When We Remembered Zion
“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we
remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst of it we hung our harps.
For there our captors demanded of us songs, and our tormentors mirth,
saying, ‘sing us one of the songs of Zion” (Psalm 137: 1-3).
There is a spiritual struggle in the unseen realm. God desires that His
people enter into the blessed reality of the fullness in His Son, but the
enemy of God throws all he has into the ring to prevent this from
happening. God’s enemy is bent on keeping the nature of this struggle from
God’s people because once it is understood, God’s remnant begins to
respond to His call and return to the fullness that He has prepared in His
Son, and the struggle will be over with.
Concerning God’s thoughts for the fullness which He prepared in His Son
for His people as revealed in Paul’s Ephesian letter, T.A. Sparks had this to
say, “This letter is written in superlative upon superlative, a tumbling of
language over itself as it strives to cope with the immensities that are in
view. The language of overflowing fullness (‘exceedingly abundantly above
all we can ask or think’) – one wave succeeds another … ‘and that you may
know what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth, the
knowledge-surpassing love of Christ.’ This letter brings to our
understanding what we can find nowhere else in the Bible: the great thought
of God for His people before time was, the electing, the choosing of that
people for Himself, with a great purpose in view. God coming out from
eternity into time to find them, lifting them out of time, carrying them on into
the eternity to be, with great thoughts, great designs, great intentions, great
purposes. …the wonderful revelation of God's 'pre-thought' about us, of
His calling of us in time, of the great purpose of that thought and that
calling, to be realized throughout the ages of ages” (Rivers of Living
Water).
To prevent God’s people from seeing and entering into His fullness in the
Son, the enemy cleverly employs two tactics: 1) Harsh Persecution, and,
failing it, 2) Warm Embrace.
In the Old Testament, the slavery of the children of Israel in the Egyptian
bondage epitomizes the enemy’s first ploy. He did all he could to keep
God’s people from leaving by imposing hard labor, harsh treatment and
enslavement. Life in the Egyptian bondage would be unbearable. In the first
couple of hundred years following the birth of the Church, the enemy used
the first method through the Roman Caesars in an attempt to snuff out the
early church. Instead of floundering, the Church grew stronger and
flourished under severe persecutions.
Under the reign of Constantine, the enemy switched his tactic to that of
warm embrace. Instead of persecution, Christianity now became a state
religion enjoying prestige, power and wealth.
Likewise, the Babylonian Captivity was just such a cleaver design to prevent
God’s people from returning to Zion, the fullness of God in Christ Jesus, by
elevating the status of the exiles and giving them everything they wanted, as
long as they stayed in Babylon. The result was clear, unlike the Egyptian
bondage where ALL Israelites departed the “house of slavery” in haste, only
a small remnant left Babylon, even after Cyrus, the king of Persia issued a
royal decree encouraging ALL Israelites to return to Zion (Ezra 1:1-4).
During the captivity, the children of Israel flourished in Babylon. They were
free to conduct commerce, build houses, enter into politics, enroll in higher
education, pursue the Great Babylonian Dream…. And excel they did in
every field. Yes, even in religion. The ingenious way of gathering for
worship in Synagogues was invented during the Babylonian Captivity. Giving
the exiles everything they wanted, including the worship of their God, proved
far more harmful than persecution and slavery – they soon forgot about
Zion. Why remember Zion when they can worship God freely in Babylon,
not to mention live in comfort and style?
Alas, the invention of the Synagogue system fully exposed the heart of the
exiles. God only meted out 70 years to discipline the children of Israel for
their unfaithfulness and idolatry. But at the end of 70 years, only a tiny
remnant returned to Zion. The vast majority of God’s people have
succumbed to “singing the Lord’s song in a foreign land.” How sad!
Has the situation changed today? I’m afraid not.
The most outwardly successful mega churches have all embraced the
Babylonian culture. From public relations to self-promotions to Hollywood-
styled productions, churches today are engaged in all types of
propaganda. The late Peter Jennings of ABC News did a documentary
about 10 years ago on the prevailing movements in Christianity. He noted
that the secret of the success of mega churches involved offering to the
congregation what they wanted most – entertainment. Nothing draws a
crowd more than entertainment cloaked in religion. Songs and dances and
drama and stage shows, you name it. “Sing for us one of the songs of
Zion”? You betcha.
So, where are the remnants?
