Musing – Ever notice the "If" in front of favorite verses?

Hebraic Musing – Ever notice the "If" in front of favorite verses?

One of many favorite verses, after John 3:16, is another explanation of God’s love for us as expressed by Jesus Himself in John 15:9-10 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love,…”  NIV   The “If” is extremely important and often overlooked.  In fact, the word “If” appears 653 times in the NT alone!  And in John chapter 15 alone “if” is used 11 times qualifying statements about the vine and branches; fruit bearing; Father’s love; Jesus’ love; friendship with Jesus; belonging to the world; belief in miracles…to name a few.

So Jesus put a condition on remaining in His love by saying “If you obey my commands…”  What did Jesus mean by obeying commands?  Most NT readers assume we need to obey the Ten Commandments which used to be on the walls of our schools back when I was in grammar school. And we’ve been taught that Jesus kept the commandments; however it is more accurate to say that Jesus kept Torah.  Jews who have accepted Yeshua as Messiah recognize that Jesus kept Torah, obedient to the precepts in all five books including the 513 mitzvot (commands or good deeds) in the Torah.

In  John 8:31 “… Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”   NKJV   He expected them to be abiding in the Torah, the Word which Jesus authored and lived.  Remember   “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  John 1:1   And thus we know that Jesus was the living Torah.

The word “If” has the power to change everything and makes the outcome dependent on our actions.  Yehovah is saying, "if" you do such and such, I will do this. 

How many times have we heard “ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” And that is stated as a promise like a blank check.  BUT, the sentence starts with “If you remain in me and my words remain in you,” before promising “ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”  John 15:7  NIV

To really understand the Bible, every time we come across the word law in the NT, cross it out and write in Torah or teaching.  Torah is not law; it is our instruction manual, a guide to abundant life.   Then take note how many times in the New Testament we are urged to keep Torah.  We have to have the love first, then the desire, then we follow through with doing the teachings or instructions. 

Remember, Yeshua said in John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”  In biblical days they heard “IF you love me, keep the Torah.” 

Points to Ponder

What’s the difference between keeping Ten Commandments vs. keeping Torah?

How to reconcile Agape Love with the conditions described above?

“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   October 25, 2016

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage” “Musings - A Victorious Life”  “Musings - The Torah and New Testament”
Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      www.InsightsByYosef.com

Note:  Inspired by Johanna Shager Hocker, FAITH MINISTRIES INT.  9/27/16

Musing – “I’ll play it safe and just go along with it”

Hebraic Musing – “I’ll play it safe and just go along with it”

But God is weighing our hearts according to Proverbs 24:12.  If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?  Does not he who guards your life know it?  Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?

Do we find ourselves shrinking from action, from doing something, because…no one else is doing it; I was told not to do it, I might get hurt, etc.   OR  I find myself doing something because…everyone else is doing it, I was told to do it, the new laws say it is okay.   And then we do or don’t do despite what our heart and the Holy Spirit are telling us to do, or not do.

The defense used by Nazis and many citizens was that they were “only following orders.”  That excuse did not prevent or justify the murder of millions of innocent men, women, and children.  Those people knew what they were doing and should have known in their hearts it was wrong.

We all face pressures to do things, or support things, that we know to be wrong.  What to do?   We can yield to pressure by being silent, going along, avoid trouble with the law, save our own neck, keep our job, etc.   How many injustices do we witness that we say or do nothing about?

Solomon warned us: “If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?”  God is weighing each heart.  This verse declares that it is not OK to turn the other way when we know something wrong is going on.  Whether it’s happening in our neighborhood, our office, school classroom, or halfway around the world, we cannot say, “We did not know, and so we did not act.”  God knows if we know, and He expects us to act, to take a stand.

There is a thought process that goes “if no one else is taking care of this problem, why should we do anything?”  It doesn’t matter if no one else is standing up for what is just and right, remember that God expects more from us. He expects us to take action even if we are the only ones doing so.

Another attitude taken by many is that there is nothing they can do. How can one person solve the world’s problems?  But, there is always something we can do.  We can take the first step.  Who knows who is watching or who will be inspired by our actions?  In any case, we will be held accountable by God for what we do; not for what someone else did or did not do.  Remember what Jesus said in red letters – “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:10

Rabbi Eckstein expounded:  “One way to understand these verses is that we will be held accountable for the evil others have done if we knew about it and did nothing. (Does this sound like the “Watchman’s responsibility” in Ezekiel 33?)  But there is another way to understand the verse. When we stand up for what’s right, it’s scary. We may pay a price for doing so by losing friends, money, or perhaps our reputation. However, God will ‘repay everyone according to what they have done.’ God will reward us for our moral clarity and willingness to act.”

Points to ponder

How many injustices have we witnessed recently?

Recall two recent “Musings”- “I will not be Silent” and “The Privilege of Serving God”
Did they also call us to do what is right regardless of…?

We can always pray, but is that a substitute for action?

God knows our heart, so when He weighs our heart, what will He conclude?

“Stand firm”

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   October 11, 2016

Musing – Why does God want the Firstfruits?

Hebraic Musing – Why does God want the Firstfruits?

Not sure I have all the answers, but here are some things to consider:

The fact that God was not pleased with Cain’s “fruit of the soil” offerings in Gen. 4:2-5 can be puzzling.  “Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.  In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.  But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.” NIV   Both Cain and Abel had legitimate occupations so the difference must have been in the significance of the offering itself.  Consider that Abel offered the “Firstborn” of the flock which meant Abel had faith that there would be more births provided by God.  Cain however gave back to God only “some” of the crops he had been given.  Do we have a lesson about the role and importance of faith?

My favorite “Tithing” message/story is about a missionary in a faraway jungle preaching one Sunday on the topic of tithing.  He spent the rest of Sunday wondering if the message was understood.  Monday morning he answers a knock on the front of his hut and sees a boy standing there with a fish on a stringer.  The boy says “Pastor, here is my tithe.”  The missionary is pleased to see that the boy understood the message, but then began to wonder if the boy fully understood the concept of a tithe being a tenth?  So, he asked the boy “Where are the other nine fish?”  And the boy answered “Oh, they are still in the river.  I’m going back to catch them now.”  Should tithing be done as “Firstfruits”?

Why did God ask for the “Firstfruits” in Deut. 26:1-2  “When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it,  take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name.”   As a result, the OT Jews had very careful rituals to pick and identify the first fruit of their season’s crop. 

We all know God doesn’t eat or need fruit and He certainly doesn’t need any of ours (although it is the practice of some religions to offer fruit to their gods).  Bringing of the firstfruits was a deeply symbolic spiritual practice which characterizes the person’s relationship with his Creator.  A farmer plows and plants seeds in a field, cultivates and cares for the field and after all that labor and patience, fruit emerges.  The farmer is elated when he sees the first signs of success. He could easily say “I did it! All that hard work paid off. I created fruit from the earth.”  But the farmer shows that he knows where the crop came from by giving the firstfruits to the Creator.

Quoting Rabbi Eckstein: “The true test of our relationship is not when we are in need; rather, it is when we are most successful. It is in our greatest moments and achievements that we must recognize our dependence on God.”

Points to Ponder

Do we give our tithes and offerings as firstfruits? 
(Or do we give God our leftovers?)

Are we faithfully trusting our Creator for continued provision?

“The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.”  Isa 40:28

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   October 3, 2016

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage” “Musings - A Victorious Life”  “Musings - The Torah and New Testament”
Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      www.InsightsByYosef.com

Note - Inspired by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein’s “The Purpose of Creation”   September 22, 2016