We are told we should pray and probably feel like we may not pray enough but, did anyone give you a tutorial on prayer when you began your walk with Him? If not, you re not alone. Even the disciples of Rabbi Jesus looked for direction. Even if you think you have prayer down to an art, there are likely some things you can glean from these instructional verses found in Matthew 6. We looked a bit deeper into verse 9 recognizing the balance between God as Abba Father and the holiness of His name. What follows is probably the most difficult aspect of the Lord's instruction on prayer. It seems pretty safe on the surface. However, if we return it to the context of a Jewish rabbi speaking to his Jewish disciples and a whole lot of Jewish people on a hillside, we may find that it takes us where we do not want to go. Maybe it will give us some second thoughts about praying for God's kingdom to come.
Matthew 6:10 is as follows, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"(KJV). Do you pray for God's kingdom to come? Would you like to be living in that kingdom now? There is a glorious future to be had when the Lord Messiah rules and reigns, but, what about today? Do you really want to be involved in Kingdom living today? The Jewish disciples were certainly interested in the Kingdom of God. They had waited for generations for Messiah, the anointed one of God, to come and establish that kingdom. Their hope was that this rabbi they followed was indeed the long anticipated deliverer. However, their expectation was that of an earthly kingdom where Messiah would rule with power and authority. Israel would have all of their promised land and would never be sub-servant to anyone ever again. They would be free from Roman tyranny and be the unrivaled world power. We also wait in expectation for that kingdom. We know that it will come, in God's time. So we are in agreement with those first century Jews up to this point. "Even so, come Lord Jesus" is a pretty good prayer in the light of the condition of the world today.
Kingdom living does have a few perimeters that the disciples understood as well. "Thy will be done" is a directive we should also place in context. The disciples and the Jews on the hillside know what God's will was. He had written it down for them back at Mount Sinai. It was known as Torah. It's application and consequences were recorded and exemplified in the Writings and the Prophets. God's will for His people was to follow His directions and instructions as to how best to live. These were God's commandments and directives. They were not suggestions or a list of things to pick and choose from. For the disciples to pray, "Thy will be done" was to express their desire to be obedient to Torah and obedient to all God had revealed concerning life and worship. God had not left them in the dark and unlike the gods and goddesses worshiped by the surrounding nations, God's directions were firm and consistent. They knew what God, their Heavenly Father, required of them.
This prayer for the application of God's Word and will was not just for the Jews but "on earth as it is in heaven". It iis to apply to the whole earth. God's will is always done in heaven, there in His dwelling place. His angelic messengers do what He tells them to do. There are times when God takes counsel from those in His heavenly court (see 1 Kings 22:19-22) however, His word is final. The disciples are instructed to pray that the will of God, obedience to His commandments and instructions, become world wide and followed without question. We know that a time is coming when Messiah will reign over all the earth. We also know that, at that time, His Word, meaning Torah, will be universally obeyed as well. Jeremiah 31:31-34 makes that clear. Having Torah written on everyone's hearts and in our minds is an aspect of His coming kingdom.
The question for us is what do we do with this now? Was this prayer just for the Jewish disciples and the Jews who listened to the words of Messiah? Do we really want to pray that God's will, revealed in Torah and God's Word, be obeyed in our lives and the lives of those that inhabit this planet? Perhaps, we can conclude that this is a prayer for life in the coming kingdom. "Thy will be done", as the disciples would have understood it can't possibly apply to believers today, can it? Or maybe God's will has changed. We are told the Law does not apply to those under grace. Now we just need to love God and love people like Jesus said in Matthew22:37-39. You know, where He quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. But, how do we know how to love God and people? Matthew 22:40 helps us out, these two commandments are a summary of Torah and the Prophets. We can find all the details as how to love God and people there. If it only applied to us.
The reality is we agree with most of those 613 directives the rabbis have found in the Law and the Prophets. Remove those directives given specifically to the Levites and those pesky dietary laws and we, as modern followers of Messiah, are in agreement far more often than we might think. If we applied just the basic Ten Commandments world wide this might be a nicer planet to live on. It might even feel a bit like heaven on earth. Maybe, "Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" isn't such a bad prayer after all.
