The Jewish people can feel satisfied that the 45^th president of the United States has pledged to move its embassy to Jerusalem but they cannot forever violate the Bible’s vision and call for the state of Israel to take the destiny of Jerusalem into the heavyweight division.  In 2009 this writer examined the history of Jerusalem and discovered Zion (Tsiyyon, tsee-YONE) and Melchisedec and a new appreciation of David. The  following are excerpts from my research paper.

In Palestine today there is a drama unfolding that escapes the casual observer. At the centre of the decades-long violence bereaving the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, is a forgotten element of the divine plan and reality. The State of Israel and its allies, as custodians of the supreme piece of real estate, have been creating barriers to the creation of the inevitable legitimate manifestation of God’s glory in Jerusalem. As this document is being prepared for publication, there is a literal wall, a crushing blow to decency, dividing the people of Palestine. Civil societies everywhere are expected to have the capacity to allow peoples, tribes and families to live together. Of all the places on earth, one would expect to see the best display of the spirit and commitment to human unity Jerusalem would top the list. There is so little being done about the crushing of the inalienable and long-denied rights of the Palestinian people that we can hardly deny that we need a defining biblical model for the civic entity that emerges from the darkness of the Palestinian Problem: a barrier-less, cosmopolitan and international society. The Jewish state has set its priorities in lock-step with religious fanatics – both Gentiles and Jews – who claim that descent from Abraham gives title to the land of Canaan.ⁱ That barely scratches the surface of the issues at stake. The problem with this popular view is that there is a madness to the goals of the Jewish State and its supporters because the destiny of both Canaan and Jerusalem is not assigned to Abraham’s descendants. Jerusalem has little credibility as a unique piece of real estate if one is to digest either the popular Jewish, Islamic, and Christian religious beliefs, or western political propaganda. What makes Jerusalem, and more precisely, the capital of the state, unique is its Davidide foundation. The mere discussion of the Palestinian Problem can become inflammatory. Sometimes even the mere mention of it can send people scurrying into silence or vocal barrages. The sad truth is that the few men who have dared to honour Jerusalem by peacemaking have died by assassination. One Hebrew prophet predicted that Jerusalem will become a “cup of reeling” and a dangerously “heavy stone” (Zechariah 12:2ff). In his Burden Of The Word Of The Lord Concerning Israel Zechariah predicts a day when Jerusalem will become

• a cup of reeling for all the surrounding peoples;
• against Judah also in the siege against Jerusalem. Zech. 12:2
• a heavy stone for all the peoples;
• the cause of shall grievously hurt to all who lift it
• besieged by all the nations of the earth allied against it. Zech. 12:3

The Davidide Dignity

The difference between Judah and Jerusalem is evident in the Judeans’ recognition that Jerusalem’s people are strong through YHWH S^EBAOTH.

Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.” Zech. 12:5

Zechariah goes on to describes Jerusalem’s unique destiny: opposite the dangerous and devouring Judean fires, Jerusalem will be a lived-in place.

On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot on a pile of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves; and they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. Zech. 12:6

Finally, the prophet shows how Jerusalem’s final destiny rests with the Davidide dynasty. Judah’s honour is restored when she gains priority over the Davidide Judah in the victory.

And the LORD will give victory to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over that of Judah. Zech. 12:7

However, David’s house gives strength to the character of Jerusalem’s inhabitants. Messiah rules! Yahweh seeks the destruction of the alliance.

On that day the LORD will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, at their head. Zech. 12:8

And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Zech. 12:9

This city, above all, deserves out attention because of the high stakes to all who would venture into the cause of Jerusalem’s peace. To this end we pray. To capture the panorama of this great city it is essential to review the origins, progress, and perceived destiny from the pages of the Sacred Texts. David’s connection with the city will be of the utmost interest because it points the way to the fullest expression of Jerusalem’s character. David’s relations with the city that became “the City of David” can hardly be recognized without the contributions of the Jebusites. These Jebusites have been at the centre of the City of David, and their involvement brings to light the spark of excellence in ancient civic life. A capital must exemplify the nation.

We are full of hope even though the world rulers have discarded several civic landmarks in deference to both ancient and modern innovations. Zion calls out for a solid consensus, without which, we will have opted for unnecessary anxiety and bloodshed.

Zion’s Origins

There is however a great deal more to Zion than the two cryptic entries, and the lessons we can gather are of global implications.

Salem, Shalem (<l@v*) appears twice in the Hebrew Bible: in Genesis 14:18 and Psalm 76:3. The earliest reference to the sacred site introduces us to a thriving Canaanite spirituality. Shalem was the home, pastorate and realm of Melchizedek.ⁱⁱ The second informs us that GOD has a booth (is) a sok), a dwelling (typically a tent, but any lean-to is possible, and even if it is celebratory) and His refuge (his den, hn*u)m=) in that location.

And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. (Gen. 14:18)

In Salem also is his tabernacle (booth), and his dwelling place (refuge) in Zion. Psalm 76:2

The centuries between the Abraham-Melchizedek encounter and the song leaves a lot unsaid. We meet happily, in that encounter, a man whose connection to God gets little attention even though he gets the highest rating possible of any priest in history. Melchizedek’s priesthood is of an order to which all others submit, and that includes the Levitical priesthood.

And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. (Heb 7:9) For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. (Heb 7:10)

A temple that is of the Mosaic economy is obviously out of date when consider what David did with the Ark in Zion and Solomon’s preparations for the temple.

