It’s Who You Know
By Jim Huskins
McDowell County
Pastors who have attended seminary typically own a set of books on Systematic Theology. These volumes cover homiletics, hermeneutics, Christology, epistemology, demonology, angelology, soteriology, eschatology, church history and so forth. The details vary according to denominational perspective, but the headings are remarkably similar.
What is missing from all of these collections is the largest single item covered by the Bible: the Nation of Israel. Israel’s history, her covenants, her mission, her rebellion, her dispersal, and her role in end time events make up at least eighty percent of the Bible. The one topic to which the majority of Scripture is devoted is not deemed worthy of much study. For this reason, few Christians understand, appreciate, or live according to God’s plan for redeeming sinful mankind.
Our Creator called and set apart One Nation so they might carry out His Holy Purpose. Israel’s mission had two primary components. The first was to receive, record, and preserve God’s Holy Word. Second, they were to be the vehicle for bringing this world a Savior.
Israel succeeded in both of these assignments, but she failed miserably to achieve a third, lesser-known task. They were supposed to conduct their lives as shining examples of how God wants His people to live—a beacon to the nations. They chose instead to rebel against God and His instructions for living. Their rebellion was so consistent and so long term that God eventually abandoned them to their enemies and ejected them from the Land of Promise.
The exclusion of Israel’s story from Christian theology is rooted in ancient Rome. The Roman Church insisted that “faith in Christ” has no connection to Israel. They proclaimed loudly and forcefully that Israel’s Messiah did not come to earth to fulfill the many promises God made to Israel. They insisted that He came instead to start a new religion. A new religion which Roman Church leaders defined and enforced. A new religion that mostly survived the “protestant reformation.” A new religion that is present in every modern denomination.
Most Christians are part of this new religion. That fact is nowhere more apparent than in the attitudes of most believers toward Moses. If not for a floating basket, a burning bush, and Charlton Heston, Moses might be forgotten. Many believers blame Moses for what they call the “burden of the law.” Few are aware that the Bible ascribes to Moses the role of second-most-important person who ever lived. Only Jesus is greater. Ironically, the Church places Paul in the number two spot. They do so because they misuse Paul’s words to contradict Moses.
Believers who read the Bible with an open mind discover the truth about Moses. Part of that truth is proclaimed in the last Bible chapter before the book of Matthew. Malachi Four summarizes God’s plan. These six verses assure us that God’s people will eventually “tread down the wicked… under the soles of your feet.” “For you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.”
Most Christians are in favor of the glorious prophecies conveyed by Malachi, but they have no problem ignoring the pivotal instruction found in verse four. “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.” This verse reminds us that God promised salvation only to Israel, and the terms of that salvation were conveyed by God through Moses.
Jesus’ attitude toward Moses is key to understanding all of the Apostolic writings. In Matthew 5:17-20, He tells us to not even consider the possibility that He came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. Both will be in full force for as long as heaven and earth remain. We must follow the teaching of Moses until heaven and earth are replaced. I have yet to encounter a “teacher” who can explain how it is possible for Paul to contradict the Son of God on this point.
Another glimpse into Jesus’ opinion of Moses is found in Matthew 23. Verses two and three have always troubled me. “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you,” The context is that Jesus views “Moses’ seat” as the legitimate source of authority. However, His instruction for us to do and observe whatever the Pharisees tell us makes no sense. His every encounter with, and statement about, the Pharisees make it clear that He has no respect for their actions or their teaching. It is impossible for Jesus to tell us to obey the Pharisees.
The answer to this dilemma is found in several ancient manuscripts of Matthew written in Hebrew rather than Greek. Those documents read, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, therefore do whatever he tells you.” Somewhere along the way, a scribe misread the text and misquoted Jesus. Of course Jesus would tell us to obey Moses because Moses taught The Word of God.
Jesus’ respect for Moses and his teaching is hammered home in John five. The Pharisees condemned Jesus because He healed on Sabbath. They promoted themselves as experts on everything Moses, but Jesus challenged that claim. The last three verses of the chapter form a blistering accusation. “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:45-47)
On the Great Day when each of us stands for judgment, ignorance of God’s Word will not be an excuse. We are each responsible for knowing what the Bible teaches. Simply put, everyone who wants to know Jesus must first know Moses. As He did with the Pharisees, Jesus still asks each of us, “If you do not believe Moses’s writings, how will you believe my words?”
Obedient Heart Fellowship meets each Sabbath (Seventh Day) at 2460 US 221 Business N. Marion, NC. 10:00 A.M. 828-460-7913
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Jim & Beverly Huskins are members of Obedient Heart Fellowship in McDowell County. Beginning July 2, 2022 Obedient Heart Fellowship will meet at 10:00 Each Sabbath (Seventh Day) at 2460 US 221 Business N. Marion, NC. 10:00 A.M. Call 828-460-7913 for info.
You can read more good Christian news from Jim HERE.
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