Ephesians #4 "We Are One Church"
October 1, 2023Pastor Patrick presented this morning's message, "We Are One Church." It was the 4th message in a series studying the book of Ephesians. A video of the message is here. Our Conversation Starter for this week is here.
I knew it had to happen some day... Up till now, I've always looked for ways to add and/or support the day's message based on Torah references. Today I'm going to try to do the same, but I bet it will come across a little bit that I'm taking exception to the message, or rather parts of it. And I guess that's true, at least partially.
The message painted quite a bleak picture of Jews in the 1st Century, being a little high and mighty about who's in and who's out. And the description probably is accurate. But I could equally paint a bleak picture of Christianity if I focused on the Crusades, the Inquisition, and child molestation by church leaders. The truth is, there are horrible people who claim membership in all religions, and there are wonderful people who claim membership in all religions, and there are even more people somewhere in between horrible and wonderful in all religions.
To the extent that the 1st Century Jews "looked down on others," they were not following God's instruction. Shocking! Religious people not following God's instruction!
The Hebrews in Egypt were not chosen because they were "good at the game." Quite the opposite. They had become quite pitiful, weak, and valuable only as slaves. In fact, some commentators I've read suggest that the Israelites were chosen specifically because they were worthless. That way, it becomes clear that God made it all happen, not them. If Egypt had been chosen, it could have easily been understood that such a mighty civilization could do such wonderful things, any thing. Apparently, some Jews got "good at a game" later, but I doubt that pleased God.
They were chosen to do a job. Not because they were any better than anyone else, but because God had a job for them to do. And what were they chosen to do? Be a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). They were to take monotheism to the world via the Torah.
Sadly, they've not done such a hot job of doing that. They've rarely been "good at the game" God wanted them to play. In fact, it's fair to credit Christianity with taking the Torah to the world far more than the Jews ever have. Sadly, many Jews have turned inward or abandoned their religion altogether. To be fair, so have many Christians.
So, OK, the Jews of the 1st Century weren't playing well with others. They were NOT following God's instructions in the Torah. The Torah that gave us the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). The Torah that gave us "love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18b) and "love the stranger/foreigner" (Deuteronomy 10:19).
The Torah that makes it clear that ethnicity and national background make no difference. In the Torah, there are as many non-Hebrew heroes (e.g., Egyptian midwives and Pharoah's daughter) as Hebrew heroes, and there are as many Hebrews doing questionable acts (e.g., Lot, Noah's son, and the Golden Calf folks, to name a few) as non-Hebrews. It's all about how you act; being good or being bad.
Speaking of the Ten Commandments, I gave a talk this week at the Pillar Institute on the Ten Commandments. One of the points that the Torah makes about the Ten Commandments, by delivering them in the wilderness, is that they are for all the world. They were not given in any Israelite tribe's geographic area lest they think themselves special. The Ten Commandments were not even given in the Promised Land, Israel, lest Israelites think themselves somehow special. They were given in the wilderness, no man's land, everyman's land.
The Torah, too, could/should have been an "answer to all the animosity."
One other amendment I'd like to offer... "Perfection" was not ever a requirement in the Torah. Plenty of people have and do think that, but it's not accurate. I do think I will be judged, but perfection is not expected. The Torah recognized (in spades) that "the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth" (Genesis 8:21). What the Torah offered was how to repair broken relationships, including broken relationships with God. This was done primarily through study and prayer, sacrifice, repentance, and events such as Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement, which Jews just recently celebrated).
Lastly, a word about a word... Patrick mentioned the word goyim (גּוֹיִ֔ם). Even today, Jews often refer to non-Jews as the goyim, usually with a little derogatory tone. But the word is not at all pejorative in the Torah. It is simply the plural form of nation or people. Moses uses this word, goyim, to argue with God about God's first inclination to destroy the Israelites in the wilderness. Moses argues "what might the (other) nations (goyim) think of You if You destroy them (Israelites) now (after taking them out of Egypt)." Numbers 14:15.
It is true that Jews did not represent God particularly well in the 1st Century (probably plenty of other times, too). That's on them, not God or the Torah. This is precisely why there's a 3rd Commandment to not CARRY God's name in vain. In other words, don't do evil in God's name, using God's name, with God's name. It's the only Commandment for which God will not "cleanse" (forgive) the sinner.
Just my two cents.
Bonus
We never get to our Promised Lands
Most of us never see all our dreams fulfilled in this lifetime. No matter our successes in life, there will always be something unfinished. It's comforting to realize this as early as possible.
The final chapter of Deuteronomy (34) shows this even about the Torah's greatest character, Moses. God takes Moses up the mountain and shows him all of the Promised Land. (This had to have been miraculous in that no human with normal human eyes can see all the Promised Land from one spot.) But He does not allow Moses to enter the Promised Land. It's one of the most emotional moments of the Torah.
This is what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. referred to when he said, "I've been to the mountaintop" and "I may not get there with you." But he "sees" a future in the Promised Land.
By the way, Moses did not die because he was old or infirmed. The text clearly states that his "eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated." He died there "at the command of God."
God buried him (no one else was there), and no one knows to this day exactly where Moses was buried.
Dennis Prager points this out in his Rational Bible: Deuteronomy, pages 503-507.