Tag: christian

Titles for God’s people: Believers and Christians

Not all of the titles we see in the Bible apply to God’s people today.

Core of the Bible podcast #125: Titles for God’s people – Believers and Christians

Over the next several weeks, I will be exploring the topic of titles used to describe God’s people throughout the Bible, but primarily titles used for his first century people in the writings of the New Testament. These terms do indeed all have significance and definitions are important, which is why I am taking the time to break down biblical terms so we can have a better grasp of how to apply them appropriately.

We will be looking at the following terms in some detail: believer and Christian, the Remnant and the Elect, the Church and the Body, and the Bride of Christ. These are all terms that by most accounts are considered synonymous and applicable to the people today who claim to believe in Messiah. However, I intend to look at scriptural reasons as to why I believe this is not the case, how most of those terms do not apply to God’s people today, and yet how God has worked within these various aspects of his people over the ages to accomplish specific things for the good of all.

As is usually the case, I began this as a single essay, but as I continued to delve into the particulars of these various designations I found that more and more details would present themselves for further study. Hopefully, breaking some of these up into smaller segments will be easier to grasp the essential points along with some relatively unusual perspectives for further study on your own.

Believers

Let’s begin with a basic term that is used to describe God’s people throughout the Bible: belief. You may notice that generally when I speak of those who follow Yahweh and Messiah Yeshua, I choose to use the term believers rather than Christians. This is the one term out of all of those previously mentioned which I believe does apply to God’s people today. This stems from the thrust of the biblical narrative and some particulars about the designation of Christian (which we will explore in a little bit).

All throughout the Bible there are people who are listed as those who believe and also those who do not believe.

Exodus 4:5 – “This will take place,” he continued, “so that they will believe that Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

Deuteronomy 9:23 – “When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh-barnea, he said, ‘Go up and possess the land I have given you’; you rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God. You did not believe or obey him.

2 Kings 17:14 – But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like their ancestors who did not believe Yahweh their God.

Psalm 78:32 – Despite all this, they kept sinning and did not believe his wondrous works.

Isaiah 43:10 – “You are my witnesses” — this is Yahweh’s declaration — “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. No god was formed before me, and there will be none after me.

An interesting facet to all of these belief passages in the Tanakh is that they are expressed within the context of Israel; as in, there are those who believe and who do not believe in Yahweh within the nation of Israel. It is not used as a phrase for those outside of the national identity. As we move through the discussion in the coming studies, you will see how that becomes an important understanding in terms of God’s dealings with his people, especially when we come to consider the terms “remnant” and “elect”.

In the New Testament, we find belief, especially a belief in Messiah (which is said to be an indication of receiving him) to be a core aspect of Messiah’s purpose:

John 1:11-12 – He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,

John 6:29 – Yeshua replied, “This is the work of God ​– ​that you believe in the one he has sent.”

John 14:1 – “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

Followers of Messiah even used this type of descriptive terminology:

Acts 16:15 – After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me to be believing in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Acts 16:34 – He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.

The writer to the Hebrews makes it clear that faith is essential to pleasing God:

Hebrews 11:6 – Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

The apostle Paul emphasized that belief was the foundation of the collective group of those who were in Messiah:

Romans 3:22 – The righteousness of God is through faith in Yeshua Messiah to all who believe, since there is no distinction.

But then, in another passage, Paul draws a more specific distinction between those who were to be considered believers with those who were non-believers. In contrast with the Tanakh passages which seemed to focus on believers and non-believers within the nation of Israel, Paul appears to be discussing non-believers in the wider context of the general population of Corinth, known for its idolatry.

2 Corinthians 6:14-15 – Do not be yoked together with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What agreement does Messiah have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an non-believer?

Now, it could be argued that Paul was addressing those who claimed to be among the scattered Israelites in Corinth who gave lip service to Yahweh and yet were just as likely to be found among the idolatrous temples of the culture around them. In this passage, Paul uses this unusual term Belial, along with lawlessness and darkness, as contrasting terms to Messiah. Since this appears to be the only place this term Belial is used in the New Testament Greek, if we pursue this term back to its Hebrew root, we find it less of a proper name and more of a description of those who were considered wicked or worthless.

Deuteronomy 13:12-14 – “If you hear it said about one of your cities Yahweh your God is giving you to live in, “that wicked men have sprung up among you, led the inhabitants of their city astray, and said, ‘Let’s go and worship other gods,’ which you have not known, “you are to inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly…

1 Samuel 2:12 – Eli’s sons were wicked men; they did not respect Yahweh

2 Samuel 23:6 – But all the wicked are like thorns raked aside; they can never be picked up by hand.

2 Chronicles 13:7 – “Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young, inexperienced, and unable to assert himself against them.

Proverbs 6:12 – A worthless person, a wicked man goes around speaking dishonestly,

Nahum 1:11 – One has gone out from you, who plots evil against Yahweh, and is a wicked counselor.

Sometimes the term used in these passages is the phrase ben belial, meaning “a son of wickedness/worthlessness”. It is from this Hebraism that the term could be considered as a proper name of some wicked entity, sometimes associated with Satan. But to be a “son of” something was to be considered the offspring of, or participant in, something larger than oneself.

Exodus 19:6 – and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

  • These sons of Israel weren’t just Jacob’s sons particularly, because there were also some Egyptians and others who had come out of Egypt with the Hebrews at that time, but it is here speaking of participants in the nation of Israel, much like we might say “sons of America” today.

Matthew 8:12 – “But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

  • Here, Yeshua uses the same type of language regarding those who were considered to be participants within the Kingdom of God, yet were being rejected for their lack of faith.

To be a son in the most basic sense of the Hebrew is to be a builder, as in the builder of the family line or family name. In this sense, to be a son of the Kingdom is to be a builder of the Kingdom. To be a son of belial is to be a builder of wickedness and worthlessness. And in the passage of 2 Corinthians where Paul is drawing a distinction between those of Messiah and those of Belial, whether these individuals were simply wicked fellow citizens of their pagan culture or if they were lawless scattered Israelites, either way, these individuals are the ones whom Paul is warning believers in Messiah to stay away from.

In the Bible, it is also clear that belief is closely aligned with and only visible through actions and lifestyle. You may recall that the Tanakh passages we reviewed earlier use this phrase as a verb describing an action, believing and obeying or not believing and remaining obstinate or disobedient. In the New Testament writings, James defines this Hebraic way of understanding faith a little further:

James 2:17-18 – In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.  But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works.

And this is one of the places where I get on my little hobby horse about English translations (and there are many!). In the 2 Corinthians 6 passage, Paul uses the term “non-believer” as a contrast to those who are in Messiah. Many English Bibles might phrase this statement by rendering it as “unbeliever”. While this is most likely just me splitting semantic hairs (please bear with me), this term “unbeliever” in English is a phrase which I greatly dislike because it seems imprecise when discussing this biblical concept. To me it is a nonsensical term; how can you un-believe something? You either believe it or you don’t. In the original Greek, non-believers are called apistos which literally means faithless,  without demonstrating faith in Yahweh.

I think the phrase “unbeliever” bothers me because it appears to describe an inherent characteristic of unbelief, like it’s just some sort of opinion one holds. But we just saw how the Bible uses the term faith as a verb describing an action, not just a static state of being or an opinion. Those who do not believe are actively not believing, and their lifestyles and their actions show it. To say someone is apistos does not just mean they are unbelieving in opinion, they are literally without faithful actions. I know that unbeliever is an acceptable use of the term in English, but for some reason it just gets under my skin and seems inaccurate. To me, those who demonstrate by their actions that they do not believe are not “unbelievers”, they are more accurately without faithful actions and are, by default (whether knowingly or unknowingly), obstinately living in disobedience to God.

So as we begin this journey on titles used to describe God’s people, I would strongly argue that the concept of faith must be included. While biblical faith is used in the verb sense throughout the Bible, I am of the opinion that to call someone a believer in the noun sense still adequately describes who they are by what they do. My definition of a biblical believer is someone whose actions and lifestyle express their faith in Yahweh as the one true God, and in Yeshua as his Messiah, or Anointed One. A non-believer’s actions demonstrate that they have no faith in Yahweh as the one true God, or in Yeshua as the Messiah, even if they claim to be associated with believers.

Christians

While the term Christian has become an acceptable description of one who follows Christ, or the Messiah, in our present day it is actually a term that has come to mean anyone who believes a specific orthodoxy about the person of Messiah and the message of the Bible as a whole. To be a Christian today, one must affirm that they agree with a framework of stated beliefs in order to qualify as a Christian. Most congregations today even have a public “statement of faith” which defines how they choose to align with the major Christian propositions, such as the trinity, virgin birth of Messiah, and perspectives on eschatology like the end times. This is understandable, for to belong to any type of specific group one must have points of agreement in order to be in fellowship.

However, in point of fact, there is a scholarly perspective that the term Christian as it is actually used in the Bible was not a statement of belief but it was initially used as a pejorative term against the believers in the first century.

The term itself is used only in three New Testament passages:

Acts 11:26 –  The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Acts 26:28 – Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian so quickly? “

1 Peter 4:14-16 – If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.

Now, most people who call themselves Christians today are not aware of the academic dispute about the actual phrase used in the Greek: was it christianoi meaning “anointed ones” or “those who follow the anointed” or was the term chrestianoi meaning “good ones” or “those who do good”? There is only one letter difference in the Greek between these two terms, and based on some convincing manuscript evidence (like the Codex Sinaiticus of the 4th century), some scholars think that chrestianoi is the original or preferred rendering. Someone who is a chrestianon is considered useful, pleasant, kind, or good. Believers living out the teachings of Messiah could certainly be classified as such, since they were instructed by Messiah not only to be kind to one another, but to extend that kindness even to their enemies. This would definitely be a distinctive characteristic worthy of some unique terminology.

The influential Biblical scholar of the last century, F.F. Bruce, wrote the following in his commentary on the book of Acts:

“Xrestus (“useful, kindly”) was a common slave-name in the Graeco-Roman world. It appears as a spelling variant for the unfamiliar Christus (Xristos). (In Greek the two words were pronounced alike.)” – F. F. Bruce, The Books of Acts, 368.

We can see how there was a close correlation between the two terms, and how the term chrestianoi could be applied to those who saw themselves as slaves to that which is good, because they would be known for always doing good to others. However, in a negative connotation, a chrestianon could also have been someone whom we might call today a “goody two-shoes”, or a “do-gooder”; as someone who is annoyingly righteous in what they say and do. And to be honest, this seems to me to be the way the term was employed in Scripture.

Notice, in the passages we just reviewed how if we substitute the negative connotation for the traditional rendering of Christian, it can apply equally as well as the positive.

  • Acts 11:26 – The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
    • It could just as easily be said that the disciples were first called “do-gooders” at Antioch. This would mean that this would have been the first place that believers were recognized collectively as a group with characteristics of doing good that were unique enough to have earned the name.
  • Acts 26:28 – Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian in so little time?”
    • Again, if we substitute the alternative, it could be that Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you going to persuade me to becomea ‘do-gooder’ in so little time?” Agrippa, in context, is sarcastically accusing Paul of trying to convert him to become something he is not. If this “do-gooder” tag was a name that had been applied to the movement many years before, Agrippa, as a controversial politician at best, could easily be seen as conveying his unlikely conversion to being someone who is considered “doing good”.
  • 1 Peter 4:16 – But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.
    • Peter here is contrasting the believers with those who are murderers, thieves, evildoers and those who defraud others (v. 15). “But if anyone suffers as a “doer of good”, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name,” (v. 16). This rendering can be further substantiated by v. 19 which says, “So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.” Peter could easily be saying the “doer of good” term was used as a way of ridiculing those who had chosen to follow the Messiah, and he is encouraging them to not be ashamed of those who would use this term in a derogatory fashion. It’s as if Peter is saying, “Don’t stop doing good just because people are making fun of you for doing so.”

