Academic Intolerance in Archaeology

A few days ago I posted a link to Ben Stein’s upcoming movie, Expelled (http://www.expelledthemovie.com/home.php). If you haven’t watched the trailer yet, I think you will thank me for pointing it out to you. The movie is due in theaters April 19. Let’s hope movies like this can set up an alternative to the Michael Moore films which are rather untruthful in their biases.

Well, politicized science is never a good thing. Michael Crichton talks about this in an appendix to State of Fear. Does anybody remember that Eugenics was the craze of the day in academia in the early 1900’s. University’s suppressed anyone who objected to Eugenics. Then, after World War II and Hitler’s application of his version of Eugenics, everybody pretended they had never believed in it.

Politicized science is bad science. It is an intolerance for ideas based not on data or sound theory, but on ideologies that have little or nothing to do with the goals of science. Academic tyranny should not be tolerated. Suppression of free speech goes against everything liberals AND conservatives believe in.

So, now that I have introduced the subject, here is an example of the same thing happening in archeology . . .
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I am a regular reader of Biblical Archaeology Review (http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/). It is a great magazine. I love Herschel Shanks. He’s not always right, but he has a moral sense that I admire. He values open inquiry and academic freedom. He is a voice against injustice in the realm of archeology.

In the March/April 2008 issue, he has an article called “In Defense of Eilat Mazar.” Mazar is the granddaughter of Benjamin Mazar, famed archaeologist, and she is also a cousin to Amihai Mazar, also well-known in the field.

Mazar has come under fire from some people, while others dearly love her for her work, because she claimed to have found what may be the palace of King David in Jerusalem. She also may have found a segment of Nehemiah’s wall in Jerusalem. In a short period of time, she very well may have verified two major pieces of biblical history.

So why is she under fire? I will let Shanks explain it:

No one would question her professional competence as an archaeologist. Her chief sin, however, is that she is interested in what archaeology can tell us about the Bible. But that is not the worst of it. She is willing to make suggestions that are plausible, even likely, but are nonetheless not 100 percent certain. (Few archaeological conclusions are.)

One of the critics of Mazar is the National Geographic Society, whose website published an article casting aspersion on Mazar. National Geographic interviewed such well-balanced (sic) scholars as Philip Davies, who is a Biblical minimalist (he believes the minimum of the Bible has any historical basis in spite of solid evidence for a substantial amount of Biblical history).

Shanks’s article concludes:

If the judgment she [Mazar] had made related to something other than the Bible, no one would give it a second thought. Only a finding related to the Bible brings such obloquy down on the head of a leading archaeologist.

It sounds similar to the premise of Ben Stein’s film, where academics cast aspersions and even fire other academics who dare to suggest that Darwinistic evolution is an inadequate theory and that life bears the marks of design rather than random origins.

Academics and academic institutions, including the National Geographic Society, cast aspersion on Mazar. And for what?

I’ll tell you for what. Mazar followed evidence from Biblical texts and her grandfather’s archaeological surveys to dig where she thought David’s palace might be located. She found large walls, suggestive of a public building, with pottery from the Iron Age period in which David lived.

Guess what? An ancient historical source, whose testimony should be given some weight even if you are not a Jew or a Christian, led an archaeologist to look for something in a certain place. The place turned out to have something datable to the correct time that fits the description in the ancient source.

Is it a stretch to say the ancient historical source may have been accurate on that one point?

Or is it less of a stretch for us to believe that National Geographic and Philip Davies are completely objective?

Preparing for Passover, Pt. 2

Are you ready to celebrate redemption and recreate the awe and wonder of that night 3,500 years ago? April 19 is getting closer and closer. Have you blown the dust off your haggadahs yet?

We’re here to help you at Messianic Musings with a series of “Preparing for Passover” articles. The better informed you are at Passover, the better experience you will have at the Seder. This year the first night Seder is Saturday night, April 19. You know what that means: you cannot cook to prepare for the Seder since the day of preparation is a Sabbath. So this year especially you need to be prepared well in advance.

One of the best-known features of the Haggadah is the Four Questions.

One of the first things you should notice about the Four Questions is that there are really five and only one of them is a question. Welcome to Judaism! As David Arnow says in his wonderful book Creating Lively Passover Seders, the Four Questions are really four answers to one question:

Why is this night different from all other nights?
On all other nights we eat either leavened or unleavened bread; on this night we eat only unleavened bread.
On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs; on this night we eat only bitter herbs.
On all other nights we don’t even dip once; on this night twice.
On all other nights we eat sitting or reclining; on this night we all recline.

Arnow says that in Hebrew these are actually called the Four Difficulties (kushiot) and not the Four Questions.

The Four Questions are part of the commandment to tell the story of Passover to your children. They are one of a number of customs designed to keep the kids interested. Arnow says that one Rabbinic passage (Tosefta Piskha 10:9) suggests the adults should snatch pieces of matzah from each other in a light-hearted way to startle the kids into staying awake!

