Zion's Voice

Torah Reflections         Rosh Hashanah

Torah portions           Genesis 21:1-34      Numbers 29:1-6

Haftarah portion      1 Samuel 1:1 to 2:10

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 have the commandments about annual observances of the “mo’edim”. (The Hebrew word for “appointed times”, which in turn is usually translated into English as “feasts”). These are times when God specified He would meet with His chosen ones.

Today, they are most often referred to as “Jewish Feasts”. That correctly describes the fact that they are observances remembered by Jews. But it is an incorrect understanding of the Scriptures.

When God gave these instructions to Moses, He carefully worded these ‘appointed times’ (mo’edim) as MY ‘mo’edim’. They may be characterized as times when God says, in effect, “I will be there to meet with you on these specific occasions”. Those who choose not to attend miss an opportunity of blessing through meeting with Him at His invitation.

This festival is known as “The Feast of Trumpets”, because God ordained that it was to be heralded by the blowing of trumpets, it is known as “Rosh Hashanah” because it brings in the civic New Year in the Hebrew calendar. It is a Sabbath, a Holy convocation, a day of rest. It is the first of a series of THREE festivals which closely follow each other at this season of the year.

Many, like me, believe that it is prophetic of the time of the Lord’s return, and there are good Biblical reasons for this. Others will say ‘no man knows the day nor the hour”, but an elementary knowledge of Judaic biblical history easily explains this. In Israel, even today, the beginning and end of festivals (Numbers 10:10) relies on the observance of TWO stars in the sky by TWO witnesses (and that is normally announced by the blowing of shofars).  The appearance of the New Moon heralds the beginning of a new month, again reliant on TWO witnesses. There are a number of good reasons why these observances could be one day or the next. “No man knows the day”. The presence of cloud will affect the precise timing of the first appearance of stars, “no man knows the hour”.

The most compelling reason is however because it is consistent with the evidential significance of the first FOUR ‘mo’edim’. Pesach, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits are perfectly fulfilled in the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach. Shavu’ot, the traditional time of the giving of Torah to Moses on the mountain, is also the time of the giving of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem a mere 10 days after the ascension of Yeshua into Glory.

The Scriptures reveal that Yeshua will return with the sound of trumpets. (Matthew 24:30,31  1Corinthians 15:52  1Thessalonians 4:16)

The Feast of Trumpets marks the beginning of a period of 10 days of preparation for the next solemn appointed time, the Day of Atonement. It is enlightening to read Revelation 18, 19 and 20 in conjunction with the reflection on these last three festivals. That passage of Scripture appears to fill in some detail of things to take place upon the return of Yeshua when He comes, not as the Lamb to be slain, but as King of kings and Lord of Lords in order to put into place the millennial Kingdom of God.

In concluding this reflection, please consider this thought. When God instituted the ‘mo’ed’ of the Feast of Trumpets, He could have had in mind not only the annual introduction of a New Year in the Hebrew calendar, but also the New Year which marks the commencement of Yeshua’s everlasting Kingdom.

I am saddened that the modern Christian church, which is largely ignorant of the “mo’edim” of the Lord, has missed a blessing which God intended us to enjoy.

L'shanah tovah

RS

Torah Reflections    50

Torah Portion                  Deuteronomy  29 : 10  to  30 : 20

Haftarah Portion           Isaiah   61 : 10 –  63 : 9

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

 In last week’s portion, we read the promises of God contained in the blessings (for obedience), and curses (for disobedience), relating to the commandments and statutes which had been clearly communicated to the people.

Three times previously (Exodus 19:8, 24:3, and 24:7) the whole assembly of the people had affirmed their willingness to accept the instructions of God, spoken by Moses. The Land of Promise is before them. Entry into the Land is a gift of God, guaranteed by His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Occupation of the Land is conditional. It seems to me that at this point in time Moses is now asking them to affirm yet again that they have understood the Maker’s instructions.

The Apostle Paul, a devout and fervent adherent to Torah lifestyle, understood this well. Read Romans 11 in a quiet moment and see for yourself how well he understood the importance of believers living a life of faith in order to remain attached as partakers of the ‘natural Olive Tree’ which is Israel (God’s special treasure). The analogy is that of entry into the Promised Land (free by covenant) and remaining there (conditional on obedience). The question is worth asking our church communities today … Have you read the Maker’s instructions?.

