Feeling Judged?

Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9, Shoftim, “Judges”

This section of scripture covers a wide range of the laws given to the children of Israel through Moses.  Included in this section of scripture is an outline on the appointment of the Judges, Priests, and Kings.  There is a section on the evil of divination and occult practices followed by a section on honoring the words of THE prophet of God.  The laws surrounding the cities of refuge are recounted and there is a section that discusses the evils of murder, false witness, and the moving of land markers.  The final section addresses some interesting laws surrounding war and who could be excused from participation.

I think the term “Judges” really does a GREAT job summarizing this section of scripture.  In this blog, I am going to share a personal perspective.  In doing so, I will present both sides of the discussion.  As a starting point, it is important for me to point out that, sadly, this is rarely the case when it comes to theological discussion.  In most cases, people present their views as “truth” and avoid sharing the rational understanding of their counterpart.  Sometimes I may present this way but please hear that my heart when I say that I understand that what I share is “how I see it”.

In Deuteronomy 16:18-17:13 Moses outlines the responsibilities of the Judges.  In 17:9-13 he outlines our responsibility to accepting and living by what is passed down by the judges and priests.  These are the verses that some people would use to support the argument that we should not only strive to live lives in harmony with the Laws, statutes, and ordinances outlined in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, but even to live in harmony with the more expanded “Torah”.  The expanded Torah includes additional writings and even oral traditions passed down through the ages.  Within this interpretation, according to Deuteronomy 17:12-13 someone who does not embrace this expanded Torah is acting presumptuously and is evil in the sight of the Lord.

That all sounds fairly straight forward doesn’t it?  So, how is it that I believe that it is biblical to not honor the expanded Torah while believing that I am not acting presumptuously or in a way that God would see as evil?

Let’s start with Deuteronomy 4:2 “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”

From my view, I see the written laws, status, and ordinances as the perfect foundation for a life devoted to a relationship with God and others.  What I believe to be true in what God is saying here is that if we add to what He has given it will become a burden that oppresses the people and no longer encourages the development of the relationship.  At the same time, if we remove anything the foundation becomes too weak and does not support us in all the areas that we need to be pressed in our desire to grow in the most intimate relationships possible.

The argument from those who hold the theology that we should honor the more expanded Torah is that these things that I see as being added are not actually being added but more so greater clarifications to what has already been given.  As noted, they see that the judges and priests were given this latitude through this section of Deuteronomy.

So, what gives?

In Deuteronomy 18:16-19 God uses Moses to remind the people that when He came to them on Mount Zion, they became fearful and stopped God after the first ten commandments.  God agreed that what they had requested was wise and led Moses to the top of the mountain where He gave them the balance of the commandments, statues, and ordinances.  I believe that the Prophet God is referring to in Deuteronomy 18 is Jesus.  In John 15-16 we hear of Jesus sharing with his disciples that it would be better for Him to leave them then to stay because in His absence, He would send from the father, the spirit of truth.  I believe that this “spirit of truth” was given to move us out from under the same religious fear as the children of Israel and into the one on relationship that God has always desired for us.

In Romans 8:15 we hear Paul speaking to us in regard to this “fear” of the truth and how this “fear” of truth stems from a “slave” mentality that leads to religion and a works-based relationship with God.  What Paul is saying in Romans 8:15 is that we no longer have to live like the children of Israel in fear of hearing the entire truth or sending a mediator to talk to God for us.

Where Paul is going with this is that there is “no condemnation in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) and as such, we do not have to worry about hearing the ENTIRE TRUTH because this is NOT a works based relationship with God and any shortcoming on our part will NOT lead to our eternal damnation and separation from Him.  Paul is emphasizing that this awareness is foundational to a faith-based walk with Yeshua and that only in this faith-based walk do we move out from a flesh-based mindset into a spirit-based approach to life.  I will dig into this more next week as we look at the next section of Deuteronomy, Hebrews, Galatians, and Ephesians.  But for now, what I am trying to convey is that by the time God sent Jesus, things had gone very astray.

