The parable of the Kingdom of heaven and a mustard seed 천국과 겨자씨 비유

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a TREE, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”  또 비유를 베풀어 가라사대 천국은 마치 사람이 자기 밭에 갖다 심은 겨자씨 한 알 같으니 이는 모든 씨보다 작은 것이로되 자란 후에는 나물보다 커서 나무가 되매 공중의 새들이 와서 그 가지에 깃들이느니라.   Matthew(마태복음)13:31-32

This parable leaves us with the question: “Does the mustard PLANT grow and really become a TREE?”  Well, Let us see the mustard plants in Jerusalem.  이 비유는 우리에게 이런 질문을 하게 만듭니다. “겨자 식물이 자라면 정말 나무가 되는가?”  자, 예루살렘에서 서식하는 겨자식물들을 봅시다.

The mustard plants grow at its highest and in full blossom before the Passover (March-April).  겨자풀은 유월절(3월-4월)이 되기 전까지 가장 크게 자라고 또 가장 많은 꽃들을 피웁니다.

After the Passover, it begins to shrink and get dry.  Around May, the soft stems become hard branches which really look like a tree!   However, It doesn’t grow as much tall as the birds can perch, actually it gets shorter. 유월절이 지나면서 서서히 시들고 말라갑니다.  그리고 5월 경, 부드러운 줄기가 정말로 딱딱한 나무가지처럼 변하더군요!  하지만 새들이 와서 깃들만큼 크게 자라지 않고 오히려 키가 더 줄더군요.

 In fact, it never becomes  tree.  Plants remain as plants, and trees remain as trees.  Otherwise, it will break the law of nature. Isn’t HE God of order?    그런데,   사실상, 겨자식물은 결코 나무가 되지 않습니다.  식물은 식물로 나무는 나무로 늘 존재하죠.  그렇지 않다면 자연법칙을 깨트리게 됩니다.  하나님은 질서의 하나님이시잖아요?

Then why the parable says it becomes a tall tree?  Does the Kingdom of heaven go through some kind of transformation process?  As the plant becomes a tree, as Yeshua turned the water into wine and as the dead body of Yeshua was transformed into an immortal body during the Passover, will His second coming that will bring the kingdom of heaven implement a supernatural transformation in both heaven and earth?  그러면 왜 이 비유에서 식물이 자라 큰 나무가 된다고 하셨을까요? 천국이 어떤 변화의 과정을 통과하는 걸까요?    풀이 변하여 나무가 되는 것처럼, 예수님이 물을 포도주로 변화시킨 것처럼, 유월절 기간에 당신의 죽었던 몸이 영생의 몸으로 변화된 것처럼, 주님의 재림과 함께 임할 천국이 땅과 하늘에 초자연적인 변화를 가져오게 된다는 걸까요?

There must be a secret in this parable, and it seems to allude to the time when a kingdom as tiny as a mustard seed will be transformed into a tangible, solid like a tree, and lofty place where all the saved will arrive and take up their residence forever.  And the final question is this:  While speaking of this parable, did Yeshua have Zechariah 14:9-11 in mind?  이 비유속엔 어떤 비밀이 숨겨져 있음이 분명합니다.  그리고 겨자씨만한 작은 왕국이 훗날, 만질 수 있고, 나무처럼 견고하며 우뚝 솟은 장소로 변할 것이며, 그 곳에 모든 구원받은 자들이 도착해서 영원히 거주할 때가 있음을 암시하고 있는 것 같습니다.  마지막 질문은 이것입니다:  예수님께서 이 비유를 말씀하실 때, 혹시 스가랴 14:9절에서 11절을 염두에 두셨던 걸까요?

“And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.  여호와께서  온 땅 위에 왕이 되실 것이요: 그 날에 여호와께서 한 분 이시요, 그의 이름도 하나일 것이라.

