What The Old Testament Authors Really Cared About

Are you looking for a Textbook that gives a great survey of the bible that Jesus would have used? This is it! What the Old Testament Authors really cared about is a great book that gives information that many are seeking and too afraid to ask about. Easily understood this book is written in the format of the Law, Prophets and Writings just as the Jewish Tankah would be.

Each Chapter heralds information that is simplistic yet still deep enough for a graduate student to use in their studies. When you begin each chapter you are given a “Who When Where Why” overview and a short synopsis of the book. You are also introduced to the K-I-N-G-D-O-M story through images program. This unique tool helps you know what the book is talking about as well as what each image means. By mixing illustrations with modern Israel photos and drawings, the story of the OT comes to life and helps the modern reader understand why Jews do what they do today; based on what their faith taught them years ago.

As a youth minister I looked for books that would help me make the Old Testament relevant to my students. As a Bible teacher, I continue that search and have found a timeless resource in this book. It is my hope that everyone who reads this book will also find a timeless resource and a renewed joy in reading the Old Testament with understanding of what the authors really cared about.

Never Put off a Mitzvah (A command from God)

Imagine that you are in the military. You are given a command, do you put it off or do it immediately? Given that the command could be a matter of life and death, you will probably do what you are ordered immediately. Should things be different when it comes to the commands of God?

The concept of Mitzvah to the Jewish people is that God has given us a set of commands that we are to follow. Unfortunately Christians many times think that because of grace, God has somehow excused us from following these commands; or we will say “God has only given us the 10 commandments to follow and they sum up the other 603.” As a follower of Jesus (Yeshua) it is hard for me to understand why we don’t do what God has asked us. Jesus, himself Jewish, did not disobey the commandments, nor did he teach anyone else to break them either. So why do we as Christians feel that it’s okay to forget God’s Law? For Christians the answer is grace. But Jesus himself says “If you love me, you will obey my commands.” (John 14:15) Many times we forget that when someone asks us to do something; the best way that we can show we love them is to obey them.

As we read through the Bible and we see the various Mitzvah that God has given us, why do we put it off? Maybe it’s because our lives get busy and we think “I’ll do this or that later.” Then later never comes—let’s look at it this way “Dough put on the back burner will ultimately ferment or sour; because of the slow rate, it will become unfit for use. And the same is true of our obligations. We say: “I’ll get to this really soon, but I have to back-burner it for now.” And “soon,” the opportunity sours. Our sweet dreams turn into bitter reality. Just as the matzah dough eventually rises, whether we want it to or not, and is spoiled, so too opportunities slip by, like it or not, and are lost.”^[1] If we have a chance to do a mitzvah, we should grab it, for that opportunity may not present itself again.

Never put off a Mitzvah when it comes your way; the blessing of doing the Mitzvah will also pass you by.

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^[1] Michael Katz and Gershon Schwartz, Searching for Meaning in Midrash: Lessons for Everyday Living (Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 2002), 99.

Faith: Rachel understands Judaism Best

Many times, I am introduced in this manner “This is Rachel, she’s Messianic.” My friends and family often wonder how and why I have chosen to identify as Messianic instead of Christian. And many times I don’t have a ready answer, but truthfully, my own Christian faith makes much more sense in terms of Judaism.

However, my chosen path has never been easy—my family is devoutly Christian—evangelical Christian. I can’t tell you the times early on that I tried to express my faith in terms of Judaism and I got taken out to dinner by family members eager to tell me “Rachel, don’t you realize that Jesus is the only way to heaven?” While during those early years I wanted to “please” my family, I realized that pleasing God was worth so much more than pleasing the family.  Even while in seminary at Liberty University, I chose to write all my papers from a Messianic Jewish point of view and many times, Professors (men and women with Doctorate degrees) would email me stating I had made them think differently.

But why did I choose my belief system? That is my family’s main concern; and how can they change me. Truth is they can’t change my beliefs. I have chosen to look at faith through the eyes of a Jewish person. I love Jewish people—and prefer to work with them and do business with them. But what I really like about Judaism is that it’s a living faith. Not a faith that starts out all fire hot and cools with time, but rather it’s a faith that continues to warm, become deeper and more a part of your lifestyle.  Christianity for its most part becomes a faith that doesn’t deepen, instead it feels as if you get stuck spinning your tires; while waiting to see what happens next. You are told to go out and convert others, and become judgmental.
For me, I wanted to stop spinning my tires and start living my faith. There is something sacred about wrapping a tallit around my shoulders before I pray; there is something of blessing that comes with hanging a mezuzah upon the doors of my home—something that says “this is a sanctuary where God dwells.”  Rachel the Christian still exists but she recognizes that her heart has had a conversion—and it has become an expression of faith in Hebraic roots instead of in Constantine’s Roman Christian belief.

