Torahbytes: Human Greatness (No'ah)

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves..." (Bereshit / Genesis 11:4; ESV)

The Torah portion this week helps us to understand how we can achieve greatness in this life.

The settlers of the ancient city of Babel wanted to create a place of greatness, security, and unity. They thought that somehow their city would provide these things for them. They sought to establish an identity based on themselves, thinking they could find security in the work of their own hands.

But God thought it best to thwart their plans by confusing them for the following reason:

If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them (11:6; ESV).

God acknowledges what we would call human potential. History has shown us how we have been able to take ideas - even fantastic ones - and bring them to reality. The technological advances we have experienced in the past 100 years are breathtaking. This ability comes from God as he made us in his image. Even though he put an end to the building of Babel by imposing confusion on the human family, he hasn't taken that ability away from us.

But as far as Babel was concerned, this is a project to which he put an end. But why? The answer is found in the story following this one - the Call of Abraham. God cursed Babel, but blessed Abraham. In fact much of what the people of Babel wanted, God promised to Abraham. That they desired (as we do) to create something enduring, to have identity, and to find community is a good thing. It was how they went about it that got them into trouble.

Self-reliance, self-focus, and self-protection are not what we are made for. We were created to be God's representatives on earth. Our identity cannot be found in ourselves; we, who were made in the image of God. It is only when we submit to God's direction in our lives that we can embrace the greatness he intended.

As we learn to submit to God, we don't lose our intelligence, creativity, and abilities - far from it! It is in this place of humility that we can truly realize our human potential. In fact, as we learn to trust God, we discover that our effectiveness in the world is not wrapped up in our natural abilities at all, but in his power. The talents we possess are gifts from God, instruments given to us by him for his purposes. But it's not until we put ourselves and all we have at his disposal that we will become all we were meant to be.

Torahbytes: Savior (Bereshit)

For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:3; ESV)

Being a Jewish follow of Yeshua has made me very sensitive to misunderstandings between Jewish people and non-Jewish Christians. After becoming a believer I discovered the linguistic gap that exists between these two groups. Even though English is the main language used, how Jewish people and Gentiles use it is different, especially when it comes to issues of faith and religion. For example, non-Jews are comfortable with using the word "crusade" to refer to any enthusiastic, organized pursuit of a cause, while to Jewish ears, the term tends to evoke very strong negative emotions due to our suffering at the hands of supposed Christians during the "Crusades" in the 11th to 13th centuries. When non-Jews think it is silly for a Jewish person to feel nervous about a religious event being called a crusade, then that just proves my point about this linguistic gap.

TorahBytes is a biblical commentary from a Jewish New Covenant perspective. This demands using terms that are more Jewish in nature. This should not be that hard to do since the entire Bible (Old and New Covenant Scriptures) was written from that very perspective and within that cultural framework. But since New Covenant faith has developed through history within a predominantly non-Jewish framework, much of its terminology is not understood within the Jewish community. For example, most Jewish people (and many Gentiles for that matter) don't know that the word "Christ" means "Messiah". Christ, from the Greek "christos," became the preferred designation for Yeshua, because Greek was the trade language of the world at that time much like English is today. First century Jewish people, many of whom spoke Greek, knew that Messiah, from the Hebrew "mashiach," and "christos" meant the exact same thing with the latter having no associated negative connotations whatsoever. The term "Messiah" is used in TorahBytes exclusively to ensure that Yeshua is understood to be the expected Jewish Davidic King and not some pagan concept.

One of the downsides of the exclusive use of Jewish terminology is the possibility of neglecting certain important biblical concepts due to their having negative connotations or being regarded as irrelevant within the Jewish world. One such concept is "savior". That this is a biblical concept is clear from the verse from Isaiah quoted at the beginning, but among Jewish people "savior" is thought of as an exclusively Christian, non-Jewish concept. Its lack of use in Jewish circles is partly due to the Christian overemphasis on the individual's personal need to be saved from damnation in contrast to the Jewish limited view of the Messiah as a national hero - the King who will deliver us from our oppressors. There is truth in both viewpoints and to fully understand the Messiah's role we need to hold both aspects in balance.