Interestingly, there were originally three questions. These are recorded in the Mishnah and date back to the time when the Temple as still standing and a Passover lamb was still slaughtered by each family. One of the original three was, “On all other nights we eat meat that is roasted, stewed, or boiled; on this night only roasted.” Since lambs are no longer slaughtered at the Temple, most Jewish families (Ashkenazi) no longer eat lamb at Passover and certainly not roasted whole without breaking any of the bones!

The four questions are a window into the complex history of Passover. Dipping vegetables into vinegar or saltwater is a Roman custom. It was a Roman form of hors d’oeuvres. Reclining was also a Roman custom at a formal meal, reclining on couches. In the Mishnah, it says that on Passover, even a poor person reclines.

The bitter herbs, of course, go back to the biblical command, as does the unleavened bread (Exod. 12:8).

Want to learn the tune? Try this link: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Passover/TO_Pesach_Seder/manishtana.mp3

Want to celebrate Passover in Atlanta on the second night, April 20? See the post below.

In Atlanta? Want a Second-Night Passover Seder?

If you live in Atlanta and want to participate in a Seder for the second night of Passover, Sunday night, April 20, all the information you need is contained in the PDF file below. The cost is $10 per person, $30 per family, plus bringing a kosher-for-Passover menu item (details on the flyer). Please email derekblogger@gmail.com to let me know if you are sending in a payment for tickets.

Here is the PDF file you need: Passover Flyer

FEAST is here!

LifeWay, a large Christian publisher, has a new division called Threads (see threadsmedia.com). They put out some really cool small group materials for 20’s and 30’s.

Anyway, I recently wrote a book for them called FEAST. It is just now coming out.

I’d get such great nachas (joy) if you’d take 1 minute to look at the link (or better yet, buy 20 copies):

http://www.threadsmedia.com/index.php?/store/detail/feast_member_book/

What’s So Bad About a Little Suppression of Free Speech?

Ben Stein is making a movie called Expelled. It’s due out in theaters April 19. You owe it to yourself to look at the trailer.

I say it’s about time somebody with a little clout, money to produce something like this, and a first class wit to boot went to the trouble to say this.

What are the priests of mystical, random origination worried about anyway?

If you care about suppression of free speech, academic tyranny, religious intolerance, and politicized science, this is a must see.

http://www.expelledthemovie.com/playgroundvideo3.swf

Derek Leman

Sabbath Meditation: The Order of Shabbat

Shabbat shalom! As I speak I smell the cookies baking and the pot roast cooking for Saturday lunch in the crockpot. A guest came over early and just recently finished baking a carrot cake for later tonight to eat at an appropriate time well after the meal is finished. I’m about to start grilling some hamburgers and hotdogs for a casual Shabbat dinner (sometimes we can get more excited about burgers than roast chicken!).

I hope you are doing something fun tonight. We’ll have fifteen people over (but nine of them are just my family, so it’s not as big a group as it might sound). If you’re with family or even if you’re alone for Shabbat tonight, sanctify it. Make it special.

My topic tonight is working toward a more complete Shabbat observance . . .
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Many Messianic folk that I know, and this is true of me for many years as well, do a very abbreviated Shabbat order of service. The highly simplified Shabbat meal that I learned went as follows:

1. The woman of the home blesses the candlelighting.
2. The man of the home blesses the wine and everyone drinks.
3. The man of the home blesses the bread and everyone eats a piece.
4. Eat the meal.
5. Do whatever afterward.

Now, this is a nice ceremony and if this is all you are ready for, you are still sanctifying the Sabbath. By all means, do this.

To learn more about Shabbat, I recommend two things. First, get Shabbat: The Family Guide to Preparing for and Celebrating the Sabbath by Dr. Ron Wolfson (available at amazon.com – Get It Here). Second, learn the additional prayers. One easy way is to go to sidduraudio.com where you will find the Shalom Aleikhem (do Version 1) and the Kiddush-Erev Shabbat.

We all ought to grow in our traditional observance of Shabbat. Below is an order of service for a complete Shabbat Seder:
1. Preparing for Shabbat in advance (start early in the week by purchasing what you need for Friday and Saturday).
2. Candlelighting prayer.
3. Shalom Aleikhem (a song of thanks to angels who watch over us).
4. Family blessings (husband blesses the wife and the children; there can also be a blessing for the husband).
5. Kiddush-Erev Shabbat (this is more than simply the Boray Peree HaGoffin and many Messianics have not yet learned the full prayer and its melody).
6. Washing the Hands (pouring water over them and reciting a prayer). After this, all are silent until the bread is blessed and eaten.
7. Blessing over the bread.
8. The meal itself.
9. Sabbath songs: “Shabbat Shalom” is a must and Messianics know “It Is Good” based on Psalm 93. We also sing “David Melekh,” the Carlebach song.
10. Grace After Meals (Birkhat HaMazon, also available at sidduraudio.com).

