Musing - Should we, or should we not, judge our brothers?

Hebraic Musing - Should we, or should we not, judge our brothers?

Have you heard a Christian being told “Stop being Judgmental. People have no business judging the behaviors of each other.”?   Question – Who was judging what?

To judge requires a foundation of truth.  Who has God’s Word or truths in Him?  Or should…?

God’s Word is truth: (1) Psalm 119:160  All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.  NIV  (2) John 8:31-32   "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  ESV   (3) And Jesus said in His prayer to the Father in John 17:17  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  NIV 

Non-Christians, and even some professing Christians, are typically not operating from a base of truth.  Their judgment might be flawed, especially in classic contra-Biblical hot topics.  To that extent, the non-Christian might not be a valid judge; unless their judgmental comments happen to be Biblically based.

For a Christian to judge a Non-Christian – will the recipient receive the Word? Is there motivation for a non-Christian to change his/her ways?  However, is it legalistic for a Christian to use God’s Word to tell another Christian how we should live, work, play, raise and educate our children, self-govern ourselves and worship Him?  Obviously this applies to blatant issues, not petty differences.  You don’t make friends and be respected if one is always critical. 

Jesus said in Luke 17:3  …If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,   ESV   And Paul advised Timothy in 1 Tim 5:20  As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. ESV

Now the challenge, for a Christian to accept the judgment requires him/her to be (a) versed in the Word, (b) tender in the Spirit AND (c) respectful of the messenger’s Halakhah (way of walking).   Consider the classic OT challenge that Elijah, a man of God, encountered when wicked Ahab saw him on Mt. Carmel.  When he (Ahab) saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"  "I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the Lord's commands and have followed the Baals.  1 Kings 18:17-19  NIV    What followed is the famous scene of God’s fire on the watery sacrifice which soundly defeated the priests of Baal.

My friend, Buddy Hanson, claims -- Man says: God’s Word is not relevant to our everyday situations and circumstances. It is only applicable inside our homes and churches. This means that we are in no position to judge anyone or anything.   I tend to agree with that statement at face value because Buddy called it ‘man’ think.    But God said For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinth. 10:3-6. 

Remember, we Christians are no longer a ‘moral majority’ so we need to be a ‘prophetic minority’.

​Points to ponder

When we say, “I’m not being judgmental,”  
are we really saying that there is no absolute standard of behavior?

What is the difference between ‘judging’ and ‘condemning’?

I may not have all the answers, but I do have a lot of questions!                 
       Be careful… judge not, lest ye be judged   Mt 7:1                                   April 1, 2014

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                                  

Author of two books “Hebraic Insights” and  “Biblical Marriage”
And weekly “Hebraic Musings”  e-mails
Yosef1@cox.net   or   www.InsightsByYosef.com

Musing – What is in the middle of the Torah and the Bible?

Hebraic Musing – What is in the middle of the Torah and the Bible?

Leviticus 10:16 in the NIV starts with “When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and…”. It is so easy to overlook a hidden treasure in this Torah passage.  In Hebrew, the words translated to the word ‘inquired’ are actually two words vrd  vrd or “daarash daarosh” and each one means ‘to seek, enquire, investigate, ask,…’  Did you know that this is the exact middle of the Torah?  We all remember that when ‘Mama’ told us something twice, she meant it!

Does this confirm my Feb.25, 2014  Hebraic Musing – Are we disputing or arguing?  That musing pointed out the argumentative style of learning which is so popular with the Jews, and is the style of their education system in their Yeshivas, and in life.

It is interesting to see how various Bible translations deal with this double word.
ESV –  “Moses diligently inquired about…”   
CJB – “Moshe carefully investigated what had happened…” (Complete Jewish Bible)
NKJV – “Moses made careful inquiry about…”
KJV – “Moses diligently sought the goat…”

Do you remember that I still want to meet a one handed Rabbi so he wouldn’t say “on the other hand”?  On the other hand, the mid-point in the Bible is Psalm 118 which starts with “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”  NIV   Now, isn’t that a fitting mid-point for our Holy Bible?

These two revelations about treasures tucked away in God’s Word, especially the former, make me all the more concerned for the “Sit, Soak and Sour” Christians who have been taught to not ask questions nor to utilize their ability to exercise critical thinking.  Sages point out that a question creates an open space like a vacuum; and we know that nature tries to fill a vacuum.