All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.  온 땅이 아라바 (광야 낮은 평원) 같이 되되 게바에서 예루살렘 남쪽 림몬까지며, 예루살렘이 높이 들려 그 본래의 장소에 있으리니, 베냐민 성문에서부터 첫 문 자리 까지, 모퉁이 문 까지, 또 하나넬 망대에서부터 왕의 포도주짜는 곳 까지라.  

And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.  사람들이 그 가 운데 거주할 것이요, 다시는 진멸됨이 없으리니 예루살렘이 평안히 서리로다. “

                                    Zechariah 스가랴 14:9-11

Then, i have a real final question on this parable.  As the mustard plant becomes a tree, the kingdom of heaven will be transformed into the kingdom of God on earth on the Christ’s second coming; then, do we have to just wait and see until He comes back, or we should do something to build up the kingdom on earth?  The appearance of the stem of a mustard plant seems to tell us something.  Now, compare these two pictures and hear the voice of the Spirit. 자, 그러면 이 비유에 대한 진짜 마지막 질문입니다.  겨자 식물이 나무가 되듯이, 천국이 그리스도의 재림시 이 땅에 세워질 하나님의 왕국으로 변한다면, 우린 주님의 재림을 그저 기다리고 바라만 보면 되나요?  아니면, 이 땅에 그 왕국이 세워지도록 우리도 무언가를 해야하나요?  겨자 풀의 줄기를 잘보면 뭔가 우리에게 메시지를 주는 것 같습니다 .  자, 이 두 그림을 잘 비교해 보시고, 성령의 음성을 들어 보시길 바랍니다.

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  푯대를 향하여 그리스도 예수 안에서 하나님이 위에서 부르신 부름의 상을 위하여 달려가노라”                                                                                             _Philippians 빌립보서  3:14

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The progressive revelation of Passover 유월절에 대한 점진적인 계시

One of my classmates of the Bible study, who adheres to Judaism said, “God could not be more clear that He expects us to observe Passover every year, forever, eating matzos and refraining from eating leavened bread.  The clear teachings of the Torah are eternal and apply to every time and place that we find ourselves in.”  One of the basis of her argument was that if God says something under the title of “eternal covenant,”  it is eternally binding and applies to every time and place.  Well, let us reason together what the Bible says about “eternal covenant.” 유대교를 고수하지만, 함께 성경을 연구하는 친구가 이렇게 말했습니다. “하나님께서 당신의 백성들이 무교병을 먹으며 유월절을 해마다, 영원히, 지킬 것을 기대하시는 것은 너무나 당연하다. 율법의 가르침이 이렇게 명백하기에 그 말씀은 영원하며 모든 세대에, 우리가 속한 모든 장소에 영원히 적용된다.”  그녀의 논지의 중심에는 만약 하나님께서 “영원한 언약”이라고 명명하시면 그것은 영원히 적용되는 것이요, 모든 시간과 장소에서 다 지켜야한다는 것입니다.  자, 그럼 “영원한 언약”에 대해 성경은 무어라 말하는 지 함께 상고해 봅시다.

What does it mean that His eternal covenant is eternally binding?  Judaism seems to emphasize our reactions and obedience to the covenant.  So we must observe it forever.  However, the biblical concept of “covenant” may emphasize the opposite.  For example,  in Genesis 9, God made “eternal covenant” through rainbow after the Flood.  He would not destroy the whole earth with waters anymore, forever.   And the focus is on God’s action toward living creatures, not on the obligations of the living creatures!  Actually there is nothing we can do in that covenant!  It is unilateral!  Neither it mentions of any consequences if violating.  So, in this case, the real purpose of the eternal divine covenant is not for us to observe the ritual but for us to REMEMBER who He is and what He has done.  Uniquely in this covenant, the purpose is for GOD to remember;

Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I WILL REMEMBER my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind…     Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and REMEMBER the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth”  _Genesis 9:14-16

