The Torah for the Nations

Some of you nerds and nerdette's stuck with me for my long talk this morning. And when I said to Raab how long should I talk to you tonight? He said they just want to dance Louis. So okay, I understand that and yet and then and then we just did the blessing of the children in that song. Just you know what, the word verklempt means it's from Saturday Night Live or so, you just word. It's like I think I spoke another year and I stood there crying the whole time when I was speaking. And so I've got extra Kleenex and I've tried not to do that combination of nerdy information so that you won't cry but then hopefully it will be useful and meaningful. Hopefully may the Lord bless my words and your ears. They might come out of my mouth wrong, but then they'll get transformed halfway between in the air and you say, oh, that was much better than what she actually said. They'll be good.

Just to tell you a little bit about my background, I am not Jewish. You see this? It's the Torah for the nations of the world and I come from the other end of the world. My grandparents were from on all of my father and mother side from Norway. And I don't have a speck of anything, but the lord gave me a jury, has brain. And I wanted to understand my Bible better. And so I got fascinated with this topic. Even though my background had already been seeing, don't know, don't go there, don't go there through you. I told a friend of mine that I was going to give some talks about the Torah and face contorted into this horrible Grimace like I'm not kidding. And so I come from a background where they say, what why would God, why would you want to study that old? What can I teach us up. Yeah, you know me? Yeah, that's what the Norwegian says with the, okay. So let me I don't want to delay. It won't keep just being foolish here, but I've already told you. Why would we be interested? As most of us, here are Gentiles. And if you've read acts 15, the church officially said, you know what, the Gentiles, if they can just stop themselves from doing the Sims that they are so prone to doing idolatry. Sexual immorality, murder and the other one I told you about this morning, remember anybody remember what that other strange thing sprinkling? Like, you know what? That was you guys that you haven't heard infanticide. That was a very common thing to do among the Romans and the Greeks is that was that was there alternatives to abortion? And it was such a strong probation. There are Scholars that say that probably was what he was heading to the list. Don't do that. And the early god-fearers joined the juice and we're learning from the at the synagogue said. Yeah, we this is terrible. I'm not going to do this anymore. So, okay. So So what I am is am amazed, that is that we're kind of fulfilling a prophecy. Remember you didn't know we Gentiles if we just don't murder and do those things. That's okay. We don't have to do anything else but then there's this wonderful prophecy and Isaiah it says it shall come to pass in the latter days. Many people still come and say, let's go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the god of Jacob that he made teachers his ways and we will walk in his pads. That's what you want to study cuz you want to walk in the ways of the Lord shall go forth between the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Here we are sitting here wanting to know let's learn how to walk in God's ways. Okay.

If you weren't here this morning I can give you the two minutes and abscess of my talk Box 2 minutes. Yeah there have been the most fascinating books coming out. One of them they come out from very secular very liberal not Christian voices that are seeing things. There's one guy, his name is Tom Holland and he's not the guy from Spider-Man for somebody who know the movie, big fat books, about he loves Greeks and Romans and their Gladiators Warriors, and a big fat textbooks, and people love them. Men love these novel or whatever, their historical thing, but he after writing all these books is he wrote. He started thinking back about Meet these people who had captivated him as a kid. He thought they were kind of romantic. They're powerful and amazing and incredible. Then as an adult Easter to see, actually I really dislike these people. He said he was he started realizing But this is a horrible kind of world. He said the slavery of the Romans, the routine Slaughter of the gladiatorial games, the exposure of unwanted infants, especially girls the rapacious subjection of women the public crucifixions in the torture of criminals. It was like a horror movie and all that was unsettling and terrifying. And he said, I hate it here. And he said, they're saying it's a credible. How our world is changed these people suck very differently and He could see that, where the Roman world brutalized and oppress the weak. The Contemporary Western World defer to, and cared for the week. There's a Hospital's, there's orphanages. There's, there's many Ministries, and government agencies, all sorts of things. And he said, how did the total totalizing a Draconian power of the Greco-Roman World become the liberating and redeeming power of the modern Western world?