To me, this does not seem to be such a difficult perspective to hold, as even today, many believers are ridiculed for having integrity and doing what is right when peer pressure or cultural dictates are otherwise. If we are truly living according to the teachings of Yeshua, then exhibiting forgiveness to others and extending compassion when it is not customary to do so can certainly be considered abrasive amidst a culture that primarily promotes self-benefit in every aspect. Some things regarding human nature don’t appear to have changed in the millennia since Messiah walked the earth, but then again, as followers of Messiah and slaves to that which is good, we are still called to be the light of the world (that which illuminates) and the salt of the earth (that which heals and preserves).

SUMMARY

Let’s summarize what we have looked at so far in this study on titles for God’s people. We saw that faith was the primary distinction of those who followed the Messiah, so using the term believers seems appropriate and right, as long as the actions of those who claim to be believers bear out their testimony. However, we noted that the term “unbeliever” seems unusual when the actual phrase used in Scripture means one who is faithless or without faithful actions, and is actively living in disobedience. We also saw how there could be both believers and faithless within the group of those considered as God’s people at any given time, based on how they demonstrated their faith (or lack of it) by their ongoing actions.

We then considered how, in today’s usage, a Christian is typically defined as one who holds to a certain set of orthodox beliefs about Christ and the Bible worldview as a whole. However, from the passages where the term may have been used in Scripture, we then saw how the term (whether meaning slave of Christ or one who does good) was likely used in a derogatory way to malign those who were known for excessive acts of kindness and charity amidst a corrupt society.  As “slaves” of Christ, according to Peter, believers were to consider that term a badge of honor rather than the term of derision that it was.

Well, as we wrap up for today, I hope there are at least a couple of concepts and ideas to encourage you to meditate on and to study out further on your own. Next time, we’ll be looking at the terms “remnant and elect”, so be sure to come back and visit for more perspectives on these titles of God’s people. But remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Atonement, part 2

The atonement word-pictures in the Bible are best understood as Israel-centric, then flowing out to the nations.

Core of the Bible podcast #116 – Atonement, part 2

Lately we have been reviewing some of the bigger key doctrines in the Bible, and today we are continuing a study on the topic of the atonement. This is a very complex and involved concept to present, not because it is so extremely difficult to understand, but because we have had a certain view over the centuries that may not reflect what the Bible actually teaches about this critical aspect of the biblical faith.

In order to view atonement from an authoritative biblical stance, it made sense to me to consider it by identifying the following categories:

  • How was atonement represented in Israel’s past (the Old Testament, or Tanakh)
  • How did Yeshua view his role in that worldview
  • How were atonement themes viewed by Yeshua’s disciples and the NT writers
  • What does all of this mean for believers today

To quickly review, last time we examined the first two premises: how atonement was represented in the past through the biblical calendar and the Day of Atonement and also the significance of blood sacrifices in general. We also reviewed how Yeshua conveyed his role as the Good Shepherd, the Ransom, and the founder of the new covenant sealed with his own life.

Today, we are now moving into the New Testament writings and how Yeshua’s disciples interpreted his life and death. I am hoping by the end of this to be able to pull all of this information together so that we can draw some practical understanding and application for our lives today.

What atonement themes were conveyed by Yeshua’s disciples in the New Testament writings?

While there are many references to prophetic fulfillment throughout the New Testament writings, I find that there are three main ideas related to atonement that were primary understandings of those early believers, and how they interpreted the life and death of the Messiah.

  • Lamb of God
  • Paschal lamb (lamb sacrificed at Passover)
  • Mediator/High Priest (Day of Atonement)

Yeshua as the Lamb of God

John 1:29 – The next day John saw Yeshua coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

This verse comes to us as a standard understanding within Christianity. When we typically read this, we have been taught to view this as John the baptizer proclaiming that Yeshua was destined to die as a blood sacrifice for everyone who ever lived in the entire world, satisfying God’s righteous justice and wrath against the sin of all of mankind since the rebellion of Adam.  That is a lot of theology packed into a single verse!

And yet, if we are to do our best to keep things in their contextual and cultural habitat where they belong, we find that John was more likely to have been referencing an aspect of Yeshua’s role that had been conveyed through a prophecy that at that time was already hundreds of years old. As the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”, John appears to be referring not to Adam, but to a prophecy from Isaiah; specifically, that very famous passage in Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53:7, 11-12 – He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth.  … After his anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities.  Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.

This is the allegorical Lamb of God willingly carrying iniquity and bearing sin. By referencing this passage directly, John squarely assigns the role of the servant in this Isaiah passage to Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel who has rejected him.

We need to briefly discuss these “suffering servant” passages in Isaiah, because they comprise a larger section of Isaiah’s prophecies as a whole. Surprisingly, the Wikipedia entry on these Servant Songs has a decent summary of these passages for us to get our contextual bearings:

“The servant songs (also called the servant poems or the Songs of the Suffering Servant) are four songs in the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible, which include Isaiah 42:1–4; Isaiah 49:1–6; Isaiah 50:4–11; and Isaiah 52:13–53:12. The songs are four poems written about a certain “servant of YHWH” (Hebrew: עבד יהוה, ‘eḇeḏ Yahweh). Yahweh calls the servant to lead the nations, but the servant is horribly abused by them. In the end, he is rewarded.“

Most Christians likely don’t recognize this, but these servant passages have had a different meaning among the Semitic community, even into modern Judaism. Although Christians readily attribute these passages to a prophetic foreshadowing of Messiah Yeshua, the Semitic view is that the servant of Yahweh is not an individual, but is the nation of Israel as whole, suffering throughout the nations on behalf of the rest of the world.

“Rabbinic Judaism sees this passage, especially “God’s Suffering Servant” as a reference to the Jewish nation, not to the king Mashiach. Jewish teaching also takes note of the historical context in which God’s Suffering Servant appears, particularly because it speaks in the past tense. The Jewish nation has borne unspeakable injustices, under Assyria, Babylonia, Ancient Greece, ancient Rome, which are all gone, and bears persecution to this day.

“Christians traditionally see the servant as Jesus Christ. The songs are quoted to and applied to Jesus multiple times in the New Testament…

“Another Christian interpretation combines aspects of the traditional Christian and the Jewish interpretation. This position sees the servant as an example of ‘corporate personality’, where an individual can represent a group, and vice versa. Thus, in this case, the servant corresponds to Israel, yet at the same time corresponds to an individual (that is, the Messiah) who represents Israel.”

Looked at in the context of the Bible as a whole, my personal belief is that these “servant” passages do refer to both corporate Israel and the Messiah as Israel’s representative. How can both be true at once? This is because this is the pattern that emerges from the depths of the Bible narrative.  For example, the Levites were the “chosen tribe” out of the twelve tribes of Israel for service of the tabernacle, and yet the High Priest alone is the one who represented the whole nation in intercession before God. In this sense, the Levites were both corporately (as a tribe) and in a single representative individual (the High Priest) the “servant” of the rest of the twelve tribes. From this perspective, this dual identity of the servant in the Isaiah passages solidifies Israel’s role in the world as the chosen people of God who were selected and tried by God on behalf of the rest of the nations, and it also substantiates the Son of God as God’s chosen representative from among that group to intercede for the whole.

To illustrate this further, the famous passage in Isaiah 53 can be viewed from both of these perspectives depending on the emphasis on the pronouns in the passage. So I’d like to read an excerpt of the passage and then substitute the object and subject emphasis of the pronouns used to show you how the passages can be viewed either way.

First, I’ll read it the way it’s generally written.

Isaiah 53:4-6 – Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.  But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.  We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and Yahweh has punished him for the iniquity of us all.

Okay, now I’ll read it substituting the pronouns as the Jews might interpret this passage today:

Isaiah 53:4-6 – Yet Israel himself bore the world’s sicknesses, and Israel carried the world’s pains; but the world in turn regarded Israel stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.  But Israel was pierced because of the world’s rebellion, crushed because of the world’s iniquities; punishment for the world’s peace was on Israel, and we are healed by Israel’s wounds.  We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and Yahweh has punished Israel for the iniquity of the world.

I know this type of interpretation may sound weird to Christian ears, but this is the way the servant concept is identified in Semitic thinking today. To be honest, there is a strong measure of truth to this, as Israel was indeed chosen by God to be the light to the rest of the nations, and in a very real sense, they did go through their trials and rebellion on behalf of providing that light of the Messiah to the rest of the nations.

But now let me read it in the context I believe it was originally intended for that ancient audience.

Isaiah 53:4-6 – Yet Messiah himself bore Israel’s sicknesses, and Messiah carried Israel’s pains; but Israel in turn regarded Messiah stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.  But Messiah was pierced because of Israel’s rebellion, crushed because of Israel’s iniquities; punishment for Israel’s peace was on Messiah, and Israel is healed by Messiah’s wounds.  All Israel went astray like sheep; all Israel have turned to their way; and Yahweh has punished Messiah for the iniquity of all Israel.

You may be thinking, “Well, that’s closer to the right way to view it, but what are all of these references to Israel; where is the rest of the world in this passage?” That’s just it; the rest of the world isn’t in this passage, at least in the context in which it was originally intended. All of the “we” and “our” pronouns actually belong to them, the nation of Israel, not the rest of the world. Isaiah was Israel’s prophet speaking to Israel, not the rest of the world, at least, not at first. Israel was the one whose iniquities (under the first covenant) were needing to be atoned for. Israel was the people who had all gone astray like sheep from God’s torah, which had been given to them and to no other nation. This is why Messiah could say he came “only for the lost sheep of Israel.” And Messiah was the one who bore the iniquity of all Israel as their representative. Yeshua, rightly assuming his role as Israel’s king, accepted the burden of iniquity for his own people. This was the picture that John describes of the “lamb who takes away the sin of the world”: the Messiah who came to represent the collective “world” of all of the tribes of Israel.

We’ll talk more about the rest of the world in a little bit. But for now, consider how this Israel-centric view also makes sense if you simply keep reading the context into Isaiah 54:

Isaiah 54:6-7, 11-12 – “For Yahweh has called you, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,” says your God.  “I deserted you for a brief moment, but I will take you back with abundant compassion.  … “Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed, and not comforted, I will set your stones in black mortar, and lay your foundations in lapis lazuli.  I will make your fortifications out of rubies, your gates out of sparkling stones, and all your walls out of precious stones.”

This is the theme of restoration and renewal like in the book of Revelation, where Jerusalem is transformed into the heavenly Zion with allegorical pearly gates and streets of gold. This is Kingdom language that pervades the imagery of the servant’s representative sacrifice for others. The Lamb who takes away their sin would be a leader figure like King David, the one reigning in this restored Kingdom.

Isaiah 55:3-4 – “Pay attention and come to me; listen, so that you will live. I will make a permanent covenant with you on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David.  Since I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples…”

And here is where the rest of the world comes into the picture in this telling of the good news of the Kingdom:

Isaiah 55:5-7 – “so you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For Yahweh your God, even the Holy One of Israel, has glorified you [Israel].”  Seek Yahweh while he may be found; call to him while he is near.  Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him [Israel] return to Yahweh, so he may have compassion on him, and [rest of the nations] to our God, for he will freely forgive.”

All of this tells us that the Lamb of God imagery is symbolic, representative, and allegorical, not literal. Yeshua accepted the role of fulfilling these prophetic passages by being the voluntarily obedient, symbolic or representative covenant-victim for Yahweh’s new covenant with Judah and Israel (Jer. 31:31; Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25), and all those from among the nations who would ultimately be joined to God’s people.

