1K7-14: Your Ham Sandwich Is a Theological Statement

Alrighty, starting today, I’m gonna begin a mini-study of the Temple’s history from its birth to its destruction.

This is gonna be absolutely fascinating.

The lessons you’ll read over the next few days will be key to understanding the remainder of the Bible.

You’ll also gain a solid grasp of prophecy connected to both current and future events.

This is knowledge most Bible teachers never take the time to properly study.

But you’re going to get it all in nice and easy-to-digest chunks this week.

So rejoice!

And, let’s get the party started by establishing the first and most important point.

It’s recorded for us in this verse from the Torah:

“But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.  There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.  You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you.” – Deuteronomy 12:5-9

So there are two key points to be extracted from the above passage.

FIRST, notice there was to be only one authorized place of worship and sacrifice for all Israel.

Unfortunately, the Hebrews had difficulty obeying that instruction.

Why?

Because they built what’s called “high places” or BAMAH in Hebrew all over the freakin’ place!

These were personal and private family worship centers and were a DIRECT VIOLATION of the Torah command above.

So it’s obvious, no one could agree on where God’s official worship spot was supposed to be.

Different tribal groups had their own ideas.

The majority didn’t accept the old location where the remains of the original Wilderness Tabernacle used to stand as the one true place of worship.

Solomon finished building the Temple in Jerusalem around 960 B.C.

From that point on, it stayed in operation for a good 400 years or so.

But don’t think it stayed frozen in time like a can of refried beans with a never-ending expiration date on it.

There was one historical hiccup when Ahaz literally shut the Temple doors and let it go dark until Hezekiah reopened it.

Other kings got creative in remodeling the Temple as parts of it wore out through neglect.

And more than once, some kings would strip the Temple of gold and other valuables when things got tight money-wise.

Yup, even royalty stooped to such low behavior during times of financial stress.

Finally, in 586 B.C., the Babylonians rolled in and tore the whole thing down, and that was that

Onward.

SECOND, notice it says…

“You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit…”

Now, doesn’t this sound familiar?

Ain’t this exactly where we are today?

Everyone is doing as they see fit.

Especially when it comes to God’s holy law.

The pork-eating, shabbat-desecrating Christian church says the law has been done away with and has relegated the Torah to the outer limits of infinite irrelevance.

The Messianic crowd says Jews are obligated to obey Torah while gentile believers can continue eating their ham sandwiches with their afternoon tea.

The Orthodox Jews say a goy shouldn’t fully keep Torah until they convert, and rabbis will even tell a conversion candidate to deliberately break Shabbat in some small way until he or she is officially a Jew.

So what’s the correct position?

Don’t take my word for it.

Let’s let the Torah answer for itself.

Exodus 12:49 says, “One law shall be for the native-born and for the ger who sojourns among you.”

The original Hebrew is v’lager hagar b’tochchem for “the ger who sojourns among you” part.

Numbers 15:15-16 says it again.

“One statute for you and for the ger… as you are, so shall the ger be before YHVH.”

Leviticus 24:22 says it a third time.

When God repeats Himself three times, He ain’t mumbling, homie.

So, we’re talking about one Torah.

The same standard for the native-born Israelite and for the goy who grafts himself into the commonwealth of Israel.

Now, I know some homie is gonna bring up Deuteronomy 14:21, where the ger in your gates is allowed to eat an animal that died on its own, something Israel couldn’t touch.

Doesn’t that prove two sets of rules?

No.

Look at the context.

In Exodus 12 and Numbers 15, the ger in question desires to be grafted into the commonwealth of Israel.

He wants Passover.

He wants to worship the God of Israel.

And the Torah tells him the entry fee (circumcision) and the standard (same as native-born Hebrews).

In Deuteronomy 14, the ger is just a foreigner living in the neighborhood, receiving a free meal.

He hasn’t joined anything.

So the Torah is meeting the homie where he stands at that moment.

But the moment a goy attaches himself to Israel and her God, the question is settled.

Not by the church.

Not by the Messianic teachers.

Not by the rabbis.

But by Moses!

“As you are, so shall the ger be before YHVH.”

One God.

One People.

One Law.

None of this everyone-doing-as-they-see-fit chaos.

Ya feel me?

Done.

CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

“Don’t think that I came
to destroy the law
or the prophets.
I didn’t come to destroy,
but to fulfill.
For most certainly, I tell you,
until heaven and earth pass away,
not even one smallest letter
or one tiny pen stroke
shall in any way pass away
from the law,
until all things are accomplished.
Whoever therefore breaks one
of these least commandments,
and teaches others
to do so,
shall be called least
in the Kingdom of Heaven;
but whoever does
and teaches them
shall be called great
in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
— Matthew 5:19

“Remember that you were
at that time
separate from Messiah,
alienated from the commonwealth
of Israel, and strangers
from the covenants
of the promise,
having no hope
and without God
in the world.”
— Ephesians 2:12

“They, when they heard it, glorified the Lord.
They said to him, “You see, brother,
how many thousands there are among
the Jews who have believed. They
are all zealous for the law.
They have been informed about you,
that you teach all the Jews
who are among the Gentiles to
forsake Moses, telling them not to
circumcise their children and not to
follow the customs. What then? The
assembly must certainly meet, for they
will hear that you have come.
Therefore do what we tell you.
We have four men who have
taken a vow. Take them, and
purify yourself with them, and pay
their expenses for them, that they
may shave their heads. Then everyone
will know that there is no
truth in the things of which
they have been informed concerning you,
but that you yourself also walk
keeping the law.”
— Acts 21:20–24