Thursday, November 16, 2017

YaHWeH, LORD of hosts

The scriptures testify of God and of his purposes and the fulfillment of his purposes from antiquity to the time Jesus and the apostles walked this earth. (see Ephesians 1 for a succinct testimony of the Lord God and his purpose for redemption, the fulfillment of redemption and the affirmation of redemption.) My purpose in this article is to align a small glimpse of this testimony from the Tanakh, that is, the Old Testament along with the New Testament reference to those same testimonies. I will present the ways in which God refers to himself, the mindset of the hearers and his purpose to fulfill and accomplish his will. I prefer to leave it to the reader to draw the inferences and conclusions concerning the meaning and significance of this testimony of God for themselves.

Israel is a people and a nation who has the unique distinction of having being the people with whom the Lord God chose to associate himself and to declare himself as the God of Israel. Yet, for all the works, wonders and words which Israel heard, both directly from God and through his servant Moses and later the prophets, they did not believe in him. Initially, the first time when Moses informed the leaders of Israel of the words that the Lord had spoken to him they were quick to tell Moses that they would do all that the Lord spoke to Moses. Immediately following that session with the leaders the people heard the voice of God. Their reaction was one of terror and fear. They couldn’t bear to hear the voice of the Lord and pleaded with Moses to talk with God and whatever God told Moses for them to do they would do it.

(check out these two blog articles Christianity Unmasked & Human Sacrifice at Mt Moriah and Egypt
The first article was my response to Rabbi Blumenthal's article. Six months are I published it he learned about my article. This led to a prolonged amiable and respectful discussion with the rabbi as well as a few of his congregants who were a little less genial, but it was good that they joined us too. You can read our exchange in the comments  The rabbi saw the second article and we engaged in a much shorter discussion again.)

seeing, but not believing
Of course, it was not long after the Lord had delivered Israel from their bondage of slavery in Egypt that they cried out to Moses their longing desire to have stayed in Egypt. Pharaoh’s army was closing in on Israel. Then, again they cried out to Moses that it had been better for them if the Lord had killed them in Egypt rather than die of starvation in the wilderness.

These are just two instances of numerous times when the scriptures testify to the unbelief of Israel of the Lord God whom Moses and various of their leaders saw. Yet, they would not believe in him. They were an obstinate people such that they created a molten calf and declared it to be their god who had delivered them from Egypt. (It is with dire, but tireless unbelief that many of those who profess to lead, teach and preach parrot the standard line: no man can see God. This is with total disregard for the footnote in the verse that follows, namely, that they saw God, but he did not stretch out his hand against them, that is, to strike them dead.)

All this is to say that merely because Israel heard and various of their leaders saw God is not an assurance that they believed God. Does the joint alliance between the Lord and Moses bear any parallel similarities to the Father and Jesus? Let us not deceive ourselves that surely we are wiser than Israel when they could not believe what was manifested before their eyes anymore than we can believe what the Son has explained about God.

The discussion concerning the question of deity with respect to the Father and Jesus is often characterized by the same talking points. These include certain negative assertions and positive assertions. Sometimes, but not always, these are associated with a particular verse. It is just as common to have no biblical verse or passage to which the hearer can turn to for verify and confirm the assertion for his or her learning. Of course, there is the fire exchange of labels such as unitarian and trinitarian. Usually the discussion shapes up as though the other person were not present. Each one busies themselves peddling what they might know or assume that they know about the other person’s belief and understanding and not what they hear from the other person is saying in the moment.

