Support Team Studies - The Power of Positivity… Through the Eyes of King David

Keith: Welcome to the BFA International audio blog! I am your host, Keith Johnson, and I am here ready, willing, and able to tell it like it is… at least through my own eyes. I can’t be contained, controlled, or consoled! I’m as mad as… okay, let me get a hold of myself here!

One of the reasons I started this vehicle for communication is because, when I’m preaching, teaching, or producing a new program, I don’t always get to share some important things that are happening in the world or in my life that I want to share with you fine folks. Since I’m without the key maker today, who’s at an undisclosed location, I’ve decided to reach out to a special guest to help me address something I have been struggling with for some time. So, without further ado, let’s get started.

I’ve been really discouraged with what I’m calling the spirit of negativity that I have seen increase over the last year or so, especially when there’s a conflict of core beliefs between the people of God. I’m getting fed up with those who I call the “know-it-somes”, who learned something new and now claim to know it all for all people. And worse than that, they degrade, disrespect, and denigrate those who are on their own journey of discovery.

Okay, this week I’ve been challenged by my Jewish friend, Nehemia Gordon, who lives in China, to do an audio blog on this topic called The Power of Positivity… Through the Eyes of David. Now, let me give you some background. Nehemia and I have been walking a journey of ups and downs. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree, sometimes we fight, sometimes we’re friends, but in the end, we’ve always tried to find some sort of biblical common ground to discuss what’s happening, both in the world, in our lives, and in ministry.

So, he really has challenged me. When we were in Israel together, we got a chance to talk about my concerns. We saw some things happening over there. We’ve seen some things happen over the last year or so that have discouraged both of us. In fact, I argue, and I will bring this up with him, that the spirit of negativity is part of the reason that Nehemia is over in China. That’s my opinion. I’m going to ask him during our interview whether that’s the case.

But we have been dealing with this, and so what I decided to do without the key maker today, I’ve got a rig here that I’ve set up. I’m going to try to get a hold of him and have an interview with him. Who knows how long it will go; he talks for much longer than I do, but it is great to be able to do that with him.

So, let’s get started and see if I can get a hold of him and see what we can come up with!

Well folks, I cannot believe it! I have gotten a hold of Nehemia Gordan in China. We are 12 hours apart; he’s agreed to come on and discuss a very important subject. But listen, we’ve got a rig here, so Nehemia, would you say hello to the folks? And just tell them what we’re going to do.

Nehemia: Ni hao! Shalom! Yeah, I’m excited to be on with you, Keith. So, what do you mean by a rig?

Keith: It’s a rig… Look, I’m by myself. Normally I’ve got the key maker with me, and we’ve got this high-quality setup. But because of the situation today, and the urgency, and obviously the availability, I’m here working on my own on my audio blog. I’ve got you on Skype and I’ve got a rig to be able to record it. And again, it’s not so much the sound; it’s the quality of what we’re talking about. And of course, you and I have been in conversation for the last few days, and I want to jump right into this, Nehemia.

Nehemia: Go for it.

Keith: In Israel we were discussing a concern that I had regarding what I called a bit of negativity that I’ve seen increase over the last seven or eight months. And you had reminded me of something really, really important, and that was just that sometimes that’s exactly what happens. But you always remind me about the power of dialog when you don’t necessarily agree and how you can do that, and what we’ve done over the years, and I just have to say something before we get started.

Nehemia: Okay.

Keith: For you as a Jewish friend, we do not have the same belief structure. We do not have the same approach to things. But what I’ve always appreciated is that we’ve tried to find a way to be respectful in our communication, even when we don’t agree. And I’m specifically talking about how we approach things, and we found common ground with Scripture…

Nehemia: Amen.

Keith: But what I have sensed in the last year, the last year-and-a-half, is an increased level of negativity where there is a disagreement on beliefs, and I’m going to give you a perfect example. I can put up on Facebook, “I like pancakes,” and I guarantee you, 50% of the comments are going to be negative about pancakes. I’m telling you!

Nehemia: Really?

Keith: No, no, I’m telling you! The negativity, it’s toxic. So, I want to talk about this. And you’ve been cool to discuss this with me in the last few days, but I want to get into this biblically. And we struggled with what it would look like to talk about negativity biblically, and you came up with something, Nehemia, that I just have to let the people hear. I've just got to let them hear it, it’s a classic!

Nehemia: Before you bring that, I think it’s really interesting what you say about the pancakes, and I don’t know if it’s a literal example or…

Keith: It doesn’t matter what it is.

Nehemia: You mean… like, I could post a photo in China of pandas and people will say something bad about Chinese people. Is that what you’re telling me?

Keith: Half the people will say they’re cute and half the people will tell you some biblical basis for why you shouldn’t have a picture of a panda. No, I’m telling you…

Nehemia: … unclean animals, okay…

Keith: No, whatever it is.

Nehemia: What this reminds me of is Proverbs chapter 10 verse 12, and it says there, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers up all faults.”

Keith: Wait a minute.

Nehemia: …the Hebrew, that’s the JPS. It says, “Sinah te’orer medanim,” “Hatred will stir up,” medanim is like “arguments” and “strife”. It’s not just strife, it’s verbal strife; it’s badmouthing. And then it says, “and love covers all transgressions.” That’s a literal translation of the Hebrew. And I love that. I’ve seen that so many times in my life, where people will do something, and they’ll say, “Oh, can you believe what so and so did?” But if their friend did it, or somebody they liked did it, or did something worse, they would be like, “Oh, well it’s okay. We understand his perspective. You have to look at it from where he’s coming from.”

Keith: Yeah.

Nehemia: And look, it’s human nature! Solomon, who wrote the Book of Proverbs, really was the wisest man who ever lived. He knew what he was talking about.