The neglect of the biblical understanding of God's role as Savior has contributed to the common Jewish misunderstanding that we have no need of a savior at all. For most Jewish people, we ourselves are the source of our own salvation. Judaism is regarded as God's prescription for whatever problems we have in life, and if we don't follow the prescription, then we are the only ones to blame. This fails to accept that the Torah and the rest of Scripture make it clear that we cannot save ourselves. In fact biblical Judaism was designed to prove this to us and that without a Savior we are lost both personally and nationally.

The Jewish world is not the only community that has neglected the concept of savior, however. Almost every philosophy, religion, spirituality, and way of life today (Christianity and Messianic Judaism included) is based on the notion that it's up to us to fix life's problems, personal or global. I am not saying that we have no part in dealing with the ills of life, but to effectively address those problems, we need to begin with relying on God as Savior. Instead of "God helps those who help themselves", it should be, "Those who rely on God will be helped."

Torahbytes: Belonging (Sukkot)

Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth? (Shemot / Exodus 33:16; ESV)

One of the strongest human desires is the desire to belong. It is not necessarily a desire that we are aware of, but we are made to connect with other people. While there are some people who thrive on being loners, most of us need to know that we are part of some sort of community. This community may be clearly defined such as a family or club. Or it might be more vague as when people share experiences such as talking about their favorite TV programs, coping with harsh weather, or becoming "friends" on Facebook. The awareness of this desire is not usually felt until one feels that they don't belong as in the case when everyone but you is really into the latest reality show. But the desire to belong often unconsciously drives us as evident by our fashion choices, the people we hang out with, and even our moral judgments. Without realizing it we rarely risk being different from those around us.

When God called the people of Israel starting with Abraham, his desire was to develop a nation different from the other nations of the world. Yet Israel was not all that comfortable with being different. Their desire to belong to the family of nations would prove to be a snare to them. Sadly, they didn't fully understand how much the rest of the world needed them to be different, for it was (and still is) this difference that would bring to people the sense of belonging they desire.

It is not that God simply gave the people a lot of rules that made them different. That's partly true, but according to Moses, it was God's presence that made all the difference. It is one thing for a people group to have their own customs and laws -  every culture has their own customs and laws. But no other nation had the Master of the Universe in their midst, who led them step-by-step, fought their battles, protected them from enemies and hostile environments, and provided for their daily needs.

It was the practical reality of God that made Israel stand out among the nations of their day. No wonder their customs and laws contributed to their distinctiveness. When God is working in your midst, you don't have to live life as if he isn't. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why following God's directives is so important. Neglecting his instructions denies he is really with us.

Because God's intimate involvement in our lives makes us different, we may feel disconnected from those around us. Even though as followers of Yeshua we belong to a vast, world-wide community, we might still struggle with a sense of not belonging, living among those who themselves may not know God. Unlike Israel of old, we do not live in an isolated national community. Instead we find ourselves scattered among the nations of the world, called to be a light to others. At the same time, our feelings of not belonging can be overwhelmingly painful.

But maybe we should look at this the other way around. Perhaps we are not the ones who don't belong. We belong to God's family through Yeshua the Messiah. It is those who don't yet know him who don't belong. They are the unconnected ones. They may not feel unconnected due to whatever sense of belonging they do have. But the desire to belong was not designed to be fulfilled through common tastes, shared experiences, and Facebook. The desire to belong was designed to be fulfilled by belonging to God and to his family.

If this is true, then those of us who are part of his family may need to look at the ways in which we are trying to satisfy our desire to belong. Our disconnectedness from others is actually due to the need of others to be connected to God. Could it be that our attempt to connect with them on their terms might get in the way of their connecting with God, thus experiencing the kind of belonging they most desperately need? Accepting being different and unconnected to others is the first step to discover what it means to truly belong.

Torahbytes: An Unreasonable Facsimile (Yom Kippur)

And it shall be said, "Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way." (Isaiah 57:14; ESV)

I don't know if this sort of thing is still done, but I remember when I was a kid, contests would often refer to something called a "reasonable facsimile." This had to do with the contest promoters allowing for an alternative to the official contest form. Instead of cutting it out of a magazine or newspaper or having to acquire it from the contest promoters, it was acceptable to create and submit your own form as long as all the required information was included.

Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar and begins this year on the evening of Friday, October 7. Yom Kippur was part of the God-ordained religious system designed to prepare Israel for the coming of the Messiah. In particular it illustrates our separation from God and anticipates our restoration to right relationship with him through the Messiah's sacrifice. Not long after Yeshua's coming, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. The old system was no longer required, since Yeshua's sacrificial death and resurrection provides everything that Yom Kippur and the rest of the Temple service looked forward to.

