The Torah
speaks of several different classes of people:
As we
proceed through this study, please keep these classifications firmly in mind.
Failure to do so will result in much error and confusion.
The law was applied
equally to Israelites and aliens living among them (Ger Toshav):
Shemot (Exodus) 12:47-49
The whole community of
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 31:10-13
Then Moses commanded them: "At the end of every seven
years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast
of Tabernacles, When all
Vayikra (Leviticus) 17:10-14
"'Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats
any blood--I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut
him off from his people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have
given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood
that makes atonement for one's life. Therefore I
say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat
blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood." "'Any Israelite
or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or
bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth,
Because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the
Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life
of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off."
Bamidbar (Numbers) 9:14
"'An alien living among you who wants to celebrate HaShem’s
Passover must do so in accordance with its rules
and regulations. You must have the same regulations for the alien and the native-born.'"
Bamidbar (Numbers) 15:13
"'Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when he
brings an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to
HaShem. For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living
among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to HaShem, he
must do exactly as you do. The community is to have the same rules for you and
for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations
to come. You and the alien shall be the same before HaShem: The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the
alien living among you.'"
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:9
Count off seven weeks from the time
you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to HaShem your G-d by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings
HaShem your G-d has given you. And rejoice before HaShem your G-d at the place
he will choose as a dwelling for his Name--you,
your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, the Levites in your
towns, and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows living among you.
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 56:1-8
This is what HaShem says: "Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will
soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and
keeps his hand from doing any evil." Let no foreigner who has bound
himself to HaShem say, "HaShem will surely exclude me from his
people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am only a dry
tree." For this is what HaShem says: "To the eunuchs who keep my
Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant--
To them I will give within my temple and its walls a
memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I
will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. And foreigners who
bind themselves to HaShem to serve him, to love the name of HaShem, and to
worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast
to my covenant-- These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my
house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and
sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of
prayer for all nations." The Sovereign HaShem
declares--he who gathers the exiles of
Notice
that the community of
Shemot (Exodus) 12:17-19
"Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 13:19 - 14:2
Yahoshua (Joshua) 8:30-35
Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to HaShem, the G-d of Israel, As Moses
the servant of HaShem had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to
what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses--an altar of uncut stones, on
which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to HaShem burnt offerings
and sacrificed fellowship offerings. There, in the presence of the Israelites,
Joshua copied on stones the law of Moses, which he had
written. All Israel, aliens and citizens alike, with their elders, officials
and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of HaShem, facing those who carried it--the priests, who were Levites. Half of
the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount
Ebal, as Moses the servant of HaShem had formerly commanded when he gave
instructions to bless the people of
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 29:1-15
These are the terms of the covenant HaShem commanded Moses to make with the
Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.
Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them: Your eyes have seen all
that HaShem did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land.
With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs and great wonders. But to this day HaShem has not
given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. During
the forty years that I led you through the desert,
your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.
You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that
you might know that I am HaShem your G-d. When you reached this place, Sihon
king of Heshbon and Og king of
Other
people (Ger Toshav) are implied to
have received the Law because they left Egypt with the Israelites:
Shemot (Exodus) 12:33-38
The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. "For
otherwise," they said, "we will all die!" So the people took
their dough before the yeast was added, and carried
it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. The Israelites
did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold
and for clothing. HaShem had made the Egyptians
favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for;
so they plundered the Egyptians. The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred
thousand men on foot, besides women and children. Many other people went up
with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.