Take another example in Genesis 17.  God made an eternal covenant of circumcision with Abraham.  How many times do we see phrases like “I will make you great, I will give you this land, and I will be your God?”  The focus was not on the circumcision, it was on self-revelation of Hashem and His unilateral promises to Abraham and his descendants.  I love how they have cherished the tradition for thousands of  years.  If any Jew invite me to participate in Seder, I will and I want to keep it every year.   If i find myself on the Passover evening in the midst of the wilderness where i cannot find matzos, wine, or lamb, etc, i will still remember and worship what Hashem has done for us.  I thank them because their existence and their observance of the great biblical feasts for generations to generations prove that the story of the Bible is not just story but HISTORY.   It is true that rituals could help remembering, but ritual itself has no power to create a holy habit of remembering God.  I bet my Jewish friends know this more than i do.   The purpose of the eternal covenant is to REMEMBER and WORSHIP forever who He is and what He has done.

Since God’s intention in establishing the eternal covenant is for us to remember and worship, He does not impose the covenant as ‘fixed regulations and forever- unchangeable documents’ on us, expecting us to oberserve it literally, word for word.  For example, the contents of the Passover covenant vary as to the Israelites’ various locations such as Egypt, Mt.  Sinai, and wilderness, etc.  We see in Numbers 9 where God has supplemented the passover covenant as His people faced a new situation.  Some people could not observe the Passover because they were defiled by dead body, so they asked Moses what to do, and Moses asked God.

“And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you” (Numbers 9:8)

The Lord granted them to observe it next month! The divine covenant is FLEXIBLE although it is not FLUCTUATING.  Keeping the law correctly is less desirable than keeping the law faithfully to God.  The divine revelation is designed for our living relationship and long-lasting conversations with Him.  The father would want his children rather to keep the covenant WITH HIM than to keep by themselves silently.   The father reveals his heart gradually as his children grow and learn to ask how to interpret and apply to their situations in particular times and spaces.   Whatever God says in different times and different places, we must obey.  We cannot say “God, because you commanded at first to keep it on the fourteenth day of the first month, we will always keep it on the first month.  They cannot keep it on the second month!”  It does not mean God’s commandments only apply in certain times and places.  Rather, it means God reveals progressively His will without changing the core spirit of the covenant as long as we want to keep.  If God says “they will keep it on the second month,” they should keep it on the second month!   Again, Adonai is flexible enough to respond to our situations without compromising or annulling His covenant.

In Genesis 12, the Lord said to Abraham, “Go to the land that I WILL show you.”  Hashem did not reveal which land He would give, but Abraham obeyed in Haran.  When Abraham entered the land of Canaan, the Lord appeared and said, “unto thy seed, I will give THIS LAND.” Hashem revealed which land He would give this time in different place.  God progressively reveals His plan for the covenant as His servant proceeds in obedience.  Therefore, the “eternal covenant” is not so much about us who are eternally bound or eternally required to do as about eternal God who is eternally revealing His love and fulfilling His plan for us.

In this sense, I believe G_d has continued to reveal His will through the covenants, Moses, and prophets and finally Jeshua.  Then, we could better understand what Jeshua meant when He said, ” You have heard that it was said of them of old time… But I say unto you…”  

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to FULFIL.” ___ Matthew 5:17 

When the first century Jews who lived in the land of Israel heard this provocative phrases of Jeshua, they were able to distinguish their teachers and Jeshua.

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”  __ Matthew 7:28-29

I believe that in the narrative of the Gospel of John 13:21-31 , we could find this divine character of divine revelations.    “Verily verily I say unto you, one of you shall betray me.”  Jeshua has revealed somewhat vaguely who would betray Him. Then He progressively revealed more specifically after the beloved disciple asked a question, “Lord, who is it?” “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.”  The intimate conversation between Jeshua and the beloved disciple in the bosom of Jeshua reflects the biblical episodes when Hashem reveals prophetic words and His will only to his beloved servants such as Abraham or Moses.

