Transcript RECOGNITION - Qodesh Ministries

1
THE MESSIANIC PROPHECY BIBLE PROJECT
http://www.messianicbible.com
HEAR O ISRAEL
www.hearoisrael.org
SHEEPFOLD GLEANINGS WRITTEN BY JULIE PARKER
www.sheepfoldgleanings.com
MESSIANIC ISRAEL ALLIANCE
http://www.messianicisrael.com
AZAMRA TORAH FOR OUR TIME – RABBI AVRAHAM
GREENBAUM
http://www.azamra.org
2
TORAH: Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25
HAFTORAH: Isaiah 49:14-51:3
B’RIT CHADASHAH: John 1:14, Acts 6-7
All references: The Scripture 1998+ unless otherwise noted
“And it shall be, because you hear these right-rulings, and shall guard
and do them, that ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim shall guard with you the covenant
and the kindness which He swore to your fathers, and shall love you
and bless you and increase you, and shall bless the fruit of your womb
and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil,
the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of
which He swore to your fathers to give you. “Blessed are you above all
peoples – there is not going to be a barren man or a barren woman
among you or among your livestock. “And ‫ יהוה‬shall turn away from
you all sickness and put on you none of the evil diseases of Mitsrayim
which you have known, but He shall put them on all those who hate
you.
(Deuteronomy 7:12-15)
As ‫’יהוה‬s special nation, they are preparing to enter the land that has
been promised to them. Most of these second generation Israelites
have never known anything other than life in the desert, so it is critical
that they be taught the importance of and the extreme necessity of
keeping the commandments of ‫ יהוה‬that pertain to living in the land.
The Almighty is fully capable of defeating the enemies in the land and
caring for their needs, but only IF they do things HIS way. Moses is very
aware that the tendency will be for them to forget what he has told
them to remember and will do his best to present the consequences.
“And it shall be, because you hear these right-rulings, and shall guard
and do them, that ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim shall guard with you the covenant
and the kindness which He swore to your fathers, (Deuteronomy 7:12)
5
.... H853 ‫ את‬H8085 ‫ תׁשמעון‬H6118 ‫ עקב‬H1961 ‫(והיה‬Deuteronomy 7:12)
The first thing we note is the stand-alone aleph/tav (‫ )את‬in this verse.
The stand-alone aleph/tav (‫ )את‬appears in peculiar places throughout
the Hebrew Scriptures and points to the Messiah who Himself
declared that He was the alpha and the omega (in Hebrew this is the
aleph and the tav), the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Considering this implication, this first part of Deuteronomy 7:12 would
read – Then it shall be because you listen to ‫… )את( יהושע‬.
6
Judaism teaches that we have to give it our all, when we study ‫’יהוה‬s
Word. We have to look deep, as well as on the surface. Here, we have
a situation that we’ve seen before, in which the English translations do
not convey the entire message that was written. In fact, there’s a
“coded message” in these Scriptures just for us, today.
This parsha, titled “Ekev”, according to Strong’s Concordance
Dictionary, means “consequently” or “because” derived from verse 1
“And it shall be, because you hear these right-rulings” is named “on the
heel” by the rabbis. Why?
Neither the English word “heel” or the phrase “on the heel”, or any like
it, appear in the English translations of this Torah portion, not even in
those published by Jews; such as the Stone Edition TaNaK and
Chumash, from Artscroll or the JPS (Jewish Publication Society)
Scriptures.
Could it be that the rabbis saw more here? Is Elohim perhaps telling us
something more profound?
Verse 1 opens, in the Hebrew, with “V’haya ekev ti’shma’un”, which we
read above in English as, “And it shall be because you hear….” Looking
at the Hebrew we get:
“V’haya” means “And it shall be”; but also, “And you shall do”.
“ti’shma’un”, we have a form of the word “shema” or “to hear and do”.
But, “ti’shma’un” is the future tense of the verb “sh’ma”. What it’s
saying here is suggesting that there will be those who hear and obey in
the future; not just when these words were spoken and written.
“ekev” or “ekeb” is Strong’s #6118 and is translated generally from
Hebrew as “because”. We see that its meaning includes “as a result of”
or “consequently”.
In other words, “if you do thus and so, then (“ekev” or as a result) this
and that will happen”. This is why it is sometimes translated as
“reward” or “wages”.
“Ekeb” is spelled (ayin-kuf-beit):
“ayin” means “eye”, “to see” or “seeing”,
“kuf” means “to surround” and;
“beit” means “house”.
So, in the letters we have “seeing surrounds the house.” “Seeing” isn’t
just related to eyesight. ‫’יהוה‬s “seeing”, or His “foreknowledge”, is what
surrounds us all; but, especially those whom He calls or chooses. As
the people Elohim chose to set His “Dwelling Place” within or to “make
His stay with”, the Father promises to keep His eyes upon us and to
surround us.