The remnants are “by the rivers of Babylon,” sitting down and weeping.
This is a picture of destitution. And unless we are brought to the end of
ourselves, we will not “remember Zion.” The prodigal son did not remember
his father’s house until he was reduced to an absolute destitute end of
himself. As the old adage goes, “The end of man is the beginning of God”
…truer words, truer words. Many Christians have been disappointed by the
soulishness of entertainment in the churches, and have longed for deeper
spirituality that is not offered in traditional institutional churches. Messages
and books on the New Testament-styled house churches have been in ever
increasing circulation. Many sincere and seeking saints have been drawn
by the allure of “authentic” church experience as revealed in the Early
Church as seen in the book of Acts.
Unconventional churches, house churches and simple gatherings are
springing up in many places. The sad thing is, nothing has really changed.
The same folks that gossiped and bickered in the institutional church now
gossip and bicker in the living-room of the house church. The same people
that had itching ears for sermons in the institutional church now have itching
ears for sermons in the house church. The same zealous and ambitious
ones that loved to lead and preach in the institutional church now lead and
sermonize in the house church. Worse yet, some have observed a superior
“us-against-them” mentality among the house church saints toward the
saints in the institutional church.
The authenticity in the outward ways of doing church does not make for
genuine church experience. What’s missing?
Simply put, we have not been taken to the river’s edge, sitting down and
weeping. No one can do this by his own power; it is the work of the Holy
Spirit through applying the cross in our lives. Job declared, “When He has
tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” What makes the house of God
authentic is not a bunch of people who have discovered the Early Church
blueprint. It is the character of His Son, Christ, lived out in folks who have
been brought to the river’s edge realizing it is “no longer I, but Christ.”
God wants a people who enter in, partake of and express the fullness of
His Son, Christ. The only way to do that is to be brought to the end of
ourselves. Moses had to be brought to the end of himself before he could
experience God’s fullness.
A few years ago, I came upon a news article written by a Houston Chronicle
reporter in Baghdad in 2003. It stated that as recently as the end of WWII,
there were still over 130,000 Jews calling Iraq (the ancient Babylon) home.
Why so many still? Life was good, that’s why. That number steadily
dwindled as God moved to edge them closer and closer to their “river’s
edge.” Now, the last remaining Jews, all 24 of them, in Baghdad have
decided to leave as well. Not for Zion, but for the perceived “good life” in
Israel.
At long last, after 2,600 years, the last of the children of Israel finally left
Babylon. Or did they…? They may have physically left Babylon, but Babylon
may still be in their hearts. I’ve attached the news article and a comment I
wrote in 2003 below. Read it and you’ll see.
Oliver Peng
02-28-2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sept. 30, 2003, 11:50PM
Iraqi Jews plan to leave for Israel
Synagogue's 24 members feel insecure, see no future in Baghdad
By MICHAEL HEDGES
2003 Houston Chronicle
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The last Hebrew speaker from a Jewish population that
dates back to the days when King Nebuchadnezzar brought the Israelites to
Babylon in chains nearly 2,600 years ago is a gregarious rabbi named Imab
Levy.
And he is headed for Israel.
Levy, 38, presides over the congregation of Iraq's last synagogue, the
Meyer Torque Synagogue, and over a Jewish population that has shrunk to
24 people.
"I need to sell my house, sell my things and prepare things first," Levy said.
"But I hope to go to Israel soon. There is no future here. I can't find a wife,
we are all afraid. It is a terrible life."
Nidhal Saleh, her sister Khalida and a friend Samira Yakub, three Jewish
women living in Baghdad near the synagogue, also hope to go to Israel in
the near future.
"We were born here, and Iraq is a good country, it is our home," said Nidhal
Saleh. "But we are single women living alone, and there are so few Jews
here. For this reason we want to leave."
Levy's father, Ezra, also a rabbi, moved to Israel a couple of months ago
with five other Iraqi Jews, aided by a New Jersey organization, called the
Hebrew Immigration Aid Society, and a private Israeli group.
"They flew out of Baghdad airport after being cleared by the CPA (Coalition
Provisional Authority) and landed directly in Israel without passports," Levy
said. "I have talked to my father many times. He has a house, he has
everything. It is a very good life."
