Build God a House?

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in?  I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.  In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”‘
2 Sam 7:5-7 (ESV)

“And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Matt 8:19-20 (ESV)

Followers of Yeshua, as well as religious people in general, sometimes can find themselves stuck on the path of doing and building. It’s easy to become stuck on that path, it happens to me constantly. We find ourselves thinking that the biggest this or that will glorify G-d, including a Big Beautiful Building for G-d.

Lately, I find that I am meditating on some scriptures, such as what you see at the beginning of this article. Starting with the exodus from Egypt until Solomon built the first temple, the Lord was more than content “dwelling” in a tent. Think about that for a moment. That is a couple hundred years. However, there is a flip side to this discussion, it was also a couple hundred years that no one in Israel even thought about building a permanent structure dedicated to the L-rd.

Another fascinating part of this topic is what the Lord said to David, through Nathan the prophet after 2 Samuel 7:5-7. The Lord states two important facts: 1) Solomon will build the temple and 2) Not only is David not to build the house of God but that God will raise up David’s house, forever. When you think about it, King David’s house has lasted far longer than the houses that we have built for the Lord.

During the three years of Yeshua’s ministry – pre crucifixion – He had no ownership of any permanent structure, neither did He build one or ask anyone to build it. If Yeshua wasn’t living outside sleeping on the ground, then He was sleeping in the houses of those who invited Him or He invited Himself into (if they accepted His request). In many ways, Yeshua’s ministry life is a great picture of a statement He made in the book of Revelation:

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Rev 3:20 (ESV)”

Yeshua never went into a house (or a life for that matter) that did not want Him around. If you invited Him in, He accepted. If He asked to come in and they accepted, He came in the house. If they refused, I find it hard to believe He forced His way in.

Though we build large structures and call them “churches”, the actual scriptural fact is we are the buildings of G-d. In fact, He is telling us that He is fine living in the tent called HIS people, the actual building of God.

Nevertheless

“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Luke 10:19-20 (ESV)

The above scripture is a statement by Yeshua regarding the necessary balance that His followers must have in regards to their authority over Satan. We are fallen beings and as such, we can easily obsess over our power and authority. That obsession can result in distorted views on scripture and towards other people in general. We can focus far too much time and effort on our position in Yeshua, particularly our position of authority over Satan, and allow those thoughts and beliefs to unbalance our lives. We can become pompous and arrogant. There was a time when a worship service, in a few churches, would have spent far too much time stomping out Satan and far less time worshipping the Lord.

Instead, as we see in Luke 10:19-20, our focus should be on Yeshua (Jesus) and Him alone. Those that are in authority don’t need to center too much of their time on their power and authority. The more we focus on our authority and power the less time we spend centering on Yeshua. The results are usually pride, arrogance and a tendency towards self-importance.

What Paul (Saul) gave up for Yeshua!

I have been reading a book by F.F. Bruce called “Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free”. While I am only a chapter or two into the book, I am struck by the author’s descriptions of Cilicia and Tarsus, the region and city of Saul birthplace. Although the books author did not say this (at least so far in my reading), I am beginning to realize the position, education, breeding etc of Paul’s family life and what he gave up.

The city of Saul’s birth had a LONG history before he was born. On the order of almost 2 millennia. It was exempt from Roman taxes by Augustus Caesar. They prided themselves on a long and deep love of culture and Tarsus was a center of education that rivaled Athens and Alexandria. Bruce equated Tarsus to a “university” town, similar to what we have in many areas of the world. Paul would have received a Jewish education, one common to his era but because of his status, (see next paragraph) it would have been deeper. Because of the surroundings he could have easily have learned a great deal about the Greek and Roman culture.

Paul himself was a Roman citizen, something that not many in Tarsus would have achieved. It is likely that the family of Paul would have been part of the wealthy elite of the area, certainly one of the wealthy Jewish elite.

For Paul to have traveled to Israel at an early age to study with the rabbi’s, such as Gamaliel, he would have had to have shown great aptitude in his studies.  By the time of his being part of the party of the Pharisees, his education and training would have been on a world-class level.

Yet, after Saul’s encounter with Yeshua on the road to Damascus, he was willing to give it all up to follow the Lord. For me it helps explain a statement Paul makes in his writings:

If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. ⁷ But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Messiah. ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Messiah Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Messiah ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Messiah, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Phil 3:4-11 (ESV) adapted

Greater Than . . .