You can get all these prayers in a Siddur or a Bencher. There is a good Reform Jewish bencher available at amazon.com (just search “bencher” and you’ll find Birkon Mikdash M’at). There are some Conservative benchers available also. In my experience, the Orthodox ones are hard for beginners to use.

So, study up. Start learning. Shabbat is worthy of study and you’ll appreciate the depth added to your home as you recite more of the prayers and truly sanctify this awesome weekly holiday.

A great nightcap to the evening is a little musical worship or dancing (use a CD if no one plays and instrument or knows Jewish music) and Torah reading and conversation.

Preparing for Passover, Pt. 1

Passover is no simple holiday. It is itself like a tree of life, with branches going in many directions. Slavery and freedom go off into one set of limbs and shoots while redemption, remembrance, atonement, death, life, law, worship, judgment, grace, story, miracle, history, and many more branches go off in other directions.

In order to prepare for Passover, it is a great thing to study and muse on it for weeks in advance.

Most are familiar with the basics. Read Exodus 12. Get out a Passover Haggadah. Familiarize yourself. If it helps, watch the old Charlston Heston flick, The Ten Commandments, from 1956. Or watch the 1998 animated feature, The Prince of Egypt.

You will find that studying Passover every year will help you grow and appreciate the holiday more. You will never exhaust all of the themes and concepts of Passover.

One way to discover this is to simply open a Haggadah and start reading. Most people, even if you’ve celebrated Passover, will find the Haggadah about 80% incomprehensible. Why is Moses not mentioned, except once in passing? Why does the Seder have all these steps? Who are the four children? Who are the rabbis having a discussion and why? What do these things have to do with the story of Exodus 12?

The Haggadah is not what many people think it will be when they begin observing Passover. It is not merely the story told in creative ways with symbols added to make the night memorable. The Haggadah is a conversation. It is a conversation incomprehensible to those who have not lived or who do not take the time to learn Jewish tradition.

If you want to study Passover and you are beyond the basics, ready to delve deeper than Exodus 12-15, then here are a number of books I’d recommend. Any one of these would do for a study guide and you will want to get more in years to come:

1. The Schocken Passover Haggadah – This volume explains the history and meaning of the Haggadah with notes. It is somewhat advanced, but it will definitely teach you a lot. It can be found used on amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-9961131-9224865?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=schocken+haggadah&x=0&y=0). I think it is out of print.

2. Creating Lively Passover Seders – This is not exactly what the title describes. Really it is a commentary on different themes in the Passover Haggadah. It is probably the best explanation of Passover themes in the Haggadah available. It is available new at amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Lively-Passover-Seders-Interactive/dp/1580231845/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203566342&sr=8-1).

3. A Different Night, The Family Participation Haggadah – This is a fun book. It is a Haggadah. But it is also a commentary and resource book with too many ideas to try them all. It is available new at amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Different-Night-Family-Participation-Haggadah/dp/0966474007/ref=pd_sim_b_title_1).

The point is: study for this year’s Passover. Don’t simply let it come up on you again and still be in the dark, like the Egyptians on the next to last plague.

Keep checking here, as we will continue with this series and help you study and prepare.

Next part in the series: “Preparing for Passover: Four Questions?”

**DON’T MISS THE ARTICLE BELOW, “RESURRECTION, PASSOVER, AND CONSTANTINE.”**

Resurrection, Passover, and Constantine

Many of us in the Messianic Jewish movement live in two worlds. I am part of the Jewish community and I am also involved in Christian community. In years like 2008, some of the differences stand out more clearly.

This is one of those years in which the majority of the Christian world will celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus about a month before Passover comes. Easter falls on March 23 this year while Passover is on April 20 (first Seder at sundown on Saturday, April 19). See http://tikvatdavid.com/Jewish_Calendar.html for the dates of Jewish holidays in 2008.

So what’s the story behind this disjuncture? Who decided the dates of Passover and Easter? Why are they usually together but sometimes apart?

The first part of the story is the history of the Jewish calendar. I will give you the short version. Before the Torah was given to Israel, the peoples of the Ancient Near East followed a lunar calendar and held festivals at agricultural seasons. When God gave the Torah, he gave to Israel an official version of the calendrical customs already in place.

God’s calendar is also lunar. The lunar month is 29 1/2 days. Twelve lunar months give 354 days, about 11 1/4 short of the solar year. This means every three years the seasons would fall one month behind. But Torah assumes some system of correcting the lunar calendar to the seasons. Torah does not explain how the correction is to take place.

One key measure of the new year is the barley harvest in Israel. Passover week includes the offering of first fruits of the barley. The old system of the calendar was simple: the judges of Israel would add a month in some years to make the Passover season fit with the barley harvest.