Keith: Well, I think what I like about that in this issue of love covering over the transgression is, we do Torah Pearls, and we were talking about this this particular week, we’re in Leviticus… help me with this. I believe it’s 19…

Nehemia: Leviticus 19.

Keith: It’s a funny thing. Can I tell the story?

Nehemia: Sure.

Keith: So, we were doing A Prayer to our Father: Hebrew Origins of the Lord’s Prayer. It’s embarrassing that I’m going to say this. So, we were having a conversation, you and I. We were going through each word in the prayer, and at one point we were talking about, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, mind, and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself,” and I wanted to preach to you! And I was preaching! I said, “Nehemia, this is what Yeshua said. He came up with this, love your neighbor…” And you gave me this blank stare, and you were looking at me, and I’m telling you, “This is what Jesus came up with.” And you looked at me and you said, “Keith… that’s in the Book of Leviticus.”

I’m embarrassed folks. I’m embarrassed! I didn’t know… look it was about 12 years ago. I was not reading Leviticus; I didn’t know that that verse came out of Leviticus. So, when we did this in Torah Pearls, I was really excited to talk about this verse, that that’s where he was pulling it from. People might laugh at me, but I’m just going to confess it! I had no clue, because my context was New Testament first, and every once in a while, when we get a good story in the Old Testament, we’ll bring it.

Nehemia: Right. And so, this week’s Torah portion, and I encourage people to go over to Torah Pearls and listen to it, it’s the Torah portion of Kedoshim, Leviticus 19 to 20, and there in Leviticus 19 verse 18, it says, “You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the sons of your people, and you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am Yehovah.” And I love how it ends. There’s a series of commandments throughout the whole section, and it always ends, “I am Yehovah,” or some variation of that. Why should you do this? Not because you like your neighbor; you don’t like your neighbor.

Keith: I don’t like my neighbor.

Nehemia: But “love your neighbor as you love yourself for I am…” His dog comes and he gets at your garbage. Why would you like him?

Keith: I don’t like him.

Nehemia: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am Yehovah.” Love him because I am Yehovah, and I tell you to. And the previous verse is also really powerful. I mean, it’s the whole passage. People should listen to Torah Pearls.

Keith: Here’s the interesting challenge in it. What I have sensed… and again, I said this to you a couple of days ago, and you kind of made me pause a little bit. Sometimes when it’s the family and you’re fighting family to family… me and my brother are having a fight. We’re having an argument about him taking my pants, wearing my pants. I don’t like that, but he’s my brother, and in the end, we work it out. And what I’ve noticed in the Jewish community, and please let me know if I’m way out of line here, is they will argue with each other and they will disagree with each other, but I don’t see them attacking other people.

Nehemia: Oh, just for the record! I do have your underwear!

Keith: You really do have my underwear? I’ve been missing my underwear. Folks, we were in Israel together. I’m going to be honest with you…

Nehemia: No, I do! I’ve got your underwear. I did a load of laundry...

Keith: No, no, Nehemia! Let me tell you what happened. There was a legitimate…

Nehemia: And I pulled this little pair of underwear, and I was like, “What the…”

Keith: The international crisis where you told people that I stole your pants! I didn’t steal your pants. However, I got home and realized I’m missing underwear. So, folks, he just confessed it!

But the point is, what I’ve noticed in the Jewish community is that there can be three opinions…

Nehemia: In my defense, I said I think he stole it.

Keith: No, no, what you said is I stole it. And people were on my Facebook saying, “Keith, you’re a liar and a cheater. You’re a stealer. You stole Nehemia’s pants.”

Nehemia: No, no, I said I think, or I suspect!

Keith: How many likes did you get, Nehemia? How many likes did you get on that post?

Nehemia: A couple of hundred. By the way, there’s definitely a lag here, so...

Keith: No, no, we’re good, it’s fine, you’re doing good. So, let me just say this.

Nehemia: Alright.

Keith: What I appreciate about the Jewish community…

Nehemia: So, what you’ve noticed in the Jewish community is…

Keith: Is that there can be two Jews and three opinions. There can be four Jews and seven opinions. And they’ll argue amongst each other. But here’s what I don’t see, and please help me with this.

Nehemia: Amen.

Keith: I don’t see Jewish people attacking other religions in their beliefs. I just don’t. It’s almost like they don’t have time for that. It’s like they’re trying to survive, and they can argue about rabbi… “He said this, and the verse says this, and this is my opinion.” What I noticed in this particular strain that I’m in right now is that there’s this attack on everything else, including each other! So, the negativity is what I want to address.

Nehemia: Not just including each other, I think it’s especially with each other.

Keith: Okay. So where does that come from? What's the difference? Why is it that in the Jewish…

Nehemia: We definitely have a major lag here. It might be 10 seconds…

Keith: We’re okay. Folks, this is his deal. But no, what is it? So, tell me, what is it? What is it in the Jewish community that doesn’t necessarily look at the focus of everyone else, but rather more at…

Nehemia: So, it’s not that there aren’t arguments within the Jewish community. Obviously, there are huge arguments within the Jewish community, and debates, and discussions. And look, if you go to any synagogue in the world, let’s be honest, and you’re involved in the internal politics, it’s probably not different than being involved in the internal politics in most churches. And I don’t know, but I would assume most mosques and most Hindu temples, or whatever, because people are… people.

But what you’re talking about is this public attack on people because of what they believe. And I think in the Jewish world if there are attacks, it’s more about what people do rather than what they believe, because Judaism really historically focuses on taking action. So, if you say you believe in one God, okay, what do you do about that? If you believe in Yehovah, how do you live your life that reflects that? That’s really what it’s about.