Jerusalem: the names of Zion

One hears the name Zion (Hebrew /oYx! tsee-YONE) and Jerusalem rushes to mind, with its temple mount and sacred sites. Even Scripture seems to cooperate with this synonymy, despite the fact that the first reference to Zion names the location “City of David”, and this reference (occurring over 40 times), in turn, identifies two different sites at least 5 times (1 Kings 3:1, 8:1, 2 Kings 9:28, 14:20, 2 Chr. 5:2). The specificity is riveting

1. And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. (1Kgs 3:1)
2. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. (1Kgs 8:1)
3. And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David. (2Kgs 9:28)
4. And they brought him on horses: and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. (2Kgs 14:20)
5. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. (2Chr 5:2)

Shalem – Canaanite Holy City

Mention of this city calls up the records of Melchizedek, Adonizedek, the first listed as “King of Salem”, the second, king of Jerusalem (Gen. 14:18, Josh 10:1, 3). Throughout the book of Joshua, this same city is called Jerusalem (10:5, 10:23, 12:10, 15:8, 15:63, 18:28).

This Melkitsedeq was also priest of el elyon (God Most High, /wy)lu# la@)The writer of Hebrews takes this combination of the priestly and the royal into one person as a distinct signal of the Messiah. The city receives mention in Judges (1:7, 8, 21, 19:10) and most notably in the Psalms where we see a sobering celebration of Zion as the residence of YHWH, EL the great king.

The name SHALEM (Hebrew (ml)@v*) means peace, well-being and completeness.

 

From the dialogue between the two men we learn that ‘EL `ELYON (/wy)lu#-la@) is the name of the God of the Shalemites and the God of Abraham. This is the very name by which all the patriarchs knew their God and this name appears in all sections of the Bible. EL or ELOHIM appears in the Pentateuch more than 40 times, in the Prophets 44 times, and in the Writings, 134 times.

 

Examples of the Divine Name in the Pentateuch

EL-GADOL, the Great God/EL (Deut. 10:17)

EL-ROY, the EL-who-sees-me (Gen. 16:13)

EL-SHADDAY – EL – ALMIGHTY/OF THE MOUNTAIN (Gen. 17:1)

EL-BETEL – EL – of the house of EL

EL (Gen. 46:3)

EL QANO⁾ – Jealous EL (Deut. 6:15)

 

Examples of the Divine Name in the Prophets

EL HAY, THE LIVING EL (Josh 3:10)

ELOHIM-QADOSH & EL QANO⁾ A holy elohim & a jealous EL. (Josh 24:19)

EL-DE⁽OT – EL OF KNOWLEDGE (1 Sam. 2:3)

EL-TAMIM – perfect EL (2 Sam. 22:31)

EL-GIBBOR – mighty EL (Isaiah 9:6).

 

Examples of the Divine Name in the writings

1. And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God (EL THE GREAT AND AWESOME), that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: (Nehemiah 1:5)
2. Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice? (Job 8:3)
3. If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; (Job 8:5)
4. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see [it]. (Psalm 10:11)
5. [It is] God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. (Psalm 18:33)
6. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou [art] God. (Psalm 90:2)
7. For the LORD [is] a great God, and a great King above all gods. (Psalm 95:3)

The identical name used in the Salem encounter, EL-ELYON, appears only five times.

• And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. Gen. 14:18
• He blessed him and said, “”Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; Gen. 14:19
• and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything. Gen. 14:20
• But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the LORD, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth, Gen. 14:22
• They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. Psalm 78:35

Evidently, the use of the name EL did not change because of the revelation of the name YHWH to Moses. The critical issue here is that the worship of God in Salem persisted to the extent that the city was included in the Israelite occupation and was spared the torching that is recorded in Joshua of other cities.

Shalem – Hebrew Holy City

The second and final reference to SHALEM tells us about the perception of SHALEM as a chosen location. Salem – here spoken of in the times of the kings – may well be addressing the celebration of David’s tent in Zion. The Ark resided in Zion in a tent before Solomon built the temple

And [David] made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent. (1 Chron. 15:1)

Zion acquired a holy status beyond that of Jerusalem (the northern portion of the holy hill). In this next reference, we see that Solomon deemed Zion too holy for the Egyptian princess to reside, but clearly moved her to the northern portion of the hill where David had built palaces.

And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because [the places are] holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come. (2 Chr. 8:11)

 

There should be no surprise that the songwriter celebrates Salem/Zion as ELOHIM’s dwelling place, the nearest antecedent. (vs. 1)

 

In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. (Psalm 76:2)

This dwelling of the deity is something other than the Ark of the Covenant. Where the ark appears (10 times) we find it with lha (‘ohel) tent, but two different nouns appear in Psalm 76:2; hks (sukah) tent/booth) and hnwum (mònah refuge).ⁱⁱⁱ This indicates an attempt to distinguish Zion-Salem from the temple site.

Summary of Shalem

This Canaanite city over which God placed Melkitsedeq was spared from capture by the Israelites to declare His Messianic purpose for all the people of the land. It stayed in Canaanite hands until the messianic line was ready to take the throne.

The name Jerusalem most likely came from negotiations with the Jebusites as to what to call the city.

The choices were Salem, Yebus, and Zion. Of course it would always be City of David, but needed an official name that would more fully represent all the interests.

Jebus – Jebusite stronghold

The Books of Joshua and Judges help us identify three significant facts about Jebus-Shalem. First, the Israelites under Joshua failed to capture Jebus. Second, that the Israelites lived with the Jebusites, and third, the place first called Jebus is also called Jerusalem.

