Love Israel

Speaker 1

Shalom. And welcome to Via Hafta Yisrael, a Hebrew phrase which means you shall love Israel. We hope you'll stay with us for the next 30 minutes as our teacher, Dr. Baruch, shares his expository teaching from the Bible.

Dr. Baruch is the senior lecturer at the Zarah Avraham Institute, based in Israel. Although all courses are taught in Hebrew at the institute, Dr. Baruch is pleased to share this weekly address in English.

To find out more about our work in Israel, please visit us on the web at loveisrael.org—that's one word, loveisrael.org.

Now here's Baruch with today's lesson.

Speaker 2

Do you have faith? Now, the vast majority of you will say yes to that question, so I want to ask it differently. Do you have a faith that perseveres in all circumstances and perseveres for a specific outcome, a specific result? And what is that? A faith that is pleasing to God. A faith that is biblically based is a faith that seeks and demands righteousness. And we're going to see that in our example today.

Take out your Bibles and look with me to the book of Luke and chapter 18. The Book of Luke and chapter 18. Now, the example that Messiah is presenting to us is that of a widow. Now, in society, going back many, many years ago, a widow was in a very vulnerable position, meaning that they were easily exploited, easily taken advantage of. And if this widow happened to be poor, then she was easily taken advantage of, and probably no one would stand for her. But isn't that why we have judges—judges that are supposed to be concerned about justice?

And biblically, especially in the New Testament, there is a relationship between justice and righteousness. There must be justice if righteousness is going to be experienced. So again, look with me to our passage today, Luke's gospel, chapter 18. Let's begin in verse one, where we read, "But he said also a parable to them." So we have here a parable from Messiah, and he was speaking to a group of people, it says, and he spoke also a parable to them.

And then we have the word, the necessity. Now, this word speaks of something that is absolutely necessary. And here he is admonishing individuals, especially his disciples, that we do something. And what is that? He says it is necessary always to pray and not. And this last word of this verse is so important. Now, most of the English translations will not really deal with this word. Instead of translating it literally, what do they do? They logically give a definition. They'll say such things as that we should pray always and not lose heart, not become faint, not give up. But that's not at all what this word is.

And I challenge you, don't accept what I'm saying. In fact, don't accept what anyone is saying. Do your own studies, and you will find that the root of this word is the word "cakeo," which is related to evil, that which is against God's will. And there's a prefix, and that prefix is the word "ek," which means to bring out or to bring from. This is what the Scripture is telling us, and it's most sobering. He is giving two possibilities. The first, that we will pray always. Secondly, if we don't pray in a consistent and committed way, what's going to be manifested? What's going to be brought out? And that is that which is evil.

Now, what is evil? Evil is anything against the will of God. So what is he teaching us in this parable? We'll see it in a moment. He's teaching that we need to pray consistently, to pray in a committed way for the will of God. What is the will of God? Always it is righteous. God's will is righteous. God wants us to live righteously. So we pray that we behave righteously. Why? Well, remember what we've been talking about in the previous two lessons. We've been speaking about the kingdom of God. And what does Messiah say? Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

We see that the kingdom of God is going to be full of his righteousness, and it's his righteousness. And when we behave righteously, we manifest the glory of God. And it's going to be in that kingdom; there's going to be a fullness of God's glory that we're going to step into when we inhabit the kingdom of God. And if we're not praying consistently and committedly for righteousness, what's going to happen? What's going to come out? Not good deeds, but those things which are against God's will. This is what he says to introduce this parable.

So learn carefully. You are either going to be committed to prayer, and you're going to pray—pray consistently, always—or what's going to come out of your life? That which is in conflict with the will of God. In other words, that which is evil. Look now to verse two. He had said this parable. That's what he was doing. And he was saying, "A certain judge was in a certain city." And notice this certain judge: God, he did not fear, and men he did not respect. Literally. Amen. It doesn't matter who; he did not respect humanity. He had no fear of God and no respect for humanity.

And I would suggest to you that these two things go together. If you don't fear God, then you're not going to respect others. And what's going to be the alternative? You're going to do what you want to do. And this is going to really characterize this certain judge. He was not a judge that was submissive to God's authority. He was not someone who had respect for others. It was all about him. That was his approach to his life and his approach as a judge. In other words, he was thoroughly ill-equipped to be a judge. A judge should be committed to justice and righteousness, but this one was not.

Look now to verse three. It says, "But a widow was in that city, and she comes to him saying," and the next word we would say is "avenge." But you know what that word really is? It's a word which means to bring out righteousness, to bring out justice. Isn't that marvelous? Vengeance—the vengeance of the Lord brings out righteousness. It manifests justice. And that's what she's asking. See, many times we approach a judge, and we want him to simply agree with us. We want him to do what we want him to do. That's not good. That's not how a disciple of Messiah behaves.