By the time God had sent Jesus, the Jewish people were looking at Gentiles as hopelessly unclean beings created that way by God.  They had also set up a complex religious system and had tied that religious system to salvation.  I am not going to get into all of the things that God used Jesus to set straight, but will address a few.  First off, Gentiles were not made unclean.  This is the point of Peter’s vision with the sheet and what God DID make unclean.  Jesus came to tear down the wall between Jew and Gentile and to create a one new man.  He also came to teach and demonstrate that salvation is through faith and not through works.  He also came to stand against the hypocrisy of the teachers and to help move the people away from a burdensome religious system back into a faith-based relationship with Torah.  In so doing, He walked with mankind providing us with a clear understanding of many things.

Where I really want to go with this is in looking at how Jesus responded to people and discuss some of his teachings.  Based on the approach to Deuteronomy 16-17 outlined above, Jesus as our high priest and the prophet sent by God, would have “expanded” Torah to include lust and hate into legally binding laws (from the sermon on the mount).  Furthermore, He would have imposed that all people sell all of their possessions and give them to the poor if they want to inherit the kingdom of God (as He instructed the rich young man).  I could go on and on but I think I have made the point.  The reality is, Jesus relied on God the Father to give Him the spiritual insight to respond to each person based on what they needed to hear based on their own personal walk with Him.  Paul summarizes this when he tells us that if eating meat or drink alcohol is a sin conviction to someone, then it is sin for them.  At the same time that does not make it sin to others.

What I see so deeply engrained in what Jesus provided and what we have been given in the New Testament writings is the breaking of this religious yoke.  I believe God has a desire to move us into a personal one on one relationship with Him.  In this personal relationship we are living by faith that we WILL receive the promises of the covenant and as such are free to embrace all the Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances outlined in the basic Torah.   In this relationship we are no longer slaves to this foundation but bondservants of faith.  In and through this God will use the foundation to speak to us just as Jesus did when He spoke to those we read about.  In so doing, we will grow in our insight and understanding leading us toward ultimate truth in and through our relationship with the Holy Spirit.  We will be able to look at this truth without fear of loosing the promises and as such forever be pushed into greater growth and freedom.

This is all great, but, if it is not in harmony with the commandments of God as provided by Moses, I have a problem.  

So, let’s go back and look at what Moses actually says in this section of scripture.  What I am seeing in my heart of hearts is that this entire section of scripture is devoted to civil issues.  From what I see, the judges, with the help of the priests, were given authority over rulings between people.  Moses is telling us that we are to abide by the “terms of the verdict” with respect to their rulings.  There is a substantial difference between spiritual matters between people and God and civil disputes between people and people.  

For the most part, the rulings on the interactions between people can be used to create case law because the issues are all about justice.  At the same time, the rulings that would be applicable to a discussion between a person and the Holy Spirit are not.  Each person has a unique relationship with God.  We each have our own idols, fears, hurts, attitudes, habits, and patterns of life.  Jesus responded to each person based on their own personal issues.  Similarly, Yeshua, through the Holy Spirit is there for each of us in the same way today.  We simply cannot take what the Holy Spirit has revealed to us and impose that onto another person.  Holy Spirit revelation is simply not of the context to use for “case law” and this is what I believe the heart of God is in Deuteronomy 4 and why He tells us not to add to His perfect law.

In Deuteronomy 17:6 we are told that a person is found guilty on the evidence of two or three witnesses.  In the case of a civil infraction that becomes the judicial system.  In my opinion, man cannot determine what is in the heart of another man and as such the judicial system fails at expanding Torah in such a way to facilitate growth and relationship.  In the case of spiritual matters, the two primary witnesses come down to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.  Often God will lead another person into our lives to confirm what He is already attempting to communicate.  These people, teachers, friends, or relatives become the third witness.  

As spirit filled disciples of Jesus Christ, we are free to move out from under a fear of loosing the promises of God and into believing that we can hear the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  We are free to receive the deeper understandings of the law, statutes, and ordinances as we mediate upon them, and we are free to allow the foundation that He provided to become all that He provided it for.  As we progress through this faith relationship with the truth, we are free to become free as we live out our days in service to Him.  I pray that this has been a blessing to you.  Amen.