Showing posts with label Torah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Torah. Show all posts
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Sunday, February 4, 2018
God's Gracious Gift, Torah at the Mercy Seat
I am always impressed with the ways God chooses to reveal Himself to us. Psalm 119 lets us know that "the heavens declare the glory of God". Anyone who has observed a sunrise or a clear night when the stars shout His praise would have to agree. Hebrews 1:1 reminds us that, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets." God's prophets brought us the Word of God. There are numerous passages like 1 Corinthians 2:10 that tell us the Spirit of God also reveals who God is and what He requires of us. We have His Creation, His Word and His Spirit to show us who the Lord God is. However, these are not the only tools God uses to help us understand things about Him and His purposes. God likes to use illustrations that reveal much about Himself in terms we can see and even touch. If you have ever raised grapes the vine and branch illustration of John 15 comes alive. Many of us have had experiences with seeds and soil, maybe even a sheep or two. And very few of us have never seen a door. Divine object lessons abound that bring the realities of God down to our level. It seems God's fingerprints are everywhere.
I appreciate the tangible object lesson the Lord gave to Israel many years ago. Unfortunately, it is an object that has been lost, thankfully, we have the Biblical record to provide a mental picture of this treasure. It is the Ark of the Covenant. Exodus 37 gives the details as to its construction. A very fine crafted box with an ornate top and the means to transport without coming in direct contact with it. The cover served as the mercy seat. This is where the blood was sprinkled on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, as a covering for the sins of the nation of Israel. A place of grace and forgiveness. It was a significant article in Israel's history and worship.
However, the mercy seat is only a part of the Ark of the Covenant. It is the top, the covering of the box that is the Ark. Hebrews 9:4 tells us what was placed into the ark, "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." Manna, bread from heaven to give food, to provide life for the children of Israel for forty years. Bread unearned and undeserved yet provided by the grace of God. The Rod of Aaron, representing the priesthood which would provide the way to fellowship, forgiveness and worship of Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Finally the two tablets of the Ten Commandments given to Moses on the mountain. The Law of God, the basic instructions and directions for the nation to follow as they walked with God. The Law was a gracious gift of God to a new nation that had only known slavery and needed God's direction. For many Law and Grace are like oil and water, they can never mix. The difference between the Old and New. The pre-Christ instrument of death and the post-Christ deliverance by grace. However, God unites the Law of the Ark together with the mercy seat of grace. They are combined in the same illustration.
As many work to separate God's Law and God's grace the Lord reminds us that they are an integrated gift from Him. Consider Exodus 25:22, “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel." It is from the mercy seat that God will give Moses the commandments, Torah, the Law, which is then to be given to Israel. A gift of grace from the God of grace and mercy so God's people will know how to best live. Without these instructions from the Lord Israel would be left to borrow and adapt the cultural norms of the neighboring pagan nations. Cultural norms that devalued life, grounded in the fear of a variety of demanding and ever changing gods and goddesses. Torah brought truth, stability and a relationship with the God of all creation. It is an amazing and blessed place to be.
If the Lord God intended for us to separate His Law and His grace, why does He combine them at the very beginning of His relationship with His people? Godly boundaries and directions have always been and continue to be a gracious gift of God. As is true with any loving father, our Heavenly Father shows us His love, His grace, His mercy now as He did for Israel. Just look at the illustration He made in the Ark of the Covenant. Law and grace together at His mercy seat.
I appreciate the tangible object lesson the Lord gave to Israel many years ago. Unfortunately, it is an object that has been lost, thankfully, we have the Biblical record to provide a mental picture of this treasure. It is the Ark of the Covenant. Exodus 37 gives the details as to its construction. A very fine crafted box with an ornate top and the means to transport without coming in direct contact with it. The cover served as the mercy seat. This is where the blood was sprinkled on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, as a covering for the sins of the nation of Israel. A place of grace and forgiveness. It was a significant article in Israel's history and worship.
However, the mercy seat is only a part of the Ark of the Covenant. It is the top, the covering of the box that is the Ark. Hebrews 9:4 tells us what was placed into the ark, "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." Manna, bread from heaven to give food, to provide life for the children of Israel for forty years. Bread unearned and undeserved yet provided by the grace of God. The Rod of Aaron, representing the priesthood which would provide the way to fellowship, forgiveness and worship of Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Finally the two tablets of the Ten Commandments given to Moses on the mountain. The Law of God, the basic instructions and directions for the nation to follow as they walked with God. The Law was a gracious gift of God to a new nation that had only known slavery and needed God's direction. For many Law and Grace are like oil and water, they can never mix. The difference between the Old and New. The pre-Christ instrument of death and the post-Christ deliverance by grace. However, God unites the Law of the Ark together with the mercy seat of grace. They are combined in the same illustration.
As many work to separate God's Law and God's grace the Lord reminds us that they are an integrated gift from Him. Consider Exodus 25:22, “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel." It is from the mercy seat that God will give Moses the commandments, Torah, the Law, which is then to be given to Israel. A gift of grace from the God of grace and mercy so God's people will know how to best live. Without these instructions from the Lord Israel would be left to borrow and adapt the cultural norms of the neighboring pagan nations. Cultural norms that devalued life, grounded in the fear of a variety of demanding and ever changing gods and goddesses. Torah brought truth, stability and a relationship with the God of all creation. It is an amazing and blessed place to be.