Circumcision was a sign of
the covenant with Abraham, and his descendants, and
is connected to the Ger Tzaddik:
Colossians 2:9-14
For in Mashiach all the fullness of the Deity lives
in bodily form, And you have been given fullness in Mashiach,
who is the head over every power and authority. In
him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not
with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Mashiach,
Having been buried with him in baptism and raised with
him through your faith in the power of G-d, who raised him from the dead. When
you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of
your sinful nature, G-d made you alive with Mashiach. He forgave us all our
sins, Having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against
us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
The Ger Tzaddik was not born into the Community of
Israel, but rather joined that community by three
things:
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 10:12-19
And now, O Israel, what does HaShem your G-d ask of you but to fear HaShem your
G-d, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve HaShem your G-d with all
your heart and with all your soul, And to observe HaShem’s commands and decrees
that I am giving you today for your own good? To HaShem your G-d belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and
everything in it. Yet HaShem set his affection on your forefathers
and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as
it is today. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any
longer. For HaShem your G-d is G-d of gods and Lord of lords, the great G-d,
mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends
the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien,
giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those
who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 30:1-6
When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you
take them to heart wherever HaShem your G-d disperses you among the nations,
And when you and your children return to HaShem your G-d and obey him with all
your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today,
Then HaShem your G-d will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and
gather you again from all the nations where he scattered
you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the
heavens, from there HaShem your G-d will gather you and bring you back. He will
bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers,
and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and
numerous than your fathers. HaShem your G-d will
circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love
him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
Romans 2:9-29
There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first
for the Jew, then for the Gentile; But glory, honor and peace for everyone who
does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For G-d does not show
favoritism. All who sin apart from the law will also
perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the
law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in G-d's sight, but
it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when
Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,
they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, Since they
show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their
consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even
defending them.) This will take place on the day when G-d will judge men's
secrets through Yeshua Mashiach,
as my gospel declares. Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the
law and brag about your relationship to G-d; If you know his will and approve
of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; If you are convinced
that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, An
instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law
the embodiment of knowledge and truth-- You, then,
who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing,
do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit
adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law,
do you dishonor G-d by breaking the law? As it is written: "G-d's name is
blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." Circumcision
has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as
though you had not been circumcised. If those who are not circumcised keep the
law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?
The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn
you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a
lawbreaker. A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision
merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if
he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the
Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from
G-d.
Aliens (Ger Toshav)
will inherit a portion of the land
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 47:21-23
"You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of
Shemot (Exodus) 22:28-31
"Do not blaspheme G-d or curse the ruler of your people. "Do not hold
back offerings from your granaries or your vats. "You must give me the
firstborn of your sons. Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them
stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them
to me on the eighth day. "You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it
to the dogs.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 6:23-27
"Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites.
Say to them: "'"HaShem bless you and keep
you; HaShem make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; HaShem turn
his face toward you and give you peace."' "So they will put my name
on the Israelites, and I will bless them."
II Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles)
7:11-14 When Solomon had finished the temple of HaShem and the royal
palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the
temple of HaShem and in his own palace, HaShem appeared to him at night and
said: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen
this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. "When I shut up the
heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts
to devour the land or send a plague among my people,
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble
themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will
I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
I Shmuel (Samuel) 2:22-25
Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all
Israel and how they slept with the women who served
at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So he said
to them, "Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about
these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; it is not a
good report that I hear spreading among HaShem’s people. If a man sins against
another man, G-d may mediate for him; but if a man sins against HaShem, who
will intercede for him?" His sons, however, did not listen to their
father's rebuke, for it was HaShem’s will to put them to death.
II
Shmuel (Samuel) 5:1-4 All the tribes
of
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 10:24-26
Therefore, this is what the Lord, HaShem Almighty, says: "O my people who
live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and
lift up a club against you, as Egypt did. Very soon my anger against you will
end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction." HaShem Almighty
will lash them with a whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb;
and he will raise his staff over the waters, as he did in
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 43:1-13
But now, this is what HaShem says--he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O
Egyptians
(Ger Toshav) too will bear "His
name":
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 19:19-25
In that day there will be an altar to HaShem in the heart of
Yirimiyah (Jeremiah) 12:14-17
This is what HaShem says: "As for all my wicked
neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people
Romans 9:21-26
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some
pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? What if G-d, choosing to
show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects
of his wrath--prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches
of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for
glory-- Even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the
Gentiles? As he says in Hoshea (Hosea): "I will call them 'my people' who
are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved
one," And, "It will happen that in the very place where it was said
to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living
G-d.'"
II Corinthians 6:14-18
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and
wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
What harmony is there between Mashiach and Belial? What does a believer have in
common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of G-d
and idols? For we are the temple of the living G-d. As G-d has said: "I
will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their G-d, and they will
be my people." "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says
the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." "I will be
a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord
Almighty."