In Matthew 12, Yeshua brings up the statement “Greater than” three times. It’s a common and wise practice to not ignore anything in scripture. It’s wiser still to take notice of something that is repeated three times, particularly in such a short span of reading. So let’s explore the three times Yeshua brings this up in Matthew.

“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: ⁴ how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵ Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶ I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸ For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” Matt 12:3-8 (ESV)

By this time, Yeshua was attracting not only large groups of common folk but also the leaders of the nation, in particular, some of the Pharisees. They were following him into the rural areas and straight into the crop fields. I would not call that subtle! When the disciples of Yeshua started to eat the grain heads, they objected. Yeshua objected right back at them. He stated that they had their priorities mixed up. This particular group of leaders was more interested in obeying certain laws then helping a person. This topic was brought up to Yeshua and by Yeshua several times. Is it lawful to do good, to allow mercy, on Shabbat. They said that Torah prohibited any work, even doing good, on Shabbat. Yeshua flat out said they were wrong and had their priorities backwards. Since He, Yeshua, is Lord of Shabbat, that means that His ruling on what to do on Shabbat carries greater weight then their interpretation.

“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴²
Matt 12:39-42 (ESV)

The second time the phrase “greater than” appears is when the some of the leaders asked Yeshua for a sign from heaven to prove his works and ministry. Yeshua answered in a way they were not expecting or wanting. He stated that His death and resurrection is the only sign they will receive. Jonah preached repentance to Gentiles and they responded to the call. Yeshua, being greater than Jonah is, also preached repentance. Many in Israel responded to His call, many did not. Therefore, the contemporaries of Yeshua that rejected the call of Yeshua to repent will receive a greater judgment.

The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. Matt 12:42 (ESV)

The third time the phrase “greater than” appears is almost within the same breath as the second time he uses the statement. Yeshua puts His wisdom at a higher rank than the Wisdom of Solomon. People spend their entire life looking for “wisdom”. They travel all over the world. Seek after teachers, pastors and rabbis. Read tons of books. Spend great amounts of money going to school. Yet most people reject out of hand the words, life and wisdom of Yeshua who is the very source and definition of wisdom.

Like the other two times Yeshua mentions the phrase “greater than”, Yeshua is stating to them and to us as well to get our priorities straight. He is “greater than” any other priority. He is greater than the temple, Jonah or Solomon, greater than Moses, David or Daniel.

Do the Works You Did At First-Part 4

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Rev 2:4-5 (ESV)

How does one go about returning to their first love? It was a question that the Ephesian congregation must have asked themselves. It also must have been startling to them. Here they were, hard working, enduring persecution, studying God’s word, testing people in their faith, yet they were told by the Lord that they had abandoned their first love. The love that is most primary of all, love of God and most likely love for each other.

Yeshua gives them a few steps to take to move them back in the proper direction.

1. They were to remember where they used to be and then compare that to where they are now. In other words, remember the times in the past when they were more in love with the Lord, when they spent more time in intimate relations with Him. Remember when they were more willing to allow the Lord to work through them instead of them doing the work in their strength, as they seem to be doing now.
2. Repent! The word in Greek means to change not only your mind but also your life and then move them in a new direction. It takes a lot of humility to realize that the direction you are going is not correct. It takes humility to realize your walk with God is not in accord with the full counsel of God. Repentance requires death to self and sacrifice. It means making choices in our lives to be obedient.
3. “Do the works you did at first!” To me that may mean that at some point in the past, be it distant or recent, they were doing things correctly. What works? In many respects, we make our life hard and our walk with the Lord more complicated than it needs to be. Yeshua made it easy: “they said to him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’” John 6:28-29 (ESV) The first works is to believe in Yeshua and out of that belief should first come a daily relationship with Him. Through that relationship, He (Yeshua) will empower you to do the works that He wants done.

If they (we) didn’t . . .

Yeshua told the Ephesians that if they didn’t repent – changing the direction of their lives and heart – then He would come and remove their standing before Him. They would continue to exist, maybe, as an organization but they would no longer be a congregation (menorah) before Him in heaven. Since a menorah has light, several in fact, it means that they were losing their lights, the lights that everyone sees. They were losing their effectiveness.