Keith: Well, let me ask this, Nehemia. We were talking about, as we always like to talk about, trying to find a biblical basis for what it is that we’re discussing. And so, you and I have been discussing this issue of negativity and how to address it from a biblical standpoint, and of course we can use Leviticus, “loving your neighbors”. But what I liked is the idea of finding an example where it’s negativity and its response. So, let’s talk a little bit about what we came up with. Would you be willing to do that?

Nehemia: Sure, I would absolutely love to do that.

Keith: Okay.

Nehemia: Let’s do it.

Keith: So, I asked you a question. I said, “Nehemia, we’ve come up with so many different stories where we could dive in. Let’s talk a little bit about our friend Shimei.”

Nehemia: How do you say that in Christian-English talk? How do you pronounce that name? Is he called Shimei?

Keith: Well, it’s interesting. If you look in the NASB I think it would say Shimei.

Nehemia: Shimei? Okay. So that’s spelled in English S-H-I-M-E-I. In Hebrew it’s Shim'i, Shin-Mem-Ayin-Yud. And it’s interesting what his name means. His name, Shimei, you could translate as “listen to me”. Isn’t that ironic? Hear what I’ve got to say!

Keith: No, no, this is classic!

Nehemia: I love Shimei! Shimei is this character who appears in 2 Samuel chapter 16 verse 5, and then he appears more, if I’m not mistaken, in two other stories. So, David is being run out of Jerusalem by his son, Absalom, who has started a rebellion because he wants to be king, and David is fleeing. And there’s this beautiful scene; he’s walking up the Mount of Olives. You’ve been to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is on this hill. So, you go down into the Kidron Valley, and then he’s walking up the Mount of Olives on his way into the desert to run away from Absalom, who has usurped against King David.

And we’re told, “Shimei comes out,” and it says he “came out cursing continually as he came, and he threw stones at David and all the servants of King David. And all the people, and all the mighty men were on his right and on his left.” Also, "Shimei said thus when he cursed.” So, he’s cursing King David. How is he cursing? “Come out, come out, you bloodthirsty man, you rogue!” And I love that in Hebrew, “you rogue” is “Ish ha’beliya’al”, “the man without the yoke”.

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: Which is “belial” in English. You've talked about in some of your material.

And then it says, “Yehovah has brought upon you all the blood of the House of Saul.” This is Shimei saying to David. So, David’s been the king for a number of years, and he’s got this son who’s rebelled against him. And Shimei, whose name means “listen to me”, has been holding this in for decades because he’s a supporter of the House of Saul and David essentially replaced the House of Saul. And so, he’s been burning for years wanting to vent against David, and now is his chance because David’s running away.

“‘Yehovah has brought upon you all the blood of the House of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and Yehovah has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!’ Then Abishi, the son of Zeruiah, said to the King, ‘Why should this dead dog curse my lord, the king? Please let me go over and take off his head!’” So, that’s the gut reaction. "This guy is attacking us, we better attack back".

Verse 10, “But the King said, ‘What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse because Yehovah has said to him, curse David. Who then shall say, why have you done so?’”

In other words, we don’t know why Shimei is doing what he’s doing. Maybe Yehovah is trying to tell him for His purpose, “curse David.” Maybe not. But maybe he’s doing this because Yehovah told him to. All I know is David is saying, "We don’t need to deal with that, and definitely not now."

He goes on in verse 11, “And David said to Abishai and all his servants. ‘See how my son who came from my own body seeks my life? How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse for so Yehovah has ordered him. It may be that Yehovah will look on my affliction, and that Yehovah will repay me with good for his cursing this day.’”

I’ve got to stop here; that’s verse 12. That’s really interesting; he says, “look on my affliction.” And I’m reading here from the New King James Version, and what they did is really cute. I don’t want to get too technical, but what it actually says in Hebrew is literally, “Perhaps Yehovah will see through my eyes.”

Keith: Amen.

Nehemia: I love that in the Hebrew, “Ulai yir'eh Yehovah be’eyni,” “Perhaps Yehovah will see through my eye,” or “my eyes.” And what does that mean? I read this, and I was like, what is that? So, I looked at the Jewish commentators to see what they said, and it makes a lot of sense in the context. Basically, he’s saying, “Look, I’m not going to attack Shimei. He’s doing what he’s doing, and maybe even Yehovah told him to do that, but hopefully Yehovah will see it from my perspective.”

Keith: That’s exactly what I thought.

Nehemia: “Here’s this guy. I didn’t do anything against him and he’s attacking me. He’ll see it through my eyes.” And of course, Yehovah can definitely see through your eyes. But the point is, what I need to do is act with integrity, and then Yehovah will hopefully see it from my perspective. And then he says, “and that Yehovah will repay me with good for his cursing this day”.

So, "I’m suffering in silence and I’m going to focus on the mission that Yehovah has given me," David is saying. "And maybe this guy has his mission, but all I know is I need to focus on my mission, on my calling. And whatever this guy is doing, I’m not going to attack him. I’m not going to hurt him, even though he deserves it. I’m just going to focus on what I need to focus on and hope that Yehovah looks upon the things as I’m experiencing them through my eyes, as I’m suffering in this situation, and He makes it good."

Keith: Now, let me tell you what I like about this.

Nehemia: “He will repay me with good for his cursing.” That’s powerful. Wow!

Keith: Yeah, it really is. And Nehemia, what I like about this idea of him saying, “May Yehovah look through my eyes.”

Nehemia: Yeah.

Keith: This is really a thing I like to call the power of perspective. It’s easy sometimes for us to lose perspective on other people’s journey. It’s easy for us to lose perspective while other people believe what they believe, or do what they do, and that’s again what I think Shimei... and I love his name, “Listen to me!”

