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Q7: Does Hebrew culture in the Bible affect our Bible religion? Hypothesis: Does Hebrew culture in the Bible affect our Bible religion? Introduction: The Hebrew people were nomadic and lived a culture very different to our own. The concept of rain for example meant life upon the land and food on the table through meat and milk, and was always welcomed with joy, even during wedding days, but for many Westerners we receive rain often with mixed blessings or annoyance depending upon how often it rains and when. Hebrew is an Eastern language and culture, very different to Western cultures and ways of life. The Hebrews were a nomadic farming nation, while many cultures that have come upon the Hebrew such as the Romans, the Greeks and the Western civilizations are all city dwelling technology advanced nations, where the simple farming life is of little importance. The question asked by Westerner's reading their Bible, written in Hebrew by Hebrew people living a simple agriculturally based economy, is does our modern rate race life style fit into old fashioned conservative ways from 150 to 1500BC? And do we have to drop our Western culture and become Hebrew in culture to be saved, as "Hebrew people of God"? Method: See Jeff Benner's website on Hebrew culture and lifestyle and the author's presentation on Hebrew salvation. Conclusion: Christians are spiritually grafted into Israel, and follow the torah teachings which train them to follow Jesus. In order to follow Jesus better, our Bible thinking has to be a simile of Ancient Hebrew thinking, and our lifestyle will broadly follow Hebrew ways. Discussion: (1) Is Hebrew God's culture of salvation?: Culture is defined as the way a group of people live. In order to live as a group of people they need to have a collective or corporate base of belief, all willing to follow. In that sense, when all the people embrace a corporate sense of community, than culture is a working symbol of their salvation. Did not God raise up a community of people out of Egypt ( a symbol of the world) from all walks of life. descent and belief and culturally make them into a united nation under the Torah teachings of salvation? That means the Hebrew culture is a symbol of their salvation. A person believing in Jesus becomes a Hebrew Christian. Is that the same as living as modern Jewish people do? No. The purpose of this study is to find out what being Hebrew means... Ro 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Ro 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. 24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree? 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Paul speaks clearly that Israel is a symbol of salvation, that the Gentile is grafted into Hebrew stock and they are trained in Hebrew ways of salvation. Ac 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. These people were Hebrew first, some Gentiles becoming Hebrew, and later called Christians because they knew Jesus as their Saviour. Re 21:12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Even the city of GOD is Hebrew in name and design and come down from heaven upon Mount Olives exactly where old Jerusalem to replace the city with the New Jerusalem, during the third coming of Jesus to earth. Zec 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. During the second coming, Jesus never touches earth physically, only during the third coming to earth, does Jesus touch the earth with His feet, and allow the great city to come down at His feet. Jon 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? Jonah, a Jew considered those outside of their Jewish culture as dogs, or cattle. And yet God sends Jonah to witness to so called heathen people. God saves many in Nineveh while they lived in a culture very different so its seemed to Jewish culture, but if they were saved would they have to experience Hebrew culture? If culture is how people live as a group collectively with similar ideals, yet with variety of living differently, then Hebrew, which means to "cross over" seems to be a symbol of their salvation. Yet the Nineveh people did not speak Hebrew language or eat or act like Jewish ways, yet God still considered some of them worthy of salvation. Can this be explained? Consider the Eucalyptus. There are over 300 different species of gum trees in Australia and when you look at the gum leaves on each species they are all different and yet all gum leaves look similar. They are green, they breath air, they are living and they sweat much like humans do. And yet they have distinct cultural habitats. Some trees look sad growing every day in their little world. They seem to be dying and with abundance of dead wood. Such a group look like a despised community, rejected by all, fit for the bulldozer and the flames. And yet they grow back beautifully they look like beggars. Others grow more majestically with impressive limbs like rippling muscular arms showing off their strength. Such communities ripple with proud achievement and impressive boughs of strength, looking stately, pompous and proud. While other gum trees tower above the other gum trees like some proud giant of the forest. They grow in wetter places, with different clothing and straighter habits than other communities. Some gum trees grow all alone in the Australian outback desert. These seem like lonely specimens bent on drinking in far too much sun and little else. They seemed to enjoy a life of sparse misery and heat. Some gum trees are so narcissistically twisting their branches over themselves they hardly can help anyone with even basic tasks�a whole community of these make it impossible to navigate through them, they stick together like a huge mass of tangled individuals. Some gum trees do things together like clones of one another as a group or family cleaving together. They make family more important than outreach, and you have to be a branch of them to be accepted. They