Deuteronomy 29:29 is one of my favourite scripture verses :-

"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 words of this law.”

Please take time to meditate on this verse. It amazes me that we argue and debate things which He has very clearly written for us in His word. God used Moses to communicate His instructions for righteous living. God does not change. Why is there such difficulty understanding that? Or am I the only one with that difficulty?

I do not wish to be misunderstood. I believe that our salvation is free to all who believe by faith. I also believe that “faith without works is dead”. What I believe about ‘works’ is contained in Matthew 5 : 16,17. And if you think that Yeshua had gentile believers in mind when He spoke those words, read it again.  His audience was 100% ‘lost sheep of the House of Israel’. He was calling them back to a lifestyle of correct Torah observance, which had been distorted by the ‘traditions of men’.

I believe that Yeshua was reminding the people of Scriptures like Deuteronomy 29:29 , encouraging them to “do all the words of this law” as was His own lifestyle and that of His disciples. In effect He was saying to them read the Maker’s instructions again.

In Deuteronomy chapter 30 we have a good indication that Moses knew that these folk were going to have difficulty in keeping their promises of obedience. It is an accurately prophetic chapter with a really happy ending.

Verse 4 sees the time when, through disobedience, they will be expelled from the land which they had not yet entered. Moses also foresees the time when they will be again restored to the land (an event we see happening today before our eyes as millions of Jews have made Aliyah in the past 60 years). Beyond that even, Moses sees a future time when God will enter into a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. (see “Reflection” of Number 47 “Shoftim”)

Then in verses 14 to 16 of chapter 30, Moses makes a final plea. None of these terrible things need happen to you :-

“But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess”.

For your very life’s sake, when you ‘take a stand for the Lord’ take also time to  “read the Maker’s instructions” .

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;  that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, …..”   Deuteronomy 30 : 19,20

Choose life.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    49  

Torah Portion                  Deuteronomy  26 : 1  to  29 : 9

Haftarah Portion           Isaiah   60 : 1 –  22

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

“When you come into the Land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it”. Thus opens our parashah this week. The time is now very close. Final instructions were being given, things to remember, and things that must be done. And what is that very first thing? Present the FIRSTFRUITS of the Land to the Lord. And in so doing they were to recite the story of how they were released from slavery in Egypt and brought to this beautiful Land which they themselves had declared to be “flowing with milk and honey”. It was an act of worship. It was something they would DO.

That is an initial lesson for us from this reading. We WORSHIP God by what we DO, not by what we say. We PRAISE God by what we say.

Then the Israelites are given a lesson in tithing. It is quite different to the teaching on ‘tithing’ which most of us receive in our churches today. In our reading it is called a ‘holy tithe’. That is a ‘set apart’ tithe. Being mindful that they were an agricultural community, it is clear that their tithe was of the produce of the Land.  Care for the Levites, who had no Land possession allotted to them. Care for the stranger, the fatherless, the widow. Care for those in real need.  This, my dear friends is the very essence of living righteously before the Lord, and before our fellow citizens. However, there is complementary teaching in Deuteronomy 14 which considers, amongst other things, tithes of money. Read it.

We could well say “This is the day that the Lord has made”, because in it God declared that He would set this people 'high above all nations’. He declared that this people were ‘His special people’. That they would be a ‘holy’ people, in name, in praise and in honour’. Wow!!

What an introduction. But there is more!

In Chapter 27, in addition to the command, yet again, that they must keep all the commandments of God, there is the injunction to set up, in the very centre of the Promised Land, a mound of whitewashed stones, inscribed very plainly, (my Bible says) with the Torah of YHWH. There they were to make sacrifices of burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.

Let us try to apply that to ourselves today.

For all Gentile believers, departure from Egypt is symbolized in the acceptance and trust, by faith, in the atoning death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua. In type, that means leaving Egypt and entering the Promised Land. So looking at the application of our parashah, we receive some instructions about what to do when we arrive. The commandment about tithing, whilst not specifically taught in detail in the Brit Hadashah, may reasonably be taken as a continuing practice amongst the Israelites down through the ages. For Jews today, it is one of many important “mitzvot’ which they continue in their significant acts of benevolence within their community.