If the Lord God intended for us to separate His Law and His grace, why does He combine them at the very beginning of His relationship with His people? Godly boundaries and directions have always been and continue to be a gracious gift of God. As is true with any loving father, our Heavenly Father shows us His love, His grace, His mercy now as He did for Israel. Just look at the illustration He made in the Ark of the Covenant. Law and grace together at His mercy seat.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Christmas and Torah Are So Much Alike (WARNING! If you are comfortable with your Bible reading DON'T READ THIS BLOG!)
Ahhh Christmas time. Joy to the world the Savior has come. I waited to post this until after Christmas because I did not want to throw gas on the unnecessary fire that may surround the Christmas celebration. There are those who make it their mission to point out all the Biblical flaws in the celebration. Like it being the wrong time of year, having pagan origins, a political move rather than a religious one, druid trees instead of Christmas trees and so on. And yes it is all true. There is little Biblical truth in our traditions concerning Christmas and the birth of Messiah beyond the truth that He was born. Everything else is borrowed or made up. However I am of the opinion that there is no bad time to celebrate Messiah's arrival and to praise and worship God in honor of the gift of his Son. You can praise God for Yeshua's arrival 365 days a year and I will not be upset.
What is upsetting is the truth that a great many Christians, those who say they are followers of Christ, view Torah in much the same way. Their understanding of the Law has about as much Biblical evidence as Santa Claus. (by the way Zechariah 2:6 "Ho ho come forth from the land of the north" KJV is not a reference to Santa). We have been told that the Law, Torah, is obsolete. That it ended with the resurrection of Christ. That it was an old covenant and does not apply to anyone, Jew or Gentile, today. If you try to follow God's Law you are a legalist and deny the work of Christ. The purpose of the Law is completed; Paul said so and so did Jesus. That is Paul's teaching in Galatians and Romans; everyone knows that. Or do we? Are we as far off with Torah as we are with Christmas, but with far greater consequences?
I give you fair warning that the reading of this blog may cause distress in your spiritual life. The concepts here could change your perspective on lots of things you thought you knew. I will challenge you to actually believe some things that you give lip service to, but don't really integrate into your reading of God's Word, especially the letters by the Apostle Paul. You see, I believe that Paul was Jewish. I mean he was born a Jew, lived as a Jew and died as a Jew. He never "converted" to some new belief system called Christianity. He was a messianic Jew. He was a rabbi and had a special mission to the Gentiles to tell them that through the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua, they could gain access to God's kingdom. However, he remained a Jew. You might say to yourself, "Well, yes I pretty much agree with that, except maybe for the conversion part." If that is really true, you can throw away most commentaries because they disagree. Not with the statement, just with what it does to your understanding of Scripture if you apply that reality to what Paul writes. We will take a look at a few verses in Paul's letter to the Galatians to make the point.
As you read through the book of Acts you can pick up a bit of a bio on the life of Saul/Paul as you follow his ministry. Paul was a Jew. He spoke Hebrew (Acts21:40). in Acts 22:3 Paul says he is currently a Jew. He declares that he is a Pharisee, not was (Acts 23:6). In Acts 28:17 - 20, Paul speaks to the Jewish Elders in Rome, and tells them he has done nothing against their people, the Jews, or of the customs and practices of their fathers. He is Torah observant. Throughout Paul's ministry, recorded in Acts, he goes to the synagogues to speak of Yeshua as Messiah. He desires to be in Jerusalem for Passover and take a vow, in accordance with the Law. He does not take Gentiles into the Temple which would be a violation of Torah. In writing to the Philippians, in 3:5-6, Paul says he (present tense) is circumcised, of Israel, of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews, a Pharisee, zealous to protect Judaism, and Torah observant. Paul was a follower of the Jewish Messiah, who proclaimed a message of the Jewish Messiah that all who trusted in Messiah could be in His kingdom. Paul did not convert to anything. He lived and eventually died as a Hebrew, a Jewish Rabbi, who believed that Yeshua was the Jewish Messiah Who also welcomed the Gentiles to believe and be a part of His kingdom.
If that is true, the record in Acts, and if Paul's testimony in Philippians is also true, then Paul would also write from that perspective. He would write as a Torah observant Jew. If his writings indicated otherwise, then he suffered some mental problems, or simply lied. Or perhaps we have read our own understanding into what he wrote.
