…I will bless those who bless you,
Curse those who curse you 3.0…
Genesis 12:3 (KJV)
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. [4]
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. [4]
Politics and politicians. If there ever were two words
appropriate to use as curse words, these two words describe all the evils in
our world today. Men and women of God, hear me. In 2008 I first penned the
epistle “I will bless those who bless you, curse those who curse you”. For
regular readers of my blog, if there are such, this has been the most popular
blog post of all those I have written (see this post under the August 2011
archive). I again visited this theme in 2014 (2/24/2014 to be exact). Now we
have to look again, here at the beginning of 2016 (almost two years since I
last approached this subject) – a momentous year, with a presidential election
on the horizon. We have seen what a disastrous relationship that has existing
between the United States government and Israel under the almost eight years of
Obama – may we hope change is coming soon (pun intended).
There was a long list of churches in the previous two blogs,
a list of those congregations and leadership support BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) [5],
so please just refer to those post and see if your congregation or church
affiliate belongs to the list. If it does, my advice now is exactly the same as
before: leave. What I said previously is still
true: you are a part of an organization that is on the wrong side of history
and you are a part of the new Babylon. I do not say this lightly, nor do I say
it without knowledge.
…And I will bless them that bless thee,
and curse him that curseth thee…
“…To be a part of these
organizations is to partake in their sin, their sin against the chosen people
of God. This is lawlessness, this is rebellion against the Most High; this is
an abomination against the One Who sits on the throne of grace, on the throne
of Heaven. All of these groups take their cue from the original divestment
campaign of the 20th century – the Jewish boycott of the Nazi Party
in 1933 which culminated in Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) in 1938 and
the Holocaust of World War II. The seeds
of this were planted much, much earlier though…” [6]
I also urge you look again at the article “The Error of
Replacement Theology” by Clarence H. Wagner, the original which can found at http://www.bridgesforpeace.com/publications/teaching/Article-18.html (all rights reserved); if the original
cannot be found on BFP website, search the web for the article. For further
insight refer to http://www.therefinersfire.org/christian_antisemitism.htm .
Anti-Semitism is on the rise – again and I might add sadly -
still.
Just look at these headlines:
United States / 29-01-2016
United States / 28-01-2016
Iran / 28-01-2016
Germany / 28-01-2016
Britain / 28-01-2016
France / 25-01-2016
Ukraine / 24-01-2016
Switzerland / 24-01-2016
Canada / 24-01-2016
United States / 23-01-2016
Germany / 22-01-2016
Germany / 21-01-2016
Britain / 21-01-2016
Germany / 20-01-2016
Belgium / 20-01-2016
United States / 20-01-2016
Turkey / 19-01-2016
Costa Rica / 19-01-2016
Germany / 17-01-2016
Hungary / 17-01-2016
Germany / 17-01-2016
Germany / 17-01-2016
Britain / 17-01-2016
Germany / 15-01-2016
Sweden / 13-01-2016
Germany / 13-01-2016
Sweden / 13-01-2016
France / 13-01-2016
United States / 12-01-2016
Israel / 12-01-2016
Greece / 12-01-2016
Hungary / 12-01-2016
Germany / 11-01-2016
France / 11-01-2016
Germany / 11-01-2016
France / 11-01-2016
United States / 11-01-2016
Italy / 10-01-2016
United States / 10-01-2016
Germany / 10-01-2016
United States / 10-01-2016
10-01-2016
Czech / 08-01-2016
Britain / 07-01-2016
Germany / 07-01-2016
France / 06-01-2016
Iran / 06-01-2016
Tunisia / 06-01-2016
The Palestinian authority /
06-01-2016
United States / 05-01-2016
05-01-2016
United States / 04-01-2016
South Africa / 04-01-2016
Canada / 03-01-2016
South Africa / 03-01-2016
Netherlands / 02-01-2016
Brethren, hear me. These were
just the incidents reported in one month, the month of January.
Consider also this if you think being a Jew in
America is safe:
“…There was roughly one
anti-Semitic hate crime in the US each year for every 7700 Jews. That compared
to an attack against gays for every 10,700 gays and an attack against blacks
for every 17,600 African Americans. For Muslims, the rate was one attack per
17,000 Muslims. That means that an average Jew can expect to experience a hate
crime at over twice the rate of blacks or Muslims.
Jews are the most
disproportionately attacked minority in the United States by a significant
margin…”[8]
So what does this all mean? It seems that the people of
Israel, the Jews, no matter the country they live or the citizenship they hold,
they are being pressed on from all sides. What had I said before?
“…The Christian camp
squeezes [the Jews] because it has
lost its way by reason of following flawed doctrine pronounced by flawed men.
The camp of Judaism squeezes [its own
people for not being orthodox enough] because it has been persecuted and
bloodied by the camp of Christianity and the Gentile world for some 2000 years;
the Messianic community squeezes [both
Jew and Gentile] because it doesn’t understand its true role…”
And the hatred and the anti-Semitism continues, in every
country, in media, in governments, on the internet and in the hearts of the
enemies of God.
Again,
it bears repeating:
“…So where are we today? How do
the Sons of Abraham (the Jewish/Hebrew people) and the Seed of Abraham (the
rest of us) reasonably expect to co-exist today? Unfortunately, it seems that
there is a growing body of “believers” and non-believers today that feel we
can’t.
For the majority of Church
history, Replacement Theology drove the Church in its dealings with the Jewish
people. As long as Israel didn’t exist, it was easy to say that God had
abandoned the Jews and that the Church was then in the “right” to persecute
them. The blood of the Chosen of God flowed in the streets and fields and
finally in the concentration camps freely and unabated by actions of the Church
leadership. Harsh? No. be a student, an honest student of history and you will
see. We, the Gentile Church, have blood on our hands. The so called “fathers of
the faith” were bloody men, for example:
·
John Calvin: in 1531 John Calvin had
thousands of religious nonconformists killed and witches burned after he
Calvin, (1509-1564) turned Geneva into religious police state. He was also
guilty of: murder - (1553) That John
Calvin, the "Protestant Pope" of Geneva ordered Michael Servetus, the
Spanish physician, burned at the stake for heresy (Servetus had opposed
Trinitarianism and infant baptism); Of the murder of Jacques Gruet in 1531:
Calvin ordered the beheading of Jacques Gruet for blasphemy; again in 1531 Calvin
urged burning of witches. Calvin displayed an obsession about witchcraft and
ensuring women remained as enslaved property to men. Calvin also showed a
relish for cruel torture, especially for those he believed were disloyal such
as Sebastian Castello.
·
Martin Luther: In 1524, after years of fighting
with the Roman Catholic Church, Luther helped plan and financed a revolt
against the Church. By 1525 at the height of the revolt, Luther had
amassed an army in the field of over 300,000 armed and trained peasants along
with mercenary leaders who had slaughtered, raped and tortured over 250,000
men, women and children in their rampage of terror across Germany, Switzerland
and Austria. The revolt
ultimately failed, principally because Luther and his supporters had not
established any command and control structure nor any process to convert lands
gained into a permanent state. By its end, almost a million people had died on
account of the direct orders of Martin Luther. He was also guilty of the
inciting the murder of Jews by his treatise “On the Jews and their Lies” in
1543.
Their
writings and the those of others sparked some of the bloodiest periods in
church history, mainly aimed at what was considered the “Jewish problem”:
·
The
Crusaders (11th and 12th century) theological tenets supported the mass murder of Jews
and launched what our generation has come to know in Bosnia as "ethnic
cleansing operations".
·
The
Spanish Inquisition still
has the country of Spain in bondage to its many curses due to the shedding of
innocent blood. These campaigns were both done "in the name of Jesus and
for the glory of God."
·
In 1924 at a
Christian gathering in Berlin, Adolf Hitler, a professed Christian, stood
before thousands of Christians, and with a standing ovation said: "I believe that today I am acting in accordance with
the will of Almighty God. As I announce the most important work that Christians
could undertake and that is to be against the Jews and get rid of them once and
for all. We are doing the work of the Lord and let's get on with it."
Hitler stated, "Martin Luther has been the greatest encouragement of my life.