The altar, which God commanded be set up for sacrifice is an interesting one. We know that Yeshua’s atoning death (accompanied by the destruction of the Temple) effectively brought an end to the sacrificial system. And so it did in respect of sin atonement. But, our body is ‘the Temple of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 6:19), and the Temple is a place of worship as well as sacrifice. And ‘worship’ is what we DO, not what we say.  The Apostle Paul, in Romans 12:1, taught that we should “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service”. 

Close by that altar of sacrifice, in our text, were the whitewashed stones of remembrance, clearly proclaiming the Torah of YHWH. Like a beacon for all who came close, saying this is what we stand by, this is the sure foundation on which we are established. Unshakeable. Permanent.  Is it taking it too far to suggest that our equivalent today may be judged, not by a mound of whitewashed stones, but by our very conduct. The way we act towards others. The way we live. The way we treat the commands of God. The way we treat His ‘special treasure’.

If there is NOTHING for us to learn here, it is just a history lesson. But we know better than that, because “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished into all good works”. God grant that we all may learn that which He wishes to teach us, just as our parashah was for the benefit of those Israelites long ago.                          

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    48      

Torah Portion                  Deuteronomy  21 : 10  to  25 : 19

Haftarah Portion           Isaiah   54 : 1 –  10

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

 Moses continues his preparation of the people for entry into the Land of Promise.

For 40 years the people had been guided by the ‘shekinah’ of God through the desert places. They had been provided with fresh ‘manna’ each day. Water was available for all of them and their livestock. The sandals on their feet were 40 years old, and still going strong! It was an amazing experience for those who remained. All those who had lacked trust in God at Kadesh Barnea had died on the journey. Moses was determined to do all he could to ensure that their life together would continue to be fruitful and harmonious. The new fledgling Nation was about to experience life in their own land.

The priorities expressed in this passage are enlightening.

Firstly, the ‘firstfruits’ of their harvest were to be a thanksgiving to the Lord. Before anything else, they were to honour God by worshipping Him with the fruit of their labours, presenting the BEST of the crop, the freshest produce with joy and thanks for all His benefits.

Worship is what we DO not what we SAY.

Then, Moses reminded them of their obligation to tithe the increase of their harvest (we covered this a few weeks ago as we saw that the whole concept of the purpose of tithing has been distorted in modern times). The Levites, who ministered to and with them were to be recipients of the tithe certainly, but also the poor, the widow, the fatherless, the stranger within their gates were all to be invited to eat the tithe of their increase with them in their homes. It’s called hospitality. In Deuteronomy 26:13 it is clear that to do otherwise, was a ‘trespass’ of the commandment. Worship is what we DO not what we SAY.

Moses was instructing them to reach out in support and care for each other, ensuring that the needy in the community were not forgotten. This was the expression of God’s great love for this people He described as His special treasure.(You may care to read the Haftarah portion in Isaiah at this point. It is a prophetic description of the blessing still awaiting this people of God. He has not finished with this people, far from it, but there is still some ‘water to flow under the bridge’ before they come to their place of honour in the world).

Deuteronomy 28 and 29 are the well- known chapters of “blessings and curses”. I have drawn attention previously to the TWO words in Hebrew which are both translated “curse” in English. (see Genesis 12:3 where both words are used in the same sentence). The ‘curses’ in Deuteronomy 29: 16-19 are the “a’rar” the ‘bitter curse’ which is the same as God promised to those who “qalal” ‘treat with contempt’ Israel. So what God is promising these people is a bitter curse if they choose to disobey His commandments and statutes.    We know what happened, don’t we?

Now look at Deuteronomy 28: 23, 24

“And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is

under you shall be iron.

 The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed”

This is a metaphor for drought, severe, debilitating, drought. It could be called a “bitter curse”.  Mark Twain, in his book “Innocents Abroad” written about 1876, described the land of “Palestine” as a dry, barren, uninhabitable place, even though there were some people living there at the time.  The land known as Palestine had suffered about 1,800 years of debilitating drought. Meaningful rain began to fall again about the mid 1890’s, about the time that Theodore Hertzl convened the First Zionist Congress in Basle Switzerland in 1897. Peaks of more recent rainfall are recorded in 1947 and 1967. Isn’t that interesting?  God is still on the Throne. Hallelujah.