—

Paschal lamb

Tied up with all of this lamb imagery in our modern minds is now the concept of the Passover lamb. This is evident most notably because Yeshua was crucified at the exact same moment the Passover lambs would have been being sacrificed for the people in that year. The New Testament writings all convey that Yeshua’s crucifixion was at the start of the week of Unleavened Bread. Because our minds are primed to see sacrifices as being made for sin, we assume that Yeshua, as the symbolic Lamb, was sacrificed for the sin of the world, just as we think the Passover lamb was sacrificed for the sins of Israel.

However, the Bible teaches us that the real reason for the pesach or Passover lamb was not to be sacrificed for sin, but to redeem the firstborn son in each family and protect them from death.

Exodus 12:12-13 – “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am Yahweh; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

By killing the pesach, the lamb-offering, and applying its blood to the doorway, the families gathered in each home were essentially protecting the firstborn male of each family; no one else was in danger of dying. This is why we reviewed the biblical concept of ransom and redemption last time, and I mentioned we would revisit it as we studied the paschal lamb.

Remember what Yeshua said about himself:

Mark 10:45  – “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Last time I defined a ransom as “a price to be paid, a value to be given, for the changing of a foregone outcome.” In the case of the Passover lamb, the lamb was a ransom for the life of the firstborn male in each family. If the lamb’s blood (the evidence of its sacrifice) was on the doorway, the household would be spared the tragedy of losing their firstborn son, the “foregone outcome” that the rest of Egypt suffered.

And here is the critical thing for us to understand: the Passover lamb has nothing to do with forgiveness of sin; it is all and only about ransoming the firstborn from death.

Exodus 4:22-23 – “And you will say to Pharaoh: This is what Yahweh says: Israel is my firstborn son. I told you: Let my son go so that he may worship me, but you refused to let him go. Look, I am about to kill your firstborn son! “

I believe it is clear in the New Testament writings that Yeshua was identified with the paschal lamb, not only in the perfect timing of his crucifixion, but even in his followers’ teaching as explained by Paul:

1 Corinthians 5:7 – …For Messiah our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.

In this passage, Paul is using the Passover imagery here as he carries over the statement that Messiah was the ultimate Passover lamb. Since the pesach, the Passover lamb, was known to have redeemed the firstborn from death, and Israel is clearly referenced in the Bible as God’s firstborn, then the imagery has gone full circle back to the Israel-centric view we discussed earlier.

It’s been said that if God was to synchronize his Messiah’s death with the biblical holidays, it would have made way more sense to have him be crucified on the Day of Atonement rather than on Passover. This would have better corroborated his death for the sins of the people in a much more understandable way. But the reason this is not the way God actually worked it out was because he was more focused on teaching Israel that he was redeeming them, his firstborn son, as it were, and providing a way out from death and the coming wrath on their nation. Just like the Hebrew people of old in Egypt, by placing their faith in the true pesach, Yeshua Messiah, they (the firstborn) would be spared. That is the message of Passover and Yeshua as the paschal lamb.

So now we have seen Yeshua represented as the lamb who takes away Israel’s sin as the obedient servant in Isaiah’s prophecy, to his coming to redeem Israel as the paschal lamb. Now let’s see another picture that is presented by the early believers in the book of Hebrews: Yeshua as the High Priest of Israel.

Mediator/High Priest

Yeshua’s role of redemptive mediator is expressed in symbolic fashion in the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 9:15 – Therefore, he [Yeshua] is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that the primary purpose of this mediation concerns sins that were committed under the first covenant. Who was the first covenant made with? Israel, of course; this reinforces Yeshua’s claim that he was sent to Israel.

Once again, this imagery of Yeshua as the High Priest is not literal, but figurative. In fact, the writer of Hebrews goes out of his way to explain how Yeshua could NOT be a literal priest in this world, because he was not from the priestly tribe of Levi, but he was from Judah.

Hebrews 7:14-17 – Now it is evident that our Lord [Yeshua] came from Judah, and Moses said nothing about that tribe concerning priests. And this becomes clearer if another priest like Melchizedek appears, who did not become a priest based on a legal regulation about physical descent but based on the power of an indestructible life. For it has been testified: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

The idea being conveyed here is that Yeshua functions as a priest, not as a physical descendant of Levi, but as a spiritual descendant of Melchizedek because he lives forever.

Who is this Melchizedek? He is a character related to us in only three spare verses in the book of Genesis as having met Abraham after Abraham won a private war with five kings in the region of the Dead Sea.

Genesis 14:18-20 – Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High. He blessed him and said: Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,  and blessed be God Most High who has handed over your enemies to you. And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

The mystery surrounding Melchizedek has spawned many theories, but what we do know from the text is that this individual was a king reigning in Salem (before it became Jerusalem) who was also a priest of the Most High God (before there were any Levites to be priests). This is why he becomes such an important figure for those early believers who were looking for a way to explain the relevance of Messiah in their day. Melchizedek was a Messiah-like figure, a foreshadowing of the roles that Messiah would be fulfilling: that of both king and priest. Messiah was to rule over God’s kingdom and be the one who mediates between God and men in the role of priest.

This is why the Levitical priesthood is no longer needed: it was fulfilled and ended when Messiah arrived, and the only priesthood that now exists is the spiritual High Priesthood of Melchizedek. It is a spiritual priesthood needing no successors on earth because the Messiah lives forever and does not need to be replaced. In a grand spiritual allegory, he alone is the eternal representative before Yahweh interceding, as it were, between Yahweh and believers. This is what the role of the priesthood was designed to do: provide atonement (mercy and reconciliation) between Yahweh God, the one whose instruction had been violated (that is, the offended party) and the offender (the person who had sinned). This is the atonement process which the priesthood of Levi taught us about, but was ended forever with the arrival of the Messiah and is no longer needed.

This is why a true understanding of biblical atonement is so needed today. When we see how Messiah fulfilled that spiritual priestly role of eternal mediator providing eternal reconciliation, we realize we no longer need any priests here on earth; there is no point. This is not to denigrate those who have committed their lives to God by serving as priests among the various denominations, whether Catholics, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox and such. I’m sure those commitments are by and large sincere and made with the best intentions of helping others. But a priest’s primary function, his one job as it were, is to serve as a mediator, a go-between between God and people, and according to the Bible, that role is currently and eternally filled by Messiah Yeshua because he lives forever.

Messiah is also to serve as a king, reigning over the heavenly Jerusalem as God’s faithful representative. This is why he is recognized as “Lord” throughout the New Testament writings, because that is what he is: the authoritative ruler, like David of old, whom God has chosen to reign within his Kingdom. And if we consider ourselves to be participators in that Kingdom, then he is our authoritative ruler, as well; he is our King.

Summary

The scope of Yeshua’s impact on the world of the ancient nation of Israel and on the rest of the world now begins to come into view. The early believers recognized this and explained all of this two thousand years ago; we have just been too distracted with our own theories over the centuries, many of which became traditions, to recognize this.

Last time, we looked at the Old Testament example of the Day of Atonement as the baseline for understanding the process of reconciliation through representative sacrifice, which is what atonement is. We then looked at how Yeshua viewed himself as the Good Shepherd for Israel’s lost sheep, the representative ransom for that nation, and the institutor of the new covenant for Israel and Judah with the extreme commitment of his life, his own blood. Today we viewed how his followers connected him with the allegorical lamb of Isaiah’s servant passages, how they saw the redemption of their own people in his role as the paschal or Passover lamb, and how he fulfilled and superseded the Levitical priesthood as an eternal mediator after the pattern of Melchizedek for all who place their trust in him as Messiah. Each one of these topics could be its own study to flesh out the full ramifications of each; however, I believe we can still draw some overall conclusions to help us maintain a biblical perspective of these ancient patterns and ideas.

First of all, it becomes apparent that not one of these word pictures conveying atonement is meant to be taken literally. Yeshua is not really a lamb, he is not really a shepherd of sheep, he is not literally a priest standing at an altar, which also means he was not literally a sacrifice for sin. Yeshua could not have been a literal sacrifice for sin, because that would mean Yahweh condones human sacrifice, along with punishing the innocent for the guilty and justifying the wicked, which is all against his own Torah, or instruction.

Jeremiah 32:35 – “They [Judah] have built the high places of Baal in Ben Hinnom Valley to sacrifice their sons and daughters in the fire to Molech ​– ​something I had not commanded them. I had never entertained the thought that they do this detestable act causing Judah to sin!

Exodus 23:7 – “… Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the wicked.

No, in all of these examples, God was teaching his people through object lessons, patterns, and foreshadowing that they would have understood from their own writings of how the fulfillment of these preparatory examples were completed and fulfilled in his Anointed One, his Messiah. We see Yeshua as coming for his people, Israel, as their Messiah; their redeemer, their priest and mediator.

So, if that’s the case, how does all of this good news for Israel mean anything to the rest of us who are not descended by flesh from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? How does the atonement provided by their Messiah have any relevance for us?

The apostle John sadly relates to us how their Messiah was rejected by them.

John 1:11 – He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

But in the very next breath, John also shares the good news of the Kingdom with all who will listen:

John 1:12-13 – But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.

To receive Yeshua, to accept that he truly is the Anointed One of God who came to reveal the Kingdom of God, is to become born from above as a true child of Yahweh God. This is a status that is not bound by blood heritage from Israel; it is based on the heartfelt faith that Abraham expressed when he simply believed what God said was true.

Paul writes:

Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the good news of Messiah, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

All of this imagery that we have been looking at is for the Jew first, which is why it is all stated in word pictures and allegories that they would have understood and been familiar with. But Paul says it is also for the Greek, that is, the Hellenists. The Hellenists were those Jews who had been scattered throughout the empire and had succumbed to the Greek culture and lifestyle. But Hellenists were also descriptive of those non-Jews among them who became “God-fearers” through their interest in, and learning the ways of, this Jewish God. We who are non-Jews are always at a disadvantage until we can begin to understand how these Semitic word pictures and allegories are to be understood. This is why our Bibles contain both the Old Testament writings or Tanakh, and the New Testament writings of the apostles: We need to fully grasp the concepts presented in the Old Testament and not just continue to re-hash New Testament principles taken out of their cultural and historical context.

Once we rise above the limiting horizon of scholarly theories, tradition, and orthodoxy, we can then begin to see the biblical picture of atonement for what it truly is. The atonement that Messiah provided was not one of literal blood sacrifice to calm the wrath of an angry deity, but a representative and allegorical atonement providing mercy and reconciliation that reaches into the very depths of each soul who trusts in him, Jew and non-Jew alike. The mercy and reconciliation of this atonement provides true freedom from sin and causes us to walk in the righteous ways of Yahweh as he always intended: from the heart, not through the traditions and rituals of men. Anyone, therefore, who exhibits faith in Messiah is therefore accepted into the Kingdom, and this is how it was always designed by God to be from the very beginning: to start like a seed from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and then at the fulfillment of all things in Messiah, to spread and grow like a blossoming tree until it fills the earth.

Well, I hope this two-part study on the atonement brought you some concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. But remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Children of Abraham, children of promise

According to Yeshua, the biblical concept of being considered a child of Abraham is to demonstrate the same type of faith that Abraham exhibited when he simply believed what God said.

Core of the Bible podcast #113 – Children of Abraham, children of promise

In my last post, we reviewed the concept of covenants in the Bible, and I concluded by stating how believers today can participate in the promises that God made to Abraham when we simply come to God in faith, believing in his Messiah, Yeshua.

Many people today believe the children of Abraham to be a specific race or line of descendants that can trace their lineage back to him. This was believed in the time of Yeshua, as well. However, we will see that the biblical concept of being considered a child of Abraham is to demonstrate the same type of faith that Abraham exhibited when he simply believed what God said. To understand this, we will need to begin by exploring God’s dealings with Abraham himself.