Luther was a great man. He was a giant. Within one blow he heralded the coming
of the new dawn and the new age. He saw clearly that the Jews need to be
destroyed and we're only beginning to see that we need to carry this work
on." Hitler followed to the letter, Luther's treatise on how to
exterminate the Jews. Martin Luther preached his last sermon avidly against the
Jews and died four days later. Indeed, Nazi leader Striker at his Nuremberg
trial stated, "I have
never said anything that Martin Luther did not say". [9]
·
Other Christian leaders that were strong proponents of anti-Semitism
include: Constantine the Great (280-337 A.D.); Saint Gregory of Nyssa (335-394
A.D.); Saint Augustine (354-430 A.D.); Saint Jerome (374-419 A.D.); Saint
Fulgentius of Ruspe (467-533 A.D.); Pope Innocent III (1160-61-1216 A.D.); Pope
Pious IV (1499-15654 C.E.).
The Jewish people have been hunted and slaughtered in the “name of
Jesus”. This is the end result of the world’s longest hatred. One article puts
it this way:
Oh the Protestants hate the Catholics,
and the Catholics hate the Protestants,
and the Hindus hate the Muslims
and everybody hates the Jews.
and the Catholics hate the Protestants,
and the Hindus hate the Muslims
and everybody hates the Jews.
Why do we hate?
When will we learn?
Can the Jew ever find shalom in this world?
But what does His words say? How does Yahveh Tzva’ot view or feel
about His people, the Jews?
Amos 9:14-15 (NJB)
14 I shall restore the fortunes of my people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them, they will plant vineyards and drink their wine, they will lay out gardens and eat their produce. 15 And I shall plant them in their own soil and they will never be uprooted again from the country which I have given them, declares Yahweh, your God. [12]
14 I shall restore the fortunes of my people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them, they will plant vineyards and drink their wine, they will lay out gardens and eat their produce. 15 And I shall plant them in their own soil and they will never be uprooted again from the country which I have given them, declares Yahweh, your God. [12]
Zechariah 14:1-21 (NASB95)
1 Behold, a aday is coming for the Lord when bthe spoil taken from you will be divided among you.
1 Behold, a aday is coming for the Lord when bthe spoil taken from you will be divided among you.
2 For
I will agather
all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the
bhouses
plundered, the women ravished and half
of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the
city.
3 Then
the Lord will go forth and afight
against those nations, as 1when
He fights on a day of battle.4 In
that day His feet will astand
on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the
Mount of Olives will be bsplit
in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the
mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.
5 You
will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will
reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the aearthquake
in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. bThen the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with 1Him!
7 For
it will be aa
unique day which is bknown
to the Lord, neither day nor
night, but it will come about that at cevening time there will be light.
8 And
in that day aliving
waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the
other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
9 And
the Lord will be aking over
all the earth; in that day the Lord
will be the only bone,
and His name the only one.
10 All
the land will be changed into a plain from aGeba to bRimmon south of Jerusalem; but 1Jerusalem
will crise
and dremain
on its site from eBenjamin’s
Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the fCorner Gate, and from the gTower of
Hananel to the king’s wine presses.
11 1People
will live in it, and there will ano longer be a curse, for Jerusalem
will bdwell
in security.
12 Now
this will be the plague with which the Lord
will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh
will arot
while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and
their tongue will rot in their mouth.
13 It
will come about in that day that a great panic from the Lord will 1fall on them; and they will aseize one
another’s hand, and the hand of one will 2be lifted against the hand of another.
14 aJudah
also will fight at Jerusalem; and the bwealth of all the surrounding nations
will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance.
15 So
also like this aplague
will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the
cattle that will be in those camps.
16 Then
it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against
Jerusalem will ago
up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord
of hosts, and to celebrate the bFeast of Booths.
17 And
it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to
Jerusalem to worship the aKing,
the Lord of hosts, there will be bno rain on
them.
18 If
the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on
them; it will be the aplague
with which the Lord smites the
nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
19 This
will be the 1punishment
of Egypt, and the 1punishment
of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
20 In
that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “aHOLY TO THE
LORD.” And the bcooking
pots in the Lord’s house will be
like the bowls before the altar.
21 Every
cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be aholy to the Lord of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of
them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a 1bCanaanite
in the house of the Lord of hosts
in that day. [13]
Joel 3:1-21 (NET)
3:1 (4:1)1 For look! In those2 days and at that time I will return the exiles3 to Judah and Jerusalem.4
3:1 (4:1)1 For look! In those2 days and at that time I will return the exiles3 to Judah and Jerusalem.4
7 whom they
scattered among the nations. They partitioned my land, 3:3 and they
cast lots for my people. They traded8 a boy for a prostitute; they sold a little
girl for wine so they could drink.9
3:4 Why are you
doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon?10 Are you
trying to get even with me, land of Philistia?11
I will very
quickly repay you for what you have done!12
3:7 Look! I am
rousing them from that place to which you sold them. I will repay you for what
you have done!15
3:8 I will sell
your sons and daughters to16 the people of Judah.17 They will
sell them to the Sabeans,18 a nation far away. Indeed, the Lord has
spoken!
3:9 Proclaim
this among the nations:
3:10 Beat your
plowshares20 into
swords, and your pruning hooks21 into spears!22 Let the weak
say, ‘I too am a warrior!’23
3:12 Let the
nations be roused and let them go up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I
will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.
3:13 Rush forth
with27 the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe! Come, stomp the grapes,28 for the
winepress is full!
3:14 Crowds,
great crowds are in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in
the valley of decision!30
3:16 The Lord
roars from Zion; from Jerusalem32 his voice bellows out.33 The heavens34 and the
earth shake.
3:18 On that day39 the
mountains will drip with sweet wine,40 and the hills will flow
with milk.41
All the dry stream beds42 of Judah will flow with
water. A spring will flow out from the temple43 of the
Lord,
3:19 Egypt will
be desolate and Edom will be a desolate wilderness, because of the violence
they did to the people of Judah,45 in whose land they shed
innocent blood.
3:20 But Judah
will reside securely forever, and Jerusalem will be secure46 from one
generation to the next.
3:21 I will
avenge47 their blood
which I had not previously acquitted. It is the Lord who dwells in Zion! [14]
Consider this from the Jerusalem Post:
“…There are very few sure bets in life and even fewer guarantees.
But we can always count on the ever reliable triumvirate of death, taxes and
anti-Semitism. While the hatred of Jews has taken many forms (religious,
racial, ideological) and been espoused by a great many disparate groups (the
Church, Islamic fundamentalists, Nazis and communists), this age-old prejudice
has proven itself to be remarkably resilient.
And while it is generally ill advised to engage in prognostication, it is a safe bet to predict a further increase in anti-Semitic violence in Europe over the year ahead.
“People understand there is no future for Jews in Europe,” Belgian Chief Rabbi Avraham Gigi recently stated, citing a growing sense of fear among his coreligionists.
This is a continuation of a trend that has been intensifying for several years, with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) already reporting in 2013 that a third of Jews polled had said that they refrained from wearing religious garb or Jewish symbols out of fear and 23 percent avoided attending Jewish events or going to Jewish venues.
Anti-Semitic violence tracks events in the Middle East rather closely. It spiked in 2014 during Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Synagogues were attacked by mobs, protesters called for Jews to be sent “to the gas” and in Brussels, a gunman opened fire at a Jewish museum, killing four.
Overall, anti-Semitic violence rose by 40 percent worldwide, according to figures provided by the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University. A total of 766 violent incidents were recorded worldwide last year, a “sharp increase” over the 554 tallied in 2013, according to the European Jewish Congress, which contributed to the report…”[15]
And while it is generally ill advised to engage in prognostication, it is a safe bet to predict a further increase in anti-Semitic violence in Europe over the year ahead.
“People understand there is no future for Jews in Europe,” Belgian Chief Rabbi Avraham Gigi recently stated, citing a growing sense of fear among his coreligionists.
This is a continuation of a trend that has been intensifying for several years, with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) already reporting in 2013 that a third of Jews polled had said that they refrained from wearing religious garb or Jewish symbols out of fear and 23 percent avoided attending Jewish events or going to Jewish venues.
Anti-Semitic violence tracks events in the Middle East rather closely. It spiked in 2014 during Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Synagogues were attacked by mobs, protesters called for Jews to be sent “to the gas” and in Brussels, a gunman opened fire at a Jewish museum, killing four.