Ezekiel 33 to 36 prophesies (read promises) the return of ‘the lost sheep of the House of Israel’ to the land. “Not for their sake, but for God’s Holy Name’s sake, that the world may know that I am the Lord”.

Be blessed yet again as you read this Torah portion. What your Bible, and mine, call “blessings and curses” are solemn promises of God. He is faithful, righteous and perfect in all His ways. As my old Sunday School teacher used to tell me … “every promise in the Book is true” .. the ones we like, and the ones we wish were not there.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    47          

Torah Portion                   Deuteronomy  16 : 18  to  21 : 9

Haftarah Portion           Isaiah   51 : 12 –  52 : 12

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

What amazing insights the LORD gave to Moses in His instructions to the Israelites as they were about to become a Nation with a land to call their own. It was to be a place of righteously living together.

Today these instructions may appear boring and repetitious. And they might well be, if viewed as ancient and out of date rules, with no relevance to modern living. But there is much more to these instructions than first meets the eye. When read with an open heart to learn, they are as precious, relevant, and important for us today, as they were to the Israelites of old.

Moses is told to appoint Judges. Peers of the people, to make judgements and decisions in disputes between those who cannot compromise on an issue of disagreement. This procedure is still in place in Judaism today. Courts of the people are established in many major synagogues. They are called “Beit Din” (House of Judgement), comprising two or three prominent, trustworthy, members of the Synagogue. It was to this ‘Beit Din’ that serious disputes were to be taken in the discourse in Matthew 18:15-20.  It was to the ‘Beit Din’ of “two or three gathered in My Name” that God promised His presence (Matthew 18:20) as they met. It was to the ‘Beit Din’ that the power of binding and loosing (Matthew 18:18) was given. (A serious neglect of the Hebrew roots of our faith, has caused a mal-nourished church to incorrectly interpret and teach the meaning of that Matthew 18 passage today).  There is NO equivalent body of reference established within modern day church structures. Instead we find major disputes taken to secular courts, with disastrous relationship consequences. That was not, and is not, God’s way for ‘brethren to dwell together in unity’

Chapter 17 opens with God being uncompromisingly clear in His condemnation of the people who choose to worship “other gods”. The words seem amazingly harsh to us. But to get the message in perspective, God was intent on building this people as a Nation of priests before Himself as a witness and example to the other Nations with whom they came into contact.

“I am the LORD, I do not change” are the words which ring in my ears as I read this passage. Those who are called to be “joint heirs with Christ” are expected to act and behave in a manner which is worthy of that high calling. Too often, we are indistinguishable in our conversation and actions from anyone around us, our neighbours, our friends, our work colleagues. Our salvation is the free gift of Almighty God, as it was for the Israelites in our Scripture passage. Retention of that salvation before a Holy God required personal life choices and behavioural decisions. For too many, salvation is merely intellectual consent to a belief.

The outstanding promise of God in this passage is in Deuteronomy 18:15. About 1,500 years after God gave this promise to Moses, Yeshua Ha’Mashiach was sent to this earth. He is the ‘promised prophet like Moses’.

It would be a good exercise to list for yourself the characteristics and events in the life of both Moses and Yeshua where it is possible to identify likenesses. You will be blessed as you ponder this thought. But I want to offer a less obvious likeness for your thoughtful consideration.

Moses met with God on the mountain and received the ‘TEN WORDS’ which comprised the initial covenant of God with the people, (“His special treasure”). Moses came down off the mountain and found the people worshipping a manmade golden calf .. idolatry. Moses returned to the mountain, spent another 40 days in the presence of God and came down with a new set of instructions. (Which we call Torah).

Yeshua came ‘down’ from heaven, finding the people observing, not the Torah of God as given by Moses (“the old covenant, which Hebrews 8 tells us is becoming obsolete”), but the traditions of men .. idolatry.  Yeshua returned to His Father in heaven, where He is today seated at the right hand of the Father. There will be a time in the future that He will return to earth as King of kings, with a new set of instructions, a New Covenant. Read carefully and honestly the conditions of that New Covenant to be made “with the House of Judah and the House of Israel”, stated in Jeremiah 31, repeated in Hebrew 8. You might conclude, as I have, that those conditions are not yet with us. They tell of a time when He will be King over all the earth. When we will all live righteously together, under a New Covenant, which cannot be broken. A prophet like Moses!! Think prayerfully about it.                      