Always and Never, Together At Last

Deuteronomy 11:26-16:7, Re’eh, BEHOLD

Moving into this week I am being challenged not to get up on my soap box and make this entire blog circulate around one VERY important scripture.  My spirit is calling me to another subject and that is where I will spend the majority of my writing.  However, as noted last week, I do believe that the primary messages I have been called to share are from God and as such a major calling on my life.  As such, it is important to mention this one scripture and point out the implications while allowing God to lead me to other areas of scripture that He is attempting to reveal.  The implications of this one scripture not only tie us to one of the messages that is so deeply embedded into my being, but it is also foundational to our understanding of the principals that I will share in the remainder of the text.

On first read, the following script may seem very simple and mater of fact.  However, there is something very important being stated.

[Deuteronomy 13:1-5 NASB] 1 "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,' 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 "You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk.

In the first half of this scripture the message is pretty easy to get.  If someone claiming to be a prophet is attempting to lead us toward other gods we are not to follow even if they are performing great signs and wonders.  The next part gets a little more challenging when God tells us that He will be giving/allowing this false prophet the ability to perform these signs and wonders as a test of our love of Him.  The third part of this verse becomes a bit more challenging again when it expands the definition of this false prophet’s teachings as those that would lead us away from His commandments and “seduce you away from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk”.

At this point I am going to ask you to take a second and ponder what is being said.  Now, let me paraphrase:  “Beware to follow the teachings of any prophet who teaches that the commandments of God are no longer applicable, have been replaced, are out dated, not necessary, are simply ritual, are a burden, or any other reason that may sound attractive, logical, and enticing for you to believe even if that prophet can perform signs and wonders.  If such a prophet comes along, they are to be put to death because they are a false prophet sent by God to test your love.” 

Now, take a second and consider what traditional theology teaches about Jesus and Paul.  In the context of traditional theology, what is someone who loves God to do?  If Jesus is who we know Him to be and if Paul and his writings are to be embraced, we MUST understand them in the context of a true prophet who would not teach against the commandments of God or the “way in which He commanded us to walk (as outlined in Deuteronomy where this scripture is found in context)”.  This forces us to look at Jesus and Paul and decide if we believe they are the true prophets that we believe them to be.  If they are, and we have held onto traditional theology, then our image of them and their teachings must change.  If we cannot see their teachings in a way that supports the Old Covenant laws, statutes, and ordinances, then our image of them as prophets must change.  Either way, this scripture boxes us into a corner and forces us to evaluate our walk with New Testament theology, Paul’s writings, and Jesus.

With that in mind, let’s look at two more scriptures from this week’s Torah portion.

[Deuteronomy 15:4-5 & 11 NASB] 4 "However, there will be no poor among you, since the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, 5 if only you listen obediently to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today. ……….. 11 "For the poor will never cease [to be] in the land; therefore, I command you, saying, 'You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.'

Every time I have read this in the past, I have seen it as a contradiction and kept on reading.  This time I stopped and meditated a bit on it and soon the answer came to me.  Between these two verses is a discussion of an aspect of the law that outlines the process of lending and debt forgiveness.  The commandment is that we are to lend to those who are needy.  The one who is needy is to do the best they can to repay the debt.  However, if the 7^th year of a debt forgiveness cycle comes along before that person can repay the debt, the debt is to be forgiven.  Torah even goes as far as to tell us to watch our hearts and not be perverted by fear of financial loss if that needy person comes to us in the 6^th year of a given cycle. 

What I finally saw that I had never before seen is this:  God was telling the Jewish people that there would be people who would come upon hard times from time to time and would be needy.  However, if the people would obey His commandments and lend and forgive, then there would never be anyone who would have to live in a state of need because their needs would have been met by others within the community.  The challenge in keeping the commandment is for the needy one to ask for the help and to allow the debt to be forgiven if the 7^th year came and they were not able to repay the debt.  At the same time, there had to be people willing to honor God’s ways and be willing to lend even when they knew “lending” was going to actually be “giving”.  There are many reasons that someone might find themselves in a position of need.  I tend to believe that this could be the result of some sin in their lives, the result of God seeing an area of pride or needed growth, or even to create the opportunity to test the hearts of others.  We are never to assume that someone is in need just because of their own poor choices or behaviors.  The point is, having some be in a position of need challenged the people of Israel to remain in faith and continue in their trust and belief in God.  Those who were in need would grow, and those who had plenty would grow.  Everyone would be tested, and if they did as they were instructed, no one would go without.  God would make sure of it.

