The Gospel in Real Life

A couple of years ago, I had the privilege of sitting down with a couple of Orthodox Jews (one living in Israel and the other lives near me in the Phoenix area) and talk about the Law of Moses and the Covenant given at Sinai. This was quite a thrill for me because I’ve never done it before. The first conversation was with just one of them and the second one was with both. Both occasions were interesting and I came away from both conversations with a better grasp of how an Orthodox Jew interprets Moses. I have to admit that I learned some things along the way.

I was also reminded that the Old Covenant isn’t old unless one has embraced the New Covenant in its place. So I found myself using terms like “the Hebrew Scriptures”, “the Law delivered to Moses”, and the “Covenant given at Sinai” to describe my views of the Old Covenant Scriptures. I know I slipped up and said “Old Covenant” on at least two occasions, but my Jewish companions were very gracious and overlooked my flaws.

One of my first questions was how does an Orthodox Jew (by that I mean a Jew who attempts today to hold faithfully to the Law of Moses as it was delivered on Mount Sinai) cover his or her tracks when the Law of Moses commands something that cannot possibly be done today? When Moses commands an atoning sacrifice in the Old Covenant Scriptures, how is that command obeyed since there is no Temple to do it in and there is no priest to represent you. I was immediately taken to Hosea 3:4-5. Here’s how it reads in the New International Version:

For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.

It was explained to me that this verse describes the dilemma that an orthodox Jew faces today. They will live many days without sacrifice, king, or prince but that’s ok, because it’s God-ordained. Interesting concept, but I think it misses the historical context of the passage. Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel prior to the Assyrian captivity in about the middle of the 8th century B.C.. Not too long after he prophesied, the northern kingdom of Israel was swept away by the Assyrian armies. Within 200 years or so, the southern kingdom of Judah was taken away into Babylonian captivity, where they remained for 70 years. Following the 70 years of captivity, Israel began to return to Jerusalem where the rebuilding of the walls and the temple commenced under the leadership if Nehemiah and Zerubbabel.

My question to my Jewish friends was simply, “Would a Jew living at the time of Zerubbabel or Nehemiah not understand Hosea 3:4-5 as being fulfilled and therefore, a part of history, not a reference to today?” The nation of Israel just came off of a 70 year hiatus where the requirements of the Mosaic Law were not being observed because there was no way to observe them in captivity. In other words, wouldn’t a Jew living in that time (or even at the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry) interpret Hosea 3:4-5 as historical and past? There is certainly nothing in the passage that would indicate a future fulfillment that is yet pending, and yet that is precisely what my Jewish friends were suggesting as a viable interpretation. They interpreted Hosea 3:4-5 as pertaining to them now because the trappings of the Old Covenant are beyond their reach. There is no Temple to sacrifice in and no Levitical priest to represent them, and the Old Covenant desperately needs both a Temple and a priest (Hebrews 7:11-12) if it’s going to work. The Old Covenant was inseparably tied to a place and time and that time cannot be duplicated today, try as one might. Hosea 3:4-5 has come and gone, as has the Old Covenant economy of which it spoke.

I never got a satisfying answer from my new found friends, but it did spark much more discussion on the conditional requirements of the Old Covenant, law-breaking, and sin. But that’s coming up in another post. Stay tuned….