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    46

Torah Portion                  Deuteronomy  11 : 26  to  16 : 17

Haftarah Portion           Isaiah   66 : 1 –  24

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

The Torah portion this week contains a repetition by Moses of some important commandments and observances which the LORD had given him ‘on the mountain’.

Firstly, Moses declares that these observances are NOT mere suggestions but commandments. He emphasises this fact by foretelling the blessings and the curses which Joshua eventually spoke in the presence of the whole congregation of the tribes at Mt Gerazim and Mt Ebal. (see Deuteronomy 28,29). Conditions to which they all agreed.

He then gets specific in relation to:-

• Breaking down the ‘high places’ of the pagan deities. (we touched on that last week)
• The LORD Himself would determine the place for their worship of Him.
• Testing the ‘spirit’ of prophets. (don’t we need that today?). and what they should do about false prophets.
• Avoidance of heathen practices. (related to the first point above)
• Purpose and manner of tithing (ouch !! we appear to have  changed the rules about tithing haven’t we?)
• The ‘shemitah’ year of release. (2015 was a ‘shemitah’ year)
• The dedication of the ‘first-born’. (still practised today in Judaism)
• Observance of the ‘pilgrimage’ festivals. (Pesach, Shavu’ot and Tabernacles)

We have a veritable feast of teaching available from this passage of Scripture. The real beauty being that the LORD is able to speak directly into our spirit the exact message He wants to convey to us individually as we ponder truth from His word.  My ‘reflection’ this week is from Chapter 13, regarding the prophets amongst us .. and ONE of those prophets in particular.

Yeshua came to this earth 2,000 years ago with a “prophetic” ministry. To that has been added His “priestly” ministry, (after the order of Mechi-tzedek) and in time to come He will be anointed KING . Thus He will be “Prophet, Priest and King”, before whom every knee will bow.

Deuteronomy 13 acknowledges that there will be those in the community who are able to perform miraculous signs and wonders. And that many will be deceived by these events. But in verse 2 (‘serving other gods’) and verse 4 (‘You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him’) Moses provides the test by which that prophet is to be judged.

Yeshua came as “the prophet like Moses” to His own people. (“the lost sheep of the house of Israel” Mathew 10 and 15).  Many thousands of Jews believed Him and worshipped Him as Messiah. Acts 21:20 tells us that “myriads” of Jews had become believers. Hallelujah.

Space does not permit a full explanation here, but by 324 c.e. Rome was ‘top dog’ and Constantine effectively severed all connection between Gentile believers and Judaism. (in my view that division is Satan’s greatest victory over mankind).

That situation persists today. We see anti-Semitism rampant in sections of the modern day church, and there is an even worse consequence. The Jesus who is worshipped in most churches today is unrecognizable to Jews as the Torah observant Yeshua of the Bible. Jews are presented with a Jesus whose principal role in salvation seems to take them away from the very commandments of God that Moses declares in our reading today, as being vital to their relationship to a Holy God, and the conditional promises regarding the occupation of the land of Promise.

There is a parallel here between Yeshua and Joseph of old who was similarly not recognized by his brothers (Genesis 45:1-3) because of the way he was presented to them. Is history is repeating itself again today? Yeshua will make Himself known to His brothers. (Zechariah 12:10)

I close this reflection by reminding ourselves of the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 11 : 18

“Remember that you do not support the root, the root supports you”.

Our actions speak louder than all the words in the dictionary!!  Yeshua said  “If you love me you WILL keep My commandments John 14:15 (correct translation)

Just like Moses said in our portion today !!     

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    45      

Torah Portion                   Deuteronomy  7 : 12  to  11 : 25

Haftarah Portion           Isaiah   49 : 14 –  51 : 3

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

A most remarkable beginning to our parashah this week. A promise of blessing that is truly astounding.

At the end of last week’s reading we saw God describe these Israelites as “His special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth”. We might describe them as God’s ‘favourites’, because that is exactly what it means.