As the mountains surround Yerushalayim, So ‫ יהוה‬surrounds His people,
Now and forever. (Psalms 125:2)
‫ יהושע‬also states He is going to prepare a dwelling place for us.
“In My Father’s house are many staying places. And if not, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2)
The letters in “ekev” or “ekeb” (ayin-kuf-bet [or vet]), when you change
the vowel markings are pronounced “aqab”. Remember, there are no
vowel markings in the Hebrew Torah. The pronunciation and meanings
of the words are derived from the context. So, these words could have
several definitions, as long as those meanings fit into the context of
the Scriptures where they appear. And, as long as there is harmony
with the context, we can have multiple meanings, even in the
“parshat” or simple, straight-forward understanding of the Scriptures.
“Aqab” is Strong’s #6117 which means “to supplant” or “to
circumvent”. So, in context, what are we circumventing by “hearing
and doing” Torah? According to the context of our parsha this week,
we are circumventing the curses that come from not obeying Torah;
and, supplanting them with the blessings of obedience to His Word.
“aqab” is the root word in “Ya’aqob” (Ya [Yud] – Aqab) or “Yah’s
Supplanter” or “Yah’s Circumventor”. Jacob would replace Esau and be
renamed by Elohim as Israel, “overcomes with El”.
Another meaning for “aqab” is “to come from behind”. Even though
Esau was born first, Jacob came from behind to supplant him. From
the prophets, we’re going to have an exciting “come from behind to
finish” also.
These letters are also pronounced “aqeb”, Strong #6119, which means
“ heel”. Heel has three biblical indicators:
1. “heel” refers to “heel print” or “footprint” and speaks of our
“walk”, ”walking out Torah”, or “halachah” which means what is
legally binding according to Torah. Walking it out is how we
“sh’ma” .
2. Jacob’s birth. Genesis 25:26 …Jacob came forth holding on to
Esau’s “heel”. “And you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus said ‫יהוה‬,
“Yisra’ĕl is My son, My first-born, (Exodus 4:22)
3. It is “hinted at” in Genesis 3:15. “And I put enmity between you
and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He shall
crush your head, and you shall crush His heel.” When we walk
according to Torah; we crush the head of the adversary.
With which Your enemies have reproached, O ‫יהוה‬, With which they
have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.
(Psalms 89:51)
Jewish commentator James Stone Goodman points to the usage of
ekev in Psalms 89:51 where it speaks of “on the heels (ekev) of the
Messiah” as referring to the last generation before the Messiah. That
“heel” generation contains the weight of every generation prior to
it…every word said, every mitsvah (commandment) performed,
contributes in someway to the coming of the Messiah.
That generation is therefore pointed to in Devarim 7:12 as the
generation who will “shema” to the instructions of ‫יהוה‬.
12
There are rewards for listening to and honoring the mitzvot of ‫ יהוה‬but
they only have eternal value if they:
1. Are kept safely subordinated to higher, spiritual values, i.e., the
spiritual prosperity of soul (Mt. 5:33).
2. Are desired only to the extent that it is good for us. Moses saw the
potential danger of success and warned Israel. "...when the Lord
your God brings you into the land...to give you...cities...and houses
full of good things...and you eat are satisfied, then watch yourself,
that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of
Egypt..." (Deut. 6:10-12).
3. Do not present a threat to the quality of one's fellowship with the
Most High. Accumulation of wealth for its own sake is not
compatible with the principles of Torah. "...he shall not multiply
horses...not multiply wives, or else his heart will turn away; nor
shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself" (Deut. 17:1617). Despite its appeal, worldly riches are after all a lower blessing
(Prov. 30:8-9).
Higher riches are reserved for the listeners, doers, and seekers
“Blessed are you above all peoples – there is not going to be a barren
man or a barren woman among you or among your livestock.
(Deuteronomy 7:14)
We too, then, having so great a cloud of witnesses all around us, let us
lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let
us run with endurance the race set before us, looking to the Princely
Leader and Perfecter of our belief, ‫יהושע‬, who for the joy that was set
before Him endured the stake, having despised the shame, and sat
down at the right hand of the throne of Elohim. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Correction brings blessing
My son, do not despise the discipline of ‫יהוה‬, And do not loathe His
reproof; For whom ‫ יהוה‬loves He reproves, As a father the son whom
he delights in. (Proverbs 3:11-12)
So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, also an heir of
Elohim through Messiah. (Galatians 4:7)
When we read through the Torah portion, we will notice the repetition
of the words “remember” and “forget”. Moses gives many warnings
about problems that may develop as time goes on. His pro-active
advice for attacking these problems will be to “remember” the past in
order to solve the problems of the future. Example:
“When you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I, I am
unable to drive them out,’ (Deuteronomy 7:17)
To address this fear, Moses tells them to “remember” the plagues in
Egypt. Being afraid is a paralysis that results from assuming that any
threat is greater than ‫יהוה‬. Moses wants them to “remember” that
‫ יהוה‬will do everything again in order to protect Israel.
do not be afraid of them. Remember well what ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim did to
Pharaoh and to all Mitsrayim, the great trials which your eyes saw, and
the signs and the wonders, the strong hand and the outstretched arm,
by which ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim brought you out. ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim does so to
all the peoples of whom you are afraid. ..“Do not be afraid of them, for
‫ יהוה‬your Elohim, the great and awesome Ěl, is in your midst.