 

Failure to capture and co-residence

As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day. (Josh 15:63)

And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day. (Judges 1:21) See also 1 King 9:21

 

The Bible refers to this city (yeBUS) four times and its people (yebuSI) 39 times. Of these, 10 references are in conjunction with the name Jerusalem or Zion.

 

 

Yebusi territory Described as Jerusalem

 

1. [t]hen the boundary goes up by the valley of the son of Hinnom at the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem); and the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the valley of Rephaim; (Josh 15:8)
2. But the people of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so the Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day. (Josh 15:63)
3. But the people of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so the Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day. (Josh 15:63)
4. But the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived in Jerusalem among the Benjaminites to this day. (Judg 1:21)
5. Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath-jearim -fourteen towns with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to its families. (Josh 18:28)
6. But the man would not spend the night; he got up and departed, and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him. (Judg 19:10)
7. When they were near Jebus, the day was far spent, and the servant said to his master, “Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites, and spend the night in it.” (Judg 19:11)
8. The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back”-thinking, “David cannot come in here.” (2 Sam 5:6)
9. But when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented concerning the evil, and said to the angel who was bringing destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” The angel of the LORD was then by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. (2Sam 24:16)
10. David and all Israel marched to Jerusalem, that is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. (1Chr 11:4) (same as #8)

 

Again we see that Yebus has an unbreakable relationship with the people of God. Jerusalem is acknowledged as “Jebusite” by Bible writers and by people in the accounts. The survival of the Jebusites until and past the time of David serves as a stern reminder to all about the enduring nature of Yahweh’s relationships with Melkitsedeq and the succeeding generations of Salemites.

Summary of the names of Zion, city of David

Three names distinguish the city of David: Zion, Shalem and Jebus. Zion is David’s invention, while Shalem and Jebus are Canaanite names that persisted from ancient times to the time of the monarchy. We have also seen that the city enjoyed the protection and presence of the True God.

Synonymy

There is little doubt that the writers of Hebrew Scripture came to see Tsiyyon and Jerusalem as one and the same. For many writers, Jebus was Jerusalem. That’s just fine if one is dealing with a statement like the following: an explanation of the names.

 

But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which [is] Jerusalem; and [there were] with him two asses saddled, his concubine also [was] with him. (Judges 19:10)

This amounts to saying, “…Jebus, which we [now] call Jerusalem.” It is easy to see that they are talking about the same place: different names.

On the other hand looking for synonymy can be like looking for hay in a haystack. Often when Zion and Jerusalem appear together one assumes parallelism and it can be shown that one is being treated differently. It is important then to find the meaning of the difference between Zion and Jerusalem. We will examine word order and the distribution of complex phrases.

If Jerusalem were to be connected with the divine name at the same rate as Zion it would appear 372 times. The name Zion precedes Jerusalem 80% of the 45 times they appear together. Zion also appears with either more or different language. In the text then we see the difference between Zion and Jerusalem even more clearly. True synonymy is in the undisputed minority.

 

Here are three samples of obvious synonymy or at least parallelism.

1. This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: “`The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you. The

Daughter of Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee. (2 Kings 19:21)

2. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, (Psalm 51:18)
3. Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech. 9:9)

On the other hand we have not only geographical discreteness but also a host of linguistic additions to the phrases relating to Zion.

Zion is different

The ark moves from Jerusalem to Zion

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 1 Kings 8:1 (cf. 2 Chr. 5:2)

The two cities are listed

So the angel who talked with me said to me, Proclaim this message: Thus says the LORD of hosts; I am very jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. (Zech. 1:14)

Discrete Predictions

In this set of expressions the writer treats each identity differently.

• for from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out,
• and from Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (2 Kings 19:31 cf. Isa. 37:32)

Here band of survivors is a worse fate.

Here Zion gets pampered.

So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts;

• I am jealous for Jerusalem
• and for Zion with a great jealousy. (Zech. 1:14 (KJS)

Zion gets called “daughter” and is not in the dust, but is in bonds nonetheless.

Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem;

loose the bonds from your neck, ……….O captive daughter Zion! (Isaiah. 52:2)

 

In this next reference the law (hrwt) comes from Zion, and the name ELOHIM connects with the house of Jacob, not the mountain.

Many peoples shall come and say,

“”Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD (YHWH),

to the house of the God of Jacob; (ELOHE)

that he may teach (Wnr}y{w+) us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction (hr`ot),

and the word (DABAR) of the LORD from Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:3 and Micah 4:2

So you shall know that I,

the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy mountain.

And Jerusalem shall be holy,

and strangers shall never again pass through it. Joel 3:17

Poetic divides

In these texts the poet uses popular language to simultaneously be diverse and synonymous as he celebrate the two cities.

Yahweh and Elohim

Praise the LORD YHWH), O Jerusalem!

Praise your God (ELohim), O Zion! (Psalm 147:12)

Here the writer pens the names of the God of each city. He uses YHWH for Jerusalem, and EL for Zion. This is no coincidence. The name Yahweh is the newcomer, introduced in the covenant making with Moses. EL is a much older name, used by the Canaanites and the patriarchs.

The very appearance of YHWH in early text is itself misleading. Even though there was no revelation of the name YHWH to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we have the text of Genesis saying that the patriarchs “called on the name of YHWH”. (Gen. 4:26, 12:8, 13:4, 16:13, 21:33, and 26:25)

and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty (yD*v& la@ EL SHADDAY) but by my name Jehovah (hwhy YaHWeH) I was not known to them. (Exodus 6:3)

For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. (2 Kings 19:34)

What can I say for you, to what compare you, O daughter Jerusalem?

To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter Zion?