But as we might expect, there was a condition attached. It is found in the very first verse of our reading and repeated in Chapter 8 verse 1. “Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to obey”. Many times in this reading God repeats the caution that they must be careful to be observant and obedient to His commands. But then we look at God’s promises to them, and see that the promised rewards are truly absolutely priceless. (If such a promise were made to a people group or nation today it would be headline news in every media outlet.) This is what it includes:-

*   No barrenness in the people or the livestock. Abundant prosperity.

*   All sickness removed from the people. No diseases in their ranks. Perfect health.

*   No obstacle to their possession of the Land. An almost ‘walk in walk out’ situation of the Land. No struggle for a home to dwell in. The Lord Himself will       deliver the Land to them.

*   Nothing will be able to stand in your way.

But there is some work to be done. Amongst the conditions there are these requirements. Do not take anything of their silver and gold. Burn all their idols and images of worship. Do not allow yourselves to become contaminated with any of their possessions or practices.

The apostle John would later write:-

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome”. 1 John 5:3

But God knows the human heart. And so did the prophet Jeremiah, when he wrote “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” Jeremiah 17:9   So we find that God, in addition to pronouncing promises of great blessing, also repeatedly warns against disobedience. He also cautions against boastful pride. That they be careful to acknowledge that it is God who has wrought the miracle of their Land possession. It is not on account of any righteousness or uprightness of their own. On the contrary, the present occupants are being dispossessed of the land because of their wickedness and unrighteousness. Practising abominable acts and worshipping false gods.

Just one more observation about the Land. God told Moses that “the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year”. (Deuteronomy 11:12) How good is that?

Can we draw a lesson for today from this parashah?

Time and again we read about God’s insistence on obedience and commitment to His commandments. But I want to go a bit further. There came a time, about 1,500 years later when God sent His only Son into this world. The purpose, we read in Matthew 12 and Matthew 15, was to restore the “lost sheep of the House of Israel”. It was as though God had given up on His expectation that, as a nation, they would be obedient to His commandments as given to Moses. So He sent another, His Son Yeshua, who, I believe, was the promised “prophet like Moses”. (Deut 18) On this occasion, it was not the written Torah, but the living Torah that God displayed before the people. The perfect “Lamb of God”.

Through a miracle of grace, that perfect Lamb of God offered Himself so that all mankind, who accept and believe, might draw close to the Father, through Him who died. In sheer gratitude, not out of compulsion, we have the opportunity to show our love of Him. Because He said “If you love Me, you WILL keep My commandments” John 14: 15

The question is “Do I love Him?”. As I read my Bible I can only identify ONE set of commandments, and they were given by a God who does not change. I am left with another question. What promises of God am I missing out on because of my misunderstanding or wilful neglect of His commands?          

Shabbat Shalom 

RS

Torah Reflections   44    

Torah portion           Deuteronomy 3:23 to 7:11

Haftarah portion   Isaiah 40:1-26

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

The Torah portion this week begins with Moses re-telling one of the most heartrending plea’s any one could make. Moses had been witness to the mighty hand of God in His dealings with this fledgling nation of Israel. He had the privilege of leading these folk through an amazing journey, out of Egypt to the very ‘gate’ of the Promised Land. He can ‘feel’ the presence of God about to display His might and power again in the conquest of the Land, and he wanted to be part of it.

Moses had come to terms with the decision God had made. He knew that the mantle was to pass to Joshua. But he was concerned that these Israelites, people he knew very well, had the capacity to be stubborn, or stiff-necked, or rebellious, or disobedient, or indifferent, or all of the above.

Deuteronomy 4:2 has a warning for this people, which could well apply to every one of us. How did Moses know what we would be like today?  Read it for yourself please. Then move to verse 6. A plain message. If you wish to be seen as wise in the eyes of those around you, be careful to observe, diligently, all that the Lord has taught you.

Most of us have formed a view of the God we serve. There are MANY adjectives used to describe the nature and attributes of our God. It is extremely comforting to remember the attributes of love, mercy and grace (which I often do). He extends His love to us when we least deserve it. He even sent His Only Son to bear the punishment of our sin. But now look at Deuteronomy 4:24. Moses does not ‘gild the lily’ with his stern warning, an attribute of God which we rarely consider. “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God”.  Wow!!  If you are like me that is not one of God’s attributes which brings much comfort, does it?

