September 2024
TORAH REFLECTION
Torah Reflection 51
V’zot Hab’rakhah (This is the blessing)
Deuteronomy 33:1 to 34:12
Moses died on Mount Nebo on the east side of the Jordan River. No-one knows where he was buried., except that it was in “a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor”. But before he died he blessed 11 of the 12 tribes of Israel. That blessing started with a general pronouncement about the LORD’s relationship to the whole congregation, and their acceptance of His authority.
In the map showing the land division among the twelve tribes, we note that Levi did not receive land, because the Levites were spread throughout the other tribes as priests, but had 48 cities to live in. Joseph was represented by his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. And Simeon’s land is totally within the boundaries of Judah. Some have offered plausible, but speculative, theories about the reasons why Simeon is not mentioned in Moses’ blessings, but we simply do not know why that is.
The map shows that the original tribal allotment includes territory of modern day Jordan. That land was included in the 1921 “Balfour Declaration” as land set aside for the modern State of Israel, to which the ‘League of Nations’ agreed.
The tribal names of the sons of Jacob remain, even though those men were long dead and had been succeeded by their descendants when the land divisions were allotted. The pronouncement of his blessing of these tribes does not follow any recognisable order, even though Reuben, the oldest, was first mentioned. He was also the first to have a land allotment. The blessing of the Reubenites was in a form of prayer that they would survive in the land (on the east of the Jordan River) and grow strong in number.
Judah seemed to be destined for leadership as Moses prayed blessing on them. “Let his hands be sufficient for him, and may You be a help against his enemies.” We know that about 300 years later, after the death of King Solomon, that Judah gave its name to the southern kingdom which comprised the tribes of Judah (with Simeon) and Benjamin.
Levi, the tribe of priests, was to be scattered among the other tribes as they fulfilled their priestly duties. They provided, among other things, a judicial function. “Let your Thummim and your Urim be with your Holy one (the High Priest)”. These are objects, within the breastplate of the High Priest’s garment, through which God, by selection of the High Priest, confirmed His will and judgment on specific matters to the High Priest. Moses continued “For they have observed Your word and kept Your covenant. They shall teach Jacob Your judgements, and Israel Your Torah”. Moses also prayed for God’s physical protection of the Levites.
For Benjamin, who was allotted territory which included Jerusalem, Moses prayed for their safety and peace.
Joseph, now represented by tribes which carried the names of his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, held a special place among his brothers. Moses asked for material prosperity and military might, recognising the depravation which he had earlier suffered in slavery in Egypt. But Ephraim would be militarily stronger than Manasseh, his older brother.(Genesis 48:20)
For Zebulun and Issachar, even though they eventually had landlocked territory, Moses prayed for blessing, particularly through trade in fishing!
Gad had a large territory east of the River Jordan, but was mighty in battle against the Canaanites.
Regarding Dan, Moses saw great military strength. They were the tribe that became discontent with their allotted territory and moved further north, as far as the border with Lebanon.
Naphtali, Moses prayed, would be favoured and blessed by the LORD.
Asher was seen as a tribe who would be blessed and favoured by his brothers. “As your days, so shall your strength be”, Moses prayed.
And finally, Moses prayed for them as a nation. “Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, and you shall tread down their high places.”