After giving the morsel to Judah,  Jeshua commands, “Do it QUICKLY”  and the verse 30 says, “So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out.   And it was NIGHT.”   It is interesting because the way the Gospel writer narrates is almost same as Exodus.  It was the same Passover night in Egypt when Hashem commanded Israelites to eat quickly and go out.  The LAST Supper in Jerusalem seems to reconstruct the FIRST Seder in Egypt!  Judah Iscariot, therefore, symbolizes the Israelites who ate quickly and went immediately out of Egypt in the night.  However, it should be noted that the Exodus does not say that Hashem was glorified through the Israelites, but it says ‘through the Pharaoh and his army who chased Israelites!’

“I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.”         __ Exodus 14:17

Do you see how the Torah describes?  Hashem gained glory through the enemy whose hearts were hardened by Hashem and who chased Israel.  Compare this to how the Gospel describes.

“Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.”       ___John 13:31

As Hashem hardened the hearts of Egyptians so that they chased Israel, Jeshua hardened the heart of Judah by giving him the morsel of bread and allowing the Satan enter into him so that Judah chased Jeshua.  As Hashem was glorified through Egyptians, The Son of Man was glorified through Judah and God was glorified in HIM.  So, the psychological condition and work of Judah corresponds to that of Egyptians.  “Hardened heart and chasing or persecuting.”

Overall, we come up with the double identity of Judah Iscariot.  On the one hand, He represents Israelites who ate quickly and went out of Egypt on the Passover night.  Spiritually, they are Jews who are in the Old Covenant; they are delivered and saved!  I hope this will unveil the blinded eyes of Christians.

On the other hand, he represents Egyptians whose hearts were hardened to chase Israel.  Spiritually, they are Jews whose hearts were hardened to chase Jeshua and people in the New Covenant;  I hoep this will unveil the blinded eyes of Jews.  Finally, in this spiritual logics, Jeshua represents all three: Hashem, Israel, and church.  Starting from the ancient Egypt on the Passover night, Hashem began to reveal progressively the Passover covenant throughout the history of Israel, and finally fulfilled it in the Passover night to extend the salvation to gentiles through the New Covenant.  In the last days, the Jews (spiritually Egyptians) will know that Jeshua is the Lord and Israel and church.

“And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.”    ___ Exodus 14:18

And I believe when the Messianic kingdom come here in Jerusalem, Adonai Eloheinu will eternally fulfill the passover covenant with us Jews and Christians in the eternal kingdom of God.  Listen what Jeshua said in the seder,

“for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”__ Luke 22:16

I can’t wait for the Messianic banquet the prophet Isaiah has spoken!

“The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,
And refined, aged wine.

And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples,
Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.

He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the LORD has spoken.

And it will be said in that day,
“Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.
This is the LORD for whom we have waited;
Let us rejoice and be glad in His    יְשׁוּעָה    salvation.”    __ Isaiah 25:6-8  

 

 

 

 

“The Fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-24 “성령의 열매” 갈라디아서 5:22-24

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…       오직 성령의 열매는 사랑과 희락과 화평과 오래참음과 자비와 양선과 충성과 온유와 절제니… ”

The anointing with oil (many times olive oil) was a symbolic act of endowment with the Spirit of God (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18, 1 Samuel 16:13).  So, the fruit of OLIVE tree has something to do with the fruit of the SPIRIT.    I observed that the Olive tree in my garden bears 9 buds on tiny tender branch, which will eventually become olive berries. There are branches with 7-11 buds but branch with 9 buds was the majority.  It bears 9 buds just as there are 9 fruit of the Spirit.

