Just a few questions from Bradford Scott of Wildbranch Ministries to make us think....
"Why is over ninety percent of the scriptures written by Hebrews?" "Why did Elohim choose to take upon the flesh of the Hebrews?" "Why did Yeshua observe only Hebrew feasts?" "Why were all of His disciples Hebrew?" "Why did the gospel go to the Yehudim (Jew) first, and then to the Greeks (Romans 1:16)?" "Why was the disciple who was chosen to replace Judas another Hebrew?" "Why was the apostle to the Gentiles a Hebrew?" "Could it be that the Hebrew people spoke His language, celebrated His feasts, knew His commands and were familiar with His covenants and His ways?" Hhhmmmmmm....... Do you think maybe there might be a purpose for us to understand the context within which and when it was written? Maybe then we would see all the contradictions we think are there, fade away when understanding the tongue in which it was written. Just a thought... ***All quoted information was taking from Mr. Scott's book, The Tanakh: The Dictionary of the New Testament page 3 ***Tanakh is the First Writing. What we refer to as the Old Testament.
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Israel had a Book. They called it the Tenakh¨the sacred writings were called the Tenakh. Say that word together out loud. When you get to the end of it, it's like you're clearing your throat. It's from three letters: T is for Torah; N is the Hebrew word for the prophets Nedi'im; K is for their word for writings Ketugim.
They had a Book that was unlike any other book that had existed before, because it contained truths and ideas that had never hit the world before. This Book said that instead of there being little tribal gods all over the place, there was one God, that this God is holy and just and loving and good, and that He created all things and plans on redeeming all things. This Book, unlike any of the other mythologies or religions of the peoples around Israel, said that human existence is not just an endless cycle of repetition over and over and over again, but that it is a story. This Book said that it is God's story, and that the story had a beginning - that God said: Let there be light and there was - that it had a middle - there was a fall and God has begun this work of redemption¨and that one day it will reach a climax. There's going to be an end to this story. There is something to look forward to. This Book said that this God created human beings in His own image. That means that they have an indescribable splendor about them, and that they are accountable to this just and holy God. That means they carry an indescribable responsibility, and that they can now know how to live. Because of this Book, mankind is not stuck in darkness anymore. It is very hard to recapture what the world was like before this Book came to it. Those ideas changed the way that the world thinks and feels. This Book so defined Israel that they called themselves simply The People of the Book. Other people are known for other things . . . for their power, for their armies, for their industry. Israel was a People of the Book. To help his or her child learn the Book was every parent's greatest responsibility. To be able to grow up and teach this Book ¨to become a rabbi¨that was the greatest ambition. Let me give you an example to show you just how much they loved the Book: When a young man fell in love and wanted to be married to a young woman, in order to ascertain whether or not he was worthy of their daughter, the custom was that her family would give this prospective, wannabe groom a test on his knowledge of the Tenakh just to see if he deserved the bride. The more desirable the girl was considered to be, the more beautiful and intelligent she was, the more wealthy her family was and so on , the higher the score he had to get on the Tenakh. It was the only education system where, if you passed the test, you'd actually lose your Bachelor's Degree! I thought that was kind of funny. The Israelites showed their reverence for this Book in a thousand different ways. They didn't have a Book with a cover like we do. It was all in scrolls. Genesis was written in a scroll. When the rabbis debated whether or not a book was sacred¨whether it belonged in the canon of sacred scripture¨they debated in particular about three books. They debated about Esther, because the word ?God? is never mentioned in Esther; they debated about Ecclesiastes, because it expresses a rather cynical philosophy where there is no God; they debated about The Song of Solomon. If you wonder why they debated about that one, go home and read The Song of Solomon, if you're over eighteen and married. They didn't ask: Should it be counted Scripture? What they did ask was: Does the scroll on which it is written render the hand unclean? This is a very picturesque, action-oriented language. Here's what is behind their question. In order to eat, of course, you had to have clean hands. This was very important in Israel's system. When you were reading most scrolls or most writings, you could eat while you were reading. That was OK. Sometimes crumbs would get in the scroll, and then mice or rats might be attracted to it, and they would gnaw it or destroy it. Ordinarily, that would be OK , but not for the Book. If a scroll were considered to be part of the Book Genesis, Exodus it was a record of the words of God, then you could not eat while you were reading it. That scroll had to be preserved and could not be lost. That scroll was precious. A sacred scroll ?rendered the hand unclean.? They were People of the Book who loved the Book. Before there were kings in Israel, Moses told the people: When he "a potential king" takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are the Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Deuteronomy 17:18-20 They loved this Book. They said: If we're going to have a king, he's got to write the Book down and read it each day. Think of how long that would take. They loved it so much that in Jesus' day an historian by the name of Josephus, writing to a Gentile audience, tried to explain the Jews' passion about the Book in this way: Time and again we have given practical proof of our reverence for our own scriptures. It is an instinct with every Jew, from the day of their birth to regard them as the decrees of God, to abide by them and, if need be, cheerfully die for them. Time and again the sight has been witnessed of prisoners enduring torture and death rather than utter a single word against them. Ever have a discussion with someone who is politically liberal about the US Constitution? Have you ever had someone tell you that :"the separation of Church and State" is guaranteed by our Constitution? Well, you know that they are taking Jefferson's words from his letter to the Danbury Baptists out of context, and actually saying he said something which in reality is actually the exact opposite of Jefferson's intended meaning. You Constitutionalist Patriots out there understand exactly what I am saying. You know that a true Historian has to go back to the original historical and cultural context and worldview of the late 18th century to understand the actual meaning of our Constitution, and how it is to be interpreted correctly. It cannot be correctly applied using early 21st century thought processes and cultural viewpoints that are being propagated by the self described ruling intelligensia of today, far removed from the culture, worldview and moral norms of the 1780's.
So,what does that have to do with the Bible, you ask? Everything! If today's citizens, only 2 centuries removed from our Nation's founding, in general have such a hard time understanding the original meaning and intent of the US Constitution, how much more is it difficult for today's Christians to understand the true original intent of the Holy Scriptures written from 3500 to 2000 years ago! You cannot attempt to understand the 1st century writings from a 21st century Western mindset based upon Greek thought processes. You must study and attempt to immerse yourself in 1st century Middle Eastern Hebrew thought processes. Otherwise, you end up like the political liberals of today, quoting scriptures out of context and giving meaning to these scriptures which at times has a meaning exactly the opposite of what is supposed. Ever run across scriptures that seem to contradict from a 21st century Christian interpretation standpoint? Well, the Scripture itself says that it cannot contradict. How is it that the Apostolic Writings say that sin is violation of the Torah, yet so many interpret Paul to say that Torah was "nailed to the cross"? If so, then there can be no more sin if the Torah is no more. And what about Yeshua in Mathew 5:17 - 20? I hope you think about any seeming contradictions in the Bible and realize that it cannot be so. Then take the time to find out the "original intent" so as to clear up these seeming discrepancies. YHWH told us we would find Him if we search for Him with all our heart. I hope you take this time. You will be blessed!!! |