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CHAPTER 26
1. "Now [this is how] it must be when you come [ki-thavo'] into the Land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance, [after] you take possession of it and settle in it:
When: literally “because”. The fact that YHWH fulfills His promise to bring us into His Land is enough reason to give back to Him the best of what it brings forth. (v. 2, 3) After having been away for so long, we can appreciate it even more. The first modern settlers who came back to pioneer the restoration were overwhelmed at the importance of the places that surrounded them. Its flow of milk and honey was much slower this time, but they have been priming the pump, and it is coming. Inheritance: “what flows down from above or from what came before”. To receive an inheritance, we need to have a right to it. What qualifies us as legal inheritors of the Land? The only way to have the inheritance of Israel is to become Israel. We cannot receive what is Israel’s if we cling to the Church’s doctrines. Take possession: or "take it over" (including dispossessing whomever now possesses it—not Yehudah but enemies who have been allowed to stay--and taking ownership). The root word for “settle” connotes permanence (being "planted" as Amos 9:15 says), getting in touch with it, connecting with the Land, even “marrying” it, i.e., “settling down”. This chapter is about providing for others from what is within our household—making sure that the disadvantaged and powerless are not only fed and cared form but that they have a nice time of it. What other nation’s laws are like that? When we enter the Land we are all sojourners in YHWH’s space, who eat from the old grain of the Land until we can farm it and are empowered to be hospitable with what He has given us—which is one important way to thank Him. That is what the tithe is really about. We know we have truly settled into the Land when we bring forth fruit from it, as a marriage is more complete when the couple has children together. Israelites will not truly be able to be at rest anywhere else, so Israel must take authority over it all, or we will continue to be overrun by enemies. Yehudah is proving to have a difficult time holding onto it all without the rest of Israel.
2. "You shall take [some] of the beginning of all the fruit of the ground that you shall bring from your Land, which YHWH your Elohim is giving to you, and you shall put it in the basket and go to the place where YHWH your Elohim shall choose to make His Name dwell.
Some of the fruit: How much? The gift is as big as your heart allows. You can weigh where your heart is by the simple command to love your neighbor as yourself. How much is enough? The answer is found by asking how much you would want someone else to bring if you were on the receiving end, dependent on their offering to eat. If it would be enough for you, you know it is enough for the priest. “Do unto others as you would want them to do to you” is always the answer. From the very first crops we grow in the Land, we will need to do this, so we need to get in practice now instead of waiting until we are there to begin to learn how to do this. Do not partake of any until we have given Him His share, which acknowledges that He is the one who provided it all. We may be able to thank Him for the great soil that allows us to eat and be full wherever we are, but it can never be an adequate substitute for our ultimate inheritance. Beginning: This Land is a step in our return to Eden. The basket: used in chapter 28 in conjunction with kneading-bowls; the emphasis seems to be on what one uses to collect the fruit initially to bring it home for processing. The same vessel is then used to bring some of it all the way home to YHWH.
3. "And you shall come to whomever is the high priest in those days, and tell him, ‘I acknowledge today to YHWH your Elohim that I have arrived in the Land that YHWH swore to our forefathers that He would give to us.'
“Your” Elohim? The high priest’s? Why not “our Elohim”? Because now that we are in a fruitful place, YHWH’s particular provision for the Levitical priest can be realized. We are required to say something to mark the significance of the occasion—a rarity in Scripture—and those who expected to harvest crops probably started memorizing it from an early age. The day we say this is the day we have come into the Land in a fuller sense. Even now we can make the decision that our natural selfish inclinations will not own us today, that YHWH will come before any other claims on us when they compete. This will change us and refocus us on where we are headed.
4. "Then the cohen shall take the basket from your hand and rest it in front of the altar of YHWH your Elohim.
Fruits and vegetables are not to be burned or cooked on the altar like meat offerings. But though it is still not in its final place, an altar is again being built, so soon there will be a possibility of actually doing this again.
5. "Then you shall testify and say in the presence of YHWH your Elohim, ‘An Aramean was causing my ancestor to perish, then he went down to Egypt with a few people and stayed [there] as a guest, but there he became a large, mighty, and great nation.
Aramean: The Aramaic Targum Onqelos identifies this as Lavan, Yaaqov's uncle, who used up every ounce of Yaaqov’s energy for his own purposes (Gen. 31:40). Yaaqov left because he was being taken advantage of; if he had stayed, he would soon have had nothing left. By making this affirmation we are identifying with Yaaqov, the captivity he fell under, and YHWH’s deliverance. But even in the midst of our affliction, Israel was a fruitful people, because that is our heritage.