Bibilcal Faith vs. Man's Faith

I have been asked recently, “Why, if you are a Christian, do you write so much or care about Judaism?” As a Christian, my goal is to become obedient to the God that my ancestors worshiped and walked with.  Truth is, the first members of the Christian movement were Jewish and they held to Jewish principles of the time. Rabbi David Wolpe says “To see Jesus as he was is difficult to isolate from the rift it represented from Jewish history. To see Jesus as he was is a difficult task because of the legacy left toward the Jewish people by Christianity.”[1]

Within Judaism, Christianity historically represents pain and persecution, efforts of understanding sabotaged by hatred, rejection, belittlement and horror. Think about it, from the Spanish Inquisition all the way to modern day Palestine Christians have done very little to help the people of Israel except to try to help them change.

Historically Speaking:

Notable converts from Judaism who themselves attempted to convert other Jews are more visible in historical sources beginning around the 13th century, when Jewish convert Pablo Christiani attempted to convert other Jews. This activity, however, typically lacked any independent Jewish-Christian congregations, and was often imposed through force by organized Christian churches.[2] In Eastern Europe, Joseph Rabinowitz established a Hebrew Christian mission and congregation called “Israelites of the New Covenant” in Kishinev, Ukraine in 1884. Rabinowitz was supported from overseas by the Christian Hebraist Franz Delitzsch, translator of the first modern Hebrew translation of the New Testament. Rabinowitz created a sample order of worship for Sabbath morning service based on a mixture of Jewish and Christian elements. Mark John Levy pressed the Church of England to allow members to embrace Jewish customs. In the 1890s, immigrant Jewish converts to Christianity worshiped at the Methodist “Hope of Israel” mission on New York’s Lower East Side while retaining some Jewish rites and customs. Missions to the Jews saw a period of growth between the 1920s and the 1960s. In the 1940s and 50s, missionaries in Israel, including the Southern Baptists, adopted the term meshichyim (משיחיים “Messianics”) to counter negative connotations of the word notsrim (נוצרים “Christians”, from “Nazarenes”); the term was used to designate all Jews who had converted to Protestant evangelical Christianity. In the 1970s, a growing number of young Jews who had converted to Christianity were committed to maintaining a culturally Jewish lifestyle, in the mode advocated by Rabinowitz in the 19th century. Going against the thinking of the older members of the Hebrew Christian movement, they believed that different methods of evangelism of Jews were needed.

Theology and Doctrine:

In general, essential doctrines of Messianic Judaism include views on God (that he is omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal, outside creation, infinitely significant and benevolent—viewpoints on the Trinity vary), Jesus (who is believed to be the Jewish Messiah, though views on his divinity vary), written Torah (with a few exceptions, Messianic Jews believe that Jesus taught and reaffirmed the Torah and that it remains fully in force), Israel (the Children of Israel are central to God’s plan; replacement theology is opposed), the Bible (Tanakh and the New Testament are usually considered the divinely inspired Scripture, though Messianic Judaism is more open to criticism of the New Testament canon than is Christianity), eschatology (sometimes similar to many evangelical Christian views), and oral law observance varies, but most deem these traditions subservient to the written Torah). Certain additional doctrines, including those on sin and atonement and on faith and works, are more open to differences in interpretation.

How then shall we Worship?

Worship services are generally held on Friday evenings (Erev Shabbat) or Saturday mornings. According to the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship (SBMF), services are held on Saturday to “open the doors to Jewish people who also wish to keep the Sabbath”. The liturgy used is similar to that of a Jewish siddur with some important differences including the omission of “salvation by works” as the Messianic belief is Salvation through Jesus.

Beliefs of the SBMF, Objectives and Ethical Statements[3]

SBMF Beliefs:                                                                     

We believe that the Torah, the prophets and the Holy Writings were given by God through ancient Jewish holy men who wrote as God directed them. We believe that this collection of inspired writings, the Tanach (Old Testament), is true and inerrant.

We believe that the New Covenant is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Tanach, especially of Jeremiah 31:31 (verse 30 in some editions) in which God promised to give to Israel a New Covenant. We believe that the Tanach and the New Covenant comprise the Divinely given, inerrant Word of God, which is God’s complete and final revelation.

We believe that Yeshua, Who was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth, is the Divine Son of God, the Son of David of the Tribe of Judah, the true Messiah prophesied in the Torah, the Prophets and the Holy Writings (Genesis 49: 10; Deuteronomy 18: 15 – 18; Isaiah 53; Jeremiah 23:5- 6; Micah 5:2 [1]; Psalm 2; Psalm 22; Proverbs 30:4; and many more!)

We believe that all people of the world are invited to be a part of Israel’s New Covenant by trusting in Israel’s Messiah, (Isaiah 42:6-7; 49:6; 60:3).