Overall, anti-Semitic violence rose by 40 percent worldwide, according to figures provided by the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University. A total of 766 violent incidents were recorded worldwide last year, a “sharp increase” over the 554 tallied in 2013, according to the European Jewish Congress, which contributed to the report…”[15]
2015 was also a violent year, with statistics from just one
country, the United Kingdom:
“… The UK witnessed the third-highest
number of anti-Semitic hate incidents in one year in 2015, according to
figures from the Community Security Trust.
There were 924 incidents of anti-Semitism reported to either the CST or the police during the course of the year, the CST, a communal security organization for British Jews which also monitors anti-Semitism in the UK, said on Thursday. This, however, constituted a 22 percent drop in incidents from 2014’s record high of 1,179 incidents, a spike CST attributed to the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014. Israeli military operations frequently lead to a spike in anti-Semitism in the UK and other European countries…” [16] |
Let us acknowledge that the majority of these incidents are fueled
on by the Islamic hatred of Israel – but there is also plenty of hate to go
around in other groups as well. Take a look at the toll though that Islamic
hatred has had not only on Jews, but other ethnic groups AND other Muslims:
Why? Why this hatred not only of the Jews, but, realistically,
almost every group, every ethnicity, every religion, by Muslims? To be fair –
not all Muslims. But in a world gone mad, it seems that, and I’m trying my best
not to be stereo-typical, it seems that there is either a Muslim or a Muslim
related ideal (at least on the surface) behind these attacks.
But this is at best a chimera. It doesn’t take a long look at the
history of man to see that hatred is not confined to a religion or an ethnic
group – it is the shared disease of mankind. There is always one group or
another that longs to subjugate someone else, to covet and possess what another
has, to hold and wield power…
This shared disease - this thing called hate - taints humanity, no matter what segment you
hail from. It seems though, this disease
affects one group more than any other – The Jew.
Let us view this from this standpoint:
Historians offer many "reasons" to explain why people
are anti-Semitic: Jews are too
powerful or too lazy; too separate or a threat to "racial purity"
through assimilation; pacifistic or warmongers; capitalist exploiters or
revolutionary communists; the "killers" of Jesus or the progenitors
of Jesus; possessors of a Chosen People mentality or an inferiority complex.
These reasons have one thing in common -- they have nothing to do with our
being Jewish. One might think that we are just the victims of bad luck --
always possessing the needed quality to be hated wherever we are in the world
at exactly that time in history.
Do you know who disagrees with the historians? Anne Frank. Writes Anne
Frank on April 11, 1944 in her diary: "Who knows -- it might even be our
religion from which the world and all peoples learn good, and for that reason
and that reason alone do we now suffer. We can never become just Netherlanders,
or just English, or representatives of any other country for that matter. We
will always remain Jews."
Anne Frank made a point of stressing that Jews have something of
special value to
give to the world, and that is precisely what the world has resented, and that
is why people have persecuted Jews. Anne Frank identifies anti-Semitism as a
hatred of Jewishness, a loathing altogether different from the bigotry or
racism that other peoples’ experience.
The Talmud (Tractate Shabbos 69) cites the source of anti-Semitism using a play on words: The
Torah - the source of the Jewish system of laws, values and moral standards -
was received at Mount Sinai. The Hebrew pronunciation of "Sinai" is
almost identical to the Hebrew word for "hatred" - sinah. "Why
was the Torah given on a mountain called Sinai?" asks the Talmud. "Because
the great sinah - the tremendous hatred aimed at the Jew - emanates from
Sinai."
At Sinai Jews were told that there is one God, Who makes moral demands on
all of humanity. Consequently, at Sinai the Jewish nation became the target for
the hatred of those whose strongest drive is to liberate mankind from the
shackles of conscience and morality.
At Sinai the Jewish nation was appointed to be "a light unto
the nations. “There are
those who embrace Jews and the Jewish faith because of that light; but there
are also those who want the world to be a place of spiritual darkness. They
object to morality. Those would-be harbingers of darkness attack the Jews as
the lightning rod for their hatred. This "call to Sinai" - the
message entrusted to and borne by the Jews - ultimately transforms the world.
Yet, it is this very message that draws forth the wrath of those who would give
their last ounce of strength to resist it.
A great many people simply can't cope with the burden of being
good. However,
when they act in ways that are bad, they can't cope with the resultant feelings
of guilt. Try as they may, they can never cut themselves loose from the
standards of absolute morality dictated by the Torah. Stuck in this
"Catch-22" situation, people turn with their mounting frustrations
against the Jews, whom they perceive as personifying humanity's collective
conscience.
When the Jews entered the theological arena, they showed people all the
mistakes they had been making: Pagan gods are nonsense - there is only one God
for all of mankind, Who is invisible, infinite and perfect. Infanticide and
human sacrifice are unacceptable. Every human being is born with specific
rights. No one can live as he pleases, for everyone must surrender his will to
a higher Authority.
On a certain conscious level, people recognize the Jews' message
as truth. Those
unwilling to embrace the truth have found that the only way to rid themselves
of it is to destroy the messengers - for the message itself is too potent to be
dismissed.
That is what is so irksome about the Jews, and that is why, for some
people, nothing less than total destruction of the Jews will do. If Judaism
were just another ideology, people could laugh it off and continue on their
merry way. But deep in his soul, every human being recognizes the essential truths
of morality - people can't just laugh it off…” [18]
I believe the writer, Rabbi Packouz, is on to something here, but
there is another element to it. Not everyone who feels the pain of trying to
“be good” but cannot, instinctively blames these feelings on the Jews – but
they are confronted with the Words of God. For good or evil, all, and I mean
all humanity, whether or not they have heard the message of God, are faced with
morality – a choice to do what is right and cause no harm, or to do what is
wrong, in spite of the harm it creates. Instinctively all know that there is a
difference. Even the sociopath and others like them know there is a right – and
a wrong. Some may argue about this, so let them. It is the human condition to
know good and evil – thank you father Adam. That being said though, it was
charged to the Jew to teach men of the ways and knowledge of the living Elohim:
Genesis 12:1-3 (NASB95)
1 Now athe Lord said to Abram, “1Go forth from your country, And from your relatives
1 Now athe Lord said to Abram, “1Go forth from your country, And from your relatives
And from your father’s house, To the land which I will
show you;
Nehemiah 9:7 (NET)
9:7 “You are the LORD God who chose Abram and brought him forth from Ur of the Chaldeans. You changed his name to Abraham. [20]
9:7 “You are the LORD God who chose Abram and brought him forth from Ur of the Chaldeans. You changed his name to Abraham. [20]
Deuteronomy 14:2 (NET)
14:2 For you are a people holy3 to the Lord your God. He4 has chosen you to be his people, prized5 above all others on the face of the earth. [21]
14:2 For you are a people holy3 to the Lord your God. He4 has chosen you to be his people, prized5 above all others on the face of the earth. [21]
Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (Tanakh)
7It is not because you are the most numerous of peoples that the Lord set His heart on you and chose you—indeed, you are the smallest of peoples;
7It is not because you are the most numerous of peoples that the Lord set His heart on you and chose you—indeed, you are the smallest of peoples;
8but it was because the Lord favored you and kept the oath He made to your
fathers that the Lord freed you with a mighty hand and rescued you from the
house of bondage, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. [22]
This identification of the Hebrew people as the chosen of God had
its consequences:
“…As rabbi Schmuel Boteach, one of the leading chasidic thinkers
today, pointed out, "The Talmud says that the reason for anti-Semitism
began at Sinai.<...> At Sinai... the Almighty ... gives the Jewish people
<the Law> as an essential code which would transform them into a moral
nation". But, adds rabbi Schmuel, this was not enough, "the Jews were
also charged with spreading this new message to all the people of the world. In
their capacity as a "light unto the nations", they were responsible
for disseminating God-given ethics to all corners of the globe. Seen from a
different perspective, they were considered a nuisance to the people whose
desire it was to dominate those weaker than themselves. So began the hatred for
the Jew, whose principal purpose for existence was to bring the knowledge of
God,.. closer to the world."(Moses of Oxford, Andre Deutsch, London 1994
v.2 p 661)…” [23]
What is this hatred? Is it of a race? A nation? A theology? No, in
its pure form – it is denial of existence. Those that “hate” the Jewish people
hate the fact that they exist. It was once said anti-Semitism can be broken
down into three steps:
“…The Jews cannot live among us as Jews…”
Then:
“…The Jews cannot live among us…”
Which led to:
“…The Jews cannot live…”
Does the word of God explain this?
