I heard the newly popular term ‘cancel culture’ and didn’t think it applied to me until recently, then I figured out that Christians and Messianics have been playing that game for millennia. It just had a different name.

Most Hebrew roots and Messianic believers have experienced some form of ‘cancel culture.’ My first experience was about ten years ago at the hands of friends and community. As an ordained pastor who worked in or was very close to four different congregations, I began to share the things Abba was showing me in Scripture. He revealed the Torah and His feasts as well as His Shabbats and His dietary instructions in a light entirely different than what I had been taught or was teaching in the Church. I was experiencing blessing and change in my life and I shared excitedly the things I was learning.

I informed my denomination of my changing views and the newfound vistas into God’s unchanging and everlasting Instructions and they initially just instructed me to ‘keep it to myself.’ Apparently, it was okay to have a different perspective than the official denominational doctrines. (I thought that odd….)

A bit later, as it became apparent that I was moving forward into embracing all of God’s Instructions and not just the ones approved by the Church Fathers and the Westminster Divines, I was asked to step down. It was during this time that a zealous young pastor of a congregation I once served as Elder sent me an email saying, “…the most loving thing we can do is shun you.”

Cancelled!

That young pastor must have notified the whole community because we were ignored and shunned by many family and friends who we had fellowshipped with for decades before his arrival. Many still shun us, ten years later.

We didn’t have a name for it then, but it hurt to suddenly be boxed out and no one, not even my siblings (with a couple exceptions), would talk to me or my family. This blog was born out of the frustration of needing to process and share what I was learning when nobody wanted any personal interaction. But, experienced being ‘cancelled.’

It was an interesting and strange comfort to find that we were not alone. Over time, the Father connected us with many, many others who had experienced the same awakening to God’s Torah with the same reaction by their respective family and friends. Oddly, the ‘love of Christ’ had been ladled on most of them with a heavy dose of shunning.

More recently, I have again experienced the ‘love’ of brothers who claim Messiah, but apparently are ashamed of parts of His Word. Since being forced into the open concerning what I have learned in Scripture regarding marriage, I hear reports of friends being pressured to ‘avoid Pete Rambo.’ And, many succumb as my friends list gets shorter and more treasured. Apparently, belief that Abraham, Jacob, and David were righteous in their marriage situations (e.g., more than one wife) is worse than cooties and causes otherwise godly men to run away like cowering school girls.

I am amused and heartbroken. They don’t see the hypocrisy they wear like a neon suit. They’ll read the Psalms of David, quote the Proverbs of Solomon, and talk about the two houses of Israel, but heaven forbid mentioning that polygyny is associated with every part of Scripture and God never condemns it. Maybe they think they can judge the Living Elohim by their own standard of marriage, but I think they are hypocrites!!

Imagine what would happen if David and his family, or Jacob and his family, showed up for Shabbat!! The cognitive dissonance of reading Scripture by and about these righteous men while denying them entry into the fellowship because, ‘OMG, they have multiple wives,’ is a stunning reality. I bet they can’t wait to meet the Living Elohim in the wilderness since He describes Himself as having two brides. I need popcorn.

Dear friend and fellow sojourner, Robin Hardman, posted a prescient article on 113Restoration titled Sorry…Not doin’ it! She rightly states,

…if we say we are in Messiah, we need to be very careful not to rebel against our Elohim, His Word, or the authority He has placed over us. But to rebel against the godless culture, or even the established so-called believing culture, will at some point be required of those who are truly His.

So… Cancel me. I stand with Abraham, Jacob, and David. I REFUSE to speak ill of my King, my fathers, the Word, or anyone who righteously obeys His commandments, even if that includes polygyny. God never condemns or even hints at condemning it, I dare not!

For all reading this, ask yourself, ‘would I invite David in to address my fellowship or teach my children?’ Your answer may indicate whether you will be invited into the Kingdom where ‘My servant David’ resides. Selah!!

Another question to ask yourself, ‘What tribe am I from? And, which mother is that?’ If you speak ill of the mothers of Israel, will you be welcome at the respective gates to the City? (Rev. 21:12)

Still another question, ‘If God describes Himself in polygynous terms, do I even understand Scripture and the Elohim I claim to worship?’

I love you guys, but get a clue. It is not me you are cancelling… It is YHVH, His Word, the patriarchs, authors of Scripture, etc. You will HAVE to deal with this at some point. Avoidance out of the fear of truth or what others think is choosing what man thinks over what God thinks… Adam chose Eve over the commandment. That didn’t work out so well.

Selah!!