Shabbat shalom everyone,

This is the seventh Sabbath of the Omer-counting period, so we are going to be taking a look at the seventh and final part of God’s Covenant. It is the fourth covenant with the Assembly of Israel (after the one with Abraham and the Patriarchs, the Sinai covenant, and the Moab covenant).

The main thrust of this Covenant, is that as long as Israel’s anointed kings are just, and follow YHVH alone, then Israel will prosper, and dwell in safety and security. However, if Israel’s messiah-kings turn aside from God’s ways, follow other gods, or act unjustly, then Israel’s fortunes will take a turn for the worse, and Israel will become vulnerable to her enemies.

What this covenant tells us, is that originally, ‘messiah’ was not a synonym for ‘saviour’; it was merely a title of Israel’s anointed kings – all the kings of Israel and Judah were ‘messiahs’ (even the bad ones); and Israel’s kings were not originally considered perfect human beings – hence the need for this covenant, to keep them in line.

Messianism is therefore a corruption of this covenant – firstly among mainstream Judaism, that God would give us a perfect king who would live forever, which then in Paullist Christianity became a sinless god. Christian messianism comes from post-Exile Judean messianism, so there is no point quoting ancient Jewish teachings on the messiah to justify the Christian messiah, because it’s wrong anyway.

In my commentary on the completion of the Mishkan (Ex 25:1-26:30), I mentioned how the Mishkan and its symbolism was supposed to give the Israelites such a ‘wow-feeling’ – to give us such a profound sense of, “So that’s what it’s all about”, that when we read about the subsequent golden calf episode, it really hits us in the stomach, how base and how far away from Yahveh’s design and will the calf-worship actually was. The Israelites made a puny (in relative terms) and powerless idol to represent their God, just because they wanted something visible of God to travel before them.

Similarly, the jarring and incongruous attachment of messianic theology to the Israelite faith – something that happened only in the 6th century BCE – would have been a similar gut-punch for anyone who remained faithful to the original ideals Yahveh gave us. Yahveh was, is, and always will be, Israel’s Sovereign King.

Messianic hope is a wasted spiritual life

Always think on this – that before the 11th century BCE, no faithful follower of Yahveh ever longed for a messiah-saviour – Abraham didn’t, nor did Isaac or Jacob, nor did Moses or Joshua, nor any of the Judges of Israel. Their Saviour was always Yahveh, and only Yahveh. And it was all because they were fully aware that their living God – the God whom they related to on a daily basis – was with them, and was already their Saviour-King.

Think on this too: if you need to long for a saviour to come, then in effect, you are actually saying that you are unhappy with how God is doing the job as your Saviour, and things could be better if there was a messiah to rule over us, instead of God.

Messianic longing is a sign of a wasted spiritual life. Rather than being filled and strengthened in the moment, by the ever-present power and blessing of Yahveh, a Jewish messianist will spend the time praying for the coming of the Messiah, because only then will the Jewish people supposedly be free of our troubles. Well, how about we try this: how about realising that Yahveh is already our Saviour-King, and that Yahveh is ready and willing to direct us towards peace and prosperity?

Then there is Christian messianism. These messianists have been waiting for the messiah to come for nearly 2,000 years. There are fundamentalists today, whose entire prayer-life is filled with prayers for ‘Jesus’ to come; their faith is entirely dependent on the coming of the end-times; they are convinced that the end-times are soon, and even castigate those among them who do not hold to the same assuredness, for lacking in faith.

Well, instead of hating on each other, and everyone else, how about this for a novelty: how about showing compassion to the outsider, the lost and the forgotten; how about showing some understanding towards those who are not one of your community? How about  having a kinder regard towards those you normally spurn and demonise, or how about applying your supposed ideals across the board instead, in all situations, in all of society, and not selectively, just in those situations which you support politically?

The responsibilities of the Covenant

This Covenant was specifically with David and all his direct, male-line descendants.

As with all the different parts of the Covenant which Yahveh has cut with us, God has responsibilities, and we have our responsibilities.

God’s responsibilities:

  • Give David great renown, greater than all the kings of the earth
  • Establish an eternal lineage of kings
  • Promise that the kings who sit on Israel’s throne will always be of David’s line
  • Give David a son who will build a Temple for YHVH
  • Always be with David to strengthen him
  • Crush David’s adversaries
  • Extend his kingdom
  • Make his descendants more numerous than the stars of the sky

The responsibilities of David and his descendants:

  • Keep all God’s covenants
  • Uphold God’s teachings
  • Act in accordance with God’s rules, laws and principles
  • Observe God’s commandments

 What God will do for Israel if Israel’s messiahs remain faithful to YHVH:

     *   >   Establish an eternal home for Israel

  • Plant Israel firmly on that land
  • Make them to dwell securely and without fear
  • Give Israel safety
  • Evil people will not oppress them

 What will happen if Israel’s messiahs turn away from YHVH:

 

  • Israel will be defeated by her enemies
  • The country will suffer general misfortune
  • The messiah will also suffer personal misfortune

What the messiah was meant to be

In ancient times, between humanity’s ages of local chieftains and the time of the first kings of cities and countries, a king was the general of their people’s army. This was the original position that the king of Israel was supposed to have.

In our modern western system, political governance covers virtually all aspects of our lives, and religious leaders only deal with spiritual matters (which means that for most people in a secular society, religious leaders have no relevance at all). Israelite society was structured differently. For practical purposes, there were three equal branches of power: 

Religious branch: this was headed by the High Priest. It was in charge of spiritual matters, as well as taxation for social welfare and religious purposes (social welfare was the responsibility of the religious community). 

Military branch: this was headed by the king. It dealt with defence, civic order, and political relations with other nations. 