grow as a wantok forest of community and all others are excluded. Some gum trees handle the tribulations of fire while others wither and die from the heat of trials. In such trouble and heat of trials they endure like no other culture of trees could. Many of us would die under such extremes of tribulation. Some trees handle the stress of drought by storing precious water for themselves and not sharing it into the sky for others�.They appear greedy and selfish storing their precious cargo for a later time, rather than being ready to transpire humid cool air to others nearby. Some other gum trees love drinking in the water by a river like some water guzzling pumping machine. So much so, they live in swamps and wet places where other trees would die of wet feet. Some gum trees specialize growing in solid rock in very shallow soil. Such communities thrive in the toughest habitats of pride. They are tough and strong and resilient to attacks from other elements. At the end of every gum tree is a golden rainbow promise. From the strong authority of gum trees who lives in heaven. Re 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. People grow like gum trees, and we can learn a lot from how Christians grow in Hebrew culture by looking at how gum trees grow in their Eucalyptus Culture. Hosea 14:6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. Hosea 14:8 �.I am like a green gum tree. From me is thy fruit found. The fruit on us as gum trees comes from the power of God flowing in us. Psalm 1:1 � Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Let us grow as gum trees for God. Mattthew 7:1 � Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. There can be different styles of Hebrew Christian religion living near us, for while we are similar, we are also different, and GOD is a god of variety and with different styles and purposes for each gum tree. For example, in the Pacific the island people live in grass houses and have a agriculturally simple economy simple to the Hebrew one of long ago. The Lord's ordinance need not be of grape juice, for the grape juice is a symbol of Jesus blood, and in a different parts of the world where no grapes grow we have other symbols of human blood. The coconut water was used in the Second World War as an electrolyte substitute for blood and is a fitting symbol of the Lord's ordinance for blood. (2) What is Hebrew culture like ?: Live away from the cities Be willing to respect other strong authorities. Catch what your strong authorities tell you. Speak to strong authorities seeking to be like them. Refresh yourself at appointed times in your strong authority. Respecting family is important. Respecting life is important. Respecting relationships is important. Respecting building-work is important. Respecting communication is important. Respecting you own inner happiness is important. Governments, Schools and Families are models of Strong Authority. Our beliefs are caught more than they are taught or read from books. Your character overflows from what you say. Ceasing business work is important. Recharge with heavenly power. Country living builds families than city living. Home grown fresh living from the grass-roots. Communities of people helping one another. Work and exercise, building things for life. Speaking well with fun, edifying our values. Desire not the things of the world, but values that matter most. Ge 12:1 � Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: Cities are dark places, and GOD calls His Hebrew people to live out from cities, to be grass-root people living off the land. The Garden of Eden is a great ideal of our home upon the land. Some like to think that man made order in the city looks and feels great, and it has a spiritual appeal from the technology that seems to solve all our problems. But when God lead a mixed multitude from Egypt, He led them into the wilderness, which despite its lonely busy appeal is very ordered, quiet and yet full of God's presence. So living in the bush brings us closer to GOD, than living in the city. Here are some basic differences between our thinking and the Hebrew Bible thinking:- (1) Hebrew people are concrete using all their senses.. Ps 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to nose, and plenteous in mercy. A person who is slow to nose is a Hebrew saying meaning one slow to anger. Hebrew people were sensory practical people, not abstract thinkers, but doers. They also wrote their messages in idioms, or saying, in poetry pose or similes, and we often miss these in our English translations. (2) Hebrew people saw things in terms of function or action.. Ps 29:9 The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, "The voice of the LORD makes the strong leaders turn ". The oak tree and the deer were seen by Hebrew as the same concept "strong leaders". In Greek eyes we see nouns are static names, while Hebrew see nouns are things moving in a completed sense. We have to see all things are verbs of action, even nouns are functional things, things we are doing. (3) Does the Bible detail specifics for all peoples of all times? In a simple answer. No. The Torah-teachings are simple directions for the pathway to follow, they are not strict laws with penalties of disobedience. There were meant to be teachings training you slowly to be more and more a Hebrew Christian, with enough broader attitude for whatever style of loving variety GOD designed in mankind from the beginning. Look at the variety of styles built in the various kinds of animals and how they adapt and change their cultural habitat to suit a changing world of dysfunction and function. There is enough principles of Torah teachings (several thousand Torah-teachings to be precise) to guide the Hebrew Christian in the correct example of love where-ever you live and however you live. Many of these Torah-teachings are broad principles and do not contain specifics. Jeff Benner theme

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