We believe that forgiveness of sin comes only through a blood atonement as stated in the Torah (Leviticus 17: 11) and that the only atonement God accepts today is the atonement made by Messiah Yeshua (Psalm 2: 12; Isaiah 53: 10-11; John 14:6; Acts 4: 12).

We believe that Messiah Yeshua was resurrected from the grave to be the eternal Priest of the New Covenant (Psalm 16: 10).

We believe that Messiah Yeshua is coming back to earth to rule the earth in a Kingdom of Righteousness. We believe that He came the first time as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 to make atonement for sin, And that He is returning to set up God’s Kingdom on earth (Isaiah 2; Isaiah 11; Daniel 7; Matthew 19: 27-28).

The SBMF is Committed to Certain Objectives:          

1. The worship of Yeshua Hamashiakh (Jesus Christ) as Lord and Saviour.
2. The evangelism of the world’s Jewish population in the belief that Yeshua IS THE Jewish Messiah as well as the Son of God and Saviour.
3. To encourage Jewish believers that their ethnic and historical heritage need NOT be lost upon their commitment to Yeshua.
4. To encourage planting of Messianic Jewish congregations and fellowships as worship homes for Jewish believers and their families.
5. To encourage the Church to partner with us in evangelizing the Jewish people.
6. To follow the Baptist Faith and Message.

We are ready to meet the people in churches to discuss and bring the message of the need for this biblically mandated ministry (Romans 1:16).

Ethical Statement Relating to Jews and Gentiles:        

Since we believe that Yeshua is the true Jewish Messiah Who takes away the sin of the world, and that we are Scripturally obligated to present this “good news” to everyone, we resolve that:

1. We will try to present the message of redemption through the atonement of Messiah Yeshua with love and compassion to Jews and Gentiles throughout the world.
2. We strongly condemn anti-Semitism and all derogatory statements or actions against any ethnic, racial, or religious groups.
3. We will abstain from the use of trickery or deception in presenting the message of salvation through Messiah Yeshua. Also. it is not our intent to forcibly present this message during our attendance at traditional Jewish places of worship. Religious gatherings, or at public or private events which are organized by the traditional Jewish community.
4. Since it is commonly accepted in the Jewish community at large that “it is not what you believe that makes you a Jew. but who you are.” those of us who are Jewish and believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the true Messiah of Israel will continue to identify ourselves as Jews.
5. Those of us who are Jewish believers in Messiah Yeshua and follow the cultural ways of our ancestors will not claim to represent Traditional Judaism.

The Beliefs of the MJAA

THE MJAA Believes: That the BIBLE, consisting of the Tenach (Old Covenant/Testament) and the later writings commonly known as the B’rit Hadasha (New Testament/Covenant), is the only infallible and authoritative word of God. We recognize its divine inspiration, and accept its teachings as our final authority in all matters of faith and practice (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Proverbs 3:1-6; Psalm 119:89, 105; Isaiah 48:12-16; Romans 8:14-17; II Timothy 2:15, 3:16-17).

What we believe…

We believe that the Shema, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4), teaches that God is Echad, as so declared: a united one, a composite unity, eternally existent in plural oneness [Genesis 1:1 (Elohim: God); Genesis 1:26 "Let Us make man in Our image"; Genesis 2:24 Adam & Eve were created to be as one flesh (basar echad)], that He is a personal God who created us (Genesis 1 & 2), and that He exists forever in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as mentioned in Romans 8:14-17 (Father, Spirit, and Messiah – Son) and Matthew 28:18-20 (immersing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

He is Our Heavenly Father as shown in: John 6:27b; I Corinthians 1:3; Galatians 1:1; Revelations 3:5, 21; Jeremiah 3:4, 19; 31:9; Malachi 1:6; Matthew 6:9, 32; Luke 10:21-22; John 1:14; 4:23; 5:17-26; 6:28-46; Romans 8:14-15.

God does have a Son who was and is and will return (Psalm 2; Proverbs 30:4-6 (cf. Hebrews 1); Luke 12:35-37; John 1:29-34, 49; 3:14-18). The Son, called Yeshua (Jesus), meaning salvation, came to this world born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14 (cf. Luke 1:30-35)). The Son is God (Deity), and is worshipped as God, having existed eternally (Psalm 110:1 (cf. Hebrews 1:13); Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 28:18-20; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-19; Revelations 3:21 (Hebrews 1 – worshipped by angels); Revelations 4:8, 5:5-14). This One is the promised Mashiach (Messiah) of Israel (Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1; Daniel 9 (especially verses 20-26); Isaiah 53; John 1:17, 40-41, 45, 49; Mark 8:29). He is the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star (Numbers 24:17; Revelations 22:16). He is our Passover, the Lamb of God (I Corinthians 5:7; Revelations. 5; John 1:29).