In chapter 5 of our portion, we find a repeat of the “Ten Words” which God gave to Moses on the mountain. Then in chapter 6 of our text we find the most oft repeated passage of Scripture. The SHEMA. Spoken twice each day by every Orthodox Jew. It is the constant reminder of the central role of God in their everyday living. It is the commandment of God to teach their children, to wear the Scriptures (as in Tefilin), to decorate their homes (or at least the doorposts of their houses). It is the Scripture passage which distinguishes the Jewish people from all other nations on the Earth.

Some time ago I became aware of the writings of Lord Sacks. He is a former Chief Rabbi of England, now a peer in the House of Lords in London. A scholarly thought provoking writer and one for whom I have gained great respect. I commend to you his exposition of “The Shema” which you can access by following this link:- 

http://www.rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation-5770-vaetchanan-the-mean...

I conclude this week’s ‘reflection’ by quoting from Rabbi Sacks’ insights (which you can read in full by following the link).

“The ancient Greeks were “the people of sight, of the spatial and plastic sense . . . as if they thought to transpose the flowing, fleeting, ever related elements of life into rest, space, limitation . . . The Jew did not see so much as he heard . . . His organ was the ear . . . When Elijah perceived G-d, he heard only a still, small voice. For that reason the Jew never made an image of his G-d.”

That is why the keyword of Judaism is Shema. G-d is not something we see, but a voice we hear. This is how Moses put it elsewhere in this week’s sedra, describing the supreme revelation at Mount Sinai:

Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. (Deut. 4: 12)”

“Shema Yisrael does not mean “Hear, O Israel”. It means something like:

Listen. Concentrate. Give the word of G-d your most focused attention. Strive to understand. Engage all your faculties, intellectual and emotional. Make His will your own. For what He commands you to do is not irrational or arbitrary but for your welfare, the welfare of your people, and ultimately for the benefit of all humanity.”

Please read again, (and again!), the words we know as “The Shema” in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.  This time with the benefit of the insight provided by Rabbi Lord Sacks echoing in your consciousness as you read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest … and you will be blessed.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections   43  

Torah portion                    Deuteronomy 1:1 to 3:22

Haftarah portion             Isaiah 1: 1-27  

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

“Devarim”, Deuteronomy in English, consists of a number of discourses by Moses, preparing the Israelites for life, as a nation, in their new land after his days. They are, in effect, farewell messages, reminding the people of the instructions God had provided them for living righteously with each other and with Himself. Just as Leviticus contains a lot of legal detail concerning the Levites, (the Priesthood) so Deuteronomy contains much legal detail for the laity.

Neither Leviticus nor Deuteronomy involve journeying’s. They are purely instructive, and in many cases repetitious of instructions given to Moses ‘on the mountain’.

In this first portion from Deuteronomy, Moses recites the progress which has been made over the past 40 years, from the captivity in Egypt to the banks of the River Jordan on the plains of Moab. They are reminded of God’s faithfulness in all their travels, as a prelude to His promised care for them as they enter the Promised Land.

Moses must have been sad when he confessed before the congregation of Israel in Chapter 1: 37,38 that he would not be with them as they went into the Land, but he graciously instructed them to encourage Joshua in the task that lay before him. He also reminded them, that because of lack of trust in the promises of God, all those who had wavered at Kadesh Barnea were now dead.

So this is a sort of series of ‘sermons’ before they ENTER the land.

Now let us move forward approximately 900 years. The HAFTARAH portion, from Isaiah 1, contains the first ‘sermon’ to them as Isaiah prophesies that unless they change their ways, it will not be long before they are EXPELLED from the land. (which they were a few short years later in 586 b.c.e.)

The Land gift to Abraham’s descendants is certainly unconditional, it is theirs by God given right, but the occupation of the land given in the Mosaic covenant has always been conditional. Moses carefully reminds the people of that condition. It is all about OBEDIENCE to the instructions for righteous living (Torah) which God prepared for those He calls “His special treasure”. People who live differently to those around them.

I was brought up as a young Christian to believe “once saved, always saved”. The land is ours, no-one can throw us out, live as we like, a loving God will forgive us!!  It is a most comforting state of mind. But that is not what my Bible says. What?  There are conditions? Yes there are conditions. Or at least a condition, and that condition is willing OBEDIENCE.