The destruction of the Temple created a crisis for the first century Jewish leadership who did not accept Yeshua as Messiah. If Yeshua was not the Messiah, then how was their understanding of Judaism to continue? Tragically, instead of recognizing their error, they developed a new version of Judaism that, though reminiscent of God's original system, was based on human ingenuity, not God's direction. They thought they were creating a reasonable facsimile, but they were not. So year after year an unreasonable facsimile of this most important day has been observed, while the reality of restoration to God in Yeshua is ignored.

As Jewish believers should we embrace this unreasonable facsimile? I have great respect for our heritage, but not when it detracts from the reality of God. Even if the Temple were still standing, the observance of Yom Kippur would be obsolete and unnecessary.

This would be a good time to ask ourselves if we have truly come to grips with what Yeshua has done on our behalf. Do we understand how alienated we were and how intimately connected we now are? Do we live as people reconciled to God, children of God, who have unhindered access to his very presence? Do we represent him to others as though this were true or do we undermine his reality by not allowing him to be everything that he wants to be in and through us.

At this time of year it can be intimidating to boldly reflect God's reality when so many of our people are deeply engaged in an unreasonable facsimile. To stand for something that the overwhelming majority rejects is a challenge. But what good does it do to give in to feelings of intimidation? Is it better to leave people in error - even worse - to encourage them to continue in misguided traditions when they can enter into the fullness of God through the Messiah now?

Wouldn't it be terrible to learn that you failed to win a contest, not because you weren't picked, but because your submission was misinformed, that you submitted an unreasonable facsimile? The opportunity to experience the reality of God as anticipated by the original Yom Kippur is much more than a contest. Full forgiveness of sin and restoration to God are available to anyone who is willing to access God, but only if we do so according to his Truth - his Truth as revealed in the Messiah.

A Courageous Offering

In the early 2000s a congregation in South Georgia decided to make a movie as an effective way to reach the general population with God's Truth. With a budget of $20,000, little to no experience, a crew of volunteers, much faith and lots of prayer, Flywheel was released in a few local theatres and to DVD a few years later. Flywheel has the look of an amateur film, but nonetheless effectively tells a good story about how doing life God's way makes a positive difference. The limited but significant success of Flywheel spurred these folks on and in 2006 they released Facing the Giants - in which the viewer is challenged to trust God through the struggle of a losing high school football coach and he and his wife's infertility. With a budget five times that of Flywheel, but still low compared to most commercial films, the cinematic quality was greatly improved over that of its predecessor. It also did respectably well in the box office, grossing over $10 million. I remember reading a review of Facing the Giants before I saw it, accusing it of being predictable, but having experienced God come through for me in so many of the ways shown in this film, what may seem predictable to some is actually a graphic depiction of God's dependability.

The next offering by Sherwood Pictures, the movie-making arm of the congregation behind these productions (Sherwood Baptist Church), was Fireproof. With a budget of $500,000, it was the highest grossing independent film of 2008, starring Kirk Cameron (well-known from the TV show Growing Pains), as a firefighter whose marriage is falling apart, but who learns the power of unconditional love.

This past weekend (September 30, 2011) Sherwood released its most daring offering thus far. Aptly named Courageous, its courage is found in much more than its story line. Against the backdrop of the lives of four law enforcement officers, Courageous deals with what might be the single most important issue facing the world today. In fact, it is so daring that most people don't want to deal with it. So why make a movie about it? Why risk a million dollar budget and the energy and time of so many volunteers who gave of themselves to be involved in this project. Up until now while these folks have produced films that were personal, emotional and life changing, they were pretty safe.

But Courageous is not safe. It confronts the viewer with what might be some of our deepest wounds, while at the same time calling us to a standard that we would rather ignore. It takes courage to offer a prescription that has been belittled for so long. It takes courage to tell the truth when so many have embraced a lie. It takes courage to offer audiences a biblical solution to the epidemic facing fatherhood and manhood today.