6: shmo hear-you ! יִ שְׂ רָ אֵ ל ishral Israel יְ הוָה ieue Yahweh אֱהֵ ינוּ alei·nu Elohim-of·us יְ הוָה ieue Yahweh אֶ חָ ד achd one : :

Isaiah 53

the sending of Moses
God sought to prepare Israel for life without and after Moses whom he had sent to Israel. What God did in Deuteronomy 6 was to impress on Israel his unity, harmony and oneness. Israel was to learn and teach the statutes and commandments for themselves and for every successive generation. This is how God defined his unity, harmony and oneness for Israel. Everything that God said was to be obeyed, everything that Moses said God said was to be obeyed, everything that the prophets said God said was to be obeyed, everything that Jesus said was of the Father was to be obeyed, everything that the apostles said was of the Holy Spirit was to be obeyed, everything that the saints in Christ read from the written word of the revelation of the Lord God is to be obeyed. There was never to be a time when the will of the Lord God was not to be obeyed, not when it was spoken, not after it was spoken, not after it was repeated, not when it was written, not when it was printed, and not when it is read. When the Lord God spoke these things Moses pronounced, "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” (Deuteronomy 6) Here it is in Hebrew for those who prefer it so. (verse 4,4)

4 shmo hear-you ! יִ שְׂ רָ אֵ ל ishral Israel יְ הוָה ieue Yahweh אֱהֵ ינוּ alei·nu Elohim-of·us יְ הוָה ieue Yahweh אֶ חָ ד achd one : : (Deuteronomy 6)

The greatest point of contention between self-professed so-called unitarians and self-professed so-called trinitarians is that they share equally in the same mistaken notion. Both blithely ascribe a numeric quantitative value of one or three to the passage even as they (like the Jews who acknowledge it) disregard the plural forms which Moses used to refer to the Lord God. What neither one address cohesively is the terms elohim (plural) which is rendered Yahweh or YHWH and the term echad which is rendered one. Yes, the term elohim, or Yahweh, is used of the pagan idols and gods. These things are not a theological interpretation or notion. These are a matter of grammar and merely reading it in the English or Hebrew languages does not necessary mean that we understand or that we accept the significance and implications of those words. Single word definitions in isolation are much touted with little understanding or edification coming from for the saints in Christ.

The sending of Isaiah
The prophet Isaiah describes a vision in the sixth chapter. There is interesting response to the vision to which some of hold firmly. What they state is that what or whom Isaiah saw Isaiah is was simply mistaken. Isaiah thought he saw God or the Lord. The upper or lower case is of no significance, but I will use it here to illustrate this misunderstanding. The explanation states that Isaiah saw the Lord, but not the LORD. (This is akin to what my daughter as a child would distinguish as God or God God.) Isaiah initially states in verse one that he saw the Lord. (adonai) This fringe hanging-on-by-the edge explanation is nullified by the seraphim. It is the seraphim who declare to Isaiah in their own reference as to what Isaiah is seeing as being Yahweh of hosts. (verse 3, 3) Furthermore, after Isaiah hears how the seraphim refer to the one whom he is seeing Isaiah changes his word use to match that of the seraphim. (verse 5,5 ) (I have been consistent in my use of the verse numbers in this message to the English text from the NASB and the interlinear with this format as in this example: verse 3, 3, respectively.)

3 And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." (Isaiah 6)

3 u·qra and·he-called זֶה ze this-one אֶ ל al to ־ - זֶה ze this-one וְ אָ מַ ר u·amr and·he-said קָ ד שׁ qdush holy-one קָ ד שׁ qdush holy-one קָ ד שׁ qdush holy-one יְ הוָה ieue Yahweh-of And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory. 3 צְ בָ א ת tzbauth hosts מְ ל ֹא mla fullness-of כָ ל kl all-of ־ - הָ אָ רֶ ץ e·artz the·earth כְּ ב ד kbud·u glory-of·him : :  (Isaiah 6)

5 Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isaiah 6)

5 u·amr and·I-am-saying א י aui woe ! ־ - לִ י l·i to·me כִ י ki that ־ - נִ דְ מֵ יתִ י ndmithi I-am-stilled כִּ י ki that אִ ישׁ aish man טְ מֵ א tma unclean-of ־ - שְׂ פָ תַ יִ ם shphthim lips אָ נֹ כִ י anki I . Then said I, Woe [is] me! for I am undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 5 וּבְ ת
u·b·thuk and·in·midst-of עַ ם om people ־ - טְ מֵ א tma unclean-of שְׂ פָ תַ יִ ם shphthim lips אָ נֹ כִ י anki I י שֵׁ ב iushb dwelling כִּ י ki that אֶ ת ath » ־ - הַ מֶּ לֶ
e·mlk the·king יְ הוָה ieue Yahweh-of צְ בָ א ת tzbauth hosts רָ אוּ rau they-saw עֵ ינָי oin·i eyes-of·me : : (Isaiah 6)

Isaiah is then sent to proclaim the word of the Lord to an obstinate and unbelieving people as Yahweh of hosts has commanded him.