Galatians is a favorite stronghold for those who teach that Paul taught that the Law, that Torah, has been made null and void. First, let us be reminded as to whom Paul is writing. 1:2 "to the Assemblies who are in Galatia." Iconium is one of the cities of Galatia, where, according to Acts 14:1, Paul taught at the synagogue. Who was there? Jews and Gentiles. So this letter would likely have been read in the synagogue to a very diverse group. Jews, Messianic Jews, proselyte Gentiles, Messianic proselyte Gentiles, Messianic Gentiles and God seeking Gentiles, would make up the audience. It would be very helpful at this point if you got a Bible and read Galatians 3:19 - 4:7. The point here is not to give a verse by verse exposition but to raise a question or two and give an alternative understanding of the passage.
Some highlights. The Law, Torah, amplifies sin. It reveals where we fall short of God's standards. The Law, Torah is not against the promises of God. The Scripture, Torah, 3:22, has sygkiaio "confined" NKJV. Other translations translate the word: under restraint, kept under guard, shut up, imprisoned, or locked up. The word, at its root, simply means to enclose, like sheep in a pen. 3:23 the Law kept us "under guard" until faith came. The Law, Torah, was our paidagogos, our tutor or teacher. This is an important word to understand Paul's point. The history of the paidagogos tells us he was a servant responsible for the direction and training of the father's son. He made sure the child got to school and to whatever training opportunity the child had. He was to protect the child and keep him safe and out of trouble. He was responsible for the character building of the child. When the child came of age he was released to walk with the father doing the father’s bidding and the father’s will. He no longer needed the paidagogos, for what he had learned had been incorporated into his life. This would now guide and protect him as he took on the responsibilities the father had for him.The Law, Torah, gives instruction and direction on how to best live. It was there as a fence of protection until it was integrated into the child's life. (By the way, Jeremiah 31:33 promises that under the New Covenant, brought by Messiah, God will put the Law, or Torah, on our hearts and in our minds. We won't need the written Law paidagogos for it will be integrated into our hearts, minds, and lives.) I believe this is Paul's perspective.
But let us look at a typical commentary. This is from the Expositors Bible Commentary Chapter 15 commenting on Galatians 3:25 - 29. "FAITH has come! At this announcement Law the tutor yields up his charge; Law the jailer sets his prisoner at liberty. The age of servitude has passed. In truth it endured long enough. The iron of its bondage had entered into the soul. But at last Faith is come; and with it comes a new world. The clock of time cannot be put back. The soul of man will never return to the old tutelage, nor submit again to a religion of rabbinism and sacerdotalism. "We are no longer under a pedagogue"; we have ceased to be children in the nursery, schoolboys at our tasks-"ye are all sons of God." In such terms the new-born, free spirit of Christianity speaks in Paul. He had tasted the bitterness of the Judaic yoke; no man more deeply. He had felt the weight of its impossible exactions, its fatal condemnation. This sentence is a shout of deliverance. "Wretch that I am," he had cried," who shall deliver me?-I give thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord; for the law of the Spirit of life in Him hath freed me from the law of sin and death". Almost any commentary will express this point of view.
Now be honest here, does this sound like the meaning intended by a devout, Torah observant Rabbi? One who calls Torah holy and good and right. One who just a few verses before said that Torah, the Law was never against the promises of God. Would Paul ever call Torah a bitter Judaic yoke? The man who said he never violated his Jewish fathers' customs would suggest he would never submit to rabbinic teaching or to the sacred practices of his fathers' faith? Would he enthusiastically have rejected the inspired Words of Yahweh giving him instruction and direction as how to best live? Would Paul really tell his fellow Jews and the Gentiles believers in the synagogue to fully reject the very Law God promised to write on their hearts? In the Apostle Paul's words "God forbid!".
I do not propose to be a great scholar or by any means infallible, but either the commentary has missed the point or Paul is not who the Scriptures say that he is.
Here is another possible way to look at the Galatians passage. "But the Scripture has enclosed all (Jew and Gentile) under sin, that the promise, by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, might be supplied (or granted) to those who believe. Torah was not given to provide a way of salvation but to protect us and show us God’s design as to how we should live. The promise of God (deliverance and new life) came to us through the faithfulness of Messiah. Before this act of faithfulness came we were fenced in or protected by Torah, kept for the promise realized through the faithfulness yet to be revealed. Therefore Torah was our paidagogos, our protector and guide, to Messiah, that we might be justified through His Faithfulness. By faith, Torah is now written on our hearts, so we no longer need a paidagogos and we are all, Jew and Gentile, sons of God through the faithfulness of Messiah Jesus."