With the growing popularity of so-called, faith-based films, there is a tendency to water down biblical truth for the sake of viewership. I must confess I myself was a bit uncomfortable over the central place Courageous gives the message of the Messiah (just as their other films do). I was falling into the same trap of being concerned more about theatrical success than the need to deliver the Truth. But this is the crux of the matter. It takes courage to tell the truth in spite of people's reactions. It takes courage to do right regardless of others' actions. Courageous is an example we would do well to follow.

http://www.courageousthemovie.com

Torahbytes: Trusting in the God Who Is (Ha'azinu)

The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. (Devarim / Deuteronomy 32:4; ESV)

I think that understanding this verse and its implications is key to truly knowing God and understanding how life really works. First, let me muse over what the words here are saying. The God of Israel is "the Rock" - absolutely dependable and stable. He is who he is and he does what he says. "His work is perfect" - what he does, he does exactly as it should be done. It is never incomplete and lacking in any way. "For all his ways are justice" - whatever he does is right for everyone everywhere. He sets the standard for justice and meets that standard every time. "A God of faithfulness" - He is consistent and loyal to all of his commitments. You can count on him. "And without iniquity" - there is no evil, weakness, or decay in God nor in anything he does. "Just and upright is he" - he is always in the right and is honest and forthright.

For this verse to be the key I contend it is, it needs to be grasped within the reality of living life as we know it. If the Torah portrayed God as disconnected from human activity, then it would be relatively easy to accept these attributes. If God was a distant cosmic power who existed to fuel our spiritual fantasies, then what difference does it make how our holy book describes him. We might even be inspired by stories of other worldly exploits of divine super powers. But the Torah creates a problem for us, because it claims that this amazing Supreme Being is involved in our day-to-day lives. If God as described by these attributes is truly involved in human affairs, how do we reconcile his attributes with the prevalence of tragedy and suffering?

The Torah reveals to us that the reason for the invasion of evil is our first parents' rebellion against God's command. Since then life on earth has been out of whack. While retaining so much of God's original design, humans, animals, and the environment are tainted through and through, which is the effect of sin.

But this does not change God, nor his dealings with us. Our predicament is not a reflection upon God, except in the sense that his oversight of our predicament is an example of his wonderful attributes discussed earlier.

The reason the verse I read is the key to knowing God and understanding how life really works is that something happens when a person is able to fully accept the reality of the goodness and power of God in a world as broken as ours. This is not spiritual escapism. In fact it is when we grasp the reality of the attributes of God and are willing to face the state of the world as it is that we can begin to live life to its fullest.

The Bible gives us examples of many people who understood this. Noah knew that God called him to prepare the rescue mission for his family and the animals in the face of impending doom. The evil of his day and the resulting judgment were as real as God's word to him to build the ark. Moses trusted God to do the impossible in the freeing of his people from the tyranny of foreign control. David did the same, not only in his slaying of the giant, but throughout his entire life. In the midst of all sorts of difficulties he lived his life based on the belief that God was greater than anything.

Noah, Moses, and David lived as they did not because God was somewhat powerful and sometimes gets involved in our affairs. They knew he was altogether trustworthy and all powerful, which freed them to do his will in their day regardless of their circumstances. No other example is as vivid as the Messiah's conquering of death. His entrusting of himself to the will of God even in the face of execution and his resulting vindication through his resurrection is proof positive that God can be trusted no matter what.

One day, we will no longer have to live with the tension between the attributes of God and life as we know it. But for now if we are willing to do so, we can know him as he is and live life as we were meant to. Let me quote the verse again: "The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he."

Torahbytes: The Best Is Yet To Come (Nizzavim & Va-Yelekh)

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:11; ESV)

Last week I made the claim that the biblical perspective of history, especially regarding the centuries since Yeshua's coming, is a positive one. I contrasted the traditional Jewish view of Messiah's coming with how it plays out within the pages of the New Covenant Scriptures. In many ways the rabbinic view and the New Covenant view are similar. The major difference is that instead of the Messiah's coming immediately bringing history as we know it to an end, it is actually the beginning of a long process over time.

Also last week I corrected a popular notion among some Christians that the outplaying of the time between the Messiah's first and second coming is a fundamentally negative one, whereby history goes from bad to worse. The truth of the matter is that the messianic mission that began with Yeshua's coming has been bringing the truth and reality of the God of Israel to the whole world. In these last two thousand years, Yeshua's followers have impacted cultures for good the world over.