Yet, with no internet or radio or telephone service, things became complicated when Jews spread out all over the Roman empire. According to a somewhat doubtful tradition, Hillel II around the year 358, decided at the final meeting of the Sanhedrin to make the Jewish calendar mathematically-based and to eliminate the eyewitness tradition of determining months and seasons. Whether it happened in 358 or later, the Jewish calendar did become mathematically based.

The Jewish calendar today runs on a 19-year cycle with leap months being added every two to three years, for a total of seven out of each nineteen years.

2008 is a leap year on the Jewish calendar. As of this writing (February 2008) we are in that leap month, Adar I, added before the month in which Purim is celebrated.

All of that story boils down to one main point: in 2008, Passover comes at a late point in the year.

Meanwhile, there is another story. It is the story of Christendom in its early years. There had already been fights over Passover and Easter in the second century. Research sometime the Quartodecimanism controversy in the early church. Keep in mind that those telling the story were lacking some information. If they had understood, I think church history would record that Polycarp was the last great leader in Christendom to celebrate Passover.

All that aside, our story is now in the fourth century, 325 C.E. It is the year of the Council of Nicea. The council was primarily called for two reasons: (1) so Constantine could exercise some authority over the religion he authorized in his empire and (2) to denounce Arius, a theologian who taught that Jesus was not divine.

Constantine and the bishops gathered there did not want to follow the practice at the time of dating Easter as the Sunday following Passover (Note: Orthodox churches continue to date Easter as the Sunday after Passover and also call it Pascha rather than Easter).

Constantine is quoted in Eusebius:

it appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands with enormous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness of soul. … Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Saviour a different way. (Life of Constantine, 3:18).

So, if you wonder why Christians, except those from Orthodox churches, are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus early this year, look no further than the Council of Nicea and its anti-Semitic conclusion on the matter. They decided Easter should always be on the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the day of the vernal equinox.

Interestingly, March 23, 2008 is a bit of an anomaly in Christian history. The earliest Easter may ever fall is March 22, which hasn’t happened since 1818 and won’t happen again until 2285. March 23 is about as early as Easter gets and it won’t be this early again until 2160.

What a great year, then, for Christians to decide, not as a group, but in local communities: do we keep the date of the resurrection founded in anti-Semitism or do we, like the Orthodox Christians, celebrate the resurrection on the Sunday after Passover, April 27, 2008?

Gathering the Exiles

The tenth benediction of the Amidah says:

Sound the great shofar of our freedom, raise the banner to gather our exiles and gather us together from the four corners of the earth. Blessed are you, HaShem, who gathers in the dispersed of our people Israel.

For a sermonic reflection on what all that means and what the roots of it are, go to: http://tikvatdavid.com/Sermons/Sermons.html

Interestingly, this Jewish prayer reflects certain promises of Isaiah. But Yeshua also reflected on this concept in his famous Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24). Check it out.

Scot McKnight’s The Jesus Creed

I’m a fairly regular reader of Scot McKnight’s blog (http://www.jesuscreed.org/). He is a professor in Religious Studies at North Park University (Chicago, Illinois). He is one of several Christian writers and theologians whose material I regularly find worth reading.

Although I’ve had it for a while, I only recently got started reading his 2004 book The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others by Paraclete Press. This is a book with a big upside and a small downside. Since there are few books with a big upside in the vast world of contemporary religious literature, I figure a book like Jesus Creed is a must-buy.

First, the upside. Jesus Creed is a part of two trends in contemporary Christianity that I find refreshingly positive, perhaps even a sign of a promising future. One of those trends is the way some contemporary leaders are defining Jesus-faith as living and active pursuit of the teachings of Jesus as opposed to the former dominance of mere attendance or doctrinal affiliation as markers of the genuine residence of Jesus in someone’s life. That is, for far too long modern American Christendom has emphasized the lowest common denominator as the identity marker of a Christian. Typical questions designed to ascertain the genuineness of one’s faith would be limited to such areas as, “Do you believe in grace and do you attend church almost every Sunday?” Super-spirituality would then involve going to extra Bible studies, sporting Christian bumper stickers, or reading theology books on the side. The increasing trend, as I see it, is in a direction of putting Jesus’ words into action in concrete settings. Helping the hurting, loving the unlovely, and blessing people in need of a blessing are becoming more and more the way of Jesus’ modern followers.

Also, Jesus Creed is part of a second promising trend, from my point of view, the fairly recent surge in appreciation for the Jewish context of Jesus. Jesus Creed is about something very Jewish, the Shema and, to a lesser degree, the Kaddish. McKnight is looking at the teaching of Jesus and adapting Jesus’ own use of Jewish prayer for modern people. That’s right: this is a Christian book adapting some Jewish prayers and teaching Christians to pray liturgically.

For the uninitiated, the core of the Shema is Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Added to this are three paragraphs of scripture: Deuteronomy 6:5-9; 11:13-21; and Numbers 15:37-41.

