“Who may go up to the mountain of Adonai? Who can stand in his holy place?” (Psalm 24:3)
There are many believers who walk far short of the calling and destiny which God has placed upon their lives. It is a form of exile, what Jews refer to as the ‘Galut.’ For almost 2000 years, they have been scattered to the four corners of the Earth
with nothing but the sure hope from Scripture that sometime in the future, one day, God would restore them to the land of Israel and once more be a nation instead of a scattered remnant. Yet, there were always some who shut their eyes and blocked
their ears. Instead of steadfastly yearning for the fulfilment of this promise, life in the interim became very comfortable for many. So God continually prodded to avoid them from falling into the allurement of total assimilation within foreign and pagan
cultures. But, it came at a high price: persecutions and pogroms, expulsions and discriminations; holocausts and every manner of revilement. Yet, it was all a necessary part of His eternal plan for the redemption of the Jewish people, and continues to be so.
One learns to cope with these things in different ways. Some embrace it fully with open arms and others do so more cautiously. At the other end of the spectrum, many reject all notion of Jewish identity or a return to the land of Promise.
There is a story told by a famous rabbi who, after the close of a concert where he was performing in Germany, saw someone stagger out from a bar completely drunk. This person leered at him a few times and moved closer. With anguish in his
eyes, he cried out in utter wretchedness:
‘Have you ever seen the worst Jew in the world? You are looking at the worst Jew in the world. I want you to know that when I was four years old my parents gave me to non-Jewish neighbours and they never came back. I know I’m Jewish but I don’t
do anything about it. I am the worst Jew in the world.’
He lifted up his arms and he screamed,
‘But I am still a Jew! Even that is something the world will never let us forget!”
According to the Jewish sages, only one-fifth of the Israelite slaves left Egypt, because they liked it there. The same occurred in exile under the Babylonians and Persians; it was only much later before the nation of Israel was eventually reestablished again under Ezra and Nehemiah. To better understand this, we can see a modern parallel with the black American slaves following their emancipation. So many returned to their captivity, choosing this over freedom because it was what their mentality had become accustomed to; it was an easier thing to do than wrench themselves out of the old paradigm of enslavement.
Experiencing spiritual exile is an alienation more harsh than its physical equivalent. Yet, God has promised, through Jesus the Messiah, to equip us with unlimited potential for transforming both our lives and the world we live in for His glory – from exile to redemption and reconciliation! We need no longer waste our time as vagrants posing as movie stars, or linger in the corridors of mediocrity.
We must substitute our second-hand clothes for the garments of salvation lavished upon us by Messiah Jesus; to walk in the fullness of our destinies and calling placed upon our lives! It is an exciting event to be given a new set of clothes, but it is also a heavy responsibility.
There is a story told by Rebbe Shlomo Carlebach of a time when he was giving a concert in Austria. He saw a lady in the audience who was deeply distressed and weeping inconsolably throughout his performance. Afterwards, he spoke with her and she told him her story. Her grandparents converted from Judaism and forsook their Jewish identity, but nevertheless went to Auschwitz because according to the Nazi race laws, she was still Jewish. She told him that her father survived Auschwitz yet was a dead person. He claimed to be neither Jewish nor Gentile and had no place left in the world. That identity of desolation became her only inheritance that found expression at all of his concerts she attended. Is this not the worst kind of exile?
God calls us as active participators in His kingdom of love, not spectators who lament our circumstances and limitations within a mentality of expediency and hopelessness.
Each believer has received God’s garments of righteousness to be maintained pure and spotless. Yet, the bridal identifier is wrought in the battleground rather than in the cool breeze of conformity; the stains and marks produced from every attack and
demonic encounter as we engage our lives wholeheartedly and unconditionally in His service. These are the marks of the overcomer that the world scorns and disdains; yet God views them as highly prized jewels which He lovingly extracts to prepare our crowns for that day of glory.
Let’s arise, people of God as we await the coming of the King of Glory! Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle who rules over all creation with His heavenly armies! (Psalm 24: 8-10)