Who is the "new
covenant" for?
Yirimiyah (Jeremiah) 31:31-34
"The time is coming," declares HaShem,
"when I will make a new covenant with the house of
Bereans (Hebrews) 8:1-12
The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high
priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, And who serves in the sanctuary,
the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. Every high priest is
appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this
one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts
prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is
a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he
was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything
according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." But the ministry Yeshua has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the
old one, and it is founded on better promises. For if there had been nothing
wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.
But G-d found fault with the people and said: "The time is coming,
declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of
The Ger Tzaddik is included in this passage, as we
will also see in the next passage:
Hoshea (Hosea) 1:6-11
Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then HaShem said to Hoshea
(Hosea), "Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house
of
The writer
of Romans explains the above passage as refering to the Ger Tzaddik:
Romans 9:1-33
I speak the truth in Mashiach--I am not lying, my
conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit-- I have great sorrow and unceasing
anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off
from Mashiach for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, The people of
Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants,
the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the
promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry
of Mashiach, who is G-d over all, forever praised! Amen. It is not as though
G-d's word had failed. For not all who are descended from
Amos 9:8-12
"Surely the eyes of the Sovereign HaShem are on the sinful kingdom. I will
destroy it from the face of the earth--yet I will not totally destroy the house
of Jacob," declares HaShem. "For I will give the command, and I will
shake the house of
The above
passage is elaborated on in:
II Luqas (Acts) 15:12-21
The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling
about the miraculous signs and wonders G-d had done among the Gentiles through
them. When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. Simon
has described to us how G-d at first showed his concern by taking from the
Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with
this, as it is written: "'After this I will return and rebuild David's
fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, That the remnant
of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things' That have been known for ages. "It
is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the
Gentiles who are turning to G-d. Instead we should write to them, telling them
to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled
animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the
earliest times and is read in the synagogues on
every Sabbath."
Revelation 3:11-13
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your
crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple
of my G-d. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my G-d
and the name of the city of my G-d, the new Jerusalem,
which is coming down out of heaven from my G-d; and I will also write on him my
new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Aliens (Ger Toshav) will unite with the house of Jacob:
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 14:1-2
HaShem will have compassion on Jacob; once again he
will choose
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 56:3-8
Let no foreigner who has bound himself to HaShem say, "HaShem will surely
exclude me from his people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am
only a dry tree." For this is what HaShem says: "To the eunuchs who
keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant-- To them I will give within my temple and
its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give
them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. And foreigners who bind
themselves to HaShem to serve him, to love the name of HaShem, and to worship
him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my
covenant-- These I will bring to my holy mountain and
give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my
altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer
for all nations." The Sovereign HaShem declares--he who gathers the exiles of
Many
nations (Ger Tzaddik) will convert and
become "My people":
Zechariah 2:7-13
"Come, O
Zechariah 8:18-23
Again the word of HaShem Almighty came to me. This is what HaShem Almighty
says: "The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth
months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 34:17-24
"'As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign HaShem says: I will
judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. Is it not
enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of
your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water?
Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? Must my flock feed on what you
have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
"'Therefore this is what the Sovereign HaShem says to them: See, I myself
will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you shove with
flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have
driven them away, I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I
will judge between one sheep and another. I will place over them one shepherd,
my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their
shepherd. I HaShem will be their G-d, and my servant David will be prince among
them. I HaShem have spoken.
Aliens (Ger Tzaddik) will have an inheritance
in the land:
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 47:21-23
"You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of
There is
no distinction between the Jew and the Ger
Tzaddik who believe:
II Luqas (Acts) 15:7-18
After much discussion, Tzefet (Peter) got up and addressed them:
"Brothers, you know that some time ago G-d made a choice among you that
the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel
and believe. G-d, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving
the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between
us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to
test G-d by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor
our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe
it is through the grace of our Lord Yeshua that we are saved,
just as they are." The whole assembly became silent as they listened to
Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs
and wonders G-d had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished,
James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how G-d
at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself.
The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
"'After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I
will rebuild, and I will restore it, That the remnant of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things'
That have been known for ages.