As recently as the end of World War II, some 130,000 Jews lived in Iraq,
which occupies the fertile lands that had been the heart of the ancient
Babylonian empire. In the late 1940s, a combination of a wave of
harassment and the opportunity to emigrate to Israel lured all but about
10,000 out of the country.
That population shrank steadily to the low triple digits by the late 1980s. At
that time, President Saddam Hussein saw the propaganda value in pointing
to the Jews in Baghdad as evidence of the secular tolerance of the ruling
Ba'athist party. So, the Iraqi leader made it nearly impossible for the
remaining Jews to leave.
They lived mostly in middle- or upper-middle-class neighborhoods and in
many ways were indistinguishable from other Iraqi professionals. They
spoke Arabic and -- under duress, they now say -- kept pictures of
Saddam in their homes against an unexpected visit by the secret police.
The blending of the two cultures was evident in Levy's home, where a
Hebrew scroll hung from on one wall and another displayed a framed piece
of black silk with the word Allah stitched in gold in graceful Arabic calligraphy.
The synagogue remained a functional center of Jewish life here until last
April when U.S. forces overthrew Saddam's regime. But now the temple is
locked and guarded by Muslim security men hired by Levy.
"We were afraid after the war. We had no weapons, no way to defend
ourselves," Levy said. "Some people here hate us. They don't want to deal
with us. We have no security anywhere."
Levy has a clear sense that this has a moment in history for the Jewish
tradition in Iraq, which includes epic events such as Daniel being cast in the
lion's den and the trial by fire of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
"We have been here for over 2,500 years," Levy said. "And I am the last
person who can speak Hebrew. I am the last rabbi who will be in Iraq, there
will not be another one."
But Levy is far from sentimental about what he plans to be his imminent
departure.
"I'm not concerned about what I have lost. I will have a new life," Levy said.
"When I leave, I am never coming back.
"There is nothing I will miss."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have always wondered what ever happened to the hundreds of thousands
Jews who stayed in Babylon after Cyrus, king of Persia granted them
permission to return to Israel. At the time only a small remnant were stirred
up to return to rebuild God’s house in Zion.
God clearly set 70 years as the length of their captivity. No doubt, God
used the Babylonian captivity to chasten His people for their unfaithfulness
and purge them of idolatry. But 70 years was all He required, not a day
more. Now, almost 2,600 years later, the remaining descendants of the
original few hundred thousand Jews – all 24 of them – are about to close
the long chapter of their captivity and embark on a journey back to the land
of their fathers, the land that God gave them.
Finally.
Imab Levy is right, this final exodus from Iraq, the land of the ancient
Babylon, does have a “moment in history.” And what a history it is! It
shows God’s great mercy, sovereignty, blessing, longsuffering and love. He
protected His people from those who hated them and bent on annihilating
them; He blessed them with earthly wealth and comfort, beauty, power and
wisdom; He kept them from being assimilated and dissolved into foreign
religions and cultures…. All these and much more, He did for a people who
refused to obey God’s desire for them to return and build His testimony.
And finally, even for those who chose the wealth, comfort and good living in
Babylon instead of suffering hardship and reproach with the remnant in
Israel, God turned all their sweet successes into waters of Mara.
God waits patiently – even if it may take 2,600 years.
Even then, have they really changed? Have they learned the lessons? It is
apparent from the answers given by Levy and the 3 women that they have
not. Were it not for the persecutions, lack of security both politically and
economically, lack of suitable mates, they would have been more than
happy to remain in Iraq (Babylon) forever. It is the allure of a perceived
“good life” in Israel with houses, jobs and abundant choice for potential
mates that draws them back, it has nothing at all to do with a desire for God
or for His testimony.
It is a heart issue. It always is.
The heart of the true remnant was never consumed with the allure of good
life; it ached when they remembered Zion; it ached when God’s house lay in
ruins. Their heart trembled at the reflection of Psalm 137, “By the rivers of
Babylon, there we sat down, and yea we wept when we remembered Zion.
We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those that
carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us
requested mirth, saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ How shall we
sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my
right hand forget its skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to
the roof of my mouth – if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.”
Interestingly, I find myself a near mirror-image if Rabbi Levy. I have a desire
to serve God, I care for the flock, I speak a spiritual language; and yet in my
heart I covet the treasures and comforts of Babylon. I also find myself
trying to balance between the “blending of two cultures” – pleasing God on
the one hand and pleasing my soul life on the other. And what about
pleasing men? Isn’t there a temptation to tell the brothers and sisters what
they like to hear? Why risk misunderstanding if the message goes against
their concept?