15
(Deuteronomy 7:18-21)
“Do not be afraid of them, for ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim, the great and
awesome Ěl, is in your midst. “And ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim shall drive out
those nations before you, little by little. .. “But ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim shall
deliver them over to you and destroy them with a great destruction
until they are consumed. (Deuteronomy 7:21-23)
‫ יהושע‬also spoke of this principle of fearing only ‫יהוה‬:
“And do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the
being. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both being and body
in Gehenna. (Matthew 10:28)
“But I shall show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after
killing, possesses authority to cast into Gehenna. Yea, I say to you, fear
Him! (Luke 12:5)
“The carved images of their mighty ones you are to burn with fire. Do
not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves,
lest you be snared by it, for it is an abomination to ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim.
“And do not bring an abomination into your house, lest you be accursed
like it. Utterly loathe it and utterly hate it, for it is accursed.
(Deuteronomy 7:25-26)
We must be careful not to covet or invite images, gods, or idols of
other nations or religions into our homes. ‫ יהוה‬calls us to burn them in
the fire and not admire the gold and silver in them. They are to be as
detestable to us as they are to ‫יהוה‬. Spiritually speaking, these images,
idols and gods can be formed in our hearts by eating what ‫ יהוה‬forbid
us to eat, tolerating wrong associations, assuming workaholic
lifestyles, or by self-seeking a worldly order that is in opposition to
‫’יהוה‬s order.
WESTERN CULTURES: The Christmas tree (which is a modern-day
Asherah pole that we bow down to for gifts – Jeremiah 10:3-4),
mistletoe, Santa Claus and wreaths; Easter bunnies, eggs and hot cross
buns; angelic images and objects (for “angel worship”), and everything
associated with the celebration of Halloween.
FORMS OF WORSHIP: Secret societies like Freemasonry, fraternities
and sororities, false religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, religious
idols and foreign gods; obelisks, yoga, horoscopes, karate, pagan
symbols, dream catchers, Pharmacia (which include prescription drugs
or homeopathic remedies to mask the illness instead of going to the
spiritual root of the problem), acupuncture, psychology, occultist forms
of massage, science fiction, occultist music, occultist books like Harry
Potter, mind control courses ETC.
“Guard to do every command which I command you today, that you
might live, and shall increase, and go in, and shall possess the land of
which ‫ יהוה‬swore to your fathers. “And you shall remember that ‫יהוה‬
your Elohim led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to
humble you, prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you
guard His commands or not. (Deuteronomy 8:1-2)
The desert, or the wilderness means the “place of the Word”. It is a
lonely and dry place, and few of us have not felt we’ve been there at
one time or another. The test is to reveal what is in our hearts….and
that revelation is made visible by whether or not we keep His
commandments. Paul also referred to this test:
Besides, I wrote for this purpose also, that I might know the proof of
you, if you are obedient in all matters. (2 Corinthians 2:9)
We are led by the spirit the same as the Israelites we need to follow
and adhere to the ways of God.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of Elohim, these are sons of Elohim.
(Romans 8:14)
And this is the message which we have heard from Him and announce
to you, that Elohim is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say
that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and are
not doing the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we
have fellowship with one another, and the blood of ‫ יהושע‬Messiah His
Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)
“And He humbled you, and let you suffer hunger, and fed you with
manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, to make you
know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that
comes from the mouth of ‫יהוה‬. “Your garments did not wear out on
you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. “Thus you shall know in
your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim
disciplines you, therefore you shall guard the commands of ‫ יהוה‬your
Elohim, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. “For ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim is
bringing you into a good land, a land of streams of water, of fountains
and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills, (Deuteronomy 8:3-7)
“But you shall remember ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim, for it is He who gives you
power to get wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore
to your fathers, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 8:18)
And to Him who is able to do exceedingly above what we ask or think,
according to the power that is working in us, (Ephesians 3:20)
“Thus you shall know in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so
‫ יהוה‬your Elohim disciplines you, (Deuteronomy 8:5)
God, as a loving Father, chastises, disciplines and trains His beloved
children–even through hunger, hardship and suffering in the desert
“And He humbled you, and let you suffer hunger, and fed you with
manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, to make you
know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that
comes from the mouth of ‫יהוה‬. (Deuteronomy 8:3)
The Hebrew word for desert or wilderness is midbar, which has the
same root letters as the word m’daber – to speak. It is God's word that
sustains us, and He often speaks to our hearts during our
desert/wilderness times of spiritual dryness. The rabbis call this
'chastisements of love.' We see that same sentiment in the Book of
Hebrews, as well: for whom ‫ יהוה‬loves, He disciplines, and flogs every
son whom He receives.” (Hebrews 12:6)
22
ABBA's discipline, however, is not only fatherly; it is also motherly. The
Book of Proverbs links "Shaddai," one of the names of God, with God’s
discipline.
