about a month ago, i was repairing my bissell steam cleaning vacuum while poring over different thoughts in my head. the result of that day was the beginnings of a sermon that i hope to preach someday, and carpets so fresh and clean that i literally ate off of them. this is the written memoir of the thoughts of that day.
in the book of judges, there is a story account that describes the defeat of the ephraimites by the gileadites. (wikipedia dates it at 1370-1070 b.c.) as a result of the battle, many of the surviving ephraimites were displaced and were seeking to sneak back into their territories by the jordan river. now, being that the ephraimites and gileadites didn’t really have any distinguishing physical differences between them, there was a simple way to identify any ephraimite that was trying to sneak by the gileadite soldiers. any passerby was instructed to repeat a simple word, and if they were able, then they would be allowed to pass safely. all they had to do was to say the word “shibboleth.” easy, no? well the ephraimites didn’t have a “sh” sound in their alphabet, and so would pronounce the word as “sibboleth“. it would be quite similar to asking my parents to repeat the word “lullaby” or “wooden”; inevitably they would unknowingly say “rurraby” and “ouuden.”
judges 12 tells us of the effectiveness of the simple test, 42,000 ephraimites perished by failing the test. the reason that this relatively unknown story came to mind? i believe that there are many among us that claim to be christian, and many of which sincerely believe it as well. to tell the difference between those of genuine faith and those of counterfeit faith is not readily discernible, but there is always an occasion for the truth to come to light.
this is my friend boaz shalomev. he recently immigrated to the united states from israel, where he spent the majority of his 49 years. he is a homeless jew that resides in rhode island. the left picture shows boaz eating his first bite of bacon, in his life. having been a devout jew, he had never tried pork until only a few months ago. the picture on the right shows the general friendly disposition that boaz always carried with him.
while living in providence, ri over the summer, i had the great privilege of meeting boaz. a friend of mine had discovered boaz living on the street, and offered him a place to stay and steady meals. boaz had moved to the united states only a few weeks prior, having been ostracized by his family in israel for proclaiming Jesus Christ, as the messiah that he and his people had all been waiting for. thats right, boaz is a messianic jew.
boaz stayed for nearly two weeks with us, always keeping our spirits up with his jolly, albeit awkward sense of humor, and regaling us with stories, uttered through his raspy accented voice. on several nights, boaz and i shared private moments, discussing the significance of Christ in our lives as tears would stream from both of our eyes. boaz taught me many things about the jewish faith, and how Jesus Christ fits the exact image of the messiah that is foretold in the tanach. i was drawn to boaz, because here was a man whose faith was evident beyond church attendance, small groups, and tithes. we gladly opened out home to him, not because he was a believer, but because he was in need.
several days later, boaz was gone. gone also was my laptop computer that i had brought for work. gone was $500 that was loaned to boaz so that he could settle his green card affairs.
boaz showed me so many things, talked about Jesus in a perspective that i could hope for, and displayed an attitude that would put most christians to shame. and just like that he was gone. that was his “sibboleth.” i have no idea whether or not the faith that boaz professed was real or an elaborate hoax. i can only hope and pray that his faith was real and that the Spirit would grieve him of the break of trust that he committed.
boaz is my friend. he may be just a con-man who can talk the christian game, but that wouldn’t be much different then the millions of people who fill pews every sunday in america, grumbling over having to lose sleep and pay money to a church. in the end, talk is always cheap. matthew made it very clear in his epistle, chapter 7:15-20,
15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
it’s not enough to be able to recite memory verses, sing songs on sunday, and live a relatively moral life. faith begets action, and actions display faith. when it comes down to it, do our actions point to our savior? that is our “shibboleth.”