Promises made to Abram before the covenants

While most people studying the Bible recognize that God made covenants with Abraham, they misunderstand or overlook how Abraham’s relationship with God came about. To begin with, God simply made seven promises to Abraham before any covenants were enacted.

Genesis 12:1-4 Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;

  1. And I will make you a great nation,
  2. And I will bless you,
  3. And make your name great;
  4. And so you shall be a blessing;
  5. And I will bless those who bless you,
  6. And the one who curses you I will curse.
  7. And in you all the families of the earth [ha’adamah] will be blessed.”

So Abram went forth as Yahweh had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

At this point, no covenant was in place; God simply promised that all of these things would come about.

Next in the narrative, we find God reaffirming the promise to Abram that he would have numberless descendants, and now he adds the promise that they would also inherit the land of Canaan.

Genesis 13:14-17 Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.”

God then also promises that a very specific individual, one of his direct descendants, would be receiving the fulfillment of these promises that God was making to Abraham.

Genesis 15:1-4  After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” Abram said, “O Lord Yahweh, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.“

Then, once again, God reaffirms his promise of many, numerous descendants that Abraham would have.

Genesis 15:5-6 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in Yahweh; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

So far, no covenants have been enacted; these are all promises that God made with Abraham. At this point, the Bible tells us that Abraham simply believed in these promises of the one true God. This is the exhibition of faith that Abraham is primarily remembered for. Understanding this principle is key to how the apostle Paul would use this simple faithfulness of Abraham later on in his letters to illustrate faith in Messiah.

The first covenant with Abraham

As the narrative now moves from promises to covenants, the focus shifts from the spiritual aspect of God’s promises to the concrete realities of what, to a middle eastern person living in ancient times, would be the realization of the spiritual realities coming to pass. The first covenant God made with Abraham was to guarantee him and his descendants the physical land of Canaan in a way that he would recognize and understand its reality. God was simply using the covenant process as a way of guaranteeing to Abraham that it would come to pass. It is important to also note that this was an unconditional covenant; there was nothing Abraham needed to do to bring it about.

Genesis 15:7-21 And He said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” He said, “O Lord Yahweh, how may I know that I will possess it?” So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”

The first covenant with Abraham was a guarantee of the promise that God had previously made to Abraham, granting him and his descendants the physical land of Canaan, from river to river. There was nothing Abraham needed to do for this to come about; God alone passed between the animal pieces in the vision Abraham saw. This was an illustration that it was assured God would accomplish this, and Abraham was not a participant to bring it about in any way.

God faithfully delivered on his covenant agreement to give them all of the land by the end of the book of Joshua:

Joshua 21:43-45 – “So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.”

The second covenant with Abraham

The second covenant God made with Abraham was a conditional covenant that would establish Yahweh as the God of Abraham’s descendants. However, it would require a practice for Abraham and any participants in the covenant; circumcision. Participants in this covenant would have to abide by the condition or they would not be included within the parameters of the covenant. This would be the distinguishing mark of the people that God was setting apart for his own purposes, to be their God and for them to be his people.

Genesis 17:1-14 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

Twenty-four years after the original promises made to Abraham, God asks Abraham and all of his physical descendants to participate in a covenant of circumcision. This was a fleshly covenant, to participate in a physical community with Yahweh as their God. The land had already been covenanted unconditionally; however, this conditional covenant would regulate the descendant community of Abraham as believers in Yahweh to distinguish them from the current possessors of Canaan.

It would also serve to confirm the original promise God made with him in Genesis 15 that “one who will come forth from your own body [that is, a physical descendant], he shall be your heir.” Thinking that God was primarily speaking of his immediate heirs, Abraham pleads for his son Ishmael to receive God’s favor.

Genesis 17:19-21 – But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as a permanent covenant for his future offspring. As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father twelve tribal leaders, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will confirm my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”

Isaac, the miraculous child through Abraham’s wife Sarah,  a child of promise, would be the immediate heir that Abraham was looking for. However, the covenantal practice of ongoing circumcisions in the community would ensure that a future descendant, another child of promise who would be the ultimate recipient of the spiritual promises made previously to Abraham, would be able to be recognized as coming from Abraham’s line.

Since we read in the book of Joshua how the promise to Abraham that his descendants would receive the land was fulfilled, it then makes sense the Bible would also record the fulfilled promise of how a physical descendant beyond the immediate family of Abraham would become his ultimate spiritual heir, the heir of the promises that were originally made to Abraham.

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Yeshua as the seed of Abraham

Now we fast-forward almost two thousand years to the time of Yeshua. Abraham’s descendants, through Isaac and then Jacob and his twelve sons, have been faithfully circumcising their male infants and keeping genealogical records throughout their history. There were a few exceptions, such as Israel’s time in the wilderness and some of their captivity, but those were accounted for and rectified upon their return to their land. Based on these records and the faithful practice of circumcision within the community, we know, therefore, that Yeshua was a fleshly descendant of Abraham from these genealogies as recorded in the accounts of Matthew and Luke.

Matthew 1:1 The record of the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Luke 3:23, 34 When He began His ministry, Yeshua Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, … the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham…

This lineage is critical to recognizing Yeshua as the rightful heir of the promise that was made to Abraham.

Genesis 15:2-4 Abram said, “O Lord Yahweh, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.”

The apostle Paul confirms that this promise of God to Abraham, while immediately fulfilled through Isaac, was ultimately fulfilled in Messiah, the descendant or seed of Abraham.

Galatians 3:16 – Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Messiah.

Yeshua defines who the true children of Abraham are

As the genealogical and covenantal end-stop of the promise made to Abraham, Yeshua is fully qualified to define who the true children of Abraham are. Several times in his teachings, Yeshua equates being a son or daughter of Abraham with being a person of faith in the working of God, NOT just a product of a physical lineage.

Luke 19:1-10 [Yeshua] entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Yeshua was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Yeshua came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Yeshua said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Zaccheus may have been a natural descendant of Abraham, but the context demonstrates Yeshua was speaking about his faith which resulted in action. This is what truly qualified him as a son of Abraham. When Yeshua used this phrase, as shown above, it was in the context of someone exhibiting great faith, especially faith in him as the Messiah.

Conversely, when confronted by the Jewish leaders who were clearly physical descendants of Abraham and had the genealogies to prove it, Yeshua contradicts their fleshly ideas that just because of their physical lineage they were entitled to the blessings of Abraham.

John 8:39-40, 47 – They [the Jewish leaders] answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Yeshua said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. … “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

This shows how the “works of Abraham” are once again equated with faith in Messiah. Since the Jewish leaders did not believe, Yeshua did not consider them in the category of children of Abraham, even though they were Abraham’s physical descendants.

In a similar style, John the baptizer had held nothing back when it came to confronting the religious leaders as he was paving the way for the work of Messiah to follow. Concerning Abraham’s fleshly lineage, he said the following:

Matthew 3:7-9  But when he [John] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”

Once again, the Jewish leaders were not believing in the work that God was doing at that time in preparing people for the coming Messiah. So John dramatically states that God can create a child of Abraham out of anything, even stones!

Yeshua expands the term to non-Israelites

Matthew 8:5-12 And when Yeshua entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” Yeshua said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Yeshua heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This passage shows that a centurion, a non-Israelite who expressed faith in Yeshua, was qualified by him to be in the kingdom of God with Abraham. This was due to his faith in the Messiah. However, the “sons of the kingdom,” those Israelites in the physical descendant lineage of Abraham, but not of the faith of Abraham, would be cast out.

From these passages, I believe both John the baptizer and Yeshua defined a child of Abraham, or someone who would be blessed along with Abraham, as someone who exhibited faith in God, just like Abraham did.

The apostle Paul continues the teaching of John and Yeshua

Paul also confirms this is an appropriate view of the term when he writes:

Galatians 3:6-9 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the [nations] by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

Galatians 3:26-29 For you are all sons of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua. For all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

Paul equates the promise that was made to Abraham as being effective for all who exhibit faith in Messiah, just as Abraham exhibited faith in Yahweh.

Romans 4:13-14, 16 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; … For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all…

We have to remember that Abraham had two prominent sons: Ishmael (born through a slave woman, Hagar) and Isaac (born miraculously through Sara). Isaac was the child of promise through whom God chose to continue the preferred line of Abraham’s descendants.

Genesis 21:12 – But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.

Isaac then had two twin sons: Jacob and Esau. Jacob gained the name Israel (Genesis 32:28) and was the child through whom God chose to continue Abraham’s fleshly lineage all the way down to his Messiah, almost two thousand years later. So, while both Isaac and Jacob were “children” (that is, descendants) of Abraham, one was the miraculous child of promise chosen by God, and the other was the physical descendant chosen by God.

The apostle Paul capitalizes on this distinction by quoting that Genesis passage in his argument as to why those who believe in Messiah are counted above the physical descendants of Abraham:

Romans 9:6-8 – Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel [Jacob] are Israel. Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants. On the contrary, [the Bible says,] “your offspring will be traced through Isaac.” That is, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring.

Therefore, while the physical covenants belonged to the physical descendants, the spiritual promises and blessings belong to the miraculous descendants: those who exhibit faith in the promises of God, just like Abraham did. Isaac was the miraculous result of Abraham’s faith, therefore, in like fashion, those who exhibit faith in God receive a miraculous adoption into Abraham’s line of spiritual descendants through Isaac. It can be said that Jews were physically Abraham’s descendants through Jacob, but anyone believing in the Messiah became Abraham’s spiritual descendants through Isaac.

Using the analogy of the long history of Israel as a cultivated olive tree, the apostle Paul wrote about how it was not just the connection to the physical tree that mattered, but belief in the Messiah that allowed the branches to prosper.

Romans 11:17, 24 – Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the root and richness of the cultivated olive tree, … For if you were cut off from your native wild olive tree 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?

According to the Bible, it is the natural thing for Jews to believe in their own Messiah, and they can flourish when they do so. But because of their unbelief, God had chosen to break off some of the natural branches and miraculously graft in believers from among the nations into that same olive tree. But all of the remaining branches stand by faith in Messiah, so technically, all of the remaining branches are branches of promise, according to faith.

For those of us who believe in Yeshua today, we are counted as Abraham’s children (that is, we are considered as descended from the patriarchal olive tree root that Paul mentions) but only because of our faith in God by believing in his Messiah. This is the same type of faith that Abraham exhibited, and we are considered heirs only because we believe in the promised seed of Abraham, the Messiah. We are heirs according to the promise of God to Abraham, NOT by seeking God’s favor through fleshly rule-following (like the Jews of Yeshua’s day), NOT directly by covenant (since God’s New Covenant was made with Israel and Judah), and NOT by genealogy (since we are not direct descendants of Abraham), but strictly by faith in God’s promise, just like Abraham.

As I mentioned in our last study, in the book of Hebrews, quoting from Jeremiah, it is clear that the new covenant was not about starting a new religion with a new group of people, but it was about fulfilling the promises made to Abraham on behalf of Israel and Judah, and it described where God’s eternal law or torah was to be placed.

Heb 8:8-10 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith Yahweh, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith Yahweh. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Yahweh; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people…

While the law originally written on stone was placed inside the ark of the covenant within the holiest of places in the tabernacle and then the temple, the new covenant provided for the law to be written on the heart so it could be lived out in practice through his eternal temple, the body of Messiah believers in each generation.

1 Corinthians 3:16 – Don’t you yourselves know that you [plurally] are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

This new covenant was made specifically with and for Judah and Israel, yet it is available to all who would believe in Abraham’s descendant, the Messiah. Though the covenant was not made with believers in this generation directly, we have the privilege of participating in it since we, by faith, are considered to be IN Messiah who was the goal and end of the promise made to Abraham.

