#46 “Household of the blood”

Re’eh/See!

Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17

Isaiah 54:11-55:5

Being ‘heavenly’ correct…isn’t a term you hear in most of today’s discourse.  Whether spoken or unspoken there is pressure to be ‘politically correct’ for all citizens, including those of the Kingdom of God.  Rather than argue political or social constraints and considerations; let’s try for a ‘heavenly’ perspective.  Whether it’s due to mandates from the government because of new social norms or even because of epidemics, the community of the Living God can find itself in unexpected dilemmas.  Even concerns about being relevant or ‘sensitive’ to the unsaved; what appears as sensitivity can become compromise; or even denial of the Living Word.  I believe that this week’s Torah portion comes to the ‘rescue’!  The key isn’t just in rules and regulations; but what is on the Father’s heart for His chosen people; first the Jews and then by extension and the work of the Lord Jesus, to His magnificent bride; Jew and Gentile.  We need to be reminded that we are now the people of God; a holy nation and His desired holy people. Though He has reserved the land of Israel and the Jewish people for a special place before Him; somehow in a ‘mystery’ He has brought all nations (Gentiles) near and into His household, by the blood of Jesus. 

Ephesians 2: ¹²…you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

Lest we ‘drift’ into some kind of replacement theology, we need to be reminded that Jew and Gentile are equal in this ‘mystery’, but distinct; like a man and woman. 

Deuteronomy 12: ² You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. ³ And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. ⁴ You shall not worship the Lord your God with such things.

 Now let’s go to the haftorah; Isaiah 55: ² listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. ³ Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—The sure mercies of David. ⁴ Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, A leader and commander for the people. ⁵ Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, And nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the Lord your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.” 

I know we could spend a lot of time digging deeper into all this, but for now, just try to get a perspective that we are to affect the nations and not be affected by them!  The Lord wants us to be a place of refuge and blessing; but the key isn’t just to be liked and seen as ‘acceptable’ by the world; but to be a place of God’s presence that affects us personally, so we can be a blessing to others.  So let’s take a moment this week and consider how we could change our thinking from an institutional mindset, to one of relationship and identity with the Living God; a community that has hearts that are ‘governed’ from above.  He has set His affections upon us!

Bonus thought: beware of finding a ‘balance’ when either discussing theology or any issues that could potentially bring division or misunderstanding.  Our tendency is to think of scales; as the picture of the scales of justice, but I submit to you it is not necessarily a ‘Godly balance’!  I know it could be a 50/50 balance, but that tends to be artificial. I believe God’s balance is more like a teeter totter.  You can have a 200 pound person on one end and a 50 pound child on the other end and it will still ‘balance’ by moving the fulcrum! This I believe is a biblical balance: God moves the fulcrum where He wants and creates the ‘balance’ that He desires.  This balance can be dynamic and be adjusted by The Holy One over time, and yet never violating His Word, nor His heart…by john e