Zion's Voice

Torah Portion for 6th September - 12th September

Torah portion                  Deuteronomy 29: 9 to 30:20

Haftarah portion           Isaiah 61 : 10 – 63 : 9

“take a stand”

Read the Maker’s instructions

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 Aliya 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 August 22 “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 Portion for 23rd August - 5th September

Torah portion              Deuteronomy 26: 1 to 29:8

Haftarah portion        Isaiah 60 :1 - 22

“When you have come”

Promises of God .. Blessings and Curses

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 glory 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 founded 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 Portion for 23rd August - 29th August

Torah portion           Deuteronomy 21:10 to 25:19

Haftarah portion     Isaiah 54:1 - 10

“When you go out”

Mixed materials

As I reflect on the Torah portion this week I find it difficult to relate to the content from a ‘today’ perspective because the obvious cultural change which has taken place between the time of that writing and now.

However, there are principles involved which have not changed. We do not ‘invade’ territory of other nations in order to take people hostage as wives for ourselves for instance. But it is noteworthy, that even in those circumstances, the Torah prescribed rights and conduct which had the dignity and welfare of the unfortunate captive in mind.

As we look for an up to date message in our reading, this may provide one. Our newspapers today record many instances of ‘violence’ against women. These are often women who we may conclude were once loved by the perpetrator. Even within nominally ‘secure’ Christian marriages, we are aware that there are abuses (both overt and covert) against women which would never exist in Torah observant lives.

In chapter 22, we find the sin of ‘turning a blind eye’ and not doing that which we know to be right. We remind ourselves that the Hebrew word for ‘sin’ is “chata” which means to miss the mark. The Apostle James put it well in James 4: 17. “to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin”.

There is even the caution in this passage of ensuring a safe building code for houses. How up to date is that?

Perhaps the most well-known, and controversial, ordinance contained in this week’s reading is also found in chapter 22. It is the commandment regarding” Mixtures’. The example cited include :-

• Garments of mixed fibre e.g. linen and wool.
• Ploughing with mixed animals
• Sowing different crops together in the same field.

This week I searched the exposition of 12 different commentators on this subject. There is no commonality of view. I am encouraged by that, because the obvious conclusion is that God is God, He made the rules, and this is another of those occasions where we may conclude that God says  what He means and means what He says !!

I am reminded that when I took my first steps at obedience regarding what I should eat and what not to eat, a number of well-meaning friends informed me that the reason for the Biblical dietary laws was that there was no refrigeration in those days !!!!  Such insight !!  Is it so difficult to just take God at His word?

In relation to the “mixed fibres” in a garment, we know that linen is a product of the flax plant and it has superb qualities of comfort in garments. These days, ‘pure linen’ is quite rare and costly to produce. It was the material ordained to be worn by the High Priest when entering the Holy Place to appear before the Lord. No mixed materials here.

In Revelation 19, we read that ‘fine linen’ is the material of the garment of the wedding gown of the Bride of the Lamb. Furthermore, the scriptures explain that this ‘fine linen’ is “the righteous acts of the Saints”.  No mixed materials here.

I conclude my ‘reflection’ by quoting the exposition on this passage of scripture by Matthew Henry  :-

“God's providence extends itself to the smallest affairs, and his precepts do so, that even in them we may be in the fear of the Lord, as we are under his eye and care. Yet the tendency of these laws, which seem little, is such, that being found among the things of God's law, they are to be accounted great things. If we would prove ourselves to be God's people, we must have respect to his will and to his glory, and not to the vain fashions of the world. Even in putting on our garments, as in eating or in drinking, all must be done with a serious regard to preserve our own and others' purity in heart and actions. Our eye should be single, our heart simple, and our behaviour all of a piece”.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Portion for 16th August - 22nd August

Torah portion            Deuteronomy 16:18 to 21:9

Haftarah portion     Isaiah 51:12 – 52:12

“Judges”

Righteous living together

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. 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 is intent on building this people as a Nation of priests before Himself as a witness and example to the other Nations with whom they come 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.

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. A prophet like Moses!!  Think prayerfully about it.                       

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Portion for 9th August - 15th August

Torah portion        Deuteronomy 11:26 to 16:17

Haftarah portion   Isaiah 54:11 – 55:5

“Re’eh”

Keep My commandments

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 is 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 specific 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 Yeshau 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 Portion for 2nd August - 8th August

Torah portion            Deuteronomy 7:12 to 11:25

Haftarah portion     Isaiah 49:14   to  51:3

“ekev”

A special treasure for God

Moses continues to remind the people of the special status they have in the eyes of God. He wants them to KNOW that they are special, and different to the people they will eventually displace as they occupy the Land of Promise.

Immediately we pick up the message that those who are chosen to be part of His Kingdom, are likewise ‘special to God’. No exceptions. But just as in the case of the Israelites of old, that special status is retained through obedience to His commandments in the way we choose to live our lives. No exceptions.

In Deuteronomy 7::5, they have a specific instruction about destroying the altars, the sacred pillars, the wooden images and carved images.(see also Deuteronomy 12 and Deuteronomy 33) which are also referred to as “high places”. (It is these instructions which have caused an increasing number of Christians today to question the relevance and propriety of the celebration of Christmas and Easter, because neither are “mo’edim” of God, but both festivals have origins in pagan culture long past, and therefor considered to be ‘high places’ where the deity of that culture was worshipped).

Deuteronomy 7:8 has a phrase which is viewed as a ‘throw-away’ generalization by some, meaning ‘for a very long indeterminate time’ and as a phrase of great significance to others.  Since a generation is generally thought to be 40 years, the ‘thousand generations’ means 4,000 years. The point being that it is now approximately 4,000 years since God cut the covenant with Abram !!

