The Two-Hundred-Sixty-Ninth (Unity Among Believers)

We’re going to talk about unity this week, but we’re going to start from a place you might not expect.  As we continue to discover what our identity as Israel means for us in the context of many passages and verses in scripture, we find that it not only helps us better understand YHWH’s plan, it connects us to all of scripture rather than just the twenty-seven books of what’s typically called the New Testament.  In this case, we’re going to see how we can learn some lessons from the history of Israel regarding being unified as a people, and how that has shaped YHWH’s plan for mankind.

We’ll begin with a short reminder of a few key points of how we came to understand that believers today are in fact a continuation of Israel.  Not that the “church” has replaced Israel, but that the group of true believers today grew out of the remnant of Israel and therefore are not some separate body from Israel.  It starts with the fact that the word “church” is actually translated from a Greek word, ekklesia, which is used over 70 times in the Septuagint, the Greek version of what’s typically called the Old Testament.

That may surprise you, based on the fact that all you know from English translations of the writings of the Apostles is that this word means church.  I mean, how could this Greek word exist before Yeshua if it means some body of believers that is identified solely as believers in Him?  The reason is that this word simply means assembly, and we always have to be careful about adding specifics or creating new words for general words like this that we find in scripture.  It’s an easy way to create confusion and lose the meaning YHWH intended for His word.  

Now, you may say, “sure, it’s a general word, but Yeshua called it ‘my assembly,’ right? (Matthew 16:18)  Maybe we can add specifics based on that distinction?”  You may be right, and you can certainly study that possibility for yourself, but the problem then becomes whether or not Yeshua was here to create something new or to continue the plan YHWH laid out in scripture.  Either the nations (sometimes translated to Gentiles) were always planned to be incorporated into YHWH’s chosen people, which is what is written in prophecy, or they were added almost as an afterthought and therefore should be considered separate and distinct from the chosen people, Israel, of which all of scripture is written.  

Maybe you’re still on the fence about whether you, as a believer, are Israel, and that’s ok.  From the beginning of these weekly studies, I’ve always said you need to come to a personal determination of anything you believe and not take anyone’s word for it, including me.  We’ll close the short reminder portion of this week’s study with some aspects of scripture that don’t just focus on that one particular word.

Paul, for example, talks about believers being grafted into the root, a root from which unbelieving Israelites, or more specifically in his case Jews, were broken off (Romans 11:17-24).  What root would they have been broken off from except the root of believing Israel?  And what reason were they broken off except the rejection of Yeshua?  Therefore, us being grafted in can only mean that we are now of believing Israel, not some new root with a new name like “church.”

Finally, there are multiple prophecies of a “remnant of Israel” that were written of in scripture.  Some of them are associated with earlier judgments on YHWH’s chosen people, but we do find prophecies tied to the judgment in 70AD, which was the final judgment on the unbelievers in the remainder of the tribes of Israel (as opposed to the earlier judgment on the northern kingdom tribes).  For instance, Micah speaks of a gathering of this remnant, and associates them with sheep, language used frequently by Yeshua Himself to speak of His people (Micah 2:12-13).  Isaiah is even directly quoted by Paul and Barnabas, essentially proving that the Apostles were the remnant of Israel spoken of in prophecy (Acts 13:46-47, Isaiah 49:5-6).

So, how does this help us understand unity and how we can achieve that among believers today?  It starts with a look at how Israel began and how their leadership structure changed over time.  Through that, we can see what worked and didn’t work and why YHWH’s plan is the way it is.

At the very beginning, Israel was simply a patriarchy.  It consisted of the father, Jacob, leading his sons who became the heads of the twelve tribes.  Following the subjugation in Egypt however, the leadership transitioned to a prophet, a spokesperson for YHWH Himself, named Moses, who was accompanied by his brother, Aaron.  

The people were essentially led by YHWH, through Moses and Aaron, and once Moses passed on it transitioned to Joshua.  Even through the proxy leadership of Moses though, man’s heart began to interfere with YHWH’s leadership.  Moses failed to follow YHWH’s direction in every case as specifically as required, and so did Israel, which resulted in their exclusion from the promised land and only their descendants being allowed to enter.

One of the legacies Moses provided to Israel was the implementation of a judge system.  Originally, he was the sole judge of the people, but on the advice of a non-Israelite who descended from Abraham, his father-in-law Jethro, Moses created a judicial structure similar to what we see today in America (Exodus 18:19-22).  Lower-level judges were put in place and only major disputes or issues were brought to Moses for adjudication.

This continued for awhile, with some prominent judges being Gideon, Samson, and Samuel (1 Samuel 7:15).  They sought YHWH for direction and determination of what to do for the people.  Essentially, at this point, the additional duties of being a judicial leader were added to the duties of being a prophet, a representative of YHWH and His leader among the people.    

This was not a flawless plan to have the people follow YHWH however, since men inherently are flawed.  Sometimes Israel went against the judges (Judges 2:17), and sometimes the judges created dissention among the Israelites (Judges 12:1-6).  Again, the heart of man prevented proper leadership and the implementation of YHWH’s will among the people.

Eventually, after twelve judges, not including Moses and Joshua, the Israelites demanded a king be installed.  They saw the nations of the world and desired to have a governmental structure that was modeled after those nations.  Pleading with Samuel, who sought YHWH for a response/decision, they were given the “good, bad, and ugly” of what this would mean for the people.  Warned of their sons being conscripted for the services of the king and the nation and their daughters being taken for cooking, baking, and perfuming, their land being taken over and their harvests being taxed, they still demanded a king (1 Samuel 8:10-20).

So, the kingship of Israel began, starting with Saul.  Now, rather than the heavenly Kingship of YHWH, the people had a man as a king.  As expected however, it wasn’t long before man’s flaws infiltrated this governmental structure.  Saul failed to follow YHWH’s direction, given through Samuel, and as a result ended up being judged for it, with David taking over the throne.  The kingdom became very great and powerful before eventually falling apart.  Another nail in the coffin of hoping that there could be a mankind-led governmental structure that didn’t eventually crumble due to man’s nature.

While there were moments of unity around a common purpose in Israel, the distinctions that existed, or were created, in the physical realm inevitably led to division and conflict.  Even among the last remaining kingdom, Judah, preserved to ensure a line of kingship from David to Yeshua, division was prominent among the people.  Wealth or religious status (many times a combination of the two) led to a physical and spiritual subjugation of those who lacked those things.  It’s clear that no matter what governmental or leadership structure exists, if it is led by man it is doomed to corruption and eventually failure.  

Under the judges, the people did what was right in their own eyes despite having the commandments of YHWH (Judges 21:25).  Under kings, who were even appointed by YHWH Himself, the people turned from His commandments (1 Samuel 13:13-14, 1 Kings 11:7-8).  It was always intended by YHWH for Him to be King over His people.  He made that clear by telling Samuel the Israelites were rejecting Him as their King (1 Samuel 8:7).    

So, what was the solution?  A completely spiritual King was not sufficient according to men, but the only way for man to walk righteously is to have a completely righteous King.  The only way for man to be judged righteously is to have a completely righteous Judge.

That’s why the plan always has been, and only ever could be, that YHWH would come in the flesh, as a man, and become that King and that Judge.  Through His death and resurrection, Yeshua was given authority over all things (Matthew 28:18), making Him the King and Judge over all (Acts 10:38, 42).  Eventually, this authority will be given back to YHWH such that He will be King once again (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).

However, we’ve got a problem in our current situation.  We’re essentially back at the start of this whole thing where our King is physically invisible, sitting at the right hand of YHWH (Mark 16:19).  How are we any better off than the Israelites in Moses’ time, when YHWH was the King and led His people from heaven?  In fact, I would argue that we’re in a worse position as far as that’s concerned, because we don’t even have a prophet to lead us, let alone a visible king like David!

That’s where you have to look to the spiritual.  Do you remember what happened once Yeshua went to heaven after His resurrection?  The Comforter (John 14:16), the Guide (John 16:13), the Holy Spirit was given to His people, and this is the only hope that we have of being united as believers.  Still today, His people are divided, even more than the Israelites were when they lived together as a people in the promised land.

What happened?  Same as in the time of Yeshua, religion developed and conquered Israel, dividing His people and creating a veil over their hearts to blind them from the truth.  The prophecy was that YHWH’s commandments would be in His people’s minds and written on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33), and Paul made a parallel to this prophecy and the distinction between it and the physically written Law given at Mount Sinai (2 Corinthians 3:2-3, 6-7).  He goes on to say that the letter of the Law and man’s focus on it rather than the Spirit of the Law is what causes this veil to cover one’s heart (2 Corinthians 3:13-15).  It keeps people from seeing the Truth, and I believe not just the Truth in scripture but also the truth of what’s going on in the world, but the only way to remove that veil is by truly and wholly turning to YHWH (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).

Jews had their veil created by man-made ordinances that were built on top of YHWH’s word, which is called religion, and it caused them to miss their Messiah and subsequently have His kingdom taken from them (Matthew 21:43-44).  However, Christianity as a whole has done the exact same thing.  A creed here, a belief there, and soon we had hundreds of denominations, with more forming by the year.  “No tongues, no salvation!” “Not [insert denomination here], no salvation!”  Pastors, in some cases, become the kings of their congregations, as I heard the other day someone say that they were submitted to their pastor, and certainly in the Catholic church there is a demand, or perhaps just an expectation, of submission to the Pope.

