Often when we think of the Israelites we have a cloudy view
of their history. We fail to recognize that what modern Jews want us to believe
varies from the factual history. As we know from studying the Old Testament,
Israelites rejected Yahweh. They rejected a personal relationship with Yahweh
and fell into unbelievable sins such as male prostitution in the Temple. Those
extreme sins are disguised by those attempting to rewrite history. As we know,
by the time the kingdom split, people were not observing Passover and
eventually both the northern and southern kingdoms were dispersed and put into
bondage. While in Babylon, Daniel remembers Jeremiah’s words and starts to pray
for Israelites to return to Jerusalem. When Cyrus sent some Israelites back,
the city and a new temple were built but stayed under Assyrian rule. Eventually
the entire region was taken over by the Greeks, then the Romans. So while some
of the Israelites came back to Jerusalem, they were not free to govern
Jerusalem. Hebrew was nearly a lost language and people read Greek and spoke
Aramaic. A couple of sects rose up from among the people, the Pharisees, the
Sadducees, and the Essenes. The desire for Israel to govern her own land caused
each group to develop legalistic ways to become right with Yahweh. Legalism
caused such distortions among the people that when Jesus came, he was rejected
because he did not fit their mold. In fact, the Essenes were the only ones who
believed Jesus was the Messiah. Paul tells us clearly what overcomes the law
but people still don’t understand or practice it. At the time of Jesus what
people wanted to see was a Messiah who would restore the government to Israelis,
and break Roman rule. Jesus didn’t do that at that time but will in the future.
We have to understand that Yahweh was first rejected, then
Jesus was rejected. Legalism was favored at the time of the first century which
created the struggle that Jesus and the Apostle’s all faced and from that time
forward, legalism continues to pervade. Legalism and laws cannot replace a
personal relationship with Yahweh, and as we will see, people condemn
themselves by not believing Jesus is the Messiah. Isaiah’s words are very
damning to Israel. Yahweh speaks, yet many forsook Yahweh and became estranged.
Isa 1:2-5 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the
Lord has spoken: I have nourished and brought up sons and have made them great
and exalted, but they have rebelled against Me and broken away from Me. 3 The
ox [instinctively] knows his owner, and the donkey his master's crib, but
Israel does not know or recognize Me [as Lord], My people do not consider or
understand. 4 Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, offspring of
evildoers, sons who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have
despised and shown contempt and provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger, they
have become utterly estranged (alienated). 5 Why should you be stricken and
punished any more [since it brings no correction]? You will revolt more and
more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint (feeble, sick, and
nauseated). AMP
This alienation affected their entire being, their heads
and hearts became sick. They had no soundness. This tells us that their minds
were no longer coherent. Once they practiced a life apart from Yahweh their
minds became unsound.
Isa 1:6-10 From the sole of the foot even to the head there
is no soundness or health in [the nation's body] — but wounds and bruises and
fresh and bleeding stripes; they have not been pressed out and closed up or
bound up or softened with oil. [No one has troubled to seek a remedy.] 7
[Because of your detestable disobedience] your country lies desolate, your
cities are burned with fire; your land — strangers devour it in your very presence,
and it is desolate, as overthrown by aliens. 8 And the Daughter of Zion
[Jerusalem] is left like a [deserted] booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a
garden of cucumbers, like a besieged city [spared, but in the midst of
desolation]. 9 Except the Lord of hosts had left us a very small remnant [of
survivors], we should have been like Sodom, and we should have been like
Gomorrah. [Gen 19:24,25; Rom 9:29.] 10 Hear [O Jerusalem] the word of the Lord,
you rulers or judges of [another] Sodom! Give ear to the law and the teaching
of our God, you people of [another] Gomorrah! AMP
No one even cares to look for remedies for their sickness,
and due to their condition, they were overthrown. They could have been utterly
destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah but a small remnant was left. This is the
Christ line. Yahweh says that it makes no difference what they do to atone for
sin because their hands are full of blood.
Isa 1:11-15 To what purpose is the multitude of your
sacrifices to Me [unless they are the offering of the heart]? says the Lord. I
have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts
[without obedience]; and I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or
of he-goats [without righteousness].12 When you come to appear before Me, who
requires of you that your [unholy feet] trample My courts? 13 Bring no more
offerings of vanity (emptiness, falsity, vainglory, and futility); [your hollow
offering of] incense is an abomination to Me; the New Moons and Sabbaths, the
calling of assemblies, I cannot endure — [it is] iniquity and profanation, even
the solemn meeting. 14 Your New Moon festivals and your [hypocritical]
appointed feasts My soul hates. They are an oppressive burden to Me; I am weary
of bearing them. 15 And when you spread forth your hands [in prayer, imploring
help], I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will
not hear. Your hands are full of blood! AMP
Yahweh encourages them through Isaiah to be willing to be
obedient. They did not change and they were devoured and dispersed.
