Rabbi’s Reflections – Thursday, October 31, 2019
Shalom *|FNAME|*,
It’s confirmed. Marty Goetz and his daughter, Misha, will be ministering at Shomair this Saturday, November 2nd. How exciting. Please plan to attend and invite your friends. https://www.martygoetz.com/
Week 44
Memory Verse: Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been made righteous by trusting, we have shalom with God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
216 10/28 Monday: 2 Corinthians 9-10
217 10/29 Tuesday: 2 Corinthians 11-13
218 10/30 Wednesday: Romans 1-2; Acts 20:1-3
* 219 10/31 Thursday: Romans 3-4
220 11/01 Friday: Romans 5-6
Question of the day: Wow! I didn’t have to read very long to find the question of the day. Romans 3:1a Then what is the advantage of being Jewish?
Answer: For the preponderance of history…
Rabbi Trail: I bet you didn’t think you were going to run into “preponderance” in the RR today. I like to keep you on your toes with unusual word choices every so often. Consider it free enrichment. End RT.
… the Christian world has ignored Paul’s question. On second thought, maybe they didn’t ignore the question, only the answer. On the other hand, maybe our church fathers thought Paul were (see RT below) being sarcastic (see the RT below) when he said… Romans 3:2a Much in every way.
Rabbi Trail: The use of “were” is the subjunctive case. Look it up if you were napping in 11th grade English. (Which is another use of the subjunctive case.). When we sing in “Dixie,” “I wish I was in the land of cotton…” that’s just plain bad English. One of my nicknames in high school was Webster. The other one was Leenard. It’s a long story, and I’m out of time. End RT.
Back to our subject… What is the advantage of being Jewish? It is nothing less than being at the front tip of the destiny of the world. Paul is briefly specific in Romans 3, saying [Jewish people] “were entrusted with the sayings of God.” But more so in Romans 9 where he mentions 8 specific advantages. Romans 9:4b To them (Jewish people) belong the adoption and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Torah and the Temple service and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs—and from them, according to the flesh, the Messiah, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.
All of this is fine, but it can lead to class envy (or sibling rivalry). This is dangerous, and not of God. Then we get the good news, that all the blessings intended for Israel now also apply to everyone who was not born Jewish but is now adopted into the family of God through the blood of Yeshua HaMashiach, our Lord and Savior.
1 Corinthians 10:1 For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea. 2 They all were immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 And all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink—for they were drinking from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the Rock was Messiah.
Okay, one more proof text…
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Messiah Yeshua, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. 14 For He is our shalom, the One who made the two into one and broke down the middle wall of separation. Within His flesh He made powerless the hostility— 15 the law code of mitzvot contained in regulations. He did this in order to create within Himself one new man from the two groups,
There is nothing like being part of a family, especially when the Father of all is God!