There is such a similarity between the Jews who frolicked and flourished in
the Babylonian society and us Christians. When “Nebuchadnezzar” slapped
the ankle-iron on us, we’d moan and groan for Zion, God’s eternal purpose;
but when the king elevates us to a penthouse in the Hanging Garden, all
burden and desire for God’s house is but a forgotten dream.
Then there were the true remnants – those who never forgot Zion. No
matter what the king of Babylon did, they set their faces as the flint toward
Zion. They were not swayed or deceived by Babylon’s riches and glory, or
even the counterfeit and watered-down version of the house of God in
synagogues. Nothing short of the original foundation – Christ – would do
for them! They would stop at nothing short of the original foundation –
Christ. And off they went.
Alas, in a world that is predisposed to instant gratification, instant foods and
anything instant, Christians are also programmed to look for instant
spirituality, instant maturity and instant relationship. Today, Christians
gather based on a derivative of the instant culture that we are in – whatever
works, do it. If it works to gather with people of same race and culture, with
people of similar mentality and temperament, with like teachings…why not
do it? Who needs God’s archaic way of the cross? Transformation of the
soul? Fellowship in His sufferings? Made conformable to His death? Small
wonder Christians are still in their Babylonian captivity; they are gathering on
anything but the original foundation of Christ which is what “Zion”
represents.
When we gather unto each other, unto a spiritual man, unto a doctrine or
teaching, unto a formula for meeting, unto a practice or experience, unto a
race/culture…we are settling for something far short of Zion, the original
foundation of Christ.
God can take Imab Levy and the rest of his companions out of Iraq
(Babylon) and put them in Zion, but Babylon is still deep in their hearts. It
will take a change of heart to effect real change.
Likewise, it will take a change of heart for us Christians to really come out
of our “Babylon” to our “Zion,” the original foundation of Christ.
How does a change of heart take place? By being brought to the end of
our selves “by the rivers of Babylon” thus “remembering Zion.”
Oliver Peng
10/01/03
“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we
remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst of it we hung our harps.
For there our captors demanded of us songs, and our tormentors mirth,
saying, ‘sing us one of the songs of Zion” (Psalm 137: 1-3).
There is a spiritual struggle in the unseen realm. God desires that His
people enter into the blessed reality of the fullness in His Son, but the
enemy of God throws all he has into the ring to prevent this from
happening. God’s enemy is bent on keeping the nature of this struggle from
God’s people because once it is understood, God’s remnant begins to
respond to His call and return to the fullness that He has prepared in His
Son, and the struggle will be over with.
Concerning God’s thoughts for the fullness which He prepared in His Son
for His people as revealed in Paul’s Ephesian letter, T.A. Sparks had this to
say, “This letter is written in superlative upon superlative, a tumbling of
language over itself as it strives to cope with the immensities that are in
view. The language of overflowing fullness (‘exceedingly abundantly above
all we can ask or think’) – one wave succeeds another … ‘and that you may
know what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth, the
knowledge-surpassing love of Christ.’ This letter brings to our
understanding what we can find nowhere else in the Bible: the great thought
of God for His people before time was, the electing, the choosing of that
people for Himself, with a great purpose in view. God coming out from
eternity into time to find them, lifting them out of time, carrying them on into
the eternity to be, with great thoughts, great designs, great intentions, great
purposes. …the wonderful revelation of God's 'pre-thought' about us, of
His calling of us in time, of the great purpose of that thought and that
calling, to be realized throughout the ages of ages” (Rivers of Living
Water).
To prevent God’s people from seeing and entering into His fullness in the
Son, the enemy cleverly employs two tactics: 1) Harsh Persecution, and,
failing it, 2) Warm Embrace.
In the Old Testament, the slavery of the children of Israel in the Egyptian
bondage epitomizes the enemy’s first ploy. He did all he could to keep
God’s people from leaving by imposing hard labor, harsh treatment and
enslavement. Life in the Egyptian bondage would be unbearable. In the first
couple of hundred years following the birth of the Church, the enemy used
the first method through the Roman Caesars in an attempt to snuff out the
early church. Instead of floundering, the Church grew stronger and
flourished under severe persecutions.
