An Idea Whose Time Has Come

In February 1896, Theodor Herzl wrote a little booklet, published in Vienna and Leipzig, titled Der Judenstaat (The Jew State).  He argued for the establishment of a homeland for the scattered Jews abroad.  His seminal work is widely regarded as the call to action that led to the creation of modern day Israel.

Yesterday I received an electronic proof of another such work.  Friend and fellow sojourner, Al McCarn, author of The Barking Fox blog, has just written and released Give Me A Place Where I May Dwell, An Ephramite Affirmation.

I awoke to my normal 4:20 a.m. alarm and found a pdf copy of the book in my email.  I immediately downloaded it, not knowing anything more than the little overview on his blog, and began reading the acknowledgements and preface.  Immediately, I was enthralled.  Once at work (I drive a school bus and help oversee the lot) I was walking from bus to bus in the cold darkness cranking buses and glued to my phone as I devoured page after page.  This went on all day as I finished the 108 pages before sunset.

Honestly, wave after wave of emotion hit me as I considered Al’s thoughtful and articulate call to action!  The time has come!

Since the beginning of the Torah Awakening that has spilled out of Messianic Judaism into burgeoning non-Jewish Messianics, there has been growing conversation wondering if maybe, just maybe, Father has a place for us among Am Israel.  Scripture points to Gentiles being grafted in, but few have dared to reach beyond the realm of hopeful pining to actually assert a call to and plan of action.  McCarn boldly and yet sensitively makes his (our) case.

He begins with an overview of Scripture regarding the unfulfilled prophesied return of Ephraim.  If there is a chapter for the uninitiated, this is it.  Upon making the case from Scripture he demonstrates that something special is happening in our day!

…We are seeing the truth of this manifested right before our eyes right now as Jews are awakening to the identity of Messiah and Christians are awakening to the eternal Torah of God.  The time has come for the realization to dawn on us that we all have a place in the nation promised to our forefathers known as Greater Israel.  The day is now here to articulate this claim….But now it is time to consider our homecoming, and therefore all of us should be ready to make considerable adjustments… p. 18-19

Having established the requirement of Ephraim’s return for the fulfillment of prophecy, and having demonstrated who Ephraim can and cannot be, McCarn asks,

What is Ephraim lacking?  Quite simply it is the will to envision or “imagine” ourselves as Ephraim…

What is the definition of a nation?  Or, of a people group?  McCarn answers and then says,

There is no single criterion or set of criteria that is required to build a nation.  If the people of the would-be nation will it to be so, then it is so…

The rest of the short book is a plan for how we can will into being, through particular decisive steps of action, Ephraim.

Al is careful to define who/what we are NOT.  We are NOT Jews, nor do we seek in any way to replace or supplant brother Judah.  We are NOT Christians.  He concludes,

If we are not Jews, however much we may act, talk, and look like Jews, and if we are not Christians, however much we may think and talk like Christians, what are we?  That should be clear by now:

We are non-Jewish Israelites of the House of Ephraim.

With this declaration we assert our full citizenship in the Commonwealth of Israel….

Wisely, McCarn anticipates and addresses the pitfalls that lie ahead from both Jewish and Christian detractors.  He explains how best to handle both, with particular focus on our service to and blessing of the Jews in Israel.

In a closing chapter, McCarn discusses the very real possibility that as the Torah Awakening continues to grow that we may find ourselves being pushed out of our own nations while not yet being accepted as full members of Israel.  As such, we need to have a plan in place for communities that support and encourage the vision while preparing us as communities for our eventual acceptance and movement to our future homeland.

I highly recommend Albert J. McCarn’s Give Me A Place Where I May Dwell as a thought provoking call to Spirit guided action.  It enumerates many macro and micro steps each of us can take individually and corporately.  I pray you get a copy and prayerfully read asking our Father what your role is in this time or restoration!

Shalom!