A Prophetic Call

Over the last few weeks, yes, you have guessed right, I have been immersed in books once again. I am realising that the reason why you don’t have any book reviews YET, and more regular blogs is due to the fact that the more I read, the less I feel I know if that makes sense? The more I read, the more I have to think through what I thought I knew, and reconsider positions I hold.

Nevertheless, so far, praise God, each time I wrestle with tough theological issues, such as the Trinity from a Messianic perspective, or the implications of Yeshua as God for Jews today, God seems to speak to me tenderly from another page, and again refreshes my soul. No I have not been able to resolve all these HUGE topics yet!!! Also, the wrestling is tiring, emotional, penetrates my inner being, but, I must add, is an honour as I delve into an exciting road of discovery about our God. I can see this is going to be so worthwhile for many others too, so please look forward to new materials that will follow over the coming months...

My encouragement to write this week was from Wouk: ‘In the Jewish diction rabbis do not teach; they learn with their students. One says quite literally of a master of the Talmud, “He knows how to learn.”’ [Hermann Wouk – This is my God] This book has been so inspiring for me. Of course I am no Rabbi, but this was helpful to me, as it takes off the pressure when I write, as long as you remember it too, and know that I am learning with you.

Hermann Wouk wrote this book in the late 1950s. He is writing about his faith and his love for God, through the experiences of Jewish culture and ceremony. The profound message that is found throughout is the importance of the survival of the Jewish nation. ‘The morality of the West is either, as Nietzsche says, a long mistake based on a long delusion, or it is one of Judaism’s great gifts to the human race.’ Of course I wholeheartedly agree with the latter. I would argue that we are on the brink of the meltdown of our society only because we have moved so far away from the gift of God’s teaching, found in the Tenach, which has been preserved for thousands of years. Wouk profoundly articulates the purpose of the Jewish people, when he states: ‘Our place in the world, I believe, depends on what we contribute to mankind. We have contributed the Torah, the Mosaic vision of right conduct and of first and last things. It is our life, and the length of our days. As we keep that flame burning, it seems to me, we earn our right to survive as a people before God and men.’ 

What have we contributed? I believe we are all called for ‘such a time as this’ (Esther 4:14). How timely, as Purim approaches this coming weekend. We are now as Messianic believers, (Jews and Gentiles), called to stand in the gap for the Jewish people as well as the Church. We need to preserve the Torah. By this I mean the written Torah, as well as the incarnate Torah; the Word that was made flesh. Judaism denies the latter, the Church rejects the former.  Will you stand in the gap, whatever the cost? Esther said in 4:16 ‘I will go to the King even though it is against the Law. And if I perish, I perish.’ It isn’t easy to stand up for the truth and righteousness. If you love Israel and Yeshua you don’t fit anywhere, comfortably. However, I don’t think we are called to be ‘comfortable.’ All I stand for comes at a huge cost, but I can promise you that standing for truth is the best place to be.

From experience and reading over the last few weeks I have wept, and interceded on behalf of the Jewish people. Judaism is in a dangerous place. It has been said that the only thing that unites Jews in the 21^st Century is their unanimous decision that Jesus is not the Messiah. Otherwise almost anything goes. Awhile ago, when some Rabbis visited the Dalai Lama and needed a Minyan for prayers, they were short of numbers so they happily accepted Jewish Buddhists to complete the group. However, Jewish believers, who respect and value the Torah and Jewish custom, are not seen as Jewish and are portrayed as the enemy within. So many Jewish people do not cherish either God or the Torah anymore. Over the last few weeks I have been studying Jewish thought on the Torah. It’s vital that we as the remnant preserve the Word of God. Judaism thinks it is facing annihilation from Christians who seek to convert them, but actually one could argue that annihilation is happening from within, with its secular, humanistic ideas, that push God onto the periphery.

Messianic Judaism is a lonely path, where we stand with our feet in what seems to be two different camps. On the one hand we stand with the Jewish people as we believe with them that God has not abolished His covenant with the people and land of Israel. On the other hand we stand with the Church who proclaims that Yeshua is the Messiah. We are rejected by the Jewish community for our love for Yeshua, and by the majority of the Church who believe in Supersessionism and feel that they have replaced Israel. Therefore, we are conquering new territory (or reclaiming old?). This is a prophetic call, and though it may be lonely, it is exciting because God is accomplishing His purposes with both Jew and Gentile.