What does the Shema have to do with Jesus? Well, a scribe once asked Jesus what the greatest commandment is. Only Mark gives Jesus’ full answer, in Mark 12:29-31. Jesus said the Shema, specifically Deuteronomy 6:4-5, was the greatest commandment. But to this he added Leviticus 19:18, “And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

What does Jesus have to do with the Kaddish? Well, the prayer known by many as “The Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father” has some similarity to the Kaddish. The Kaddish begins, “Exalted and hallowed (sanctified) be his great name,” which sounds rather similar to “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

There is a lot of upside and only a little downside to McKnight’s book. The downside is that, at times, it can seem like McKnight is suggesting that Christianity is superior to Judaism in matters of loving human beings. I don’t think McKnight actually intends this. But when a sense of superiority is so well-ingrained in many naïve Christians, I wish McKnight had tried harder to be clear on this point.

For example, in telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10, McKnight says:

A priest and a temple assistant (a Levite) come upon him separately, but fearing impurity from contact with a corpse, they skirt to the other side of the road. They are following the Torah, mind you.

The problem is, he is wrong. The command to save a life outweighs the prohibition against impurity. The priest and Levite in Luke 10 are decidedly not following Torah. That, in fact, is Jesus’ point.

In some places, McKnight is careful and clear. He admits that Judaism emphasizes justice and kindness toward fellow human beings. So, again, I do not think that McKnight intends this slight on Judaism.

I’m about halfway through the book now. It’s a book I would recommend to my Christian friends. It would be great to see more followers of Jesus today praying the Jesus Creed (the Shema plus Leviticus 19:18 plus the Lord’s Prayer). It would be great to see more Christians receiving the value of a Jewish understanding of Jesus.

Sabbath Meditation: Preparing the Table and the Home

It’s Friday morning. Have you thought about Shabbat yet?

If you haven’t, you’re already behind. Getting into the Sabbath is a rhythm of life. At first the rhythm is unfamiliar. If you like Linda and I, you’ll make many missteps until Sabbath becomes regular for you. I remember the early months when we began making Shabbat regularly. We’d sometimes forget to buy something we needed. Ouch!

Deuteronomy 5:12 says “observe Shabbat” while Exodus 20:8 says “remember Shabbat.” The classical interpretation is that you do Deuteronomy 5:12 on the Sabbath and Exodus 20:8 the rest of the week. Think about it . . .

I’ve been enjoying working through Shabbat: The Family Guide to Preparing for and Celebrating the Sabbath by Dr. Ron Wolfson. See last week’s Sabbath meditation for an overview of the book.

Chapter 3 is about preparing for Shabbat. It begins with some interviewees answering questions about how they prepare for Shabbat. One guy says, “I start thinking about Shabbat when I get hassled at work.” It’s sort of the Jewish version of, “Thank God it’s Friday!” A homemaker answered, “I think about it in the middle of the week when I go shopping.”

For us at the Leman house, the preparation for Shabbat begins on Thursday. It starts with the questions, “What are we going to eat for Shabbat? What will we have for Sabbath lunch? Are we having guests this week?”

If you’re married and both of you work, Thursday is the latest you can begin preparing. You can’t get home from work on Friday night and prepare a Shabbat.

If you’re like us, with one spouse being home all day on Friday, then you can prepare all day. It’s house cleaning time. We cook two or three meals so we won’t have to cook on Saturday. We get paper plates and cups at the grocery store to make cleaning up almost non-existent on Shabbat. We set the table early so we have something to look forward to.

Wolfson talks about Shabbat being called a Queen. You prepare for the arrival of Queen Shabbat, the most special guest to enter your home all week. It’s more than setting a table and preparing food, he says, it’s also psychological. It’s time to start letting the tensions of the work week go and looking forward to the stress-reducing Shabbat in which you forget all about the other stuff. It has no place on the Sabbath. Sabbath should be a rest for the soul as well as the body.

Sabbath is a day when we refrain from buying, eating at restaurants, unnecessary travel, schoolwork, work on a job, work on the yard, and so on. Some also rest from television, telephone, and internet. It’s a different kind of day.

Wolfson talks about hiddur mitzvah, which literally means embellishing the commandment. Sabbath is more than just rest. It’s a celebration. We ought to embellish it by doing some extra things. Get out a white tablecloth. Set the table with the best china and silverware. Get flowers. Decorate a little if you can. Make it special. And don’t eat sloppy joes or ramen noodles! It’s a night for a special meal.

Also, and very importantly, just before the Sabbath starts is a great time to give tzedakah (alms or charity). Get a jar or a special tzedakah box and set aside a little money each week. You might donate it to the Jewish National Fund or a charity of choice. You might save it for people who need a little financial help.

The Sabbath is much better with preparation. It’s the missing ingredient in many Shabbats in many homes. You want to be relaxed, ready, and prepared when you shout, “Turn off the TV! It’s candlelighting time.”

Abraham to Messiah: Mutual Blessing

Okay, I’m posting some sermon notes again. But this time someone asked me to. The writing below is a bit rough (they were notes, not intended for reading exactly). But I think there are some things in here that many of you will find interesting.