Amos 9:7-15
"Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?" declares
HaShem. "Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from
Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir? "Surely the eyes of the Sovereign
HaShem are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the
earth--yet I will not totally destroy the house of
Jacob," declares HaShem. "For I will give the command, and I will
shake the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve,
and not a pebble will reach the ground. All the sinners among my people will
die by the sword, all those who say, 'Disaster will not overtake or meet us.'
"In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken
places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, So that they may
possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that
bear my name," declares HaShem, who will do
these things. "The days are coming," declares HaShem, "when the
reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading
grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. I
will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will
rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink
their wine; they will make gardens and eat their
fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from
the land I have given them," says HaShem your G-d.
Yochanan (John) 10:14-18
"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- Just as
the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the
sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them
also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one
shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to
take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
I have authority to lay it down and authority to
take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
Yochanan (John) 11:47-53
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a
meeting of the Sanhedrin. "What are we accomplishing?" they asked.
"Here is this man performing many miraculous signs.
If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our
nation." Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high
priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! You do not
realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the
whole nation perish." He did not say this on his own, but as high priest
that year he prophesied that Yeshua would die for the Jewish nation, And not
only for that nation but also for the scattered children of G-d, to bring them
together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
Romans 4:8-17
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." Is this
blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for
the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him
as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was
circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received the sign
of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was
still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not
been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he
is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also
walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was
circumcised. It was not through law that Abraham and his
offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by
faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the
promise is worthless, Because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there
is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be
by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those
who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the
father of us all. As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the
sight of G-d, in whom he believed--the G-d who gives life to the dead and calls
things that are not as though they were.
Romans 9:19-26
One of you will say to me: "Then why does G-d still blame us? For who
resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to G-d?
"Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like
this?'" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of
clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? What if G-d,
choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience
the objects of his wrath-- prepared for destruction? What if he did this to
make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he
prepared in advance for glory-- Even us, whom he also called, not only from the
Jews but also from the Gentiles? As he says in Hoshea (Hosea): "I will
call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one'
who is not my loved one," And, "It will happen that in the very place
where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons
of the living G-d.'"
Romans 10:8-17
But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in
your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you
confess with your mouth, "Yeshua is Lord,"
and believe in your heart that G-d raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and
are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the
Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to
shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord
is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, For, "Everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How,
then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they
believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without
someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it
is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" But not all the Israelites accepted
the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?"
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard
through the word of Mashiach.
Romans 11:13-36
I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I
make much of my ministry In the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to
envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the
world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the
dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root
is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and
you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now
share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, Do not boast over those
branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root
supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could
be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and
you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if G-d did not spare
the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the
kindness and sternness of G-d: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to
you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be
cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for
G-d is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive
tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a
cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches,
be grafted into their own olive tree! I do not want you to be ignorant of this
mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a
hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all
Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from
Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And
this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account;
but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the
patriarchs, For G-d's gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were
at one time disobedient to G-d have now received mercy as a result of their
disobedience, So they too have now become disobedient in order that they too
may now receive mercy as a result of G-d's mercy to you. For G-d has bound all
men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. Oh, the depth
of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of G-d!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has
known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has
ever given to G-d, that G-d should repay him?" For from him and through
him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Galatians 3:6-9
Consider Abraham: "He believed G-d, and it was credited to him as
righteousness." Understand, then, that those who believe are children of
Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that G-d would justify the Gentiles by faith,
and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham:
"All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith
are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Romans 4:7-12 "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose
sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count
against him." Is this blessedness only for the circumcised,
or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was
credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was
it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he
received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then,
he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order
that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the
circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of
the faith that our father Abraham had before he was
circumcised. Ephesians 2:11-20 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are
Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call
themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body
by the hands of men)-- Remember that at that time you
were separate from Mashiach, excluded from
citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without
hope and without G-d in the world. But now in Mashiach Yeshua
you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Mashiach.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one
and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, By abolishing in
his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.
His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making
peace, And in this one body to reconcile both of them to G-d through the cross,
by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who
were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have
access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners
and aliens, but fellow citizens with G-d's people and
members of G-d's household, Built on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, with Mashiach Yeshua himself as the chief
cornerstone.