And this is most true honestly in Europe and America. If you guys the last and not the old world, the new world started doing more history, he's a history writer and his answer is it was because of Christianity. Christianity, transform the world and this powerful image really make it out there. This is a image of a crucifix and that image of Christ on the cross suffering, for his people was such a bomb drop when Everything was about power and oppressing the weak and the great glorious Kings will be victorious. Stand here, and the Flames will be You know, if you opposed the king, this will happen to you and then to hear God walked on Earth. And his son became our King and poured out his life to redeem his people. It was like I can't believe it. It just blew their minds. Could not imagine such a wonderful thing. I'm so he said it's despite honestly even if he was writing, that he's still an atheist, he says, oh it's a nice mess, but it really transformed the world. Yeah, okay. And then, he told about another book, I won't go into the details here. What's interesting is that? He? So he, so this secular liberal, Skyler says, where was interesting of Christianity transform, the world that we have hospitals, we have all sorts of things that originally work, Begin by Christians and even. Not even Christians are feel like you know, that's really a good idea. We should do that. It's a good idea but the wider culture has changed because of us. Okay? But that I am because I'm interested in Jewish material. And Scholars. I was reading other books by Jewish Scholars. Okay. Well here's what he said, really has changed because of Christianity but the wider culture now Embraces much more the sanctity of human life. Respect for women. Racial equality and fairness. Care for the poor. And protections of victims of Oppression. All these things are actually Christian in origin. It's not interesting but that's one of my books and the minute. The Holy Spirit came out on Pentecost Bammel Houston. We got changed And I said, I think there might be a part of the Bible. You haven't read yet. And at the same time because I was reading a book, by some Jewish colors, but it was it called this think you can probably read it says justice for all how The Jewish.

Call the Jewish.

Thank you. How the Jewish Bible revolutionized ethics and how those very same things. And now you have to go listen to my seminar that from this morning, but the Lord was actually from the Torah starting to teach those very same things. In some ways, he was doing it, it kind of a brutal world. He was sometimes you kind of blunting Hirsch and learn to listen to but it's fascinating. How he was doing then. Okay, so that's what you missed. If you were here this morning, okay? But no. I want to shift to a topic specific to what we're doing right now. We are celebrating a Jewish feast together. Yay! Yay. How many of you have always done this all your life okay? How many of you only started doing this a few years ago? Okay, yeah the older folks because this is a new thing in dumb. People say why are you doing that?

What could God be teaching us about? Through celebrating Jewish festivals. What can we learn from this? Honestly, I'm just going to throw up. It is an interesting training in, humility. Remember how Jesus tells his disciples if you have the choice is taking the best seat in a place or the humble seat, and let somebody else to move on up, instead of learning about somebody else's Heritage, that's not my own. Hey, I'm under region. I like to say, I looked up and sing Norwegian size and for quite a while, is like, why do I care about your stuff? I'm not, and it's like God teaches you this in her. Humility. Okay. I would like to learn about your traditions and put you first, let's hear about what happened to your people and I don't care. We're not going to hear about mine. It's teaches you an inner tube. Let's learn to love a group of people that we've never known before that. God has a special e.

With over the years and, you know, they've been heated by a lot of people because they are special to God then. So you learn a lot of emotional things that way in your Journal of discipleship things, as maybe I'm not at the center. Maybe the Lord sees other people is important to. So this is my question for this evening. What can we learn from Sukkot? Okay, I'm going to ask you guys a question. This is for the Nerds among you. Or whoever. If you would have been in the first century or back in biblical times, and you had travelled all the way from home for a feast, this one at work and if you would have brought some of your first fruits and you take them to the temple. And there is a little script that in Leviticus 26, where God tells you what to say, Okay, if you know it right off the top of your head, don't worry about. But if you don't, what do you think? God tells you to say, when you bring your first fruit offering, UK protect me. Interact with me here. Thank you, God. It's Been a Good Year. Thank you for watering my land. What else?

Yes, we love this. Good job on the fruit yard, let's have more next year, please. Lots of it that, you know, of course everybody else. They had their had, their fertility gods. And they had all sorts of things. They came up with Detroit, Inspire the fertility Gods to bring more fertility for the next year, right? That's what everybody else did. You want to know what God told them, it's going to surprise you. He says. You can read Hebrew, it says, I rummy. Barbie David, David Avey. My father was a fugitive eramian in different translation of. My father was a wandering eramian.