This concept took on new meaning during my Torah Club preparation.  First Fruits of Zion pointed out that the word used to describe “what we give to the poor” is literally interpreted as “righteousness”.  As soon as I read this, I started seeing a parallel between the financially poor and those that are struggling in having any kind of righteousness in their lives.  From there my mind went to those who are needing forgiveness.  I began to see that this teaching on keeping God’s ways in the most literal sense would provide a society where there would never be people remaining in a state of financial need.  At the same time, I began to see that as the Jewish people would honor the ways of God in a physical sense while understanding the spiritual implications they could have a society where although there would be people who would temporarily find themselves in an unholy, unclean, or unrighteous stance, there would never be people living in a “state of unholiness, uncleanliness, or unrighteousness”.  From there, I realized that the third realm of the reality of these things is the moving fully into the Spirit.  In our inability to fully walk in all aspects of the righteousness of God there will be sin.  There will be people who bring hurt and pain into the lives of others.  It may be through not honoring the letter of the law, or it may be in not honoring the Spirit of the law.  Either way, people are people and we hurt each other.  When this happens, we become needy of forgiveness and it is in the spiritual understanding of the nature of God and our walk with Him that we come alongside Him and extend what He has given us.  FORGIVENESS!!

Re-phrasing what was outlined in Deuteronomy 15:4-5 & 11 we could say:

Even though there will always be people who come into short term financial need, as long as you honor the laws of lending, there will never be anyone who will have to live in a state of need amongst you.

Even though there will always be people who slip up from time to time, as long as you focus as much on the commandments of re-establishing each other into a righteous state with God as much as you do the commandments that lead to an unrighteous state, there will never be people living in a perpetual state of spiritual need amongst you.

Even though there will always be people who hurt others from time to time, as long as you all are willing to forgive each other as you have been forgiven, there will never be those living in a perpetual state of self-condemnation amongst you.

Going back to the scripture on the lending of money and the debt forgiveness I see paralleling principles that apply.

The person in financial need must be willing to go to others for financial help and allow those others to lend them money even if they know they will not be able to pay the money back by the end of the 7^th year in the lending cycle.  They must drop their pride, acknowledge they need help, and go to others for assistance.  At the same time, the person who has enough must be willing to lend the money even if they know the money will not be paid back.  They must let go of the love of money and their own pride.  They must allow God to use this opportunity to show them where they might be judging the one in need believing that if they would have been more _________, they wouldn’t be in that spot.  They must acknowledge that it is God’s money and not theirs.  It is His to do with as He pleases.  If He replenishes it, He does, if He doesn’t, then that’s OK too.

Similarly, the person who sins against the commandments of God must be willing to go to the priest.  They must drop their pride and acknowledge that they have moved into an unclean, unholy, or unrighteous stance and seek God’s chosen intercessor to reestablish them into a holy, clean, and righteous stance.  The priest must move beyond any sense of pride and judgement and appreciate that they too seek their righteousness from Yeshua our savior and redeemer and what they are extending is not coming from them, but from Him.  Today, we have direct access to Yeshua as He fulfills the role of High Priest in our lives and operates from this place of humility.

Finally, the person who hurts another must be willing to repent, acknowledge what they have done, and ask for forgiveness.  They must move beyond their pride of believing that they should have been better than they were and that they are somehow “above” what they did.  They must acknowledge that they will never be fully capable of repaying the "debt" of their sin and that it is only through Yeshua and His grace that their spiritual needs are satisfied.  At the same time, those who have been hurt must realize that maybe God is using their pain and suffering to lead another hurt and lost soul to their knees before Him.  They must acknowledge that a request for forgiveness may never come but extend the forgiveness anyway.  They must operate in a realm of intercession, love, and understanding regardless as to if that love and understanding will every be returned.  Again, He is the one who will carry us through these moments and what we are giving is only what we have been given.  It is His to use as He pleases and it is not ours to hold onto.