Nehemia: Listen to me! I’ve got something to say, listen to me!

Keith: What “Listen to me” is saying! He’s saying, “I curse you! I spit at you!” Sticks and stones will break your bones but words… No, he’s doing everything! He’s bringing in the words, the sticks, the stones… look, he’s even adding dust. But the thing is, he’s saying, “Listen to me! Listen to me! Listen to me!”

Nehemia: Can we read that next verse?

Keith: Wait, hold on, just a second now.

Nehemia: We've got to read verse 13.

Keith: We’re going to. But he’s saying, “Listen to me! Listen to me! Listen to me!” Can you imagine the picture? Can we just talk about the picture for a second? The picture is, David is walking out from his place, from where he was king, and he's going somewhere. He’s walking out, and he doesn’t stop his journey to be able to address this spitting, cussing, yelling, stick and stones throwing “Listen to me” guy. Instead, he says, “Let’s continue to go, and may Yehovah see through my eyes, my perspective. But that’s not going to stop me from moving on.”

So, we can go to verse 13, but I just think it’s so powerful that this is the story that we’re addressing. Now, we can talk more about this. Hopefully you’ll give a little testimony. But what I love about it is that if we look at it from Shimei’s perspective, he’s upset, he’s angry, and he’s got a good reason to be angry.

Nehemia: And he’s been holding it in for decades.

Keith: He’s been holding it in, yeah, that’s right.

Nehemia: And the interesting thing is, he calls David, “A man of blood.” Who did David kill? So, of course, David killed. You know the whole thing with Uriah… But he doesn’t mention that. He’s talking about the House of Saul.

Keith: Exactly.

Nehemia: And so, the explanation from the commentators is that he blames David for the death of Ish-bosheth, or Eshbaal, who was the son of Saul. And if you remember the story, it’s actually the opening chapter of 2 Samuel. When David finds out that this guy cut off the head of Ish-bosheth, he’s angry and he actually executes the people who were involved. And then when he finds out somebody killed Saul, or possibly killed Saul, he executes that guy. He said, “Look, you can’t kill a king of Israel. He's an anointed of Yehovah. He might be my rival, he might be my enemy, but he is a Messiach Yehovah,” as Saul’s called, an anointed of Yehovah. “You can’t go killing him just because you don’t like him or what he’s doing.” And David does not accept that.

But Shimei doesn’t see it that way. Shimei blames him, and he also blames him for the general of Saul, that was also a relative of Saul, one of David’s… Amasa, if I’m not mistaken, was his name, and Avner. There were two generals who were killed by the sons of Zeruiah, by Joab.

So, he’s got all these issues. These two people were killed, these two generals, and these two people, Saul and his son, were also killed. David’s responsible for all of this. All that blood is on him. “And now God is repaying you, David, for what you did.”

Now, what Shimei doesn’t know… Shimei didn’t read the Book of Samuel. He doesn’t know that David wasn’t responsible. He doesn’t know! But he assumes that David is responsible, and you know what happens when you assume…

Keith: Yeah. And again, there’s so many parallels with this. But think about this; so here he is, and like you said, he’s angry. He’s legitimately angry. And what usually comes from anger? What’s the manifestation of that anger? Hatred, anger, et cetera.

Nehemia: Strife.

Keith: And strife. And so, here’s again what my concern is and why I appreciate us discussing this, is just the spirit of Shimei, you know!

Nehemia: It’s the spirit of Shimei! The spirit of Shimei is alive and kicking!

Keith: I want to trademark “The Spirit of Shimei.”

Nehemia: What do you mean? I came up with that, that’s mine!

Keith: Look, the spirit of Shimei is alive and kicking. No, we’ll come up with something.

Nehemia: Now let’s read verse 13, “And David and his men went along the road. Shimei went along the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, threw stones at him and kicked up dust.” Can you just imagine? He’s throwing stones! He’s foaming at the mouth and he’s kicking the dust! And David’s on the opposite ridge, walking down the road, and I’ve been to these places! Like, if you’ve been to the Judean Desert, as you go out of Jerusalem towards the Mount of Olives, out into the desert, the way the roads are located is along the ridge of a hill. And you could just see him walking along the other hill that's right opposite, not that far. I can envision this. I’ve been to this sort of place just outside Jerusalem. And he’s kicking up the dust, and he’s fuming, and in the next verse I think really ties it all in.

Verse 14, “Now the king and all the people who were with him became weary; so they refreshed themselves there.” And I love it in the Hebrew, it says, “And the king arrived, and all the people who were with him were” “ayefim”, “tired”.

Keith: They were tired.

Nehemia: So, they were tired. They’re fleeing the city from Absalom, and they’re going out into the desert to some little oasis somewhere, some village, and they’re just exhausted. They don’t have the energy to deal with Shimei. They’ve got to focus on the mission that Yehovah has given them, this mission that's being attacked by the enemy, that's in danger. And instead of dealing with the “Shimeis”, who really don’t make a difference, they’re just kicking up dust and saying words, they said, “We’re tired. We’ve got to focus on the work that Yehovah has given us.”

Keith: And if you would allow it, I don’t want to take too much of your time because I know it’s late there, but isn’t it interesting, Nehemia, that when I think of your name, Nehemia, and the story of the Book of Nehemiah, it was a similar thing. They said, “Hey, come on down to the Plain of Ono, let’s talk about this.” He said, “Why should I come down to you when I’ve sat such a great work?”

And then we could go to Jeremiah. We talked about this also in Jeremiah. There are times when we need to confront different issues, as Jeremiah had to, but then there’s also a way to respond, and how to respond. And I think what I like about what I’ve been challenged to do, and I know this has been your issue also, is to be biblical in our response. What’s the biblical response?

