate move by the world to compromise (synthesis) which has NEVER served the truth. We will only be in worse shape then. That is not just my analysis: it is the analysis of other more able people who have studied the dialectic as a human tool of subjugation extensively.
Do not seek political asylum for your faith: it has never existed, and it never will, with the notable exception of ancient Israel, of course. The US started out trying to mimic Israel, but I wonder if we ever truly did. I think “tolerance”, as modernly defined, comes at a tremendously expensive shelf price, but also, like the infamous debt collector, ends up taking all eventually.
We were told by Yeshua to ignore such things, and the early church showed us how that is done.
I agree that politics is the biggest threat in the world yesterday and today and maybe the biggest political decision that created this was by Constantine in 325 CE and Theodosius in 381 CE trying to create political peace in a religious war fractured by creeds and doctrines instead of uniting behind correct Torah as Yeshua did. But if you have already thrown the Hebrew bible experts under the bus for three centuries, it is too late and Christianity had/has the mess it is today.
I think Michael is right, Islam is about political power between two political factions, they just use religion as their ultimate weapon of mass destruction, the sword or the bomb or declaration of heresy, it makes no difference to their leaders.
I was taught, if you make the mess you clean it up. Good luck Christianity with that one. Judaism won’t, can’t do that even without the Trinity doctrine and other screw ups like original sin, heaven etc.
And you have to ask yourself why Islam has become a viable force again as of late. It’s when Israel decided that they wanted to be like the other nations that God subjected them to their desires and it ended in Rome oppressing them. God told them right out of the gate that if they walked in obedience that they would be protected and they would be the head, not the tail. Why do you suppose Yeshua focused on the spiritual aspect and not the political one. Why do you suppose that Christian Europe, along with Christian America are being subject to oppression?
Exactimo!
Hagar was told Ishmael was going to father a powerful warring society and repeatedly the Arabs have been used as just such a tool to harass the apostates, both of Israel and of so-called Christiandom. Here they come again! It’s not a time to fight Arabs: it’s a time to get our spiritual act together.
Laurita, I can only wish I was capable enough to argue with you, let alone anyone you claim who is “more able than youself”, but ability notwithstanding I am foolish enough to try for the sake of truth. I would argue that Messiah did NOT ignore the political issues threatening Israel in His day, nor advise us to do so today. He spoke not only about the political threats, but more importantly the spiritual reasons why they existed. He spoke of these topics regularly throughout His ministry, albeit in hushed tones so as to not attract undue attention from the Roman military industrial complex before His appointed time at Calvery, but as His time drew to an end He spoke more directly both about the soon physical destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of the Jewish people, as well as the spiritual causes that brought about the need for such a severe physical punishment by YHWH -see Mt.23,24. I would posit that the NT does indeed deal with the aftermath of the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. They just didn’t whine about it as we moderns no doubt would have. And “our book” is full of warnings regarding the end times, which we may well be entering or have unwittingly already entered.
You state that Islam is a “deliberate arm of the man-made dialectic” and I would vehemently disagree. It is not man made. It is demonic, forged in the furnaces of hell and shaped by the hand of Satan himself in order to oppose what YHWH created when He chose His inheritance, people and land. The Koran is the antithesis of the Torah. The stated goal of Islam is total domination and submission of everyone to the false diety allah. It will not “END in a desperate move by the world to compromise (synthesis).” Compromise has already begun, but note we are the only ones compromising our spiritual values, hard won freedoms and God given rights and it will not END there or END well. Submission is a word we don’t know in the West, but, I fear, we will soon learn.
Just as YHWH uses both sickness and pain to correct and judge individual human beings He likewise brings sword and famine to the nations and peoples. History is replete of blood soaked lands by His hands and He makes no apology for it, nor does He need to. He may well be using Islam as His rod against a world gone mad and scientifically occultic. I am not arguing for compromise or seeking political asylum. I am merely stating the obvious. Radical Islam is at war against Israel and the West and we are being surrounded by an enemy who knows and grants no mercy. Our attempts to ignore, mollify, bribe, convert, placate them are foolhardy and suicidal. The Watchman on our walls has been quiet too long. I hope it is not Your blood or mine that will be on his hands, but know blood has been shed and like a mad dog, Islam has tasted it and lusts for more and more she will shed until the rivers run red, up to reaching the horses’ bridles for a distance of 200 miles, it is said. This is REAL blood: red, not read about. REAL horror: screams, not dreams. REAL death: dead, not dying. REALITY: diabalical, not dialectical.
I agree that political situations are dealt with in extreme detail in prophecy and they do impact everyone. I am referring to the RESPONSE to them. Nowhere has a political response been advocated. Only spiritual ones.