My son, do not despise the discipline of ‫יהוה‬, And do not loathe His
reproof; For whom ‫ יהוה‬loves He reproves, As a father the son whom
he delights in. (Proverbs 3:11-12)
Although Shaddai is related to the word for destroyer and SelfSufficient One, it comes from a Hebrew root word meaning a woman’s
breast (as in a source of food for babies). This specific name, Shaddai,
represents the maternal, gentle, nourishing characteristics of God.
This tells us that His discipline is not only strict and just, but also
merciful and tender. We can, therefore, ‘count it all joy’ even when
going through times of discipline and suffering because we know that
God's love for us is entirely balanced. We can rest assured that His
discipline will bring us to maturity, and we will be ready to possess the
23
Land when we come out the other side.
“For ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim is bringing you into a good land, a land of
streams of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and
hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and
pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, a land in which you eat
bread without scarcity, in which you do not lack at all, a land whose
stones are iron and out of whose hills you dig copper. “And you shall
eat and be satisfied, and shall bless ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim for the good land
which He has given you. (Deuteronomy 8:7-10)
The land of Israel is very beautiful. It is the size of New Jersey, yet it is
an ever-changing landscape of mountains, hills, valleys, streams, lakes,
and plains. You’ll find everything there from the ski slopes of Mt.
Hermon to the desert of the Negev. The seven fruits for which Israel is
praised are all of exceptional nutritional value. Even the secular
community labels many of these fruits as “super-foods”. Example:
Wheat: the juice of wheat grass is 70% chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the
first product of light and contains more light energy than any other
24
element! The health benefits of it are amazing!
Almost every other conceivable variety of fruits and vegetables grows
somewhere in Israel. This amazing fact is explained in a Midrash which
teaches that subterranean channels emanate from the centre of
Jerusalem, the place where the Holy of Holies stood.
Perhaps this is the centre of the Garden of Eden, where the Tree of Life
also stood. From this source, the source of all creation, these channels
fan out to the whole world. This Midrash gains credibility as we read
from Revelation:
And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, coming from
the throne of Elohim and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and
on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits,
each tree yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were
for the healing of the nations.
(Revelation 22:1-2)
25
Nowhere in the Torah is there greater praise of the Land of Israel than
throughout parsha Ekev, but it comes at a price; maturity.
THE DESERT: Manna from heaven, the clothes that did not fray or wear
out throughout the 40 years, sandals that also never wore out and feet
which never grew swollen or raw, not even a blister.
Promised land: All the above would end, forever. Rabbi Richman asks,
“Is this really a step up, or is it a step down? It almost appears as if God
plans to distance Himself, (God forbid), from the very children He
brought forth out of Egypt. In truth it is a great step up, or what we
might call today, a step up to the plate. For now, having weathered
forty years in the desert wasteland, Israel has finally reached the age
of responsibility. What greater gift could God possibly bestow upon His
people, but to enable them to be in charge of their own destiny, to
make their own way in the world, to fend for themselves? If they keep
the commands and right-rulings of Elohim, He will be there to provide
for the, albeit in a different way, He will be there to defend and protect
them, and to love them, if they will love and honour Him.
“And you shall eat and be satisfied, and shall bless ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim for
the good land which He has given you. (Deuteronomy 8:10)
In the New Testament both ‫ יהושע‬and Paul gave thanks before a meal.
This is in fulfillment with the offerings listed in Leviticus chapter 1-7.
The animal sacrifices represented people and the offerings of
the heart, New Testament teaching.
When we sit down to have a meal ‫ יהוה‬commands us to remember to
thank Him AFTER the meal as well. It is about idol worship. The Word
says if we are not thankful after the meal, we will tend to forget ‫יהוה‬
and get caught up in the riches of the land. Our hearts will become
proud and we will be led astray, being enticed by other gods to bow
down to them. We will start saying to ourselves, "My power and the
strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me," Scripture
says, “But you shall remember ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim, for it is He who gives
you power to get wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He
swore to your fathers, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 8:18)
“At that time ‫ יהוה‬said to me, ‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like
the first, and come up to Me on the mountain. And you shall make
yourself an ark of wood, ...“So I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed
two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain, with the
two tablets in my hand. “And He wrote on the tablets according to the
first writing, the Ten Words, which ‫ יהוה‬had spoken to you in the
mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. Then
‫ יהוה‬gave them to me, and I turned and came down from the
mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made. And they
are there, as ‫ יהוה‬commanded me.” (Deuteronomy 10:1-5)
One view is that after the permanent Ark was made, the broken
Tablets were left in this wooden Ark, and it was the one that
accompanied the nation into battle (Yerushalmi Shekalim 6:1). The
majority opinion there is that two Arks were never in simultaneous
use. Until the Tabernacle was built, both the whole and the broken
Tablets were kept in the wooden Ark; after the Tabernacle was ready,
both sets of Tablets were transferred to the permanent Ark, and the
wooden Ark was hidden. Chumash, pg. 989.