II Luqas (Acts) 10:25-48 As Tzefet (Peter) entered the house,
Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Tzefet (Peter) made
him get up. "Stand up," he said, "I am only a man myself."
Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering
of people. He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law
for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But G-d has shown me that I
should not call any man impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came
without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?" Cornelius
answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three
in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me And said,
'Cornelius, G-d has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.
Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon
the tanner, who lives by the sea.' So I sent for you immediately, and it was
good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of G-d to listen to
everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us." Then Peter began to
speak: "I now realize how true it is that G-d does not show favoritism But
accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the
message G-d sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace
through Yeshua Mashiach,
who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in
Galilee after the baptism that John preached-- How G-d
anointed Yeshua of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went
around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil,
because G-d was with him. "We are witnesses of everything he did in the
country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him
by hanging him on a tree, But G-d raised him from the dead on the third day and
caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom
G-d had already chosen--by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the
dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one
whom G-d appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets
testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." While Peter was still speaking
these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were
astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the
Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising G-d. Then Peter
said, "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized
with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." So he
ordered that they be baptized in the name of Yeshua Mashiach. Then they asked
Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Yet, in
some way the Ger Tzaddik are also
different from the Children of Abraham:
II Luqas (Acts) 13:16-26
Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you
Gentiles who worship G-d, listen to me! The G-d of the people of Israel chose
our fathers; he made the people prosper during their
stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of
that country, He endured their conduct for about forty
years in the desert, He overthrew seven nations in
Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance.
All this took about 450 years. "After this, G-d gave them judges until the
time of Shmuel (Samuel) the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and he
gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul,
he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son
of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'
"From this man's descendants G-d has brought to Israel the Savior Yeshua,
as he promised. Before the coming of Yeshua, John preached repentance and baptism
to all the people of Israel. As John was completing his work, he said: 'Who do
you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals
I am not worthy to untie.' "Brothers, children of Abraham, and you
G-d-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation
has been sent.
Not all
Jews are Abraham's children:
Yochanan (John) 8:37-59
I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you
have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's
presence, and you do what you have heard from your father." "Abraham
is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's children,"
said Yeshua, "then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are
determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from G-d.
Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father
does." "We are not illegitimate children," they protested.
"The only Father we have is G-d himself." Yeshua said to them,
"If G-d were your Father, you would love me, for I came from G-d and now
am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not
clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your
father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a
murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in
him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the
father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of
you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth,
why don't you believe me? He who belongs to G-d hears what G-d says. The reason
you do not hear is that you do not belong to G-d." The Jews answered him,
"Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-
possessed?" "I am not possessed by a demon," said Yeshua, "but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.
I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the
judge. I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see
death." At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are
demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if
anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our
father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you
are?" Yeshua replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing.
My Father, whom you claim as your G-d, is the one who glorifies me. Though you
do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you,
but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the
thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." "You are not yet
fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen
Abraham!" "I tell you the truth," Yeshua answered, "before
Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Yeshua
hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
In the
last days we will also see G-d reuniting Israel:
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 37:16-28
"Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging to Judah and
the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write
on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all
the house of Israel associated with him.' Join them together into one stick so
that they will become one in your hand. "When your countrymen ask you,
'Won't you tell us what you mean by this?' Say to them, 'This is what the
Sovereign HaShem says: I am going to take the stick
of Joseph--which is in Ephraim's hand--and of the Israelite tribes associated
with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and
they will become one in my hand.' Hold before their eyes the sticks you have
written on And say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign HaShem says: I will
take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them
from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one
nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all
of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two
kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile
images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their
sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will
be their G-d. "'My servant David will be king over them, and they will all
have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be
careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers
lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there
forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. I will make a
covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish
them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary
among them forever. My dwelling place will be with
them; I will be their G-d, and they will be my people. Then the nations will know
that I HaShem make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.'"
and:
Yirimiyah (Jeremiah) 3:14-18 "Return, faithless people," declares HaShem, "for I am your husband. I will choose you--one from a town and two from a clan--and bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares HaShem, "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of HaShem.' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. At that time they will