I pray that this has been a blessing to you and that through it you have come to see a new perspective; A perspective that will allow you to live more freely, in greater peace, and in greater love.

 

Because

Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25, Ekev, "Because"

When I sit down to write these blogs, my pattern is to write on the Torah portion from the previous week.  I do this for several reasons.  Mostly, it puts my writing after I have allowed myself the greatest exposure to where the Spirit may be leading me.  

First I do my own reading and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal what is personal to me.  Then, I do my study and preparation for the weekly Torah Club I attend on Wednesdays.  As I go through their literature, I am led down a path that First Fruits of Zion felt the Holy Spirit’s leading relative to their ministry.  Wednesday mornings are usually dedicated to writing about the prior week’s Torah Portions and this reminds me of where we were the week before and sets a foundation of continuity as to where the Holy Spirit may be leading me into this week’s journey.

During Wednesday night’s time together at Torah Club, I am given another perspective as the facilitator of the group will take what First Fruits of Zion has provided and blend it together with where the Holy Spirit is leading her and present the material from that slant.  As the week moves on, I might watch a few movies, go to the Aleph Beta site and watch a few teachings, or do some other reading.  Life happens and through the experiences of life I find that the principles the Holy Spirit is revealing are being presented in real and tangible ways through all the nuances of life.

Finally, the Sabbath arrives, I spend Saturday starting this cycle over as I move into the upcoming week’s readings while also holding onto the readings associated with the week we are still in.  Saturday evening a small group of us meet here at my home and it is during this time that the foundations of the blog I will be writing during the upcoming week are formed.  During this group discussion I try to follow where I believe the Holy Spirit has led me through all of what has been presented to me through the week I have lived with this particular section of scripture at the front of my mind.  As others share, new insights are added to what I have felt, and I feel a confirmation as to where the Spirit is leading me to write.  Over the next few days I spend some time reflecting over what I have “heard” and prepare myself for this time of writing.

My final preparation is to clear my mind, sit down in front of my computer, and begin typing.  I usually have a concept of where I am being led, but I try not to be too specific in where I believe I will go and how I will say what will ultimately be said.  As I begin typing, bits and pieces of what I have been “shown” and what I have “seen” come to the surface and the writing flows forth.  Usually there are new understandings and insights that I have not even considered through the previous ten days journey with the scriptures.  This is why most writers will say that even though they write for others, they are truly writing for themselves.  I simply would not see what I see without this commitment to share what He is giving me with others.  Do you see the double meaning in the answer of “I write because”?

There are two things that I really want to focus on today and I believe they are interconnected and they both stem from this concept of “because”.  Ultimately, they tie back to what was shared last week in regard to “Why God would bless us and/or curse us over what appears to be such trivial laws and rituals”, what the purposes are of the blessings, and ultimately who our covenant with Him is really all about.

The first concept I would like bring up is a soap box.  Have you ever heard the expression about someone getting on a soap box?  This expression comes from times past when someone would come into town and have a message to share.  In an effort to elevate themselves above the people and be more easily heard they would grab a shipping container and stand upon it as an impromptu stage.

The point is, all of us have soap box ideas that we are passionate about.  It’s OK.  I believe that this is a major part of being in the Body of Christ.  The Holy Spirit has created each of us differently and put a burning within us relative to different aspects of who He is.  This area of great passion can tend to lead us in seeing this particular message in any section of scripture that we read, message we hear, or teaching we are presented with. 

The challenge is to get off our soap box long enough to let the Holy Spirit use the scriptures and other people’s revelation to lead us into new areas of understanding.  As a facilitator, it is vitally important to “get off my soap box” or I will find that every message I share has the same basic concept.  As a facilitator I must understand that this passion is from the Holy Spirit and is what God is asking me to bring into the Body.  At the same time, I must understand when to put that aside, be open to where the Spirit is leading me, and present new and refreshing ideas each time I am called to facilitate and lead. 