Read what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 11: 11-22. Then read what Samuel said in 1 Samuel 15:22.

To finish our ‘reflection’ today, we must look at the really good news. It is found in the HAFTARAH. Isaiah was tasked with giving the people a sharp reminder of their shortcomings. It is evident that they had become most neglectful in their obedience (or lack of it) to God’s instructions for righteous living. Then God in His amazing mercy, love and grace provides a way. To this saved, but neglectfully disobedient people, these words :-

 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are  red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; … Isaiah 1: 18,19

Those words are just as true for us today as they were for the Israelites of Isaiah’s day. Trust me, when you see the word IF in a sentence, as in the Scripture quotation above, it means that “there are conditions”.

Do you remember what Yeshua said in John 14:15 ? The more accurate Nestle-Aland Greek and United Bible Societies text (NU text) reads “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments”. So yes, there are conditions through which we show our love for Him.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    42

Torah Portion                   Numbers  30 : 1  to  36 : 13

Haftarah Portion           Jeremiah   2 : 4 –  28, and 3 : 4

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

This week there are TWO Torah portions, which are combined and read as one in ‘ordinary’ years, and read separately in leap years. The Hebrew calendar has 7 leap years in every 19 years. The reason for this is that the Hebrew calendar has a LUNAR cycle, whereas the Gregorian calendar has a SOLAR cycle.

The Lord continued to give Moses instructions regarding the occupation and division of the Land of Promise amongst the TWELVE  “ tribes” .. but they still do not “go in and possess the land”. (The actual borders of that Land of Promise is specified in Numbers chapter 34, it is far larger than the present day Land of Israel).  The taking of the Land would eventually come under Joshua’s leadership, after the death of Moses, but first it was necessary to ‘prepare the way’.

Numbers Chapter 33 is the historical account of the “stages” of the journey the Israelites have already made since their departure from Egypt almost 40 years earlier.

That explains the names given to these particular Torah portions.

Now another obstacle arises, the Midianites. The Midianites were a nomadic people descended from the fourth son born to Abraham by Keturah. Before Abraham died, and his inheritance was bequeathed to Isaac, he called his other sons together, settled a portion (called ‘gifts’ in the text) of his estate on them and sent them away. (Genesis  25:6) Just like Ishmael before him, Midian and his descendants became a problem for the Israelites thereafter. (Remember, Joseph’s brothers sold him to Midianite traders, who had formed an association with the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar.) Genesis 37:28. After the incident when Balaam was unable to pronounce a curse on the Israelites, it was the Midianite women who enticed the Israelite men to worship idols and foreign gods. (Numbers 25)

The children of Israel, probably over 2 million of them, together with their substantial herds of livestock were camped on ‘the plains of Moab’, present day Jordan, looking across the Jordan River to the land of Canaan. The Moabites had been subdued by the Amorites, and they in turn had been conquered by the Israelites.  TWO of the tribes, REUBEN and GAD liked the look of the place where they were camped and requested that they be allowed to make permanent settlement there. Moses agreed to this on condition that the Reubenites and the Gadites stood side by side with the other tribes in the conquest of the land occupied by the Canaanites. But first, they sent 12,000 men to remove the Midianites from the land, in fact to ‘prepare the way’.

They, the Midianites, were, “the little foxes that spoil the vine”. (Song of Solomon 2:15)

Here is the message for us in this part of the story. In typology, our journey to the Promised Land, follows our salvation. God has provided well defined instructions for righteous living (commandments and precepts) regarding our conduct if we are to remain in that “land”.

It is quite fashionable for those who totally misunderstand the teaching of the Apostle Paul to say, ‘you are not under law but under grace’. An eight word phrase at the end of a sentence, which very few people who quote it can tell you how that sentence begins.. or even the context of where appears in the scriptures. Furthermore, Yeshua taught very differently (Matthew 5 to 7) to the conventional church teaching on this phrase.

In our lives there are “midianites”, little foxes that spoil the vine, that need to chased out and put to death if we are to fully enjoy all that the Lord has prepared for us in His Land of Promise. In this context we could call it ‘preparing the way’. He seeks to bless us abundantly, but we have a part to play in making ourselves ready to receive that blessing.

Shabbat Shalom

RS