There have
been a few questions raised about my stance on Jesus and the Jews article, as
expected. I will state the arguments against and defend my stance in the
following portion. I will break them down into sections rather than lay the
whole dispute out at once. This way I can address each portion of the dispute.
Argument - “Both Israel and Judah went into captivity
for sin and idolatry, thus were both divorced from YHWH.”
I agree, both
the Houses of Israel and Judah went into captivity due to their idolatry,
however, only Israel was divorced by YHWH. There is no verse or passage in the
entire Bible that supports the House of Judah ever being divorced by YHWH.
Contrary to that idea, there is a promise made to King David stating his seed
will be established on the throne forever.
2 Samuel 7:12-16
When your
days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed
after you, who will come from your body,
and I will establish his kingdom. He
shall build a house for My name, and I
will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and
he shall be My son. If he commits
iniquity, I will chasten him with
the rod of men and with the blows of
the sons of men. But My mercy shall
not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before
you. And your house and your kingdom
shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”
This is
clearly stating, when David dies, his offspring will be sitting on the throne
forever. Some say this is referring to Yeshua, however, it is clear it is not
because He mentions this offspring committing sin and YHWH says how He will
deal with that situation. He will be punished by the rod of men, however, YHWH
will not depart from him. To wrap it up, YHWH says to David, who is a
descendant of Judah, “Your throne shall be established forever”.
Argument - “The prophets actually state that though
Judah didn't go into sin and idolatry as soon as Israel, when they did, it was
WORSE than Israel's sin.”
Jeremiah 3:8-11
And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I
had put her away, and given her a bill
of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah
feared not, but went and played the harlot also. And it came to pass
through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed
adultery with stones and with stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous
sister Judah hath not turned unto me
with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. And the LORD said unto
me, The backsliding Israel hath
justified herself more than treacherous Judah.
Ezekiel 23:11
And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she
was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more
than her sister in her whoredoms.
Now, I agree
Judah was worse with her lust after other gods. There is no doubt. But again,
there is absolutely no verse mentioning the House of Judah being divorced. It
is the House of Israel that was divorced in the verses above. I do not dispute
the House of Judah being more unfaithful.
Argument – “To think that Judah was the obedient son
in the prodigal parable is to ignore the facts. Both were sent forth from Yah's
face. Both broke the Covenant. This is why the Temple was destroyed 3 TIMES.
And the Temple was in JUDAH.”
There is no
doubt in my mind that Judah is the obedient son in the parable of the prodigal
son. It is not ignoring the facts. The Jews are the only people in the world
who held close to the Torah over the past few millennia. Did they sin? Of
course they did. All men are in a fallen state and tend to fall victim to the
desires of the flesh. I never once mentioned the Jews were perfect in the ways
of God. YHWH says, in the promise to David, his people would be punished for
violating His Torah, and they were. To say Judah is not the obedient son in the
parable is to ignore the facts. There are only two Houses, the house of Israel
and the house of Judah. Judah has had the scriptures from the beginning and
were only held captive in Babylon for seventy years.
Jeremiah 29:10
For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon,
I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.
There is
nothing similar to this referring to the house of Israel. Therefore, we know it
was the house of Israel who was the lost son, making the house of Judah the
obedient son. Take Romans 3 for example.
Romans 3:1-2
What advantage
then has the Jew, or what is the
profit of circumcision? Much in
every way! Chiefly because to them were
committed the scriptures of God.
The house of Judah
have an advantage over the house of Israel because they were raised learning
the scriptures of YHWH. On the other hand, the house of Israel have been learning
the traditions of men and the ways of the world and must relearn the ways of
YHWH. The house of Israel has gone out into the world and forgetting all the
ways of the Father and went about rejoicing in the desires of the flesh ultimately
ending up living with the swine, now has to return to Him and His ways. This is
exactly what we see in the parable.
Argument – “Any Jew or Gentile who rejects Yahshua, is
lost. They aren't Torah observant. They always have been rebellious. It's the
history of the nation. This is why Paul concludes both Jews and Gentiles both
need Messiah for salvation.”
Romans 3:7-26
For if the truth of God has increased
through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? And why
not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported
and as some affirm that we say, their condemnation is just. What then? Are we
better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all
under sin.
As it is written: “There is none righteous,
no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none
who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues
they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose
mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not
known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the
world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight,
for by the law is the knowledge of
sin. But now the righteousness
of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the
Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and
on all who believe. For there is no
difference; for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by
His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His
forbearance God had passed over the sins
that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His
righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith
in Jesus.
I think this verse
was posted because it mentions both Jews and Greeks being under sin. However, I
still see this verse as a tool showing the two houses coming back together.
Both have been sinful and neither one is more important than the other. The
Jews have the Law and know what sin is from early in life while the “Greeks”
did not and have to learn what sin is.
This passage shows
Paul asking if the apostles are better than those who slanderously say the
apostles are teaching men’s sin is righteous because it brings about more
grace. But he says no, this is not what they are teaching because both the
house of Judah and the house of Israel are under sin, there isn’t one better
than the other. This means they have all broken the Law of God and none can be
made righteous by simply using the Law as a check box.
Do I believe
the Jews need Yeshua? I believe they do need to accept who He was and what He did.
What I mean is, His death allowed the house of Israel to return to the Law of
God, and allowed the house of Israel the opportunity to stand before YHWH.
Through faith in Yeshua, meaning believing what He did allows the house of
Israel to return to the promises given by YHWH, the house of Judah and the house
of Israel can be reunited as one because the middle wall of separation being
removed.
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