And for those who are out there that say they love Torah, and they love the Tanakh; what is the Tanakh response? What is the Torah response? And what I’ve found is that sometimes in the attempt to pull someone else down, there’s a whole lot of Shimei going on. And what was Shimei’s purpose? He was basically cursing, cussing, and throwing stones, but really, what ends up being his purpose? And what’s the end of the matter? He got dirty, he’s cussing, he’s yelling, he’s spitting…

Nehemia: … he’s kicking dust, right?

Keith: Yeah!

Nehemia: And what I think is really interesting is that Shimei is not part of the rebellion. So, you’ve got the rebellion of Absalom, and Shimei, at least in some kind of innocent way… like I said, he didn’t read the Book of Samuel. What he knows, what he believes he knows, is that David has done these horrible things. He killed two kings of Israel, two Messiahs of Israel, and he killed two generals, two officers in the army of Yehovah, and he’s a bad guy and now Yehovah is finally punishing him. That’s what Shimei’s thinking. And David realizes this, that Shimei is coming from a place of… he’s ignorant.

Keith: Yeah.

Nehemia: And David needs to focus on what he’s doing.

Keith: Amen.

Nehemia: And I think that’s just so powerful, how David responds there. Can we just look really quickly at the story in Jeremiah? To me it’s a similar…

Keith: Before you do that, Nehemia, I will tell you I had an agenda. Part of the agenda is, I don’t want to make fun of it…

Nehemia: There’s always an agenda with you.

Keith: There’s always an agenda. So, I’ve always asked this question; okay, so you’re over in China. And it’s awesome that you’re over there, but tell me what your feeling is, a little bit. Just for a second, so, what’s your feeling when you see so much negativity and you see so much of what’s going on? How does that affect you in terms of the work that you were doing here, and in terms of how you feel about continuing your ministry? Can we just stop for a second? Can you just give me your perspective, what it feels like?

Nehemia: Sure. I’ll be honest, there’s an internal conflict. The first reaction when I see all the negativity is, thank God I’m in China and I don’t need to deal with this.

Keith: Okay.

Nehemia: You know, these are people across the sea in other countries who are just kicking up dust and they’re cursing, and at least Absalom was trying to create a kingdom. He was a rebel, but at least he was trying to create a Kingdom! Shimei just wants to destroy! He’s got nothing productive to accomplish.

Keith: He just wants to destroy people.

Nehemia: So, part of me is thankful, like, oh my God, I’m in China. I don’t need to deal with these people. He just wants to destroy! Say what you will about Absalom, but at least he goes to Jerusalem. He tries to take over, he’s trying to build something. Shimei is just a destroyer. He’s just bitter and angry and he’s trying to destroy.

So, part of me feels like, "okay, at least I’m in China and I don’t need to deal with this". But then part of me feels, if I stay here in China and I deal with confiscating cell phones being used in class and this type of thing, I’m abandoning my ministry. It feels like, “Okay, I’ve got to rest. I’ve got to get to Bahurim.” That’s the place that David was on his way to. “But once I’ve got that rest, I need to do what David did, which is regroup.” He got out of the city, he regrouped, and then came the counterattack!

Keith: Well, let me just say this. We look forward to whatever that looks like for you. I just wanted to ask that question because I’m sure it’s got to be somewhat difficult for you to see the negativity. Like you say, the other part is that you’re in China, you don’t have to deal with it. And I’m calling you from the United States, and I'm saying, “Nehemia, we talked about this a year ago…” and I’m not calling you a prophet, nor a son of a prophet, but one of the things you did tell me is that you also saw that increase, and that it seems like it’s getting to a feverish pitch.

And again, what I like about coming up with the story and looking at the story is seeing sort of a picture. And again, the name; “Listen to me! Listen to me! Listen to me!” I just think that by looking at this it gives us a bit of a challenge, but we’ve been able to get through the story of Shimei. Is there anything you want to say about that?

Nehemia: Oh, so, I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this to you before. We discussed it just before the program, but the story of Shimei was actually pivotal for me in my spiritual walk. And just to back up, you say the negativity is coming to a feverish pitch. I don’t know if the negativity is greater now than it ever was. Think about the story of Shimei. The negativity was always there, he just didn’t express it. So, maybe now we’re being exposed more to this expression of negativity, but I think the negativity has been there since the snake in the Garden of Eden!

So, it’s just there, there’s this negativity. And look, I’ll be honest, I was different in different stages in my life, but at this point in my life… I’ve got this friend here, Leo, and he’s this very wise man here in China. You’ve met Leo.

Keith: Right.

Nehemia: And Leo says, “Look, we should try to focus on positive energy.” And this isn’t some kind of New Age nonsense. Leo is somebody who follows Torah. He’s a Torah keeper. And his point is, “Look, when we’re keeping the Torah, we should be focusing on the positive.” He exudes, he oozes positive energy and positivity, he really does. It’s a powerful thing. And people who are like Shimei, even when they’re not talking, tend to ooze negativity. And so, I really want to focus on the positive and try to be as positive as possible. But the story of Shimei was really pivotal for me and my spiritual walk. Are you there, Keith?

Keith: Yes, absolutely.

Nehemia: Okay. So, the spirit of Shimei was pivotal to me in my spiritual walk. When I was a much, much younger man, oh my gosh, decades ago, I was in elementary school, grammar school in America. And it was a Jewish school, and we studied Tanakh. And one of the things we studied was this story. We read the Book of Samuel in my Jewish school. And one of the things they taught me is that Shimei was actually the rabbi, the rebbe, of King David. David had studied Talmud from Shimei. This is what they taught me. And the way we read it was, we’d read a verse and then we’d get the explanation, and then we’d read a verse and get another explanation. And so, we never actually read an entire chapter just by itself and heard what it had to say the way I will study Tanakh today, study the word of God today, and let the words speak for themselves. It was always, “Here’s what this means. Maybe Yehovah,” and of course they didn’t say Yehovah, they said, “the Lord”. “Maybe the Lord has spoken to Shimei.” Who’s this guy? He’s a sinner. God’s speaking to him?