종종 감람유를 써서 행해졌던 기름부음은 하나님의 영의 임재를 상징했던 행위였습니다.  그래서 감람나무의 열매는 영의 열매 (원문은 ‘성령 Holy Spirit’이 아닌 ‘영 Spirit’의 열매로 되어있습니다 )와 관련이 있습니다.  저희 집 정원에 있는 감람나무가 작고 연한 가지에 9개의 송이를 맺는 것을 보았습니다, 결국 그 송이가 감람열매가 되는 거죠.   간혹 7-11개 달린 가지가 있지만 대부분은 9개더라구요.  마치 본문에서 영의 열매를 9개로 언급한 것처럼요.

The verse continues, “against such there is no law”  What does it mean?   The Mosaic Law, far from some Christian misunderstandings,  does not contradict the New Testament. There is no single statement in the law that does not bear fruit of the Spirit.   Paul asked in Galatians 3:21, “Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law ( as the promises of God impart life and righteousness).”   As the Spirit of God produces life-giving fruits such as love, joy, and peace, the Law bears same fruit that imparts life!   Why? Since the Law was received and written by a man who was inspired by the Spirit of God just as the New Testament was written by apostles filled with the Holy Spirit!  Moses as a representative of the law bore fruit of the Spirit: “But this is not true of my servant Moses, he is FAITHFUL in all my house,”, “Now the man Moses was very MEEK, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth”(Numbers 12:7 & 3).  In the last chapter of Deuteronomy, we see a man who deserved entering the promise land but instead chose to remain and die on the opposite side of the land to obey God.  He humbled himself and controlled his temperament.   Moses consummated the final fruit of the Spirit, TEMPERANCE .     연속해서 말씀합니다.  “ 이같은 것을 금지할 법이 없느니라”    이건 무슨 뜻일까요?  모세의 율법은, 어떤 크리스챤들의 잘못된 해석과는 달리, 신약과 충돌되는 것이 아니라는 것입니다.  영의 열매를 맺지 않게하는 조항은 율법에 하나도 없다는 것입니다.  바울은 갈라디아서 3장21절에서 질문합니다, “그러므로 율법이 하나님의 약속들과 반대되는 것이냐? 결코 그럴 수 없느니라.  왜냐하면, 만약 하나님이 능히 살게 하는 율법을 주셨다면 반드시 율법으로부터도 어떻게 해서든 의가 왔을 것이기 때문이다 (마치 하나님의 약속들이 의와 생명을 주었듯이).”  하나님의 영이 ‘생명을 주는 열매’를 생산해내듯, 율법도 ‘생명을 공급하는 (살게하는) 열매’를 맺게 한다는 것입니다!  왜그렇습니까?  성령으로 충만한 사도들에 의해 신약이 적혀졌듯이 율법도 하나님의 영에 감동된 자에 의해 받아지고 또 적혀졌기 때문입니다.  구약을 대표하는 모세는 영의 열매를 맺었습니다: “내 종 모세와는 그렇지 아니하니 그는 내 온 집에 충성함이라”  “이 사람 모세는  온유함이 지면의 모든 사람보다 더하더라”(민수기 12:7&3).  신명기의 마지막 장은 약속의 땅에 들어갈 충분한 자격이 있지만 하나님께 순종하기 위하여 그 땅 맞은 편에 남아 죽기로 결단하는 한 사람을 보여줍니다.  그는 자신을 겸손히 낮추며 그의 주장과 성미를 조절하였습니다.  모세는 마지막 성령의 열매인 절제를 이룹니다.

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  그리스도 예수의 사람들은 육체와 함께 그 정욕과 탐심을 십자가에 못 박았느니라.