B’resheet (Genesis) 3:8-15
8 Then
the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at
the time of the evening breeze, y and they hid
themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. z
9 So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where
are you?”
10 And he
said, “I heard You a in the garden and I was afraid
because I was naked, so I hid.”
11 Then He
asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
Did you
eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 Then
the man replied, b “The woman You gave to be with
me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”
13 So the
Lord God asked the woman, “What is this you have done?”
And the
woman said, “It was the serpent. He deceived me, and I ate.” c
14 Then
the Lord God said to the serpent:
Because
you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock
and
more than any wild animal.
You
will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. d
15 I will
put hostility between you and the woman, and between your •seed and her
seed.
ha’satan is the enemy of Elohim, and the
enemy of the Jewish people. satan’s hatred knows no bounds – for not only the
Jews but for all mankind. Many theories abound, but I believe it is the
prophecy of Genesis 3 that sets the stage for the enmity between the woman’s
seed and satan.
Even in Jewish thought satan has many
faucets, one being described as the “anti-Machiach”:
“…As the incarnation of evil Satan is
the arch-enemy of the Messiah: he is Antichrist. The light which was created
before the world was hidden by God beneath His throne; and to the question of
Satan in regard to it God answered, "This light is kept for him who shall
bring thee to shame." At his request God showed Satan the Messiah;
"and when he saw him he trembled, fell upon his face, and cried: 'Verily
this is the Messiah who shall hurl me and all the princes of the angels of the
peoples down even unto hell'" (Pesiḳ. R. iii. 6 [ed. Friedmann, p. 161b];
further details are given in Bousset, "Der Antichrist")…” [25]
“…Evil inclination or impulse, popularly identified with the lusts
of the flesh. The idea is derived from Gen. viii. 21: "the imagination of
the heart of man is evil from his youth." Yet from the use of the two
"yods" in Gen. ii. 7, the Rabbis deduced that there are in man two
Yeẓarim: the good (Yeẓer Ṭob)
and the evil (Ber. 61a). Cain defended himself before God for having slain Abel
by arguing that God had implanted in him the Yeẓer ha-Ra'(Tan., Bereshit, 25
[ed. Buber, p. 10]). "It lies at the door of the heart like a fly"
(Ber. 61a; comp. Beelzebub). Yet in a way the Yeẓer ha-Ra',
like all things which God made (Gen. i. 31), is good. Without it, for example,
a man would never marry, beget, build a house, or trade (Gen. R. ix. 9).
Therefore, man is enjoined to love God with both the Yeẓarim implied in
"with all thy heart" of the Shema' (Sifre, Deut. 32 [ed. Friedmann,
p. 73a]). It would appear that the Yeẓer Ṭob comes with reflection, and at the
age of bar miẓwah or confirmation, because it is said to be thirteen years
younger than the Yeẓer ha-Ra', which is an inborn impulse (Eccl. R. ix. 14).
The Yeẓer Ṭob delivers the citadel of the body from the Yeẓer ha-Ra' by means
of temperance and good works (Ned. 32b). The "little city" of Eccl.
ix. 14, 15 is interpreted by the Targum and Eccl. R. (ad loc.) as the
kingdom of the heart, and the "great king" who comes against it as
the Yeẓer ha-Ra'.
According to the Rabbis, the Yeẓer ha-Ra' has seven different
epithets in the Bible: evil (Gen. viii. 21); uncircumcised (Deut. x. 16);
unclean (Ps. li. 12); the enemy (Prov. xxv. 21); stumbling-block (Isa. lvii.
14); stone (Ezek. xxxvi. 26); and hidden (Joel ii. 20)…” [26]
“…He is the incarnation of all evil, and
his thoughts and activities are devoted to the destruction of man; so that
Satan, the impulse to evil ("yeẓer ha-ra'"), and the angel of death
are one and the same personality. He descends from heaven and leads astray,
then ascends and brings accusations against mankind…”[27]
Are the two synonymous, or is there a truth in this old joke?
“One day, God goes for a walk about a
large city. He is saddened by all the evil that He sees occurring among the
people of the city. As He walks along, He chances upon satan, sitting on a curb
and crying. God comes up to him and asks:
“Why are you crying satan? I have seen
all the evil here in the city. You should be happy at all you have caused.”
satan answers back:
Can it
be that the “yeẓer ha-ra”, the evil inclination, this hatred found in the
hearts, minds and souls of men,
belongs
to us – we are without excuse?
A somber thought, perhaps a sobering
one. In Jewish thought the discussion continues:
“…There is a biblical basis to the idea
of the existence in man's nature of an instinctive tendency or impulse (yeẓer
as in Ps. 103:14 from yaẓar, i.e., to "form" or
"create" as in Gen. 2:8), which, left to itself, would lead to his
undoing by prompting him to act in a manner contrary to the will of God (whence
the term yeẓer ha-ra or "inclination to evil"). Thus, in
Genesis 5 it is stated that "every inclination of the thoughts of his –
i.e., man's – heart is only evil continually" and again in Genesis 8:21
"for the inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth." The
doctrine of the two inclinations (or drives) is a major feature of rabbinic
psychology and anthropology. As a personification of the permanent dualism of
the choice between good and evil, the rabbinic notion of the two inclinations
shifts this dualism from a metaphysical to a more psychological level (i.e.,
two tendencies in man rather than two cosmic principles). According to the
rabbis, man was created with two opposing inclinations or tendencies, one impelling
him toward the good and the other toward evil. This, in their opinion, was
indicated by the employment in the term Vayyiẓer used in regard to man's
creation in Genesis 2:7, of two yods (Ber. 61a). However, even the
so-called yeẓer ha-ra, which corresponds roughly to man's untamed
natural (and especially sexual) appetites or passions, is not intrinsically
evil and, therefore, not to be completely suppressed. Without it, a human being
would never marry, beget children, build a house, or engage in trade (Gen. R.
9:7). It is only when it gets out of hand that it becomes the cause of harm. An
effective antidote is the study and observance of Torah (cf. Kid. 30b). This
would suggest that the Torah is conceived as an ordering, guiding, and
disciplining principle with regard to the untamed natural urges. While the yeẓer
ha-ra is created in man at birth, the yeẓer ha-tov, which combats
it, first makes its appearance 13 years later at the time of his *bar-mitzvah,
i.e., when one assumes the "Yoke of the Torah" and with the onset of
the age of reflection and reason (cf. Eccles. R., 4:13, 1). Unless it is
checked and controlled, the yeẓer ha-ra will grow like habit. At first
it resembles the thread of a spider's web but at the end it is like the stout
rope of a wagon (Suk. 52a). Another parable describing the yeẓer ha-ra
is that of a wayfarer who starts out by being taken in as a guest and ends by
making himself the master of the house (ibid. 52b). Greatness does not
necessarily render a human being immune from the power of the yeẓer ha-ra,
which manifests itself in such traits as vindictiveness and avarice (Sif. Deut.
33), anger (Shab. 105b), and vanity (Gen. R. 22:6). In fact, the greater the
man, the stronger are such tendencies apt to be in him. The yeẓer ha-ra operates
only in this world. It does not exist in angels or other spiritual beings (Lev.
R. 26:5). "In the world to come," said the amora *Rav,
"there is no eating or drinking, procreation or barter, envy or hate"
(Ber. 17a). The yeẓer ha-ra has been personified by being identified
with Satan, man's tempter in this world and his accuser in the world to come,
and also with the Angel of Death (BB 16a; cf. Suk. 52b). In Genesis (3:1ff.)
the serpent is presented as man's tempter. Whether the devil, Sammael, merely
employed the serpent as an instrument of himself assumed the form of a serpent
is not clear from the text of the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch…”[29]
In Genesis 6 it says:
Genesis
6:4-5 (Tanakh)
4It was then, and later too, that the Nephilim appeared on earth—when the divine beings cohabited with the daughters of men, who bore them offspring. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown.
4It was then, and later too, that the Nephilim appeared on earth—when the divine beings cohabited with the daughters of men, who bore them offspring. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown.