We must remember that everything does not revolve around our particular passions and that God has a greater purpose in and through us on a moment by moment basis.  We must be willing to do this “because”.  In this week’s reading the word “because” takes on new insight and in this comparison back to our particular passions and the putting down of the soap boxes we tend to carry around with us there are three “becauses” I would like us to consider:

• Because He wants us to open up so that we can see, hear, and carry something new,
• Because He wants us to carry this new thing so that He can use us to share it with others, and
• Because He wants to use this process to lead us and them into greater freedom and Christ likeness.

On Friday I had a chain of events that led me into a place where I found myself emotionally involved and responding in a way that I have not done in a really long time.  This led to some repentance, and a lot of time with God, and those I turn to who I know can speak truth to me.  During these conversations I learned a lot about myself.  At the same time, I became more confused about what to do with what I was seeing.  In one hand, I learned that I tend to let myself be taken advantage of and that good character wouldn’t allow this.  On the other hand, scripture teaches us that the world will take advantage of us, and as His followers, this is to be expected.  So, what am I to do?  Grow in my character and not let myself be taken advantage of, or grow in my Christlikeness and not let it bother me when I do?

After spending some time in prayer, the answer came to me.  Because.  you see, the problem is we are this or that in our thinking and not this and that.  Hebrews reminds us that anytime the priest would go into the Holy of Holies for the purpose of interceding for the people of Israel he would first have to spend one on one time with God and get himself right with Him first.

It wasn’t a question of “OK God, which do I do today, get right with you myself, or come before you to intercede for the people”.  It was simple.  “OK God, first I need to get right with you, so that I am capable of interceding for the people.”  In this we get the answer to the great “because”.

When things happen in our lives and we are moved into emotional circumstances that push us to becoming what we don’t like to be we must go before God and ask why.  When we do, He will respond back with two answers.  It isn’t until we get through the first that we are capable of hearing the second.  The first because is always about us, our freedom, our journey with Him, and our journey in this world.  It is for freedom that He made us free (Galatians 5:1).  At the same time, it is only in our freedom that He can use us to lead the world to Him and their own freedom.  That is the second and GREATER because.

This takes us full circle back to what was shared last week and is the heart of this week’s readings.  The heart of the covenant that God has with us is about the hurt and lost people of the world.  He blesses us to give us tools so that He can reach them His way, not as a response to how committed we are to the tools He has given us.  (you might want to read that again).

What I came to realize is that no two situations are the same and no two people are the same.  Because of this, the intercession (and the interaction) must be different in each situation.  However, it isn’t until we experience the growth that we need to experience that we can be open to and of the character to intercede and interact as He would have us.  Once we get right with God and come to understand the heart of our emotional response to a given situation, we can let God transform us in a way that allows us to be more greatly used by Him.  Once in this position we are now capable of listening to Him and hearing how He wants to use us in the lives of others. 

What the world would view as codependent might be what God is calling us to do in the name of love.  On the other hand, what may appear as unloving in the eyes of a scripture that calls us to allow the world to take advantage, may be the very response God is asking of us.  God may be attempting to use us to move that person into a new area of growth.  Allowing ourselves to be taken advantage of would only reinforce the old patterns that have that person in a self-destructive life cycle.  In this case, standing up and pointing out the wrong may be the very thing that is “best”.  In this case we must remember that there doesn’t have to be conflict in confrontation.  When confrontation is done in true love there is no conflict but relationship and intimacy.  The "truth" must revolve around them, not us.

The bottom line is this.  Every day we are flooded with choices.  Each time a choice presents itself we make a decision.  Those decisions are typically entered into because of emotions.  Our daily growth is to allow ourselves to investigate how we may have missed an opportunity to be used by God in a positive way because we acted on our emotions instead of His calling.  In the past two weeks, I missed at stopping at two accidents that I should have stopped at because I allowed my emotions to dictate my interaction (or lack thereof).

This is the great because.  Because He loves us.  Because He loves the world.  Because He wants us to be free.  Because He wants them to be free.  Because it is in our freedom that we become available for Him to use us.  Because it is in our freedom that we are most like Christ who said “I do nothing on my own initiative” (John 8:28).  Because this is what we have been called for, called to, and been given.  Because this is the promise.  Because this is what is possible.