We are justified through the Faithfulness of Messiah. The focus should be upon Him and His work to redeem us and deliver us from death. The translators paint the Law in the darkest terms and focus on our faith rather than Christ's faithfulness. It is all about me and how I can live without the Law, without Torah. Those who teach and comment would agree that this freedom from the "tutor" is not license, for we are to walk in obedience. But, obedience to what? And what of Jeremiah 31:33? If the "imprisoning iron bondage" has been forever removed, just what is written on our hearts?
As the New Year begins many of us will make the decision to be more
consistent with our Bible reading. Maybe get one of those "Read Through the Bible in a Year" schedules to help us keep on track. My question is, will we be content to just read as we have in the past years. Just accepting what we see from our American, Western perspective. Only asking the question, "What does it mean to me?" Or will we take the time to ask, "What did the writer mean?" or "What did the first people who heard this think?" Will we take into account what we know about Daniel, David, Paul, Peter, Moses or John? They were all Jewish. They were all committed to the God of Israel. They were all committed to obey Torah. None of them saw themselves as "Christian". So what does the text mean in light of those facts?
If we approach our reading from this perspective we can more accurately apply what we learn to our lives. Far more effort is required, but isn't God worth it? We could make that commitment or we can just say, "Well, no worries, we are under grace and free from the law. I can depend on my faith to make it all okay. God knows my heart, He can't actually want me to put any effort into knowing Him and His Word." "Isn't that what the Apostle Paul just said?" No, I don't think so. But the real question is "What do you think?"
.
What is upsetting is the truth that a great many Christians, those who say they are followers of Christ, view Torah in much the same way. Their understanding of the Law has about as much Biblical evidence as Santa Claus. (by the way Zechariah 2:6 "Ho ho come forth from the land of the north" KJV is not a reference to Santa). We have been told that the Law, Torah, is obsolete. That it ended with the resurrection of Christ. That it was an old covenant and does not apply to anyone, Jew or Gentile, today. If you try to follow God's Law you are a legalist and deny the work of Christ. The purpose of the Law is completed; Paul said so and so did Jesus. That is Paul's teaching in Galatians and Romans; everyone knows that. Or do we? Are we as far off with Torah as we are with Christmas, but with far greater consequences?
I give you fair warning that the reading of this blog may cause distress in your spiritual life. The concepts here could change your perspective on lots of things you thought you knew. I will challenge you to actually believe some things that you give lip service to, but don't really integrate into your reading of God's Word, especially the letters by the Apostle Paul. You see, I believe that Paul was Jewish. I mean he was born a Jew, lived as a Jew and died as a Jew. He never "converted" to some new belief system called Christianity. He was a messianic Jew. He was a rabbi and had a special mission to the Gentiles to tell them that through the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua, they could gain access to God's kingdom. However, he remained a Jew. You might say to yourself, "Well, yes I pretty much agree with that, except maybe for the conversion part." If that is really true, you can throw away most commentaries because they disagree. Not with the statement, just with what it does to your understanding of Scripture if you apply that reality to what Paul writes. We will take a look at a few verses in Paul's letter to the Galatians to make the point.
As you read through the book of Acts you can pick up a bit of a bio on the life of Saul/Paul as you follow his ministry. Paul was a Jew. He spoke Hebrew (Acts21:40). in Acts 22:3 Paul says he is currently a Jew. He declares that he is a Pharisee, not was (Acts 23:6). In Acts 28:17 - 20, Paul speaks to the Jewish Elders in Rome, and tells them he has done nothing against their people, the Jews, or of the customs and practices of their fathers. He is Torah observant. Throughout Paul's ministry, recorded in Acts, he goes to the synagogues to speak of Yeshua as Messiah. He desires to be in Jerusalem for Passover and take a vow, in accordance with the Law. He does not take Gentiles into the Temple which would be a violation of Torah. In writing to the Philippians, in 3:5-6, Paul says he (present tense) is circumcised, of Israel, of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews, a Pharisee, zealous to protect Judaism, and Torah observant. Paul was a follower of the Jewish Messiah, who proclaimed a message of the Jewish Messiah that all who trusted in Messiah could be in His kingdom. Paul did not convert to anything. He lived and eventually died as a Hebrew, a Jewish Rabbi, who believed that Yeshua was the Jewish Messiah Who also welcomed the Gentiles to believe and be a part of His kingdom.
If that is true, the record in Acts, and if Paul's testimony in Philippians is also true, then Paul would also write from that perspective. He would write as a Torah observant Jew. If his writings indicated otherwise, then he suffered some mental problems, or simply lied. Or perhaps we have read our own understanding into what he wrote.