Moses was well aware that he was about to die. It was no surprise to him. God had called him to lead the people when he was 80. He was now 120. And I believe he died peacefully and entered the presence of the LORD his God. And the people mourned for him for 30 days. “But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.” **
Then, the faithful Joshua, Moses assistant, who was “full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him”, took charge of the situation. And the children of Israel ‘heeded him’.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
**BREAKING NEWS:- Matthew 1:21 “And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call His name YESHUA, for He will save His people from their sins”.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
TORAH REFLECTION
Torah Reflection 50
Ha’azinu (Listen)
Moses sang the song that God had taught him. And then he died. Well, soon afterwards anyway. There are three major songs in our Bible attributed to Moses. This one, one in Exodus 15 and Psalm 90. He might well have written Psalm 91 as well, but that is not clearly identified as such. And we find out in Revelation 15 that the angels who are given the task of pouring out the last seven plagues the earth also will sing this song of Moses. (they may well be singing it already)
It is a God honouring song, imploring the hearers to “Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice. A God of truth and without injustice. Righteous and upright is He”. The hearers were about to go into the land God had promised them. The same promise had been made to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now they were on the threshold, waiting. They knew it would not be easy. There were battles to be fought, and won. There would be resistance and they had no idea of what obstacles they might face. But we saw in our ‘reflection’ last week, that they were told by Moses that God would go before them. That Joshua would lead them, and they were to be “strong and of good courage". If we are looking for lessons for ourselves, we have one right there. Our God does not change. “Ascribe greatness to Him.” “His work is perfect.” He is righteous and upright”. “He does not lie”. And He goes before us.
We remind ourselves that, as we discovered in our ‘reflection’ last week, God taught Moses this song for a purpose. He knew that they would break their covenant and turn to ‘other gods’. He also knew that they would not forget this song, which Moses taught them before they entered the land. It was to be a reminder and a witness to the people of Israel of all that God had accomplished in and for them. The song contains words of candour which will touch the heart of anyone with a glimmer of a conscience. “They have corrupted themselves; they are not His children, because of their blemish; A perverse and crooked generation. Do you thus deal with the LORD O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you?” Can anyone else see, as I can, the blindingly obvious parallel with our own situation today? This song is a timeless reminder of the love and grace which God has for those who are His. It is cutting in its clarity.
Nothing is done or said by innuendo or clever construction of words to bring thoughts of the past to mind. This song is direct and persuasive. Amazingly it covers what is for the people of that day, the past, the present, and the future. Concerning the past “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations”. God has provided the record of the past. It is written that all who read it might judge. Even though the people of that day did not have the volume of the written word as we do today, they had the history of the Patriarchs, their forefathers.“He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye”. This was very modern history for these folk. Then the present, or at least seeing the very near days ahead “They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons, not to God. … of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and forgotten the God who fathered you.” These are words which would bring shame on any reasonable person. Such ingratitude is palpable.
This song also has words for a future generation of Israelites. Things that were near at hand for them and some which are still being fulfilled today. “How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had surrendered them? For their rock is not like our Rock”. And “Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me”. (It is not difficult to put this into a very modern scene, as Israel today is surrounded by enemies, and has been ever since its modern resurrection in 1948. Consider how many times Israel has, and continues to, prevail against seemingly almost insurmountable superior numerical force) God then introduced a most unlikely weapon in His armoury. “I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation”. (Romans 11:11) And in a kind of lament there is an appeal that they might acquire wisdom. “Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” And in a triumphant finale, the song comes to a victorious end. “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people’” This is a most direct ‘instruction’ and promise of God to gentiles. We are told to partake with God’s chosen, even when they have fallen into the chastisement of God for their covenant failure. Their restoration, and God’s provident atonement is assured by Him. It is such a tragedy that many believing gentiles today are so derisory in their comment and actions regarding Israel.
The sad end to our ‘reflection’. God told Moses “Go up this mountain, Mount Nebo … view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession; and die on that mountain and be gathered to your people .. you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there”. But good news for the people was that God had already promised to raise up another prophet like Moses for the people (Deuteronomy 15).