Civil branch (the Justice system): this was headed by the 12 tribal leaders, who also acted as the chief magistrates of the people. It covered civil disputes and criminal cases, and included the elders, judges and ‘officials’ of the tribes. Whereas the other 2 were national, this was more localised and regional. Local tribal culture and traditions would also have been overseen by this branch. Referral to the chief priests was only made in very difficult cases. 

In the ancient Israelite system, there were no political leaders as such; power was instead spread out amongst the three groups, so that none could exert undue influence over the other. Each was supposed to balance and check the excesses of the other two. This is why in the Israelite faith, a king cannot be High Priest, and a High Priest (or even a priest) cannot be king. Ancient Israel was the very first nation on earth to have the ideal of a ‘separation of church and state.’ If the two mix – if religious leaders also become political leaders – then both become corrupt.

The ideal king – the people’s king

In most societies, the king is at the top of a social hierarchy, and there is little or no meeting between the top and the bottom. Around the anxient Middle East, no one could criticise a king, because they would be executed; and pagan peoples treated their kings with the same reverence they had for their gods.

In the Israelite religion, no human being, no prophet, and no leader, is ever given the same reverence that a Yahwist is suppose to reserve for Yahveh. For that reason, no human being should be considered perfect, no religious leader should be considered perfect, and no king should be considered perfect.

An Israelite king can be criticised and rebuked, because he is not perfect – he is a servant of God, just like every other Israelite. A good Israelite king knows the needs of his people – he is a figurehead for his country, and if he sees that there are those who seek to divide the nation, and push certain sections of it aside, then the king is there to enact God’s will and ensure that his country does not become divided.

The prophet Yeshua` taught the biblical concept that the leader was the servant of all. He said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord their authority over them, and those in positions of leadership arrogantly hold their authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave to all.’ (S.Yesh. 149:1-2 – cf Mk 10:42-44)

With high social rank come obligations. In a Yahwist society, the nobility have a duty to protect the least in their society. There are some obstacles that the poor alone cannot move. If the poor and destitute have good reason to respect and stand right beside those of higher social rank, then there is nothing that such a society cannot achieve. Greater still, there is no enemy who can stand against them, no foe they cannot defeat.

This was the foundational principle underpinning Yahveh’s ideal of a human king. You have to realise that in those days 3,000 years ago, the kings of the earth had no interest in anything but their own aggrandisement, power and wealth. The only things they cared about were the accumulation of more gold, more land, more herds, slaves, finery and influence than anyone else.

Yahveh forbade Israelite kings from behaving like this (Dt 17:14-20). Yahveh knew that a king who cared for and looked after his people – regardless of their station in life – would have a people behind him whom he could count on to rally to arms, and defend their nation and their way of life, no matter what. Such a nation would be a formidable one. This was the prime motivation behind the ideal of Israelite egalitarianism.

The real Messianic prophecies

Most of the ‘messianic’ prophecies that Christians use, are all taken out of context, so I won’t look at them in this article. The prophecies that mainstream Judaism uses to build up their perfect messiah, in fact apply to Israel’s few good kings, who have actually already been and gone. For example, the child promised in Isaiah 9 actually refers to King Hezekiah (reigned 716-686 BCE). Others refer to King Josiah (reigned 640–609 BCE).

If you look honestly and realistically at those prophecies in the Hebrew Bible which are genuinely yet to be fulfilled, these prophecies can be classified into eight groups: 

  1. the exiles of Ephraim & Judah will return; Ephraim & Judah will be reunited
  2. There will be widespread observance of Torah by Israel
  3. God will appoint a Messiah
  4. the Covenant between God and Israel will be renewed
  5. There will be Universal Knowledge of God
  6. The pouring out of the Glory of God
  7. Universal Reign of peace
  8. The rebuilding of the Temple

The event that is generally understood to come first, is the return of the scattered exiles of Ephraim and Judah. We know that the exiles of Judah have returned, but the lost exiles of Ephraim (the descendants of the northern kingdom) have yet to return to the Land. When that happens – when Ephrathites return to the land of Israel, such a miracle will galvanise the rest of Israel to return to God’s Torah. After that, when we are ready, it is then that God will choose a descendant of David to rule as king, over a reunited Israel.

These are the genuine messianic prophecies, which genuinely apply to a a future messiah:

Jeremiah 23:5-6, 33:14-17, 30:7-10, Ezekiel 34:23-30, 37:24-28, and Isaiah 11:1-10

As you can see from the above timeline, the appointment of a future king for Israel will only happen once the exiles of the northern kingdom have returned to Israel. God’s plan is for this to happen first – before a Davidic king, and well before the rebuilding of the holy Temple. So therefore, there is no point in asking God for a messiah to come, if the exiles of Ephraim are nowhere in sight. Yahveh, and Yahveh alone, will appoint a human king over Israel when God is ready.

Summary

The messiah is not a perfect being; he is not an eternal being; he is not our saviour. The Davidic covenant was meant to keep the descendants of David in line, so that they would remain faithful to God and God’s Covenant, and not go astray or become despots.

So I therefore say this to Talmidis: if your faith is built around hope for a coming messiah, then you will have lived a wasted life – even if you yourself can’t see it. Your life is better spent in building the Kingdom of Yahveh on earth – living God’s noble ways, furthering peace and good will among peoples and faiths.

A realistic view of God’s covenant with David and his descendants, will help you, as a Talmidi, to realign your spiritual priorities, and realise that you don’t have to waste your life waiting for a human saviour to come, at a time you will never know and never see; but that you can live your life to its fullest potential, knowing that your eternal Saviour is already with you, right now, ready to work with you to build God’s kingdom on earth.