Do you remember Gershom? He was Moses’ oldest son. When Gershom was born, Moses was a fugitive. He had killed an Egyptian for mistreating one of Moses’ fellow Hebrews and had fled the country to escape prosecution. Moses ended up in Midian and settled there for forty years. He married a Midianite girl named Zipporah, and they had a son. Moses chose the name for the boy and called him Gershom, which sounds like the Hebrew phrase “a stranger here.” The explanation for the name that Moses gave was that he called him Gershom because “I have become an alien in a foreign land.” (Exodus 2:22) All of his life, Gershom carried the reminder of his father’s alien status. Moses had grown up in the Egyptian palace, adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, yet he was not Egyptian. He was Hebrew, a descendant of Abraham, of the lineage of Israel. He, along with his people, belonged in Canaan, not in Egypt, yet they had come to live in Egypt in slaves. Moses could have lived life as an Egyptian, a comfortable life. He could have denied his alien status and made himself at home in what was, at that time, the most powerful nation in the region.
Yet he chose a different path. Hebrews 11 tells us: “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26) It must have been a hard choice. The path grew harder when Moses chose to defend his fellow countryman and had to leave Egypt because of it. Living in Midian, he named his son Gershom to reflect his alien status. A quick reading of Exodus might make you think that Moses was thinking of Egypt when he made that statement. Yet he had already chosen to reject the comforts of Egypt, “the pleasures of sin,” as Hebrews puts it. He couldn’t return to Egypt and be an Egyptian. That choice had been made. Moses had chosen the life of an alien, and he would never again have a land to call his own here on this earth. He was looking ahead, not looking backward. That’s why he called his son Gershom.
I can’t help but guess that Gershom must have lived his life the same way. He may have crossed Jordan with Joshua and the tribes of Israel, may have joined in the conquest of the Promised Land. But I doubt that he ever forgot that he was never really home until he rejoined his father Moses. His name would have reminded him that he was a stranger in a strange land, an alien in foreign territory all the days of his life.
Maybe Christians should be called Gershom. Maybe it would help us to remember who we are.
“Maybe Christians should be called Gershom. Maybe it would help us to remember who we are.”
No thanks, I believe I would be better described as a non-Hebrew disciple of Christ, or a Gentile follower of Jesus.
It seems many Gentile Christians believe that when we come up from the water we are not only washed clean, we inherit the Jewish heritage, no we don’t become children of Abraham, we become children of God. No the story of Moses was not written by gentiles, about gentiles, it was written by Jews about the Hebrew heritage. as was the total of the old testament. No, no matter how much we long to equate the Jewish history to our own, it can’t be done, our Christian history started with Jesus, and our Christian ancestry can only be traced that far back. No I believe I will remain a Christian, and not a Gershomian.
Good ol’ Laymond, the man who can argue with anything. ;-)
Who said anything about being Hebrew, Jewish or a child of Abraham? The point is about being strangers and aliens in this world.
That being said, I hope you are a child of Abraham. I’m proud to be one and am lost if I’m not:
“So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.” (Romans 4:11-16)
“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29)
Don’t quote Paul to Laymond, Tim! Don’t you know that by now?
Tim, I believe I stated what I said correctly, I know Paul spoke of believers as children of Abraham, but that does not mean all believers share the same lineage as Abraham, they share the same faith. I will use another’s words to say what I believe
“All children of Abraham are not Jews. Jews descend only from a later point in Abraham’s line, from Jacob. This distinction is necessary because of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whose line certainly isn’t Jewish, even though they are descendants of Abraham.
“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:7
We see here that Gentiles are referred to as children of Abraham because of their faith, but then, Abraham was promised he would be the father of many nations! Being a child of Abraham is not the same thing as being a spiritual Jew, however.