Galatians is a favorite stronghold for those who teach that Paul taught that the Law, that Torah, has been made null and void. First, let us be reminded as to whom Paul is writing. 1:2 "to the Assemblies who are in Galatia." Iconium is one of the cities of Galatia, where, according to Acts 14:1, Paul taught at the synagogue. Who was there? Jews and Gentiles. So this letter would likely have been read in the synagogue to a very diverse group. Jews, Messianic Jews, proselyte Gentiles, Messianic proselyte Gentiles, Messianic Gentiles and God seeking Gentiles, would make up the audience. It would be very helpful at this point if you got a Bible and read Galatians 3:19 - 4:7. The point here is not to give a verse by verse exposition but to raise a question or two and give an alternative understanding of the passage.
Some highlights. The Law, Torah, amplifies sin. It reveals where we fall short of God's standards. The Law, Torah is not against the promises of God. The Scripture, Torah, 3:22, has sygkiaio "confined" NKJV. Other translations translate the word: under restraint, kept under guard, shut up, imprisoned, or locked up. The word, at its root, simply means to enclose, like sheep in a pen. 3:23 the Law kept us "under guard" until faith came. The Law, Torah, was our paidagogos, our tutor or teacher. This is an important word to understand Paul's point. The history of the paidagogos tells us he was a servant responsible for the direction and training of the father's son. He made sure the child got to school and to whatever training opportunity the child had. He was to protect the child and keep him safe and out of trouble. He was responsible for the character building of the child. When the child came of age he was released to walk with the father doing the father’s bidding and the father’s will. He no longer needed the paidagogos, for what he had learned had been incorporated into his life. This would now guide and protect him as he took on the responsibilities the father had for him.The Law, Torah, gives instruction and direction on how to best live. It was there as a fence of protection until it was integrated into the child's life. (By the way, Jeremiah 31:33 promises that under the New Covenant, brought by Messiah, God will put the Law, or Torah, on our hearts and in our minds. We won't need the written Law paidagogos for it will be integrated into our hearts, minds, and lives.) I believe this is Paul's perspective.
But let us look at a typical commentary. This is from the Expositors Bible Commentary Chapter 15 commenting on Galatians 3:25 - 29. "FAITH has come! At this announcement Law the tutor yields up his charge; Law the jailer sets his prisoner at liberty. The age of servitude has passed. In truth it endured long enough. The iron of its bondage had entered into the soul. But at last Faith is come; and with it comes a new world. The clock of time cannot be put back. The soul of man will never return to the old tutelage, nor submit again to a religion of rabbinism and sacerdotalism. "We are no longer under a pedagogue"; we have ceased to be children in the nursery, schoolboys at our tasks-"ye are all sons of God." In such terms the new-born, free spirit of Christianity speaks in Paul. He had tasted the bitterness of the Judaic yoke; no man more deeply. He had felt the weight of its impossible exactions, its fatal condemnation. This sentence is a shout of deliverance. "Wretch that I am," he had cried," who shall deliver me?-I give thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord; for the law of the Spirit of life in Him hath freed me from the law of sin and death". Almost any commentary will express this point of view.
Now be honest here, does this sound like the meaning intended by a devout, Torah observant Rabbi? One who calls Torah holy and good and right. One who just a few verses before said that Torah, the Law was never against the promises of God. Would Paul ever call Torah a bitter Judaic yoke? The man who said he never violated his Jewish fathers' customs would suggest he would never submit to rabbinic teaching or to the sacred practices of his fathers' faith? Would he enthusiastically have rejected the inspired Words of Yahweh giving him instruction and direction as how to best live? Would Paul really tell his fellow Jews and the Gentiles believers in the synagogue to fully reject the very Law God promised to write on their hearts? In the Apostle Paul's words "God forbid!".
I do not propose to be a great scholar or by any means infallible, but either the commentary has missed the point or Paul is not who the Scriptures say that he is.
Here is another possible way to look at the Galatians passage. "But the Scripture has enclosed all (Jew and Gentile) under sin, that the promise, by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, might be supplied (or granted) to those who believe. Torah was not given to provide a way of salvation but to protect us and show us God’s design as to how we should live. The promise of God (deliverance and new life) came to us through the faithfulness of Messiah. Before this act of faithfulness came we were fenced in or protected by Torah, kept for the promise realized through the faithfulness yet to be revealed. Therefore Torah was our paidagogos, our protector and guide, to Messiah, that we might be justified through His Faithfulness. By faith, Torah is now written on our hearts, so we no longer need a paidagogos and we are all, Jew and Gentile, sons of God through the faithfulness of Messiah Jesus."
