by Rabbi Stuart Dauermann, PhD

 

Today's Haftarah is crucial because it reminds us of the truest, the deepest motivation for outreach.  And what is that motivation?  It is the honor of God—the sanctification of God's Name, or in Hebrew, Kiddush Hashem.  This is the strongest and purest motivation for service to God, for obedience to Him, in short, for living for Him in any area of life.  It is the deepest place in the heart of those who love God: they want to see Him honored, adored, treated as holy.  In fact, when Messiah taught us to pray, he made this to be the first petition of what is termed "The Lord's Prayer."  "Hallowed be Thy name," in Hebrew, "Yitkadash sh'mecha" is Kiddush Hashem—the sanctification of Gods Name, that He might be honored in every aspect of life, and ultimately, throughout the entire created order.

 

Of course the Bible is full of this kind of language—in both Testaments.  David says, in 1 Chronicles 29:

This is the sanctification of God's Name, giving Him the honor that is due to Him alone in all of life.

The root of this imperative in the Hebrew Bible is found in Vayikra/Leviticus 22:

31 Thus you shall keep my commandments and observe them: I am the LORD. 32You shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel: I am the LORD; I sanctify you, 33I who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD.

The Amplified Bible translates verse 32 in this way: "Neither shall you profane My holy name [applying it to an idol, or treating it with irreverence or contempt or as a byword]; but I will be hallowed among the Israelites. I am the Lord, Who consecrates and makes you holy," Three times in that one, core verse we find the Hebrew root "kadash" which is also found in Kiddush Hashem: V'lo titchal'u et shem kadshi vnikdashti b'toch be'nei Yisrael, ani Hashem mikdashchem." And not only does this verse three times allude to Kiddush Hashem, it also includes the root very for the opposite of Kidddush Hashem, which is Chillul Hashem—the descreation of the Divine Name.  And that term is found right at the beginning of our verse: "V'lo titchal'u et shem kadshi."

We must not miss the fact that Kiddush Hashem necessarily involves keeping the commandments of God:

And how can we do God's will unless he tells us? And this telling his will is the issuing of commandments.  Our sanctification of God's Name necessarily includes honoring His commandments.

For those of us who value experiences with the Holy Spirit, remember this: a good rule of thumb against which to measure options as to where you would invest your spiritual efforts is to find out what God seems to be doing in the earth, and help make it happen!

Today's Haftarah tells us what God is likely to be doing among our people in these days.  We are already seeing signs that now is the time.  If you want to experience the Holy Spirit's nearness in a deep way, the best idea is to involve yourself in what God is up to.  And what he is doing is bringing renewal to the Jewish people in the area of covenant faithfulness—and it will become increasingly clear that God is doing this through Yeshua our righteous Messiah, in the power of the Spirit.  This is already proving to be true in Israel, where some, in a Messianic Jewish community very resistant to Torah living, are beginning to reconsider their position, due in large part to the influence of Jews from the fomer Soviet Union who are seeking a Messianic expression which is more of a Judaism than many Israeli Messianics have settled for until now.

As for us, let us do our part in bringing honor to Messiah and to Hashem through pointing out to our people Israel what God is doing in fulfillment of Scriptures through the Presence of Messiah and His Spirit, and through honoring God ourselves through Messiah, in the power of the Spirit.

Missionary statesman Lesslie Newbigin says something we all need to hear on these matters:

For anyone who has understood what God did for us in [Yeshua the Messiah] the one question is: "How shall God be glorified? How shall his amazing grace be known and celebrated and adored?  How shall he see the travail of his soul and be satisfied?" [Isaiah 53:11] . . .  We have to begin with the mighty work of grace in [Yeshua the Messiah] and ask, How is he to be honored and glorified?  The goal of missions is the glory of God.

He didn't know it, but Newbigin was talking here about Kiddush Hashem.  And so should we. Is it not obvious that this should be our deepest and sufficient motivation for outreach to our people Israel, and also to the nations?

23 I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I display my holiness before their eyes.  24 I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land.  25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  27 I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. 28 Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

. . . 24 My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes [Ezekiel 36:23-27; 37:24].

This leads us to a number of important questions:

1. What is God ultimately up to among the Jewish people according to these verses? 
2. What might this mean for you personally, for your congregation, and our Union? 
3. What if we don't choose to get involved or to see things this way?  What might be lost? 
4. What role should and does Kiddush Hashem, honoring His Name, that is, bringing glory to God for who He is and what he has done/is doing, especially through Messiah in the Ruach HaKodesh in our days, have in our personal lives, our congregational agenda, and that of the Messianic Jewish movement? 
5. If not this, what? If not you, who?  If not your style, why? And, if not now, when?