5The Lord saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how every plan
devised by his mind was nothing but evil all the time. [30]
Genesis 8:21
(Tanakh)
21The Lord smelled the pleasing odor, and the Lord said to Himself: “Never
again will I doom the earth because of man, since the devising’s of man’s mind
are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living being, as I
have done.[31]
The imaginings of a man’s mind are evil
from his youth – but the study, and subsequent putting into practice, Elohim’s
word, changes the evil into the good. The hatred we see in the world is because
the world has rejected the words of Elohim for false gods and false religion.
Somewhere along the line, one has made a decision that the Hebrew Scriptures
with its statutes, ordinances and precepts, along with the Torah, are not valid
for one’s lifestyle. The moral codes are too rigid; the prohibitions are too
stark – you know the excuses.
By rejecting the word of Elohim, we have
rejected Him, and thus put ourselves under the curse, and not the blessings. We
are under the curse because by rejecting Him, we have rejected His people, His
nation, His Messiah. Grace does not come without Law (Torah) – Torah does not
come without grace. The rejection of Israel, whether it be for societal,
political or other grounds, cuts us off from the commonwealth of Israel and the
blessings to the Jew first and then the Gentile. Even Messianics who do not
come under command - under the Torah – are in rebellion, as are Christians who
reject the Law. I’m not saying they are not saved – just that they place
themselves in a dangerous place with God. But what you ask about Jews who
reject Messiah? What place are they in? What does rabbi Shaul (Paul) say about
this?
Romans 3 (NET)
3:1
Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of
circumcision?
3:2
Actually, there are many advantages.1 First of all,2 the Jews3 were
entrusted with the oracles of God.
4 3:3 What then? If some did not believe,
does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God?
3:4 Absolutely not! Let God
be proven true, and every human being5 shown up as a liar,6 just as it
is written: “so that you will be justified7 in your words and will prevail when
you are judged.”8
3:5 But if our unrighteousness
demonstrates9
the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not
unrighteous, is he?10 (I
am speaking in human terms.)11 3:6 Absolutely not! For otherwise how could God judge the world? 3:7 For if by my lie the
truth of God enhances12
his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a sinner? 3:8 And why not say, “Let us
do evil so that good may come of it”? – as some who slander us allege that we
say.13
(Their14
condemnation is deserved!)
3:9 What then? Are we better off?
Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all
under sin, 3:10 just as
it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not
even one,
3:11 there is no one who understands, there
is no one who seeks God.
3:12 All have turned away, together
they have become worthless;
there is no one who shows kindness, not
even one.”15
3:13 “Their throats are open graves,16 they deceive with their tongues,
the poison of asps is under their lips.”17
3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
3:16 ruin and misery are in their paths,
3:17 and the way of peace they have not known.”20
3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”21
3:19 Now we know that whatever the law
says, it says to those who are under22 the law, so that every mouth may be
silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 3:20 For no one is declared righteous before him23 by the
works of the law,24
for through the law comes25
the knowledge of sin. 3:21
But now26
apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and
the prophets)27
has been disclosed – 3:22
namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ28 for all
who believe. For there is no distinction, 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 3:24 But they are justified29 freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 3:25 God publicly displayed30 him31 at his
death32 as
the mercy seat33
accessible through faith.34
This was to demonstrate35
his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins
previously committed.36 3:26 This was37
also to demonstrate38
his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just39 and the
justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness.40
3:27 Where, then, is boasting?41 It is
excluded! By what principle?42 Of
works? No, but by the principle of faith! 3:28
For we consider that a person43 is declared righteous by faith apart
from the works of the law.44 3:29 Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles
too? Yes, of the Gentiles too! 3:30
Since God is one,45 he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through
faith. 3:31 Do we then
nullify46
the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead47 we uphold
the law. [32]
Again:
Colossians
3:1-17 (JNT)
1 So if you were
raised along with the Messiah, then seek the things above, where the Messiah is
sitting at the right hand of God.c2 Focus your minds on
the things above, not on things here on earth. 3 For you have
died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God.
4 When the
Messiah, who is our life, appears, then you too will appear with him in glory!
5 Therefore, put to
death the earthly parts of your nature — sexual immorality, impurity, lust,
evil desires and greed (which is a form of idolatry); 6 for it
is because of these things that God’s anger is coming on those who disobey him.
7 True enough, you used to practice these things in the life
you once lived; 8 but now, put them all away — anger,
exasperation, meanness, slander and obscene talk. 9 Never lie
to one another; because you have stripped away the old self, with its ways, 10 and
have put on the new self, which is continually being renewed in fuller and
fuller knowledge, closer and closer to the image of its Creator. 11 The
new self allows no room for discriminating between Gentile and Jew, circumcised
and uncircumcised, foreigner, savage, slave, free man; on the contrary, in all,
the Messiah is everything.
12 Therefore, as God’s
chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of
compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
13 Bear with one
another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him. Indeed,
just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive.
14 Above all these,
clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together perfectly; 15 and
let the shalom which comes from the Messiah be your heart’s
decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of a single Body.
And be thankful — 16 let the Word of the Messiah, in all
its richness, live in you, as you teach and counsel each other in all wisdom,
and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude to God in your
hearts.
17 That is,
everything you do or say, do in the name of the Lord Yeshua,
Once more:
Romans 11:1-29 (HCSB)
11 I ask, then, has God rejected His people? a Absolutely not! b For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, c from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. d Or do you not know e what the Scripture says in the Elijah section—how he pleads with God against Israel?
11 I ask, then, has God rejected His people? a Absolutely not! b For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, c from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. d Or do you not know e what the Scripture says in the Elijah section—how he pleads with God against Israel?
3 Lord, they have killed Your prophets, torn down Your altars;
4 But what was God’s reply to him? I have left 7,000 men for
Myself who have not bowed down to Baal. h i 5 In the same way, then, there is also at
the present time a remnant chosen by grace. j 6 Now if by grace, k then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace. l
7 What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for, m but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened, n 8 as it is written:
God gave
them a spirit of stupor,
9 And David says:
a pitfall
and a retribution to them.
10 Let their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
(Israel’s
Rejection Not Final)
11 I ask, then, have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! On
the contrary, by their stumbling, t salvation has come to the Gentiles u to make Israel v jealous. 12 Now if their stumbling w brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles,
how much more will their full number bring! x
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. In view of the fact that I am
an apostle to the Gentiles, y I magnify my ministry, 14 if I can somehow make my own people z a jealous and save some of them. b 15 For if their being rejected is world reconciliation, c what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? d 16 Now if the •firstfruits offered up are holy, e so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, f and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them, g and have come to share in the rich root h of the cultivated olive tree, 18 do not brag that you are better
than those branches. But if you do brag—you do not sustain the root, but the
root sustains you. i 19 Then you will say, j “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 True
enough; they were broken off by unbelief, but you stand by faith. k Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. l 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare
you either. 22 Therefore, consider God’s kindness and severity: severity
toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness m toward you—if you remain in His kindness. n Otherwise you too will be cut off. o 23 And even they, if they do not remain in unbelief, p will be grafted in, because God has the power to graft them in again.
24 For if you were cut off from your native wild olive, and against nature
were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these—the natural
branches—be grafted into their own olive tree?
25 So that you will not be conceited, q brothers, I do not want you to be unaware r of this •mystery: s a partial hardening has come to Israel t until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. u 26 And in this way all v Israel will be saved, as it is written:
The
Liberator will come from Zion;
He will turn
away godlessness from Jacob.
Whether you are Jewish or Gentile, a
believer in Messiah Yeshua or not – whether you hold that the Tanakh is the only
holy scripture or if you hold all the word from Genesis to Revelation as
scripture – please hear me now.