We are justified through the Faithfulness of Messiah. The focus should be upon Him and His work to redeem us and deliver us from death. The translators paint the Law in the darkest terms and focus on our faith rather than Christ's faithfulness. It is all about me and how I can live without the Law, without Torah. Those who teach and comment would agree that this freedom from the "tutor" is not license, for we are to walk in obedience. But, obedience to what? And what of Jeremiah 31:33? If the "imprisoning iron bondage" has been forever removed, just what is written on our hearts?
As the New Year begins many of us will make the decision to be more
consistent with our Bible reading. Maybe get one of those "Read Through the Bible in a Year" schedules to help us keep on track. My question is, will we be content to just read as we have in the past years. Just accepting what we see from our American, Western perspective. Only asking the question, "What does it mean to me?" Or will we take the time to ask, "What did the writer mean?" or "What did the first people who heard this think?" Will we take into account what we know about Daniel, David, Paul, Peter, Moses or John? They were all Jewish. They were all committed to the God of Israel. They were all committed to obey Torah. None of them saw themselves as "Christian". So what does the text mean in light of those facts?
If we approach our reading from this perspective we can more accurately apply what we learn to our lives. Far more effort is required, but isn't God worth it? We could make that commitment or we can just say, "Well, no worries, we are under grace and free from the law. I can depend on my faith to make it all okay. God knows my heart, He can't actually want me to put any effort into knowing Him and His Word." "Isn't that what the Apostle Paul just said?" No, I don't think so. But the real question is "What do you think?"
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
All Scripture?
As this is my first attempt to write a blog please excuse me as I sort of feel my way. My observation from viewing other blogs is that there is no required format and so I am probably okay. This first blog is a simple attempt to make you think a little. We all grow up in our comfort zone and from the time we come in contact with the reality of God and the salvation found in His Son we were groomed and trained in whatever assembly, church, home group or Bible study we found ourselves in. Often times we fail to be Bereans and do not search the Scriptures to know if what we are told is true. Having been in several denominations and having been in Bible studies with Lutherans, Catholics, Presbyterians, Baptists, a variety of Charismatics and even a Methodist or two, most of what we hold to as true follows the same line. Differences are often just in the details. I probably don't fit well anywhere. I am sort of a Messianic Gentile. A Gentile who, by God's grace has access to His Kingdom by faith in His Son, Yeshua, my Messiah.
From the time I was drawn to a relationship with my God through the power of the Holy Spirit and the work of God's Son, Yeshua Messiah, I have asked the question "Why?". Why do we do what we do in Worship? Why did God include endless genealogies and leave out clear directions as to how Assemblies of Jesus' Followers were to function? Why do we seem to keep nine of the Ten Commandments. Why are there so many passionate views on the Lord's return? Why do we spend so much time in the New Testament when the Old Testament is bigger? Is it just a Jewish history book with some random applications to us New Testament followers or is there more? And what of the Law, or Torah, with all it's instructions? Does any of it apply to me or is what I was told for years, that I am free from the Law and it has no demands over my life, true? What parts of Torah or the Law apply and how do I know what does and doesn't? If any at all. And then there is the whole Jewish thing. Is it important to know what the first readers understood as they received revelation from Jewish writers in a Jewish culture most often in a Jewish language. Even New Testament writers were Jewish as they wrote about a Jewish Messiah, with the possible exception of Luke. And even those who wrote in Greek were deeply steeped in Hebraic thought and owned a Hebraic world view. Hellenism had its influence, but the underpinning of much of what we read is Hebraic. Jewish writers sharing Jewish thought from a Hebraic perspective in an Eastern world. But most of us are Western and Greek in thought, so would that affect how we understand the Word of God? Quite possibly so.