6. "‘But the Egyptians treated us wickedly, oppressed us, and assigned us to heavy servitude.
Both Aram and Egypt became the most fruitful places when Yaaqov was in them, but such fruitfulness intimidates others. In Egypt, they tried to kill us because they thought we were getting too strong. Lavan tried to take all of our firstfruits, and we were enslaved, but here we are nonetheless! We are saying, “I have arrived in the Promised Land, and here are the fruits to prove it.”
7. "‘But when we cried out to YHWH, the Elohim of our forefathers, YHWH heard our voice, and paid attention to our affliction, our misery, and our distress.
The concept of an elohim paying closer attention when called by his true name is what led the Babylonians to avoid speaking the names of their gods, because they were afraid of being watched too closely. The House of Yehudah, sadly, borrowed this practice when they returned from captivity, and made the speaking of YHWH's Name taboo. The Hasmoneans put an end to this, but later authorities reinstated it, and by Y’shua's day, speaking YHWH’s Name was considered the only blasphemy worthy of death. But if we no longer know His Name, to whom will we cry out?
8. "‘Then YHWH brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with a great awe-inspiring spectacle, with distinguishing signs, and conspicuous miracles,
Antoine de St.-Exupery said, “A civilizaton is a heritage of beliefs, customs, and knowledge slowly accumulated in the course of centuries. Elements of it are difficult to justify by logic, but justify themselves because they lead somewhere, opening up for man his inner distance.” Where we came from has everything to do with who we are and, in a very real way, defines where we are meant to return. While we can be fruitful elsewhere, there is special fruit that only comes from the particular Land that YHWH tied to our heritage. But apart from the exorbitant price that had to paid to get us, we might not see the value of the fact that we are free to grow our own food and partake of it. When we were slaves, we could not even take a day off, so YHWH constantly ties our festival calendar, and even the Sabbath, to the reminder of what we came out of.
9. "‘and He has brought us into this place and has given us this Land--a Land that gushes with milk and honey!
The Land is not just the soil but its character. One has not fully inhabited this Land until he keeps its laws. But returning to the Torah is also the first stage of re-entering the Land, and if we are faithful in this, we may also claim the Land as ours.
10. "‘So now, behold, I have brought a beginning of the fruit of the ground which You, O YHWH, have given me.' Then you shall set it down it before YHWH, bow down before YHWH your Elohim,
Why is it fruit of the ground again, and not of the Land? Because the word for “ground” is adamah, and when YHWH is our priority and we uphold our end of the covenant, we return to the place Adam once was—the presence and will of YHWH. While the priest sets it before the altar, only you can set it before YHWH. You do that by making this declaration. Bringing the firstfruits is not enough; it must be announced. This is Israel’s witness: “This fruit came from YHWH, I took responsibility for it, and here it is.” Me: This time the reference to self is positive, not negative, for it reflects the fact that this is not only about our ancestors but of each of us today as well. If there is much strength in the words, “This is what YHWH has done!”, it becomes personal when we add “for me and through me.” YHWH interacts with His people! He is not just a cosmic force out there. If He is truly with us, can we ever say, “I could never do that”? If you are a tea pitcher, do not claim to be just a slop jar. There is a fine line to walk, for we must do this without selfishness. To be sure we do not take it too far, the ceremony ends with bowing down, to keep it in the proper context. Leaving something there makes it a true “thank you". By second Temple times, the procedure here was to take the basket of firstfruits from an oxcart and place it on the shoulder when arriving at the Temple Mount, whereupon the Levites would chant Psalm 30:1. While the basket remained on his shoulder, the donor recited verse 3 (above). When he reached verse 5, he would take the basket down and hold it by its rim. A cohen would put his hand beneath the basket and wave it while he recites the entire confession through verse 10, then place the basket beside the altar, bow, and depart. (Mishnah Bikkurim 3:2-6)
11. "then rejoice over every benefit that YHWH has given to you, to your household, and to the Levite and sojourner who are among you.