But we still have one week left for Moses to bless the people he had led for the last 40 years.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
TORAH REFLECTION
Torah Reflection 49
Vayelech (And (Moses) went)
Possibly the most enlightening, and yet the most disappointing speech ever made. Enlightening in its encouragement and optimism. Disappointing in its prophetic truth. A sad start as Moses said “I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’”. We know that Moses was not in any way incapacitated (Deuteronomy 34:7), so the reference to “going out and coming in” is a statement of knowledge that his leadership duties were at an end, because that’s what God had told him. Then the encouragement. “The LORD your God Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy those nations from before you, and you shall disposes them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as the LORD has said.” The words which follow have been used as an encouragement to believers ever since. They are words appropriated by people of faith in a most personal way, and rightly so. But it is often forgotten that all the blessings and promises which God made to these Israelites were conditional upon their adherence and obedience to His commandments. That is an important lesson for any who personally take this encouraging Scripture as God’s promise to them. “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
But there was more to do. The Book of the Covenant, the Torah (God’s instruction for righteous living) was given to the Levites, the priests, and they were charged with a very solemn and interesting duty. We ‘reflected’ on the “Shmitah” year in “Torah Reflection 29” of this series. To this observance, the Levites were charged with another responsibility. At the time of the Feast of Tabernacles in “Shmitah” year, “Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this Torah, and their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land which you cross Jordan to possess.” Every seven years the people were to be officially, ceremonially, and dutifully reminded of what God expected of them. Those over seven would hear it more than once! It was to be an ongoing ritual. Did you notice in those instructions that “the stranger within your gates” was also charged with “learning the fear of the LORD”? And “to carefully observe all the words of this Torah”? Selah.
As gentiles, we are at some disadvantage in not having been taught some of these fundamental precepts. Moses had told them that each year God provided “appointed times”, ‘mo’edim’ in Hebrew, for His people to meet with Him. At the remembrance of His Passover, all over the world, wherever they live, Jewish parents recall His dealings with them, teach their children the history of that miraculous escape from slavery in Egypt, right up to this very point in our ‘reflection’ today, and beyond. And now Moses added the Feast of Tabernacles, every seventh year, as a time for reading the Torah to the whole congregation of the people. We who are “strangers within their gates”, are privileged to join in that memorial time if we so wish, but not many of us do. They are times of encouragement, uplift, and optimism, when we regularly recall the greatness and the reliability of our unchanging God. Learning what He requires of those who seek His blessing.
Moses took Joshua to the Tent of Meeting to be inaugurated as leader by the LORD in the sight of the whole congregation of Israel. (He had been anointed for that task (Numbers 27:18-23) but unlike Moses, who received instructions directly from God, Joshua was instructed through the “Urim” of the High Priest.) It was then that God appeared in the cloud above the door of the Tabernacle and gave Moses the disappointing news to which I referred at the commencement of this ‘reflection’. God told Moses that when the people lived in the land they were about to inherit, they would ‘play the harlot’ with the gods of the foreigners of that land. And even worse perhaps (or was it the same thing) “they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.” But disappointing as it is, it also speaks volumes about God’s love and grace towards these Israelites. Because in spite of this foreknowledge, He still allowed them to proceed as He had promised. But not without anger. We can probably all identify with the disappointment and even the sense of betrayal we feel when someone we love does something contrary to that which we thought was agreed. But we act without the foreknowledge that God had. The word “covenant” is not usually used in our everyday language today, but that is what a solemn agreement really is. A child does something against what was promised. A man does not do what he said he would do. A woman does things she promised not to do. Often, with the disappointment, comes anger.
God told Moses that many terrible things would happen to those people that He loved when they no longer enjoyed the safety of His presence among them due to their breaking of their covenant with Him. But even that was not to be the end. God told Moses that He would give him a song to teach the people. So He did. Moses wrote the song that very day and taught it to the children of Israel. God said “Then it shall be, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants.”
Then Moses called together the elders of the tribes and their appointed officers to tell them what would happen. The song Moses taught them would be a constant reminder to them. We will look at it next week.
Shabbat Shalom.