I give you two familiar passages to consider as we look to the Scriptures to see just how valid the Old Testament or Torah is for faith and practice in the lives of us Jesus followers today. Now I am not suggesting that you need to build an altar and sacrifice a sheep in your backyard, but I am suggesting that we need to consider some things that Yeshua (Jesus) and the Apostle Paul said just to get us thinking. The first passage comes from Matthew 5. Following the giving of the Beatitudes the Lord proclaims that He did not come to abolish the Law (Torah) or the Prophets. "I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (5:17). I was told that this was Jesus saying that he had come to complete or fulfill the Law and the Prophets. This meant that with his death, burial and, resurrection the Law no longer applied. The Law (Torah) is over. However, what of the next verse? "For assuredly, I say to you till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law (Torah) till all is fulfilled" (5:18). Now as far as I can tell, the Heaven and earth are still here. Jesus is emphatic that Torah will not pass away until all is fulfilled. Tied to the "heaven and earth" declaration it is reasonable to assume that is at the end of time. When all is fulfilled. If that is true, then Torah, or the Law, is still around. Ah, but this is the Jewish Jesus talking to Jewish people, so it may still be around for them but not for us Gentiles. Not for the church. Then consider Paul's encouragement to Timothy, who is recognized as a leader or pastor among the assemblies or churches. In this Pastoral Epistle, Paul reminds Timothy that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16). A passage most all would agree with. But what are the Scriptures Paul is speaking of? There is no New Testament at the time of this writing. The only Scriptures available to Timothy and those he teaches and leads are the Old Testament Scriptures, Torah. And this is all that was need for proper doctrine, correction and instruction on how to live right before God. It is all that is need to fully equip every believer for the service God would call them to. Torah is all that is needed to know how to live in a way that is pleasing to God and to my neighbor as well. Can that really be true? No Love chapter from 1 Corinthians? No instruction from Ephesians or Romans? Yet under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul tells Timothy all he needs to be effective, to be thoroughly furnished for every possible good work is Torah. The Law that will not pass away until all was complete. The Word of God that we are accountable to know and apply. Or maybe Jesus and the Apostle Paul were mistaken. Just something to think about.
From the time I was drawn to a relationship with my God through the power of the Holy Spirit and the work of God's Son, Yeshua Messiah, I have asked the question "Why?". Why do we do what we do in Worship? Why did God include endless genealogies and leave out clear directions as to how Assemblies of Jesus' Followers were to function? Why do we seem to keep nine of the Ten Commandments. Why are there so many passionate views on the Lord's return? Why do we spend so much time in the New Testament when the Old Testament is bigger? Is it just a Jewish history book with some random applications to us New Testament followers or is there more? And what of the Law, or Torah, with all it's instructions? Does any of it apply to me or is what I was told for years, that I am free from the Law and it has no demands over my life, true? What parts of Torah or the Law apply and how do I know what does and doesn't? If any at all. And then there is the whole Jewish thing. Is it important to know what the first readers understood as they received revelation from Jewish writers in a Jewish culture most often in a Jewish language. Even New Testament writers were Jewish as they wrote about a Jewish Messiah, with the possible exception of Luke. And even those who wrote in Greek were deeply steeped in Hebraic thought and owned a Hebraic world view. Hellenism had its influence, but the underpinning of much of what we read is Hebraic. Jewish writers sharing Jewish thought from a Hebraic perspective in an Eastern world. But most of us are Western and Greek in thought, so would that affect how we understand the Word of God? Quite possibly so.
I give you two familiar passages to consider as we look to the Scriptures to see just how valid the Old Testament or Torah is for faith and practice in the lives of us Jesus followers today. Now I am not suggesting that you need to build an altar and sacrifice a sheep in your backyard, but I am suggesting that we need to consider some things that Yeshua (Jesus) and the Apostle Paul said just to get us thinking. The first passage comes from Matthew 5. Following the giving of the Beatitudes the Lord proclaims that He did not come to abolish the Law (Torah) or the Prophets. "I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (5:17). I was told that this was Jesus saying that he had come to complete or fulfill the Law and the Prophets. This meant that with his death, burial and, resurrection the Law no longer applied. The Law (Torah) is over. However, what of the next verse? "For assuredly, I say to you till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law (Torah) till all is fulfilled" (5:18). Now as far as I can tell, the Heaven and earth are still here. Jesus is emphatic that Torah will not pass away until all is fulfilled. Tied to the "heaven and earth" declaration it is reasonable to assume that is at the end of time. When all is fulfilled. If that is true, then Torah, or the Law, is still around. Ah, but this is the Jewish Jesus talking to Jewish people, so it may still be around for them but not for us Gentiles. Not for the church. Then consider Paul's encouragement to Timothy, who is recognized as a leader or pastor among the assemblies or churches. In this Pastoral Epistle, Paul reminds Timothy that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16). A passage most all would agree with. But what are the Scriptures Paul is speaking of? There is no New Testament at the time of this writing. The only Scriptures available to Timothy and those he teaches and leads are the Old Testament Scriptures, Torah. And this is all that was need for proper doctrine, correction and instruction on how to live right before God. It is all that is need to fully equip every believer for the service God would call them to. Torah is all that is needed to know how to live in a way that is pleasing to God and to my neighbor as well. Can that really be true? No Love chapter from 1 Corinthians? No instruction from Ephesians or Romans? Yet under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul tells Timothy all he needs to be effective, to be thoroughly furnished for every possible good work is Torah. The Law that will not pass away until all was complete. The Word of God that we are accountable to know and apply. Or maybe Jesus and the Apostle Paul were mistaken. Just something to think about.
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