“Be on guard, lest you forget ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim by not guarding His
commands, and His right-rulings, and His laws which I command you
today, lest you eat and shall be satisfied, and build lovely houses and
shall dwell in them, and your herds and your flocks increase, and your
silver and your gold are increased, and all that you have is increased,
that your heart then becomes lifted up, and you forget ‫ יהוה‬your
Elohim who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, from the house
of bondage, ... then shall say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength
of my hand have made for me this wealth!’ (Deuteronomy 8:11-17)
Exaggerated self-confidence leads to pride and a failure to recognize
that everything man has comes from the Almighty. The prescription for
this problem is to “remember” the difficult times and to give glory to
the Elohim for your prosperity:
“But you shall remember ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim, for it is He who gives you
power to get wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore
to your fathers, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 8:18)
“But you shall remember ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim, for it is He who gives you
power to get wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore
to your fathers, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 8:18)
The Jewish definition of “following other mighty ones” or “committing
idolatry” is believing that there is “power” in anything, or anyone,
other than Elohim. While He may use His power for someone at a
given moment in time to overcome, or endure, the “Power” is His and
his alone. And, He says if we serve other mighty ones, we will “perish”
as those seven nations that He “destroyed” on our behalf “perished”.
The Hebrew word for “perish” and “destroy” is “abad” (aleph-betdalet), Strong’s #61. It means not only to “perish”, “kill”, or “be
destroyed”; but also, “to vanish”, “to disperse” and “to cause to
wander”
‘And you shall guard all My laws and all My right-rulings, and do them,
so that the land where I am bringing you to dwell does not vomit you
out. (Leviticus 20:22)
The word “forget” (shakach) means to “forget due to distraction or
inattention”. In Deuteronomy 8, we read that the things that distract
us are our full stomachs, our beautiful homes, our jobs and our money.
According to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament,
“forgetting” is not simply a psychological act of having a thought pass
from one’s consciousness, i.e. a temporary or permanent lapse of
memory. This is indicated by the frequent identification of the verb
with an action:
• To “forget” ‫ יהוה‬Elohim, is to not keep His commandments: “Be on
guard, lest you forget ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim by not guarding His
commands, and His right-rulings, and His laws which I command you
today, (Deuteronomy 8:11)
• To “forget” ‫ יהוה‬Elohim, is to follow other gods: “And it shall be, if
you by any means forget ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim, and follow other mighty
ones, and serve them and bow yourself to them, I have warned you
31
this day that you shall certainly perish. (Deuteronomy 8:19)
• To “forget” ‫ יהוה‬is to live in fear of harm and danger, to live fretfully
and timidly: “And you have forgotten ‫ יהוה‬your Maker who stretched
out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you
continually fear, all the day, because of the rage of the oppressor, as
he has prepared to destroy. And where is the rage of the oppressor?
(Isaiah 51:13)
• To “forget” ‫ יהוה‬is to live in rebellion: They soon forgot His works;
They did not wait for His counsel, But greedily lusted in the
wilderness, And tried Ěl in the desert. And He gave them their
request, But sent leanness within their being. .. They forgot Ěl their
Saviour, The Doer of great deeds in Mitsrayim, (Psalms 106:13-21)
“Forgetting” is associated specifically with turning away from Torah:
• My son, do not forget my Torah, And let your heart watch over my
commands; (Proverbs 3:1)
• “My people have perished for lack of knowledge. Because you have
rejected knowledge, I reject you from being priest for Me. Since you
have forgotten the Torah of your Elohim, I also forget your children.
32
(Hosea 4:6)
‘Do not defile yourselves with all these, for by all these the nations are
defiled, which I am driving out before you. ‘Thus the land became
defiled, therefore I punished it for its crookedness, and the land
vomited out its inhabitants. (Leviticus 18:24-25)
Repeated in Revelation:
“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am going to
vomit you out of My mouth. (Revelation 3:16)
Our commitment to and the keeping of the commandments of ‫ יהוה‬is
the rental price for living in the Promised Land! That concept has not
changed, and today as we consider returning to the land, our focus as
believers should be on learning and keeping the commandments! Our
obedience to Him brings Him glory when we allow it to come from our
love for Him.
“He who possesses My commands and guards them, it is he who loves
Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love
33
him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21)
“Do not think in your heart, after ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim has driven them out
before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness ‫ יהוה‬has brought me
in to possess this land.’ (Deuteronomy 9:4)
When WE begin to think that WE are spiritually superior to others and
that WE deserve to be in the land We have pride. For this, Moses
suggests that WE “remember” OUR own stubbornness and the
unmerited favour being given to US to possess the land:
“It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your
heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wrong of
these nations that ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim drives them out from before you, in
order to establish the word which ‫ יהוה‬swore to your fathers, to
Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Yaʽaqoḇ. “And you shall know that ‫יהוה‬
your Elohim is not giving you this good land to possess because of your
righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. “Remember, do not
forget how you provoked to wrath ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim in the wilderness.