So, the explanation, we were told, is that he was the head of the Sanhedrin. There was a council of 71 rabbis and Shimei was the head of that Sanhedrin. And as head of the Sanhedrin, he taught David Torah. And if somebody teaches you even one word of Torah… and I like that idea, it’s a cute idea; if somebody teaches you even one word of Torah, he’s your rebbe. He’s your teacher, and you can never harm your teacher. It’s the worst thing you could ever do.

So, David was forbidden from harming Shimei. This was the explanation. It was almost… I hate to use the word, but in a sense it was a legalistic explanation of what Shimei was doing. In other words, it wasn’t this human emotion coming from a place of anger that Shimei was responding to, it was that Shimei had seen in David a reason for him to be subject to the death penalty. So Shimei was expressing that as the head of the Sanhedrin, and all this other nonsense. But that was how it was presented to me.

And a certain period of time later, still while I was very, very young, I decided I’m going to read the Book of Samuel and other books of the Tanakh for myself without the commentary, and see what it says, and I was shocked. And it’s crazy to say this, but I was actually shocked. I’m reading the Book of Samuel, and there’s no Sanhedrin, there’s no rabbis, there’s no studying Talmud anywhere in the entire book.

Keith: Oh, boy!

Nehemia: And I was thinking, how is this possible? It was there when I read it with my teacher, with my rabbi in 4th grade. How is it that now I’m reading it and it’s not there? And I realized it wasn’t there because the rabbi put it in the text. It wasn’t in the text, he added it into the text. And when the text speaks for itself, Shimei is Shimei, he’s kicking up dust and saying, “Hear me! Listen to what I have to say!” He’s not the head of the Sanhedrin. Maybe there’s a certain innocence there, but to make him David’s rabbi and that’s why he can’t harm him… Come on, it’s not what it’s about.

Keith: Nehemia, can I ask a question? I’d like to ask a question now.

Nehemia: Yeah.

Keith: Is it possible that we just found the thread that you pulled that ended up causing you to question some of the tradition versus Tanakh truth?

Nehemia: Look, as silly as it sounds…

Keith: Was the Shimei story a thread?

Nehemia: It was a thread. It’s like that sweater that’s got some loose thread and you pull it out, and afterwards you’re like, "How did this happen?" But Shimei was one of the loose threads. It wasn’t the only one, but it’s one of the ones that stands out in my memory. That, and I think I shared about the one about the wagons that were sent to Jacob and the story of Joseph. Actually, those were the two big threads that I pulled on, Shimei and the wagons. And I’m like, wait a minute, this has nothing to do with Talmud or Germara; this is not the context.

Keith: Can I do this?

Nehemia: Yeah.

Keith: So, normally what happens is… and look, I have a special guest, and when I have a special guest, time is never the issue. But I have a special guest all the way from China, so I want to ask you a question. Regarding the spirit of negativity, is there anything else in the Tanakh that you think would be a good challenge for us to look at? And we discussed a few different stories; is there anything else you’d like to bring up? Because again, I’ve got you 12 hours ahead. It’s probably midnight there, I don’t know.

Nehemia: Right.

Keith: But is there anything else you’d like to say? I would like to give you the opportunity, because let me be honest with you…

Nehemia: There’s the story of Jeremiah...

Keith: Hold on. Let me be honest with everybody. I want to be honest with the listeners and I’m going to put this out publicly. Sometimes I wonder, Nehemia, with you, it feels a little bit like Jonah. You’re in China; can I just ask you an honest question? We talk about the issue of negativity, but do you ever feel like you’ve had to kind of… I mean, think of the story. What was the story of Jonah? He had to go to this place, and they were neighbors, in a sense, and he really didn’t want God to love them. He wanted God to judge them. Am I right?

Nehemia: Well, I think he wanted to be right! The attitude was, “Wait a minute, wait a minute. If I go to them, they’ll repent and then I’ll be a false prophet.”

Keith: Exactly.

Nehemia: The prophecy was, "40 days and Nineveh will be overturned". The implication of the prophecy is, "Well, that's only if you don’t repent." But those weren't the words that Yehovah gave him to speak, so he’s like, “Oh crap. I can’t add my own words, I’ve got to speak Yehovah’s words. But if I go there then they won’t respect me. They’ll think I was a liar because they’re going to repent.”

Keith: Exactly.

Nehemia: And so, he decides to run away.

Keith: So, let me ask this question. Is there any part of you, and I say this in jest in one sense, but is there any part of you that feels like there is something, there is a message for people that you have? But it’s hard. It’s a hard job, it’s a struggle, and so, you get on an airplane, or you get on a boat, and you go somewhere else.

I had a dream last night, Nehemia. I’ve got to tell you what it was. And look, this is not pre-produced, I’m just telling you. I had a dream last night, and in the dream you and I were in New York together.

Nehemia: Wait, was there a scroll over your head...

Keith: No, no. You can make jokes all you want. Guess what? In this dream, you and I are in New York, and you have a Torah scroll, and you were hugging it, and you began to weep.

Nehemia: Oh, wow.

Keith: In the dream, we’re there and there’s a Torah scroll. And it’s not my Torah scroll, it’s your own scroll, and you hug it, and you began to weep.