Isa 1:16-22 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put
away the evil of your doings from before My eyes! Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to
do right! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and correct the oppressor.
Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, and let us reason
together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If
you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 But if you
refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the Lord
has spoken it. 21 How the faithful city has become an [idolatrous] harlot, she
who was full of justice! Uprightness and right standing with God [once] lodged
in her — but now murderers. 22 Your silver has become dross, your wine is mixed
with water. AMP
Not only were the people corrupt, the leaders were corrupt
as well. Isaiah prophecies that Zion shall be redeemed with justice. But notice,
her converts will be righteous. This has not happened yet. There are no
converts and Zion has not been redeemed.
Isa 1:23-27 Your princes are rebels and companions of
thieves; everyone loves bribes and runs after compensation and rewards. They judge
not for the fatherless nor defend them, neither does the cause of the widow
come to them [for they delay or turn a deaf ear]. 24 Therefore says the Lord,
the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will appease Myself on My
adversaries and avenge Myself on My enemies. 25 And I will bring My hand again
upon you and thoroughly purge away your dross [as with lye] and take away all
your tin or alloy. 26 And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your
counselors as at the beginning; afterward you shall be called the City of
Righteousness, the Faithful City. 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and
her [returned] converts with righteousness (uprightness and right standing with
God). AMP
Today legalism encroaches on our relationship with Yahweh. Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob all had a personal relationship with Yahweh. We recently saw
that when Moses was going to lead Jacob’s heirs out of Egypt Yahweh was going
to make His name known to them. The descendants of Jacob did not have a
personal relationship with Yahweh, and since Yahweh is the Elohim of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, he was going to have Moses tell them His name. Keep in mind
Jesus said God is not the God of the dead but of the living. Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob have not ceased to be in relationship to Yahweh just because they are
without physical bodies. The covenant, the law, was not made to Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob as Deuteronomy 5:3 tells us, but the law was to the children of Jacob,
to get them into a relationship with Yahweh. Once the Temple was finally
destroyed in 70 A.D. there could be no way to keep the law. That is why the day
of Pentecost established a new administration. There is no more legalism for
all who believe on Jesus as Messiah. Yahweh opened the doors, so to speak, to
the whole world so that everyone can know him by name. However there are those
who insist the law is still an active dispensation that is to be kept, when it
is simply impossible to do so. On the Day of the Lord, the day Jesus comes to
redeem Israel with his armies, Zion will then be called the City of
Righteousness.
Isa 1:28-31 But the crushing and destruction of rebels and
sinners shall be together, and they who forsake the Lord shall be consumed. 29
For you will be ashamed [of the folly and degradation] of the oak or terebinth
trees in which you found [idolatrous] pleasure, and you will blush with shame
for the [idolatrous worship which you practice in the passion-inflaming]
gardens which you have chosen. 30 For you shall be like an oak or terebinth
whose leaf withers, and like a garden that has no water. 31 And the strong
shall become like tow and become tinder, and his work like a spark, and they
shall both burn together, with none to quench them AMP
Until the Day of the Lord is finished, Jerusalem, Zion,
will not be a place of righteous habitation. When Jesus came as their Messiah,
he wasn’t embraced by the religious leaders, the legalists who continually
nullified the law with their own laws. We have the misconception that these
very people through today, actually worship Yahweh, but the reality is they do
not, the worship the law. If we understand dispensations, we now see that these
religious leaders are in an old administration, the one made just before the
Israelites entered the Promised Land. They attempt to legally bind themselves
to that covenant, but they cannot live it. The legalists reject Jesus thereby
condemning themselves.