I pray that this has been a blessing to you, and that in and through what the Holy Spirit has spoken to you in this brief time together, you have learned something about you that will help Him use you in a new and exciting way.  Amen.

The First Great Commission

Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11, "And I Besought", Va’etchanan

This section of scripture again has a multitude of subjects that each deserve our time and attention.  Included in this section of scripture is:

• Moses re-telling his last plea to God to allow him entry into the promised land and God refusing,
• Moses again seeming to blame the people of Israel for God not allowing him to enter,
• Moses shares how God will use Israel to lead the nations to Himself and His ways,
• Moses makes a prophetic statement regarding the future of Israel (Deuteronomy 4:25-31),
• Moses recounts the Ten Commandments and the circumstance of how the people cut God off and asked Moses to intercede for the balance of what God had to share, and
• Moses shares three reasons behind God’s giving them the promised land. 

Of these, I am going to focus on:

• Moses shares how God will use Israel to lead the nations to Himself and His ways, and
• Moses shares three reasons behind God’s giving them the promised land.

In sharing these, we will come to understand the importance and relevance the others have to these foundational aspects of this section of scripture.

In Deuteronomy 4:1-8 we find Moses sharing what God has shown him about Israel taking possession of the promised land and how God will use them to lead the rest of the world to Him and His ways.  This is one of my favorite sections of scripture.  It is the “Great Commission” in the Torah.  In this, we find the heart of God relative to so many things.  This is one of my go to scriptures when people ask me about the application of God’s laws within the context of the New Covenant and how relevant they are to non-Jewish believers.  I believe this section of scripture really makes us look inside and consider some very hard questions relative to our heart attitude toward the laws, statutes, and ordinances given to Israel from God.  More importantly, it forces us to look at the commission God has on our lives.

As we look at the commission on our lives, we are led into even deeper thought regarding “the blessing and the curse” and what God’s purposes are in blessing us and bringing curses into our lives.  I know that even me just stating that God brings curses into our lives may have led some people to feeling a need to pull away from this.  If you are one of those people, I encourage you to stick with me a bit longer.  I’m not going to belabor this point but I will make this one point.  The challenge against God that the serpent put forth to Eve in the garden was “did God really say?”.  If we look at the context of the entire sermon called “Deuteronomy” I see one main point.  It is, Moses telling the people “God surely did say”.  I believe the greatest sin of the church is minimizing the importance of what God said and believing that what He says about how He will interact with us if we do not listen doesn’t apply to us.  In our flesh we wash away the importance of what we don’t understand and redefine God into our own image.  We must acknowledge that “Surely God did say”.  It really is that simple.

The question we are looking at today is why.  Why such harsh curses?  How can such a harsh response be love?  Why would God respond so harshly over what appears to be such trivial things? 

Have you ever stopped to consider the other side of the coin?  Why such amazing blessings?  How can such amazing blessings be connected to such trivial life choices?  Why would God bless us in such an exuberant way for making an effort to live in harmony with a way of life that is healthier and provides beautiful times of worship and celebration? 

I guess the first question would be, why do we believe anything God gives us is trivial?  This really is where we must start and this is a personal journey for each of us.  Maybe we aren’t that different form the children of Israel who stopped God after the first ten commandments and sent Moses up to talk to God about the rest.  Are we making the same mistake?  Are we telling God we don’t want to talk to Him about these things?

One of the resources I like to go to each week in my Torah study time is an online source called AlephBeta.  Each week they do a video teaching on the Torah Portion.  Their presentation is fantastic and the depths of their insight well worth considering.  In this week’s video “why God promised Israel the land” https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/why-god-promised-israel-the-land they present a wonderful understanding to God blessing Israel with the promised land.  I am going to take that teaching and go one step further and use it to help us view all of God’s blessings from this stand point.

In their presentation, they pointed out that through Moses God gave the children of Israel three reasons for why they were being given the promised land:

• Because of their obedience to the Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances,
• Because of the covenant promises made to Abraham, and
• Because of the evil of the people (not because of their own righteousness).