Nehemia: I’ve got a scroll? I like this…

Keith: Yeah, in the dream. But here’s what I’ve always loved about our relationship. Our relationship was based on me asking you to help me be able to understand the very words that, from my tradition, I had made a disconnect between New Testament and Old Testament. I made a disconnect regarding the importance of the scroll. But in this dream last night you embraced it, you hugged it, and you wept.

And the reason I’m bringing this up… look, we might have to edit this out. You might say you don’t want the world to hear this. But isn’t that what your life has been about? About embracing the words of God and then helping others to understand them? And that’s a hard call, that’s a difficult call. And in that there’s frustration and there’s struggle. But I’m just asking you to consider, what does it look like, again, for you to hug onto that Torah? And then to do what you’ve always done over time, and that is to be able to help other people understand those words for themselves so they can embrace the Torah. They can live it out, and they can apply it in their life.

Nehemia: So, can I tell you the analogy for me? And I’m just coming up with this on the spot, so maybe it’s a bad analogy! But the analogy that comes to mind for me is… you’ve got a Torah scroll, right?

Keith: Yeah.

Nehemia: So, one of the things they do with the Torah scroll is that it’s covered with this velvet cloth, this velvet cover.

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: And I feel like, in my tradition, I was taught to have this adoration for the velvet cover. And they would point at the velvet cover, and they would say, “This is the Torah. Isn’t it beautiful, isn’t it soft? Doesn’t it feel nice? It’s red, and vibrant, and beautiful.” And then one day, I was able to pull off the cover and open it up and read it.

Keith: Amen!

Nehemia: And it touched my heart, the deepest place of my soul. And what I want is for everyone else to pull off that cover. And it’s a beautiful cover that keeps the Torah protected, but it’s time to pull off that cover…

Keith: Hallelujah. Amen, amen. And Nehemia, like I said, in this dream, we were in New York…

Nehemia: … Amen, amen.

Keith: Yeah, I knew we were going to talk, but obviously, when I had the dream, it was interesting for me because I’ve always known you to love the word of God and to embrace it in that way, so I prayed that that would happen. Is there anything else you’d like to say? I want to give you time. Is there anything else you’d like to say to the folks about the spirit of negativity or what we can do on the positive side of that?

Nehemia: So, I think the flip side of the story of Shimei, or the spirit of Shimei, is really in a sense the spirit of David, who says, “Look, I’ve got to focus on my mission to Yehovah.” But then there’s this story I love in Jeremiah 28.

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: And maybe we could do it just real quick.

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: So, there’s this guy, Hananiah, or Chenaniah, the son of Azur, and he’s a false prophet.

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: And of course, he doesn’t say, “Hey, I’m a false prophet.” He says, “I’m a prophet of Yehovah.”

Keith: Amen.

Nehemia: And he’s actually at the high place in Gibeon, which at one time was where the Ark was kept. But it continued to function, apparently, after the Temple was built, this high place in Gibeon, which was essentially an illicit temple. And so, he’s the prophet of that temple. Anyway, let’s see…

Keith: Jeremiah 28.

Nehemia: Alright, let’s read this. Jeremiah 28, it says, “And it happened in the same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, King of Judah, in the fourth year in the fifth month, that Hananiah, the son of Azur the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the House of Yehovah in the presence of priests and of all the people, saying, ‘Thus speaks Yehovah of hosts, the God of Israel saying, I have broken the yoke of the King of Babylon.’”

Now remember, this is in the period of the reign of Zedekiah when Israel, or Judah essentially, has become a vassal state under the control of the king of Babylon. They’re not really even independent anymore. They’re autonomous, but under the control of the king of Babylon. And then some people have already been taken in exile at the time of King Yechoniah, Jeconiah. This is in 597 BC. The first exile takes place… remember the second one is 11 years later in 586, so this is in between those two events.

It says, “‘Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of Yehovah’s house that Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, King of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says Yehovah.” So "this is not my opinion", Hananiah is saying. Hananiah son of Azur is saying, he says, “Thus says Yehovah, ‘And I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

So, we’ve got this positive prophecy come along, and Jeremiah knows it’s a lie. He actually describes it for us, Jeremiah. He says, “I have stood in the council of Yehovah.”

Keith: Amen.

Nehemia: Meaning, this image we see in a number of places where Yehovah is speaking to the angels and the prophet can stand there and hear them speak. So, Jeremiah has stood in the council of Yehovah, and these false prophets haven’t. They’re just speaking out of their own heart making stuff up, speaking from a spirit that’s speaking through them. But Jeremiah has actually heard Yehovah say these things, not some spirit.

“Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the House of Yehovah, and the prophet Jeremiah said…” I’ve got to read this from the Hebrew. I’m being lazy reading it from the New King James Version.

Keith: Yes, yes.

Nehemia: Let me read this part in the Hebrew. “And Jeremiah the prophet said, ‘Amen.’” I love that, it says in the Hebrew “Amen.” So Hananiah’s just said this prophecy that the exiles are going to be brought back and everything is going to be fine, and Yehovah will restore everything. And Jeremiah says, “Amen. May Yehovah do thus, may Yehovah fulfill,” or “establish your prophecy, may you fulfill your prophecy which you have prophesied to return the vessels of the House of Yehovah and all the exiles of Babylon unto this place.”

In other words, what Jeremiah is saying is, “Amen! I wish what you were saying were true. May it be so, but it’s not going to be so.”

Keith: Right, 28:7.

Nehemia: I wish this positive prophecy were true, it’s not. “Nevertheless, hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.” And here, verses 8 to 9 are really… it's so easy, in the English, to burn through them and not even know what it’s talking about. But they’re really key verses, I think, in the entire Tanakh, because they lay down a principle for prophecy which I think is very apropos even today.