Some may accept that this is true, but assert that the time period we are in right now is worse than ever morally, politically, and environmentally and that this is a sign that Yeshua's return is at hand. This view is problematic for several reasons. First, it is debatable that we are in the worst time in history. Sure, there are bad things happening, but worse than ever? That would be difficult to prove. There are significant wars occurring and violent situations in the world, but more than in the days of the First and Second World Wars? There are terrible diseases affecting large populations, but worse than the Black Plague of the Dark Ages? I admit that it does seem that there is an increase of earthquakes and extreme weather in the past few years, but do we have a way of knowing that this is the worst ever?

The reason why some people look to these types of events as signs of the end of the age is due to these words of Yeshua:

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains (Matthew 24:6-8; ESV).

What Yeshua is describing here has been going on throughout history. It is more reasonable to understand his words as meaning that his followers should not be put off by the continuation of war, famines, and earthquakes. This is simply the state of the human story in the midst of a creation that is anticipating the final redemption of God (compare with Romans 8:19-21).

Regardless of whether or not our time is worse than any other, I contend that this is beside the point. Yeshua said "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33; ESV). He clearly states here that his followers would have troubles during the time between his comings, but we are to view life, not through the lens of trouble, but with the understanding that we follow the one who has overcome the world. Yeshua's followers have been demonstrating this for two thousand years. It is through the messianic mission that God has caused, in the words of Isaiah, "righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations." Whatever negative events occur, we need to remember that we are following the Overcoming One. The age in which we live will culminate in his return to fully establish God's absolute reign over the creation. In the meantime we are called to continue the messianic mission and guard against any notion that it's hopeless to serve God since life is just going to get worse and worse (whether that will be the case or not). As we anticipate the Messiah's return we can be confident that the best is yet to come!

Torahbytes: Half Empty or Half Full? (Ki Tavo)

And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. (Isaiah 60:3; ESV)

I have been accused of being a "half-empty" kind of guy. Personally I think of myself as a realist, but I admit that I do have trouble seeing silver linings around clouds. It doesn't help that God has brought people into my life that don't even see the clouds or that to them it's not that the glass is half full, it's overflowing! I know...it actually does help that these people are in my life.

Whatever the reasons for my psychological or spiritual deficiencies (or strengths!), I mention this to say that I don't tend to put a positive slant on things. This means that I usually need some pretty good reasons to see things in a positive light. One of those things is the impact of the coming of the Messiah into the world.

The human experience since creation has been mixed. Life is full of ecstatic pleasures and agonizing suffering. Dreams come true beyond expectations; hopes dashed and hearts crushed. Goodness, kindness, and sacrifice abound amidst evils beyond comprehension. Half-full or half empty? How do you see human history?

The Torah sees history as a process. Creation was deemed "very good" by God himself (Bereshit / Genesis 1:31), but due to our first parents' disobedience, the human experience was thrust into a negative trajectory. Yet not without hope as God promised the eventual destruction of evil (see Bereshit / Genesis 3:15). The rest of the Hebrew Bible lays out for us the outworking of this promise culminating in the expectation of the coming of the Messiah (see Isaiah 9:6; 11:1-10; 53:1-12; Micah 5:1 [English: 5:2], Zechariah 12:10; Daniel 9:24-27; etc.). The Messiah's coming would mark a major positive transition in history. In fact in Jewish tradition, the Messiah's coming would put an end to evil once and for all. What our ancient teachers failed to see was that the Messiah's coming would initiate a new stage in the process, rather than the final transformation itself.

The claim of the New Covenant Scriptures is that the Messiah has come and has set history on a new course. The evil that first entered the human heart in Eden has been dealt a substantial blow. The followers of the Messiah are called to extend his rule throughout the world and in all of life.

What has been happening since Yeshua's coming two thousand years ago is that the glass has been filling up. So while life has included both negative and positive aspects, the process which God has been developing over time is a positive one.

Many followers of the Messiah don't see it this way, however. To them the evil still prevalent in the world colors the whole picture. The glass is not only half empty, it is emptying at an ever increasing rate. The culmination of history will occur when the glass is completely empty. While grateful for whatever positive effects the messianic mission has on the world, to them the world is going down the drain.

This way of looking at history fails to understand what really happened when Yeshua came. Until that time the hope of the world had been kept under a bushel, so to speak. The nation of Israel had hope that God's rule would prevail, but their hope was faint and for the most part kept to themselves. But with the coming of the Messiah the message of salvation and restoration burst onto the world's stage and has been transforming individuals, communities, and cultures ever since. No matter how dismal life seems, God through the Messiah is triumphing the world over.

The glass is definitely half full (maybe a lot more than half).