Joy is part of our heritage because ultimately we came not just from Avraham but from Eden, which means “delight” or “pleasure”. When we have finished the work, we get to enjoy it with a party! This occurs at the festival of Sukkoth, the feast of ingathering. It is a ceremony that in itself brought euphoria—a feeling of accomplishment far better than that which one feels at a sporting event, because this is more than a game. Your family gets to eat because of it. One eats the part of his tithe that is not firstfruits. He does not just deliver it as if it were a tax and leave. He gives witness by sharing with the Levites and those who are guests of the Land. This is why it is called the “season of our joy”. This is a celebration of being in a Land where we can be fruitful and not be penalized for it. Everywhere Israel has gone, it has been condemned for bearing fruit. Now we are here, and no one is opposing our fruitfulness. We made others’ fruit greatly increase (in Aram and Egypt), but now we have fruitfulness of our own, and we thank Him for the increase. In contrast to the Egyptians and the Amaleqites of the last chapter, which only oppressed the foreigners who lived among them, in Israel the guests among us participate in the celebration. If YHWH has blessed you, He has also inherently blessed the Levites, because you are to provide for them. When you are fruitful, they get to eat too.
12. "When you have finished [the task of] tithing a tenth of all your crops the third year (the year of the tithe) and have delivered it to the Levite, the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow, so they [can] eat it within your gates and be satisfied,
"Pure, undefiled religion" includes caring for widows and orphans in their affliction. (Yaaqov 1:27) Of course, a widow is only truly one if she has no grown children to support her. An orphan would still inherit whatever land his father had, and he would have uncles or other relatives to ensure that it was properly farmed if he was too young to do so himself. Except for debt, there would thus be few truly needy people in a land based so strongly on extended family, tribal units, and agriculture. The focus shifts slightly from firstfruits to tithes. Third year: This actually incorporates all the tithes in the three-year cycle, for there is not one tithe in Israel, but three. The first of the three tithes is given to the Levites to be distributed as needed. This is done in the Levitical cities in each region. (Num. 18:20ff) The Levites then give a tenth of this tenth (or 1% of what you have grown) to the priests as their own tithe—and the priests’ portion must be the best 10%. The priests are permitted to eat this food anywhere but only with those in their household, including their slaves. They are not permitted to serve it to anyone else who might be their guest. If someone finds that he does not have enough left to feed his family, but can afford to do so, he can buy this tithe back, but for a 20% fee. (Lev. 27:30ff) The second tithe is not given to anyone else, but saved up to be eaten at the festivals YHWH has commanded Israel to attend. (Deut. 12:17ff) We eat it, but it is still YHWH’s; it must be eaten in His presence, and again must be shared with the Levites. This ensures that we can truly have a feast at His festivals. If the fruit is too much to bring, it can be sold and the money used to purchase food at the festival site. Whatever is in season can be brought to each festival. The third tithe is taken only once every three years. It is not given to the Levite storehouses this time, but is stored up in one’s own gates—his own town. It is for the needy in your own town and the foreigners or outsiders who come to visit there. The elders of the city are aware of who needs most, and they divide it out as needed, and store it up to be sure it is available for three years. Grain found at Matsada was still edible after 1,900 years, so it could certainly be safely stored for three years! It is also used to feed one’s local Levites who teach or serve as scribes. (Deut. 14:27ff) This averages out to 23 1/3 % of one’s increase, in addition to the firstfruits and the corners of the field that one leaves for widows, orphans, and strangers. Those truly needy, such as the blind, were responsible to come and request it, providing those whose hearts were telling them to give with an outlet for that giving.
13. "then you shall say in the presence of YHWH your Elohim, ‘I have removed the consecrated things from my house, and furthermore, I have given them to the Levite, the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow, according to all the orders You have given to me. I have not stepped outside of Your commandments, nor have I forgotten.
Consecrated things: While we had to store them at home until the proper time, they never were actually ours, and to keep them in one's house too long is a form of robbery from YHWH. (Mal. 3:8) One has not just set aside his tithe, but has actually made sure it got into the right hands. Otherwise, it must be atoned for on Yom haKippurim, for the covering provided on that day is in regard to the “set-apart things”. A key element of "not forgetting" is recounting His commands to the next generation.
14. "‘I have not eaten of them in my impatience, nor have I removed any of it for unclean [use], nor designated any of it for the dead; I have obeyed the voice of YHWH my Elohim, and have carried out everything just as You have commanded me.
One is saying, “I did not leave anything out.” In my impatience: literally, panting—i.e., one had such passion for the taste of the food or was so hungry that he forgot it was set aside, and ate it. But the term usually has the connotation of mourning, affliction, or exerting oneself in vain. Unclean use: not just “profane” (ordinary) but defiled--probably for the purpose of idolatry or other selfish use. For the dead: as a pagan ritual either to “feed” the dead or for a ceremony involving taking food to an ancestor’s tomb. This was part of essentially every religion in ancient times, but YHWH wants to be sure we exclude it from any ceremony having to do with Him. (Onstott)
15. "‘Lean over and look down from Your holy dwelling place--from heaven--and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us as You swore to our forefathers--a Land that gushes with milk and honey.'
