God speaks

The other day I was recruiting a CEO with several other board members of a Christian organisation.

After three rounds of interviewing the final two candidates, two weeks of deliberations, here we were on the last night of the period in which we had decided that a decision had to be made.

The analysis was exhaustive, every angle had been analysed in fine detail.  But as with many decisions such as this, one ultimately ends up comparing apples with oranges.

Does a visionary outweigh the experienced?  Should polish and eloquence, trump a down to earth street fighter?

I had deliberately left the 64-million dollar question to last, as I realized that there was a diversity of Christian traditions represented around the board.

Nonetheless, this was the eleventh hour and after six ballots, we were tied 6-6.  However, all acknowledged that both were capable of successfully fulfilling the role.

So after a deep breath, I said, "OK everyone, I'm sure we have all prayed about this decision, what has God said to you?

No don't be ashamed if God has said nothing.  God chooses whoever He wills to speak to.  It is no reflection on anyone's character or acceptance in God's eyes as to who He decides to speak to."

The Dutch Reformers all rolled their eyes, their body language shouting, "OK, here we go, hold on while we go to la-la land!"

Realizing that the others had seen the Dutch Reformers' reaction, I stepped in and said:  "This is a question that goes to the heart of our organization's Special Character, do we believe that God is living and speaks to His children?  Are we not a Christian organisation?  Then let His voice be heard at this table."

Even half of those who were from the Charismatic-Pentacostal traditions, said, "I believe that God gave us brains and facts to work with, in the end, we trust the analysis."  Yet the analysis had not been conclusive.

The remainder said, that despite their analysis suggesting that they should select the other candidate, only one name came to mind when they prayed.  It was the same name that the still small voice had given them all.

Five minutes later another ballot was held and we had a decision, 11-1.

Too often, we Christians rely only on our domain knowledge and common sense to make our life and business decisions.

This is not just true of our own contemporary experiences but is also described in the biblical record.

The prophets chide the kings of Israel for overly relying on alliances with pagan powers for national security, for relying on idols and seers from other cultures and religions for guidance, instead of relying on the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Our behavior calls into question whether we truly believe that God is alive, interested in our affairs and is our King.

If we are thoughtful and honest, we will realise that our analysis can only take us so far, but ultimately it is only God who can see into the hearts of humankind and can see around corners.

God speaks.  Be still and hear Him, and then you will know that He is God.

Ensure that it is God and not just confirmation bias.  Don't be ashamed of testing what you hear.  The bible commands you to test all things.  God is truth.  Trust that the cream will rise to the top.

His revelation to you must be objectively evidenced.

If you've never heard from God before and the very idea seems absurd to you, but you are nevertheless intrigued, then the bible has a way forward for you.

It says to seek Him with all your heart, mind and soul; and God promises, that He will be found by you.  So run Him down.  Don't stop chasing Him until you catch Him.  Your pursuit will be successful.

A J Heschel: Judaism and Legalism

A J Heschel

In the spirit of Spinoza and Moses Mendelssohn, many of those who take the law seriously, as well as those who pay lip service to it, maintain that the science of law is the only authentic expression of Judaism; that agada -- in the strict sense of the non-legal rabbinic literature and in the wider sense of all post-rabbinic attempts to interpret the non-legal ideas and beliefs of our faith -- is not "within the mainstream of Judaism."  Theology, it is claimed, is alien to Judaism; the law, "An ox who gores a cow," is Jewish theology, for Judaism is law and nothing else.  Such pan-Halachic "theology" claims that in Judaism religious living consists of complying with a law rather than of striving to attain a goal which is the purpose of the law.  It is a view that exalts Torah only because it discloses the law, not because it discloses a way of finding God in life.  It claims that obedience is the substance rather than the form of religious existence; that the law is an end, not a way.

This indeed, has been the contention of those who attacked Judaism that "the law of Moses commands only right action, and says nothing about purity of heart."  Albo rejects as being the opposite of truth.  "For do we not read, circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart (Deuteronomy 10:16); and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart (Deuteronomy 10:16); and you shall love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18); but you shall fear your god (Leviticus 19:14); you shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people (Leviticus 19:15).  The reason it commands right action is because purity of heart is of no account unless practice is in agreement with it.  The most important thing, however, is intention.  David says, create me a clean heart (Psalm 51:12).[1]


Judaism is not another word for Legalism.  The rules of observance are law in form and love in substance.  The Torah contains both law and love.  Law is what holds the world together; love is what brings the world forward.  The law is the means, not the end; the way, not the goal.  One of the goals is "You shall be holy."  The Torah is guidance to an end through a law.  It is both a vision and a law.  Man created in the likeness of God is called upon to re-create the world in the likeness of the vision of God.  Halachah is neither the ultimate nor the all-embracing term for Jewish learning and living.  The Torah is more than a system of laws; only a portion of the Pentateuch deals with law.  The prophets, the Psalms, agadic midrashim, are not a part of the halachah.  The Torah comprises both halachah and agada.  Like body and soul, they are mutually dependent and each is a dimension of its own.


Agada is usually defined negatively as embracing all non-legal and non-halachic parts of rabbinic literature, whether in the form of a tale or an explanation of scripture; an epigram or a homily.  Significantly, though the Bible, like rabbinic literature[2], embraces both legal and non-legal teachings, the distinction between halacha and agada was never applied to it.[3]  The fact remains that, central as is law, only a small part of the bible deals with the law.  The narratives of the bible as holy as its legal portions.[4]  According to one rabbi, "the conversation of the servants of the patriarchs is more beautiful than even the laws of the later generations."[5]

Source:  A J Heschel, God in Search of Man, page 322f.

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[1] Joseph Albo, Ikkarim, Part 3, Ch. 25

[2]. Rabbi Samuel Hanagid, Mevo Hatalmud.

[3] On the basis Genesis Rabbah 44, 8, it was suggested that originally the term agada was also applied to the narrative portions of the bible, including the Pentateuch.  See M Guttmann, Clavis Talmudis, I, 453.

[4] Compare Genesis Rabbah, 85, 2.

[5] Compare Genesis Rabbah, 60, 8.