John 3:17-21 For God did not send the Son into the world in
order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that
the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. 18 He
who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he
who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection,
no condemnation — he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave
to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and
has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted
in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to
let his trust rest in Christ's name.] 19 The [basis of the] judgment
(indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence)
lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the
darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were
evil. [Isa 5:20.] 20 For every wrongdoer hates (loathes, detests) the Light,
and will not come out into the Light but shrinks from it, lest his works (his
deeds, his activities, his conduct) be exposed and reproved. 21 But he who
practices truth [who does what is right] comes out into the Light; so that his
works may be plainly shown to be what they are — wrought with God [divinely
prompted, done with God's help, in dependence upon Him]. AMP
Isaiah reproved the nation of Israel and their deeds, but
the people did not change. Let’s make this clear, there were some people who
did do their best to live for Yahweh, but the majority of people did not. The
people Yahweh rescued from Egypt were to make Yahweh known to the nations, but
since they did not, Yahweh had to make himself known to the world. When a sharp
majority rejects Jesus, the devil has free reign in that nation. However today
we are not judged and condemned by Yahweh as nations but as individuals. The
individual humans in the nations and tribes of the world all have access to a
personal relationship with Jesus. The devil, however has legal rights to harm
any and all individuals in the nations who reject Yahweh/Jesus. This is the
administration, or time period we live in, to the dismay of the legalists. Grace.
And just as we recently saw with Jonah, Yahweh is concerned for all individuals
in all the nations, not just the Jews. This idea shows up again with Jesus
going to Samaria and all the Samarians believing on Jesus as Messiah. While the
legalists were condemning the Samarians for who they were and what they
practiced, Jesus was revealing himself to them.
John 4:39-42 Now numerous Samaritans from that town
believed in and trusted in Him because of what the woman said when she declared
and testified, He told me everything that I ever did. 40 So when the Samaritans
arrived, they asked Him to remain with them, and He did stay there two days. 41
Then many more believed in and adhered to and relied on Him because of His
personal message [what He Himself said]. 42 And they told the woman, Now we no
longer believe (trust, have faith) just because of what you said; for we have
heard Him ourselves [personally], and we know that He truly is the Savior of
the world, the Christ. AMP
They didn’t simply think Jesus was a nice guy or had a nice
set of religious rules, they believed and knew that Jesus was and is the Savior
of the world, the Messiah. So the people who did not practice Judaism in the
proper way ended up saved, but the religious legalists did not receive
salvation and still have not received salvation. Jesus holds them responsible
for not knowing the time of his visitation. Why? Because the angel prophesied
exactly to Daniel the very day the Messiah would come into Jerusalem on a colt
and be hailed as Messiah. The angel was exact and precise and yet the religious
legalists rejected Jesus.
Luke 19:41-44 And as He approached, He saw the city, and He
wept [audibly] over it, 42 Exclaiming, Would that you had known personally,
even at least in this your day, the things that make for peace (for freedom
from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin and upon
which your peace — your security, safety, prosperity, and happiness — depends)!
But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For a time is coming upon you when
your enemies will throw up a bank [with pointed stakes] about you and surround
you and shut you in on every side. [Isa 29:3; Jer 6:6; Ezek 4:2.] 44 And they
will dash you down to the ground, you [Jerusalem] and your children within you;
and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, [all] because you did
not come progressively to recognize and know and understand [from observation
and experience] the time of your visitation [that is, when God was visiting
you, the time in which God showed Himself gracious toward you and offered you
salvation through Christ]. AMP
Jesus tells them that Jerusalem will be destroyed, not one
stone would be left in its place. Today we see the Wailing Wall, but that is
not original to the first century temple mount. Archeology proves that. And as
we have noted, the original Temple was not on the Temple Mount but at the Gihon
Springs. Legalism seems to prevent the breaking of traditions and false
knowledge, as today there is no reason the Jews cannot build the Temple in its
original location which is not controlled by the Palestinians.
After Jesus was crucified, the apostles and disciples
worked very hard to explain what had just happened and why people should
believe Jesus is the Messiah. They did not spare their own lives, but willingly
gave their lives to share this knowledge. As we have seen, since the time of
the first century, there have been many textual distortions to disprove Jesus
as Messiah, and many textual alterations to confuse and keep people from
receiving Jesus as their personal Messiah. Paul fought this head on, and we are
indebted to his tenacity and boldness to push this further with written letters
to the churches. We observed from Isaiah that Jerusalem would one day become a
city of righteousness, but not until after the Day of the Lord. Yet today we
personally can be righteous. Christ is the end of the Law. Again, we are to
have a personal relationship with Him rather than be religious legalists in
lieu of personal relationship with the Messiah.