This was said on the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 4th and 7th years of the Sabbatical cycle, as the new year began. (Mishnah Maaser Sheni 5:10) This is after each cycle of three years is completed. The seventh year, no official crop is grown (the land is left fallow and anyone may eat of what grows on its own), so no tithes apply during that year. It is a sobering thought to claim one has been absolutely faithful with every kernel for the past three years, and this is one of the few times when the focus is on the individual: He has lived up to YHWH’s expectations for him. If we did not do it correctly, we cannot claim this blessing. If we are prone to forget, we are responsible to put systems in place to remind us, and that will often include enlisting others to remind us. But this also behooves us not to make YHWH’s commands into something too complicated for any simple farmer to keep track of, placing unnecessary burdens on any. (Mat. 23:4) Gushes: emphasizing the abundant harvest YHWH has brought, of which this is proof.
16. "This day YHWH your Elohim has commanded you to carry out these prescribed tasks and procedures; therefore pay close attention and perform them with all your heart and all your soul.
This day: The way to arrive in the Land is to begin doing today what we are commanded to do when we arrive there. Start bringing from your household to feed the needy. With all your heart: Make this your ambition! The tithes all have to do with agricultural produce, and YHWH does not explicitly require us to transfer the concept to our financial earnings, though doing something that approximates it in our context is a way to remember what to do when we get back into the full context of Israel, so it will come naturally then. YHWH does not need what we have; we need to give! This may be what will get us past the obstacles to achieving the fullness of the promise.
17. "Today you have declared YHWH to be your Elohim, and [promised] to walk in His ways, and keep His prescribed ordinances, His commandments, and His [legal] procedures, as well as to listen to His voice.
Declared: or "had YHWH promise"--a causative phraseology that was typical covenant-affirmation language. Listen [and obey]: carrying out the orders to the letter alone is not enough; hearing what He is saying through them is His real goal. Keeping His commands puts us in a position to hear from Him directly and with clarity. The title Elohim emphasizes His judging side; how can we call Him our judge if we follow our own judgment rather than His instructions?
18. "YHWH has also declared you this day to be His particular treasure of a people, as He had promised you, and [told you] to keep His commandments,
Particular treasure: has the connotation of being a special jewel locked or securely hidden away from everyone else. This emphasizes the holiness for which He had designed this "uncommon" people, who are not to be considered just another of the nations. Kefa calls us living stones that are precious to YHWH. But the whole people is the treasure. We keep His commandments not just for our own sake, but for the benefit of all Israel.
19. "and [promised] to make you highest above all nations that He has appointed, for praise, for renown, and for beauty, and that you may be a people set apart unto YHWH your Elohim, as He has said."
This language is echoed in the liturgy welcoming the Sabbath each week. Highest: the same term as a name used of Himself: elyon. Praise: an excellent reputation. Beauty: "glory and honor, gleaming splendor". We had this under David and Shlomoh, and can have it again if we will live the Torah. No longer will people look to the superpowers as their example, but to Israel, if we do our part. That is our purpose as a people; it is up to us to start molding ourselves to it. He has said: The numeric value of the phrase in Hebrew is 206, and the first word in Scripture that has the value 206 is moedim (appointed times). Thus the order of the festivals is a rehearsal for walking this path out of Egypt to the fullness of our inheritance. The season of repentance pictures our leaving Egypt, Yom T’ruah, our coming into the Land with shouts of victory, Yom Kippur, our possessing the Land, and Sukkoth, our settling into it. (Lev. 23:42) What we do during this season can determine how quickly Israel becomes our Land and how quickly the entire world is blessed because Israel is walking in righteousness and other nations are following.
CHAPTER 27
1. Then Moshe, along with the elders of Israel, gave the people orders, saying, "Guard carefully the whole commandment that I am giving you today.
