I introduced the Story of TESHUVAH (Ezekiel 18) in my last email. I pointed out that TESHUVAH is usually translated “repentance.” TESHUVAH is one of those important Hebrew words that do not have an English word with the same meaning. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz wrote a book called Teshuvah, in it he said, “Teshuvah occupies a central place in Judaism and has many facets. As individuals differ from one another, so too do their modes of teshuvah, in both motive and form of expression.” Based on an individual’s relationship with God, TESHUVAH has two different meanings.
1.
TESHUVAH means “Return!” for people that have
been in a conscious relationship with the Creator of the Heavens and
the Earth in the Jewish culture.
2.
TESHUVAH means “Turn Around!” for people who
have not been in a conscious relationship with the Creator of the
Heavens and the Earth in the Jewish culture.
Below
are ideas related to the meanings above.
1.
There is a path that the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth follows
-- walk on that path with Him.”
2.
The people in the two examples above are going the wrong way on that path. They
need to turn around and walk in the opposite direction. The people
in the first example were walking with God in the past. For them,
TESHUVAH means “Return to walking with
God, like you used to do.”
3.
The people in the second example were not walking with God in the past.
For them, TESHUVAH means “Turn around and learn
something new!”
4.
Walking with God is a group activity. It’s not just “you
and God walking on the path alone.” God is walking with His
Kingdom. Therefore, the
people in His Kingdom must also learn how to walk together.
The
Story of TESHUVAH (Ezekiel 18) was written to people who
belonged to the Tribes of Israel. Their relationship to
God and relationships to each other were defined by covenants,
instructions, and commandments. It was
not a Gentile thing.
However,
the opening chapters of Genesis, before the Story of Abraham,
contains a blessing, a Shabbat, instructions,
and a covenant that the Creator of the Heavens
and the Earth gave to all people. Those things applied to the Tribes
of Israel, too. It is important to understand that neither Judaism
nor Christianity existed at that time.
Ezekiel
18 opens by listing things that people who walk with God either do or do not
do. Remember that God views people as being either innocent or guilty.
The following lists describe “innocent people walking with God.” Remember,
some of these apply to all people, while others apply
only to the Tribes of Israel and Judaism. It will be
important for people with Christian Biblical Heritages to understand which of
these apply to them. I will discuss those differences in a future
email too.
Things
That Innocent People Do
●
MISHPAT (justice)
●
TZEDAQAH (will be defined in future emails)
●
Gives food to the hungry.
●
Provides clothing for the naked.
●
Withholds his hand from doing evil.
●
Returns what he takes as a pledge for a loan.
●
Judges fairly between two parties.
●
Follows my decrees.
● Faithfully keeps my laws.
Things
That Innocent People Do Not Do
●
Eat at the mountain shrines.
●
Look to idols.
●
Defile his neighbor’s wife.
●
Have sexual relations with a woman during her period.
●
Oppress anyone.
●
Commit robbery.
●
Lend at interest.
● Take a profit.
In
closing, I want to remind you of something I have written about many times
before. The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth measures
His actions and those of humans by the TOV Standard. Actions of
innocent people meet the four requirements of TOV Standard.
1.
They protect lives.
2.
They preserve lives.
3.
They make lives more functional.
4.
They increase the quality of life.
Take
another look at the two lists above and consider each of those actions in light
of what the TOV Standard revealed. I will continue this
discussion in my next email.
Shalom,
Jim
Myers
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