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For those who have taken the time to read through this series until now: you know, we've gone through a good amount of thoughts and ideas and principles. I think that concrete things can be seen throughout this study, and seeds for further study can be seen. I wanted to challenge everyone who read this to find and occupy their place in this world, to fulfil their divinely given mandate and purpose, and to live it to the full. The Noahide community with their adherence to the oral law can sometimes miss those who, like me, are not fully convinced about its divinity. And, thus some of the argumentation they use to show people the truth that there is a way for the nations of the world to draw closer to Deity misses its mark. But, honestly, if a person just took the time to not only read scripture superficially, but also think about its implications and intentions, which are not always superficially obvious, then that person would see that those Noahide principles can be seen in the pages of the Hebrew Scriptures. They would not only see the Noahide principles, but also the need, the necessity, to do them well and to do more. To paraphrase what Michael Dallen and other Jews say, it is not enough to simply avoid idolatry: one must also know exactly what it is, and then try to do the opposite, i.e., worship the one true Deity. It is not enough to avoid blaspheming or insulting the Creator and his works, his creation, but one must know what it means to insult him, and then do the opposite, i.e., speak positively and avoid slander and lies, and use one's mouth to praise and glorify him.
But there are two levels of approach when it comes to reasons to the laws of righteousness for the nations of the world. I started with one of them, which is the need to draw close to our Creator and do his will and to have some form of relationship with him. But there is another, more sobering, level of approach when it comes to the importance of these laws. This second level is sort of frightening because it impacts the way the world seems to be going these days.
There was a time when there was no distinction between Israelite and non-Israelite. No distinction was possible because there was no Israel yet. It was in the days of Noah! And in those days, we hear a frightening thought go through the mind of the Creator.
(5) And YHWH saw that the wickedness of mankind was great in the earth, and that every forming of thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. (6) And YHWH repented that He had made mankind on the earth, and it grieved Him to his heart. (7) And YHWH said: 'I will blot out mankind which I created from the face of the earth; from man to beast to moving thing, and to flying [thing] of the sky; for I repent that I have made them.' (Genesis 6:5-7)
In those ancient days, humanity had become so wicked, had gone so contrary to the righteous will of Deity that its fate was sealed: it was to be destroyed and wiped out. But what was the crime of humanity for such a great judgment? We have a clue in verse 11.
The earth had become corrupt before the Deity; and the earth was filled with hamas.
What can be gained from this verse? For something to go corrupt that means that there is a pristine, original state that it had degraded from, and appears to be in a moral fashion because it is linked with the second phrase. But what is this second part saying? What is hamas? No, I'm not talking about the Palestinian terrorist group, although there is a similarity between that group and the meaning of this word.
Before we go into the specifics of what the words and phrases mean, there is a bigger conclusion that needs to be seen that gives even more evidence for the premise of this series. Take note: there had be no obvious spelling out of any laws that had yet been written in scripture. We don't see anything codified where we can point to verse or chapter to say, "here is a distinct law given to all of mankind". Even way back in the days of Cain, there was no time where it is recorded that murder is wrong. Yet in both cases - this case in particular - we see people doing something which they are condemned for, where they are shown to have a judgment placed upon them by Deity. This on its own shows that the acts committed were wicked, against a divine code of righteousness. Not only is this the case, but the law or authoritative teaching must have been known, because it is a way of the Creator to make something known before he pronounces judgment (Amos 3:7; hinted in Psalm 25:14 showing the Lord's way of operating). This tells us something about scripture study: the bible doesn't say everything so explicitly that all you need to do is quote a verse or refer to a chapter. Sometimes things are hinted at or a way of action or a principle is shown through the incidents that happen or the way something is continually referred to or view by the writers of scripture.
What is obvious by all that I've said in the previous paragraph is that there is already a law of righteousness present in the early chapters of Genesis which is not overtly spoken of. And this law is seen to be broken a good number of times in those early chapters, which results in enormous consequences. Does this say anything about an oral tradition as spoken of by Talmudic Jews or even a natural code of righteousness as spoken of by Karaite Jews? Well, we don't need to answer that now. Let's just get deeper in this subject.