Rom 10:3-12 For being ignorant of the righteousness that
God ascribes [which makes one acceptable to Him in word, thought, and deed] and
seeking to establish a righteousness (a means of salvation) of their own, they
did not obey or submit themselves to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the
end of the Law [the limit at which it ceases to be, for the Law leads up to Him
Who is the fulfillment of its types, and in Him the purpose which it was
designed to accomplish is fulfilled. That is, the purpose of the Law is
fulfilled in Him] as the means of righteousness (right relationship to God) for
everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies on Him. 5 For Moses writes
that the man who [can] practice the righteousness (perfect conformity to God's
will) which is based on the Law [with all its intricate demands] shall live by
it. [Lev 18:5.] 6 But the righteousness based on faith [imputed by God and
bringing right relationship with Him] says, Do not say in your heart, Who will
ascend into Heaven? that is, to bring Christ down; 7 Or who will descend into
the abyss? that is, to bring Christ up from the dead [as if we could be saved
by our own efforts]. [Deut 30:12,13.] 8 But what does it say? The Word (God's
message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the
Word (the message, the basis and object) of faith which we preach, [Deut
30:14.] 9 Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is
Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth)
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart a
person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is
justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he
confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his]
salvation. 11 The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to,
relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.
[Ps 34:22; Isa 28:16; 49:23; Jer 17:7.] 12 [No one] for there is no distinction
between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously
bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith]. AMP
Yahweh is not condemning, punishing, or harming people,
which is what the devil does. Yahweh is instead making a way for you to come
into a relationship with him, now, today. What Paul was quoting here in Romans,
from the Old Testament really tells us the same things.
Ps 34:22 The Lord redeems the lives of His servants, and
none of those who take refuge and trust in Him shall be condemned or held
guilty. AMP
Ps 34:22G3084The lord shall
ransom G2962 G5590the souls
G1401of his
servants; G1473 G2532and G3766.2in no
wayG4131.2shall
[6offendG39561allG35882theG16793ones
hopingG19094uponG14735him].
Yahweh redeems the souls of his servants. When was this
written? Did it apply to those people at that time? Does it apply to people
today? If Jesus came to save and redeem us, and he did not come to condemn us,
then we cannot redeem ourselves. Therefore we either condemn ourselves, or
another being, other than Yahweh/Jesus, condemns us. Yahweh was redeeming his
servants before Jesus came to earth.
Isa 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am
laying in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tested Stone, a precious Cornerstone
of sure foundation; he who believes (trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that
Stone) will not be ashamed or give way or hasten away [in sudden panic]. [Ps
118:22; Matt 21:42; Acts 4:11; Rom 9:33; Eph 2:20; 1 Peter 2:4-6.] AMP
Isaiah 28: 16G1223On account of G3778this, G3779thus G3004says G2962the lord, G2400Behold, G1473IG1685shall put G1519for G3588theG2310foundationsG*of ZionG3037[4stoneG41851a very costlyG15882chosenG2043cornering]G1784of valueG1519forG3588 G2310its foundations; G1473 G2532and G3588the one G4100trustingG1909uponG1473itG3766.2in no wayG2617should be disgraced.
If Zion is to become a city of righteousness, then its very
foundation has to change. Yahweh Elohim says its foundation stone is a very
costly cornering. The foretelling of the ministry of Jesus helps us understand
the cost associated with this new foundation. Remember Jesus said that there
would not be one stone left upon another because they missed His coming, and
rejected Him. Soon a new stone will be laid in Zion, when the city becomes a
city of righteousness and Jesus rules as King of kings and Lord of lords. Those
who were kings will become servants to people who waited and expected Yahweh.
Isa 49:23 And kings shall be your foster fathers and
guardians, and their queens your nursing mothers. They shall bow down to you
with their faces to the earth and lick up the dust of your feet; and you shall
know [with an acquaintance and understanding based on and grounded in personal
experience] that I am the Lord; for they shall not be put to shame who wait
for, look for, hope for, and expect Me. AMP
Isaiah 49:23G2532AndG1510.8.6[2shall
beG9351kings]G5087.2your
wet-nurses; G1473
G3588
G1161 and G756their
ruling women G1473 G5162your
nurses. G1473 G1909[3upon
G43834 the face
G35885of the
G10936earthG43521They
shall do obeisanceG14732to
you], G2532and G3588the G5522dust G3588 G4228of
your feetG1473 G3011.2they
shall lick. G2532And G1097you
shall know G3754that G1473I amG2962the lord,G2532andG3756[4shall
notG1535be
ashamed G35881the
ones G52782waitingG14733for
me]
We can see what Paul was alluding to here when he makes the
case for not being ashamed or disappointed. Paul tells us the scripture says
those expecting, waiting, and then believing on Yahweh/Jesus will not be
disappointed. And those who rejected and ignored Jesus will be disappointed;
they will be ashamed, and they will be condemned. Remember what Isaiah said
about corrupt leaders? Many rulers and leaders believe in themselves rather
than Yahweh and the flipping of servant hood from common people serving kings
to kings serving common people makes a bold statement. If one is a leader one
would be advised to submit to Yahweh now, so as not to spend the millennial
reign of Christ licking the dust off the feet of the common people.