We are at either a turning point or on a
slippery slope – glass half full or half empty type of paradigm – that how we
proceed from this day forward will have eternal consequences. Maybe some of you
that read this blog are on the fence – not quite believers, yet not quite
unbelievers also; maybe you are searching for meaning and a glimpse of truth about
this crazy life on a crazy planet, I really don’t know. What I do know is this –
you better be making a decision soon, and it must find you on the right side of
history. A great cosmic event is brewing – Father Elohim will shake all that
can be shaken, He’ll bring low the high and mighty and exalt the lowly and
humble. He is sending His Messiah back to rule and reign:
That’s right – if you are not aware of the
Jewish-centric perspective of God, that all His plans for the redemption of
mankind revolves around the Jewish Machiach and the restoration of the tent of
David, you are on the wrong side of history and have quite possibly made
yourself to be an enemy of the Most High. This is the unintended consequence of
anti-Semitism – you may think you are socially relevant in your desire to end
the so-called “occupation” of the Holy Land by the Jewish people, but by trying
to divide God’s land – you are His enemy. It is not my place to convince you of
any points here – the Ruach Ha’Kodesh will do that. It is my duty to shout the
warning, and those with ears to hear and eyes to see will heed it.
What will you do when
a Jew rules the world?
Brethren, we all see darkly:
1 Cor 13:9-12
For we
know in part and we prophesy in part.
(10)
But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part
shall be inactive. (11) When I
was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, I reasoned as a child.
But when I became a man, I did away with childish matters.
(12)
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in
part, but then I shall know, as I also have been known.[35]
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s commentary
describes these verses this way:
“…9, 10. in part—partially
and imperfectly. Compare a similar contrast to the “perfect man,” “the measure
of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph 4:11–13).
10. that which is in part—fragmentary
and isolated.
11. When … a child—(1Co
3:1; 14:20).
I spake—alluding
to “tongues.”
understood—or,
“had the sentiments of.” Alluding to “prophecy.”
I thought—Greek
“reasoned” or “judged”; alluding to “knowledge.”
when I became … I put away—rather,
“now that I am become a man, I have done away with the things of the child.”
12. now—in our
present state.
see—an
appropriate expression, in connection with the “prophets” of seers (1Sa
9:9).
through a glass—that
is, in a mirror; the reflection seeming to the eye to be behind the
mirror, so that we see it through the mirror. Ancient mirrors were made
of polished brass or other metals. The contrast is between the inadequate knowledge
of an object gained by seeing it reflected in a dim mirror (such as ancient
mirrors were), compared with the perfect idea we have of it by seeing itself
directly.
darkly—literally,
“in enigma.”
As a “mirror” conveys an image to the eye, so an “enigma” to the ear.
But neither “eye nor ear” can fully represent (though the believer’s soul gets
a small revelation now of) “the things which God hath prepared for them that
love Him” (1Co 2:9). Paul alludes to Nu 12:8, “not in dark speeches”;
the Septuagint, “not in enigmas.” Compared with the visions
and dreams vouchsafed to other prophets, God’s communications with Moses
`were “not in enigmas.” But compared with the intuitive and direct vision of
God hereafter, even the revealed word now is “a dark discourse,” or a shadowing
forth by enigma of God’s reflected likeness. Compare 2Pe 1:19, where the
“light” or candle in a dark place stands in contrast with the “day”
dawning. God’s word is called a glass or mirror also in 2Co 3:18.
then—“when
that which is perfect is come” (1Co 13:10).
face to face—not
merely “mouth to mouth” (Nu 12:8). Ge 32:30 was a type (Jn 1:50, 51).
know … known—rather
as Greek, “fully know … fully known.” Now we are known
by, rather than know, God (1Co 8:3; Ga 4:9)...” [36]
An enigma. A paradox, a riddle, a
mystery. One knows this – another knows that. For any of us to say we have
Elohim figured out is to say we are liars – but the time is coming when we will
know.
And how will we know?
Zechariah
8:23 (NASB95)
23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the 1nations will 2agrasp the 3garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ” [37]
23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the 1nations will 2agrasp the 3garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ” [37]
Jeremiah 16:19-21
O Yahweh, my
strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles
shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our
fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no
profit. (20) Shall a man make elohim unto himself, and
they are no elohim? (21) Therefore, behold, I will this once cause
them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall
know that my name is Yahweh.[38]
By his power and might shall we all know Him.
By the teachings of the Jew, we shall know Him.
When the Jewish Machiach rules the world, we shall know Him.
From Yeshua, the Torah shall be made honorable again, the Law shall go forth from Zion
and Jerusalem will be made a praise in all the earth.
By the teachings of the Jew, we shall know Him.
When the Jewish Machiach rules the world, we shall know Him.
From Yeshua, the Torah shall be made honorable again, the Law shall go forth from Zion
and Jerusalem will be made a praise in all the earth.
Where do you stand today?
We either stand on the side of history that
holds the blessing or we stand on the side that holds the curse.
Bless Israel; bless the people of God.
Choose wisely.
…May
the Father richly bless you this day my beloved…
Amein.
[1]Authors note:
Use of information from Jewish-themed websites should not be construed as these
sites endorsing or confirming any thesis introduced by the author of this
epistle. I present the information from their respective sites for
instructional purposes only and/or to aid in the readers understanding of the
subjects discussed.
[2]Author’s note: Throughout this study I’ll be using the Net®
Bible and the Net® Notes: within the notes you’ll see symbols like this: ( א
B Ψ 892* 2427 sys). These
are abbreviations used by the NetBible© for identifying the principal
manuscript evidence that they (authors and translators of the NetBible©) used
in translating the New Testament. Please go to
https://bible.org/netbible/ and see their
section labeled “NET Bible Principals of Translation” for a more complete
explanation on these symbols and other items pertinent to the way the NET Bible
uses them.
[3] [3] Author’s Note:
In these studies, I have used the notes that come along with the passages I
cite from the sources that I cite: these need a bit of a disclaimer though. As
in all things, not everything that is footnoted is something that I necessarily
agree with, especially if it contradicts what I believe pertains to any matters
of the Torah or the commandments of God. I give you the notes as they are written by the authors of the
material I cite from, so that you can see the information contained within
them. It truly is not my place to edit or correct them; if they state anything
that is in opposition to what I teach, then so be it. I will address these
issues if requested, but for the sake of brevity (as if any of these posts of
mine are brief ☺) I insert them and let them stand as they are. If I don’t
agree with them, why do I include them you might ask? I don’t believe in
censuring anyone’s opinions or scholarship; as I would not want mine censured,
so I will not do to that to another. As Rabbi Hillel once stated, “What is
hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the whole Torah. Go and learn it.” Torah
leads me to respect others, even if I disagree; it leads me to present
both sides of the coin, even if it could mean I’d lose part of the argument.
That is not to say I should not challenge something I believe contradicts the
truth of God’s word; that I will do in the main body of my epistles; that is
where my gentle dissent belongs. Most (but not all) of the differences will
come when I quote from the NET® Bible (but not exclusively); it has a decidedly
Western/Greek mindset to it, but as a wise man once said “How do you eat
chicken? Swallow the meat and spit out the bones...” I do though want to
present the NET® notes because there is a wealth of information and research
contained within them that I hope you find helpful.
[12] The New Jerusalem Bible. 1985. New
York: Doubleday.
·
[The following notes are taken from the NET Bible® footnotes,
copyright (c) 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Used by permission from www.bible.org, n.d. Numbering system is unique to NET®
Notes.. For more information see
footnote #2 and 3.]
1 sn Joel 3:1 in the English Bible is 4:1
in the Hebrew text (BHS). See also the note at 2:28.
3 tc The Kethib reads אָשִׁיב (’ashiv, “return the captivity [captives]), while the Qere is אָשׁוּב
(’ashuv, “restore the fortunes”). Many modern English versions
follow the Qere reading. Either
reading seems to fit the context. Joel refers to an exile of the inhabitants of
Judah and Jerusalem in 3:2–6 and their return from exile in 3:7. On the other
hand, 2:25–26 describes the reversal of judgment and restoration of the
covenant blessings. However, the former seems to be the concern of the
immediate context.
4 map For
location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4;
JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
5 sn There is a
play on words here. Jehoshaphat in
Hebrew means “the Lord has judged,” and the next line in v. 2 further
explicates this thought. The location of this valley is uncertain (cf. v. 12).
Many interpreters have understood the Valley of Jehoshaphat to be the Kidron
Valley, located on the east side of old Jerusalem. Since this is described as a
scene of future messianic activity and judgment, many Jews and Muslims have
desired to be buried in the vicinity, a fact attested to in modern times by the
presence of many graves in the area. A variation of this view is mentioned by
Eusebius, Onomasticon 1:10. According
to this view, the Valley of Jehoshaphat is located in the Hinnom Valley, on the
south side of the old city. Yet another view is held by many modern scholars,
who understand the reference to this valley to be one of an idealized and
nonliteral scene of judgment.
9 sn Heb “and they drank.” Joel vividly
refers to a situation where innocent human life has little value; its only
worth is its use in somehow satisfying selfish appetites of wicked people who
have control over others (cf. Amos 2:6 and 8:6).
12 tn Heb “quickly, speedily, I will return
your recompense on your head.” This is an idiom for retributive justice and an
equitable reversal of situation.
18 sn The Sabeans were Arabian merchants who were
influential along the ancient caravan routes that traveled through Arabia. See
also Job 1:15; Isa 43:3; 45:14; Ps 72:10.
20 sn Instead of
referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip
which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.
21 sn This
implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young
shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE
1:1117–18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the
inside like a sickle.
22 sn This conversion
of farming instruments to instruments of war is the reverse of Isa 2:4 (cf. Mic
4:3), where military weapons are transformed into tools for farming. Isaiah
describes a time of kingdom blessing and prosperity, whereas Joel describes a
time of eschatological conflict and judgment.
23 sn The “weak”
individual mentioned here is apparently the farmer who has little or no
military prowess or prior fighting experience. Under ordinary circumstances
such a person would be ill-prepared for assuming the role of a soldier.
However, in the scene that Joel is describing here even the most unlikely
candidate will become a participant to be reckoned with in this final conflict.
24 tn This
Hebrew verb is found only here in the OT; its meaning is uncertain. Some
scholars prefer to read here עוּרוּ
(’uru, “arouse”) or חוּשׁוּ (khushu, “hasten”).
25 tc The
present translation follows the reading of the imperative הִקָּבְצוּ (hiqqavétsu) rather than the perfect with vav (ו)
consecutive וְנִקְבָּצוּ
(véniqbbatsu) of the MT.
26 tc Some
commentators prefer to delete the line “Bring down, O Lord, your warriors,” understanding it to be a later
addition. But this is unnecessary. Contrary to what some have suggested, a
prayer for the Lord’s intervention
is not out of place here.
28 tn Heb “go down” or “tread.” The Hebrew
term רְדוּ (rédu) may be from יָרַד
(yarad, “to go down”) or from רָדָה (radah, “have dominion,” here in the sense of “to tread”). If it means “go down,”
the reference would be to entering the vat to squash the grapes. If it means
“tread,” the verb would refer specifically to the action of those who walk over
the grapes to press out their juice. The phrase “the grapes” is supplied in the
translation for clarity.
29 sn The
immediacy of judgment upon wickedness is likened to the urgency required for a
harvest that has reached its pinnacle of development. When the harvest is
completely ripe, there can be no delay by the reapers in gathering the harvest.
In a similar way, Joel envisions a time when human wickedness will reach such a
heightened degree that there can be no further stay of divine judgment (cf. the
“fullness of time” language in Gal 4:4)
30 sn The
decision referred to here is not a response on the part of the crowd, but the
verdict handed out by the divine judge.
32 map For
location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4;
JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
37 map For
location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4;
JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
40 tn Many
English translations read “new wine” or “sweet wine,” meaning unfermented wine,
i.e., grape juice.
41 sn The
language used here is a hyperbolic way of describing both a bountiful grape
harvest (“the mountains will drip with juice”) and an abundance of cattle (“the
hills will flow with milk”). In addition to being hyperbolic, the language is
also metonymical (effect for cause).
44 tn Heb “valley of Shittim.” The exact
location of the Valley of Acacia Trees
is uncertain. The Hebrew word שִׁטִּים
(shittim) refers to a place where the acacia trees grow, which
would be a very arid and dry place. The acacia tree can survive in such
locations, whereas most other trees require more advantageous conditions.
Joel’s point is that the stream that has been mentioned will proceed to the
most dry and barren of locations in the vicinity of Jerusalem.
45 tn Heb “violence of the sons of Judah.” The
phrase “of the sons of Judah” is an objective genitive (cf. KJV “the violence
against the children of Judah”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “violence done to the people of
Judah”). It refers to injustices committed against the Judeans, not violence
that the Judeans themselves had committed against others.
46 tn The phrase
“will be secure” does not appear in the Hebrew, but are supplied in the
translation for the sake of smoothness.
47 tc The
present translation follows the reading וְנִקַּמְתִּי (véniqqamti, “I will avenge”) rather than וְנִקֵּתִי (véniqqeti, “I will acquit”) of the MT.
·
End “NET®” notes
[14] Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English.
NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.
[17] http://chersonandmolschky.com/2015/04/13/islamic-terrorism-japan/
April 13th, 2015 *This information comes from the National
Counterterrorism Center’s (NCTC) unclassified
report. The NCTC provides the State Department with the statistical
data it needs and was created to provide government agencies with this type of
information.
[18] http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/reason-for-anti-semitism.htm This article appeared in the Aish
HaTorah Shabbat Shalom Fax written by Rabbi Kalman Packouz; it was based on the
"Why the Jews?" seminar which is available online at http://www.aish.com/seminars/whythejews/
[20] Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The
NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible.
Biblical Studies Press.
·
[The following notes are taken from the NET
Bible® footnotes, copyright (c) 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press L.L.C. All
rights reserved. Used by permission from www.bible.org, n.d. Numbering system
is unique to NET® Notes. For more
information, see footnote #2 and 3.]
4 tn Heb “The Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for
stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
5 tn Or “treasured.” The Hebrew term סְגֻלָּה
(ségullah) describes Israel as God’s choice people, those whom he
elected and who are most precious to him (cf. Exod 19:4–6; Deut 14:2; 26:18; 1
Chr 29:3; Ps 135:4; Eccl 2:8 Mal 3:17). See E. Carpenter, NIDOTTE 3:224.
sn The Hebrew term translated “select” (and the whole verse) is reminiscent
of the classic covenant text (Exod 19:4–6) which describes Israel’s entry into
covenant relationship with the Lord.
Israel must resist paganism and its trappings precisely because she is a holy
people elected by the Lord from
among the nations to be his instrument of world redemption (cf. Deut 7:6;
26:18; Ps 135:4; Mal 3:17; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet 2:9).
·
End “NET®” notes
[21] Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English.
NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.
[22] Jewish Publication Society. (1997, c1985). Tanakh:
The Holy Scriptures: A new translation of the Holy Scriptures according to the
traditional Hebrew text. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
y
3:8 Lit at the wind of the day
z
3:8 Jb 34:22–23
a
3:10 Lit the sound of You
b
3:12 Jb 31:33; Pr 28:13
c
3:13 Rm 7:11; 2Co 11:3; 1Tm 2:14
d
3:14 Is 65:25; Mc 7:17
•
This term is used literally or metaphorically to refer to plants or grain,
sowing or harvest, male reproductive seed, human children or physical
descendants, and also to spiritual children or to Christ (Gl 3:16).
e
3:15 Heb 2:14; 1Jn 3:8
[24]
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard
version. (2009). (Ge 3:8–15). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[25] http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13219-satan with additional bibliography as
follows: Davidson, Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 300-355, Edinburgh, 1904;
Faivre, La Personalité du Satan d'Après la Bible, Montauban, 1900; Hennecke,
NeutestamentlicheApokryphen, Tübingen, 1904; Köberle, Sünde und Gnade, Munich,
1902; Herzog-Plitt, Real-Encyc. xv. 358-362 (and the bibliography there given);
Schrader, K. A. T. 3d ed., pp. 463 et seq.
[27] See footnote 25.
[28] Original tale’s author unknown.
[30] Jewish Publication Society. (1997, c1985). Tanakh:
The Holy Scriptures : A new translation of the Holy Scriptures according to the
traditional Hebrew text. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
[31] Jewish Publication Society. (1997, c1985). Tanakh:
The Holy Scriptures : A new translation of the Holy Scriptures according to the
traditional Hebrew text. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
·
[The following notes are taken from the NET
Bible® footnotes, copyright (c) 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press L.L.C. All
rights reserved. Used by permission from www.bible.org, n.d. Numbering system
is unique to NET® Notes. For more
information, see footnote #2 and 3.]