We just don't want what we want. But if we're under the authority of God, if we're someone who is kingdom-minded, then we're going to be committed to righteousness. And that's what we learn about this widow. She didn't want her way; she wanted the judge to act in a way that it would bring out justice, bring out righteousness. And there was one who was. Notice what it says? "Avenge me from my." And this one we could see as an opponent. But literally, some Bibles I would expect would translate it "adversary." But what is that word? Well, if we look at it, it's a word which means an individual that is opposed to righteousness, one that is opposed to justice.

And therefore, what we see here in this verse is that she is saying to this judge, "Bring out righteousness from the one who is against justice." So we see that she has a righteous cause. Let's move on to the next verse. Look if you would, to verse four. And he did not for a time. Now she was making her request known. She was going to him frequently, and she wanted him to act as judge in that position that he was entrusted with, that he would act in a just way. That in the end, through his position, righteousness would be manifested against this one, this adversary who stood in opposition to justice and righteousness.

This is what is being said here. But notice it says, "But he did not want for a time." But after these things, meaning after things passed, he said to himself, "Since even God, I do not fear, and man I do not respect." So he rehearses that he's going to do something, and it has nothing to do with what? Nothing to do with the fear of the Lord or respecting others. What is he going to do? He is going to act in a way of his own interests. He is going to behave in a way that is for him. That's what we see.

Keep reading verse five. "Also, because this widow causes me trouble," he's only thinking about himself, and this widow is causing him trouble. He says, "I will avenge her," meaning I will bring out justice, I will bring out righteousness for her in order that I do not come to the end. How? Again, most Bibles will say "exhausted," that this widow doesn't just wear me out, fatigue me. But I would suggest to you something. Research that word. The basic meaning of this word is to receive a blow, a punch that ends with a black eye. Now that is an idiom in Greek. To be given a black eye, just like in many languages, relates to shame.

He's not concerned for justice or righteousness. He's not concerned for the well-being of that woman. We know he doesn't respect human beings. But because—and here's the key—he doesn't want to be made shameful. He doesn't want that shamefulness to be made visible. He doesn't want to have that blow of shame placed upon him. Why? He's prideful. And therefore, she is exposing him as someone who is not concerned about justice, not concerned about righteousness. So he says, "In order that the end does not come in a shameful way upon me or a painful way upon me."

Verse six: "But the Judge said," or excuse me, "but the Lord said, 'Hear what the unrighteous judge says.'" So Messiah says to others, primarily his disciples, "Listen to what that unjust judge says." Verse seven: "But in contrast to that," that Greek word "day," a contrast, "but God in contrast." Then it says, "No, no," in this case what it's saying is, "Will not God avenge his elect, the ones who cry out to him day and night and be not delaying concerning them?" Meaning this: God is very different than that judge. That's what Messiah is saying in this parable.

The judge only does what he wants, what he believes is in his best interests. And because this widow came to him over and over, wanting justice, wanting righteousness, he realized something. This was being discussed, this was being talked about, this was being noticed. She was always there demanding justice. And therefore, because of his own selfish interests, he decided to avenge her and bring forth justice in a righteous way unto her. That's that unrighteous judge. Listen to what he says. But God is very different than that. And that's what Messiah brings out.

Look again at verse seven. "But God, in contrast to that judge, God, will he not make vengeance perform that which brings out justice for his elect?" And what are the elect doing? Crying out to him day and night, and he will not delay for them. Now, what's the context? What are his elect crying out day and night for? You should know the answer to that. The context gives us that. And what is it? His elect are crying out for justice and righteousness. Why? Well, the context, what we've seen in the last few chapters, is an emphasis on the kingdom of God.

And therefore, they want the kingdom character in this world. And they're praying consistently, and they're praying continuously for it in a committed way and in a way that shows their nature. Their nature is not about themselves; their nature is about the righteousness of God. So let me ask you a question. When you pray, what do you pray for? Now, I oftentimes give counsel that it is wise. It is good to keep a prayer journal and to review that, see the things that you are praying for. Are you interceding for others? Are you praying for justice for them? For them to live righteously and be used for righteous purposes and to stand against those things that are related to injustice and unrighteousness?

That should be the foundation of our prayers if we are kingdom-minded. So do you have a faith that is pleasing to God? Let me suggest to you, and we'll see this in a moment, that such faith is very, very rare, even among those who profess to be believers. Realize not everyone who says that they have accepted the gospel, not all of them have truly done so. Now, I don't know the heart of someone, but God does. And thankfully, we're not judges. But God is the judge. He is going to be the one. And of course, we're speaking about the Son of God, Messiah. He is the one that all judgment has been given.

