Remnant is a curious word. From the MacBook dictionary:
rem•nant |ˈremnənt|
noun
a small remaining quantity of something.
• a piece of cloth or carpeting left when the greater part has been used or sold.
• a surviving trace: a remnant of the past.
• Christian Theology a small minority of people who will remain faithful to God and so be saved (in allusion to biblical prophecies concerning Israel).adjective [ attrib. ]
remaining: remnant strands of hair.ORIGIN Middle English: contraction of obsolete remenant, from Old French, from remenoir, remanoir ‘remain.’
Remnant is, by definition, a minority. As I wake this morning, I find myself in a minority in more ways than ever before.
When I was a young boy, my father revealed that he had named each of his three sons with a middle name that could act as a surname. He directed us to “drop” the Squicciarini, should we find it necessary. Back in the middle of the last century (wow I’m old), there was great concern among immigrants regarding prejudice. All immigrant families were minorities, and lived in enclaves to ensure as much community support as possible. So it is with G‑d’s people. The difference is the length of time non-Jews have had to deal with severe prejudice. The Jews have dealt with this issue for a very, very long time.
I must admit that as the years have passed since I wore this country’s military uniform, I feel more and more removed from the patriotic zeal with which I served. The values and moral climate of this nation drifts further from what I read in the Scriptures and teach my children. That’s sad. But there is a bright side to this foreign sense.
Our father, Abraham, felt the same way. He was an immigrant.
Gen. 12:1 Now the L‑RD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you…”
He was a minority. I’m pretty sure he was all alone in “the land.”
Gen. 14:13 Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew.
I’ve never experienced the oppression of a foreign government, even my own, … yet. But Abraham’s descendants did, on a regular basis. Daniel comes to mind.
Dan. 1:3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel…
Could Abraham or Daniel, or any of the others whose accounts we have been given, have a patriotic zeal for the country in which they found themselves? Daniel had no children, but I suspect that Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah did. (Think fiery furnace.) Their children were born in a “foreign” land. They were strangers. The remnant of which we read were involved in the governments of several “oppressive” nations. They worked and sometimes fought for its welfare, and the welfare of its people. I suspect they often taught their own children, as a mindset to stay focused on what endures, that they were strangers in those lands. HaShem reminded them of this truth.
Lev. 19:33-34 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the L‑RD your G‑d.
This generosity and hospitality is a hallmark and expectation of the righteous, the tzadik.
Matt. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me..
The unmistakable truth is that nations rise and fall according to the obedience of its citizens to G‑d. Even the presence of the righteous will not avert G‑d’s judgment, though the L‑rd knows how to save the righteous. The nation will fall.
Ezek. 14:12-14 Then the word of the L‑RD came to me saying, “Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast, even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,” declares the L‑rd G‑D.
As I consider the results of last night’s Presidential election, here in America, I think of these exhortations. I am feeling “disenfranchised” and as a “stranger” in a foreign land. That’s not a bad thing, if it turns my thoughts to Yeshua, and walking the path of righteousness, and looking forward to the hope of His coming. Not in a cocoon, but as a traveler, not unlike our father Abraham.
Heb 11:9-10 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is G‑d.
The closer I draw to Him, the more a stranger I am in this world, and this country. I have a President, but that should not cause me to forget I also have a King. I am a fellow heir to a great promise, a citizen of the commonwealth of the Israel of G‑d. Like the great men before you and I, we must do the deeds of righteousness, working for the benefit of those in the land in which HaShem has placed us, until that wonderful day when our King comes on the clouds of heaven to establish His kingdom. May it be soon, and in our days.
Shalom,
Yosef ben Yosef
broughtclose
Greg
gupham
peter squicciarini
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November 7, 2012 at 9:13 am
Rick Spurlock
Gamzu l’tova. We have the best Father and King. He gives all good things to His own. I am reminded of my heroes – Daniel, Jeremiah, Shaul, Yochanan ben Zakkai, Eliezer ben Hyrcanus… all who lived remarkable lives as “the remnant.”
November 9, 2012 at 7:44 am
circumcisedgentile
For those unfamiliar with the Talmudic story, here’s how it goes:
Why was he called Nahum of Gamzu? — Because whatever befell him he would declare, “This, too, is for the good.” (gam zu l’tova) Once the Jews desired to send to the Emperor a gift and after discussing who should go they decided that Nahum of Gamzu should go because he had experienced many miracles. They sent with him a bag full of precious stones and pearls. He went and spent the night in a certain inn and during the night the people in the inn arose and emptied the bag and filled it up with earth. When he discovered this next morning he exclaimed, “This, too, is for the good!” When he arrived at his destination and they undid his bag they found that it was full of earth. The king thereupon desired to put them all to death saying, “The Jews are mocking me!” Nahum then exclaimed, “This, too, is for the good!”
Whereupon Elijah appeared in the guise of one of them and remarked, Perhaps this is some of the earth of their father Abraham, for when he threw earth [against the enemy] it turned into swords and when [he threw] stubble it changed into arrows, for it is written, “His sword makes them as dust, his bow as the driven stubble.” Now there was one province which [the emperor had hitherto] not been able to conquer but when they tried some of this earth [against it] they were able to conquer it. Then they took him [Nahum] to the royal treasury and filled his bag with precious stones and pearls and sent him back with great honor. When on his return journey he again spent the night in the same inn he was asked, “What did you take [to the king] that they showed you such great honor?” He replied, “I brought there what I had taken from here.”
[The innkeepers] thereupon razed the inn to the ground and took of the earth to the king and they said to him, The earth that was brought to you belonged to us. They tested it and it was not found to be [effective] and the innkeepers were thereupon put to death. (Taanit 21b)
Good reminder, Rick. I like that Yochanan ben Zakkai, too!
November 9, 2012 at 7:53 am
Wayne Hackbarth
Well said! We are here to be a blessing to others, to tell them about the hope in salvation by grace. Can we do that with a democrat in office? Yep. Could we have done that with a Mormon in office? Yep. Give to Ceasar what he is due and press on….with joy.