One of the ways to bear fruit of the Spirit is to believe that I died with Christ.  My affections and lust in my flesh have been crucified!  How many times we threaten God and our neighbors by saying, “i am a still sinner with irresistible sinful nature, so i might commit sin in a near future”  instead of proclaiming, “I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who LOVED me and gave himself for me!”  When we realize and declare that we died to ourselves on the cross, the Spirit will start renewing our characters.  It is interesting to see the cross on the Olive buds! Look!  영의 열매를 맺는 방법들 중의 하나는 내가 그리스도와 함께 십자가에 못박혀 죽었음을 믿는 것입니다!  나의 육신적인 정과 욕심이 십자가에 못박혔다는 것입니다! 얼마나 자주 우리는 하나님과 이웃들을 위협하는지요? 이렇게 말하면서요 -“전 저항할수 없는 죄의 본성을 지닌 여전한 죄인입니다, 그래서 가까운 시일에 언제든지 죄를 범할 수 있습니다.”  차라리 우린 이렇게 선언할 수 있지 않을까요?- “나는 그리스도와 함께 십자가에 못박혔다, 그러니 이제는 내가 사는 것이 아니라 오직 내안에 그리스도께서 사시는 것이다.  이제 내가  내 몸 안에 사는 것은 나를 사랑하사 나를 위해 자기 몸을 버리신 하나님의 아들을 믿는 믿음 안에서 사는 것이다!”  우리가 우리 자신에 대해 십자가에서 죽었다는 것을 믿고 선언할 때에 하나님의 영이 우리의 인격을 변화시키기 시작할 것입니다.  흥미롭게도 감람나무 순에도 십자가가 보입니다, 자 보시죠!

This is a view from the top.  Each bud bears the mark of the cross line.  And 4 buds from top and bottom, left and right form a shape of a cross with a nail on the center.  The cross was nailed onto what?! Look! There is another cross right under this cross.  이건 위에서 본 모양입니다.  각 송이마다 십자가 선이 그려져 있네요.  위 아래, 왼쪽 오른쪽해서 총 네개의 송이들이 십자가 형태를 이루고 있습니다. 중앙에 못이 하나 꽂혀있는 듯 하고요. 이 십자가가 어디에 꽂혀져 있는 걸까요? 보세요, 이 십자가 밑에 또 하나의 십자가가 보입니다!

If you look at the tender branch from the side and twist 90 degrees, you can imagine a lower cross right under the upper cross when viewed from the top! 이 줄기를 옆에서 보고 90도로 꺽어서 또 보면 위에서 봤을 때 십자가 밑에 또 하나의 십자가가 있음을 상상할 수 있습니다!

Then we get two crosses nailed together on the Olive branch!  One is Jeshua’s cross and the other cross is mine and that is yours, too.  I died WITH Christ!  All the moral characters are formed inside out.  It starts from deep feeling of genuine love.  Cross shows the humanity how much God loves the world.  Then the love will produce joy, the joy will produce peace, and on and on.  감람나무 가지에 두 개의 십자가가 함께 못에 박혀 있습니다!  하나는 예수님의 십자가, 또 하나는 내것입니다.  여러분의 것도 되죠.    모든 도덕적인 성품은 내면에서부터 밖으로 형성됩니다.  그런데 그 시작점은 진정한 사랑을 느끼는 것에서부터 출발합니다.  십자가는 하나님이 세상을 얼마나 사랑하는 지를 인류에게 보여 준 것입니다.  그러면 그 사랑이 희락의 열매를 낳고, 희락은 화평을, 화평은 또 다른 열매를 맺으며 전진합니다.

I was amazed again when I saw the Olive buds blossom near the season of פסח (Pasach: Passover; the festival of salvation of the Hebrews and season of Christ’s salvific crucifixion) and the flower looked like another cross!  제가 또 놀란것은, 히브리인들의 구원의 축제요 구속적 십자가의 죽음이 발생햇던 유월절 주간에 감람나무 열매에 꽃이 피더라는 것입니다! 그리고 그 꽃은 역시 십자가 모양을 하고 있었습니다! 

And throughout the Passover in Jerusalem, the wind blew and flowers fell and real olive fruit appeared on the bud.   예루살렘의 유월절 내내 바람이 불었고, 꽃들은 떨어지기 시작했고, 진짜 감람열매가 올라왔습니다.