Moses, unlike Isaiah, was not a prophet. In fact, Moses was no more a prophet than Jesus. God did not speak to either one through visions or dreams as he did with his prophets. What is significant to note is what God declared when he defined for Miriam and Aaron what constitutes a prophet in Numbers 12. God stated that he spoke face to face with Moses. Knowing that Moses and elders of Israel had seen God how does this statement by the Lord and the reality concerning Moses and the elders compare with each other? The point is that God spoke clearly with Moses concerning his will for Israel. God held nothing back from Moses as far as it concerned Israel. Yet, Moses, not unlike the prophets, did not know what it was all about.

The sending of the Son
Here I want to present the twofold testimony concerning the Son from Isaiah and a different testimony from Ezekiel. It is the apostle John who quotes Isaiah 6 in John 12. Although there were some of the leaders who were believing in Jesus this did not negate or nullify the overall unbelief of the people towards Jesus. It is this unbelief among the people to which Isaiah had been sent. Now John quotes from Isaiah and emphasizes the unbelief towards Jesus in the words of Isaiah.

But, what is even more significant is what John states: 41 These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him. Whom was that Isaiah saw? Whom was it that the people did not believe?

The second testimony concerning the Son is from Ezekiel 34. The Lord God declares his great displeasure and that he is against the faithless and unfaithful shepherds who have not cared for his flock. He declares that he himself will search for, gather and care for his sheep. (verse 11, 11)

11 ki that כֹּ ה ke thus אָ מַ ר amr he-says אֲדֹ נָי adni my-Lord יְ הוִ ה ieue Yahweh הִ נְ נִ י en·ni behold·me ! ־ - אָ נִ י ani I וְ דָ רַ שְׁ תִּ י u·drshthi and·I-inquire אֶ ת ath » ־ - צ ֹאנִ י tzan·i flock-of·me For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, [even] I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 11 וּבִ קַּ רְ תִּ ים u·bqrthi·m and·I-make-quest·them : :

Jesus declared, 11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

Furthermore, Jesus not only searched for and gathered and cared for his sheep, but he laid down his life for his sheep. Whom did Ezekiel say would come and himself search for, gather and care for his sheep?

conclusion
As close as Israel was to the visible manifestations of the Lord God as well as Moses and the elders of Israel Israel never understood because, as God testified numerous times, they were an obstinate people. Certainly, God did not break faith with Israel nor did he reject Israel because of their obstinance. I will not say it is obstinance on the part of some Christians, but the truth is that most of their misunderstanding of the God whom they love is not because God has not revealed it. The mission of the Word who was with God and was God (John 1) was to explain, John notes, God.

The prophet Isaiah went forward and proclaimed the word of the Lord God as he was commanded. Even though he desired to understand his own message or to see the subject of his prophecies he was revealed to him that it was not about himself. Jesus attested to the same about the prophets and righteous men. There is more than a bit of irony which involves the Word who became flesh and who explained God. The irony is that for all the incarnate manifestation of the Word it was this which was a stumbling block of unbelief for many. Why? Because they looked and judged what they saw of Jesus, as he said, according to the flesh. This is what blinded them and which preoccupied and consumed them such that they could never focus to hear and understand the explanation of the Lord God who is one and of his will as testified by Jesus. It was as easy for them to judge according to the flesh rather than to understand what Jesus explained about God as it is for some to disregard the testimony of the written word of the Lord God concerning himself.

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