The real burden of Moses heart, I think, is expressed in Chapter 8. Please take time to read it. He reminds the people of the faithfulness of God in their wilderness travels. He encourages the people with a description of the fruitfulness of the Land of Promise. Then he agonises over the thought that when they are settled there, have built a life there, are comfortable there, in their own eyes become self-sufficient, that they will become slack in their worship and obedience :-

"Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;  …….  then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' from  Deuteronomy 8 : 8-17

Moses words to these Israelites 3,500 years ago might well have been addressed to Australia in 2015. How easy it is to forget that even our very next breath is a gift of God. By His grace, we are blessed. We need always to give grateful thanks to God for ‘all His benefits’. It may be appropriate to remember the words of Yeshua to the rich ruler as recorded by three of the gospel writers. (Matthew 19, Mark 10 and Luke 18).

A final ‘reflection’ on this Torah portion is found in Deut. 11:10 – 12. Here Moses provides a brief description of the fruitfulness of the Land. Then in verse 12 a statement about the Land we know as Israel, which every Christian should have burned into their consciousness :-

“ …..  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.”

“Zion’s Voice” is a ministry of prayer and support for Israel. It did not come into being by accident. It was commenced by some ladies following the prompting of the Holy Spirit. What a special privilege those ladies have been granted to participate in a ministry which has benefit for those who are “a special treasure to God”, as is evident from the statement of Moses in Deuteronomy 11 quoted above.  

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Portion for 26th July - 1st August

Torah portion               Deuteronomy 3:23 to 7:11

Haftarah portion        Isaiah 40:1-26

“Va’etchanan”

As for God, His way is perfect

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 in 2015?  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 Portion for 19th July - 25th July

Torah portion  …….   Deuteronomy 1:1 to 3:22

Haftarah portion ….. Isaiah 1: 1-27

“Words”                                                                       

There are conditions ?

“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 Portion for 12th July - 18th July

Torah portion  …….   Numbers 30:2 to 36:13

Haftarah portion …. Jeremiah 2: 4 – 28 and 3: 4

Prepare the way

“Tribes / Stages”

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 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 be 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

Torah Portion for 5th July - 11th July

Torah portion             Numbers 25:10 to 30:1

Haftarah portion      Jeremiah 1: 1 to 2: 3

Counted .. for God!

Phinehas, was a grandson of Aaron. He was zealous for God. He had been trained as a child to know and love His precepts and commandments. He had a strong sense of what was right and what was wrong. Then in a time of deep crisis for the Israelites, he ‘stepped up to the plate’ and was counted for God.

The Book of Numbers (Bamidbar) is well named isn’t it? Here in our portion today we have another census. This time it is of men of arms- bearing age, those deemed ready for war. Doesn’t it strike you as a bit strange that God, in His wisdom, having brought these Israelites to the place where they could actually see the land He had promised to give them, that He then tells them that they are going to have to fight to possess it. It is a gift to them, YES, but it has to be taken by their own efforts. There is a ‘messianic’ message here I think. Our salvation certainly is a free gift of God through Messiah Yeshua, YES, but there are choices we have to make for ourselves in order to ‘live in the land’. It is the choice of being counted for God, not imagining we can go on with our lives in the same manner we were before He called us to Himself.

There are many preachers of ‘a prosperity gospel’ in churches today. It is an “easy” gospel. “Come to Jesus and have all your problems solved” is the message. I do not find that in my Bible. It is costly to be counted for God. Look only at the thousands of men and women who are martyred for their faith in Islamic countries today  .. and pray for them.  (Read Luke 24: 25 – 35 and see if you have a Bible like mine.)

Numbers 26  : 64,65 gives us a glimpse of the justice of the God of Israel. He had declared that those who had voted against the ‘short route’ conquest of the Promised Land would not enter it. In our passage today, we are told that they had all died in the wilderness travels (Numbers 14:23)

Using the same justice, God then acts to replace Moses for the journey into the Land. I am really sad. I feel so sorry for Moses, a faithful, humble man. To the Israelites, even to this very day, a GIANT of a man. But we need to take note that God uses all of His dealings with the Israelites for our instruction and understanding of Himself. One does  not need the intelligence of an Einstein to see that the lesson here is that we trifle with God at our peril. Remember Hebrews 10:31 again!

We cannot leave this portion, as it ends, without a mention of the ‘mo’edim’. The appointed times of the Lord. The children of Israel were about to enter the Land of Promise under the leadership of Joshua. During the past 38 years, they had been moulded into a disciplined people, an army no less. They had seen the Shekinah of God over the Tabernacle, they understood that God required them to worship Him in the way, and at the times, He had declared. Sure there had been times when they grumbled and grizzled about their lot. But they had a genuine “fear of the Lord”.

Now the time was near when God had put all the pieces into place.

Chapter 29 of Numbers is worthy of our ‘reflection’, and I commend it to you for private study. It details the observation of the festivals of the seventh month of their year. It is highly significant in understanding the prophetic significance of the final three festivals of the Lord. They are prophetic of the return to this Earth of Yeshua Ha’maschiach.

Trumpets .. which herald the return of the Lord/

Day of Atonement .. which heralds the final judgement.

Tabernacles .. which is the great ingathering, and speaks of the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Hands up all those who want to be there for this marriage supper.

Those who will be at this last feast will, I believe, be those who have been “counted for God”. It is never too late to begin the journey.

Shabbat shalom

RS