Yhoshuas Arise!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Catching up on the news over at Israpundit, a post by Felix Quigley catches my eye: Jewish people must go on the offensive. RIGHT ON! I scan the post. I like Felix and I agree with many of his arguments-- not all, but many. One, however, stands out like a sore thumb: The Jewish people have always underestimated the Arab people, and the Muslims if I am to push the circle wider.
You know what I say to that? The Jewish people have always underestimated themselves and their G-d.
Look at our history, just glance at it, and you will see that we are the people of signs, wonders, and miracles from above. Our nation wasn't founded by a warlord with great armies, nor a group of empassioned rebels with arms: We began when one guy heard the voice of G-d telling him to separate himself from everyone else, and he did it. One man. One G-d. That is our nascence and our essence.
Our population has grown larger over the years, but every recorded moment in scripture focuses on that individual relationship between G-d and prophet, G-d and warrior, G-d and King, G-d and human being. All of these relationships transcend to the communities surrounding them: G-d instructs D'vorah, who aids Barak in leading an Army of Israelites; Yeshua instructs His talmidim, who go out to Israel and the goyim to preach the truth of Messiah. The relationships are also reciprocal: Rut, a foreigner, chooses to follow G-d and thus enters into the line of Moshiach; David praises Adonai in such a way that he is labeled "a man after G-d's own heart." Our history as a people consists of a series of individuals willing to reach out to Adonai with all their heart, soul, and strength, and, in return, Adonai blesses the entire nation through these faithful servants.
Today we are a large and fragmented group. We are divided by religious ideas, political beliefs, geography, and even economy. We each have our own leaders we turn to, but we have no centralized leadership, no unifying force... or so we like to think. The truth of the matter is that we can be as united as the 12 talmidim. We have the same Messiah: the same Ruach that was given to them is free to us as well. We can be today's Hadassahs, Davids, D'vorahs, Ruths, Kefas, Shauls, Yochanans, Moshes, Avrahams-- if only we are willing to believe in the power HaShem has given us, and the power HaShem has over this world.
What other nation of priests has cowered in the face of evil so much so that they have shaped their traditions and sacrificed their truths in order to conform to the ways of their enemies? The concept makes no sense! Yet, this is exactly what we have done time and time again since we wandered the ground of Sinai. We continue to do it to this very day: the latest issue of the Messianic Times is filled with letters to the editor arguing over whether or not believers should celebrate Christmas! What pagan nonsense is this, and why are we wasting our time on it when there is work to be done?!
This is only one of many issues we face as a nation that is under constant threat of survival. Scroll down on the Israpundit front page, and you will find a series of headlines from various sources under the post title of U.S. losing on all fronts and yet, what do you hear from American Jews but, "America supports Israel, so what do we have to worry about?" Still more Israeli Jews are busy drowning their sorrows in Tel Aviv nightclubs, left at a total loss for what to do in this time of turmoil.
A growing number of Jewish Americans and Israelis recognize the threat to be real, and are responding to it through a well-organized grassroots movement known as the J-blogosphere. What do the Messianic Jews have to say? How are we responding to the threats we face as a nation? How are we fighting for our survival and countering the vicious attacks placed against us, the people of Israel, on a daily basis? Where is our network? Where is our communication? How many Messianics in the Diaspora even have contact with the believing community in Israel? We are sorely lacking in actions-- and faith without works is dead. When is the Messianic community going to grow up, get with the times, and start paying attention to the current events that are truly impacting us as the nation of Israel? Will we be the individuals who will rise up to defend our nation in such a time as this, or will we be the indistinguishable masses led off to Babylon when all is said and done?
Labels: activism, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, Messianic Judaism, Yeshua, Zionism
posted by Shoshana @ 6:14 PM