Galatians 3:16, 29 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Messiah … for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

The physical covenants and genealogies were for physical blessings for Abraham’s fleshly descendants through Jacob. They were necessary and proper until the fulfillment of the promises and covenants in Messiah. From Yeshua’s time on, genealogies would no longer be necessary, since they had served their purpose of identifying Abraham’s ultimate “seed,” Messiah. Physical covenants related to blessings of the land would also no longer be necessary, as the children of Abraham would be defined by their simple faith in God’s Messiah. And this would not be to gain or prosper in a specific, physical land but to live in an eternal, universal Kingdom covering the entire earth.

However, just because the covenants were fulfilled in Messiah, it does not mean that the instruction of God contained within the covenant language has been completely abandoned. It has not been abolished, but fulfilled! Even better, it is my belief that the torah instruction of God has been simplified and elevated into the moral and spiritual principles taught by Yeshua which are summarized in the Sermon on the Mount. These include primarily the principles of the Kingdom (a Kingdom which has been forever established by God upon the Ten Commandments), integrity, vigilance, holiness, trust, forgiveness, and compassion. These are the core Bible principles allowing believers to truly love God and to love others from the heart which is the fulfillment of having the law or torah of the Kingdom placed within the heart. The new covenant is genuinely fulfilled in us when we abide by these principles, and the Kingdom of God then has potential to continue to expand further in each generation!

Those who exhibit this faith in God by believing in his Messiah, just like Abraham’s elementary faith, will be counted within the idiomatic expression of believers spanning many ages, known collectively as “children of Abraham.” These are the ones whom, like Yeshua taught, will “come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 8:11).

Well, I hope this deeper dive into the promises made with Abraham brought you some concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. But remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Covenants and Promises

How Yeshua became the way to God for anyone who was not part of covenantal Israel and Judah.

Core of the Bible podcast #112 – Covenants and Promises

Today, I wanted to take a closer look at the concept of covenants, and how covenants are represented throughout Scripture. With an understanding of how covenants worked in the ancient world, we can gain a better perspective on the application of these covenantal principles today.

So, to begin with, in its simplest form, a covenant can be defined as an agreement between parties. In the Bible, covenants are noted as being instituted between individuals, heads of tribes, countries, and by and with God.

In these ancient covenant practices, various symbols and practices were involved to mark the agreements. Typically, an animal was cut in half, and both parties to the agreement would walk between the severed pieces. This was a way of saying, “May what has been done to this animal be done to me if I break my agreement with you.”  This is why it was called “cutting” a covenant.

There were also specific benefits offered by keeping a covenant, and consequences to breaking a covenant. These would have been outlined at the time of the agreement. Today, a close equivalent to a covenant would be something like a contract which outlines an agreement with penalties or benefits between individuals or corporate entities. The phrase “to cut a contract” stems from the covenant roots.

The Bible records that there were tokens or symbols to memorialize these agreements. For example, in the covenant with Noah, God promised to never flood the entire land again. The symbol for remembrance of God’s covenant with Noah and all living flesh was a rainbow. Other covenantal tokens between men might include a pillar of stones, a symbolic feast, an exchange of animals, a well of water, or a symbolic altar.

Genesis 31:43-46 – Then Laban replied to Jacob, … “So now come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.” Then Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap.

Genesis 26:26-30 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” They said, “We see plainly that Yahweh has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of Yahweh.'” Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

God’s covenant with Abraham – Approximately 2000 BC

Abraham lived roughly four thousand years ago (from today) in the land of Ur, which is the region of Babylon. God’s covenant with Abraham was to be the start of a set-apart tribal community that would eventually become the physical nation of Israel.

Genesis 15:7-18 And He said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” He said, “O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?” So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. 

Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” 

It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates…”

His name was originally Abram. Since he was to become the father of many nations, God changed his name to Abraham. 

Genesis 17:4-6 – “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.

Abraham’s son was Isaac; Isaac’s son was Jacob; Jacob’s twelve sons became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel (Israel was another name for Jacob). This is how the nation as a whole got its name. While Abraham’s son Ishmael also became the start of other tribes and tribal leaders (confirming that Abraham became the father of a multitude of nations), the Bible story primarily follows the descendants of Jacob, which became the nation of Israel, just as God had covenanted with Abraham.

Mosaic covenant – Approximately 1500 BC

Hundreds of years after Abraham, his physical descendants, the children of Israel, became enslaved in Egypt (as God had foretold). He raised up Moses to lead them out of their captivity and to become their own nation. This is described in the story of the Exodus and Passover.

Once out in the desert, the newly formed nation needed rules for governing the masses. God provided this direction through the covenant at Mt. Sinai, which was based on the Ten Commandments. 

Deuteronomy 4:12-13 “Then Yahweh spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form–only a voice. So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.”

This covenant with the children of Israel through Moses was still based on the covenant made with Abraham but also added the Ten Commandments and further instruction which was to guide them in establishing a representative Kingdom of God. This Torah, or instruction, set the people of Israel apart from all the people of the world.

This was a national covenant agreement that contained both blessings and curses. Whenever the people of Israel collectively breached the covenant and the law, they would suffer the consequences according to the covenant agreement.  

Deuteronomy 28:1, 15 “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey Yahweh your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, Yahweh your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. … “But it shall come about, if you do not obey Yahweh your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you…”

The worst of the curses was captivity and loss of the covenantal land which in later years led to dispersions among the nations of the world. 

Deuteronomy 28:58, 64-65 “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, Yahweh your God, … Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there Yahweh will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul.

Covenant with David – Approximately 1000 BC

As the nation of Israel grew, God provided an ideal example of kingship in David. The surrounding nations became subject to David’s rule and at that time the nation rose to all that had been prophesied before. This physical, national ideal became the type and foreshadowing of the spiritual kingdom which was to be realized a millennium later through the direct descendant of King David, Yeshua.

Psalm 89:3-4 – “I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever And build up your throne to all generations.”

Unfortunately, it didn’t even take one full generation for Israel to begin to fall away from their faithfulness and to begin to break this covenant. Toward the end of the reign of David’s son, Solomon, he began to honor foreign gods. When Solomon died, his two sons began rival kingdoms, and the nation entered a period of time of civil war and unrest. The two kingdoms became referenced by separate names. The northern kingdom became “Israel” and the southern kingdom became “Judah.”

Over the next several hundred years, king after king in both kingdoms defied the covenant. A few kings were faithful and would attempt to do what’s right and re-institute the ways of God; however, their successors would lapse back into idolatry and disobedience. The overall will of the people was rebelliousness in their heart, which is why they struggled generation after generation. 

Ultimately, the curses and penalties of the covenant agreement could no longer be forestalled, and the entire nation was removed from the covenantal land and scattered among the surrounding nations, just as God (through Moses) said he would do if they were to become unfaithful. The northern kingdom, Israel, was captured by Assyria in 722 BC. The southern kingdom, Judah, was captured by Babylon in 586 BC.

Jeremiah 3:21; 4:1-2 A voice is heard on the bare heights, The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel; Because they have perverted their way, They have forgotten Yahweh their God…”If you will return, O Israel,” declares Yahweh, “then you should return to Me. And if you will put away your detested things from My presence, And will not waver, And you will swear, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ In truth, in justice and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will glory.”

Even throughout their disobedient ways, God in his love and remembrance of his promises and covenant with Abraham declared that they could still be the blessing to the rest of the nations if they would only return to him. Since the people continually turned from God in their hearts, God promised that he would make a new covenant with the children of Israel and Judah where he would put his law in their hearts and not on stones like the Ten Commandments. When the law is in the heart the person does not forget the ways of God and then is effective in keeping them. 

Jeremiah 31:31-33  – “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares Yahweh. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

—

Yeshua fulfilled the previous covenants and promises – Approximately 30 AD

Yeshua of Nazareth was sent by God to fulfill the words of all of the previous covenants and the promises that God made with Abraham. 

By Yeshua proclaiming that he was speaking the word of God, and by the accompanying signs done through him, the covenant God made with Israel when they were led by Moses was fulfilled.

Promise:

Deuteronomy 18:18-19 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

Fulfillment:

John 8:42 Yeshua said to them [the Jews], “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.

John 12:49 “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.

By Yeshua coming from the line of David, the covenant that God made with David was fulfilled.

Promise:

Psalms 132:11 Yahweh has sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; “Of the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne.”

Fulfillment:

Matthew 1:1 The record of the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Matthew 21:9 The crowds going ahead of Him [Yeshua], and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh; Hosanna in the highest!”

More importantly for us today, since God’s covenant with Abraham began the nation of Israel, Yeshua not only fulfilled God’s covenants with the nation through David and Moses, but also the promises made to Abraham before any covenants were made, even the covenant with Abraham. Since Yeshua was a true descendant of Abraham, these promises to Abraham were also fulfilled in Yeshua:

Promise: 

Genesis 12:2-3 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Fulfillment: 

Galatians 3:8-9 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

Promise: 

Genesis 15:2-5 Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 

Fulfillment: 

Matthew 1:1 The record of the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Galatians 3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Messiah.

The New Covenant was made with Israel and Judah

Modern Christianity teaches that the new covenant through Messiah was made with the whole world. However, the prophecy of Jeremiah states exactly who the new covenant would be for: 

Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…

The new covenant was for the house of Israel (the northern ten tribes) so that they could return to him from the nations among which they had been scattered, after they were disobedient to the covenant God had enacted through Moses. The New Testament epistles demonstrate that they did return to him; the assemblies of Messiah were made up of those from among the nations where the disciples went and preached to the scattered Israelites, the “lost sheep” of Israel.

The new covenant was also for the house of Judah (or the southern tribes), so they could have the law placed within their hearts, and no longer be subject to the hypocritical traditions of men. On many occasions, Yeshua scolded them for their hypocrisy:

Mark 7:5-8 The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” And He [Yeshua] said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”

In the book of Hebrews, quoting from Jeremiah, it is clear that the new covenant was not about starting a new religion with a new group of people, but it was about fulfilling the promises made to Abraham on behalf of Israel and Judah, and it described where God’s eternal law or torah was to be placed.

Heb 8:8-10 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith Yahweh, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith Yahweh. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Yahweh; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people…

The issue was not that the Law or the instruction of God was bad, but it was the people’s failure to keep it because they weren’t keeping it in their heart. They were only treating it as an outward set of rules and regulations and were adding more and more rules on top of it. Therefore, through the new covenant, God was able to place his instruction directly into the hearts of believers through his Spirit. This was to help the believer to walk in the true spirit of God’s instruction, not just the letter of rules, and therefore to actually remain faithful to his Word. 

2 Corinthians 3:5-6 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The spirit of God’s Word, the true intent of him providing it in the first place, could now begin to bear fruit by spreading life among the people through this new covenant of the Spirit.

Now, the really good news (for us) is, because Yeshua also fulfilled the pre-covenant promises that were made to Abraham, Yeshua then also became the way to God for anyone who was not part of covenantal Israel and Judah. In this way, anyone from anywhere who expressed faith in Yeshua as being sent by God, whether Jew or non-Jew, could now approach the God of Creation through simple faith, just like Abraham. This is why the early congregations were made up of both Jews and those from among the nations where the Israelites had been scattered.

Galatians 3:26-28 For you are all sons of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua. For all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua.

Colossians 3:10-11 and you have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him– a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Messiah is all, and in all.

Because the promises to Abraham were made prior to any covenants, the fulfilled promises can be accepted and applied by non-covenantal believers, like all of us today who are not of Jewish or Hebraic descent. This is why the gospel of the Kingdom is considered good news! In this way, through Yeshua, God has been able to draw all men to himself, Jews and non-Jews, and to re-establish the New Creation of his Kingdom with all people for all eternity.

Well, I hope this overview of the covenants and promises of the Bible brought you some concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. Because the good news of this Kingdom has such far-reaching implications, I would like to take some time to further explore our relationship with the promise of Abraham in more detail. So, next time, we will review this concept of the faith of Abraham to demonstrate how believers even today can be considered “children of Abraham.”

Remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Sowing, weeding, and doing good

A fruitful harvest is the result of vigilance.

Core of the Bible podcast #53 – Sowing, weeding, and doing good

Today we will be exploring the topic of vigilance and how the act of maintaining the purity of our heart and our actions requires constant vigilance and continual grooming.

Mark 4:18-19, Amplified Bible – And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries and cares of the world [the distractions of this age with its worldly pleasures], and the deceitfulness [and the false security or glamour] of wealth [or fame], and the passionate desires for all the other things creep in and choke out the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

In this parable of the sower sowing his seed, Yeshua explains that the seed represents the word of God, and he describes the conditions of the hearts of those upon whom the seed is sown.

The seed being sown among the thorns represents those individuals who receive the word of God, but their hearts are so overcrowded with worldly cares and other ambitions that the seed cannot grow to maturity; it gets choked out and cannot bear fruit.

If we are to reflect on our own lives, how much of our time and attention is spent on the thorny distractions of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and passionate desires for other things besides the kingdom? We need to remain vigilant that the weeds and thorns of these other concerns do not overcrowd the truly important and impactful things that surround the kingdom: hearing and understanding the word and bearing fruit.

This process of God sowing his Word in the hearts of believers is commonly misunderstood to be a one-time event. It is believed that once God’s seed is sown that work is done and the seed will either grow or not depending on the condition of the soil. However, this parable of Yeshua along with other scriptural insights teach us that if we receive the Word gladly, it is up to us to continue to sow that good seed for the harvests to grow beyond that which was just sown initially.

For a farmer to have a continual harvest throughout the year, they must be continually preparing soil and sowing the appropriate seed at the appropriate season. Even in ancient Israel there were multiple harvests throughout the year depending on the crop. First was the barley harvest which occurred at the Feast of First-fruits during the week of Unleavened Bread in the spring.  Then came the first of the wheat harvest which took place at Shavuot or Pentecost at the beginning of summer. Finally, the richest and fullest harvest of the other crops took place at the Feast of Ingathering or Tabernacles in the autumn. Immediately after the autumn Feast of Ingathering, the work of re-plowing the fields and planting for the Spring harvest would begin. Each of these seasons indicates a different harvest for a different crop, but for that to be taking place there must constantly be new seed being sown.

Just like farmers preparing the soil in their gardens, we need to constantly churn the earth of our hearts, ensuring there is sufficient compost and nutrients to receive what is planted so the seed can successfully multiply and grow to its fullest capacity.

Galatians 6:7-8 – Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

Sowing to the spirit means that there are choices that need to be made each day. I think it’s pretty evident how we sow to the flesh, but sowing to the spirit is all about receiving continual seed throughout each day so that we can remain focused on the kingdom and conduct our lives with integrity according to the Word of God. For us to be able to do so, then we must have a continual input of the Word throughout each day.

Consider how much time you may be spending on social media, or watching television, or being involved in worldly aspirations. In reality, none of these things are wrong in and of themselves, but they can easily become time-sucks that draw our full attention away from living in according to God’s Word. In fact, a good indicator that one of these things may be a negative activity for you would be that if you are engaged in it and lose all sense of time until you snap out of that engagement, you may be getting pulled further into the weeds that can choke out the Word.

If these are your primary interactions with others within the context of your world then you may be suffering from a lack of good and and nutritious input for your spiritual life. The digital age we live in provides us many alternatives to be in the Word throughout each day. Besides just Bible podcasts like this one, there are more significant Bible apps and audio Bibles that can help keep you in the actual Word without having to be sitting and reading or studying.

Think of how much time you might spend driving throughout the day, or exercising, or doing redundant chores around the house that don’t require a lot of concentration: things like ironing, or cleaning, or mowing the lawn. I regard these types of activities as “idling” activities, where you may be physically active but your brain is kind of sitting in an idle mode. Instead of popping on the TV or listening to the news, or scrolling through random videos, why not instead listen to an audio Bible on your device while you are doing these types of things? There are lots of free options out there with various narrators and versions of the Bible to choose from.

Perhaps you have some good, doctrinally-sound worship music that can help keep your mind focused on God and his gracious mercy towards us. Using those times to their fullest helps to keep your spirit engaged with God. I have found it becomes much easier to receive personal and private direction for challenges I may be facing when I am interacting with the Word in these various ways.

Another indication that may demonstrate getting choked among the weeds is to consider if you are primarily a consumer or a creator of digital media. As believers and image-bearers of God in this world, we have the ability to use and create informative engagements with the things and people of this world for God’s glory and the furtherance of the kingdom. Social media can help spread God’s Word through written articles and photos, and videos can be created to explain how the Bible has relevance for people today.

As a personal example, one of my goals with coreofthebible.org is to continue to build a multi-tiered approach to sharing the information in these articles in different platforms: through written articles, weekly audio podcasts, and also through videos. However, through all of this, I am having to be very selective with how I approach each of these areas, as it is dangerously easy to become consumed with editing and posting and monitoring multiple platforms in an effort to maintain effective engagement. I don’t want to get lost in the weeds of the process to where I am losing effectiveness in the content. I am just trying to keep things as simple and to-the-point as possible to maximize the value to each reader, listener, or watcher of the content.

When we consider all of the various ways we receive information input throughout each day, we need to be intentional and purposeful with the time we have so that we can maximize our spiritual growth.

Proverbs 4:23 – Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it is the source of life.

In a metaphorical manner of speaking, King Solomon as the writer of Proverbs indicates that our heart or our inmost self-awareness is the source of the quality of our life. That source is sometimes compared to a well of water.

This type of metaphor would be readily received and understood in ancient times, since life in a desert or wilderness environment is not possible without water. The quality of that water depends on how we maintain that well; is it overgrown with poisonous weeds, is it unprotected from animals that can trudge through and muddy its waters or destroy its flow? Is our heart becoming defiled through the things on which we constantly focus?

Yeshua even takes this metaphor further by saying whatever is in our heart is what spills out of our mouths:

Mark 7:20-23 – And [Yeshua] said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

Guarding our heart, then seems to be a concern that we should not take lightly, and should prompt us to take the appropriate time to strategize how to maintain the soil our our hearts at all costs.

In our American culture at least we seem have lost a sense of just how impactful the constant bombardment of worldly information flow can be to our lives, and it seems we are even becoming addicted to always having a music playlist going or having the television on in the background. As believers, we need to ensure that the well of our heart is filled with pure and nutritious water, not the potentially poisonous and unprotected muddy water of the world. It is our individual responsibility to guard our hearts; that means to protect what we allow to influence our hearts, because whatever is in there is what will ultimately come out through our speech and our actions. It’s like the old saying, “garbage in, garbage out.” Why not instead turn that saying on its head by changing it to “purity and goodness in, purity and goodness out.”

Even saying such a thing has Pollyana-ish overtones and seems awkward and simplistic. But is it really, or is that just our natural inclination has already become so jaded that we find it difficult to identify with what is good and right about human nature and living according to the positive and kind admonitions of God’s standards?

You know an interesting bit of Bible trivia relating to textual interpretation centers on a specific New Testament verse that has had a defining impact on believers over the last two millennia. And it has to do with the name “Christian.” For some context, allow me to read a passage out of Peter’s first epistle.

1 Peter 3:8-16 – Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing. For the one who wants to love life and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, and let him turn away from evil and do what is good. Let him seek peace and pursue it, because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil. Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.

So we can see contextually that Peter is encouraging the believers to have good conduct at all times because this honors God. Now the passage with the textual consideration I mentioned previously is actually in chapter four; I’m going to read it in the YLT because even though it’s awkwardly phrased, it still brings out more of the clarity of the point I’m about to make.

1 Peter 4:15-16 – for let none of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evil-doer, or as an inspector into other men’s matters; and if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; and let him glorify God in this respect;

Let’s look at some interesting commentary on this idea of suffering as a Christian.

Ellicott’s Commentary

(16) Yet if any man suffer as a Christian.—St. Peter purposely uses the name which was a name of derision among the heathens. It is not, as yet, one by which the believers would usually describe themselves. It only occurs twice besides in the New Testament—in Acts 11:26, where we are told of the invention of the nickname (see Note there), and in Acts 26:28, where Agrippa catches it up with the insolent scorn with which a brutal justice would have used the word “Methodist” a century ago. So contemptible was the name that, as M. Renan says (p. 37), “Well-bred people avoided pronouncing the name, or, when forced to do so, made a kind of apology.” Tacitus, for instance, says: “Those who were vulgarly known by the name of Christians.” In fact, it is quite an open question whether we ought not here (as well as in the two places of Acts above cited) to read the nickname in its barbarous form: Chrestian. The Sinaitic manuscript has that form, and the Vatican has the form Chreistian; and it is much harder to suppose that a scribe who commonly called himself a Christian would intentionally alter it into this strange form than to suppose that one who did not understand the irony of saying a Chrestian should have written the word with which he was so familiar.”

Cambridge Bible Commentary

  1. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian] The occurrence of a name which has played so prominent a part in the history of mankind requires a few words of notice. It did not originate with the followers of Christ themselves. They spoke of themselves as the “brethren” (Acts 14:2; Acts 15:1; Acts 15:3; Acts 15:22, &c.), as “the saints,” i.e. the holy or consecrated people (Matthew 27:52; Acts 9:13; Acts 9:32; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 6:1; Ephesians 1:1, &c.), as “those of the way,” i.e. those who took their own way, the way which they believed would lead them to eternal life (Acts 9:2; Acts 19:9; Acts 24:22). By their Jewish opponents they were commonly stigmatized as “the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5), the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, the city out of which no good thing could come (John 1:46). The new name was given first at Antioch (Acts 11:26), shortly after the admission there, on a wider scale than elsewhere, of Gentile converts. Its Latin form, analogous to that of Pompeiani, Mariani, for the followers of Pompeius or Marius, indicated that the new society was attracting the attention of official persons and others at Antioch. The word naturally found acceptance. It expressed a fact, it was not offensive, and it might be used by those who, like Agrippa, though they were not believers themselves, wished to speak respectfully of those who were (Acts 26:28). Soon it came to be claimed by those believers. The question, Are you a Christian? became the crucial test of their faith. By disowning it, as in the case of the mildly repressive measures taken in these very regions by Pliny in the reign of Trajan, they might purchase safety (Pliny, Epp. x. 96). The words now before us probably did much to stamp it on the history of the Church. Men dared not disown it. They came to exult in it. Somewhat later on they came to find in it, with a pardonable play upon words, a new significance. The term Christiani (= followers of Christ) was commonly pronounced Chrestiani, and that, they urged, shewed that they were followers of Chrestus, i.e. of the good and gentle one. Their very name, they urged, through their Apologist, Tertullian (Apol. i. 3), was a witness to the falsehood of the charges brought against them.

F.F. Bruce, in his commentary on Acts adds the following:

“Xrestus (“useful, kindly”) was a common slave-name in the Graeco-Roman world. It “appears as a spelling variant for the unfamiliar Christus (Xristos). (In Greek the two words were pronounced alike.)” (F. F. Bruce, The Books of Acts, 368).

So, just for a little mental hypothesis, what if, in the great span of history, believers were being chastised and ridiculed early on, not for being “Christians” or followers of Christ (since people unfamiliar with the scriptures would not know what a “Christ” was) but instead were being ridiculed for being “Chrestians” or “do-gooders”? Non-believers could certainly identify those individuals, and believers faithful to their calling could definitely be accused of that, since they were instructed to follow the “good-doing” of their Lord and Master:

Acts 10:38 – “how God anointed Yeshua of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the devil, because God was with him.

Galatians 6:9 – Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.