Laurita, I don’t mean to be contentious or argumentative, but I am confused ( perhaps as a result of my TBI or advancing years), so please bear with me. You said: “I am referring to the RESPONSE to them. Nowhere has a political response been advocated. Only spiritual ones.” Who is the responding party advocating a spiritual response and what would it be?
YHWH is the biggest Player on the board- Political, Spiritual, Cosmic, Meta-physical, Ontological, etc. Always has been, always will be. He alone could use a “spiritual” response (whatever that is?) to effect an end, but throughout history He often uses political power, military might and armed force to achieve His goals on the earth, both with His people and the Nations, notwithstanding Yeshua’s plea in the Beatitudes of blessings to the peacemakers, meek and poor. I am not advocating a political response or solution, because I honestly don’t know what “spirtual” solutions or responses can be offered if it is YHWH that is initiating His political and military solutions upon a rebellious people. How can I pray to Him to STOP what He has purposed and already started? I don’t doubt that your intelligence and faith is greater than mine, but is it great enough to change His mind? It is possible, as Moses discovered, so I won’t run to the hills just yet, but give me a shout if you fall short. Of course, without a doubt in the promised future Kingdom things will have a “spiritual solution”, but till then it seems that “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” is the # 1 song playing in the Heavenlies. Can you hear It? I do. It is getting louder by the day. May your prayers drown out the din and save the dhimmi.
So do we vote and sign up for a gun to ‘solve’ this problem? I am asking for the chapter and verse. And the heavenlies never did need ammo. If ammo was the answer, the earth is already slap full of ammo.
My wife is half British and half Canadian and a true blue royalist so she was up early watching The Wedding. If you don’t already know, a black American Episcopalian bishop gave an animated 15 minute homily on “love” and “fire” connecting the two appropriately to what God intended in a marriage and for our daily lives. We thought he was great but many others, (including some in attendance and the media) felt he was over the top. He certainly was and he was on the right side of the hill.
Western society desperately needs to hear the message he was giving from a high profile situation such as this. His later interview on PBS News Tonight explained what Megan wanted and what he said, perfectly pitched to what western ears need to hear. Gun win wars but don’t win peace. Never have. But the fire of true love does.
I missed this conversation. I agree largely with Michael here. Islam, but more importantly, Islamism (political, radical Islam) is not only galloping along largely unimpeded, it is covertly and overtly assisted by political leaders, supposedly those outside Islam. Witness what has happened to “Tommy Robinson” in the UK, for example. Even leftist Bill Maher was strongly rebuked for suggesting we should be able to criticize some of the tenets of Islam—as opposed to attacking individual Muslims.
Coptic Christian Michael Youssef, who emigrated from Egypt, has been sounding the alarm for years. His book Third Jihad both explains the threat and offers a spiritual solution (from a Christian perspective).
It’s becoming increasingly obvious to me that Islam is one of the primary vehicles by which God YHWH is using to weed out the fakers and prune the remnant. Let the faithful stand strong!
There are quite a few in Christian circles who believe a revived Roman Empire, as in the EU, will be the fulfillment of Rev 17:11; but, I think it could be a revived Ottoman Empire instead. This has certainly been the goal espoused by Erdogan.
Ah, context, context, the greater context… Skip, you have (yet again) struck a nerve based on the early comments.
What I read in the morning wanders around in my mind all day and the context grows… and I understand more and consider what I think I know… and I keep climbing on the “backward brain” bicycle to see if I can pedal a little farther today. Almost always, while I’m reading your words, I open my Bible software and look things up: 204 times “God of Israel” appears in the ESV. It is in Exodus that we first see the children of Israel referred to as “my [His] people”. Six times in Exodus we see “the God of the Hebrews” (five of them with the phrase attached to His name YHVH, the other (Exo 5:3) where Moses says “YHVH our God”), pointing us back to Abraham and, by association, YHVH’s covenant with him. And I think about the perspectives you bring and I work to pedal farther.
“For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly” [ESV]…”the real Jew is one inwardly; and true circumcision is of the heart, spiritual not literal;” [CJB] (Rom 2:28-29). Thank you, Sha’ul, for the greater discourse I wrestle with that is the book to the Romans.
Am I “of Israel”? Am I “of the Hebrews”? And what does that look like? What about me makes Israel jealous? (Romans 11) Those are today’s “ponders” for me.
I was very recently given an article entitled “Abrahamic Conversion” to read. Written by Robert Eisenman, it appeared in the Jerusalem Post, in his blog “The Eisenman Line” and can be found online at their ‘jpost’ website. He closes with this: “[I]t has everything to do with what is in your soul or in your heart. If you identify or want to identify, then you are. This is a hard enough requirement in today’s often brutal, cruel, and already-proven barbaric world. This takes courage and spiritual purity enough. That is all it has to do with and all it ever had or should have to do with.”