RS
TORAH REFLECTION
Torah Reflection 48
Nitzvahim (Enter covenant)
“Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.” This statement by Moses immediately follows the chapters in our Bible which specify the blessings and curses, which are presented as possible alternative outcomes for the people. Their choice. Much earlier, as they were about to begin the journey, the people had assembled at the foot of Mount Sinai and made their covenant. “All that the LORD has said, we will do, and be obedient” they declared. Many of those people had now died. Those assembled on this day as Moses spoke, were under twenty years of age at the time when their fathers stood at the foot of Mount Sinai. They had all learned much about the LORD’s dealings with them in the past 40 years and now was the time for them to make their commitment, their covenant, with God.
There is an immensely important lesson here. The terms of the covenant are contained in “The Book of the Covenant” (Exodus 24:7) But that “Book” is NOT the covenant. The “Covenant” is an agreement. An agreement between parties to that Covenant. Almighty God is ONE of the parties. The people to whom Moses read the terms of the covenant in Exodus 24:7 were the other ‘party’ to that original covenant. Those over twenty had died on the journey. In our passage of Scripture this week, Moses offered the establishment of the same covenant with the new generation of Israelites. God has not changed, but the people have. Moses had spelled out the alternatives of obedience and disobedience. Moses can do no more. The choice is theirs to make. But now we may observe a relatively small but important difference. Speaking as from the LORD Himself “I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, but with him who stands with us today before the LORD our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today … so that there may not be among you man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God”. It is an open covenant. God remains the initiator on one side of that covenant. Steadfast, true, unchanging. And on the other side, anyone who willingly agrees to do, and be obedient to, the terms of the “Book of the Covenant”.
God expected the people that He was leading into the land He promised them, to live according to His standards of righteousness. They were expected to be very different, in behaviour and worship, to the people they were to replace in the land of Canaan and the nations around them. A special people who would be an example to those around them. A witness and testimony to the God they served. But the LORD knew that they would be subject to all the pressures and wiles of the evil one, and that ultimately they would break the covenant which was set before them, and to which they willingly agreed. So it was that Moses wrote, in that same passage of Scripture, that because of their failure, a day would dawn when they would be dispersed from the land that they had not, at that stage, even entered. Then this. “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us, and to our children forever, that we may do all the things of this Torah.” How good is that? Put very simply, I believe what Moses said 3,500 years ago was, these things are written for our understanding. Revealing Who God is. How He wants us to act and live, in righteousness (even spelling out what happens when people fail), so that we might learn, and not fall into the same error.
If that were the end of Moses’ revelation it would be rather sad. But it is not. Because Moses continued, revealing the prophecy which is being fulfilled in our lifetime. Even now, as we read this ‘reflection’. Reading the history, we can plainly see that our Bible records THREE major dispersions from the land. The first, in 722 BCE, when Shalmanezer V, king of Assyria took captive the people of Israel (the ten tribes of the northern kingdom). There is no record in our Bible of their restoration to their land. Then there was the Babylonian captivity about 586 BCE. There is much recorded in the Scriptures about that restoration, led by Zerubbabel and others about 70 years later. And finally, the great dispersion, about 133 AD after the Bar-Kochba uprising. It is the conclusion of this last event, identified as taking place just as the nineteenth century came to an end, (about 1890) under the visionary leadership of Theodore Hertzl, which most readily fits the scene referred to in our reading today. “.. that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you.” Now we need to understand that this is still ‘a work in progress’. The events under the leadership of Adolph Hitler provided a major stimulus to Jewish people to return to the land after 1947. But (in 2020) there are still as many Jews living outside Israel as there are within Israel. Never-the-less, the word of the LORD is “Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.” And furthermore, a future event. “And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. And you will again obey the voice of the LORD, and do all His commandments which I command you today.”
An arrogant and self centred world operates without regard to the word of God so clearly stated. We have the immense privilege today of knowing the ‘end of the book’. But even some who call themselves ‘christian’ seem unaware of the role God has for those He has called by His name. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from every nation shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you’”. (Zechariah 8:23) The wise will not wait until then!
Shabbat Shalom
RS