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Why Shapan(שפן) unclean? 왜 사반은 부정한 동물인가?

• “The coney ( שפן ), though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof;  it is unclean for you 사반도 새김질은 하되 굽이 갈라지지 아니하였으므로 너희에게 부정하고 ” Lev.레 11:5 (NIV)        “The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks            약한 종류로되 집을 바위 사이에 짓는 사반과…” Prov.잠언 30:26 (KJV)

The conies are unclean because God said “it is unclean” in the Torah, and God is the creator of Shapan, who knows its entire biological system.  Also I see often Shapans play around the dirty and desolate ground in my village. When I say to my baby, “No eating! Dirt is dirty!” I don’t mean dirt is dirty but dirt is not appropriate for him to eat!  Maybe God meant in a similar way.  But there are still questions unanswered. 사반이 부정한 이유는 하나님께서 율법에서 부정하다고 말씀했기 때문이죠.  게다가 사반을 창조하신 하나님은 사반의 모든 신체상태를 다 아십니다.  저는 사반들이 우리동네의 더렵게 버려진 땅에서 뒹굴고 노는 것을 종종 봅니다.   나의 아이에게 “먹지마, 흙은 더러워”라고 말할 때, 흙 자체가 더러운게 아니라 흙은 아이가 먹을 게 못된다는 뜻이죠!  아마도 하나님도 그런 뜻으로 “부정하다”고 하신 것 같습니다   그러나 여전히 질문들이 남아 있습니다…     

Then why God call animals which chew the cud and have a split hoof “clean and eatable?”  Intriguing!  I think God has hidden the mystery of the relationship between Israel and the church; Jews and Messianic gentiles (Christians).  그럼, 왜 하나님께서는 새김질을 하고 굽이 갈라진 짐승을 정결하고 먹을 수 있다고 하셨을까요?  흥미롭습니다!  전 하나님께서 이스라엘과 교회의 관계 – 즉 유대인들과 메시아닉 이방인들 (그리스도인들) 사이의 관계의 비밀을 숨겨놓으셨다고 생각합니다.

God wants both diversity and unity.  God is different from man (diversity) but God made man in His image because He wanted unity.  Man is different from woman but should be united as one flesh by marriage.  God gave the Old Covenant at Mt. Sinai through Moses and the New Covenant at Jerusalem through Jesus (diversity), but the two different covenants meant to be united by new spirit and by one heart (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26, 2 Corinthians 3:17).  God seems to hide this spiritual reality in the biological features of animals.  Split hoof may symbolize two different Covenants (diversity) but chewing the cud might mean the interwovenness between the two (unity).  More specifically, it is the work of the Spirit, who enables both Jews and Christians to meditate and ponder again and again both Covenants interchangeably as the cow chews the cud, which will ultimately illumine them to see God’s plan for unity between them (unity).   하나님은 다양성과 연합 둘 다 원하십니다.  하나님과 사람은 다르지만 (다양성) 하나님이 사람을 당신의 형상대로 지으신 것은 사람과 연합하기 원함이죠.  남자와 여자는 서로 다른 존재이지만 결혼을 통해 연합됩니다.  하나님은 모세를 통해 시내산에서 구약을 줬고, 예루살렘에서 예수를 통해 신약을 줬습니다 (다양성). 그러나 서로 다른 이 두 언약은 새로운 영과 한 마음에 의해서 연합되어야 합니다 (에스겔11:19; 36:26, 고후3:17)  하나님은 이런 영적 실체를 짐승의 신체적 특징들 안에 숨겨 놓으신 것 같습니다. 굽이 두개로 갈라진 것은 서로 다른 두 언약 (구약, 신약)을 상징한다고 볼 수 있습니다 (다양성).  하지만 되새김질하는 것은 두 언약 사이에 떼놓을 수 없는 연관성을 의미합니다 (연합).  구체적으로 이것은 성령의 역사로서, 유대인과 크리스챤들이 구약과 신약을 동시에 깊이 묵상함으로, 소가 풀을 되새김질하듯, 서로의 영안이 열리게 되고, 결국 유대인과 크리스챤을 연합시키시는 하나님의 계획을 보게 되는 것을 의미한다고 볼 수 있습니다 (연합).

