16/50…counting the omer
Something from my heart this morning:
I love Falvius Josephus’ writings. I think like most of us he was a seeker of pure Torah in a system of religious divisions (Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, etc) that all held errors.
On his father’s side, Josephus was a levitical descendant. On his mother’s side, he was a Hasmonean descendant. As a Hasmonean, he was related to King Herod’s wife and had a distant though impossible claim to the throne that Herod sat on in a then political-Israel whose’s covenant with ×××× had been broken. Because of the Hasmonean inheritance, he would have been well schooled in Torah, rabbinical writings, and civil laws. Hasmoneans held the high priest-king position during their dynasty. They were the religious AND political rulers of Israel. It’s my belief that this vast understanding of the Torah is what caused Josephus to explore so many sects of Judaism before turning his back on them although he leaned towards the Pharisees.
I see myself in Josephus in that I did a lot of seeking in the religion of my birth, mainline Christianity. I was born Freewill Pentecostal, grew up Assembly of God, as a young adult I changed to the Charismatic movement. As I woke up the the truth of Torah, I moved onto a Messianic Synagogue. Finding biblical discrepancies in all of them I moved on to the widely known Hebrew Roots teachers of our generation that are located on YouTube. Finally, I settled on the best teacher of all, that being the Living Holy Spirit of our Elohim. This is what I see in Josephus, he has all of the earmarkings of a seeker.
Many claim Josephus was a straight up traitor to the nation of Israel. I don’t think so. A man born as an aristocrat because of his Hasmonean lineage, LEAVING that to explore other sects of his religion of birth, Judaism. Imagine the drive for hunger, in a time when Israel lived under siege of Rome when his affluence to the throne could have saved him but he was out living with hermits and those that dwell in caves seeking a group of people with correct understanding and practice! Haven’t we all been there? I certainly have.
Over the centuries Josephus’ name has been drug through the mud, mainly by the Jews. In my personal opinion and because of what I have seen in our news articles in these days, this happens because Josephus does not fit their agenda in the layout of the location of the temples of Israel and if you understand Josephus he was derogatory in a sublingual message towards the divisions of Judaism.
Between a rock and a hard spot, Josephus has to ‘speak lightly’ about the errors of the priesthood in the Temple because the priesthood ultimately answered to King Herod, the last Hasmonean Jewish puppet king of Roman, who sat on the throne by marriage to a Hasmonean princess. Saying things like ‘their’ when speaking of the priesthood was and is widely accepted as Josephus’ rejection of Judaism by the Jews but I don’t believe that was Josephus intent with his wording.
I think it speaks mountains of Josephus that we see such things in his writing as ‘their Passover’ when speaking of the Temple in Jerusalem. That he records with detail that the priests themselves were sacrificing the Passover lambs in many cases rather than as commanded in Exodus where the heads of the household were to slay the lamb.
I think we miss what and why Josephus recorded what he did for the most part. His audience he was writing to would have been aware of his references pointing to things that had been changed or added to what was commanded. A case in point? He records that the temple practice was to count the omer from the 16th day of the month with the Aviv. When I see that I automatically say Ah-ha! It can’t be what was commanded!
Please remember, he was recording for future generations schooled in Torah, who knew what was required. Why record the correct practices? It would have been a massive waste of time writing by hand and resources: paper, ink, pens, etc.
I’m not saying Josephus was a saint. I think he did choose to save his own neck when he in First JewishâRoman War as head of Jewish forces in Galilee, and his army had tried to stand against the Roman army in the caves on Mount Arbel and could not hold out. I drive past those caves a lot and marvel at the history, I always think of Josephus and his men in the caves that are on the face of the bluff.
I see Josephus as one of those seeds in the parable of The Sower. The seed that was planted on shallow ground that sprang up quickly and died because it has no root to nourishment. He never adhered to any Torah based life after he was captured by Roman and though he writes favorably about ×ש××¢ Josephus never professes Him as the Messiahi n any of his writings. Sadly Josephus sprang up and died. But that does not make Josephus bent on evil or a liar.
I believe Josephus was an anecdotal writer of history and that is why he lived with the favor of Rome. The Romans did not need embellishment to make them appear stronger, more fierce, or more of a force to be reckoned with; they were all of that. What they needed was a Jewish historian to record the facts as they happened so that future generations of Jews would continue to see the futility of trying to rebellion against Caesar.
The other day I read a post and this individual quoted Josephus about the count of the Omer. He took it as a correct interpretation of what a believer in Messiah should apply to their lives. It made me very sad. He missed Josephus’ point altogether.
Here’s the bottom line, my statement to you. Understand Josephus was an excellent historian faithful to his calling.
But he never meant you to take him as an interpreter of the Torah. He wasn’t writing TO YOU, he was writing to those who already KNEW the interpretation of the Torah. He was recording the errors of his people.Updated Apr 23, 2018, 9:27 AM