Under the reign of Constantine, the enemy switched his tactic to that of
warm embrace. Instead of persecution, Christianity now became a state
religion enjoying prestige, power and wealth.
Likewise, the Babylonian Captivity was just such a cleaver design to prevent
God’s people from returning to Zion, the fullness of God in Christ Jesus, by
elevating the status of the exiles and giving them everything they wanted, as
long as they stayed in Babylon. The result was clear, unlike the Egyptian
bondage where ALL Israelites departed the “house of slavery” in haste, only
a small remnant left Babylon, even after Cyrus, the king of Persia issued a
royal decree encouraging ALL Israelites to return to Zion (Ezra 1:1-4).
During the captivity, the children of Israel flourished in Babylon. They were
free to conduct commerce, build houses, enter into politics, enroll in higher
education, pursue the Great Babylonian Dream…. And excel they did in
every field. Yes, even in religion. The ingenious way of gathering for
worship in Synagogues was invented during the Babylonian Captivity. Giving
the exiles everything they wanted, including the worship of their God, proved
far more harmful than persecution and slavery – they soon forgot about
Zion. Why remember Zion when they can worship God freely in Babylon,
not to mention live in comfort and style?
Alas, the invention of the Synagogue system fully exposed the heart of the
exiles. God only meted out 70 years to discipline the children of Israel for
their unfaithfulness and idolatry. But at the end of 70 years, only a tiny
remnant returned to Zion. The vast majority of God’s people have
succumbed to “singing the Lord’s song in a foreign land.” How sad!
Has the situation changed today? I’m afraid not.
The most outwardly successful mega churches have all embraced the
Babylonian culture. From public relations to self-promotions to Hollywood-
styled productions, churches today are engaged in all types of
propaganda. The late Peter Jennings of ABC News did a documentary
about 10 years ago on the prevailing movements in Christianity. He noted
that the secret of the success of mega churches involved offering to the
congregation what they wanted most – entertainment. Nothing draws a
crowd more than entertainment cloaked in religion. Songs and dances and
drama and stage shows, you name it. “Sing for us one of the songs of
Zion”? You betcha.
So, where are the remnants?
The remnants are “by the rivers of Babylon,” sitting down and weeping.
This is a picture of destitution. And unless we are brought to the end of
ourselves, we will not “remember Zion.” The prodigal son did not remember
his father’s house until he was reduced to an absolute destitute end of
himself. As the old adage goes, “The end of man is the beginning of God”
…truer words, truer words. Many Christians have been disappointed by the
soulishness of entertainment in the churches, and have longed for deeper
spirituality that is not offered in traditional institutional churches. Messages
and books on the New Testament-styled house churches have been in ever
increasing circulation. Many sincere and seeking saints have been drawn
by the allure of “authentic” church experience as revealed in the Early
Church as seen in the book of Acts.
Unconventional churches, house churches and simple gatherings are
springing up in many places. The sad thing is, nothing has really changed.
The same folks that gossiped and bickered in the institutional church now
gossip and bicker in the living-room of the house church. The same people
that had itching ears for sermons in the institutional church now have itching
ears for sermons in the house church. The same zealous and ambitious
ones that loved to lead and preach in the institutional church now lead and
sermonize in the house church. Worse yet, some have observed a superior
“us-against-them” mentality among the house church saints toward the
saints in the institutional church.
The authenticity in the outward ways of doing church does not make for
genuine church experience. What’s missing?
Simply put, we have not been taken to the river’s edge, sitting down and
weeping. No one can do this by his own power; it is the work of the Holy
Spirit through applying the cross in our lives. Job declared, “When He has
tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” What makes the house of God
authentic is not a bunch of people who have discovered the Early Church
blueprint. It is the character of His Son, Christ, lived out in folks who have
been brought to the river’s edge realizing it is “no longer I, but Christ.”
God wants a people who enter in, partake of and express the fullness of
His Son, Christ. The only way to do that is to be brought to the end of
ourselves. Moses had to be brought to the end of himself before he could
experience God’s fullness.
A few years ago, I came upon a news article written by a Houston Chronicle
reporter in Baghdad in 2003. It stated that as recently as the end of WWII,
there were still over 130,000 Jews calling Iraq (the ancient Babylon) home.