Elders: not necessarily the oldest, but the most experienced, who have proven wisest and been chosen because they can be the best guides. As Moshe prepares to die, here is another way he ensured that the nation would remain in order. Those whom the individual Israelites knew more directly now stood in clear solidarity with what he said, saying, “That’s right; guard the commands!” Moshe is only dead if we “kill off” his words. If his teaching is alive in our lives, his energy still affects the world. These leaders of 10, 50, 100, and 1,000 had been established many years before this, and they will now be scattered throughout the whole Land, and access to Y’hoshua will not be as easy as access to Moshe had been in the wilderness camp. It is therefore important that the people change their focus from the words of Moshe to the instructions of their leaders, though all is based on his instruction. Guard: Make sure these commands are adhered to. If everyone did what was right in his own eyes, we would not stay in the Land very long. The pattern established here shows that we need leaders who insist that we keep the Torah and who set an example by their own lives. Of course this means there is an expectation on leaders to walk a straight path. The Northern Kingdom is waking up to our identity, but bickering about petty things will let the rebellious play one leader against another. When we all stand in agreement, we give them no foothold. The Hebrew word for “commandment” is related to the word for “army”, so these are our marching orders. Imagine how unsuccessful an army would be if all the officers gave conflicting commands. We must line up with the simplicity of the Torah, not many complicated opinions. Do not wait for the Messiah to unite us; start learning to function together as a unit. The leaders must examine themselves, make any needed changes, then say, “Follow me”. The whole commandment: Not just the parts we are comfortable with or what makes sense to us; all of it is necessary to get a complete picture of YHWH, His will, and His ways.
2. "And this is how it will be in the day when you cross the Yarden into the Land which YHWH your Elohim is giving to you: you must set up large stones, and whitewash them with lime.
In the day: It certainly did not occur the same day they crossed over, but they were not to delay any more than they had to in order to fight their way through to that spot. They would not get to Mt. Eyval until after two military victories (Y’hoshua 8), but this was as soon as possible. He is emphasizing that it is this audience who must do it, not someone else sometime during the next generation. Large stones: Just how large would depend on the elders’ judgment, who was available to carry them, and how much weight each could carry. The flow of Torah leaves such details flexible, to be determined according to the need of the season. Whitewash: or coat with plaster, so the uncut stones (v. 6) could be written upon. (v. 3, 8) Making plaster required heating the limestone or clay to over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit until brittle, crushing it, and mixing it with water.
3. "And you shall write on them all of the words of this instruction when you cross over, so that you may enter the Land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you--a Land that flows with milk and honey, just as YHWH the Elohim of your ancestors has promised you.
All the words: Whether this refers to just the ten commandments, or the rest of the specifics expounded on throughout the rest of the Torah—the purity laws, property laws, instructions for the Sabbath and Festivals, etc.—would again depend on what the elders determined was the necessary extent at this time. But with several million people present, the whole Torah could be written fairly quickly. The word for “stones”(ebenim) is related to both the Hebrew word for “sons” (banim), because our children are the building-blocks of the household and of all Israel. Our job is to cover them and etch the Torah into them (6:7). If they wish to cut them deeper into themselves, that is up to them, but it is our responsibility to show them the true boundaries of YHWH’s words—what they really include and what they do not, so that they will not put the emphasis on the wrong things or think they can alter the rules.
4. "That is, when you have transitioned across Yarden, you shall set up these stones (about which I am giving you orders today) on Mount Eyval, and plaster them with lime,
Mt. Eyval is one of the highest peaks in central Israel, on the north side of the city of Sh’khem (called Nablus by the Arabs today). The Samaritan version of the text says Grizim (the other mountain at Sh’khem as seen below), and that is where they built their temple. One of the two communities of the 712 remaining Samaritans still live at this site.
5. "and build there an altar to YHWH your Elohim--an altar [made] of stones. You shall not wield an iron [implement] upon them.
The rules are the same as for the sanctuary altar. An altar cannot be made of just one stone standing alone; that was a common form of pagan worship. The Church has made “Jesus” the sole focus and an object of worship, when he kept saying that he was not here to do his own will but his Father’s. He is the cornerstone, but not a stand-alone. The mortar that keeps uncut stones from falling off each other is our love and commitment to one another. It makes us into one structure, even when we do not naturally fit together. This altar has been located by archaeologists, and is largely intact. Adam Zertal, who excavated it, writes, “This is the first time a complete Israelite cultic center, including an altar for burnt offerings, is available for study. Thanks to King Josiah's and King Hezekiah's activities in breaking up the "high places," …the altar on Mt. 'Eyval is not only the most ancient and complete altar, but also the prototype of the Israelite burnt offering altar of the First and Second Temple periods…A ramp of unhewn stones, 4 feet wide by 23 feet long, rises to the top of the platform from the southwest. The gentle incline, easily climbed and the presence of the ramp itself accord with the explicit scriptural injunction: ‘Neither shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be uncovered thereon’ (Exodus 2:23).”
6. "You shall construct YHWH your Elohim's altar of undamaged stones, and on it you shall offer ascending [offering]s to YHWH your Elohim.
