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