Why so many still? Life was good, that’s why. That number steadily
dwindled as God moved to edge them closer and closer to their “river’s
edge.” Now, the last remaining Jews, all 24 of them, in Baghdad have
decided to leave as well. Not for Zion, but for the perceived “good life” in
Israel.
At long last, after 2,600 years, the last of the children of Israel finally left
Babylon. Or did they…? They may have physically left Babylon, but Babylon
may still be in their hearts. I’ve attached the news article and a comment I
wrote in 2003 below. Read it and you’ll see.
Oliver Peng
02-28-2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sept. 30, 2003, 11:50PM
Iraqi Jews plan to leave for Israel
Synagogue's 24 members feel insecure, see no future in Baghdad
By MICHAEL HEDGES
2003 Houston Chronicle
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The last Hebrew speaker from a Jewish population that
dates back to the days when King Nebuchadnezzar brought the Israelites to
Babylon in chains nearly 2,600 years ago is a gregarious rabbi named Imab
Levy.
And he is headed for Israel.
Levy, 38, presides over the congregation of Iraq's last synagogue, the
Meyer Torque Synagogue, and over a Jewish population that has shrunk to
24 people.
"I need to sell my house, sell my things and prepare things first," Levy said.
"But I hope to go to Israel soon. There is no future here. I can't find a wife,
we are all afraid. It is a terrible life."
Nidhal Saleh, her sister Khalida and a friend Samira Yakub, three Jewish
women living in Baghdad near the synagogue, also hope to go to Israel in
the near future.
"We were born here, and Iraq is a good country, it is our home," said Nidhal
Saleh. "But we are single women living alone, and there are so few Jews
here. For this reason we want to leave."
Levy's father, Ezra, also a rabbi, moved to Israel a couple of months ago
with five other Iraqi Jews, aided by a New Jersey organization, called the
Hebrew Immigration Aid Society, and a private Israeli group.
"They flew out of Baghdad airport after being cleared by the CPA (Coalition
Provisional Authority) and landed directly in Israel without passports," Levy
said. "I have talked to my father many times. He has a house, he has
everything. It is a very good life."
As recently as the end of World War II, some 130,000 Jews lived in Iraq,
which occupies the fertile lands that had been the heart of the ancient
Babylonian empire. In the late 1940s, a combination of a wave of
harassment and the opportunity to emigrate to Israel lured all but about
10,000 out of the country.
That population shrank steadily to the low triple digits by the late 1980s. At
that time, President Saddam Hussein saw the propaganda value in pointing
to the Jews in Baghdad as evidence of the secular tolerance of the ruling
Ba'athist party. So, the Iraqi leader made it nearly impossible for the
remaining Jews to leave.
They lived mostly in middle- or upper-middle-class neighborhoods and in
many ways were indistinguishable from other Iraqi professionals. They
spoke Arabic and -- under duress, they now say -- kept pictures of
Saddam in their homes against an unexpected visit by the secret police.
The blending of the two cultures was evident in Levy's home, where a
Hebrew scroll hung from on one wall and another displayed a framed piece
of black silk with the word Allah stitched in gold in graceful Arabic calligraphy.
The synagogue remained a functional center of Jewish life here until last
April when U.S. forces overthrew Saddam's regime. But now the temple is
locked and guarded by Muslim security men hired by Levy.
"We were afraid after the war. We had no weapons, no way to defend
ourselves," Levy said. "Some people here hate us. They don't want to deal
with us. We have no security anywhere."
Levy has a clear sense that this has a moment in history for the Jewish
tradition in Iraq, which includes epic events such as Daniel being cast in the
lion's den and the trial by fire of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
"We have been here for over 2,500 years," Levy said. "And I am the last
person who can speak Hebrew. I am the last rabbi who will be in Iraq, there
will not be another one."
But Levy is far from sentimental about what he plans to be his imminent
departure.
"I'm not concerned about what I have lost. I will have a new life," Levy said.
"When I leave, I am never coming back.
"There is nothing I will miss."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have always wondered what ever happened to the hundreds of thousands
Jews who stayed in Babylon after Cyrus, king of Persia granted them
permission to return to Israel. At the time only a small remnant were stirred
up to return to rebuild God’s house in Zion.
God clearly set 70 years as the length of their captivity. No doubt, God
used the Babylonian captivity to chasten His people for their unfaithfulness
and purge them of idolatry. But 70 years was all He required, not a day
more. Now, almost 2,600 years later, the remaining descendants of the
original few hundred thousand Jews – all 24 of them – are about to close
the long chapter of their captivity and embark on a journey back to the land
of their fathers, the land that God gave them.