Jer 17:7 [Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts
in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. AMP
Jere 17:7G2532AndG2127being
blessed G3588is the
G444man G3739who G3982relies
G1909upon G3588the G2962lord,G2532andG1510.8.3the lord will
beG2962 G1680his
hope.
People who rely on Yahweh/Jesus as Paul and Jeremiah state,
will be blessed. This is why there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, the
personal relationship that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had with Yahweh is
available to everyone today. Legalism crowds out that personal relationship and
pushes people away from Yahweh with the very harsh, strange, and unpredictable
elohim that legalism creates.
This is what is so confusing to all people today. Many
people see the God of legalism and not Yahweh. People cannot figure out why a
loving God harms people. Legalism blinds people to the true Yahweh. As we have
seen in past weeks the true Elohim, Yahweh Aleph Tav, is very different than
the elohim preached in synagogues and churches today. No one wants to preach
about the elohim of evil who can be turned away by repentance as we saw in
Jonah. Now this is an unthinkable injustice that has been done and is still
perpetuated to the world. There will be shame on all of us for not speaking
about Yahweh/Jesus correctly. We saw how bad it is to misrepresent Yahweh when
Moses was not allowed to go into the Promised Land, and we have certainly
misrepresented Him in this age.
Legalism is a religion, a false religion that bases some
precepts on scripture but condemns and judges others. Legalism is a tree in
one’s eye that tries to pick at the sawdust in another’s eye. Now legalism is
not just following the Mosaic laws but all religious laws. I typically run into
hyper religious people who spew venom at all those who do not live in the
manner they themselves live. There is legalism among Christians and Jews, and
it should be clear by now that neither is from Yahweh but instead the elohim of
this world. Paul helps us understand this better and I like the way the Message
personalizes this for us.
Gal 5:22-24 But what happens when we live God's way? He
brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard
— things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop
a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a
conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves
involved in loyal commitments, 23 not needing to force our way in life, able to
marshal and direct our energies wisely.
Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets
in the way. 24 Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with
getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls
necessities is killed off for good — crucified. (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in
Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
The reason legalism is helpless in bringing about the fruit
of the spirit is because it is a false idol, a religion not based on Yahweh’s
desire to redeem all people. It is a religion based on being judged by other
people as to whether or not one lives up to the standard those judgmental ones
set. Paul sums this up and deflates the god of legalism by this statement.
Rom 13:10 Love does no wrong to one's neighbor [it never
hurts anybody]. Therefore love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling
of the Law. AMP
Love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling of
the law. Love. Isn’t that what Jesus gave us as a new commandment? Love. If we
have to follow the law then we do not have love. If we become legalistic and
judgmental, condemning others we are not walking in love. If we have to distort
scripture to erase Jesus from the Bible, we are not loving anyone. If we have
to misrepresent Yahweh as bringing punishment now, when clearly there is an
elohim of evil, we are not walking in love or fulfilling the commandment of
love. If we have to socially engineer history to pretend that Jews love Yahweh
but reject Jesus, we are as far from love as we can possibly be. I hate to
sound cynical but most all good intentions regarding religious rules and
practices end up saturated in a love for money. Religions of legalism are a
monetary enterprise and someone is living comfortably from its prophets and
profits while not fulfilling the law with love. http://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-new-commandment-disciples-and-friends.html
Rejecting Yahweh and rejecting Jesus is part of Jewish
history that some try to manipulate. The made up religion of legalism is the
substitute for love and trusting in the Messiah. Jesus didn’t come to condemn
but because he is light, he was condemned. One day a new stone will be laid in
Zion, those who believe on and trust in Jesus will not be ashamed. Those who
trust in legalism and those who rule apart from Jesus will be licking dust off
the feet of others. It is not up to man to make up a religious practice and
present it to Yahweh as a proposal for what we humans are willing to do to gain
redemption. It is up to man to receive salvation by trust in the Messiah and
then to fulfill the law by love.