Let me know at derekblogger@gmail.com

I recently read something very interesting about the book of Genesis. “The purpose of the book of Genesis is to recount why Adonai chose the family of Abraham and made a covenant with them” (John Walton and Andrew Hill, A Survey of the Old Testament).

Why do I say that is interesting? Well, Genesis is one of the most important books in the Bible. It deals with major themes that affect every aspect of our existence. This is a book that tells us about creation, about who we humans are, and how things go so bad. This is a book about origins and good and evil and meaning and purpose.

So, amid all those themes, what is central? What is most important?

According to the author I just quoted, the most important thing is the story of a family from 4,000 years ago. And I agree with him.

Of all the things that should be so important, are we really to believe some ancient family is central? You’d better believe it.

It’s a good thing you or I do not have God’s power. If we had God’s power but only our brains, we’d never do things the way God does them. You and I probably would not save the world the way God does.

EVIL is in the world and the world is BROKEN. EVIL was here before Adam and Eve, which is why the Serpent was already there. EVIL started as a rebellion before the creation of the world … a rebellion of the heavenly beings.

How would we fix the problem, you and I? We’d probably attack it directly with our power. We’d choose direct attack/destruction/forced repentance.

God? He chose another way. He chose a family. He chose a covenant. He gave us a plan of MUTUAL BLESSING.

We would seek to ROOT OUT THE CANCER and kill the patient. God is healing the world from within. And the world is made up of families. So God’s plan, far more brilliant than anything we would ever devise, is to save the world through a family.

Genesis 12:1-3, Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

I want you to notice two things:

1. God’s plan of MUTUAL BLESSING: “I will bless those who bless you…”

2. God’s ONLY MEANS OF SALVATION: “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

This is not what we would expect. God is going to heal the world through people blessing one another?
Every family on earth has to look to one family for blessing? Yes, exactly. That is God’s plan.

God works through the WEAK things and not through the mighty. God doesn’t need to use all his power to save. God saves from within, in a plan so brilliant all we can say is, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Now, I want to make clear from the beginning than Abraham was not chosen because he was a believer.

Joshua 24:2
Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.

Abraham had no idea about the true God. He was a pagan. But one day God called out to him. He came to serve the God who spoke to him. Abraham is not like Yeshua. He was not the perfect man. He was as ordinary as you and I.

But there is one thing he did very well: he believed God and kept believing God despite many problems and a lot of time!

Abraham was seventy-five when God made the promise to him. By the time he and Sarah had their child, Isaac, Abraham was one-hundred years old when Isaac was born. He had waited for twenty-five years for God to keep his promise!
How long can a person keep believing in a promise when God does not bring it to pass? How old would a person have to be to finally decide God would not give them a child?

Throughout the story of Abraham’s life, the covenant promise of God is continually threatened. Many times Abraham’s own actions threatened to keep the covenant from coming to pass.

12:10-20 Covenant Threat #1: Sarah Almost Taken
13:1-13 Covenant Threat #2: Abram Nearly Gives the Land to Lot
14:1-16 Covenant Threat #3: Abram Almost Killed Rescuing Lot
15:1-4 Covenant Threat #4: Abram Wants to Name Eliezer His Heir
16:1-16 Covenant Threat #5: Abram Seeks an Heir Through Hagar
17:17-22 Covenant Threat #6: Abraham Offers Ishmael as Heir

Yet for all the times Abraham nearly lost God’s promise to inherit the land and father a great nation, no covenant threat comes close to the time God asked him to sacrifice Isaac.

He had waited twenty-five years to realize the promise in his extreme old age. Now Isaac was older and Abraham was past being old. Now after all this, after Abraham’s faith over many years in an impossible promise, God says: give it all back.

SO, ABRAHAM’S LIFE WAS A LIFE OF FAITH. His faith was shown the most when he was willing to sacrifice his own son.
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But, still, how is Abraham so special that from his family all the other families on earth will be blessed?

How can God’s plan involve one family and a system of mutual blessing? Well, consider how the story continues after Abraham.

God continues narrowing the family:
It’s not through Ishmael’s line but through Isaac’s.
After Isaac, it’s not through Esau’s line, but through Jacob’s.

God works through the small things, the ordinary. It’s like in the story of Gideon’s army. God didn’t need 10,000 soldiers. 300 worked just fine.

God didn’t need for Abraham’s family to be the largest or greatest family. If he had chosen all Abraham’s descendants, we might be talking most of the Middle East. But no, God narrowed it down even further. From just one child, the only child Abraham had, God narrowed it down further. It was only the line of one son of Isaac, only through Jacob.

And Jacob got another name: Israel.

The family that is at the center of God’s plan for the whole world is Israel.

Through Israel God will bless all the families on the earth. Those who bless Israel will be blessed. Those who curse Israel will be cursed.

