Parashat Ki Tisa

Saturday 27 February 2016                 Adar 1  18  5776

Parashat Ki Tisa                                                                                  Herschel Raysman

Exodus 30:11-34:35; 1 Kings 18:1-39; John 9:13-41

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is G-d, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." And the people did not answer him a word. (1 Melachim/1 Kings 18:21)

This week's Haftarah portion (a selection from the prophets) was likely chosen because of the Torah's reference to the sin of the golden calf when Israel became impatient waiting for Moses to return from meeting with G-d on Mt. Sinai. While he in the presence of G-d receiving revelation for the nation, they were worshiping the eigel zahav – the golden calf!

The idolatrous situation in Elijah's day was different. While there may have been elements of syncretism (the blending of true and false spiritualties), the latter situation was one in which the people alternated from faith in the Lord to worshipping Baal and back again as they desired. 

In this case mentioned in the haftarah portion, there was no confusion as to the identity of these two deities or the requirements each demanded. When and why one or the other would be approached would have depended upon the particular needs of the person or persons at the given time.

You find people like this today.  Perhaps this applies even to you! They flip flop from one point of view to another depending on whom they are talking too. They seem to have difficulty in having their own opinion, especially if it differs from that of others. Perhaps, the need to be accepted is dominant and causes the fluctuation in opinions.

Elijah challenged the people to stop flip-flopping because the Father demands wholehearted devotion!
Jer 3:8-10
8 I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.
9  So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
10  And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart , but in pretence," says the LORD.

Jer 24:7
7  Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their G-d, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart .

We are called to follow Messiah with our whole heart: 1 Tim 3:9 – “they must be earnest, wholehearted followers of Messiah, who is the hidden Source of their faith”. Although this verse specifically applies to the appointment of deacons, it applies to all who follow the Lord!

Notice that Elijah didn't appeal to culture, preferences, or benefits to persuade the people to serve and worship HaShem alone! He didn't even use the appeal most common in Scripture, that of the Lord's deliverance from Egypt. Instead, he urged them to follow the one who is truly G-d. He left no room for syncretism. It was either one or the other, not both. And definitely not a mixture of the two!

To illustrate this, I often say that there is no such thing as being a little pregnant. You either are or you are not! Ditto for faith in the Lord Yeshua! Scripture clearly teaches that HaShem abhors syncretism in any form and He calls us to be single minded in our pursuit of the one true G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We need to continually be reminded that the One who we serve is El Kana – the Jealous One!

Josh 24:14-15
14 "Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!
15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
19 But Joshua said to the people,"You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good."
21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD!"
22 So Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses!"
23 "Now therefore," he said, "put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel."
24 And the people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!"
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

We too – each one who confesses Yeshua as Lord and Saviour – have entered into a covenant with the Father and scripture records that we have been purchased at great cost!

In our haftarah, after the Israelites witness the demise of the false ba’al god, they agreed with Elijah's exclusive view of G-d. Only one divine being can be supreme, and therefore, only one G-d should be served. Whatever the other god represented, real or not, it had no claim on the people's loyalty and fidelity. We must never forget that idolatry is nothing more than spiritual adultery!

In our haftarah portion, it was Israel’s inability to discern spiritual truth had left them shifting back and forth between allegiances. I believe that one of the greatest gifts from the Father’s treasuries is the gift of discernment! And how desparately we need this gift in the Body of Messiah today!

The difficulty in relating a story like this to our day is that we don't tend to give our false gods personal names, such as ba’al. But just because we don't have personal names for education, money, technology, health, religion, sex, power, and fame doesn't mean we don't flip flop back and forth between relying on these lesser powers and the only true  G-d. These and other areas of life are tools, not gods. But when we serve them instead of the Master of the Universe, we become enslaved to them. We are warned about this in Luke 16:13: "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." While money does indeed hold tremendous sway in our lives, there are many other forces that tempt us away from the narrow way!

The solution to our predicament as usual is fairly straightforward!  The only way to stop flip-flopping is to stop, to choose life (Deut 30:19).
Joshua 24:15
15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

When I placed muzzuzot on the door frames of my home, I included this scripture. ‘But, as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD’!

We need to remember that every aspect of life is under G--d's rule. Whatever your need is - whatever your circumstance - the G-d of Creation and the Father of our Messiah Yeshua, is supreme. Don't give yourself to lesser powers anymore for perhaps short term relief; rather, submit to the one and only G-d. On the wall above my desk, I have an inscription of Micah 7:7.
Micah 7:7
7 But, as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him, I will keep watch.
            I will wait with hope and expectancy for the G-d of my salvation.
            My G-d will hear me”.