In conclusion

I am a person who has a strong gift for helps. I understand what the congregation in Ephesus was going through. They had the externals down, they knew the scriptures and they were zealous to be holy. They were patient, enduring suffering and persecution. They were probably so busy doing things and works that they failed to take time to be with the Lord to a greater degree that what they were doing. Yet their hearts were growing cold toward the Lord and towards each other. In time their effectiveness in the community would lessen and eventually the congregation in Ephesus would die (which, historically, it did).

As a person who is part of a congregation that is part of a movement, I must be constantly aware of what and who is my priority. The same can be said of the congregation and the movement. It is Yeshua! It is a daily walk with Him! Out of that walk with Yeshua will come the works that He desires to see in our lives.

“And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” Mark 13:37 (NKJV)

Do the Works You Did At First – Part 3

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
Rev 2:4 (ESV)

In part 2 of this series, we discussed the positive aspects of the congregation in Ephesus. They were hard workers, persevering in the faith, willing to suffer for the name of Yeshua (Jesus), had a good command of scripture, believed in holiness, tested leaders and was willing to label false apostles as liars. Yet Yeshua stated that they were missing something. As we will see later, it was a “something” so important that their future in the Lord’s kingdom hinged on whether they would be willing to deal with this issue.

The issue was that despite all the things they do right, they were losing their love of God and each other. Their passion towards Him and their priorities were shifting. Perhaps they were even growing cold. Many people use the phrase as “losing their first love”, but the scripture in the Greek states that the person or group has left or abandoned their first love.

Lately, when I read this scripture, I can’t help but think of the Messianic Jewish Movement. I can’t give a objective opinion but one that is likely more subjective. I have been in the Messianic movement for 28 years. I remember what the movement was like in the beginning, through its transitions all the way until now (2008). I can’t escape the possibility that the movement will be facing the same type of crisis that virtually every other move of God has, is or will face, leaving your first love.

I don’t think that people consciously leave the Lord but rather allow other things to get in the way. They focus on externals, become busy in their life or in their ministry, allow unforgiveness to creep in to their lives, sometimes just plain laziness. No matter the reason, the results remain the same. In the Lord’s eyes we are backing away from Him and moving somewhere (or to someone) else. We may think we are still accomplishing something for the Lord but in fact, we are starting to move towards doing things in our own strength. The results of that are usually burnout and bitterness.

In part 4 we discuss the remedy, repentance, and the tough choices that have to be made for us to return to our first love.

Do the Works You Did At First-part 2

Revelation 2: 1-3

What Yeshua praised about the congregation in Ephesus.

The congregation in Ephesus was the home to Yohanan (John) in the latter part of his life. The congregation was born during the time of Paul (Sha’ul), Priscilla and Aquila. It was a major city in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, a crossroads for trade and travel and a center for Pagan worship. Towards the latter part of Paul’s ministry, he stopped at Ephesus and said his goodbyes. Paul knew that he would never see them again.

One of the warnings that Paul gave the Ephesians (Acts 20) was that after he was gone false teachers, like savage wolves, were going to come into their midst to destroy them. Even people in their midst would arise to distort the truth. Apparently, it is warning that the Ephesian congregation took seriously.

Thirty/Thirty-five years later, in Yeshua’s short letter and warning in Revelation chapter 2 to the congregation he apparently commends them for their diligence in testing every person that came into their midst and called themselves “apostle”. If the congregation felt that the person, after a period of testing, was a liar (false) then they seemed to have no problem labeling you a false apostle. Considering the number of people in the body of Messiah that have elevated themselves to positions beyond their calling (if they even had one to begin with), I wonder how many times they labeled someone a liar.

Yeshua made it clear that He knew that they were hard workers. The Greek indicates hard work to the point of pain. He knew that they had patient endurance and suffered for the name of Yeshua. Considering the societal practices and beliefs that existed in the Roman Empire at that time, the Ephesian congregation must have gone to considerable lengths to separate themselves and keep themselves pure and holy.

In many respects, the flock in Ephesus had many admirable qualities. They obviously had a good knowledge of scripture, desired to be holy, were willing to endure suffering and persecution. They were patient and wanted to “keep on keeping on” in the faith. They had no tolerance of evil or of those who exalted themselves. They had no compunction about labeling false apostles as false.

Yet . . . Yeshua said there was a key ingredient missing in their faith. An ingredient so important that He stated that despite all of their admirable qualities they were in danger of becoming irrelevant. They were on the road to losing it all.

In part 3 we discuss the missing ingredient.