Undamaged stones: A chisel (v. 5) often cracks the stone, making it useless. But an iron tool cannot wield itself; this must be done by the hands of men, so this is figurative of the fact that YHWH does not want any of His people ruined by the teachings of men. When men carve their fears into us, as with Dante’s Inferno, we end up with doctrines that depict YHWH as more cruel than He is, based on ignorance of idioms about the features of the Land of Israel (the Valley of Hinnom, where garbage was always burning, and the Dead Sea, once called the “Lake of Fire” because of the seepage of bitumen to the surface, where lightning would set it ablaze). The Temple was built of stones that were cut, though not on site at the Temple Mount. In every case--here, in the Tabernacle, both Temples, and the Maccabean rededication, the altar was built and/or in use before the rest of the Temple was. Thus it represents "forerunners" in the restoration of Torah, who, because of the trail they are blazing, may be required to be more strictly pure in doctrine and practice, in order to be an example to others who may follow later and a place for others to come to draw near to YHWH. We who have had men’s doctrines carved into us must ensure that the next generation has no such marks on them. Ascendings: by building this altar, we are able to take another step higher, again coming closer to YHWH.
7. "You shall also offer peace offerings, and eat there, and rejoice in the presence of YHWH your Elohim.
Peace offerings: from the same root word as "undamaged” stones (v. 6), so there is a play on words; the term means “complete”. Wholeness is indeed what we want to offer up to YHWH. After all the trouble it takes to build the altar, we get to put it to use, having a party with plentiful meat and bread to celebrate who we are, who YHWH is, and what He has done. This type of offering is spontaneous, though the specifics of what it includes are mandated: it is always offered with bread, showing that this is a community meal of thanksgiving and celebration with the people of YHWH. Many are clamoring for the rebuilding of the Temple, but first must come the altar, the place for laying self aside. Rejoice: literally, "brighten up"; YHWH loves one who gives cheerfully! The procedure and "script" for the peace offering are found in Psalm 116. This altar was not for sin offerings. It seems like it therefore could still be used for these two types of offerings even after the altar was centralized (at Shiloh, Beyth El, and ultimately Yerushalayim), because we never see the Tabernacle being stationed at this location. Since this is in Torah, it seems we have a standing command to build an altar there again too. And now that it has been located, we have found that it remains half-built, so once the Land dispute has been resolved, it would be a very simple matter to rebuild it on exactly the same site! May we be so blessed as to not only see the archaeological site, but restore it!
8. "Then you shall write all the words of this instruction on the stones in a thoroughly plain manner."
It would be very hard to write legibly on round stones until they are plastered over. This altar was centrally located in the Land and told anyone who wished to sojourn in that Land what kind of lifestyle they were obligated to live if they did. There may have also been a similar sign set up at the borders of Israel, serving notice to sojourners, traders, etc., of the restrictions placed on them when passing through the Land, to warn them not to try to sell idols to Israel, etc. But with use or age it would fade, crumble, or be eroded away, exposing the bare rocks again until we no longer knew what they bore witness to. So the writing would have to be renewed. It is incumbent on each generation to “re-cover” that to which the words bore witness so we can continue to fulfill our side of the covenant. This way they are no longer only the words of our forefathers; they are our commitment as well. Plain: distinct or clear--that is, “write it large and keep it simple enough for everyone to understand”; it should not be overspiritualized or other-worldly. One should not need to be a lawyer to understand it. There are deeper levels on which to understand it, but if we are not carrying it out literally, we are not doing the Torah. The depth should make it simpler, not more complicated, or we are digging in the wrong place. It is available for all to read, not hidden away as the Catholic Church did so that it could control how much people could hear; Jews always encouraged literacy so the whole community could read the Torah. It was given to a people who had been slaves and were again learning to be shepherds. To get back in a position to hear it at its simplest and clearest, maybe we would do well to spend time with sheep, dress like our ancient ancestors did, eat goat cheese and olives, and get in touch with the natural, unpaved desert they walked on. All: Other than some visions of what the tabernacle was to look like, Moshe did not receive any instruction other than what was written down. Oral tradition does give us some of the “how-to’s” that Scripture does not detail, but it does not have the same authority; if it is given that, it actually freezes the interpretation at one point in history, while it was meant to remain fluid so that each community in each generation could apply the authoritative Word in the ways most suitable for their particular needs.
9. Then Moshe and the Levitical priests said to all of Israel, "Be quiet and listen, O Israel: This day you have become the people of YHWH your Elohim.