2 Thessalonians 3:13 – But as for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing good.

1 Peter 2:15 – For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.

1 Peter 3:17 – For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Of course I would not be dogmatic about this name identification, but it does raise an interesting concept and emphasis that may be lost in our modern understanding of that word. Christian implies that one believes a certain thing, while Chrestian implies that one does certain things. Which one would have been more derogatory? The word Chrestian would have, and indeed did, identify the early believers as do-gooders based on the fact that their Messiah was always doing good.

So what does all this side-bar about the Christian name have to do with the influence of our hearts? Well getting back to our main focus, this would mean that the content of the heart would have to have good intentions implanted there, and that believers would have to be acting out that goodness based on the overflow of their hearts, as Yeshua taught.

You see, without constant attention, the garden soil of our hearts can be quickly overrun by weeds. And when it’s overrun by weeds, it will become unfruitful; we cannot do the good things that we are called to do. It’s not about what we believe, but what we do.

We must weed the garden at all times to ensure that as the seed grows, it is clear of any other obstructions to the light and moisture that it needs. The weeds can block the light and consume the water of the rain and irrigation meant to nourish the seed for maximum growth. Removing weeds can be hard work, especially if we have neglected to review it on a regular basis.

It’s always good to remember that we need to mind the gardens of our hearts with vigilance. When we do so, we will be honoring the Master Gardener by maximizing the return he has planned for the seed that is continually being sown in us.

If you enjoy these daily blog posts, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.

Now also on YouTube, find us at: Core of the Bible on YouTube.

Questions or comments? Feel free to email me directly at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Continually in the Word

Becoming doctrinally sound is an ongoing task for every believer.

Matthew 7:7-8 – ““Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

In this famous portion of the sermon on the mount, Yeshua encourages believers to be vigilant in all things. Each of the action words relating to ask, seek, and knock, are all in the present imperative which implies an ongoing action. This means that believers are to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking in order to receive those things that one may be searching for.

This may sound like a relatively simple encouragement for believers to apply in their lives, but it becomes even more prominent when it comes to us understanding our beliefs and the truths related to us in the Bible.

The topic of theology is one that was recently brought to the forefront of my attention by listening to a sermon about this very thing. The pastor was decrying the fact that statistically most Christians today have not read the entire Bible through even once. Many Christians rarely read their Bibles, yet are very vocal about their biblical opinions, even if their theology is not very sound.

While most believers may not think about theology as being something necessary for them, it becomes apparent that the more one reads the Bible, the believer begins to build up a personal theology on how all of the various pieces of information in the Bible fit together. This is a necessary and vital function of our continual growth. This is one reason that faithful believers who are in the word on a regular basis may change their opinions over time as they study and learn more about the text and the culture.

The basic areas of theology that one encounters when reading the Bible include some of the following main ideas:

  • Theology: The study of the nature of God.
  • Christology: The study of the nature of Messiah.
  • Soteriology: The study of The doctrine of salvation.
  • Ecclesiology: The study of the doctrine of the church, or Ekklesia.
  • Eschatology: The study of last things.

As one reads the Bible on a regular basis, these various doctrinal concepts continue to present themselves and force the believer to make decisions about what they actually believe about these various areas. This is critical to believers having a well-rounded faith, as illustrated by the directive of the apostle Paul to Timothy and to the congregation at Colosse:

2 Timothy 2:15 – “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.”

Colossians 4:6 – “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.”

By being vigilant in our continual and ongoing study of God‘s word, we provide God the opportunity to continue to mold and shape us according to the truths that are found there. We need to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking when it comes to understanding the finer points of our beliefs about eternal things. This allows us to be more open and willing to share with those around us who may have legitimate questions about the Bible.

This is who we are called to be, not just pastors and leaders, but all believers should grow in the grace and understanding provided by the spirit of God for our lives; this is to his glory and the growth of the kingdom.

——-

If you enjoy these daily blog posts, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.

Questions or comments? Feel free to email me directly at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Obediently and joyfully assisting those in need

God loves a cheerful giver.

An ancient Jewish proverb states:

The merciful lend to their neighbors; by holding out a helping hand they keep the commandments.

Sirach 29:1

Regarding the commandments of God, one of the most comprehensive passages that was to influence the attitude of God’s people toward the poor among them is summed up in Moses’ declaration to the nation as they are about to cross over into the promised land of Canaan.

Deuteronomy 15:7-11 “If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the LORD against you, and it will be a sin in you. You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’

In these commands, Moses encourages them to give generously to the poor, and to not let their hearts be grieved when doing so. Many times, we can follow a command, but we instead do it grudgingly and with the wrong attitude. God desires us to not only be obedient, but cheerfully so.

The intent of Moses’ instruction is echoed by the apostle Paul centuries later:

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 – The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should do as he has decided in his heart ​– ​not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.

Though the Jewish proverb is lengthy and covers many aspects of the benefits of lending to those in need, in one place it makes the following salient point:

Help the poor for the commandment’s sake, and in their need do not send them away empty-handed. Lose your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend, and do not let it rust under a stone and be lost.

Sirach 29:9-10

In a time when there were no banks or ways of securing money, it was not uncommon to simply bury it. The proverb advises, “don’t let your silver rust under a stone and be lost.” Rather than storing it for future use where it may not last, or may get stolen, let it get some use by those in need of it. It is much more preferable to “lose” your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend than to lose it to someone who may find it under your stone and steal what you were storing for yourself.

Yeshua taught the same principle in his parable about greed and accumulation of wealth.

Luke 12:15-21 – He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive. “He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? “I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. “Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ‘ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared ​– ​whose will they be? ‘ “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Helping those in need is not only a commandment of compassion to be obeyed, but a privilege and honor in the stewardship of the resources and blessings that God has provided us. Our faithfulness in being happily and freely “rich toward God” rather than rich toward ourselves brings honor to his name, and witnesses that we are truly his disciples abiding by his commandments.

If you enjoy these daily blog posts, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive at https://core-of-the-bible.simplecast.com/ or your favorite podcast streaming service. Questions or comments? Feel free to email me directly at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Trusting in the refuge of God

Living in this world, we are presented with many dangers that can assault us.

Psalm 62:8 – Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge.

Being listed as a psalm of David, this psalm is directed at the faithful within the people of God, at that time, the nation of Israel. Even though it was directed at the faithful of that era, several aspects of what David is encouraging believers to do can bear fruit if we apply these truths today, as well.

Trust in him at all times. The Hebrew word here for trust expresses many aspects of faith and trust: boldness, confidence, security, carefree of anxiety, hope. When we place our trust in God, we can have a sense of boldness and confidence in our thoughts and actions, because we recognize he has always been faithful with his people. Knowing God can provide security since we understand he holds the future. This confidence and security then foster a sense of hope that is anxiety-free and allows us to remain focused on his kingdom and his purpose for today.

Pour out your hearts. The heart is the seat of our deepest emotions and longings. To pour out our heart to anyone, including God, is in itself an exhibition of the deepest trust, as we may rarely let anyone inside the “walls” of our own making.

Albert Barnes writes:

The idea is, that the heart becomes tender and soft, so that its feelings and desires flow out as water, and all its emotions, all its wishes, its sorrows, its troubles, are poured out before God. All that is in our hearts may be made known to God. There is not a desire which he cannot gratify; not a trouble in which he cannot relieve us; not a danger in which he cannot defend us. And, in like manner there is not a spiritual want in which he will not feel a deep interest, nor a danger to our souls from which he will not be ready to deliver us. Much more freely than to any earthly parent – to a father, or even to a mother – may we make mention of all our troubles, little or great, before God.

God is our refuge. A refuge is a place where one flees for protection. The refuge provides security and safety from danger. According to David, this is who God is. Living in this world, we are presented with many dangers that can assault us. These things can either drive us away from God (as we seek to rely only on ourselves and our own designs) or they can drive us toward God. Those who are driven toward God are protected from many of the typical cares and anxieties that plague those around us.

Some view God as a “crutch,” saying that only the weak look to something outside of themselves to “help them through.” To this, the person of faith would say, “a person who is weak and lame and is need of help certainly needs a crutch, it is there to assist them.” In the grand scheme of all that exists, humans are weak, lame, and in need of help, as we cannot control all of our circumstances or know the future. Yet those of faith know Someone who does know the future and can control all circumstances. If that is considered a crutch, then so be it; I will use it gladly and thank God that he has provided it for me.

David encouraged trust in God and pouring out our hearts to him at all times. God has designed us as humans to trust in him. He has placed a yearning within us to pour our hearts out to him regarding all of our needs, hopes, and desires. If we choose not to, we are actually working at cross-purposes with his intent for our lives, and many unnecessary consequences can unfold. However, when we do trust in him and communicate the deepest recesses of our heart to him, we can be safe within the refuge he provides.

If you enjoy these daily blog posts, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive at https://core-of-the-bible.simplecast.com/ or your favorite podcast streaming service. Questions or comments? Feel free to email me directly at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

How the Golden Rule teaches simple respect and compassionate giving

As we review the Golden Rule in its original context, we can learn how simple respect for others helps us demonstrate compassion.

Core of the Bible podcast #36 – How the Golden Rule teaches simple respect and compassionate giving

Today we will be exploring the topic of compassion, and how compassionate actions stem from a root of simple respect for others based on the respect and compassion we have received from God.

Yeshua stated it this way: “Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” Matthew 7:12

Of course, we know this as the Golden Rule. Certainly, anything that you wish others would do for you, do in the same manner for them, for this summarizes God’s teachings regarding others.

Applying what we know about ourselves to others

The simplicity and practical wisdom of this maxim is unsurpassed. We are, after all, self-focused by nature, relating to all other things outside of ourselves as to how we are affected or influenced by them. We know what we like, and we know what is offensive to us. We know when we believe our rights have been violated. We believe we know how we should be treated by others.

Since we are so familiar with ourselves and what we believe we deserve, Yeshua uses this innate familiarity with our own perceived deservedness and turns it on its head by suggesting that is the same way we should treat others. Our actions towards others should be based on our own internal sense of justice, fairness, and equity. This is the essence of compassion. Yeshua’s admonition focuses on the positive aspect of doing good for others based on what we know is acceptable, fair, and just in our eyes.

The fact that this teaching also summarizes the torah or instruction of God is of no small importance. Yeshua here defines the role and universality of the Bible message by summarizing its intent: the instruction and example of God should cause us to be equitable and compassionate in all of our relationships.

In the Greek Septuagint version of the scriptures is contained an interesting corollary to this admonition of Yeshua. It is essentially the opposite of his positive focus which reads like this: “What you hate, do not do to others,” (Tobit 4:15). Just like Yeshua’s teaching focuses on the positive, in the same way this idea of not doing to others what you yourself hate focuses on prevention of poor behavior that you recognize is unacceptable to you. If you don’t like being talked over in conversations, don’t do that to others. If you don’t like it when someone cuts you off in traffic, then don’t do that to others. If you don’t like when people talk about you behind your back, then don’t do that to others. What you hate, don’t do to others.

What we can glean from both of these complementary aspects of this teaching (do good to others, and don’t do what you yourself hate) is this: the things we like to experience and the things we feel negatively about can operate as a basic guide of God’s desires for our interactions with other people.

While there are many commands within the Word, or Torah, of God, if there were a command for every single possible error we could commit, the Bible would be a much bigger collection of books than it currently is. The simple fact is, God has built-in a sense of equity and fairness within the human condition. Even if we were to do nothing more than abide by the sense of what we believe inherently is right and wrong  behavior (based on how we would like to be perceived and treated by others), then we will be miles down the road of doing what is right in God’s eyes.