A FAMILY — A PLAN OF MUTUAL BLESSING. This is God’s way…and we really should try to understand it.

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And the story continues after Jacob. In fact, the story moves into a perfect example of God’s plan.

The story of Joseph going into Egypt is a perfect example of the way God works:
Israel goes into the nations — Joseph into Egypt.
God blesses: a) Joseph and b) all who bless Joseph.
Joseph/Israel in turn blesses the nations (rescuing them from famine).
Israel (Jacob & family) come into the nations and are blessed by the nations who were blessed by Joseph!

(cf. R. Kendall Soulen, The God of Israel and Christian Theology, pp.128 and following, for more about the Joseph narrative and God’s plan of mutual blessing.)

It’s a circle of blessing. Some in the nations (Potiphar) bless Israel and are blessed in turn. Israel blesses Egypt, saving them from famine. Israel is blessed by Egypt in turn and saved from starvation.

It’s blessing — blessing returned — blessing again.

Blessing is the opposite of vengeance. An eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, and the whole world is blind and toothless. But good for evil and blessing for curse and the whole world is blessed.

Consider how the Joseph story pictures God’s plan for Israel through the ages:
Israel is scattered among the nations just as Joseph was exiled in Egypt.
Messiah, who is the ideal One from Israel, entered history and brought blessing.
The nations received blessing from Israel, as many thousands turned to God and to Messiah from the nations.
Gentile believers in turn make Israel jealous, thus returning the blessing to Israel.
In the last days, as Zechariah 8 tells us, Israel blesses the nations again, as Jews lead many Gentiles to God and to Messiah.
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Let me share it with you another way. It’s in Genesis 22:18:

in your seed shall all the nations be blessed

To understand this you have to understand that SEED is a COLLECTIVE PLURAL. Seed can mean one seed or many seeds.

In the original context, God speaking to Abraham right after he had offered Isaac, it meant PLURAL. “Abraham, in your seeds/descendants shall all the nations be blessed.”

God planned to bless the world through the family of Abraham. Israel brought the SCRIPTURE. Israel brought the MESSIAH. Israel is still being used and will be the center of GOD’S END-TIME PLAN.

The world knows God and Messiah through Israel and it is to Israel that Messiah will return.

But Paul in Galatians 3 makes a MIDRASH, a more fanciful interpretation, of Genesis 22:18. Paul says, isn’t it interesting how God did not say SEEDS but instead he said SEED?

Galatians 3:16, Now the promises were made to Avraham and to his seed. It doesn’t say, “and to seeds,” as if to many; on the contrary, it speaks of one — “and to your seed” — and this “one” is the Messiah.

So how is God going to save the world through the family of Abraham. Messiah is the ultimate Son of Abraham.

Genesis 22:18 means both, as Paul realized. God saves the world through Israel and through Messiah.

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So how does this plan of mutual blessing work? You bless Israel and God blesses you. This is the master plan.

The principle extends to other relationships as well:

2 Cor. 9:6, The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Proverbs 19:17, Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD,
and he will repay him for his deed.

We give and in turn we are blessed. It works on two levels.

When we give to others, we find that in our time of need people give to us.

When we give to others, God gives us reward in this life and the life to come.

MUTUAL BLESSING is the way we ought to live. It’s a circle of blessing.

Every day and in every place we are, we ought to say, “Who can I bless here? How can I be a blessing?”

All around us people have needs. Most of those needs don’t even cost money. We can bless by helping, encouraging, being kind, returning good will for bad will, blessing instead of cursing.

MUTUAL BLESSING works in families. Bless your parents, your spouse, your kids. It works in the workplace. Bless your colleagues. It works in the congregation. Bless one another and all people will know we love Yeshua.

Blessing others is God’s way of Tikkun Olam. The world is full enough of curses and pain. When we bless others, we leave the world better than we found it. When we curse others we leave the world worse than we found it.

MUTUAL BLESSING is the way of Yeshua.

Did you know that there are a few sayings of Yeshua recorded in the writings of Paul that are not found in the gospels? That’s interesting because Paul did not know Yeshua during his earthly life. Yet Paul learned more about Yeshua than the gospels reveal. People remembered more of his sayings than those that are in the Bible.

History has preserved only a few of these sayings of Yeshua outside the gospels. And one of those sayings is about mutual blessing. It is God’s way. It is Messiah’s way:

Yeshua said, “It is more blessed to give than receive.” (Acts 20:35).

Sabbath Meditation: The Art of Shabbat

I recently purchased Shabbat: The Family Guide to Preparing for and Celebrating the Sabbath by Dr. Ron Wolfson, the president of Synagogue 3000 (synagogue3000.org).

Anyone who celebrates Shabbat and could use a few pointers or even just some inspiration would love this book. It combines interviews with a diverse set of Jewish families about their Shabbat practices with a complete order of service for the Shabbat meal with insight into the origins and wonders of Shabbat customs.

