“For you made a distinction between them and all the peoples of the earth by making them your inheritance, as you said through Moshe your servant when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, Adonai Elohim.” – 1 Kings 8:53
In the movie, Fiddler on the Roof, the character named Tevye says…
“God, I know, I know…. we are your chosen people;
but once in a while couldn’t you choose someone else?”
I always wondered about that statement.
Why would a member of God’s chosen people ever wanna wish otherwise?
When I was attending a Messianic Congregation, there was a time when I even lied about being Jewish (I am not).
And even recently, I received a message from one of my blog followers who supports Israel.
She was sending me some photos of the Dead Sea Scrolls she took.
At the end of her message, she said:
“I lead tours to Israel (when I can get people to go during wars!!!), and even if they don’t go, I work the archaeological dig at Shiloh each season. I run a non-profit in support of Israel, but I myself am not Jewish. Wish I were.“
So it appears my sentiment of wanting to be Jewish ain’t nothing new.
I see it all the time amongst Gentile believers.
Heck, the Gentile Church even proclaimed itself the new Israel with its ridiculous Replacement Theology.
And even messianic believers called Benjamin who only have 25% Jewish ethnicity in them because only their grandfather is Jewish, even though they said their father is Jewish, will completely ignore 75% of their Gentile self and latch onto what little Jewish DNA they have in their body for dear bloody life.
Then there’s the 5-foot-5 balding messianic leader who thinks he’s God’s gift to Messianic Judaism because he married a Jewish woman and has Jewish kids.
I can only imagine the egotistical wet dreams he has about himself every night.
Seriously, that’s how desperate to be Jewish some homies are.
You can tell they’re flying high on ego trips with their first-class tickets because of the arrogant, pontificating, and ugly-as-all-hell condescending attitude they harbor towards plain gentile believers like me.
Heck, I have a friend who is a 100% legitimate convert to Orthodox Judaism who was attending one Messianic Congregation for a time, and they treated him like he was an uncircumcised gentile with leprosy or something.
This is laughable because the truth is he is more Jewish than every one of those other examples I mentioned above combined.
Again, I think all of this stems from a deep-seated inferiority complex towards Israel and the Jewish People.
It wasn’t until I fully internalized the healthy spirituality Paul expressed in the Book of Romans that the inferiority complex I held toward the Jewish people dropped.
What do I mean when I say “Paul’s healthy spirituality?”
I’m referring to his balanced approach to ethnicity and spiritual identity.
On one hand, he could affirm with great pride…
“Did God reject his people?
By no means!
I am an Israelite myself,
a descendant of Abraham,
from the tribe of Benjamin.“
-Romans 11:1
Yet at the same time he could affirm…
“A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly,
nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.
No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly;
and circumcision is circumcision of the heart,
by the Spirit, not by the written code.
Such a person’s praise is
not from other people, but from God.”
– Romans 2:28-29
And then conclude with…
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile,
neither slave nor freeman,
neither male nor female;
for in union with the Messiah Yeshua,
you are all one.“
-Galatians 3:28
To be clear, Paul ain’t talking about the erasure of ethnic distinctions in that verse from Galatians.
Otherwise he’d be erasing gender distinctions as well when he said there be “neither male nor female.”
He’s referring to being equal in terms of spiritual status.
Okay, wow!
How the heck did I get on that rant?
Anyway, onward.
So, picking up where I started with the quote from Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof asking the Lord if He could choose someone else for a change.
Look, on one level, I kinda understand where he’s coming from…especially after October 7th.
Many modern Jews don’t necessarily wanna be God’s chosen people because they feel it has generally brought them nothing but trouble for hundreds of years.
That’s why they don’t wanna be thought of as special or set-apart.
They wanna be just like everybody else.
However, is that the attitude God wants them to have?
Or if you are a Jew, lemme just ask you directly?
Do you think God wants you to hide and cower because of your Jewish identity?
Or would He rather want you to be proud of your Jewishness?
I would think the latter.
Now look, I want you to be safe when you venture out into goyim land.
And if you deem it dangerous to wear Jewish symbols in certain situations, I totally understand given the rampant anti-Semitism in the world today.
But wherever you can, man?
Be proud and wear your Star of David.
Or your kippah.
Because funny thing is, the homies who fake it are dying to have what you were born with.
Maybe that oughta tell you something about what you’re carrying.
It’s the same thing Solomon was praying about in 1 Kings 8:53.
God made a distinction between you and all the peoples of the earth.
He called you His inheritance.
That ain’t a burden He stuck you with.
That’s an inheritance He handed you.
So no, Tevye.
He ain’t choosing somebody else.
Praying for ya all!
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