The rabbis make very accurate observations about the Hebrew words used there that again shed light on this situation and the meaning of the words used. Where it says "the earth had become corrupt...", Rashi says the following:
"was corrupt" - [the Hebrew word] is an expression of immorality and idolatry. (Rashi's commentary of Genesis 6:11 from Judaica Press Complete Tanach at http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/8171/showrashi/true/jewish/Chapter-6.htm)
This is based on a place in the Babylonian Talmud which says as follows:
... for it is written, The earth also was corrupt before God [Gen 6:11]; and a Tanna of the School of Rabbi Ishmael taught: Wherever corruption is mentioned, it must refer to immorality and idolatry. 'Immorality.' as it is written, for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth [Gen 6:12]. 'Idolatry,' for it is written, Lest ye corrupt yourselves and make you a graven image [Deut 4:16] ... (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate 57a)
This is clarified a bit more in the following quote:
Wherever Scripture refers to sin as [the Hebrew word for corruption] it refers to lewdness and idolatry. (Sanhedrin 56b v. Rashi ibid.) [from http://www.tachash.org/metsudah/b02n.html#fn17]
Now I looked at all the references where scripture uses the Hebrew word translated "corrupt" to refer to sin and amazingly enough, it's true! Wherever this word is used to speak of people corrupting themselves morally it talks of either idolatry or some form of immorality. Interestingly enough, the Hebrew phrase used in the Talmud to speak of "immorality" is the same phrase used in Deuteronomy 24:1 which refers to the immorality a wife commits for her husband to be justified in divorcing her. So it is likely to refer to sexual immorality. This gives incredible insight into some of the acts committed by the people just before the worldwide flood.
What about "hamas"? What's that? Rashi limits it to "robbery". But the meaning is a bit wider. According to the Hebrew dictionaries, it refers to violence, oppression, wrong, injustice, crime and lawlessness (you may more clearly see the link to the Palestinian terrorist group now). The word can refer to a false witness who falsely accuses someone in order to get them injured or killed by the judges (Deuteronomy 19:16). In essence, the world was in legal chaos. Either the courts that should have been set up to erect and uphold justice were overwhelmed with injustice, or corruption had made its home there amongst both judges and witnesses. There is a huge chance that the crimes also involved murder, which would be the reason why it is overtly mentioned in the covenant of Noah as commanded by Deity.
Now if these are the reasons why the Almighty chose to destroy the human race in times past, then it is imperative, of the highest importance, that we shun those wicked ways and cling close to righteousness, which is why the whole world must find, learn, and keep the commandments and laws the Almighty has set for everyone!!!
There is another scripture that appears to have worldwide consequences, but I don't know if I am alone in this conclusion. I know that some christian commentators agree with my open conclusion about this chapter ("open" because I don't rule out the other interpretations), but I don't know if the Jews do. Either way, here goes nothing!
In the book of Isaiah, we meet a series of prophecies that have to do with different nations of the world. Starting from chapter 13 and going up to chapter 23, judgment is pronounced against non-Israelite nations, such as Babylon, Moab, Egypt, Assyria, and Tyre. It may be good for you, the reader, to go through these yourself. Read chapters 13 through 23, and see what the Almighty has to say about the nations of the world.
But then we come to chapter 24, a chapter I find to be ambiguous, because it doesn't come right out and say who its talking about. Yet it starts off with the following:
Look-here: YHWH emptying the earth, and making it waste, and distorting its face, and scattering its inhabitants. (Isaiah 24:1)
I think you can see that it doesn't start off good. Believe me, it doesn't get any better. A terrible judgment is pronounced upon the earth, and it affects everyone. No one is exempt. And here is the reason for it:
The earth also is polluted under its inhabitants; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken an everlasting covenant. (Isa 24:5)
The Hebrew word translated "polluted" in other scriptures refers to immorality or bloodshed/murder. These laws are part of the laws known to even ancient man before and after the flood. The laws and the statutes, and even the "everlasting covenant" can all refer to the one given to Noah and the natural law that rests upon all of humanity. The whole world is in upheaval because mankind has perverted the ways given it by the Almighty. And when the majority start on the terrible trend, who really can escape its awful consequences?
So this is another reason why it is needful and necessary to know what we should do and how we should live before our Creator, so that we escape these horrible things.
I would just add that there are two general interpretations of this chapter, and I believe there is evidence for each. There is the view of many Jewish commentators who say that this refers to Israel or Judah alone. The evidence for it would be terms like: the scattering of people and emptying of the land, which can refer to the Israelites being thrown out of their land and scattered. I'm sure the people who hold this view have a lot more evidence that this, and can give it if asked. But the other view is that it refers to the whole earth, and I am more able to give the evidence that I know of for that view.
The fact is that everything written in that chapter can refer to either Israel/Judah or the whole world, so I don't need to be dogmatic about my view. But because there is a good chance it can refer to the whole world, I would still use it to support the premise of this chapter, and that premise is this: it is all well and good to seek and keep the commandments because one wants to draw near to his Creator and follow in the way that He has made; but we must also be warned in the most serious way what could happen to our world should we fail to uphold his righteous standards. Morality, justice, and the acknowledgement of our King is demanded of us, and even the Lord himself won't help us if we let those standards go. In fact, not only will He not help us, but He will ensure that not only we bury ourselves, but also that his fierce judgment will wipe us out. Israel has its grave and serious responsibility, and the whole world should be lit by its example. But don't think we as non-Israelites are let off and have no responsibility of our own!
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