While the tabernacle was in the wilderness, and the very Presence of YHVH filled the small space, who was allowed to walk in and talk to YHVH directly?
There were only two men who could enter in during that time. The rest of Israel, not to mention the "Ger", would do so only if they wanted to die immediately.
Yeshua most definitely changed that relationship for everyone regardless of where they come from, Jew or non-Jew.
I think this is quite significant in relation to the practices of different people groups. It is certainly not a popular position, but it seems clear from the new covenant writings that when Messiah opened the Way for all to come to YHVH and receive life, He did so in the same way for all, regardless of where they came from. This is where the earthly distinctions are removed and covenant of salvation takes over.
-Efrayim
You bring up a good point that inspires a few thoughts within me this morning. We know that the Tabernacle in the desert was basically a scale model of God's Heavenly Court. God provided Moses with the "blueprint" of everything he was supposed to build so that, when completed, the Divine Presence would descend and occupy the Mishkan, and God would once again live among His people.
I imagine that Aaron and his sons too represented those beings who served God as priests in the Heavenly Court. We know from the book of Hebrews that Yeshua himself is now the High Priest in Heaven, acting as mediator between man and God.
What you seem to be saying is that, prior to Yeshua assuming the role as High Priest for the world, the Jewish people only had access to God through the sacrifices and the priesthood in the Tabernacle and later in Solomon's and then Herod's Temples. We also know that, at Yeshua's death, the veil separating the Most Holy Place was torn, top to bottom, presumably allowing free access to the inside (though I can't imagine anyone just waltzing in as if they had free rights to walk about the place).
The traditional Christian interpretation of this event is that everyone now has direct access to God through Yeshua and that no man serves as mediator to our Creator anymore.
But how does that work in practical terms?
Certainly in the time of Moses and before, any Jew could pray to God and expect God to respond to those prayers. Even if a Gentile became aware of God and came to faith in God and even without that Gentile converting to Judaism, wouldn't that person still be able to pray to God and expect God to hear those prayers? Adam talked to God before the Mishkan and the Torah. So did Noah. So did Abraham. Were they special cases?
In the time just before Yeshua's sacrifice, we know that Jews prayed to God. Yeshua himself related the following:
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'Both of these men were praying to God as individuals. The Pharisee in the parable certainly expected that God would hear his prayers, though from Yeshua's comments, we get the definite impression it was the Tax Collector who was truly heard by God.
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." -Luke 18:9-14
How about a Gentile God-fearer worshipping in the synagogue in the same time period? Certainly the God-fearer would pray. Wouldn't God hear him?
How would all this have changed after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua? Since Peter (Acts 10) was surprised that Gentiles could receive the Holy Spirit, this was something new, but we see the Jewish disciples receiving that self-same Spirit in Acts 2. Is that the difference in access? Did Jews always receive the Spirit before the Acts 2 event, or only those who were granted the gift of Prophecy or who were assigned to be Judges?
As I've mentioned in my comments on Judah's blog, I admire the security people place in their own interpretation of all the commandments and events recorded in the Bible (and elsewhere) but how can you arrive at a specific conclusion, among all the different options, and be convinced that your personal conclusion is correct?
I have faith in God, but the only conclusion I have come to with any certainty, even within the context of the Bible, is that I haven't the faintest idea of how God really "works".
7 comments:
James,
It's not so much a matter of prayer, as human beings of all types have always had the privilege of praying to YHVH. And unless there is a judgment in place against a person or nation due to sin where YHVH says specifically that He will not hear their prayers, He hears their prayers.
The issue is one of access to His Presence. According to the new covenant writings, when a person receives Yeshua by faith and is consequently filled with the Presence of the Ruach HaKodesh, this in-dwelling of the very Presence of YHVH within the believers heart (or spirit if you prefer) is the fulfillment of the promise which was shown as a type in the tabernacle in the wilderness.
I'm glad that you mentioned Cornelius as that event is quite significant in the history of faith and practice on this planet. If there is a question about what happened there I think the the question would be something like this:
Did Cornelius and family come into the Presence of YHVH or did the Presence of YHVH come into Cornelius and his family?
From scripture we can see that Cornelius was a praying man, one who had dedicated himself both to the Elohim and the people of Israel. And it was his good deeds which came up before the Father in heaven that won him the right to be the first of many to be called out of the nations and into the people of YHVH.
This accords with the words of the prophets in which YHVH says that He will make His dwelling place among His people. He will be their Elohim and they will be His people and He will dwell among them. This is repeated throughout the Tanach as a promise that we know was fulfilled in Messiah Yeshua. I take "among" as meaning "within" as that makes more sense since "among" might be taken to mean that He is just "hanging around" His people and not dwelling within their hearts by faith.
