Tuesday, September 29, 2020

PT-1 "Perversion by Addition" (Matt. 5:43)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/29/2020 11:34 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                              Focus:  PT-1 “Perversion by Addition”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 5:43

 

            Message of the verse:  43 "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”

 

            We move from omitting things to adding things in our SD for today.  We are talking about love in this section and the addition to the scribes and Pharisees is “and hate your enemy” which we do not find in the OT.  This addition is even more perverse than their omission; however it was the logical extension of their all-consuming self-interest.

 

            I find the following paragraph from MacArthur’s commentary very interesting:  “It goes without saying that Gentiles were not considered neighbors.  A saying of the Pharisees has been discovered that reads, ‘If a Jew sees a Gentile fallen into the sea, let him by no means lift him out, for it is written, ‘Thou shalt not rise up against the blood of thy neighbor,’ but this man is not thy neighbor.’  It is little wonder that the Romans charged Jews with hatred of the human race.”

 

            I don’t know if this is a good excuse for the Jews to hate Gentiles, but it comes from what the Lord had told the children of Israel to do to those “Gentiles” living in the Promised Land when God told them to drive them out.  However if one looks at why the Lord had the Jews drive these nations out of the Promised Land we see that they were a very sinful lot and God gave them 400 years to repent while Israel the family became Israel the country while living in Egypt.  So this is not by any means an excuse.  The things that God was doing through the children of Israel to drive out these heathen nations was totally just as Dietrich Bonheoffer writes “The wars of Israel were the only holy wars in history, for they were the wars of God against the world of idols.  It is not this enmity which Jesus condemns for then He would have condemned the whole history of God’s dealing with His people.  On the contrary, He affirms the Old Covenant.” 

 

            MacArthur brings up another reason of why the Jews hated the Gentiles as he cites the imprecatory psalms that David wrote.  “May their table before them become a snare; and when they are in peace, may it become a trap.  May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see, and make their lions shake continually.  Pour out Thine indignation on them, and may Thy burning anger overtake them” (Psalm 69:22-24). 

 

            We will, Lord willing give an explanation for this in our next SD.

 

9/29/2020 11:51 AM

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