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Post by Mark on Sept 11, 2008 3:53:21 GMT -8
He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 23:1)
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Post by ninjaaron on Oct 15, 2009 4:40:00 GMT -8
Isaiah 56:3-5 [ESV] Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the LORD: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, 5I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off" Have to appreciate the pun about being 'cut off' at the end there. Acts 8:27-39 [ESV] And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And the invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this [just two chapters prior to the above quotation]: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. Scripture is pretty clear in presenting a reversal many of the ordinances concerning exclusion from the assembly. in the next couple verses in Deuteronomy, it goes into detail about racial barriers that prevent inclusion. The passage from Isaiah addresses those as well, and the previous passage in Acts describes an in-gathering of Samaritans, who were born of forbidden unions. Mamzerim. This is an interesting test case where where we see an obvious reversal of a mitzvat . The questions we must ask ourselves are difficult and may not have easy answers: What was God teaching the Israelites through this mitzvah? how has the coming of the Messiah bridged the gap? From these we may begin to construct a halakah; how do we continue to fulfill this mitzvah in light of the incarnate word? I would suggest that part of the genius of the New Covenant writings is that they give wiggle room in cases like this to determine correct halakic practice in accordance with local context. Naturally, we must also avoid the other extreme. Matthew 19:10-12 [ESV] The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” Origin, a famous expositor in the early church, wished to teach women without having his integrity brought into question. To do so, he literally followed this mitzvat Yeshua', and castrated himself. While I admire this level of dedication, I have to agree with the bishops of the day, who were horrified when they heard of it, and condemned such an interpretation of this scripture. Origin himself later admited that his action was a grievous mistake. While this is an extreme case, it does illustrate the importance of discerning the inner meaning of the text (perhaps one of the greatest themes in both Paul and the latter Prophets). The Spirit gives life, but the letter kills (or, in this case, הכריתה אותו מבצליו ). However, if you mean to include the questions of sexual immorality, as the thread title would imply, Jesus and all the authors of the New Covenant make it abundantly clear that a literal reading of laws concerning sexual ethics are in full force under the New Covenant. This is one place were the Lord has basically eliminated confusion on the issue, and we must therefore take these mitzvot with the utmost seriousness. I don't know if you also intended for this thread to include the place of marriage and procreation, the call of certain individuals to celibacy, and the importance of marriage and family as symbol for God and Israel, Jesus and the Church. They are very important as well, but I'll let someone else comment on those, if they are so inclined.
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