For vast as the sea is your ruin; who can heal you? (Lam. 2:13 )

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Do not fear,

O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. (Zeph 3:16)

A telling distinction is made in Psalm 147:12 and 117:1

Praise (shabach) the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise (halal) thy God, O Zion.

O (halal) praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise (shabach) him, all ye people.

Later texts also show that the people of Israel did not forget either the name of the city or the fact that they had not captured Jebus.

And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which [is] Jebus; where the Jebusites [were], the inhabitants of the land. (1Chr 11:4)

[And] all the people [that were] left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which [were] not of the children of Israel, (1 Kings 9:20)

Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day. (1 Kings 9:21)

Zion: the city of David

This name, Zion, too has its problems. It appears 44 times in the OT and twice in the New Testnament. Yet it is Bethlehem, where our Lord Messiah was born that springs to mind when one hears of the city of David. Zion is first related to David’s capture of the fort on the southeastern corner of the hill. We will examine the geography of Zion later as we try to establish the difference between Zion and Jerusalem.

Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same [is] the city of David. (2 Sam. 5:7)

 

The name Salem (<lv) appears in the notable meeting between Abram and Melkitsedeq, in a Psalm celebrating the divine residence, and in the Book of Hebrews.

 

1. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God. (Gen. 14:18)
2. In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. (Psalm 76:2)
3. For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; (Hebrews 7:1)
4. Hebrew 7:2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; (Hebrews 7:2)

The following 10 references are to Zion with only the divine name ELOHIM (Psalm 50:2, 53:7, 65:2 , 69:36, 84:8, Isa. 40:9, 52:7, Jer. 31:6, 50:28, Joel 2:23)

History

History of Jebus

Our first contact with Jebus was the Abraham-Melkitsedeq meeting. This narrative introduces us to the fact that the God of the Hebrews had His followers among the Canaanite people. It opens up a world that we had thought did not exist, at lest not in Palestine where the Canaanite people were destined for annihilation. It also delivers a stiff rebuke to the notion that Palestine was going to be an exclusively Hebrew homeland. We will see that Abraham accepted the inclusion of Palestine’s many nations

The people of Jebus

Jebusites are Canaanites, and therefore Hamites (Gen. 10:16). David made his sacrifices at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (1Chr 21:28), and we find Solomon building on property bought from a Jebusite named Ornan (2 Chron. 3:1).

Moses lists the Jebusites among the seven nations who at Israel’s entry would be more populous and mighty than Israel. ( Deut 7:1). It is these people who lived there with Melkitsedeq when the places was called Salem. These were the people that David met in full control of the home of Abraham’s great friend Melkitsedeq (2 Sam. 5:6), even though the place is called Jerusalem in the text. David goes on to take wives and concubines, who bore him children out of this place, still referred to by the writer as Jerusalem again. This site was entirely Canaanite. So these unions were with Jebusite women.

It is clear that the northern portion of the hill was agricultural. Ornan had his threshing floor there. So both portions of the sacred mount – the site of the temple and the Zion proper – were in Jebusite hands.

The name “East Jerusalem” has been used to conflate Zion with the Temple Mount. All nations are interested in East Jerusalem – the city of David. Jews and Muslims resort to Temple Mount. Without Davidide esteem Jerusalem has no character. It is a recognition of the priest-king character of not the Mosaic priesthood , that makes East Jerusalem the distinct piece of real estate. The hidden anguish is the seizure of homes, Palestinian homes, in east Jerusalem. Observers have been distracted, and many Christians have been distracted by a Sunday School understanding of the geography and history of the City of David.

We now have to address the meaning of the historic meeting between Abraham and Melkitsedeq in the light of the numerous statements (Psalm 110:4, Heb. 5:6, 5:10, 6:20, 7:1, 7:11, 7:15, 7:17, 7:21) about the Melkitsedeqite Priesthood. When we add to this the late capture of Jebus we are confronted with the superfluity departure from the idea that the Yahwistic religious group that Moses helped to establish was the ultimate plan for the city.

We can only conclude that more central to the plan was the divine access that Abraham and Melkitsedeq shared. It was this access to God that David embraced in his inclusion of the Jebusites his capital. In pursuit of this religion Solomon established ties with the Tyrians and the Egyptians. These were the moves his father left for him to complete. A Zion without these connections is unthinkable (1 Kings 3 and 5).

Abraham’s Society

A definite cosmopolitan character can be seen in the life of Abraham. This observation begins with the people in Abraham’s household, where we see a Syrian and an Egyptian. The rest of Abraham’s life is spent in building relationships with the king of Salem, setting the record straight with the king of Sodom, fostering friendships with various other Canaanite natives and the Egyptians. It must be noted that Abraham was not limited by the later Mosaic laws about interactions with foreigners.

Ornan the Jebusite

The role of Ornan (Araunah) the Jebusite is pivotal in the development of Tsiyyon.

