When?
I will give them one heart and one way of life, to reverence me at all times, for their own good and the good of their children after them. Jeremiah 32:39 (J. A. Thompson translator)
One way of life – God promises to give those who are chosen to enjoy His new covenant (see Jeremiah 31:31) one heart and one way of life. But God made this promise nearly 2500 years ago. When will it happen? How long do we have to wait for this to come true? It certainly isn’t the case today, not even within Christendom. The Church is split into thousands of different ways of life. No one could claim that even the followers of Jesus have “one heart.” Rather than unity, the world seems bent on irreconcilable diversity.
We could argue that Jeremiah’s prophecy was intended for the people during his time. These were people who were about to go into Babylon. God merely promised that someday they would return to Israel with (symbolically) one heart and one way of life. But history doesn’t seem to bear this out either. Factions that developed before and after the Babylonian captivity continued long after it, and some are still around today. The Pharisaical movement began in Babylon and it is more or less the basis of modern Judaism. So it looks as if God’s promise didn’t happen when Israel returned.
I suppose that we could say, “Well, this is about the Millennial Kingdom. It will all take place after Yeshua returns.” That’s probably the best answer, but that raises a very thorny question. “One heart” isn’t the problem. That could just be a description of all those who love God and worship Him. But “one way of life”? That’s the issue. Certainly the people of Jeremiah’s day didn’t question what this meant. It meant Torah. There was no other “way of life” for Israel in the 5th century BC. The fact that they were about to go into captivity was a direct result of the failure to walk according to this one way. It is simply unimaginable that Jeremiah’s audience could have understood anything else by these words. And that’s the problem. In general, Christianity doesn’t read these words as anything close to Torah obedience. If these words describe the Millennial Kingdom, according to Christian practice most of Torah will not be included in this “one way of life.” So either Jeremiah’s audience was completely in the dark about the meaning of these words or we have revised the meaning so that it would be unrecognizable to the first audience. It makes you wonder what “one way of life” really is.
The context makes it clear that this arrangement will be everlasting and will be initiated by God Himself. Furthermore, it will be for the good of the people. Thompson notes that this is about “the restoration of the covenant,”[1] but if it is “restoration” then it implies something that was once in place. That means Jeremiah does not have a new ethics in mind. His words point us back to the future. When you think about the behavior of God’s people in the Millennial Kingdom, do you think about a return to the original covenant? Are you preparing yourself for that eventuality? Or have you revised the meaning of derek ehad to fit your theology?
Topical Index: one way of life, derek ehad, Millennial Kingdom, Jeremiah 32:39
Although I do not understand all His commands, I must try to follow them. I see Torah as God telling me “don’t touch that fire, it will burn you”. A loving Father teaching His children to walk safely – that’s Torah.
“I will give them one heart and one way of life, to reverence me at all times, for their own good and the good of their children after them.”
Jeremiah 32:39
Hi Skip,
I think the passage above is fun to think about, but difficult to write about
Because on a literal or historical level it is not addressed to me in any sense
I was not driven from Israel and probably won’t go back anywhere in my lifetime
But on a personal level, I like to think about the “one way of life”
As a simple model of integrity
A passion for saying what we mean, and doing what they say
Based on certain principles
If we look at the movie, A Few Good Men, the three military lawyers are on that path IMO
They also have a passion for doing the right thing
A passion for the law, and a passion for the truth, a passion for justice (and Peace)
The problem, of course, is that Jack (Col Jessup) serves a “higher calling”
And Jack’s calling is directly opposed to the values of the three lawyers
So theoretically, both sides could have
“One heart and one way of life, to reverence me at all times”
But come into conflict and suffer tragic losses anyway
And it could still be “for their own good and the good of their children after them”
For some of us trying to assimilate this way of life – it is difficult without a supporting community. Do any of you live in the Inland Empire in southern California? For instance, there are some commands that I find myself fixated on, but it is probably putting the ‘cart before the horse’. I am not the first to tread this path, so what are the common mistakes?
What do I do when I find myself throwing away mixed fiber clothing and saying no to “pork” — but I still have problems controlling my tongue, following through with what I say I’ll do, or carving out quality time with my kids?
Inland Empire in southern California
saying no to “pork” — but I still have problems controlling my tongue
Hi Gabe,
I’m from the Inland Empire in southern California and find that it is a lot easier to say no to “pork”
Than to manage the problems I have controlling my tongue
To put it into a Catholic framework, I would guess that pork would be a venal sin
And the lashon hara would be a mortal one
When I lived in the Inland Empire the Jews I knew tended to live up in the foothills
And had names like Isenberg and Katz and Cohen
Now I realize that many of my friends and neighbors had less obvious Jewish surnames
But they never gave me any indication of their ethnic or religious identities
And my good friends now who are Jewish never mention anything about their Jewishness
And I’ve known them for 40 years
I suppose that’s what my dilema is,…. the ‘outside markers’ would certainly have social repurcussions – but are easier to do. I am also being changed inwardly, but it is taking time. Meanwhile, I feel like I am deliberately departing from Torah by not keeping some of the outward stuff, because I am afraid of being a ‘whitewashed tomb’ – all window dressing, no character.
As an example, my wife got a bit nervous when I wanted to throw out some mixed fiber clothing (I understand not everyone would agree this is necessary). She has been very supportive while I have been studying academically and theoretically – but she is understandably nervous when it comes to ACTUAL lifestyle and custom changes. I do believe that there will be nothing so addicting to my wife — than a legitimately Godly husband. And if I am truly following God, then all other men will seem like little boys. And for the most part this has played out exactly this way,… but I continue to find myself I at crossroads. I don’t want ‘strain the gnat and swallow the camel’, so I keep yearning for help and wisdom to assimilate Torah culture into my family. A way of integrating this way of life that balances inward and outward reform, and does not freak out my family who has studied the issue less thoroughly than I have.
Hi Gabe,
I hear what you are saying and understand the dilemma, though I don’t really have any answers
My dilemma is similar, but I tend to think in terms of “game theory,” or at least use that metaphor
And when I took the “game” to another level in my life, I did not focus on outward trappings and customs
Rather it was more like another “level of intensity,” which had a lot to do with what I wanted to do
My intentions were not to alienate myself from my family, but that’s what I did
The last thing that I wanted to do
BTW
The Judaism 101 website emphasizes three alternative forms of Judaism:
“Information in this site is written predominantly from the Orthodox viewpoint, because I believe that is a good starting point for any inquiry into Judaism. As recently as 300 years ago, this was the only Judaism, and it still is the only Judaism in many parts of the world. Be aware, however, that many Jews do not follow all of the traditions described here, or do not follow them in the precise form described here. The Conservative movement believes that these laws and traditions can change to suit the times, and Reform/Liberal/Progressive movements believe that individuals can make choices about what traditions to follow. However, what I present here is the starting point, the traditions that are being changed or chosen.”
When I was in college, I was always coming across the concept/literary motif, of the Wandering Jew
And could not figure out why this concept would have anything to do with what I was studying
An adulterous named Hester Prynne, who happened to be the Hero of The Scarlett Letter
I could tell that the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, liked Hester better than her lover
The wimpy Reverend Dimmesdale, and better than the oppressive Puritan elders as well
Alienated from the community, Hester felt more at home alone in the darkness of the forest
Than with the respectable members of the community
When wandering in the forest one day, Hester found a clearing where she she felt free
To be herself and play with her daughter
And after a while, Hester began to realize that the wild savages were watching in the darkness
And curiously Hester began to feel like the tribe was somehow protecting her and Pearl
Hester is actually a very simple character and Hawthorne is not a great writer like his friend
The greatest of American writers, Herman Melville
But I can see a lot of myself in Hester Prynne and Nathaniel Hawthorne
On my own path
Thanks Michael.
I’ve been studying this for over three years now, and I know some alienation from family and friends is inevitable, but I believe the damage will be less if I am changing character in pace with the visible culture reforms. I just haven’t quite mapped it out yet, and I don’t yet have the spiritual maturity to work it out. But,..
If I’m getting up early, working hard, getting out of debt, refusing to talk poorly about others, keeping in contact with my parents, ect — then it would be much more difficult for my parents to think I am joining a cult.
If I am my wife’s biggest fan, if I pay more attention to her ‘To Do’ list than I do my own, if I am exhibiting godly wisdom in dealing with the problems we face, if I can stay cool under life’s pressures, patient in our disagreements, stay up late to finish the dishes, get up early to pray and prepare breakfast — then perhaps she will sense that the Torah path is more secure and blessed, and she will become proud of the man that God is making me into, rather than scared of the changes.
My children are 12, 14, and 16 — and I am afraid the changes will take place too late for them to adopt as their own. I’m afraid that forcing, or encouraging too strongly, biblical customs on them will cause their peers to ridicule them, and them to resent me. I’m afraid of becoming the ‘religiously eccentric’ father, the isolated Jew-guy who isn’t quite a Jew or a Christian. I know my tendencies, and I know I have a greater chance of implementing Torah into my family’s life in a negative way than in a positive way.
But,.. if my children get a more supportive, more interested, more loving father — at the same time I am trying to follow God’s ways. Then, perhaps Torah CAN be made sweet to their tongue. Like the Cornelius the Italian captain, or the Philippian jailer – maybe there is a way for me AND my household to be saved.
The heart controls the thoughts, not the other way around-out of the abundance of the heart, we speak.
It is also the desires of the heart that we are motivated to action.
When we are gripped by that desire to please ABBA YHWH by walking in ALL that HE desires of us, as we learn daily to submit to His leading, even when we have no understanding of what’s happening, or what He is doing, and we seek not to have strife that strengthens not our walk, we are on that One Way of Life path that leads to life. 🙂
Renew in me a clean heart, says King Dawid, and restore a right spirit within me.
Having a right heart would be having a right mindset towards YHWH’s ways, and laying aside my own
be that picked up through man, or through simply not seeking YHWH with our whole heart and being.
Confusion came through Babylon, the place of rebellion- a spiritual mindset controlled by rebellion.
There is only ONE way and one Covenant, with YHWH through Yahushua, the Door.
This is where community living plays a big part in “iron sharpening iron”.
I believe when I walk in Covenant relationship with ABBA YHWH, I am under His authority, seeking to do His will, walking in obedience of His commandments, neither adding to, nor taking away from them, and it will all be for my own good, and for the good of my children and… the generations to come.
Shalom!
I do not live in the Inland Empire, I am actually way off in Ohio but hearts are hearts no matter the location! Esther speaks some wise words above so I won’t repeat them.
I want to encourage you Gabe in your walk with Y-H and His son the Messiah. Indeed, He will change your heart and that is the biggest hurdle. I can tell you from experience that children are great at spotting a fake and we as adults need to maintain that particular skill! Your children need to know that you shema (Deut 6: 4-5). This is the greatest commandment by the Messiahs own words!
It is always the heart that Y-H is after. The outward things come along after the heart is right.
Religion always puts on the outward stuff first so that everyone can see how pious a person is! This is a great burden and seriously weights folks down and misses the mark completely. Y-H wants obedience but He wants your heart first.
I have a lot to learn about following Torah but praise Y-H that I am not who I was ten years ago or even last month! Everyone is on a journey and they all look a bit different. I kinda like the book Pilgrims Progress for the allegorys contained there. I can see myself in it often!! 🙂
Even though my husband and I are both on the journey, we are almost never at the exact same place. Love is a choice.
You keep learning of Torah and loving Y-H with everything you have. Remember that love is the greatest. Teach your children that. They may depart for a time but knowing the truth is important and more important is seeing that your walk matches your talk so they see who has your heart!
I can tell you that love indeed covers a great multitude of sins and your children will love you always. Wisely pick your battles and realize that you can’t fight everything at once. Allow the trails to come as they will work out patience (and don’t think them strange either as we are promised them) and remember that Y-H’s timing is definitely NOT ours!
Shalom brother Gabe.
“When you think about the behavior of God’s people in the Millennial Kingdom, do you think about a return to the original covenant? Are you preparing yourself for that eventuality?”
This to me is the OT the equivalent of the last supper.
Moses speaking says;
De. 4:5, “I have been teaching you laws and decisions,
(while in the wilderness) [Emphasis mine] as I was ordered to do by the Lord my God, so that you might keep them in the land to which you are going to take it for your heritage.
BBE
When people ask me why I keep the commandments this is my answer. How will I know how to behave in the land if I don’t practice and prepare myself for it now? My Preparation day has been taken up with writing about Tzitzit and the importance of wearing them. It’s posted to my FB and this verse is in there. Each commandment is very important to the success of being able to keep them all. Torah is called The Commandment singular. It is echad.
Shabbat Shalom
I sincerely believe this ‘one way of life’ is the Torah. Just before this section, in Jer 31:33 “For this is the covenant I shall make with the house of Yisra’el after those days, declares YHWH: I shall put My Torah in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts. And I shall be their Elohim and they shall be My people.” And then the part that shows us it MUST be future: Verse 34: “And no longer shall they teach, each one his neighbor, and each one his brother, saying ‘Know YHWH, for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,’ declares YHWH. Never in history has this ever happened, so must be referring to the Millenial Kingdom.