This weekly e’drash from my Torah class is a beautiful reminder of how important ALL of God’s children are to Him:
“A census report (in Numbers) makes for difficult reading. Working through the details of tribal and family tallies can be an exercise in monotony, but Rashi found a sweet message about God’s love underlying the dry census data. He explained that God enjoyed counting the Israelites because of his special affection for each person. According to his interpretation, the census is a reminder that the children of Israel are not just a collective whole. Israel is a nation composed of individuals.
All the people of God are real people. Moses and Aaron counted them according to their “genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head” (Numbers 1:20). This method gave every Israelite the opportunity to tell his name and be counted as an individual of worth. Each person is valuable and unique, a special treasure to God.
In the Talmud, there is a discussion about Adam, the first man and father of all humanity. Why does all of humanity descend from a single human being? “To teach you that whoever destroys a single person is regarded as if he had destroyed an entire world [of people] and whoever saves a single person is regarded as through he had saved an entire world” (b.Sanhedrin 37a). The meaning of this teaching is that each person is as valuable as Adam, the first man. Though Adam was only a single human being, he held within him the potential of all humanity. So, too, each person shares that same potential. No person should be dismissed as simply a number or a cog in the wheel. Every human being is a whole world.”
Great stuff! If I may add a thought or 2 to that, to “lift up the head” (as in counting) is literally to elevate someone and it has the sense of enabling. You’re correct in that often we struggle through all the seemingly dry “counting” going on, but it has helped me tremendously to realize that God isn’t just taking a count but, is enabling the individual, and therefore the whole of the community, to accomplish His purposes. The individual is held to account to walk in His ways, therefore the community is encouraged and enabled accordingly even through rebuke if necessary. And the light shines to the nations.
Maybe the most important and powerful Today’s Word yet!!! Amain and thank you!!!
As we acknowledge and agree that our God is the God of Israel, it’s equally important that we are reminded of, not only how much He loves us, but also how He expects us to live. One of those expectations is that we remember and celebrate His Holy Days. With Shavuot approaching in 3 days (5/20/18) I thought I would pass along this message from Rabbi Matt Rosenberg that I read this morning…”Arriving at Mt.Sinai with three days to prepare (Exodus 19:10-11) So, ADONAI said to Moshe, “Go to the people; today and tomorrow separate them for me by having them wash their clothing; and prepare for the third day. For on the third day, ADONAI will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.”
“It is interesting that God would have the children of Israel cleanse themselves and their clothing before meeting with God on the day of Shavuot. We often talk about “getting into God’s presence,” but have you ever considered that God wants to be in your presence? The issue is that we are full of sin and if we were to go into the presence of God with our sin we would die, because being in the presence of God is terrifying. But, if we follow the instructions and cleanse ourselves of our sin, then being in God’s presence can be an amazing experience. For us, as a messianic synagogue, that means we ask God to forgive us of our sin in the name of Yeshua, He forgives us, and then we can be in His presence and He can be in ours. It’s the design of God because he wants to share His presence with us!
Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your tangible presence and Your Holy Spirit. Please forgive me of my sin and wash me clean. I want to experience Your presence in new, fresh, and exciting ways and I want to lead others into Your presence as well. Amen.” Matt Rosenberg, Rabbi of Restoration in Seattle, Washington
Wow, Skip I just read some of the reactions to this letter. One of the most endearing phrases in all of scripture is “My people Israel”. YHVH made an unconditional, eternal covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and yet some of these comments reflect the same hatred for todays Jewish people as those who authored Replacement Theology. Some in your audience claim to love Torah but hate those who delivered it to us. This also reflects a total lack of understanding the nature of YHVH.
Blessings, Gary. If you wouldn’t mind, I think some others here and I would be very interested in knowing what you believe are “some of these comments that reflect the same hatred for today’s Jewish people as those who authored Replacement Theology by those who claim to love Torah but hate those who delivered it to us”. Especially, if you would, please also provide your supportive evidence to your claims.that it is these comments that “reflect” this same hatred for today’s Jewish people vs. the paradigm you may have that is perceiving those commenters in such a way. It may be helpful to clarify any possible misunderstanding you may have, in case it is you that needs to better see the forest through the trees, or to see the tares among the wheat, as the case may be, whether of Christianity or of Judaism or otherwise.
