Foreign Disaster
remember that you were at one time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world, Ephesians 2:12
Excluded – What is it like to be separated from Christ? We commonly think that separation means no relationship with God, judgment and eternal damnation. That’s all true, but it doesn’t capture the urgency of being excluded. The Greek verb here is apallotrioo, “to be estranged, alienated”, so we think in terms of the impact on salvation. But if we stop to read the verse, we see that Paul is saying that alienation from Christ (the Messiah), puts us outside the nation of Israel. The immediate effect of separation is not “going to hell.” It is exclusion from the covenant promise made only to Israel.
If we really want to see what this means, we have to think about this verse from a Hebrew perspective. That would take us to the root NKR, the three consonants that make up the word nakar, found in Jeremiah 19:4. This word means “to refuse to do.” Exclusion is based on refusal. Refusal to do what? Refusal to submit to the covenant obligations that are part of the commonwealth of Israel. Refusal to accept the requirements that come with acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah. Refusal to live according to the promises of God. Separation from Christ means that I do not participate in any of these things, no matter how good my life seems to be.
But now we discover something even more startling. The root NKR can be vocalized with different vowels. Then nakar becomes nekar, a word that means “foreign.” When we are outside the camp, we become foreigners – those who do not belong to the family. With a moment’s reflection, you can recall all the references in the Bible to the state of the foreigner. Intimacy with the Messiah brings you into the family. Separation leaves you outside the family. And that family is not the Christian family. It is the commonwealth of Israel. God has only one family and there are no step-children. When the Messiah ushers you into the family of God, Abraham is your father.
One additional vocalization adds the last impact. Nakar can also become neker, and neker means “disaster.” To be excluded by refusal to do what God commands is, with just a small change in the vowels, an unmitigated disaster. Disaster is related to foreigner. Calamity falls on those whom God doesn’t know, and the reason He doesn’t know them is that they refuse to follow in His ways.
Now you know why Paul can say that these foreigners, these rebels, these destined for calamity are without hope. Yes, ultimately they will be excluded from fellowship with the King in His heavenly kingdom. But that’s only a small part of the story, isn’t it?
Topical Index: Exclusion
