The Surrendered Life – Mishpatim – Feb. 14

A surrendered life to God looks different to each one of us.  To one person it may be a dying to the enticing pleasures of this world for the sake of raising a family and being committed to one’s spouse and children.  To another it may be forfeiting a career with a high salary in order to devote oneself completely to training youth to know God and walk in righteousness.  And to another it may be enduring constant ridicule and suffering from family, friends, and co-workers for the sake of faith in Yeshua.

In this week’s Torah Portion we will read of an example of a surrendered life that most of us could never even imagine.  First, however, I’d like to begin with a story about a dialogue with a rabbi.

I sometimes have the opportunity to dialogue with rabbis about varying subjects from the Bible.  In one particular instance a rabbi asked to meet with me to discuss the supposed “inconsistencies” in the New Testament.  His goal was to show me how the New Testament was flawed and therefore unreliable altogether.  I agreed to meet with this rabbi, whom we’ll call Eli.  Before we met, Eli gave me a few different problematic passages from the New Testament to look at and consider.

The Challenge from the Rabbi

We met up and during our dialogue we looked at a several different New Testament verses.  One of the verses that Eli wanted to discuss with me was Hebrews 10:5.  The majority of the text in Hebrews chapter ten is an explanation of sacrifices according to the Law and how Yeshua’s death brought complete redemption and forgiveness through His sacrifice.  In Hebrews 10:5-7 there is a direct quote from Psalm 40:6-8, which read like this:

Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired;

My ears You have opened;

Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.

Then I said, “Behold, I come;

In the scroll of the book it is written of me.

I delight to do Your will, O my God;

Your Law is within my heart.”      

Eli was quick to point out that this quote in the book of Hebrews is flawed as one line is totally changed from the original.  The second line of the above quote, which is highlighted in blue, reads, “My ears You have opened;” however, Hebrews 10:5 reads “But a body You have prepared for me;”  Eli’s question to me was “Why did the New Testament writers change the text in this quote from the book of Psalms?”  He claimed that the Christians were simply trying to force the sacrifice of Yeshua into the Jewish Scriptures by changing the wording.  I told Eli that we need to examine these Scriptures together and try to understand this possible error.

The first thing I mentioned to Eli, which is common knowledge, is that most Old Testament quotes found in the New Testament are taken from the Septuagint.  For those who are not familiar with the Septuagint, the Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Bible.  Since Greek was the “Lingua Franca” of the time of Yeshua and His Disciples it was natural for them to have quoted from the Septuagint.  The wording in Psalm 40:6 in the Septuagint matched the wording in Hebrews 10:5 exactly.  This shows that the translators of the Septuagint changed the wording at some point.  This was a good start but the question had to be asked, “Why did the writers of the Septuagint change the original Hebrew text from “My ears You have opened” to “But a body You have prepared for me”?  Was there any reasonable explanation for this?

We decided to read Psalm chapter 40 in its context.  As we began to read through the verses in context it seemed odd to both of us that the Psalmist, King David, would use the phrase “my ears You have opened.”  It doesn’t seem to flow or make sense.  The verse reads: “Sacrifice and meal offering Thou hast not desired; My ears Thou hast opened; Burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required” (Ps. 40:6).  The psalmist is talking about various kinds of sacrifices and stating that God does not desire these.  He then mentions this phrase “my ears You have opened.”  What is the connection?

The literal translation of this Hebrew phrase “my ears You have opened” is “digging the ears,” “opening the ears,” or “making a hole in the ears.”  What does this mean here?  Eli confessed that he really didn’t understand the word usage here and that it seemed to not fit in this context.  He then mentioned a few insights that he had gleaned from some Rabbinic commentaries which he read referring to how God “opened his ears” to enable him to listen better, but what was the connection to the sacrifices?

I mentioned to Eli that I had come across something in my reading that might help.  I told him that there is a passage in the Torah that has a similar context regarding making a hole in the ear.  Before I even mentioned the Scripture reference Eli exclaimed, “Oh yes, you must mean the verse about the slave forfeiting his freedom and giving his life to his master.”  I was somewhat shocked that he also thought of this but he knows his Bible well, especially the Torah.  He agreed that there seemed to be some connection here and we read the verses from the Torah together.

Insight from the Torah Portion

The verses in the Torah are actually the first six verses from this week’s Torah Portion (Ex. 21:1 – Ex. 24:18).  Immediately after the giving of the Ten Commandments God gave Moses other judgements or ordinances for the Israelites. The first judgement was in regard to a Hebrew slave (Ex. 21:1-6).  After working as a slave for six years a slave was to be set free.  If, however, the slave wanted to stay with his master and dedicate himself as a slave for life then he could choose this as well.  God set forth a very clear ritual for the slave who chose to be a slave for life.

The ritual for voluntary, perpetual enslavement was clearly spelled out in one verse: “then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently” (Ex. 21:6).  The piercing of the ear was an outward symbol of voluntary total abandonment of a slave to his master.

We then talked about the context and I mentioned how well it seemed to fit into the context of Psalm 40.  The psalmist seems to actually be saying to God, “You don’t simply want sacrifices and offerings, You want all of me, as a slave who submits to his master from a willing heart.”  This also fits perfectly in the verses that follow in Psalm 40; “Then I said, ‘Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me; I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy Law is within my heart.’” (Ps. 40:7-8).

Eli saw this appropriate flow of the verses and agreed that this was a possible understanding.  We then talked about how well this fits into what the writer of Hebrews is expressing in chapter 10 verse 5, referring to the sacrifice of the body of Messiah.  We also discussed how the wording of “my ears have You opened” and the terminology that Paul uses in Hebrews 10:5 “a body Thou hast prepared for me,” which is taken from the Septuagint, corresponded to one another.  Just as a slave commits his whole body to his master through the piercing of his ear, as it is written in Exodus 21:6, so Yeshua committed Himself wholly to the Father with the body He had been given.  Eli saw this connection and realized that the New Testament may not be as flawed as he thought it was, however, he was still hesitant to totally accept it.

One other connection, that I didn’t see until after the meeting with this Rabbi, is the Hebrew word used in Psalm 40:6 for the word “opened:” “כרה – Kara.”  It is the same exact word used in Psalm 22:16 “They pierced my hands and my feet.”  The word for “opened” in Psalm 40:6 and “pierced” in Psalm 22:16 are the same Hebrew word.  Before Yeshua’s hands and feet were ever pierced He had already given His body in total submission to His Master, the Father in heaven, like a slave who dedicates himself to his master through the piercing of his ear.

Rabbi Eli’s question about a potentially misquoted verse from the Old Testament led us both into a deeper understanding of the Word of God and clearer perspective of the total sacrifice of Yeshua.

One day when Yeshua was with His disciples two of them were seeking high position in the Kingdom of God with the help of their mother.  Yeshua responded to this request with these words:

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” – Matthew 20:25-28

Yeshua demonstrated for each one of us what it looks like to become the slave of all in His life, by His actions, and in His death.  Yeshua did not have his life taken from Him.  Yeshua had already laid down His life when He figuratively volunteered to go to the door and have His ear pierced for the sake of HIs master, the Father in heaven (John 10:17-18).

Have you surrendered your life to God?  

We each have a choice to make in life, either to live our lives for ourselves or to totally surrender our lives to the Father in heaven.  Laying down our lives for the Father in heaven means a total surrender of our own freedom for the sake of the Master.  The choice is totally ours!

Shabbat Shalom!

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Torah Portion: Ex. 21:1 – Ex. 24:18

Hafatara: Jer. 34:8 – 22. Jer. 33:25-26

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