Then, for believers seeking to learn more about God and his expectations for us, our expectations should continually be adjusted and refined to match his, and this feedback loop of doing what’s right in his eyes is enacted. As our actions then become more in tune with his will, we exhibit more compassion with others when we learn and observe just how compassionate God really is with us. It is meant to become a cycle of positive reinforcement, thereby expanding the reach of God’s kingdom and ultimately glorifying him.

Respecting the context of the Golden Rule

The logic of this wisdom of the Golden Rule, “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you,” has been mocked by some who would take a literal rendering to the extreme. “What about individuals who enjoy being harmed by others? Should they go and harm others, because that’s how they would want to be treated?” The folly of this is self-evident: beginning with the premise of a non-universal aberration (those who enjoy harm) leads to a faulty non-universal conclusion.

As is typically the case, this type of flawed reasoning stems from isolating this verse from its surrounding context, which gives a broader understanding of how it is intended to be applied in the first place.

In this passage (Matthew 7:7-12), Yeshua is admonishing his hearers about the benefits of being persistent “askers” when it comes to opportunity and meeting of needs.

Matthew 7:7-8 – “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

This is a simple progression of logic: Ask-receive, seek-find, knock-receive access. Yeshua is setting up his hearers to understand that just as this is the natural order of things in God’s kingdom, God is willing to provide whatever is needed if only we are persistent in asking. This is exhibited through what can be readily seen in their lives already.

Matthew 7:9-11 – “Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.

Yeshua’s argument continues, “Since you can see that even unrighteous people know how this system works, then don’t you think God will do the same for us when we we ask? And if God is willing to assist us when we ask, then shouldn’t we do the same with others?”

Matthew 7:12 – “Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you [i.e., when you ask], do also the same for them [when they ask], for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Yeshua is saying that this request-response method is a summary of basically the entire Bible when it comes to compassionate actions. Somebody has a need and makes a request (asking, seeking, knocking) and the need is met (they receive, find, and gain access). This is the very definition of compassion. God does it with us, and we should do it with each other.

Yeshua says, “therefore” because his statement of the Golden Rule summarizes his previous line of reasoning. It’s as if he is saying, “Therefore, because of the examples I just gave you, you should practice the same level of compassion with others.”

That’s why the Golden Rule isn’t meant to be some stand-alone, hypothetical, philosophical statement that can be hijacked for alternative philosophy. It is meant to summarize a simple respect for others when they are in need, which is God’s method for helping all who are in need and asking for assistance. Living by the Golden Rule demonstrates a compassion for others based on the compassion that God himself demonstrates for us.

Our compassion is owed to those in need

To delve a little further into our connection with others and exhibiting compassion in their time of need, we can explore some other passages that deal with a biblical understanding of the Golden Rule and its application.

Proverbs 3:27-28 – When it is in your power, don’t withhold good from the one to whom it belongs.  Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go away! Come back later. I’ll give it tomorrow” ​– ​when it is there with you.

The example here is that a person in need is asking for assistance, and the respondent instead pushes them away and delays providing the need. This may be due to inconvenience at the time, or just a desire to brush them off.

This is very similar to the admonition of the apostle James when he writes:

James 2:15-16 – If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?

James is basically saying that if we are not meeting someone’s need when they ask, whether today or tomorrow, what’s the point of our faith?

The Hebrew terms in the Proverbs passage here are interesting, because it implies that the good that is being withheld actually belongs already to the other person, it is due them. The good intention or action you have to offer someone in need is something that in actuality belongs to them already. The passage says they are the “lord” or “owner” of that good which you can bestow. You, therefore, by refraining to do the good, are keeping them from something that is rightfully theirs. When it is in your power to do good to others, you essentially owe it to them. In God’s eyes, they rightfully deserve the good that you can do for them.

Albert Barnes: The precept expresses the great Scriptural thought that the so-called possession of wealth is but a stewardship; that the true owners of what we call our own are those to whom, with it, we may do good. Not to relieve them is a breach of trust.

Pulpit Commentary: We are to do good to those who are in need or deserving of it, whenever we have the means and opportunity…The owners of good are those to whom good is due or belongs either by law or by morality, whether by desert or need…what we possess and is seemingly our own is in reality to be regarded as belonging to others. We are only stewards of our wealth…The meaning of the phrase is, “While it is practicable, and you have the opportunity and means of doing good, do it.” Do not defer, but do good promptly.

This ties in with what Paul writes in Galatians 6:9-10 – Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

If this is the real state of our obligation in this life, that everything we have is potentially owed to others in need, this should provide a monumental shift in how we interact with those around us.

What capacities and resources do we have that can truly help others?

Do we have talents or skills that can help others? Perhaps we can help to repair things around the home that they are unable to do. We may be able to simply mow the lawn, or run to the grocery store for an elderly neighbor who is unable to do either.

Do we have the financial ability to assist someone else? Whether assisting someone with a utility bill that they can’t pay, or helping them with money towards the purchase of a necessary appliance, if we have the ability to help, we should! According to Proverbs 3:27, we already owe it to them! The Bible teaches us when we do so, we are not really giving just to them, we are ultimately giving to God.

Proverbs 19:17 – Kindness to the poor is a loan to Yahweh, and he will give a reward to the lender.

The word for poor here doesn’t necessarily mean a beggar. The word literally means those who are “dangling, weak or thin.” Certainly, while these words can describe beggars, they imply those who cannot help themselves due to their own weakness or perhaps financial leanness and are hanging by a thread. The word for loan means to join (as with Yahweh) in lending to those in such need, and their need becomes our own. Our participation in true acts of compassion means that we are co-laboring with God in his Creation to see his good kingdom come about. Many times our generosity and provision to others is in reality God’s way of providing for them, and we are merely the instruments of his provision.

Conversely, it is not in our power to give what we don’t have.

Acts 3:6 – But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk! “

Peter said, “What I do have, I give you.” He didn’t have silver or gold, what the beggar was asking for, but he had something better: he could help him walk! This should be our guide for being compassionate with others. They may be asking for a specific need, but we may only be able to assist in another, perhaps greater, way that helps them even more! This just continues to highlight how we need to learn to get our focus off of ourselves, and learn to perceive the real needs of those around us when they ask us for help.

We shouldn’t be concerned with our lack of ability to give substantially due to the necessity of providing for our own needs. God does not expect us to bankrupt ourselves for the sake of others, otherwise, other people would then need to provide for us. The goal, then, is that our assistance of others comes from the good that we can do, what opportunities we do have, not the ones we don’t.

The future of compassion

Paul writes: 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 – It is not that there should be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality. At the present time your surplus is available for their need, so that their abundance may in turn meet your need, in order that there may be equality. As it is written: The person who had much did not have too much, and the person who had little did not have too little.

In this type of scenario, all believers work together, not to a base of uniformity, but from a base of unity. We all have a commitment to the kingdom first, and therefore our personal resources become secondary to the needs of those in the kingdom, those to whom our good is “due.”

The equality of needs would all be met in God’s type of economy. Consider the unity and equality of the early believers:

Acts 4:32-35 – Now the entire group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common. With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them. For there was not a needy person among them because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of what was sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need.

Wow, this is a bold example for us. Consider the possibilities if congregations today practiced this type and level of commitment to compassionate provision of others. Those who had multiple homes or additional land or resources would sell them. Those who had income above their needs would cheerfully provide it to the congregation leadership. All of those surplus funds would then be distributed to those in need within the fellowship of believers.

In a capitalist economy with a reliance on self-ownership of property and goods, this can seem like a crazy, left-wing, socialist type of proposition. And yet, as you can see by this very passage in Acts, this is the biblical design for the people in God’s kingdom. One of the primary reasons it seems so strange to us is because we have been raised in a culture that is in many ways fundamentally and diametrically opposed to this type of communal participation and care.

But I’m not talking here about the type of national government system that we should be promoting, not at all. The early believers lived in the Roman economy with all of its faults and shortcomings, and yet “there were no needy among them.” What I am presenting is the biblical model of congregational governance. For this type of system to work, you would really have to trust God and trust your leaders. This is why it can only work with true believers who are committed to following God’s Word by living beyond reproach, and according to his Word.

But I can guarantee you that congregations who truly and faithfully practiced this would explode in growth. As people’s needs would be met, they would become more available to help the needs of others, and so on. Poverty rates would drop and standards of living would rise. Just like those early days in the believers’ congregations, outsiders would take notice and respect their commitment to help one another.

Acts 5:13-14 – No one else dared to join them, but the people spoke well of them. Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers ​– ​multitudes of both men and women.

The kingdom of God could be advanced with amazing rapidity, all through the faithfulness of men and women willing to trust God and one another with true acts of compassion.

Summary

Ultimately, since it is God’s design for his kingdom to increase and fill the earth, we can look with eager anticipation toward its fulfillment while continuing to lay its foundations in our current generation. While we may struggle today with our own needs and the needs of others in our current society, we can still demonstrate biblical compassion by abiding by the principles of common respect contained within the Golden Rule. If you like people being nice to you, be nice to them first. If you enjoy being congratulated by others, then look outside your own perspective and do the same to others. If you desire that others provide help to you in your time of need, then find opportunities to do so for others when you are able to do so. If you want people to respect your views, then respect theirs. While you may disagree with their conclusions, they still have the same right to hold their views as you do with your own.

Simple respect solves all interpersonal relationships. Compassionate giving solves the needs of the community. While we may not be able to immediately solve all of the social ills of our current society, this type of simple respect and compassionate giving is how God implores all of us to love one another. When we do so, others will take notice of how our lives are based on different standards, higher standards. And that may be all that’s needed to open a door to sharing the message of the kingdom with them when they ask. And once they ask, and we faithfully respond, then they just need to be willing to receive.

If you enjoy these daily blog posts, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive at https://core-of-the-bible.simplecast.com/ or your favorite podcast streaming service. Questions or comments? Feel free to email me directly at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

The contrast of holiness in a world of darkness

Our priorities are not the same priorities of the world around us.

Proverbs 29:27 – An unjust person is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.

This proverb highlights the condition and the role of the righteous on the earth: to be set apart as holy and distinct. If there is a distinction being made, then the differing factions will have diverse viewpoints. Yeshua himself illustrated this point as he described how his teaching was a fulfillment of prophecy.

Matthew 10:34-37 – Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; the one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Holiness by its very nature causes divergence of thoughts, opinions, and allegiances. One of the most notable features demonstrating the holiness of the teachings of Yeshua is that he was a polarizing figure; he was presenting ideas and concepts where people had to choose sides between options.

Matthew 12:30 – Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.

This was not a new or novel concept; God’s servants and messengers have always presented polarizing options in the way of holiness. Moses and Joshua did so with the nation of Israel as they were preparing to enter the land of Canaan.

Deuteronomy 30:16-19 – “For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the LORD your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess. “But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow in worship to other gods and serve them, “I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not prolong your days in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan. “I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live…

Joshua 24:14-15 – “Therefore, fear the LORD and worship him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the LORD. “But if it doesn’t please you to worship the LORD, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship ​– ​the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the LORD.”

Holiness is in some ways, in the most profound ways, a very real burden for those who are acting in the way of the righteous, the derech ha-tzaddikim. This is the Way that holds to God’s standards above the standards of the culture and world in which we live. By abiding by his standards, we also become polarizing individuals within our family, friend, and work acquaintance circles.

However, as believers in Yeshua and followers of God’s commands, this is who we are. This is who we are meant to be. Our priorities are not the same priorities of the world around us. The burden of distinction we carry is one which has us die to ourselves, our own ambitions and desires, and to place before us the things of God instead. To others, this may appear to be a detestable path of death, when in reality this burden, our cross, is ultimately the path of life.

Matthew 10:38-39 – And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it, and anyone who loses his life because of me will find it.

If you enjoy these daily blog posts, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive at https://core-of-the-bible.simplecast.com/ or your favorite podcast streaming service. Questions or comments? Feel free to email me directly at coreofthebible@gmail.com.