Sunday, January 04, 2009

I don't do that... it was given to the Jews.

So, I posed a question on The Carpenter's Shop's group on Facebook the other day, and even though we have 27 members online, there have been no responses; I have yet to find out if it is the question its self, or just that nobody has seen it...

At any rate, here is the question, and I will add my commentary as I go:

Nearly every Christian I know agrees that we, as believers, are part of the "New Covenant" written of in Jeremiah 31:31. The scripture goes like this;

31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,[a] says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

The question is this - which tribe are we from, Israel or Judah? The last I checked, neither one of my parents were Jewish, nor were my wife's... so is my family left out of the equation?
I ask this with a hint of tongue in cheek, because I know that I am grafted in. However, it is worth asking just exactly what it is that I am grafted in to. Paul says that we have been grafted into Israel in Ephesians 2 and Romans 11. What does that mean, and why am I bringing it up? Because about three times a week, I am asked questions on why I do certain things, like observing a Saturday Sabbath, or Passover, or eating kosher, and when I tell them that I believe that the 'Old Testament' Law is still valid for believers today, the response is usually, "I thought those things were for the Jews" or "wasn't that given to the Jews?" And occasionally, "you aren't a Jew - why bother?"
There is a hundred pound gorilla sitting in the middle of this question that desperately needs to be addressed!
If we are not to do certain things in scripture because they were 'given to the Jews,' then where and how do we draw the line; because when that logic is followed through, we can not partake of the Covenants, promises, or the blessings that were given to Israel. As a matter of fact, when that logic is carried through, it annuls thae book of James and Hebrews as well. James was written to "the twelve tribes scattered abroad" and Hebrews was written to, well... the Hebrews. Both books were given to the Jews. See my point? To take it further, the entire concept of a Messiah was given to the Jews in a set of Jewish books - a Jewish Messiah who will some day rule and reign from a Jewish king's (David) throne, in the Jewish capitol of Jerusalem! I say all of that to say this; I think that we have grossley missunderstood just exactly what is for the Jews or for the Gentiles. In the Western world, we believe that the Ten Commandments are valid in our lives... except for the one about Sabbath. We believe that all children should honor their parrents, yet we have the nerve to split up one of God's sentences that says
'Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the LORD your God - Lev 19:3

Bear with me here, because this is vital to my point. Notice the words and and My. "And" means just that - and; plus, in addition to, also.
Again, most Christians agree that kids should honor their mother and father; but I ask you this: who has the right to seperate that sentence? What man has the authority to say that one is for Gentiles, and the other for Jews? Are they both not His commandments? This leads me to the word "My."
We have been taught that the Saturday Sabbath commandment was given to the Jews, but look at the scripture, and tell me who's Sabbath it is. Evidently it is His Sabbath. Of course, Yeshua said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, but who's is it? I believe that it is His Sabbath to give to whomever He seems fit - in this case, it is "man." Notice again, that Jesus never said that the Sabbath was made for the Jew, not the Jew for the Sabbath; He didn't even say that it was made for Israel, but man.

What about the verse that says that there is no longer Jew or Gentile in Christ?
To that, I would like to say, amen! There is no longer Jew or Gentile in Christ! That brings me back into the equatinon that I mentioned earlier - that is comforting, because it allows me back in!
What about that though? Let me make a suggestion...
As I said earlier, we are serving a Jewish Messiah, who will sit on a Jewish throne, in Jerusalem, the Jewish capitol of Israel. We have obtained all of this information from ancient, Jewish books, written in Hebrew. The rest was written in Greek, by Hebrews (there is question as to wether or not Luke was a Gentile; I believe he was a Jew - more on that later).
Again, we in the West have made this scripture to mean not that there is no longer Jew or Gentile, but that there is no longer Jew.
Think about it; we thiink that there are certain things that were given only to them, and becasue there is no longer Jew or Gentile, they should no longer have to do the Jewish things. I ask you this - how many times do you see God telling the Hebrews not to do the things in the Torah... and how many times do you see Him telling them not to do the things of the Gentiles? The answer: He never tells them to stop observing Torah. He repeatedly tells them not to behave lilkke the Gentiles. Why, when all of us are lumped together, would God change His mind, and request that all of His people act like the Gentiles whom He has so consistantly warned Israel about? He wouldn't. He is never changing.

I hope that you are getting what I am trying to say. We are able to partake in that Covenant that was given to the two houses of Israel because we have been grafted in. Grafted in to Israel! We are now partakers in those things because we have "been made near" to the promises and Covenants that we were once so far removed. We are grafted in as His "Chosen People." Remember, Jesus said that "you did not choose me, but I have chosen you." This makes us His "chosen people" as well!
I think that we need to rethink the "it was given to the Jews" mindset. After all, if we follow through on the logic behind it... what other choice do we have?



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

But the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) nullified much of the "law" of the Judaizers and stripped most of the "requirements" of the law for those gentiles choosing to follow Christ.

Are we also to maintain the ritual sacrifices?

Anonymous said...

Actuaally, it is my understanding that Acts 15:1 clears that up. People were saying that one had to be circumsized in order to be saved, rather than saying that Christ is the prereq for salvation. Following mosaic law does not save you, but it is still expected of you, you should grow into it not jump into it. It is interesting to note, based off of Acts 15:1, that any Christian who IS circumsized is held to mosaic law per the apostles. I was circumsized at birth and therefore my parents signed me up to follow the laws of G-d.

Now, if you flip forward to Acts 15:20-21, it becomes clear that a new believer should start out with abstaining from idollatry, fornication, things that are strangled, and blood (all references to mosaic laws, implying that mosaic law should be followed). Now the most important part, to our discussion, of this passage is 15:21, which implies that a new believer will learn the rest of the laws in SYNAGOGUE every week on shabbat.

To the point of ritual sacrifice, these laws cannot be followed without a temple, so at this time the answer is definately NO. However, there has been some debate as to wether or not we would have to if/when the temple is rebuilt because Jesus litterally was our sacrifice for some of the ritual sacrifices. Also, if G-d asked you to sacrifice animals, wouldn't you do it? It is a little disturbing to me to think that you would refuse G-d something so small and insignificant as this just because it seems strange by todays standards. We kill a LOT of animals daily for us to eat, what difference does it make to kill some more in the name of G-d? Also, it might do you good to remember that G-d is unchanging and that throughout the Bible we never switched which G-d we worship, He's always been the same G-d. Through this it can be logically inferred that whatever pleased him then still pleases him.

bridget said...

Love your blog!! Very interesting and funny!! I would just like to comment on the obama supporters...wow!! I just love how most of them sign in as anonymous...and that they use such vulgar language. I also find it interesting that people that HATE your blog keep coming back. That always amazes me. If you don't like it, don't read it. No one is making them...I try to find more productive things to do with my time, rather than go find people and insult them b/c I don't agree with their views. Funny, it seems like the people that are closed-minded, always have to open their mouths! Anyway...keep up the good work..I will be returning often!!
God Bless