So we have the tabernacle in the wilderness, the two temples in the Land, and the people of YHVH who live under the present covenant.
Just as YHVH took the people of Israel and separated them from all the other nations through His Torah during the previous covenant, He separates His people today from all other peoples through His Messiah.
"I have faith in God, but the only conclusion I have come to with any certainty, even within the context of the Bible, is that I haven't the faintest idea of how God really "works"."
True, we may make many assumptions, but the truth is usually under our noses. First Jewish believers were surprised that Gentiles were granted repentance unto eternal life, but they should have known from the prophets that this was to be so. Perhaps their confusion was because they expected those things (Gentiles becoming G-d's people) to happen in the visible Messianic Age, not after the death and resurrection of Messiah (which they also didn't quite expect, but Tanakh still gives clues to)
In the same vein, Gentiles assumed for the last two thousand years that G-d has written Israel/Jewish people off, discarded them on the heap of failed nations, when all they had to do was to read the prophets to see that Israel's future will be one of glory and rejoicing.
True, we may make many assumptions...
This is my sticking point. I take it for granted that, as human beings, we make plenty of assumptions regarding our faith and what the Bible says about who we are and what we should be doing. Some things are plain, such as loving God and loving your neighbor, but a lot of the details (usually the stuff that gets argued ad infinitum) are very difficult to pin down.
What bothers me is how we can get on our individual high horses, climbing on the shoulders of our assumptions to get there, and then declare our assumptions correct and the other fellow's assumptions incorrect. It seems what we end up doing is having faith, not only in God, but in our particular religious organizations which are based on a set of assumptions and interpretations.
For me, it's rapidly coming down to making decisions, not based on what I think my "rights" are or what I "must" do, but rather based on my personal convictions as I understand them from the Bible. So it works for me if I choose to rest on the Shabbat, regardless of whether or not someone thinks I am or am not required or entitled to do so.
That's fine for an individual, but how do you teach others under such circumstances?
That's fine for an individual, but how do you teach others under such circumstances?
It seems to me you have been doing that (very well). One does not need to teach "obligation" to those who are truly seeking HaShem. It is love that compels, not "thou shalt nots." But love also recognizes the sin of disobedience after the fact.
This truth reveals the pragmatism of the whole "invitation" theology, namely that there is no practical difference on the obedience side. It seems to all be about merely saying the "right words" for the MJ/BE folks to approve. Eventually, watch for the shift into full blown Bi-Ecclesiology. The recent Burroughs Park Symposium seems to indicate that is already underway.
Thanks, Rick. I've never thought that I had all the answers, but my recent re-evaluation, and the various commentaries in the Messianic blogosphere, have caused me to consider whether or not I should even be teaching at all. I've spent a great deal of time looking at the Word and praying and realize that, while I'm quite sure there are many, many people far more educated in religious topics than I, valid and useful teaching can also be about how to ask the right questions, not just producing the "right" answers.
I've been facing the matter of discovering what God truly wants me to do, either resign my membership at my current congregation or stay the course and continue to "learn as I work", so to speak. It was actually the process of researching my "resignation letter" that I felt 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 (among other scriptures) was God's way of directing me to stay.
When I pray, read the Bible, worship with my congregation, or speak to others (sometimes long distance) who want to discuss these matters, I believe I am where God wants me to be. It's only when confronting some of the comments overtly or covertly aimed at slighting me or other believing Gentiles in the Hebraic movement that ends up with me stubbing my toes, so to speak.
Then I am reminded that, no matter what even the most learned human beings have to say about me or my faith, it is God who has drawn me to Him and who defines who I am in Him. If it were up to me, I'd probably just give up the struggle and leave the arguing to others, but as Paul said to the Phillipians, "I can do all things through Messiah who strengthens me."
@James, your candidness, and obvious struggle are at once encouraging to many in similar circumstances; and a warning to the MJ/BE wing that they are damaging more than they can imagine.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
"a warning to the MJ/BE wing that they are damaging more than they can imagine."
You don't quite understand, Rick - MJ/BE is nothing BUT about FIXING what has been damaged over the last 2000 years. It's about restoring the Jewish wing of the Ekklesia and reconciling it with the Christian/Gentile wing of the Body, so that the two sheep pens can indeed be One Flock. Along the way we are also attempting to repair the damage and confusion caused by the Judaizers of the Gentiles in the One-Law movement.
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