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1 Corinthians 3:13
Each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. In the text of Deuteronomy the Children of Israel promise to, walk in God’s ways, to keep His statutes and his commandments and His rules, and to obey His voice (Deuteronomy 26:17). On many levels, this is a generic statement. Many people, each living different lifestyles, claim to live in keeping with God’s commandments and statutes. To walk in someone’s way is a Hebrew idiom for imitating them. Discipleship in the Sacred Texts is not to learn someone’s knowledge, but to imitate them. So to walk in God’s ways means to imitate Him. How then do we imitate God? An ancient Hebrew text puts it in very simple terms. It says that just as God clothed the naked (Genesis 3:31), we should also clothe the naked; that as God visited the sick when He came to Abraham in the plains of Mamre when he was recovering from his circumcision, so we should also visit the sick (Genesis 18:1). The text also mentions that as God appeared to Isaac after the death of his father Abraham, in the same manner we should comfort the mourning. Finally, we learn from this text that as God buried Moses in the plains of Moab, we should also give proper attention to the dead (b.Sotah 14a). Another ancient text mentions, ‘Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, is called Merciful, so shouldst thou be merciful. Just as He is called Gracious, so shouldst thou be gracious. Just as He is called Righteous, so shouldst thou be righteous. Just as He is called Devout, so shouldst thou be called devout (sifre on Deuteronomy 10:12). The Master followed this imitation principle of discipleship. He said, I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him." (John 8:28-29). According to the model of the ancient Jewish sages, Yeshua also encouraged us to, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit those in prison (Matthew 25:35-36). In fact, this is the type of righteousness He will look for in us as we meet Him at the End of Days. James also taught the early Hebrew congregations that, Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (James 1:27). To sum it all up, acts of compassion and mercy seem to have much more to do with the Biblical way of walking after God’s commands than head stuffing of doctrines and accurate statements of faith. As we walk through life, may we always remember that when all is said and done at that the End of Days, our life’s work will tested by fire (1 Corinthians 3:13). At that time all the wood, hay and straw of pride, self-righteousness, selfishness and vanity will burn. At that time, only the gold, the silver, and the precious stones of the positive treatment of those made in the image of the Father will count in our Master’ eyes.
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1 Peter 2:12
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. With literacy almost universal, the Word of Torah is made available almost to all. Even though originally recorded in a Semitic language, through Hebrew Jews have been able to preserve its text. They have also developed easy ways to learn Hebrew so that many of us can actually study the Words of God in their original language. In a way, this should save us from the divisive curse of so many translations. Jews and Muslims do not have this problem because they study their Holy Texts in their original languages, and the language of the Bible is not Elizabethan English nor even Greek, but Hebrew. Reading the Bible in the culture of its original tongue is a first step in properly comprehending it, but the litmus test of whether we properly understand, live and apply the Words of our Father accurately is in this exhortation given by Moses to the Israelite generation ready to enter and conquer Canaan at God’s command. He said, Keep them (the Words of Torah) and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today (Deuteronomy 4:6-8)? There is s popular saying among secular folks these days, ‘Lord, deliver me from Your children!’ I would like to think that people who say these things are incorrigible atheists, but the truth is that this saying is popular even among believers. It is the feeling often uttered by people who have been burned and abused by some of the ungodly ways some of God’s people represent Abba’s Words through their societal manners. It is true that at times the Word will cause persecution (2 Timothy 3:12), but opposition to our obnoxious ways is not persecution for righteousness’ sake, it is rather the just reward of our lack of wisdom. In the mean time though, the Word is negated and people do not know God as He would be portrayed, would we walk out Torah knowledge the way Yeshua taught us to. I am always amazed at the fact that whereas Yeshua, the Ultimate Righteous One on earth who came down from His heavenly station to walk our dirty roads, was so sociable that people sought and followed His uncertain ways for miles. Yeshua sent His disciples in the same manner He was sent (John 20:21). Their life in Israel and even in the nations which is well documented in the Book of Acts and other historical accounts had the desired effect of creating a hunger for God in the people they came in contact with. The question we now need to ask ourselves is, “When people come in contact with me, do they see God’s wisdom as the Torah say they should (Deuteronomy 4:6-8)?” |
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