|
1 John 4:19
We love because he first loved us. When on Mount Gerizim the Children of Israel enter the covenant of God and become His people. The Gerizim covenant wording contains the following curse, "Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them (Deuteronomy 27:9-10; 26)." Paul takes up this statement in, For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them (Galatians 3:10))." Sadly, this passage is commonly interpreted to mean that if a believer begins to observe the Commandments, he 'falls from grace' and places himself under the curse of the Law. This interpretation completely omits the Paul who concurred with the idea that we live by our observance in, But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them (Galatians 3:12 on Leviticus 18:5)." This reading in Paul is also at the root of Christian Anti-Semitism. The Torah does tell us that we 'live' or 'die' as pertaining to our obedience to the Torah (Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 27:26). This are not teachings of Men but Oracles from the mouth of God which Paul would not dare to disagree with. What did Paul mean then? The problem is simple: ignorance of Judaism and reading the text with an already established theology. This problem caused the translators of the English texts of Galatians to fail in making the difference when Paul speaks about a trusting obedience in the Law of God, or about the legalistic perversion of it often promoted by religious folks. A legalistic perversion of Torah makes the Commandments a ladder by which we obtain God's favor, regardless if we have a loving trust and relationship with Him, a type of ritualistic obedience that is found in many faiths, including with Christian who decry the Pharisees of the Master's day as 'legalistic'. Paul agrees with the Torah, but also knows how to balance verse with verse. Follow me here through a Rabbinic exegesis of the definition of a life of faith through Hebrew Scriptures. These Scriptures work to complement each other's understanding, not against each other. As Paul did, the Rabbis did recognize the absurdity of basing eternal life on absolute obedience to the 613 Commandments so Rabbi Simlai brought up King David who trimmed it eleven (Psalms 15), Isaiah who condensed it to six (Isaiah 33:15-16), Micah who simplified to three (Micah 6:8), Amos to one (Amos 5:4), to which Habbakuk agreed (Habbakuk 2:4) which is the statement Paul uses in his contention for a trusting obedience as opposed to a legalistic faithless one. As you can see, the principle of 'living by faith', within obedience to Torah is not something that Paul invented, but that was often brought up by the prophets to remaind people that ritualisatic 'obedience' is ot the thing. Actually, some of the prophets claim that God would rather do without the offerings when done in the wrong spirit ((1 Samuel 15:22). As we discover the beauty of serving God through obedience to Torah, may we never forget that our service is nothing without our love. Alongside with the prophets of old, this is what Yeshua came to remind us and to teach us: the dimension of love and trust in our service.
0 Comments
James 2:18
Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works Yeshua said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16)”. The words spoken by the Master should be understood within the Judaic matrix in which they were spoken. In the mouth of a Jewish Rabbi, to ‘shine your light’ means to practice Torah commandments (Psalms 119:105), and the expression ‘good works’ often employed by the Master and other apostles comes from the Hebrew original ‘mitsvot’, referring to ‘ commandments’. It is the plural of ‘mitsvah’ found the in the term ‘bar-mitsvah’: ‘son of the commandment’. In essence, Yeshua is telling us is to practice Torah in front of men that it may cause them to glorify the Father which is Heaven. This amounts to the same statement made by Moses, “Keep them (the commandments) and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples … all this law that I set before you today Deuteronomy 4:6-8)? Practicing Torah commandments therefore is God’s evangelism program. When we show love, forgiveness, compassion, generosity and care, which are all Torah commands, we show God’s true nature to the world. When we observe the Sabbath, He gives us rest form our labor so we can spend time with Him in the company of family and friends. When we eat according to His diet it shows that He cares that we feed ourselves properly; it also show a disciplined mind as we must remember that the first sin was all about disobedience to a certain ‘food’ (Genesis 3:6). Celebrating the festivals reminds us of His goodness for us, past, present and future, and managing our finances according to the Word benefits the whole community. Today, whenever we talk about obedience to God’s commandments many start screaming ‘legalism’. The question is “What is the difference between obedience and legalism?” The price of our redemption may have been paid by someone else, but it doesn’t absolve from obeying the rules of the Kingdom outlined in the Torah. Attempting to express the gratitude of the redeemed towards their Redeemer, the apostle Paul said that the works of Torah obedience should be practiced, but out of love, not out of duty (Galatians 5:6). We are His Bride. As we enter His household and Kingdom it behooves to start behaving like it. This reminds me of a queen who when she publicly disobeyed her husband, for the sake of the people present he had to banish her from the kingdom, cause if the queen herself did not obey her husband neither will the common folks (Esther 1). Unlike worldly kings, God is a covenant-keeping God and he does not retract from His covenant with His people. Therefore in regards toward His everlasting and gracious compassion towards us we should learn to do His will and obey His commandments out of love. May we learn to live in a manner that the world will glorify our God! |
Thanks for thinking of us... even a tiny donation is a blessing to us...
Order our new CD at: http://www.thelumbrosos.com/shop.html
Also available on itune. 
Our 'UNDER THE FIG TREE' atL:
http://www.thelumbrosos.com/shop.html 
Check our original judaica and other jewelery at:
http://www.thelumbrosos.com/shop.html Archives
May 2013
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed