The Danger in Symbols and Social Justice

We all know there is something special about the water from the Jordan River. It has a distinct golden glow about it and it gives immortality to whoever carries it around in a bottle. Well, that last part may not be true but the rest of it surely is, or you would have thought it was by the way people made a point of going down to the river’s edge to bottle some of the “Holy” water. A danger everyone faces at some point in their Christian walk is how to deal with symbols. From Catholics to Protestants, Charismatics to Baptists, symbols run rampant in our religious cultures. It has become much more pronounced for me while in Israel because absolutely everything is a symbol. The Holy Sepulcher Church has people kissing marble remembering where they laid Jesus. Jacob’s well sells decorated containers of water remembering the place where Jesus met the Samaritan woman. And now people bottle the water from the Jordan remembering where Jesus was baptized. All of these symbols are great as long as they stay symbols and point to Christ and ultimately to God. But symbols lose their value when they become more important than that which they symbolize. When symbols cease to point people to God they become useless and in some cases become demonic. They take the glory for themselves and attempt to rob God of His glory or rather people attribute glory to them that is to be given to God. I enjoy symbols. I think in symbols. Symbols, like I said earlier, are “pictures” to remind us of how much we miss God. They are to cause our hearts to cry out, “Maranatha, come quick Lord!” But we have the tendency to make symbols more than that and we must take care that this does not happen, especially in Israel where everything is a symbol of Christ.

As you can guess the Jordan River sparked some thoughts in my mind but we went other places today too. The city of Dan is found amidst springs springing from Mount Hermon where water flows from the rocks at an intense 22.5 gallons a second. It is the largest spring in the Middle East and was absolutely gorgeous to walk around. When we made it into the ruins of the city that have been excavated we had a chance to sit in the city gate. Throughout the Scriptures important transactions and judgments happen in the city gate as was customary in that culture and we began to talk about justice. The first thing we noted was that justice is public. Elders are called to the city gate and matters are settled before those walking in and out of the city and before God in Heaven (Ruth 4:1-2). The second thing observed is that the Israelite culture and the Scriptures see justice differently than we might perceive it. The Western mentality is that of retribution. Justice is blind and people must pay back damages for the crimes they have committed but in the culture of the Israelites justice is all about equilibrium. It is all about what is best for the community and what is best so that everything remains balanced and at peace. Take a look at Deuteronomy 22:28-29, “If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.” Seizing a virgin and lying with her is not cuddling, he raped her and now she has to live with him. We cry, “Kill him!” The Bible cries, “Marry her!” Confused? What happens if this man does not marry her? She is without hope of ever being married and bearing a son that would take care of her. She is no longer a virgin and her only hope is that her father lets her stay with the family and takes care of her, but for how long? This man has taken everything from her in a moment and the Bible forces him to take responsibility for her. He is now forced to provide for her and he can never get rid of her. She now has the opportunity to bear a son to take care of her and she is no longer without hope. Justice is served. Balance is reached.

After Dan we arrived at Caesarea Philippi, the setting for Matthew 16:13-20 where Jesus asks the poignant question, “Who do you say that I am?” Matthew 17:1-13 documents the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus and it says that Jesus went up to a high mountain. He was just in Caesarea Philippi and it is very likely that the high mountain is Mount Hermon, which is right there. Very cool idea to imagine that, to allow the mountain to become a symbol of the Christ in all His glory. We ended the day at Ben-Tal and all I remember (due to a combination of being tired and it being the best thing I have heard all day) is that the first “Gospel” was the Old Testament. I never thought about the apostles preaching from the Old Testament. I never imagined them opening up the Scriptures and explaining how all this time God has been setting up the redemption of all things and it finds its fulfillment in Jesus. The Jews who realize that Jesus is Messiah can tell their brothers and sisters that they finally understand what God has been doing. Throughout this entire class I have realized that the Jews of the Scriptures (because those are the only Jews I have interacted with) believe they deserve God’s blessing. What they, and inevitably I, don’t realize is that they, and I, have been blessed TO bless. The Jews are special because God picked them, God did not pick them because they are special. And what Jesus brings to light is that the whole point of everything that God has done and is doing through them is to provide redemption for the world. God was not just saving the Jews but Gentiles as well. What a scandalous message to those who believe they are better and more deserving than everyone else. What a humbling message.