Introduced in Genesis 1:2b: “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” In the Tenach, the Spirit of God came upon individuals during the times of our forefathers, like Moses, David (see II Samuel 23:1-3), and the Prophets, for the specific purposes.

In the New Covenant, the Messiah Yeshua, promised His disciples that “the Comforter” would come to them after He was gone, described as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17, 26), who was with them and would be in them. Yeshua further declared that the Spirit of Truth, would guide us into all truth and would glorify Him – the Messiah – not Himself (John 16:13-15). He empowers us (Acts 1:8). The Spirit of God seals us (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30 (see NIV and Jewish New Testament versions)). If we have not the Spirit, we are not His (Romans 8:9). He leads us and teaches us (Romans 8:14-17). His indwelling enables us to live a godly life. Acts 2:38 says, “Repent, be immersed, and receive the Holy Spirit.”

Men and women are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), however because of disobedience, mankind fell from the first state and became separated from God (Genesis 2:17; 3:22-24). Therefore, according to the Scriptures, all humans are born with a sinful nature (Psalm 14:1-3; 49:7; 53:13; Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:9-12, 23; 5:12).

Our only hope for redemption (salvation) is through the atonement made by the Messiah (Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 53; Daniel 9:24-26; I Corinthians 15:22; Hebrews 9:11-14, 28; John 1:12, 3:36), resulting in regeneration by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5), which is the new birth (John 3:3-8). For by grace we are saved through faith, it is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We believe in the resurrection of both the redeemed and the lost: the former to everlasting life and the latter to eternal separation from God, a state of everlasting punishment (Job 14:14; 19:25-27; Daniel 12:2-3; John 3:36; 11:25-26; Revelations 20:5-6, 10-15; 21:7-8).

The Scriptures promised two “comings” of the Messiah.

First coming:

Promised in Daniel 9:24-26. The initial coming’s purpose was to make atonement (covering) for sin (Daniel 9:24-26; Isaiah 53; Romans 3:21-31; Hebrews 9-10; John 3:16-17)—as the Suffering Messiah. The Redeemer shall come to Zion (Isaiah 59:20-21; Zechariah 14:4).

Second coming:

The Messiah Yeshua will return to the earth as King (Revelations 19:11-16). Upon His return, a many wonderful thing will happen: He will bring with Him an army of the Heavenly hosts, and those who went on before us (Revelations 19:14) and those who are still on earth will meet in the air to receive the believers to Himself (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 14:1-6; I Corinthians 15:51-57).

If we look at the beliefs of a clearly Messianic Jewish group (lead by Messianic Jews), and that of a made up (Southern Baptist Messianic Group) group lead predominately by Gentiles, we note that our beliefs are pretty close to the same—the question is though why have we moved from our Jewish roots of faith to embrace a false tradition set up by man? Everything we need to know about true Christianity is found or should be found in the Bible and not in man’s traditions.

I urge you to look at your faith; Are you following God faithfully or are you following man and man’s traditions?

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[1] Young, Dr. Brad H. Jesus The Jewish Theologian. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995.

[2] Flannery, Edward H. The Anguish of the Jews. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1985 (1999).

 [3] Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship. 2008. http://sbmessianic.net/about.shtml (accessed October 29, 2013).

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Sunday Schools that Really Excel --- Edited by Steve R. Parr

Sunday School that really Excels

                Are you looking to grow your Sunday school program? Do you need to know what will help you grow? Maybe you want real life examples? If you answer is yes to any of these questions, then this book is for you; however, the church needs to be very healthy in order to excel using the methods in this book.

When I received this book I was overly excited. I couldn’t wait to tear into it and read it from cover to cover – which I did in the matter of two days. Then I took time to really read and study the book. As a youth leader in my church, I needed to know what I needed to do to help my youth group excel and grow; this book is not a good model of what it takes to really grow a youth group or Sunday school program. While it tells how a “normal” church can become extraordinary, it really focuses on what it takes to excel as a church thus producing fruit and growth. The advice in the book is sound, and it may have worked for one church but not another. I even tried some of the advice myself to help grow my own youth group – the truth is, unless your ministry is willing to put forth effort, growth just isn’t going to happen. Each one of these churches that are used as “Real-life examples” is exactly what most churches want, but can’t have. My favorite part of the book is pg. 9; “Within each believer, God has placed seeds of excellence.” Thus stating that God has placed within our lives the ability to excel.

I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to someone who is just starting a Sunday school program; however, that doesn’t mean the examples can’t be used, instead it means that you will have to till the ground until it is ready for seeds to be planted.

***This book was provided by the publisher for an unbiased opinion. No money was exchanged for a positive review.***