With these words the covenant is being ratified before they enter the Land, so they are fully responsible for all of it once they (and we) get there. The priests and Levites are the teachers, who judge cases too hard for the other elders. Be quiet: So you will not miss anything. We need to practice silencing our thoughts so we can clean our own priorities out of His container. People today have great difficulty with this, not because they have “attention-deficit disorder” or schizophrenia/ bipolar syndrome, but because they have never been disciplined enough to calm their minds. Over-stimulation leads to very short attention spans, even though studies have shown that “multitasking” actually slows efficiency. Even when we stop talking outwardly, most of us keeping a conversation going in our heads, and have a hard time truly listening to what others are saying, let alone YHWH’s still, small voice:
10. "So you must listen to [and obey] the voice of YHWH your Elohim and carry out His orders and His enactments, which I am laying upon you this day."
We can keep making excuses about what we do not agree with, or simply obey and thereby know His heart, as far as it can be known, and learn what He is really saying. One thing is certain; we will not hear His voice properly if we do not spend time studying His instruction (torah). That is His first and foremost message to any of us. Only as we hear and let His words be carved into us and in turn carve them into our children can we put ourselves in the order they describe.
11. And Moshe gave people orders on the same day, saying,
12. "These [are the tribes who] shall stand on Mount G'rizim to bless the people after you have crossed the Yarden: Shim'on, Levi, Yehudah, Issachar, Yosef, and Binyamin.
These are all sons of Yaaqov's true wives, including both of Rachel's only sons. Shim’on and Levi, the first mentioned here, were the ones who slaughtered all the men of Sh’khem—apparently counted here as a positive thing because it was done to avenge their sister’s honor. (Gen. 34) But the blessings and the curses apply to the whole nation: there are twelve curses and twelve blessings, just as there are twelve tribes.
13. "And these [are the tribes who] shall stand on Mount Eyval to pronounce the curse: Re’uven, Gad, Asher, Z'vulun, Dan, and Nafthali.
Mt. Eyval is 3,084 feet (940 meters) above sea level, and is on the north side of the city of Sh’khem (called Nablus by the Arabs today). Mt. Grizim is on the south side, and is about 194 feet (59 meters) lower than Mt. Eyval, which is one of the highest peaks in central Israel. The altar, interestingly, is on the mountain of the curse. Re’uven lost his birthright due to disobedience toward the principle now codified in v. 20; the other son of Leah here is Z'vulun, possibly placed here so both of Rachel's sons can represent the blessings, because Yosef's stone on the high priest's breastplate was the same as the stones on his shoulders. Sh'khem, the town which sits between the two "shoulders" of these mountains, means the upper back, which bears the body's burdens.
14. "Then the Levites shall respond and tell all the men of Israel in a loud voice,
The males have a particular responsibility to train their households in the way of YHWH. Respond: suggesting an antiphonal pattern. The Levites were on the mountain opposite those pronouncing the curse (vv. 12-13), and the words and responses seen below would echo back and forth across the valley. Loud voice: They had to be heard on both mountains. This is not spoken to individuals, but to Israel as a whole. We are held accountable for one another, so we have to be sure we communicate the rules to everyone, even the hard of hearing. Of course, it is hard for anyone to hear if they are talking, which is why we were all silenced first.
15. "‘Cursed is the person who makes any carved or molten image (a disgusting thing to YHWH your Elohim--the undertaking of the hands of an artificer), and puts it in a hidden place." And all the people shall answer, ‘Amen!'
Disgusting: Some sins are especially reprehensible to YHWH. Just as a spouse learns what his or her partner likes or dislikes, and He gives us a wonderful head start throughout the Torah so we do not have to learn by trial and error. This is very plain, like the words on the plaster: If you do this, you will be cursed. But it is not so much that YHWH will respond by cursing those who do these things as that these things are already a curse to those who do them. They have cursed themselves. No one is forced to enter into Torah, but we have just eaten from YHWH’s altar, and this is a statement that we agree with what is written on it. If we do not, we should not be eating the peace offering. A halfway commitment innately brings a curse. “Amen” means "This is firmly true and verified; so may it be established." Hidden place: This is how paganism was underhandedly sneaked into what came to be called the Church--by changing the names of foreign gods, rituals, and symbols, putting them into a more biblically-oriented context, hiding idolatry under what was initially a genuine respect for Y’shua as the one YHWH anointed, to reinstate the ancient pagan trinities. Many of the other sins listed here are also things done in secret (see especially 24) that we may think we got away with, but YHWH sees and brings back on us what we sow. Comparatively few people actually bow down to physical images anymore, but they represented other ideologies, and there are many things we bow to that no one sees. His first command was to love Him with all that we are, and not give that type of love to any other. But He wants us to express it by taking care of one another (vv. 16-25):
16. "‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or his mother.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'
Dishonors: or esteems them lightly, makes light of them, not giving weight to their words or taking them as authoritative. Listen to their experience, or you will learn—the hard way. It also does not say his “parents”, but his father or mother; he must listen to both. He does not get to pick what one says and ignore the other. It includes the one who does not take seriously the fact that he is already under a curse because of his very first ancestors' sin. And our ultimate Father is YHWH, our foremost authority; we must not take His Name lightly--either by failing to use it or by "taking it in vain".