I thought I might share a few excerpts and insights from the book . . .
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First, a quote I really liked, from pg.174:

Rabbi Hiyya ben Abba: The Shabbat was given for enjoyment. Rabbi Shmuel ben Nahmani: The Shabbat was given for studying Torah.

One saying does not contradict the other. Rabbi Hiyya was speaking about scholars who spend the week studying the Torah and use the Shabbat to enjoy themselves. Rabbi Shmuel was talking about workers who are busy with their work all week, and on Shabbat they come and study Torah.
–Pesikta Rabbati 121a

This is a great reminder that the Sabbath is a good time to read and/or study Torah at the table (after the meal, of course). If you’re a beginner and don’t know how to study Torah, find the Torah reading for the week on the web and at least read it at the table. You can find the Torah reading combined with other scriptural readings at our congregation website: http://tikvatdavid.com/Reading_Schedule.html

One of my favorite parts of the book is the series of interviews with a variety of different families. There is the traditional family, where the dad leads just about everything. There is the family recently coming back to Judaism because their kids wanted to know how to be Jews. There is the single mother who makes Shabbat only every other week when she has custody of the kids. There are the two single women who rely on families from the synagogue and havurah groups to be able to celebrate Shabbat without being alone.

Reading their observations about the Shabbat experience is inspiring. It is also educational. I learned some different ways of doing things.

One lesson I learned was the importance of looking out for singles. As we invite people to our home for Shabbat, I’ll pay more attention to the needs of singles from now on. Another is the importance of letting the kids gradually take over the leadership role. Shabbat is also about passing it on l’dor va’dor, from generation to generation.

I like what the single mom said about Shabbat being just a continuation of her regular practice:

I do Jewish things all day long. When I say “good night” to my kids every day, it’s with the Shema. That’s a Jewish thing. When I wake up my children in the morning, I say Modeh Ani. That is Jewish. That’s consistent. I don’t do extra Jewish things on Shabbat. When we go outside and see a rainbow, we quickly run inside to get a Siddur so we can say the correct berakha to say over seeing a rainbow. That’s Jewish. It’s not all Shabbat. It’s Jewishness all the time.

Her observation reminded me of the importance of godly ritual for the children and for the kingdom of heaven. Though we pray for our children at night, we’ve not been using the bedtime Shema. We’ve not been regularly praying the Modeh Ani in the morning. [If you don't have any idea what we're talking about, these are prayers from the Jewish prayer book, called a Siddur.]

She went on to say:

The best part of Shabbat for me is when I bless my children. I get to hug them and kiss them, and they have to stand there and take it whether they like it or not.

One of the single women said:

The biggest problem is finding a Shabbes community. I have people out here who are very close, and they are my adopted family. I’ll share Shabbat with them quite often. Or, I’ll have dinner at home and then go to synagogue. I feel that’s my community too.

It reminds me we all need to adopt singles and single parents. Shabbat is about giving as much as enjoying.

Then there is the family that used to be non-observant:

Neither Carl nor I grew up with Shabbat in our home. Originally I guess the spark came from a question that was posed to us by an introductory weekend at Brandeis by Dennis Prager: “Do you want your grandchildren to be Jewish?” We had two small boys at the time, and we said to each other that day that we wanted our children to be Jewish, and we didn’t even know why! That question really haunted us.

I think very often of my Jewish friends who are in a church or who don’t see the value of tribal ritual that honors God. It really is true. If your children don’t participate with Israel in the traditions, they won’t pass it on to their children. Your children may not be Jewish and your grandchildren almost certainly won’t. What a shame to let a chain of tradition end that is thousands of years old, and why? Because you don’t want to bother learning a little ritual? Because you married a non-Jew and are afraid to ask them to do Jewish things? Come on, what’s more important.

Finally, I like what Suzan said:

It’s a really nice moment when you yell, “Turn the TV off. It’s candlelighting time!” It’s a real nice feeling because it gets quiet . . . and I look forward to the quiet of the evening.

Amen. And as God himself said: Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. (Exodus 31:13).

The Gospel and Tikkun Olam

The following is adapted from the message I gave at the congregation this weekend. I post just the first part of the article here and provide a link for you to read it in a PDF file (much more readable anyway).

What did Yeshua come here to do? What did Yeshua call us to do?

The answer to those questions might seem simple. If you grew up in church or Messianic congregation, you’ve heard talk about those things all your lives.

But maybe some traditional answers are incomplete. I think they are. I think Yeshua is doing more and is calling us to more than most of his followers realize.

In order to explain what I mean, I will attempt a bit of theologizing and then a bit of practical understanding. To get us to the goal, I will take three steps:

1. Theologizing about the myth of the sin-salvation gospel and the true meaning of God’s redemption of the world.

2. Looking more closely at two of the Bible’s classic expressions of what the gospel is.

3. Gaining practical understanding about Tikkun Olam, which is, I think, a better way of understanding God’s purpose for us.

TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE IN PDF, CLICK HERE.