“‘The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms, of war and disaster and pestilence. As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent.”

So, what’s he saying? What does that mean? What is that in plain English? What he’s saying is, look, when a prophet says something negative, maybe the people will repent. If it’s not fulfilled, you really don’t know if that prophet was speaking the truth or not.

Keith: Right.

Nehemia: But if somebody has a prophecy of peace and it doesn’t come to pass, he’s a false prophet.

Keith: That’s right.

Nehemia: And that goes back to Deuteronomy 18. He’s essentially explaining, in Deuteronomy 18, this issue of, “You say in your heart, how will I know if this prophecy is true if it comes to pass?” Well that really in some respects only applies to positive prophecies. A negative prophecy maybe, as in the case of Jonah, the people repented, and that’s why it wasn’t fulfilled, so you don’t know.

And what I love about this, what Jeremiah is really saying is, “The people themselves don’t know whether I’m telling the truth or you’re telling the truth. We’re both speaking in the name of Yehovah, we’re both claiming to speak the words of Yehovah, only one of us is telling the truth. And how will the people know? Two years from now they’ll see that your prophecy wasn’t fulfilled and mine was, and so they’ll know. But until then…” And I love this! I’ve got to read this.

I’ll try to make this real brief, this is Jeremiah 28:10, “Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it.” So, Jeremiah’s got this teaching device. He’s got this yoke on his neck, a wooden yoke, like the kind a cow would wear, an ox.

“And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people…” I’ll skip ahead… no, I’ve got to read this, sorry. So, he’s basically hijacked Jeremiah’s prophecy, taken this yoke off Jeremiah’s neck, and he breaks it in half.

“And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, ‘Thus says Yehovah, Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within the space of two full years.’" Now, I love these next words, how this verse ends, “And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.” Which is just so powerful.

This guy has interfered in a prophecy of Yehovah. Jeremiah didn’t know this; he’s speaking the word of Yehovah that he heard with his own ears standing in the council of Yehovah. Yehovah was speaking to the angels, and Jeremiah overheard their words, and now is reporting it back to the people. And the yoke he took was something Yehovah told him to take, this wooden yoke to show the people, “You’re going to be subjugated. Just like the ox is subjugated to man, you will be subjugated to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.” And Hananiah takes the yoke off his neck, hijacks his message, and Jeremiah just says, “Okay, I’ve said what I need to say, now I’m gone. I’m leaving. I’m not going to stand here arguing with you.”

Keith: But that ain’t the end of the story, because, Nehemia, do you not love what happens in the story? Because after he says, “He went his own way,” he’s gone off, he’s left. Maybe he got on a boat.

Nehemia: Got on an airplane to China!

Keith: Maybe he got on a plane to China! And 28:13 says what? “Go and speak to Hananiah.” He sends him back into the fight!

Nehemia: Isn’t this powerful?

Keith: No, I love it!

Nehemia: Jeremiah’s attitude is… think about this. Jeremiah said what Yehovah told him to say, and he didn’t stand there arguing with Hananiah, he left. And then Yehovah came to him a second time and said, “I’ve got more for you to say.” So, I think that’s such a powerful picture there.

Keith: Absolutely.

Nehemia: We need to say what Yehovah has for us to say, but we don’t need to be negative and fight with people. If Yehovah has something negative for us to say, wonderful, say it.

Keith: Say it.

Nehemia: Because that’s what Yehovah needs you to say.

Keith: And that’s why I wanted you to… I’m sorry, guys, we’re going back and forth on this, but this is kind of exciting, because I think we’ve kind of backed our way into some stuff that’s personal testimony here. Nehemia, as I mentioned, and I can say this in a way of great appreciation, when I wanted to learn to read my Torah, I could only find one person that was willing to teach me and that was you. And since that time, we’ve been through a lot. We’ve been through ups and downs, we’ve been through ins and outs, and everything you can imagine. We’ve been just about around the world. But I think that in the spirit of the ministry that we have had, it has always tried to be focused on the positivity of what the Tanakh says, even if it’s uncomfortable.

What I love about this story is that Jeremiah did hear from God, and he was in a conflict with a false prophet, but his response is something that we need to look at. He walked away. God gave him a word and he went back and did what he had to do, and from there we already know the end of the story.

But again, there’s the spirit of Shimei, who’s a curser and a cusser and a spitter and a dust thrower, and there’s the spirit of Jeremiah, who does have something to say and is led by God. And I think that's a challenge for us. What is our response going to be? I do believe we have to be biblical; I do believe we have to confront when we’re called and to deal with the truth, and deal with the truth in a way that sometimes isn’t always easy.

Nehemia: Amen.

Keith: Amen. Well, my friend, you’re there. I want to thank you for addressing this. Was there anything else you’d like to say, other than that you’ve decided that you’re going to get out of the belly of the whale and come back to the United States and work?

Nehemia: No, it’s nice and warm here, and really, I’m going to stay a little bit longer.

Keith: Okay, you stay a little bit longer! We’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing, but as we’re able to make connection it’s always a pleasure. I do appreciate you taking the time to address this, the spirit of Shimei. Now do you have a title for this, Nehemia? Have you come up with anything creative?

Nehemia: What do you mean? It’s the spirit of Shimei, it speaks for itself.

Keith: Alright my friend. Say goodbye to the people, there’s thousands that are listening, and give them a greeting in Chinese. Would you please do that?

Nehemia: Alright! Zaijian! Lehitraot!

Keith: Ha! Thank you.

Well, I need to get back to work on some major projects and leave the “Shimeis” to themselves. I’m writing our new Scripture Bytes program that’s going to be launched on Shavuot/Pentecost. Shh! The key maker is not aware of my production schedule just yet!

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