Like what?

Who caters? Talking about. Abraham came from a ram pedometer. ROM know, the first Patriarchs were all the way back there and the word of the old bed. What does that mean? P Bernards

Oh, you're thinking of Evan, okay means lost wandering. Perishing The Way of the Wicked show, Obed. Is my kind of surprising. You probably have never thought of you. Think of Abraham is a hero. Not somebody lost. But it kind of highlights. The danger that he was in leaving his home and family and going out in a hostile world. I just told you about how brutal it was and you know, everywhere he went every people was they would come after his women like cheese, watch out, and so it's in. But what's interesting about this? This is what the last thing that you would think of when you bring your fruit. All this thing about better fruit next year or something. I know God has a, he's transforming this whole experience. You've brought your fruit with you. You think you're going to talk about your fruit? Let me read you the rest of what God tells you. D'usse.

My father was a fugitive karimian, and he went down to Egypt with meter numbers and soldier in there. But there he became a great and very populous nation, the gyptians, dealt harshly with us and a precious. They imposed heavy labor, upon us. We cried out to the Lord, the god of our fathers. In the Lord. Heard our please, our plate, our misery and oppression like, wow. Very different attitude hear the Lord freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, outstretched arm and awesome power. And my son is important portents. He brought us to this place and gave us this land. A land flowing with milk and honey. We're for now, I'm bringing you the first fruits from the soil that you will learn have given me that kind of blow your mind. It's like, you think that you just going to Aunt point in your fruit and say, I want more fruit next year and God says, no, Appreciate.

The whole history of the whole big long story. Just brilliant and beautiful. Recover. All your whole wonderful story. And what? How faithful I have been over the years to you. Wow. So we can learn a lot about how what God is also doing through this, is this brute Lane here in first thing, it's really Shifting their definition, you know, they're very tempted to say were amazing and we're so special cuz we're God's treasured possession. And he says, young talk like that you are supposed to picture yourself as Fundamentally weak, you know it wasn't because of your righteousness that I did. This remind yourself that your father was a Sojourner. A Wanderer. Who is love? You know what Christians? We talked about it, I was lost and now I'm phone. So they're kind of reminding themselves of the Lost Miss. They once experienced okay, and remind yourself all the way back there and then appreciate the whole thing. Wow, And I would say is, we're celebrating Sukkot. We are as Christians not confining us to the last little slice of the New Testament work backing away. So big. He even did this even bigger thing, then. And so, we are doing that in the same way. As this says, don't just talk about your fruit here. Talk about your big perspective, that's what we're doing. When we celebrate the Feast of our Jewish friends and we are the particularly in the joy of the of the, of the festival. The other thing that God often does. He often thinks his lies, there are many, many laws that are linked to remembering that story. Remember how awful it was when you were? Living in booze out in the desert. But I was faithful and I brought your Mana everyday. Remember how terrible it was to be a Sojourner in countries that had absolutely no us to protect soldiers like Israel. That's one thing. That's absolutely unheard of and that's exactly something very prominent and so God says, you shall not to press a Sojourner. You shall know the heart of a Sojourner for you were so generous in the land of Egypt. And so that was something very distinctive about the Torah, was its concern for the visitors, and it's a very common refrain about you. She'll every Shabbat

So, I'm going to but you can see that. The overall thing is that you shall remember is the point. Okay. Now, I got a quick question for you menfolk. Okay. How many years do men? Can remember your anniversary? With your wife. Okay, I hope every hand came up, okay?

How many of you remembered your anniversary? Appropriately in the hebraic way.