Angelic appearance at the threshingplace of Araunah; the plague ravaging Judah (Israel?)	And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite. 2 Samuel 24:16
Prophetic instruction from prophet Gad for David to purchase the threshingplace of Araunah	And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. 2 Samuel 24:18
King David arrives the threshingplace of Araunah; Araunah pays respects	And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. 2 Samuel 24:20
The conversation between King David Araunah; David’s intentions to purchase the land for an altar, to end the plague	And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people. 2 Samuel 24:21 1 Chronicles 21:22
Araunah invites King David to use his property	And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. 2 Samuel 24:22 1 Chronicles 21:23
Araunah acknowledged as King – giving gifts to King David, pronounces David as accepted by Yahweh	All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee. 2 Samuel 24:23
David insist on buying the property	And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost. 1 Chronicles 21:24
King David buys Araunah’s property	So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. 1 Chronicles 21:25
King David sacrifices at the threshingfloor	At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. 1 Chronicles 21:28
King Solomon builds the sacred palace (temple) at the threshingfloor, identified as Mount Moriah	Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 Chronicles 3:1

There are saving and healing elements of national life in the entire saga. Gentiles were not excluded, which means that the later Mosaic distinctions have been exploited in a crass and apathetic manner. The life of the nation in every aspect was to be united in a single person. The Hebrew people sadly have ignored this direction. Even in the face of historical record of gentile inclusion is evident throughout their history. It begins with the Abraham-Melchizedek encounter, and we cannot avoid the fact that the rest is about Abraham’s descendants in the Land of Canaan.

For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; (Heb. 7:1)

Heb 7:2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; (Heb. 7:2)

The Land of Canaan

Canaan was the land God promised to Abraham and his descendants. There is no question that the land had inhabitants who did not see themselves as pilgrims. There was a sense of ownership. This reflected in the text at least thirteen times.

 

1. And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. Exodus 3:17

2. And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Exodus 13:5
3. And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee, Exodus 13:11
4. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: Exodus 13:17
5. Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. Numbers 21:31
6. Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Deuteronomy 1:7
7. And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession. Deuteronomy 2:19
8. Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us. Deuteronomy 2:37
9. Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh? Deuteronomy 11:30
10. From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites: Joshua 13:4
11. And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee. Joshua 17:15
12. Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. Amos 2:10
13. Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. Zephaniah 2:5

 

We see in these references that the land is “land of the Amorite”, “land of the Philistines”, “land of the Perizzites”, and “land of the Canaanites”. We find nowhere in Scripture ” land of the Israelites”. Since the land belongs to God He has the right to transfer stewardship and He fulfills His promise to Abraham and the patriarchs spectacularly.

And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. Deuteronomy 2:31

However, like the promise of rest we see that there remained a further inheritance of the land after the Hebrew people had entered and settled.

The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. Psalm 37:29

Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. Isaiah 60:21
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, are possessors of the land and Moses affirms the dependence of the divine oath.

And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” (Gen 15:7)

May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” (Gen 28:4)

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” (Exod 32:13)

The question of ownership seems to be the sole Jewish interest, but the Palestinian problem cannot resolved by answering questions of ancient biblical promises and Jewish ownership. It is David, not Moses, who defines governance, and it is an out of Zion government. There is no welcoming government or instruction from the temple. This reveals the curiosity of evangelicals supporting the Zionist goal of a rebuilt temple. It shows distraction strategy.

It must be slight of hand when attempts to broker a solution in the Palestinian problem. Jerusalem’s status as Israel’s capital is going to be decided by whose embassy is in Jerusalem. Jerusalem as capital is not for Israel or the UK to decide. Embassies in Tel Aviv is witness to the considerable investment there is in deciding the fate of Jerusalem’s justly.

But where is Zionism going? The concept of a homeland and first city is in the DNA of every one. It is in the hertage of Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there. We should demand that Zionism find its ground in Zion-Salem. Zion is, after all, King City. Its reputation is marred, swept under the rug by centuries of violence, murders of innocent, and a stream of rebellion to Moses.

If Jerusalem is not cosmopolitan it has no claim to peace. If the city of David is not recognized as superior to temple site we know that the state of Israel and the Palestinians are not dealing with the facts. Zion is not intended to be a symbol of land acquisition – remember that David bought it. Zion-Salem cannot be sold and divided.

Zion is the heritage of all of earth’s peoples. This piece of real estate is where the King has welcomed all of the families of the earth. Just think what it means for a temple of Mosaic to be built anywhere on Temple Mount. More barriers. We seem to have more barriers than bridges, and it is only superficially that our Jewish brothers can be comfortable in the mosque, or that Christians can be comfortable in the synagogue, or that Muslims can be comfortable in the church. The “people of the Book” are not quite as homogeneous as we are led to believe. Yet David dreamed of a literal Zion that is loved more than all of the Israel’s cities, a Zion where the nations were welcome and could claim birthright, a Zion where, Egypt and Babylon have honourable mention. David’s friends the Philistines are there. Solomon’s allies from Tyre are there. Ethiopians are there. This is where the born-there heritage lands.

Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.

I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.

Zion’s fame is that it stands in a city-state relation to the people as a president (non-partisan) stands in relation to a prime minister (partisan). The heavy stone is going to hurt really badly as the distraction about whose capital Zion really is continues and a crudely-informed US president promises to move his nation’s embassy move to Jerusalem, thereby giving the Israeli State a diplomatic boost and the entire region a hiccup and a case of nausea. No photo opp, or tweet, or presidential declaration should mask the fact that there will be pain. The stone of Zion is too much for mere humans. It is God’s city. Its destiny is in the hands of God, even as its present disposition is dire and its struggle brief.

Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children. (Isa. 66:8)

The City of God

The Zion that the world needs is the one that David founded, the one begun on the holy mountains (Ps 87:1), the one loved more than all the dwellings of Jacob (Ps 87:2), the one of whom glorious things are said (Ps 87:3), the one whose neighbours are insiders.

Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre,

and Cush —

each one was born there.” (Ps 87:4)

Notes

iThe author uses the proper name of the land to avoid confusing it with the Jewish State. See History of Jebus

ii Melkitsedeq (qdx-yklm) my-king [is] righteousness

iiiTen occurrences of the ark with lha (‘ohel tent) Exod 30:26, 31:7, Num. 7:89, Josh. 3:14, 2 Sam 6:17, 1 Kings 8:4, 1Chr 15:1, 16:1, 2 Chr 1:4, 5:5

The one thing that pleases God remains jumbled behind Pharisee zeal for Moses and the Law, liturgical purity, Protestant speculation, and present truth innovations.  One cannot read the proclamations about faith without realizing that we experience its value in both living and dying.  Hebrews 11 is an iconic exhibit in this regard with its instruction about what faith looks like in the lives of ancient witnesses.

As a result of believing, the subjects – Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets — experienced a variety of outcomes, all of which “pleased God”.

It is obvious that moral behaviour is not the focus of these outcomes and commendations.  The message is not that these individuals avoided sin: the commendations assert that faith made impossible happen or made unseen things appear.  “Faith needs works” is a distraction that springs from a dark place, a Christless place.  The condition and behaviour of the just are not tied up in “You shall not” but in God’s very work.

Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. John 6:29

We find faith included in the great commandment according to John.

And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 1 John 3:23

Commandment keeping and the resident Spirit are inseparable but it is the gift of the indwelling Spirit that makes us aware that we are abiding in God.  No one gets the Holy Spirit by keeping commandments, but by believing.  1 John 3:24

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. 

It is cheap and low to imagine that compliance to any law is evidence of a relationship to God and especially one through Christ and especially one that comes from doing nothing.  The church unravelled the knots of every ism in its early days (Acts 15, Acts 6 and 7, Galatians 2:12-14,  5:2-6) yet here we are 19 centuries later tied up in knots about irrelevant theories.

Believers are not hoping to be righteous: we are.  Believers are not capable of untying that knot that kept us bound: Christ has, in one majestic act, replaced the nots with yea and amen promises which yield life and true righteousness.

Believers have “put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness”.  Ephesians 4:24

Returning to the proposition that faith is discerned by both living and dying we find that faith needs love and hope.  More precisely, we find that we come to life through faith and the life we live is tagged as faith working in love.  The critical evaluation of the faithful seems also to be faith-related when the writer of Hebrews in 11:13 concludes that those who died in faith are secure.  We should therefore pay close attention to our dying: it is not what we are doing that closes the book.  Faith at death does.  

We are tied up in knots of our negligence.  There is no unravelling of our abandonment of Christ for our own righteousness.  Our standing obviously depends on whom we trust and not on what we have achieved or approve.  Christ’s contemporaries had so compromised the integrity of their inner life thst they were reluctant to admit what everybody knew, namely, that John was a reliable witness and he had pointed squarely to Yeshua as the Anointed and the Lamb of God.  They had wrapped themselves in knots of “You shall not” and silly fables and traditions.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 

This narrative begins with a call for an end to  mourning for Saul must end and God declares that He has a plan.

The Lord said to Samuel, How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.

1 Samuel 16:1

Samuel’s Mission and a Restless People

When a prophet shows up people are restless

Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, Do you come peaceably? And he said, Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. 1 Samuel 16:4-5

Town elders roped in

Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.

The Jesse Mystery

And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 

Why the house of Jesse was being chosen must have been a mystery to the observers of this development.

All but one. Standing Until he Comes. 

1 Samuel 16:6-11

Something stirs when Samuel heads for Bethlehem, the hometown of Elimelech, Naomi, Ruth, Boaz, Jesse, and Obed, and David.  The law specified that Moabites were to be barred from the Israelite community up to the tenth generation (that covers about 400 years). 

No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. Deuteronomy 23:3-4

Now this mixed union is the centre of the action.  A young man, a mere youth, of this Bethlehemite Jewish-Moabite household is about to be anointed king.  We do not know how many households in Bethlehem besides Ruth’s were mixed, that is, were Jewish-Gentile.

Samuel views seven of Jesse’s sons before he asks for others.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one.

Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your sons here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.

David’s anointing brings us back to the Boaz and Ruth narrative.  It reminds us of God’s care for all people – Moabites included – and his global plan to save the world from sin.

We recall that our Lord’s parental roots were questioned by his contemporaries, labeling him a Samaritan.  Perhaps they had forgotten David’s Moabite blood.  The inclusion of foreign blood into the Bethlehemite family was a preview of Gentile inclusion.  

We have assumed that the book of Ruth is included in the Sacred collection to inform us of the fact that Messiah himself has affinity to both Abraham’s descendants and the gentile world.  This narrative is today a powerful hedge against xenophobia and chosen people delusions and leads us to regjrct on his we became children of the king.

Christ’s cautions about deception are urgent and the reach of false claims is global.  The thought that we were not victims needs to be seen for the counterfeit that it is. The nature of deception includes the surprising and disastrous realization of what it breeds.   With willpower as the favourite explanation the attempt to deceive is quite blatant.  I am sure you have heard: “Faith is Works”.  “Works are Faith”.  “Morality is complete compliance with everything God ever said”.  Please, don’t laugh. Willpower is the catalyst to salvation according to the vast majority of Christians and the theory that bears the name Arminianism.  

Ultimately, we did not choose Christ: he chose us.  We were begotten by God’s will, not by human freewill agency.  Believing that our decision is the critical facet of getting saved and not Christ’s intervention places our witness on the horns of a dilemma.  

The dilemma leaves the grace of God out of our attitude and response to salvation and the inevitable outcome is that we find ways to accumulate credit for getting saved and we treat salvation as something that makes us indebted.  If we are indebted, then we ought to pay, but it is obvious that we cannot pay and in fact are not being asked to pay or prove that we are worthy.  When someone gives you a gift you don’t owe them anything except “thank you”.  