What’s worse is largely Christianity has even gotten rid of the things that Yeshua said His followers would do!  No signs, no wonders, sometimes even no evangelism.  All things He said His followers would, and should, do (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-18, John 14:12).  Not only that, He said we would do greater things than He did!  

And why?  Because man let other men decide how they should have a relationship with Him.  They let the religious leader convince them that they could sit in a pew each week, letting that leader tell them what was in YHWH’s word and what it means, and by doing that they would be just fine.  Even to the extent that this is accepted despite the plain reading of scripture leading one to believe something completely opposite of what was being preached.

No, this is not everyone.  I concede that.  However, even those going out and doing the things of which Yeshua spoke are at risk of being cast out of His presence (Matthew 7:21-23).  In the New Living Translation, for what it’s worth, the phrase “workers of lawlessness” is translated to “you who break YHWH’s Laws,” and it’s worth looking at a couple key words of this phrase in the Greek.  

First, the Greek word for workers is ergazomi, and it’s the same word used by Yeshua in the parable of the vineyard (Matthew 21:28).  In other words, He is talking about doing actual work, laboring.  This means a singular task, or as a part of an occupation.

Lawlessness is translated from the Greek word anomian, which literally means “not” “Law” (a-nomian).  According to HELPS Word-studies, this is an “utter disregard for God’s Law,” and this word is used many other places in scripture.  The most notable, in terms of its application to a group of people, is that it was used by Yeshua when He called the scribes and the Pharisees lawless (Matthew 23:28).  It's also used by John in his first letter when describing what sin is (1 John 3:4).  He states that practicing sin is actually practicing lawlessness.  He goes on to state that those who sin are of Satan (1 John 3:8).

So, how did the scribes and Pharisees get there?  They were seen as the ultimate Law-keepers by the people.  Figuring out where they stumbled would help us to know how to not make the same mistake, and the answer is simple: their religion caused the Law not to be in their hearts and therefore despite their works of following the Law physically, they were lawless.  It’s important to recognize that Yeshua was not saying that they should have given up on following the Law and listened to their heart instead, a practice that’s generally what mainstream Christianity touts today.

Yeshua was saying that the heart, the Spirit, of the Law is what they should have been following the whole time.  Today, believers have the Holy Spirit to guide us in that (John 16:13).  Not only does He lead us and guide us to the works of His kingdom like healing, casting out demons, prophesying, etc., all the things Yeshua said we would do, He also enables our hearts to know how to follow His Law.  

Being a believer doesn’t spontaneously give us a heart that follows YHWH’s commandments.  We can’t just start going by what we “feel” is right or good once we get saved.  Yes, we have a conscience, but even the majority of non-believers have some sort of conscience that distinguishes between right and wrong.  The heart is deceitful above all things, YHWH said through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:9), so why do we think that all of a sudden now we just have to listen to it and we’ll be good, being led in righteousness?

We have to have the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit alone, guiding us, but that is only possible if we give Him an opportunity to speak and us to hear Him.  The world is full of noise and distraction that we are all easily pulled into.  Not only do we need to block all that out and be in silence, both visually and audibly, so we can hear Him, but also He, just like any of us, wants to be in a relationship with someone that is focused on, and dedicated to, Him.  He’s not interested in competing with politics, sports, even a job.

How are we giving Him our focus, attention, and dedication, and allowing Him the opportunity to guide us into serving Him and following His commandments, executing the mission of His kingdom in our lives?  How are we providing an opportunity for Him to speak and for us to listen?  Are we scrolling all day?  Are we constantly under a barrage of sounds and sights through radio and TV?

Giving Him such an opportunity is different for everyone, so I can’t say specifically what it looks like for you, but I can say that if you are not actively thinking about how you can hear Him, and what you can do to enable that, you most certainly will never have that opportunity.  Through that hearing and understanding is how we believers become aligned and unified in His body both in purpose and in action…not through the religion of denominations.  Shabbat shalom and YHWH bless you!

-Rob and Sara Gene

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The Gospel

We are born sinful as a result of Adam and Eve's sin (Genesis 2:17, 3:6, 1 John 1:8)

The consequence of sin, which is unavoidable through our own works, is death (Romans 6:23)

Yeshua, the Son of YHWH, lived sinless and was put to death (Hebrews 4:15)

His death, therefore, cleanses us of sin that would have required our death

(2 Corinthians 5:21)

He rose on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4)

Because of His resurrection, we are confident in our future resurrection and eternal life

(1 Corinthians 15:17-18, John 3:16)