Finally.
Imab Levy is right, this final exodus from Iraq, the land of the ancient
Babylon, does have a “moment in history.” And what a history it is! It
shows God’s great mercy, sovereignty, blessing, longsuffering and love. He
protected His people from those who hated them and bent on annihilating
them; He blessed them with earthly wealth and comfort, beauty, power and
wisdom; He kept them from being assimilated and dissolved into foreign
religions and cultures…. All these and much more, He did for a people who
refused to obey God’s desire for them to return and build His testimony.
And finally, even for those who chose the wealth, comfort and good living in
Babylon instead of suffering hardship and reproach with the remnant in
Israel, God turned all their sweet successes into waters of Mara.
God waits patiently – even if it may take 2,600 years.
Even then, have they really changed? Have they learned the lessons? It is
apparent from the answers given by Levy and the 3 women that they have
not. Were it not for the persecutions, lack of security both politically and
economically, lack of suitable mates, they would have been more than
happy to remain in Iraq (Babylon) forever. It is the allure of a perceived
“good life” in Israel with houses, jobs and abundant choice for potential
mates that draws them back, it has nothing at all to do with a desire for God
or for His testimony.
It is a heart issue. It always is.
The heart of the true remnant was never consumed with the allure of good
life; it ached when they remembered Zion; it ached when God’s house lay in
ruins. Their heart trembled at the reflection of Psalm 137, “By the rivers of
Babylon, there we sat down, and yea we wept when we remembered Zion.
We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those that
carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us
requested mirth, saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ How shall we
sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my
right hand forget its skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to
the roof of my mouth – if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.”
Interestingly, I find myself a near mirror-image if Rabbi Levy. I have a desire
to serve God, I care for the flock, I speak a spiritual language; and yet in my
heart I covet the treasures and comforts of Babylon. I also find myself
trying to balance between the “blending of two cultures” – pleasing God on
the one hand and pleasing my soul life on the other. And what about
pleasing men? Isn’t there a temptation to tell the brothers and sisters what
they like to hear? Why risk misunderstanding if the message goes against
their concept?
There is such a similarity between the Jews who frolicked and flourished in
the Babylonian society and us Christians. When “Nebuchadnezzar” slapped
the ankle-iron on us, we’d moan and groan for Zion, God’s eternal purpose;
but when the king elevates us to a penthouse in the Hanging Garden, all
burden and desire for God’s house is but a forgotten dream.
Then there were the true remnants – those who never forgot Zion. No
matter what the king of Babylon did, they set their faces as the flint toward
Zion. They were not swayed or deceived by Babylon’s riches and glory, or
even the counterfeit and watered-down version of the house of God in
synagogues. Nothing short of the original foundation – Christ – would do
for them! They would stop at nothing short of the original foundation –
Christ. And off they went.
Alas, in a world that is predisposed to instant gratification, instant foods and
anything instant, Christians are also programmed to look for instant
spirituality, instant maturity and instant relationship. Today, Christians
gather based on a derivative of the instant culture that we are in – whatever
works, do it. If it works to gather with people of same race and culture, with
people of similar mentality and temperament, with like teachings…why not
do it? Who needs God’s archaic way of the cross? Transformation of the
soul? Fellowship in His sufferings? Made conformable to His death? Small
wonder Christians are still in their Babylonian captivity; they are gathering on
anything but the original foundation of Christ which is what “Zion”
represents.
When we gather unto each other, unto a spiritual man, unto a doctrine or
teaching, unto a formula for meeting, unto a practice or experience, unto a
race/culture…we are settling for something far short of Zion, the original
foundation of Christ.
God can take Imab Levy and the rest of his companions out of Iraq
(Babylon) and put them in Zion, but Babylon is still deep in their hearts. It
will take a change of heart to effect real change.
Likewise, it will take a change of heart for us Christians to really come out
of our “Babylon” to our “Zion,” the original foundation of Christ.
How does a change of heart take place? By being brought to the end of
our selves “by the rivers of Babylon” thus “remembering Zion.”
Oliver Peng
10/01/03
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The Closed Door
Gateway to Spiritual Fullness
Gateway to Spiritual Fullness