From the day that you came out of the land of Mitsrayim until you
came to this place, you have been rebellious against ‫יהוה‬.
(Deuteronomy 9:5-7)
Their are three “remembrances” Moses is taking them back to two
points in their history
1. Their slavery in Egypt and
2. their time of wondering in the desert.
Over and over again ‫ יהוה‬interceded on their behalf. With the hindsight
of all these years, the realization came to the Israelites that what they
had truly lacked during that formative period, was not food and drink,
clothing and physical comfort, but rather a recognition of human
dependence upon ‫ יהוה‬and an unshakeable faith in both His ability as
well as His interest to sustain and preserve them.
Today we are able to learn from and put into practice these
suggestions and admonitions from Moses:
And all these came upon them as examples, and they were written as a
warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come, so that he
who thinks he stands, let him take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians
10:11-12)
35
Remember this and never forget how you provoked ‫ יהוה‬to anger in
the desert. Rabbi Hillel taught, "Do not believe in yourself until the day
you die." (m.Avot 2:4)
Everyone remembers the story of the Exodus, but few remember the
message of the Words ‫ יהוה‬spoke through Moses. This is the warning
‫ יהוה‬wants us to never forget – that if they had remembered the words
and their commitment to the Covenant with ‫יהוה‬, there would never
have been a golden calf. How easily we fall, and still fall, into pagan
idolatry.
“Remember the Torah of Mosheh, My servant, which I commanded him
in Ḥorĕḇ for all Yisra’ĕl – laws and right-rulings. “See, I am sending you
Ěliyah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of
‫יהוה‬. “And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and
the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the
earth with utter destruction.”
(Malachi 4:4-6)
“For the land which you are going in to possess is not like the land of
Mitsrayim from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and
watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden (Deuteronomy 11:10)
The land of Egypt represents all other lands, outside of Israel.
Physically speaking, the main difference is in the water economy,
which is the key to agriculture. In Egypt, the main source of water is
the Nile. Egypt is a desert with practically no rainfall, but the waters of
the Nile flow from deep within another area of Africa where melting
snow from high mountains contribute to the Nile’s current. The river
valley is exceptionally fertile, for the winter and spring run-off of the
river leaves behind valuable nutrients. The ancient Egyptians worked
hard and were able to get two or three crops out of the black earth
each growing season with the help of irrigation.
What does it mean “watered by foot”? This refers to the irrigation
system that was developed by Egypt by digging ditches from the Nile
to their fields. Using this system, an Egyptian could irrigate his field by
simply using his “foot” to kick away the dirt which was blocking the
flow of water. Similarly, he could also shut off the flow by using his
“foot” to kick the dirt back into the ditch.
“but the land which you are passing over to possess is a land of hills
and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of the heavens, a land
which ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim looks after. The eyes of ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim are
always on it, from the beginning of the year to the latter end of the
year. (Deuteronomy 11:10-12)
Unlike Egypt, Israel lacks a mighty river such as the Nile to provide it
with a consistent water supply. Instead the residents are totally
dependent on rainfall. For the farmer in Egypt, growing crops is less of
a trial of faith. The Nile rises and falls according to a fairly predictable
seasonal pattern. The Egyptian knows it is up to him to put in the “foot
work” to irrigate his crops and produce food. It is easy for him to
believe that everything works according to the laws of nature and his
own hands (and feet) are the tools of his livelihood. From an
agricultural perspective, the farmer had a clear advantage in Egypt. A
responsible family provider would obviously prefer the “secure”
option…that is to establish his home in Egypt, rather than the “risky”
Israel alternative.
However, Ramban, Jewish sage from the 13th century wrote: “…realize
that this new land is not like the land of Egypt that can be irrigated
from the water channels and reservoirs like a garden of vegetables, but
it rather is a land of hills and valleys that gets its water from the rainfall
and in no other way. It therefore always requires G-d’s sustaining hand
to provide it with rain for it is a very arid land that needs rainfall all of
the year. If you abrogate the will of G-d so that He will not sustain it
with desirable rains then it becomes a poor land indeed that can be
neither planted nor cultivated, and no crops shall grow upon its
slopes.”
Israel’s precarious dependence on rain from heaven for its water
supply made it harder to fall into the error of believing that they
single-handedly were in control of their own livelihood. Instead, they
were forced to depend on the Almighty. No matter how proficiently
they tilled the fields, if the rains didn’t come from heaven, they would
not be able to produce anything. The rain represented ‫’יהוה‬s response
to the spiritual condition of their lives.
