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James 3:1
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. In his exhortation to the children of the Children of Israel, Moses makes a point about the benefits of keeping the commandment. He says, "The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that Adonai swore to give to your fathers (Deuteronomy 8:1). It is a simple concept. I rent the downstairs part of my house. When a potential renter shows interest in the apartment, I give him a rental agreement which is basically paper telling him that he can only live there as long as he follows certain rules, i.e., "no smoking, no big pets, and pay the rent on time". In the same manner, Israel being God's land, He reminds the potential future tenants of the 'rental agreement' (Genesis 20:15). The word 'commandment' in this sentence is used as a collective word referring to the Torah commandments as a whole. It also points to the whole exhortation Moses was giving to the Children of Israel in his "Deuteronomy' teaching. This verse is often used to motivate people in that if they live more in sync' with God's commandments, He will bring blessing upon their land. Whereas living by the Torah certainly brings blessing upon our land and our lives, this verse was location driven for the Land of Israel. The same collective form of the word 'commandment referring to the Torah as a whole is used in Proverbs 6:23 and 13.13. Paul also uses it in his exhortation to Timothy, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Adon, Yeshua HaMashiach (1 Timothy 6:14). Timothy was the son of Jewish woman and a Roman man. He was raised by his Jewish grandmother in the ways of the Torah (2 Timothy 1:5). In his leadership training epistle, Paul asks timothy not to just keep the commandment, but to keep it "unstained and free from reproach." May those of us whom the Father has placed in positions of responsibility, also serve keeping the commandment "unstained and free from reproach"; untainted by the reproach caused by the rationalization of our evil inclination to selfishness, pride, and deceit. It is a tall order, but whereas those of us in positions of responsibility and teaching receive double honor, we are also liable to greater condemnation (1 Timothy 5:17; James 3:1). Remember the warning of the Master towards those who through their 'staining' of the commandments cause His little ones; to stumble: whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:6).
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'A Few Good Men'1 Timothy 3:1 If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Mankind is of a rebellious nature. We are small, weak, vulnerable and yet as ironic as it may seem, we strive for independence at any cost. Human history teaches us that our thirst for freedom from even God-appointed human leadership has solely been quenched by the spilling of much blood. Mahatma Gandhi is known to have said to British officials then controlling India that, “Every man would prefer to have his own bad government that the good government of others”. Whereas countries do have their own right to self-determination, in theology today this principle translates in that mankind prefers to be led by his own distilled spiritual errors than by the Truth taught him by a God-appointed leadership.
The Father knows that we need leadership that’s He inspired Jethro to advise Moses to establish a council of elders. This council was to be called the ‘Court of Judgment’ or ‘bet-din’ in Hebrew. Authority was granted to individuals to help people find answers interpreting the Torah by the Torah. This council would later become the Sanhedrin. Just as people today refuse to answer to any human authority, it is not hard to imagine that there were some in the Children of Israel who resented that lower court in favor of wanting to solely refer to the higher court: of Moses (Torah). It is not hard also to imagine that a charismatic council member would draw much attention to himself thus provoking unbalanced loyalties from the people. These problems with human leadership exist today, and they certainly existed then; we see them plenty in the Bible. This is why these needed to be men known for their integrity men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, men to whom Moses would teach the statutes and the laws of God. Moses had the charge to make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do (Exodus 18:20-21). The disciples of the Master established leadership in the Messianic congregations according to the same blue-print. We see how at a time of crisis they felt the need to established leaders in order to judge petty matters within the community (Acts 6:1). Again, as in the Horeb blue-print, these men were chosen for their integrity; men of good repute and full of the Spirit and of wisdom (Acts 6:3). Also Paul established leadership over each and every congregation according to the same parameters. Hear his advice to Timothy on how to choose congregational leaders: an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive … dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain … their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things (1 Timothy 3:1-12). It is also noticeable that it was the people who chose these leaders who were afterward anointed and appointed by Moses or Paul. |
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