Last year, I have a friend who's a pastor who, you know, he teaches, but they just like, I do. But the word remember and Hebrew is much bigger and, you know, one guy had remembered Noah. And dried up the flood waters. It wasn't good. God was having coffee one morning. He said I forgot. Noah. Has he acted in response when you remember you acting response and so mi pastor friend he says my wife gets quite disgusted. If I do not remember our anniversary with a wonderfully romantic. Reenactment of our first incredible, the days that I bought my knee and held up the ring and a between remembering in our Greek way. We said, oh, it's all in your brain as long as you did in your head. That's fine. So I'll call you man next time. Next year, you got to remember, A c t Brantley. What you need to do is and you can see that what God does the weight sets of all the fees is? He always comes up with a way to kind of make it real again. Okay, it's a meal that's just like you're sitting there. The last night before you left Egypt, you know you you pretend like it's your very last meal and your kids are always what are we doing? And then you say this is what God did when we left Egypt your trainer remake it be real and your kids and explains it to them but you know it also does that in your own mind to if it's effective if you did it correctly you're making it more real. Just like if you have a lovely romantic anniversary celebration it rekindles the Affection that you once knew back in your honeymoon Days by the way, I'm not married. I just hear that. It's like that. So and I can lecture you about marriage because like I've never done anything wrong. Where do I? So I must know a lot. So anyhow okay. I want to marry people stuff.

So he keeps, I'm just pointing out that he keeps coming up with ways to re-enact things, what's re-enacted? Okay, let's all make that dry bread like we just ate right now and eat some eat it for 7 days to remind you how I had that. We were out there in the desert eating the bread. And, you know, remember you're coming on time outside a and I'm still coach. You build a booth. Remembering how? Remember we built us a booth? The a big boost in my backyard. When I first built her, when we started the ministry that I was a part of the year, we built it before we built. It was 2001. What happened in the fall of 2001, like a bomb dropped. I mean, the whole world was shaking and I had just left my tenure-track position as a professor and we were terrified and it was like, the whole world was shaking. And we were to imagine being out in the wilderness and you have no protection and you're under this booth and God Is Watching Over You. That's what you're supposed to re-enact. So, that's the kind of thing you do when you do this, okay? And then After you have made these experiences real again, you live them out. By how you live towards others. He keeps telling people, I am the Lord, your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery. Noticed that he doesn't just say I am I am the god who created the heavens and the Earth know God keeps finding himself in terms of remember what a wonderful thing I did for you. And always say that the Bible have so much slavery in it. Just stop talking about it. You know what it was a reality and it was still around a lot of places in the world but God in his definition of himself says I'm the one who took you out of slavery. God is Not pro-slavery. I mean, he shows himself as a liberator and a person who rescues his people and he wants them to remember that.

by sharing that reality with others, and he makes them Did you set up a system? He starts at the very beginning in all the right out in the wilderness, the first week out there, they've just started eating this weird, man stuff. And then God says, okay, you get to collect it for 6 days and this not working delivered, collect twice as much. I'm not going to give you a numero. Okay then, okay, next we're going to do it again. Do it again and he's teaching you how Be setting up with a way to train you in this attitude that every week I need to set my slaves free for a day. I can't make other people do my work, we just have to be done. That's how he's treating us into that kind of attitude and he keeps saying okay we practiced with Sabbath, okay? Now every 7 years Let your debtors Go free. Wow you know people didn't just get loans when they just need extra money is because they're desperate and the joy that you felt to see somebody. Oh my God, I don't have this debt hanging over me.

It's a wonderful feeling to be the person who releases the other person unless you're too enamored with your money. You shouldn't like, yay, I get to set you free from that miserable that you had and then

You've done it every 7 years. Okay, what's try? This one, every 49 years, every 77 years give people back their Lane and just keep spreading the Redemption out. You see how there's this pattern going on here and we just got done. Doing one more place, where we remember? You do this for the remembrance of me, that's what Jesus commanded for us, which we know. That's when he says, I'm giving you a new covenant for the Forgiveness of sins. And then he says, just as you have been Forgiven. Why don't you extend that Redemption to other people?

What did you set your debtors free? And so I would say that's one of the. This is what I have learned from. How can we learn from God's? Peace about first we,

Have a wonderful party time dancing around. Like you guys have been doing so breathing the wonderful thing. God didn't the past and then we take. Now I get to go do that for other people out too and that's how we bring it alive. Remind ourselves, keep it fresh and and spread the Redemption. Around the world.

Amen.