The eyes of ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim are always on it, from the beginning of
the year to the latter end of the year. (Deuteronomy 11:10-12)
‘And it shall be that if you diligently obey My commands which I
command you today, to love ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim and to serve Him with all
your heart and with all your being, then I shall give you the rain for
your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, and you shall
gather in your grain, and your new wine, and your oil. ‘And I shall give
grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be satisfied.
‘Guard yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and
serve other mighty ones and bow down to them. ‘Then the displeasure
of ‫ יהוה‬shall burn against you, and He shall shut up the heavens, and
there be no rain, and the land not give its increase. And you shall perish
quickly from the good land which ‫ יהוה‬is giving you. (Deuteronomy
11:13-17)
‫ יהוה‬uses the rain as a way to communicate with His people? If they
are faithful, He will be pleased with them and send the rain in its
season. However, upon their unfaithfulness, He will hold back the rain,
thus giving them a sign of His divine displeasure. His intention was to
bring about self-examination and repentance at the national level.
People as a whole were blessed or judged, a faithful individual could
still find himself in a drought situation if the nation went astray.
The Hebrew word for “to rain”, matar, has a broader meaning.
Basically, it can refer to anything that falls from heaven to earth. Rain is
the classic example, but the following are also described as descending
from heaven:
• And ‫ יהוה‬rained sulphur and fire on Seḏom and Amorah, from ‫יהוה‬
out of the heavens. (Genesis 19:24)
• “See, tomorrow about this time I am causing very heavy hail to rain
down, such as has not been in Mitsrayim, from the day of its
founding until now. (Exodus 9:18)
• And ‫ יהוה‬said to Mosheh, “See, I am raining bread from the heavens
for you. And the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every
day, in order to try them, whether they walk in My Torah or not.
(Exodus 16:4)
When man contemplates His Creator, there may seem to be an
unbridgeable gap between heaven and earth. In Israel, where life
depends upon rain, you had no choice but to look up. Rain, manna,
and punishments are all things that are needed to grow and prosper.
41
There is more proof that something from heaven can come down to
earth:
• “Because I have come down out of the heaven, not to do My own
desire, but the desire of Him who sent Me. (John 6:38)
• “And no one has gone up into the heaven except He who came down
from the heaven – the Son of Aḏam. (John 3:13)
• And He said to them, “You are from below, I am from above. You are
of this world, I am not of this world. (John 8:23)
In John, ‫ יהושע‬also connects Himself to the manna that “fell from
heaven”:
“For the bread of Elohim is He who comes down out of the heaven and
gives life to the world.” (John 6:33)
42
We have another connection here on earth with something that has
come down to us from heaven:
“How you have fallen from the heavens, O Hĕlĕl, son of the morning!
You have been cut down to the ground, you who laid low the gentiles!
(Isaiah 14:12)
Prophetically, after the 1,000 year millennium, we are told that it is fire
from heaven that will defeat hasatan and those who side with him:
And they came up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the
camp of the set-apart ones and the beloved city. And fire came down
from Elohim out of the heaven and consumed them. (Revelation 20:9)
Then eternity ushers in something else from heaven above:
And I, Yoḥanan, saw the set-apart city, renewed Yerushalayim, coming
down out of the heaven from Elohim, prepared as a bride adorned for
43
her husband. (Revelation 21:2)
Let the wilderness and the dry place be glad for them, and let the
desert rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It blossoms much and rejoices,
even with joy and singing. The esteem of Leḇanon shall be given to it,
the excellence of Karmel and Sharon. They shall see the esteem of ‫יהוה‬,
the excellency of our Elohim. ... because waters shall burst forth in the
wilderness, and streams in the desert. (Isaiah 35:1-6)
Israel does have the River Jordan and it is located hundreds of feet
below sea level therefore you cannot use ditches for irrigation. Today,
as a result of their own strength, the Israeli’s have been able to “solve”
their water problem by pumping up the water from the Sea of Galilee.
There will come a day in the future when once more Israel will be
forced “to look up” for their sustenance, and then the deserts will be
blooming due to abundant water. The same way we will be forced too:
“And when these matters begin to take place, look up and lift up your
44
heads, because your redemption draws near.” (Luke 21:28)
‘For if you diligently guard all these commands which I command you,
to do it, to love ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim, to walk in all His ways, and to cling to
Him, then ‫ יהוה‬shall drive out all these nations before you, and you
shall dispossess greater and stronger nations than you. ‘Every place on
which the sole of your foot treads is yours: from the wilderness, and
Leḇanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea
is your border. ‘No man shall stand against you. ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim shall
put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you
tread, as He has spoken to you. (Deuteronomy 11:22-25)
When Moses carried the confirmation of the marriage covenant, our
ketubah, written on two stone tablets, in his two hands (representing
the Two Houses; the two witnesses of Messiah) down the Mountain to
give to the people, he did not find people waiting for the Words of life.
