for there is no distinction between jew and greek; for the same lord is lord of all, abounding in...
TRANSCRIPT
Foundations of Hebrew Mindset
Introduction
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; (Romans 10:12)
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.(Galatians 3:28)
Hebrew Thought
800 BC, Greek culture arose to the north. Around 200 BC the Greeks began to move
south and the two vastly different cultures collided.
Over the following 400 years finally the Greek culture won and virtually eliminated all trace of the ancient Hebrew culture.
Greek culture in turn influenced all following cultures including the Roman, European and modern Western.
Hebrew Thought
We read the Hebrew Bible as if a 21st Century Westerner had written it.
To understand the mindset of the ancient Hebrew culture in which the Bible was written, we must examine some of the differences between Hebrew and Greek thought.
This understanding will revolutionise the way we do church!
Appearance vs Functional Description
Greek thought describes objects in relation to its appearance.
Hebrew thought describes objects in relation to its function.
E.g. Deer and OakLong Yellow Pencil I write words with it
Impersonal vs Personal Description
The Greek culture describes objects in relation to the object itself. The Hebrew culture describes objects in relation to the Hebrew himself.
Greek: Pencil is yellowHebrew: I writeGreek: God is loveHebrew: God loves me
Dynamic versus Static
Greek nouns refer to person, place or thing
Hebrew nouns refer to action of person, place or thing, e.g.
Greek: kneeHebrew: part of body that bendsGreek: presentHebrew: what is brought on bent
knee In Hebrew, knee and present are
connected
Dynamic versus Static
Greek: fatherHebrew: the one who gives strength
to the familyGreek: motherHebrew: the one that binds the
family together
Dynamic versus Static
Characteristic of Greek thinking Static, peaceful, moderate
Characteristic of Hebrew thinking Dynamic, vigorous, passionate,
explosive
Dynamic Character of Hebrew World
Hebrew world is changeable and in motion Behold, I have made you a new, sharp
threshing sledge with double edges; You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them, And will make the hills like chaff. (Isa. 41:15)
Dynamic Character of Hebrew World
Even stones and rock are movable and externally alterable: The mountains skipped like rams, The hills,
like lambs. (Ps. 114:4) For the mountains may be removed and
the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken, Says the LORD who has compassion on you. (Isa. 54:10)
How Mindsets Affect Our View of God
Greek View of God Argues the existence of God Attempts to explain inconsistencies and
harmonize contradictions systematically Understands God philosophically Considers God as pure being or in a static
sense Tries to box God into limited human scope
of things Tends to confine God to limited human
definitions and descriptions Concepts: God is love
How Mindsets Affect Our View of God
Hebrews’ view of God Assumes the existence of God Thrives on the inconsistencies and contradictions of the one
awe-inspiring God Filled with wonder at the mystery of God, the vastness of
God and his uninvestigatible ways leaves them awestruck Understands God functionally and pictorially, in terms of
personality and activity Open and expansive. Verbs: a God who loves Focuses efforts on pursuing God and the character and
qualities that determine His makeup. Pursues life and God to the fullest, rather than spending
time passively trying to define Him.
How Mindsets Affect Way of Life
The Greek mindset results in passivity and apathy. TV-obsessed entertainment-prone spectator-minded watching life rather than living it. truth an idea to be contemplated
How Mindsets Affect Way of Life Dangers for the Western Church:
church becomes a spectator sport chairs (or pews) arranged theatre-style facing
a stage where the ‘hired holy man’ titillates emotions and tickles ears of their fans for an hour or two on Sunday morning
churchgoers receive their weekly fix of religio-entertainment
their lives remain largely prayerless, biblically illiterate and evangelizingless
they become spiritual “couch potatoes.”
How Mindsets Affect Way of Life
The Hebrew mindset tends towards engaging with life. energetic living life to the full truth an experience to be lived, a deed
to be done
Hebrew is God’s Language
Martin Luther : “a special energy” in Hebrew Bible. In his struggle to translate the Hebrew Bible into German, Luther discovered it is impossible to convey so much so briefly in any other language.
Luther said, “In it [the Hebrew language] we hear God speak…”
Everything is Theological To the Hebrew mind, everything is
theological. Hebrews make no distinction between
the sacred and the secular areas of life. It is all God’s domain. ‘I have set YHWH always before me’ (Ps.
16:8) ‘In all your ways acknowledge him, and
he will make our paths straight’ (Prov. 3:6).
View of Religion
Western mindset. Religion is seen as a system of ethics, a
code of conduct, an ideology, or a creed. Hebrew mindset.
Religion is a daily life of faith in terms of a journey, the way in which a person chose to walk.
Enoch and Noah ‘walked with God’ (Gen. 5:24; Gen 6:9).