In this sense, Israel must be differentiated from church.  Jews are the people of God in the Old Covenant, so are Christians in the New Covenant (diversity).  God might have planned two kinds of people as split hoof.  But at the same time, they are to obey the work of the Spirit, who encourages them to eat and taste the covenantal faith and blessing on their opposite side ( chewing the cud). Shapan chews the cud but does not have a split hoof.  They don’t get along with other animals.  They are sectarians.  They even put a guardsman when playing around as a group.  Who is then like Shapan?  Those who do not allow other people group to come into the fold of God.  They are like unclean shapan.  If you say “there is no God’s chosen people such as Israel these days,”  or “Christian church has nothing to do with Judaism, it is just a pagan religion” denying of the legitimacy of God’s two covenantal people, Israel and the church, you might be called “unclean” No matter how hard you chew the cud by meditating, studying, and practicing the life of the Words.  이런 점에서 이스라엘과 교회는 차별을 두고 이해해야 합니다. 유대인들은 옛언약을 통해 하나님의 백성이 되었고, 그리스도인들은 새언약을 통해 하나님의 백성이 되었습니다(다양성).  하나님은 두개로 갈라진 굽처럼 두 개의 다른 백성 그룹을 계획하셨을 수도 있습니다.  그러나 동시에 그들은 다른편의 언약속에 있는  서로의 신앙과 축복을 먹고 맛을 보게하시는 (새김질) 성령의 사역에 순종해야합니다.  사반은 새김질은 하지만 굽이 갈라지지 않았습니다.  사반은 다른 동물들과 잘 어울리지 못합니다.  분리주의자들입니다.  그들은 함께 놀때 보초도 세웁니다.  그럼 누가 사반과 같은 사람일까요?  하나님의 울타리 안으로 다른 그룹이 들어오는 것을 허락하지 않는 사람입니다.  그들은 부정한 사반과 같습니다. 만약 당신이 하나님의 두 언약 백성인 이스라엘과 교회의 유효성을 부인하면서 “요즘 시대엔 하나님의 선민- 이스라엘 이란건 존재하지 않는다” 라든지 “기독교 교회는 유대교와 아무 상관없는 이방종교에 불과하다”라고 말한다면 당신은 “부정하다” 라고 불릴 수 있습니다.  아무리 열심히 성경묵상과 연구와 말씀생활을 하면서 새김질을 하더라도 말입니다.

One day a Jew and a Christian came together to a cow which was chewing the cud deliciously on the pasture.  The Christian asked to the cow, “what is the taste like when you chew the Old Cud again and again?” The cow answered, “very good!”   Then the Jew asked, “What is the taste like when you chew the brand New Grass?”   ” very good!” the cow said.  After a pause, Suspiciouly and competitively, they asked together, “Which one is better?!” The cow smiled and said, “SAME Taste, man~~⊙▪⊙”  어느날, 한 유대인과 크리스챤이 농장에서 맛있게 풀을 먹고 있는 소에게 같습니다.  크리스챤이 소에게 물었습니다, ” 옛 풀을 씹고 또 씹고 하면 맛이 어떠니?” 소가 대답했죠, “아주 좋아!”  유대인이 소에게 또 물었습니다, “새 풀을 먹을 때 맛이 어떠냐?”  “아주 좋아!” 소가 말했습니다.   잠시후에 이 둘은 의심하는 눈초리로 경쟁하며 물었습니다.  “어떤 게 더 맛있더냐?!!”  소가 웃으며 대답했습니다.  “똑같아!”

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