He is going to determine who is a sincere believer and who's not. But notice what he says in this passage. Look at our last verse, verse eight: "I say to you that he will do vengeance, that he will make that which is just and righteous for them." And will do it how? "Quickly." That's literally what it says, that God is not a God that delays. He's not like that judge, that judge that was selfish. God is not about himself. God is about his character. And his character is just. His character is righteous.

And therefore, everything that God does, every decision he makes, every act that he takes, it's all about justice and righteousness. And therefore, if we belong to him through that Gospel message, through faith in the person and the work of Messiah, then that characteristic of justice and righteousness is going to be characterizing. It is going to be who we are. If we're that new man, that new woman, that new creation in Messiah, we're going to be utterly committed to righteousness, and our prayer life is going to reflect that.

So let me ask you again. Do you pray faithfully? Do you pray in a committed way and in a consistent way for justice? That's what a true believer does. But we're going to see a very sobering statement at the end of our passage. Look at our last verse, verse eight, where it says, "I say to you that he will make vengeance for them, and he'll do so quickly." However, and this is where it gets interesting. Now here's the problem. We need to deal with every word in the biblical text. And don't trust me, but look at an interlinear Bible that has the original language and a literal translation underneath.

And you know what? Many do, many just ignore a word, a very important word. And I'll point it out when we come to it. Let's translate it. Last part of verse eight. "However, the Son of Man, when he comes, will he find faith upon the earth?" Now, that's how most translations rendered. But a word was ignored. Which word? The word "ara." Now, that word "ara" is an interrogative particle. Now, a particle is just a word that is used within a statement, within a sentence, within a verse. It's interrogative because it asks a question. Interrogative is a question.

Now it's a particle. It's a part of speech. And when we look at this, it's very hard to translate. However, the Son of Man coming, when he comes, then it's the next word "ara," will he find faith on the earth? Now, again, I've read this twice, and I never have translated that word "ara," just like other translators. But I want to tell you what it means, the word "ara." Now, it's sad because many times what we find is that people translate, I'm talking about Bible translators. They translate being motivated by common sense, by logic, rather than simply rendering the words for what they are.

Some will say this word shows anxiety or impatience, something along those lines. It does not. It is not about growing wary, but rather it's about something different. Remember what I said, and you can do your own research. Because this word, if you look in Strong's Concordance, it is number 687, the word "ara," and it's an interrogative particle. What's interrogative? Interrogative means a question. But here's what's interesting. This word expects a negative response. Did you hear that?

Now you look at Strong's Concordance, and you will find that indeed it says that it is an interrogative particle introducing a question to which the answer to that question is negative. Now with that in mind, let's go back. What does he say? "However, the Son of Man, when he comes, he will not find faith upon the earth." Now it's talking about, in a general sense, when the Son of Man comes. And what coming are we referring to? We're referring to the Rapture. And when he comes, he is not going to find in this world the abundance of faith.

And what did we say about faith? The faith that pleases God, the faith that is rooted in the truth of Scripture, is a faith that is committed to justice and righteousness. It is, in other words, a kingdom faith. And what we are learning is this: At the time of the Rapture, when the heavens open up and the Archangel Michael sounds the trumpet of God and Messiah gathers up his followers, his disciples, there is not going to be great faith upon the earth. And we should know that because Messiah taught earlier on that the way into the kingdom is narrow and difficult.

And what does he say? Few will find it. The number of people who are going to be in the kingdom of God who have a justifying faith is going to be a relatively small number. And what we need to realize concerning that is we need to examine ourselves and to see if we have that biblical faith, that faith that is pleasing to God, that faith which is in line with the character of God, the purposes of God. That's what a true justifying faith is rooted in—his character and his purposes.

So as we approach, and we are in the end times, realize something. We are speaking about a time of apostasy in the last days. What does that mean? The word "apostasy" is a departure. It's a departure from truth, a departure from that which is good, meaning a departure from the will of God. And don't you see that? Don't you see today that when we look at the world and what the world says is good and proper and desirable, it is a stench in the nostrils of God? The world has a satanic perspective, calling that which is good evil and that which is evil good.

That's where the world is heading. It's heading there because of that spirit of the Antichrist. We need to have a faith—a faith that prays consistently, prays committedly, and is fully submissive to God's standards of justice, God's standards of righteousness. That's what motivates us, and that is what we should be praying for. So let me conclude by asking you that same question. Do you have a faith that perseveres? Do you have a faith that is truly pleasing to God?

Speaker 1

Well, we hope you will benefit from today's message and share it with others. Please plan to join us each week at this time and on this channel for our broadcast of LoveIsrael.org.

Again, to find out more about us, please visit our website LoveIsrael.org. There you will find articles and numerous other lectures by Baruch. These teachings are in video form; you may download them or watch them in streaming video.

Until next week, may the Lord bless you in our Messiah, Yeshua, that is Jesus, as you walk with Him. Shalom from Israel.