by Rabbi Stuart Dauermann, PhD

In this week's haftarah, as so often, the Word of G-d comes to correct those who have a name for knowing but know not. The Bible is far too penetrating to simply correct our opinions: a newspaper column can do that. Scripture goes beyond that to exposing and correcting the thoughts and intents of the heart, as in this week's passage where Hashem reminds Israel that "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came." Reflexively self-centered, our default assumption is that G-d's acts of redemption are triggered by his love for us, but this is not always nor sufficiently the case. Although he loves us, his saving acts are not about us, but about G-d vindicating his great name which has been tarnished through the well-deserved but tarnished and imperiled state of the Jewish people. In this chapter, as elsewhere in the wider context, we are reminded that it is not about us: it is about Him, his purposes, his power, his honor, and his glory.

There is another corrective imbedded in this text: a rebuke for those in Christendom who regard Israel as G-d's ex-wife, to be treated civilly to be sure, but discarded nonetheless. This widespread assumption is soundly addressed and rebuked in our passage because the chapter clearly states that Israel's fallen state is due to her sin, but that leaving Israel in a judged and lowly position is a blot on the name of G-d. Therefore he will and does act on behalf of Israel for the vindication of His great Name.

However, in addition to words of correction, Scripture gives words of instruction and hope. G-d's intent or the people of Israel is made explicit in today's haftarah, mapping out his future for Israel, a future which I have come to call "The Ezekiel Agenda," something mapped out clearly in this chapter and the next of Ezekiel's writings.

Here we read of some of the components of this agenda, which may be seen to have five core elements. In vv. 26-27a, 28, and 31-33 we read of spiritual renewal, in 27b, a restoration to Torah-based covenant faithfulness, in verse 28, return to the land (Aliyah), in 33b-38, the blessing of fruitfulness. It is in the next chapter that the Prophet adds two further agenda items: gathering the people around the Messianic King, and unifying the Jewish people as one people (37:22-28).

So here are the agenda items, what G-d is up to in these latter days among the Jewish people:

• Return to the Land,
• Jewish unity,
• spiritual renewal,
• gathered to Messiah,
• return to covenantally faithful Torah obedience,

... in the context of fruitfulness and safety Perhaps I am naïve, but I believe that G-d's agenda for Israel should be ours as well-that we should, as individuals, congregations, and as a Union be promoting and commending progress in all of these areas. I believe that we should be promoting and commending Aliyah, that we should be promoting Jewish unity, spiritual renewal, Yeshua faith, Torah living, and the safety of Israel without exception and in every way.

Due to our experience and evangelicalized communal experience, I imagine most of us view Yeshua faith as a more central concern than the others on this list. One cannot find that hierarchy of values reflected in Ezekiel's treatment, however. But even if one were to grant this proviso, I suggest that we must conceive of our keruv-our outreach to our people, within the the context of Ezekiel's Agenda. How would that look?

I believe it would mean instituting a mentality of we-vangelism. I have been involved in outreach to our people for over forty years, and it is one of my core passions. Historically, we have learned three forms of outreach to which Ezekiel's Agenda calls us to add a fourth. The first kind I term "I-vangelism." This happens whenever evangelists spend time giving a testimony-telling people about their own lives, and how they were changed through encountering Yeshua. "You-vangelism" involves telling others about how much they need Yeshua, about their sinful condition, dysfunctional lives, and hell-bent destiny: "You need Yeshua because this is wrong with you, or this bad thing is going to happen to you." "He-vangelism" takes place whenever the focus is instead on Yeshua, speaking of his prophetic credentials (Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Micah 5:2, etc.), his sinless life, his teachings, his healing ministry. Here the focus is on him.

Of course, none of these approaches are exclusively used: people tend to use all three in varying degrees. But what we have been missing, and what the Ezekiel Agenda calls us to is "We-vangelism," where we tell our people that Yeshua is our national Savior, the one through whom all of the items on the Ezekiel Agenda are going to be accomplished for our people.

Rather than feeling obliged to confront Jewish friends and family with the claims of Christ, a posture which sometimes feels so adversarial, understanding Yeshua in this way invites coming alongside our people, warmly pointing them toward engaging with G-d's consummating purposes for us all, and to Messiah Yeshua, the living guarantee that all of this will come to pass. We need to be recruiting ourselves, our families, our congregations, and our people, to serve Ezekiel's agenda. When we speak of Jesus as a personal Savior, we isolate Jews from their people. We ask them to think about and for themselves as if they are not part of a people to whom they should continually be drawing nearer and whom they should be continually drawing nearer to G-d. When we speak of Jesus as Israel's national Savior, we unite our Jewish family and friends with other Jews, something Ezekiel reminds us is the will of G-d.

The Jewish people are us, not them. We need to understand and implement outreach with that in mind. Although I have yet to see we-vangelism practiced widely in our movement, things are beginning to change. And if Ezekiel is right about the purposes of G-d, we-vangelism should be the widespread norm, and some day it will.

May it come soon and in our days.