In 2008 at Baylor college, commemorating Heschel John Wilkins mentioned to Heschel’s daughter Susannah. Isn’t nice that Christians are focusing on the jewishness of Jesus. Her reply was ” but we don’t necessarily like this” and did not like the question if he was one of your own why refuse to follow him. Though religions will go to great lengths to give the appearance of trying to get along with all denominations like Heschel did he spent, a lot of pope convincing time producing the nostra acetate and he hung out with all religions to show solidarity and was a great advocate for human rights. It still remains the greatest stumbling block and will be is Yeshua THE messiah. Heschel once said he would rather die in Auschwitz than give up his religion. Yeshua said you will be persecuted and die for me not some religion. I rather stake my life on him than some religion. Did Heschel contribute to society by all means but would I quote him on a consistent basis no. It’s obvious Skip likes him and that’s okay I can guarantee he will not stop quoting him, but prefer Skip bringing out his own thoughts sometimes without Heschel.
Greek/Roman western mindset requires adjustment to receive the intent of completely Hebrew/Jewish concepts. Heschel’s Hebraic mind and depth of study, along with his integrity and obvious love for his God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who sent us Yeshua, can offer insight and understanding which would otherwise be lost. We have all done and said things at levels of understanding or lack thereof, which can be taken out of context and applied to discredit an entire body of work or life. If the Father brings something outside Scripture into my life that helps me grasp difficult ideas, I am grateful. Skip happens to be one of those other than Scripture things, as well as Abraham Heschel.
Many times I have read of Yeshua as the living Torah; I agree with that descriptive. So what exactly did Yeshua bring to the Israelites 2000 years ago? Answer, the correct interpretation of Torah that had been distorted by the corrupt Priests and Scribes, the (not-so-sharp) legal eagles of their day. Those Jews who recognized Yeshua for who he was followed his way, his truth and his life; Torah, no more and no less when properly interpreted as he was tasked by God to do.
Here is my read on this. For me the purpose of the Messiah was largely to extend the covenant of God to the Gentiles as promised, the ger, the rest of the world through his apostles and disciples. In very short order the faithful Jews had nowhere to go to worship God after the Temple was destroyed but to the synagogues and the rabbis and they did so as these had been established not much earlier in their era. Nice planning God. Now You can be worshipped anywhere/everywhere in the world. The “Jewish problem” only started when their faith, their Torah was rejected, their holy days were highjacked and redefined by the newly born church and it completed this objective over the next two centuries in Rome.
Jews ever since have never NEEDED Yeshua the way most Christians did/do. God’s faithful remnant already were/are the chosen people and had all the tools they needed. They do not need more than that. They will get their promised Messiah when he returns and will come as the resurrected King and his court, the truly faithful of the world.
In the meanwhile Judaism is suffering under a similar crisis that Christianity is, loss of traditional membership and outmarriage but they do still have Torah, a relatively intact religion and now their land once again. As they say, it’s a start with long hard days ahead but after nearly 4000 years of practice I know where I would place my bet.
Jesus said in Matt 15:25 that “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” but “his own received him not” and the rest of the world benefited from the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and then the Gentile”!!!
So I guess I am doomed if I don’t subscribe to Trinitarian creed but I will be in good company with Shaul, lost somewhere in space alone with our Torah.
Sounds like a good place to be. 🙂
lol….I’ll stick with the Good Shepherd 🙂 I do like Paul, though… but he didn’t give his life for me.
God (YHWH) was around before Jacob/Israel was. “In the beginning when God created…”
Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham & Sarah, Isaac father of Esau and Jacob.
The God of Israel created more than one people and one nation. If this great almighty creator God is not bigger than this planet, this Universe or Galaxy than “this God” is too small.
The God of Israel…aka the King of the Universe.
That´s true, but He chose to reveal Himself through Israel. I believe that´s not a random act.
Hi Rev. LP, Just wanted to say that while I agree with your observation in general, I think it clouds the issue at hand. The issue isn’t whether God loves and desires to redeem all the nations, but rather how He has chosen to do that and, what our response to His effort consists of. Salvation is through Israel and the result of that is to be grafted into Israel. The question for us is how do we approach God, what pleases and displeases Him. How do we walk effectively in the Kingdom and begin to know Him and in that knowing, reveal Him to others. All that is laid out in specifics to His people Israel and unless we chose to be a part of the conduct of His people and walk in covenant, accordingly, as Skip said, we’re only guessing and we are no different than the “pagan” religions. It’s kind of amazing that we love to make the observation that God never changes and always remains faithful to Himself and us, and yet we insist that God has in fact changed and will accept us no matter how we walk in His Kingdom. I tend to agree with Gary’s sentiments above, although I don’t think it’s a “Jewish” issue but rather an Israelite one, it’s the way God has chosen to accomplish redemption and to deny that is to despise the grace afforded us as well as the God who grants it. Woe to the nation that calls good evil……
Moses asked God to show him His ways in order that he may know Him. The knowledge of the true God is revealed through the works engaged in. The question is what “God” are we revealing to the world if we refuse the ways of YHWH?