The Government of God
All who accept the yoke of the Torah are relieved of the yoke of the government and the yoke of worldly affairs. All who cast off the yoke of Torah, the yoke of the government and the yoke of worldly affairs is put upon them. Pirke Avot 3:6
Yoke – No, you won’t find this in the Scriptures. This saying is attributed to Rabbi Nehunia ben-Hakanah, a teacher who lived in the first and second centuries. But notice the similarity with Paul’s statement in Romans 13. Oh, wait! Doesn’t Paul say exactly the opposite? “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1 NIV). What is going on here?
Rabbi Nehunia’s statement gives us an insight into the contemporary thinking of rabbinic teaching in the first century. If you follow Torah there is no need to subject yourself to the worldly government. Why? Because the government of God is the true government of the world. Kings and emperors who do not incorporate the teachings of Torah into their administration are out of synch with the Creator. If you want to be in alignment with the way the world really works and the way the Kingdom will operate, then subject yourself to Torah and be relieved from the obligation to follow Rome. However, if you throw off Torah you will be subjected to the governments of men. This is the rabbinic point of view. Torah is the right way, but that doesn’t mean all men will put the yoke of Torah on their shoulders.
With this background, perhaps Mark Nanos’ commentary on Romans makes a lot more sense. Nanos’ argues (rather convincingly) that Paul’s statements in Romans 13 can only be applied to the governing authorities of the synagogue. As a rabbi, Paul would never endorse subjection to a Roman government that did not value life, turned away from the ordinances of God and embraced idolatry. To suggest that Paul’s comment is a command for followers of YHWH to submit themselves to any worldly authority denies the entire direction of Scripture. Rabbi Nehumia’s view is much closer to the character of YHWH than the interpretation provided by the fathers of the Roman Catholic Church (who, by the way, had a vested interest in interpreting Paul as an endorser of the present government).
The problem is that we have also been subjected to centuries of non-Jewish, non-rabbinic interpretation of Paul, interpretations that conveniently fit the authority of the worldly government because there was no yoke of Torah in the Church. The Church was ethically challenged in ways that the rabbis could never have imagined. Without God’s yoke, the vacuum is filled with another authority. Always.
Topical Index: yoke, government, authority, Romans 13, Pirke Avot 3:6
I had forgotten! (A senior moment?) this understanding of Paul in Romans 13, though I had heard it before. Thank you for the reminder. Makes a lot of sence to me.
Skip,
Your take, please.
Putting the yoke of Torah on one’s shoulders implies
carrying a burden of sorts.
Yet, Jesus speaks of “taking His yoke” upon oneself
and learning from Him, as His yoke is “easy” and
His burden is “light”.
Isn’t Jesus saying the difference is the knowledge of
and belief in Himself, which avails us of the shared relationship
of being yoked with Him as He, and only He, provides rest for
our souls and the “enlightened” view that the true government
rests on His shoulders?
Fixed the typo. 🙂
Now, please go read the TW on this verse from years past. Yoke doesn’t mean anti-Torah. It means the freedom of knowing what God wants as opposed to being under the burdens of men. Read the context. Can you imagine ANY circumstance where Yeshua would advocate NOT following Torah?
Life for a Look
~ And when they saw Him they worshiped him, but some doubted ~ (Matthew 28.17)
Some may find it hard to believe, but this verse (Matthew 28.17) is followed by Matthew 28.18 which says, (are we listening?)
Good. (for faith comes by hearing)
~ Jesus came and told His disciples, “I have been given all authority in Heaven AND on Earth” If we notice here, “the tense” -we wouldn’t be so tense..
The scope of tHis authority: Did He say “some?” or “all?” ALL authority? Not only in Heaven (somewhere up yonder), but also here- on tHis green planet? ~ The Earth is the LORD’s and the fulness thereof, the world and they who dwell therein ~ Oh? He owns – It all? Creator-Owner-and Sustainer?
~ Who upholds “ALL THINGS” by the Word of His power/authority? The author of the book of Hebrews asks this question: ~ Who,being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high? ~ (Hebrews 1.3)
But wait.. – there’s more! ~ And again, when He brings His firstborn into the world, He says, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” (Hebrews 1.6)
Worship a man? ~ Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Yes, He is.. the virgin-born son of Mary. Is He worthy of our worship? The obedient One who humbled Himself and became a man, a baby boy, born in a barn in Bethlehem.
~ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” My question is- what did they know, that (apparently) we do not? Why do we not worship Him? Why do we not give unto the LORD the glory due His Name? What, – is preventing us?
Is He (not was He!) “Who” He says He is? Then should we agree? Should we not (also) confess: Jesus (the) Christ IS LORD? -to the glory of God the (our) Father?
~ So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I AM.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.”
One of my favorite verses of all: (Bowling for soldiers?)
~When He said to them, “I AM,” they drew back and fell to the ground.… All hail the power of Jesus’ Name, let angels prostrate fall..
What is “worship?” Here is some help, some illumination from one Skip Moen (skipmoen.com)
“Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” Genesis 22:5
Worship – How unfortunate it is that we are confined with this English translation of the (Hebrew) verb shachah. Yes, it’s true that Abraham took Isaac to the mountain to worship. But because we gloss over the underlying imagery, we fail to see what Abraham really has in mind. Shachah is a word that describes an act of obeisance. It is the word for prostrating oneself on the ground before a superior. But it is not simply an outward, physical act. Hishtachah describes an inner attitude of worship even when there is no associated outward ritual. We see this attitude in the servant of Abraham when he meets Rebekah (Genesis 24:26). We find it in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:5), in David’s desire to seek God’s face (Psalm 5:7) and in the final purpose for all men (Isaiah 66:3). Yes, it’s worship, but it is not the kind of worship that we typically find in today’s congregations. Shachah is your soul, spirit, mind and strength facedown on the ground, in humble adoration, and total commitment to the only One Who is worthy of worship. Shachah is prayer permeating life.
The paramount place of shachah is verified by the fact that this Hebrew verb is translated by the Greek proskuneo, used throughout the New Testament for “to worship, to prostrate oneself before.” Prayer in the biblical paradigm is worship! Worship in the biblical paradigm is prayer! Now we can appreciate the fact that one version of the Hebrew Scriptures defines Man as the praying being and considers prayer the vehicle that makes a man human.
How could it be otherwise? To come before the Lord of hosts means that we are undone. Isaiah knew it. So should we. There is no prayer (and no worship) without bowing down. Any man who thinks he can stand before the Lord has never understood Who God is. It’s time to leave behind our preposterous assumptions about “praise and worship” and realize that worshipping the God of all creation occurs in prostration. There is a very good reason why the fathers of the faith fell to their faces. Our lack of humility and fearfulness before the God of all life only compounds our spiritual ineffectiveness. We have not because we do not ask from the dirt.
When prayer takes over your life, you will find yourself face down, terrified. Then He will gently lift your eyes to His – and declare you His friend.
And when they saw HIm, -they worshiped Him- but some doubted..
Maybe we need to take another look at this:
~Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”…
There are (still) none so blind.. as those who refuse to see..
Turn. (shub) Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful Face..
Skip, I had a mentor teach this exact thing to me & proposed that we should not vote in our civil elections because we are citizens of heaven & not of this world. What are your thoughts on this?
How can I fulfill the Lord’s commandment about prospering those who represent Babylon if I withdraw from the stage? See Jeremiah.
Exactly! Paul used his Roman citizenship for the furthering of the gospel like no one else we know of.
Just FYI – one of the tags at the top of this post says “Romans 1:3”, but I think it was supposed to be “Romans 13”. 🙂
Thanks. Fixed it.
“If you follow Torah there is no need to subject yourself to the worldly government.” Amein v’Amein! “Because the government of God is the true government of the world.” YHWH is The authority we answer to, and obey! Examples set in Scriptures are Daniel being thrown into the lions’ den; his 3 friends being thrown into the fiery furnace; Mordechai, Esther’s uncle who did not bow to Haman.
Queen Esther who did not “withdraw from the stage”, but took active part in exposing Haman.
“If you want to be in alignment with the way the world really works and the way the Kingdom will operate, then subject yourself to Torah and be relieved from the obligation to follow Rome.” Walking and keeping YHWH’s covenantal ways is the only way if we claim to belong to His Kingdom.
This verse has been so drastically misunderstood and misinterpreted through ignorance of who Shaul/Paul is, and widely used as a control over the flock of YHWH to submit to men’s rule.
So appreciative of this TW, Skip. Todah!!