2 tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A D2 33 M) have γάρ (gar) after μέν (men), though some significant Alexandrian and Western
witnesses lack the conjunction (B D* G Ψ 81 365 1506
2464* pc latt). A few mss have γάρ, but not μέν (6 1739 1881). γάρ was frequently added by scribes as a clarifying conjunction, making it
suspect here. NA27 has the γάρ in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
tn Grk “first indeed that.”
4 tn The
referent of λόγια (logia, “oracles”) has been variously understood: (1) BDAG 598
s.v. λόγιον takes the term to refer here to “God’s promises to the
Jews”; (2) some have taken this to refer more narrowly to the national promises
of messianic salvation given to Israel (so S. L. Johnson, Jr., “Studies in
Romans: Part VII: The Jews and the Oracles of God,” BSac 130 [1973]: 245); (3) perhaps the most widespread
interpretation sees the term as referring to the entire OT generally.
5 tn Grk “every man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here to stress humanity
rather than masculinity.
6 tn Grk “Let God be true, and every man a
liar.” The words “proven” and “shown up” are supplied in the translation to
clarify the meaning.
7 tn Grk “might be justified,” a subjunctive
verb, but in this type of clause it carries the same sense as the future
indicative verb in the latter part. “Will” is more idiomatic in contemporary
English.
14 tn Grk “whose.” Because of the length and
complexity of the Greek sentence, this relative clause was rendered as a new
sentence in the translation.
18 tn Grk “whose mouth is.” Because of the
length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in
the translation.
24 tn Grk “because by the works of the law no
flesh is justified before him.” Some recent scholars have understood the phrase
ἒργα
νόμου (erga
nomou, “works of the law”)
to refer not to obedience to the Mosaic law generally, but specifically to
portions of the law that pertain to things like circumcision and dietary laws
which set the Jewish people apart from the other nations (e.g., J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC], 1:155). Other
interpreters, like C. E. B. Cranfield (“‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle
to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]:
89-101) reject this narrow interpretation for a number of reasons, among which
the most important are: (1) The second half of v. 20, “for through the law
comes the knowledge of sin,” is hard to explain if the phrase “works of the
law” is understood in a restricted sense; (2) the plural phrase “works of the
law” would have to be understood in a different sense from the singular phrase
“the work of the law” in 2:15; (3) similar phrases involving the law in Romans
(2:13, 14; 2:25, 26, 27; 7:25; 8:4; and 13:8) which are naturally related to
the phrase “works of the law” cannot be taken to refer to circumcision (in
fact, in 2:25 circumcision is explicitly contrasted with keeping the law).
Those interpreters who reject the “narrow” interpretation of “works of the law”
understand the phrase to refer to obedience to the Mosaic law in general.
26 tn Νυνὶ δέ (Nuni de, “But now”) could be understood as either (1) logical or
(2) temporal in force, but most recent interpreters take it as temporal,
referring to a new phase in salvation history.
27 tn Grk “being witnessed by the law and the
prophets,” a remark which is virtually parenthetical to Paul’s argument.
28 tn Or “faith
in Christ.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated
“faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pistis Christou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in v. 26; Gal
2:16, 20; 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s
faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna
D. Hooker, “Πίστις
Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35
[1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive
view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an
objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20;
7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5;
15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2
Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the
objective genitive view has its
adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis
Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT
22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730–44. Most commentaries on
Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.
sn ExSyn 116, which notes that the
grammar is not decisive, nevertheless suggests that “the faith/faithfulness of
Christ is not a denial of faith in Christ
as a Pauline concept (for the idea is expressed in many of the same contexts,
only with the verb πιστεύω rather than the noun), but implies that the object of
faith is a worthy object, for he himself is faithful.” Though Paul elsewhere
teaches justification by faith, this presupposes that the object of our faith
is reliable and worthy of such faith.
29 tn Or
“declared righteous.” Grk “being
justified,” as a continuation of the preceding clause. Because of the length
and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the
translation.
31 tn Grk “whom God publicly displayed.”
Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was
started here in the translation.
32 tn Grk “in his blood.” The prepositional
phrase ἐν
τῷ
αὐτοῦ
αἵματι (ejn
tō aujtou haimati) is difficult
to interpret. It is traditionally understood to refer to the atoning sacrifice
Jesus made when he shed his blood on the cross, and as a modifier of ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion). This interpretation fits if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to a sacrifice. But if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to the place where atonement is made as this translation
has done (see note on the phrase “mercy seat”), this interpretation of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι creates a violent mixed metaphor. Within a few words Paul would switch
from referring to Jesus as the place where atonement was made to referring to
Jesus as the atoning sacrifice itself. A viable option which resolves this
problem is to see ἐν
τῷ
αὐτοῦ
αἵματι as modifying the verb προέθετο (proetheto). If it modifies the verb, it would explain the time or
place in which God publicly displayed Jesus as the mercy seat; the reference to
blood would be a metaphorical way of speaking of Jesus’ death. This is
supported by the placement of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι in the Greek text (it follows the noun, separated from it by another
prepositional phrase) and by stylistic parallels with Rom 1:4. This is the
interpretation the translation has followed, although it is recognized that
many interpreters favor different options and translations. The prepositional
phrase has been moved forward in the sentence to emphasize its connection with
the verb, and the referent of the metaphorical language has been specified in
the translation. For a detailed discussion of this interpretation, see D. P.
Bailey, “Jesus As the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D.
diss., University of Cambridge, 1999).
33 tn The word ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion) may carry the general sense “place of satisfaction,”
referring to the place where God’s wrath toward sin is satisfied. More likely,
though, it refers specifically to the “mercy seat,” i.e., the covering of the
ark where the blood was sprinkled in the OT ritual on the Day of Atonement (Yom
Kippur). This term is used only one other time in the NT: Heb 9:5, where it is
rendered “mercy seat.” There it describes the altar in the most holy place
(holy of holies). Thus Paul is saying that God displayed Jesus as the “mercy
seat,” the place where propitiation was accomplished. See N. S. L. Fryer, “The
Meaning and Translation of Hilasterion
in Romans 3:25, ” EvQ 59 (1987):
99-116, who concludes the term is a neuter accusative substantive best
translated “mercy seat” or “propitiatory covering,” and D. P. Bailey, “Jesus As
the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D.
diss., University of Cambridge, 1999), who argues that this is a direct
reference to the mercy seat which covered the ark of the covenant.
34 tn The
prepositional phrase διὰ
πίστεως (dia
pisteōs) here
modifies the noun ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion). As such it forms a complete noun phrase and could be
written as “mercy-seat-accessible-through-faith” to emphasize the singular
idea. See Rom 1:4 for a similar construction. The word “accessible” is not in
the Greek text but has been supplied to clarify the idea expressed by the
prepositional phrase (cf. NRSV: “effective through faith”).
35 tn Grk “for a demonstration,” giving the
purpose of God’s action in v. 25a. Because of the length and complexity of the
Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
37 tn The words
“This was” have been repeated from the previous verse to clarify that this is a
continuation of that thought. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek
sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
40 tn Or “of the
one who has faith in Jesus.” See note on “faithfulness of Jesus Christ” in v.
22 for the rationale behind the translation “Jesus’ faithfulness.”
41 tn Although a
number of interpreters understand the “boasting” here to refer to Jewish
boasting, others (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, “‘The Works of the Law’ in the
Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43
[1991]: 96) take the phrase to refer to all human boasting before God.
43 tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anthrōpon) is used in an indefinite and general sense (BDAG 81
s.v. ἄνθρωπος 4.a.γ).
·
End “NET®” notes
[32] Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English.
NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.
[33] Stern, D. H. (1989). Jewish New
Testament : A translation of the New Testament that expresses its Jewishness
(1st ed.). Jerusalem, Israel; Clarksville, Md., USA: Jewish New Testament
Publications.
• The agricultural products harvested first and given to
God as an offering; also the first of more products to come
[34] The Holy Bible : Holman Christian standard
version. 2003. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[35] The Scriptures, 1998, electronic edition, ©2000-2014 e-Sword®, by Rick Myers. All rights
reserved.
[36]Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown,
D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the
Old and New Testaments. On spine: Critical and explanatory commentary. (1
Co 13:9). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
1 Lit languages of the nations
2 Lit grasp, and they will grasp
3 Or corner of the garment
[38] Word of Yahweh, electronic
edition, ©2000-2014
e-Sword®, by Rick Myers. All rights
reserved.
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