Let me warn you – this book is critical of Talmudic Judaism.
Why? Because my people have turned away from the Words of God in favor of the
words of men!
The first king of Israel, King Saul, was a fitting example
of the Israelite leadership. God had directed him to utterly destroy the sinful
Amalekites and even their animals. However, Saul was convinced that he knew
better than God and did not follow His words. God sent the Prophet Samuel to Saul to
reprimand him, but Saul defended his disobedience by claiming that he intended
to sacrifice the choicest cattle to the Lord. But:
·
…Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in
burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to
obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For
rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and
idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected
you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23 ESV)
By rebelling against the Word of God, Saul had also rebelled
against God. Samuel equated this rebellion with idolatry, a serious betrayal of
the One who had appointed him king.
At first, it had seemed that Saul had been an excellent
choice. He had been a very humble man, and humble men heed the Word of God.
When Saul was chosen by Samuel, according to the directions of God, to be king,
Saul confessed his unworthiness:
·
“Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the
tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe
of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?” (1 Samuel 9:21)
However, with success and acclaim, he soon found little need
for humility and obedience to the Word of God. This has also been the story of
Israel. Once their bellies were filled, they forgot their God.
I experienced a variation of this theme. I didn’t feel good
about myself. Having little success to speak of, to address this need I began
to feed on positive affirmations. One set of affirmations had to do with my
Jewish identity. I convinced myself that because I belonged to such a
successful race, I was superior to others. This became my drug of choice.
However, as with any drug, we require increasingly higher doses to maintain the
high. In time, we are hooked. The high is gone, but we still need the drug to
get out of bed in the morning.
Through a life-threatening experience, I began to search and
was found by Yeshuah the Messiah. However, over the next several years, I had
to endure the most painful experience of withdrawal. During this time, my still
very mysterious Lord was painfully revealing to me the nature of my addiction.
He opened my eyes to the ugly lies I had been telling myself, and I was broken.
I saw the deceit of my self-righteousness, but I also began to see the
self-righteousness within others and even within my people, who I had once
regarded as superior.
I also began to notice that even the Church was often held
captive to this Gospel-rejecting malady. Paul had charged the Corinthian Church
·
For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people
that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one
of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or
“I follow Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:11-12)
They too had been boasting about their group affiliation. Belonging
to the “right” group was psychologically uplifting but not according to the
Lord. Paul, therefore, reprimanded them, even sarcastically:
·
[Don’t]…go beyond what is written, that none of
you may be puffed up in favor of one against another…What do you have that you
did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not
receive it? Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich!
Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we
might share the rule with you! (1 Corinthians 4:6-8)
I was beginning to see that pride is a destroyer, separating
people from people and even from God. It is a disease that needs to be exposed for
the good of the afflicted and for those who love them.
This is what Jesus did (Matthew 23). He exposed the
corruption and was hated for it (John 7:7). I hope I am not hated for this
book. However, we are told to expect persecution (2 Timothy 3:12; John 15:18-20).
Pride is also a deceiver. Consequently, in each chapter, I
hope to expose the fallacies of the rabbinic interpretations of the Scriptures,
both the Old and the New. This exposure is not only necessary for the spiritual
health of the Jewish people but also for the spiritual health of the Church.
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