A spiritual Jew is any natural descendant of Jacob who accepts Yeshua as their Messiah. In Romans 2:28-29 (oft quoted to show believing Gentiles become Spiritual Jews), Sha’ul is not even addressing Gentiles. The passage begins in verse 17 (Behold, you are called a *Jew*, and rest in the law, and make your boast of God)– showing clearly that Sha’ul is only addressing his Jewish brethren. Sha’ul begins by debunking the confidence of his fellows Jews who are relying on their Jewishness and Torah to save them. He explains that being circumcised (being Jewish) does not keep you from judgement, and is only beneficial if one keeps the whole law. Sha’ul points out in verse 25 that if you are circumcised (Jewish) but transgress Torah, it is equal to uncircumcision. Sha’ul then compares circumcision (Jewishness) to those who are uncircumcised (Gentiles)— pointing out that if a Gentile kept whole law but lacked circumcision (conversion to Judaism), that his lack of circumcision would not condemn him. That’s because conversion through physical circumcision doesn’t save anyone (better read as ‘Jewishness doesn’t save’).
Verse 28 is the verse that some mistaken use to show believing Gentiles are Jews. It reads:
“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh.”
This verse is defining Jewishness not by Torah and outward circumcision but by inward circumcision, the circumcision of the heart. Sha’ul concludes in vs 29 with:
“But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
Hence the mistaken leap that Gentiles are spiritual Jews. This passage cannot be expounded to include Gentiles, since Sha’ul is specifically discussing only his Jewish brethren. Sha’ul is not broadening the definition of Jewishness to include all, but rather, is limiting who among born Jews are spiritual Jews.”
So what am I saying here? That what Sha’ul said about Jewish inward circumcision has no application for Gentiles? Absolutely not! Of course the passage of inward circumcision can be applied to Gentiles, but nowhere in the passage is Sha’ul making the leap that all who are circumcised of the heart become Jews. He was merely defining who were the spiritual Jews from among all the Jews.” Ellen Kavanaugh
Tim that is what I was saying just because we believe and are baptized, don’t give us the right to claim, Jewish history as our own. said much better than I would have said it.
I’m sorry, but what you stated in your first comment was:
That’s what you were being corrected on. Since you contradicted yourself in the second post, I’m guessing that you misspoke in the first.
Having chased that rabbit, why not comment on what the post was about? It was not about being Jewish, claiming to be Jewish, or anything of the sort. That topic appeared from nowhere in your first comment.
The post is about Christians living as an “alien in a foreign land.” That’s what Gershom means. That’s why I postulate that Christians could claim that name. If you have a quarrel with that concept, this is the appropriate place to discuss that.
Grace and peace,
Tim
Tim, I thought I said we don’t become children of Abraham at baptism, we become children of God. I reread it and it still sounded like that was what I said. I can’t see where I disputed anything I said in the first comment, I was talking about bloodlines in the first and the second. I guess I was not clear about it. sorry. but I still prefer the name Christian.
Maybe if I knew what you meant by “Maybe Christians should be called Gershom. Maybe it would help us to remember who we are.”
I thought you were referring to the Jews wandering in the desert without a place to call home, and not knowing where they were going, I don’t see Christians in that way at all.
I wouldn’t for a moment try to explain what you said, Tim, because I think you wrote very clearly. I do believe as long as we live on earth, and are Christians, we are in an alien land. Am I in the same ballpark? I almost commented that maybe Gershom didn’t go into the promised land with Joshua, then realized he was a Levite and they were not included in those over 20 who would die in the wilderness because of their rebellion and disbelief. I take great delight in reading your blog, and have suggested you as one of the “Best Bloggers.”
Thanks for the encouragement Jeanne. And yes, that is where I was headed with those thoughts.
Believe it or not, I got to thinking about the same thing you did regarding Gershom, about whether or not he would have entered the Promised Land. I may have to research that a bit.
I’m proud to count you among the readers of this blog.
Grace and peace,
Tim
He is the father of us all.
How much clearer must it be?