A biblical example of salvation in Christ as a gift being kept out of sight is James’ letter. James’ first exhortation (1:2) is a slap in the face of the Saviour.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

Joy is the Christian’s heritage, not an incidental – such as when one meets trials of various kinds.  Furthermore Christian life has joy as a primary descriptor.  James is not treating joy as a resident virtue.  There is no recollection of salvation thst does not stir up joy and no time when God’s presence is not the source of fullnes of joy.

1. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17
2. And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Luke 2:10
3. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:20
4. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  Philippians 4:4

Faith is the gift. Through faith we become a new creation: children of God, members of the Body of Christ, and heirs of the kingdom.  One choice makes the kingdom available.  Yet we hear quite consistently of 7 principles, 12 daily choices, 3 principles, being offered as the ways to an abundant life in Christ.  Hundreds of books push a variety of principles the believer needs to know and live by.

How about those popular Ten Commandments – the covenant? Aren’t they supposed to be the moral law, written in the believer’s heart? What about the two principles of love to God and love to one’s neighbours? If Christ is the example, who are we putting first?  Did Christ not say “I give my life” and  “Let the sinner who believes in me (a) live, (b) sit with me, (c) be a member of my body, (d) light up the world, (e) rise from the dead”?  Where is the grace and where is the human willpower in those guarantees (a b c d e)?  Where indeed is human assurance of or contribution to keeping the covenant-in-Lamb’s-blood?

Loyalty.  Patriotism.  Sectarianism

If one wants to prove that Christ is the only Saviour – because that is our contention – then no human contribution should appear on the record.  Especially not human will. 

Salvation is not left up to human reliability. 

I guess its time to admit that there is no Christ living in us, because he cannot (a) lives out his life in unsaved people nor (b) can we envision that Christ is a head without a body.  Your “willpower and choice” contribution to salvation is a demonic lie: works, food and drink, do not cut it.

So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.  Romans 9:16

He who wills, the one who is exercising his wish, must be God.  We pray “Let your will be done” so it must be our will that is unrelated and contrary and hostile.  I have always felt that people who are trying to pay back God or think they have to prove their validity are ungrateful or do not recognize the immensity of the gift of salvation.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.  John 1:12-13

So did we choose to be joyful at the sound of the good news?  Did we choose to be subject to futility?  Did we indeed choose God’s way?  Did we choose to be like the wind? Did we choose to be subject to hope?  Do we recognize that we did choose to reckon ourselves the finished product – creature – instead of the process, creation?

Willpower and the ability to choose are the weakest links in the chain.  Freewill enabled Adam’s fall.  At what point then do we progress past the frailty of our own judgment?  When we trust the Giver.

But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. 2 Timothy 1:12

Royal intrigue

The events in 1 Samuel are likely to have occurred over a few days.  They are informative and entertaining.  No one should think that Old Testament times were crude and rustic or unsophisticated and dull.  Sometimes we stress how advanced our 21st century societies are, but here is a snapshot from Saul’s reign over ancient Israel (1 Samuel 19) which shows a king mired in folly (1 Sam 19:1, 10, 15, 19, 20, 21), a prince and princess mightily in love (2, 11, 12, 13), a warrior-king in-waiting humble and needy (18), tricks in the family (12, 13, 14), and prophecy sprinkled around (20, 21, 23) like the grains at a wedding.

Observations and Comparisons

Obserparisons

Typically the 21st century is hard on ancient figures and kind to itself even though we are aware more downward plunges than sparkling climbs.  Generally it is recognized that humanity is accelerating towards a spiritual and sensual abyss.  We are not improving.  Technological advancements are fleeting value when selfishness and conflict are not seen as mortal threats.

Had Saul succeeded in his murderous plot would that not have been an extrajudicial killing? If Saul’s children had been totally loyal to their father Israel’s second and greatest king would not have acceded to the throne.  Notice however that God gave Saul a taste of prophetic experience even as he persisted to seek David’s life.

Kings change their minds, so do people in love, students, married couples, employees and employers. Not every affliction is the result if a malevolent spirit, that is, a demon.

The snapshot ends with a saying “Saul…a prophet” and we have no idea what his prophecies were but we have hundreds of David’s.

It would be extremely unhealthy to cling to views of the ancient world that trash the witnesses, like Saul, Jonathan, Michal, and David while we pat ourselves on the back for a better testimony than Adam, Eve, and Abraham, to name a few.  Jonathan speaks enduring wisdom to us:

For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause? 1 Samuel 19:5

Christ did not leave his disciples as orphans.  In fact the gift of the Holy Spirit did for the disciples all that the Incarnate Word had been doing for them and more.  Believers have their main security in the Holy Spirit and many fail to log in to this “Vault” which I must say is pretty useless apart from the words (actual words) of the first witnesses.  So you can imagine that when my friend recommended that I view the work of one “apostle Gino Jennings” my brain shifted into red alert mode.

Foundational and Missionary Apostleship

Apostles come in two types.  Those who were eyewitness from the start of our Lord’s ministry and saw the Risen Lord comprise the first type.  The second is any person sent out (especially by a local authority) on a mission (pastoral or evangelistic etc.). 

Any apostle in the subsequent years had better be literate and, like any spiritual leader, be apt to teach, and better not be reaching for “I said so” authority.  So I said to my friend, “I will take a look and” since he thinks that formal theological training is unimportant I will predict that this apostle is a fraud.

I viewed 3 videos of Gino Jennings. Here’s what I found.

Exhibit A

When asked who he is, he never named the Saviour of the world but he said “God” repeatedly.