They point out that on first glance these seem to be contradictory statements.  But, in fact they are not.  I believe the connection between these three “reasons” is found in Deuteronomy 4:1-8 and what I refer to as “The First Great Commission.”  Let’s look at verses 5-8: 5 "See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it.  "So keep and do [them,] for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'  "For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the LORD our God whenever we call on Him?  "Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?

Here are the bullet points:

• Keeping the Laws, Statutes, and Judgements is our wisdom,
• The world will see this wisdom and acknowledge those who follow God’s ways as wise and understanding,
• This will lead the world to the Lord our God, and
• This will lead the world to seeing ALL of God’s ways as righteous.

This implies that they would allow this understanding to lead them to putting away their gods and accepting the Lord our God, and replacing their ways of life with the “whole Law” because in their view it is not trivial, stupid, pointless, outdated, or mere ritual, but “righteous”.

Taking this understanding back to the teaching on “why God promised Israel the land” and applying it to the blessing and the curse will lead us into an understanding that will help us trust that “God surely did say” and why such amazing blessings and such harsh curses are tied to what appears to be so trivial when compared to the greater commandments of love, mercy, and justice.

Here are the two main points:

• There are a lot of religions and anti-religions that believe that unity with god and spiritual enlightenment is all about love, mercy, and justice.  Living by His ways is what makes us different and leads them away from their gods and to the Lord our God.
• His ways are important to Him because He loves us.  When He gave us His ways, He gave us a gift.  He wants us to share this gift with the world because He loves them too.  He wants them to have the same wisdom and life that He offered us.

Putting it all together this is what it looks like.

• For the world to see “us” we must be a presence in the world.  This requires children and the blossoming of the family tree.  To become a nation, we must have land.
• To catch the attention of the nations around us, we must live in peace, be blessed with abundance, and remain in peace when things don’t go our way. 

Understanding how this relates to the three seemingly contradictory reasons as to why “God blesses us” leads us to the true revelation of this section of scripture.  This understanding puts, not only the blessing into perspective, but also gives us greater insight into “the curse”, why the progression of the curse is what it is, and the prophetic statements that Moses makes about the future of Israel and our journey with God.  Going one step further, this even helps us understand why Yeshua will return to earth, set up His earthly kingdom, and why He will institute all of God’s ways as the ways of the land.

The point is that God wants to use us to lead the world to Him and His Gift (His way of life) because the people of the world are evil and He wants to set them free from that evil.  The expanding family tree, the land, nor the blessings are rewards for living in harmony with His ways.  These things are provided because they are our testimony and the tools by which we are to lead the world to Him and His ways.  However, if we are not living by His ways, and He would continue to bless us, allow us to live in the land, and continue to make us a thriving nation, we would not lead the world to His ways but only to Him.  This is simply not acceptable to Him.  As such, He cannot perpetuate the blessings and must fall back on curses and remove us from the land to lead us back to His ways so that we can fulfill the fullness of the commission on our lives.  This is the foundation of the covenant that He established with Abraham and is the foundation of our relationship with Him.  It is as easy as 1, 2, 3.  The reasons work together and are not in conflict with each other.

As God allowed me to see the greater image of this understanding it really put me into a place of appreciation and humility for all of the blessings that He has bestowed upon me.  It really made me think about the interactions that I have had with some of the more “evil” people in this world, and how His blessings have not been on my merit, but for the purposes of putting me in a place where I have the ability to be an impact in the lives of those people.  It reminded me of how faithful He is, how He will more than replace what those hurt and lost people have taken, and how His doing so is based on the promises that He made to my ancestors and to me.  All of this is helping keep me grounded in knowing that the blessings are not for me, not because of how I strive to live by His ways, nor because of how I interact with the hurt and lost people of this world.  His blessings are given because of Him, because of the calling that He has on my life, and because of them.  He has blessed me because He loves them and He wants to use me to lead them to Him and His ways.  It really is that simple.  My working with Him does not cause the blessings as a reward for me, but perpetuates them so He can reach THEM.

I pray that this has been a blessing to you, that it will impact your life in a mighty and powerful way, and that what has been shared will deepen and enrich your relationship with Him and those around you.