What Moses saw was a god, an idol bridegroom that Israel had
substituted for ‫יהוה‬. Moses understood that the marriage covenant
with ‫ יהוה‬had been broken. In his great sorrow he smashed the two
stone tablets before their eyes, symbolic of the Two Houses of Israel,
the Twelve Tribes, being scattered among the Nations. ‫ יהוה‬warned
them that if they broke the Covenant He would scatter them among
the Nations (where they are still living today). Later when Moses
returned with the newly inscribed tablets in his hands to the Children
of Israel at Mount Sinai, it was a prophetic picture of the renewing of
that broken Covenant, a prophecy that is being fulfilled, even in our
day.
Therefore remember that you, once gentiles in the flesh, who are called
‘the uncircumcision’ .. that at that time you were without Messiah,
excluded from the citizenship of Yisra’ĕl and strangers from the
covenants of promise, having no expectation and without Elohim in the
world. But now in Messiah ‫ יהושע‬you who once were far off have been
brought near by the blood of the Messiah. For He is our peace, who has
made both one, and having broken down the partition of the barrier,
having abolished in His flesh the enmity – the Torah of the commands
in dogma – so as to create in Himself one renewed man from the two,
thus making peace, and to completely restore to favour both of them
unto Elohim in one body through the stake, having destroyed the
enmity by it. And having come, He brought as Good News peace to you
who were far off, and peace to those near. Because through Him we
both have access to the Father by one Spirit. So then you are no longer
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the set-apart ones
and members of the household of Elohim, having been built upon the
foundation of the emissaries and prophets, ‫ יהושע‬Messiah Himself
being chief corner-stone, (Ephesians 2:11-20)
But Tsiyon says, “‫ יהוה‬has forsaken me, and ‫ יהוה‬has forgotten me.”
“Would a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on
the son of her womb? Though they forget, I never forget you. “See, I
have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are always
before Me. “Your sons shall hurry, your destroyers and those who laid
you waste depart from you. “Lift up your eyes round about and see, all
of them gather together and come to you. As I live,” declares ‫יהוה‬, “you
shall put on all of them as an ornament, and bind them on you as a
bride does. “For your wastes, and your deserted places, and the land of
your destruction, shall soon be too narrow for the inhabitants, while
those who swallowed you up are far away. (Isaiah 49:14-19)
This period is known as the “7 Weeks of Consolation”; as the Haftorah
readings reflect consolation and promise to Tzion. Last week’s Haftorah
reading began with Isaiah 40:1; “Comfort, comfort My people!” says
your Elohim. Here, ‫ יהוה‬instructs the prophet to speak words of
comfort to Tzion. But, Tzion responds that ‫ יהוה‬has forsaken her. So
now, it’s ‫ יהוה‬Who consoles His bride.
AKROBUSTIA Strong’s #203: one who is a believer, having the
knowledge of the Torah and principles of God but by not valuing their
inheritance began mixing holiness with unholy lifestyles became
enticed and fell away into lawlessness. By acting as an uncircumcised
he tossed away his circumcision. Through repentance the akrobustia
began to return to Torah and the principles of ‫ יהוה‬and once again
becoming circumcised in heart.
PERITOME Stong’s #4061 is one who is a believer walking in the
principles of God that were given at Mt Sinai and who is able to rightly
understand and correctly teach these principles of Torah to others.
and He says, “Shall it be a small matter for You to be My Servant to
raise up the tribes of Yaʽaqoḇ, and to bring back the preserved ones of
Yisra’ĕl? And I shall give You as a light to the gentiles, to be My
deliverance to the ends of the earth!” (Isaiah 49:6)
“But who of you, having a servant ploughing or shepherding, would say
to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit
down to eat’? “But would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare somewhat
for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me while I eat and drink,
and afterward you shall eat and drink’? “Would he thank that servant
because he did what he was commanded? I think not. “So also you,
when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are
unworthy servants, we have done what was our duty to do.’ ”
(Luke 17:7-10)
Even if one's righteousness did accumulate enough to merit a reward,
that is God's business, not ours. We are not supposed to keep Torah
for the sake of receiving reward. The Master teaches us to obey God
simply on the basis that it is what we are supposed to do. We are his
servants, and a servant's job is to obey his master.
50
The Midrash on Parshas EIKEV teaches: "The Book and the Sword
descended from heaven entwined together; the Loaf and the Rod
descended from heaven entwined together" (Sifri). The Book -- the
Torah -- brings blessing to the world if we observe it; but if not, a
Sword is attached that wreaks the vengeance of the Covenant. The
Loaf of Bread, the "staff of life", is given as ‫'יהוה‬s blessing when we
keep the Torah, but if we stray, the struggles of making a living can turn
into a painful rod of punishment.
‫ יהוה‬wants man to be blessed with material wealth not for its own
sake, but because when his needs are provided he can better devote
himself to the pursuit of the knowledge of ‫ יהוה‬and His Torah. In the
rectified Land of Israel, prosperity leads to.
“And you shall eat and be satisfied, and shall bless ‫ יהוה‬your Elohim for
the good land which He has given you. (Deuteronomy 8:10)
51