Exhibit B

When speaking about the possibility of pleasing God, he never mentioned faith.

Exhibit C

He misquoted Rev. 5:3, 4 insisting that “no man” means that no human agency was involved.  However the text has no-one, oudeis ουδεις (oodayce) = no entity, nothing.

Exhibit D

Gino mishandled 2 Cor. 5 19, treating hoti ότι as ekeinos, εκείνος

Paul is not differentiating one God from another, he is making the point that “God was in Christ…”

This or that are demonstrative pronouns.

Compare John 3:33

He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that (hoti) God is true.

2 Corinthians 5:19

To wit, that (hoti) God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

that god = conjunction + noun
It is not demonstrative pronoun + noun

Gino’s elaborate explanation of Christ’s identity is essentially an incarnation denial.  I did not hear him acknowledge that the babe of Bethlehem and the fetus in Mary’s womb was God.  He was saying the opposite.

Let me add that the use of titles lends itself to assumptions that qualifications are in place.  Pastor, elder, bishop, priest (father), (rabbi from the Jewish faith) etc. are common forms of address and those of us who are in Christian leadership need to be vigilant against idolatry. 

Anyone can use these titles and the proof of the pudding is in the specific application of the person to the fundamental functions assigned to that title.  Learning is paramount because our safety depends on the ability to interpret the Gospel.  General familiarity with the Scriptures is good but the Christian leader who fails to bring Scriptural exploration to the Crucified Christ shows that he or she is still in kindergarten and not worthy of the title.

Different gifts are in place for education not controversy and many ideas that believers have to wrestle with are not Crucified Christ-centred and many not Christian at all.

Let me leave you with two selections from the apostle Peter which will demonstrate that we all are at risk when we do not follow the fundamental message about Christ.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 2 Peter 1:16

When we read the Old Testament we tend to look for the story, with good reason. Paul wrote that the ancient events were recorded for people in the modern age (1 Cor. 10:11). In a perverse kind of way we long for those things we approve to happen to us, so we sing confidently “What He’s done for others He’ll do for you…” as if there are no unique and exclusive things God wants to do for us. We diligently seek to be like Israel without understanding that there is no repeat, there is no emulation of Israel. There is only one Abraham and one Moses, and one Messiah. The stories are only reliable when they feed us the things that belong to Christ. The narratives are warnings – admonition (1 The. 5:14, Titus 3:10). Besides the narratives there are proclamations that demand an “Amen” without reservation. These sayings have neither probability nor assumptions that attaches to humanity. They admit no changeability. They simply are true.

The Lord is my light, literally, yahweh my light, yhwh ooree

The Lord is our refuge, literally, yahweh for us refuge, yhwh lanu machaseh

These types of sayings are tagged as copulas. The first half = to the second half. No-one is doing anything; the saying reports what is.

the LORD  is God (Old Testament)

the Word was God (New Testament)

the light was the light of men (New Testament)

Contemporary examples would be “Muhammad Ali [is] the greatest”, “America [is] home of the brave”.

There are scores of these copulas in the OT. Our hard copies of the KJV (The King James Version) of the Bible preserves many copulas by placing the was or the is in italics. How very accurate and cool is that!

In my digital version of the KJV – the KJS – the italics are replaced by brackets.

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 (KJS)

For the LORD [is] good; his mercy [is] everlasting;

and his truth [endureth] to all generations. Psalm 100:5 (KJS)

In this last example the translators inserted endureth but the significance of the saying is the same.

God’s goodness simply is. His truth is endless.

In the Law

• Genesis 21:22 (KJS) And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God [is] with thee in all that thou doest:
• Genesis 31:50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take [other] wives beside my daughters, no man [is] with us; see, God [is] witness betwixt me and thee.
• Numbers 23:19 God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
• Numbers 23:21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God [is] with him, and the shout of a king [is] among them.
• Deut. 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD:

In the Prophets

• Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God [is] my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH [is] my strength and [my] song; he also is become my salvation.
• Isaiah 45:14 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, [saying], Surely God [is] in thee; and [there is] none else, [there is] no God.
• Nahum 1:2 God [is] jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and [is] furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth [wrath] for his enemies.
• Habakkuk 3:19 The LORD God [is] my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ [feet], and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

Some New Testament Examples

• 2 Cor. 1:18 But [as] God [is] true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.
• 1 Tim. 4:4 For every creature of God [is] good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
• Hebrews 6:10 For God [is] not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
• Hebrews 12:29 For our God [is] a consuming fire.
• Rev. 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God.

Great soul food from David

I found this example among from a Psalm of David most compelling, (i) because it is repeated and (ii) each is followed by a different profound statement of confidence.

He only [is] my rock and my salvation; [he is] my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. Psalm 62:2

He only [is] my rock and my salvation: [he is] my defence; I shall not be moved. Psalm 62:6

greatly = in any way = never = not at all

Both are to be read as “I shall not be moved, period”. Anything less would be foolhardy

The believer has relevant experience here. Christ is our rock, our salvation and our defence. We cannot yield to notions about being shaken or moved from our place in Him. Let the winds blow, let the floods rage, our house stands. If you are afraid, shaken or moved from your rock-salvation-defence, check your foundation. It is very likely to be sand.

Great soul food from David’s son

And the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. Matt 7:25
And the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
and it fell: and great was the fall of it. Matt 7:27

A truly Messianic saying of this type that features both the fixed truth and the action is Exodus 15:2, where God is strength-song-salvation-ancestral God

The action is underlined, for example,  the Word became human etc.

The LORD [is] my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he [is] my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.