{"id":62065,"date":"2019-09-01T06:38:44","date_gmt":"2019-09-01T03:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=62065"},"modified":"2023-03-24T15:15:10","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T12:15:10","slug":"the-value-of-a-conditional-promise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-value-of-a-conditional-promise\/","title":{"rendered":"The Value Of A Conditional Promise"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[370,608],"acf":{"old_id":"62065","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33992,"related_cahpter":"296","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"While God yearns mightily for our redemption, we must wrestle that happy condition into existence ourselves","content":"

Gathering at the foot of Sinai, the Jewish people reported a degree of clarity and intimacy with the Divine never to be surpassed in their experience. Seeing thunder and hearing lightning, they intuited the words by which the narratives and practices that molded us as a covenanted people could etch themselves into our hearts. The promises we heard were unconditional: you be my people; I will be your God. The promise of Sinai is an eternal promise.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not so the promise of Zion. What God offers at this hill in Jerusalem is a sacred site where David yearned for, and Solomon built, a Temple as unique as the God it brought to mind. We pushed beyond our expectations to build a building of surpassing beauty and meaning, but in the end, the promise Solomon receives is a conditional promise: \u201cIf \u2026, then \u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you walk before Me \u2026 wholeheartedly and with uprightness \u2026 then I will establish\u2026 But if you and your descendants turn away from Me \u2026 then I will sweep Israel off the land which I gave them.\u201d The gift, it seems, is very much dependent on our showing faithfulness to the way we have been offered. If we build a society around the fair application of law (mishpat) and the equitable worth of each human being (tzedek), then we will retain the reciprocal affection of the Holy One.<\/span><\/p>\n

God\u2019s choice of us is irrevocable. God\u2019s showering us with favor must be earned anew by each person, each generation.<\/span><\/p>\n

What that means is that our story is always being written. It\u2019s conclusion is far from foreordained. While God yearns mightily for our redemption, we must wrestle that happy condition into existence ourselves. God will work through us, but we must provide the effort, the hands, the heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, here\u2019s to a conditional promise. Earn the land! Merit Jerusalem! Do so not by falling into the Assyrian\/ Babylonian\/ Roman trap of faith in weapons and brute force. Lift up our vision to a higher standard of righteousness, compassion, and love that can infuse the world with the spirit of God and bring us all into a place of promise.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you walk, then I will establish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyone up for a hike?<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":62066,"id":62066,"title":"1kings9-forever","filename":"1kings9-forever.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings9-forever.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-value-of-a-conditional-promise\/1kings9-forever\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"1kings9-forever","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":62065,"date":"2019-09-01 03:38:27","modified":"2019-09-01 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