Points to ponder

Do we read our Bibles asking:
Why is that in here? 
What does that mean?
How did that fit the culture of that day?
How does that apply in today’s culture?
How does that apply to my life?
Etc.

Enjoy your Bible study
and don’t be surprised if the facilitator doesn’t have an answer for all your questions – yet.

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                                   March 25, 2014

Author of two books “Hebraic Insights” and  “Biblical Marriage”
And weekly “Hebraic Musings” e-mails
Yosef1@cox.net  or  www.InsightsByYosef.com

Musing – Why tithe?

Hebraic Musing – Why tithe?

Tithing is a surprisingly controversial topic, but why?  Do people have a hard time giving up ‘their money’?  Have you ever heard these questions or arguments re tithing?

·      Wasn’t it an Old Testament law, abolished by the NT. Didn’t Yeshua question the scribes re tithing on mint and dill and cumin?

·      Should I tithe on the gross or net?

·      Can God really expect me to tithe if I’m struggling in my personal finances?
   (Hmm…why are you struggling?)

·      I “tithe” my time to the church. Isn’t that enough?

·      What if my ‘storehouse’ is somewhere else?

·      To avoid being legalistic, I’ll just round it up to the next whole dollar. Isn’t that being generous?

These questions show we may have missed the point.  Are folks calculating to determine the least they can give and still receive God’s blessings?  Do they want a 10% blessing or a 100% blessing?  And that question has an underlying selfish motivation because they are saying “I want…”?  Shouldn’t they instead be recognizing who He is, Jehovah Jireh.   Doesn’t a Husband appreciate being told “You are a good provider”?

I think the oft-quoted verse, Malachi 3:10, is for beginners – Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.  That should not be the ‘end all’ of the tithing message?

Tithing is first mentioned in Genesis 14:17-20  After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer  … Then Melchizedek … blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, …who delivered your enemies into your hand."  Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.     Melchizedek did not ask for it – Abram volunteered it.  What happened next?  Gen 15:1-4   After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram …I am your shield, your very great reward."  But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless … "  Then the word of the Lord came to him: "… but a son coming from your own body will be your heir."   NIV    So Abram received a gift of life, an opening of the womb, as his reward – the ultimate gift of life as the reward for tithing!  I’ve heard that the ‘tenth’ that Abram gave to Melchizedek was the top ‘tenth’ of the pile of booty which would be the most valuable items – jewels and precious metals.  Clothing and hides, etc. would be lower in the pile).

Shouldn’t we want to give it all to God who gave His all to us – His Son?  All God asks for is a 10% deposit as a token representing ‘all of me’.  Are we bartering with God to see how little we can give and still be obedient?  Ask your local church treasurer how many tithe checks are made out to the penny (like $47.32)?

I like the story of ‘The Widow’s Mite’ in Mark 12:42-44   And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, ….  And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.   For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."  ESV   Yeshua is not impressed by the amount given, but He commends the widow for trusting God to provide with what little she had left.  It seems that the widow did not consider calculating 10%.  And Jesus counted and commended her on what she had left, not on how much she gave.

Points to ponder

Should I be asking “How much should I give?”  or   
“What does God really want?”   (Answer – Your heart)

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                                   March 18, 2014

Author of two books “Hebraic Insights” and  “Biblical Marriage”
And weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings” 
Yosef1@cox.net  or  www.InsightsByYosef.com

Musing – Numbers Ch.2 – Coincidence? God-incidence? Or Foreshadowing?

Hebraic Musing – Numbers Ch.2 – Coincidence? God-incidence? Or Foreshadowing?

Chapter 2 in the book of Number, chapter 2 contains counts of each of the tribes (12 sons of Jacob) and their positions around the tabernacle. What is the significance of all that information?  Here is a drawing to scale of each tribes’ count and their position around the Tabernacle:

Recognize the shape?  Is this a Coincidence? God-incidence? Or Foreshadowing?

If you wish to explore further, note the arrangement of each tribe in relation to the adjacent neighbor.  Could they be arranged for compatibly, so the sons, now leaders, were raised by same midwives? 

Points to Ponder

How many subtle truths are tucked away in God’s Word,
waiting for us to study more and appreciate Him more?

Maybe this is why I love Bible studies.                                  March 11, 2014

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                                  

Author of two books “Hebraic Insights” and  “Biblical Marriage”
And weekly “Hebraic Musings”  e-mails
Yosef1@cox.net   or   www.InsightsByYosef.com