17. "‘Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor's boundary-marker.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'"
Moves: displaces or shifts the neighbor’s property line marker (to one's own advantage). This is just one more example of loving one’s neighbor as oneself. But it goes beyond landmarks. Teaching others to ignore even the smallest of YHWH’s commands is also moving our neighbor’s boundary, for it makes them think that something that really is their responsibility is not.
18. "‘Cursed is one who misdirects the blind [so that they go astray] on the road.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'
This also includes those who take advantage of people's spiritual ignorance or biblical illiteracy for their own gain or cause someone who looks to you as his example, to stumble. What we sow we will reap. Teaching lies to those who do not yet know how to test the truth of your statements keeps the light of Torah from people who are unable to stay on the path by themselves.
19. "‘Cursed is anyone who influences [due] process for the sojourner [among you], the fatherless, or the widow.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'
Influences: to in any way change the "shape" of a just ruling as it would be handed down for the native of the land, if the one being judged is a foreigner. These are the only people who have no inheritance at all in the Land. YHWH insists that we treat the powerless as well as the powerful. If we do not, he may leave the Land one day and give an evil report to others so that the Land is again seen to devour its inhabitants.
20. "‘Cursed is [a man] who lies [sexually] with his father's wife, because he uncovers his father's [nakedness beneath] the extremities [of his garment].' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'
His father's extremities: literally "his father's wings", which suggests that this renders YHWH's "Body" itself vulnerable. Who is His body but the community who "flees under His wings for protection"? (Psalm 91:4). The tribe of Re’uven, whose own ancestor had violated this command and was indeed cursed for it by Ya’aqov, was one of the tribes that had to pronounce this curse! YHWH left the “how” of the curse open, because it depends to what degree this was intentional, rebellious, etc.
21. "‘Cursed is he who lies with any kind of animal.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'
No “because”is needed here!
22. "‘Cursed is [any man] who lies with his sister--[either] the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'
His sister trusts him to protect her, and taking advantage of her trust is especially heinous.
23. "‘Cursed is [any man] who lies with his mother-in-law.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'
There are several forms of incest listed. We need order in our families, for if your uncle is also your brother, the authority structure will become very confusing.
24. "‘Cursed is the one who strikes down his neighbor secretly.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'
The only way one could literally strike another down secretly would be to sneak up on him. But it can also mean “under cover”--deceiving him into being taken advantage of in any way. Thus "back-stabbing", gossip, and "character assassination" are certainly included in this sin. That is worse than a direct punch in the face. So the resulting curses (see below) for getting away with murder are stronger than the rules in regard to killing someone on purpose, though the penalty for the latter is death. Experience these, and you will wish you were dead!
25. "‘Cursed is one who takes a bribe to strike down an innocent person.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'
If he is not innocent, the court will strike him down. The main point here is to not pervert justice for money, whether one is the judge or the witness. This is the most extreme case. The curses are elaborated on, but the blessing is not detailed! But these (including v. 26) are essentially “twelve commandments” stated in a negative way; we can deduce the positive blessings by turning them around. Some are the same as the “ten words”, while some add more detail: Blessed are those who (1) do worship only YHWH; (2) honor their father and mother; (3) do respect their neighbors’ boundaries; (4) give proper direction to the blind; (5) give the sojourner, fatherless, or widow right rulings/justice; (6) do “drink water from their own well” (at the right times); (7) are fruitful by letting Israel multiply rather than wasting seed; (8) respect the vulnerability of those closest to them; (9) keep the right things distinct and do not cause confusion; (10) if they must oppose someone, do so openly; (11) are righteous in financial dealings; and who (12) do uphold the Torah, not just in word, but by carrying it out. A few blessings do appear in chapter 28, and some scholars believe these two lists are what was written on the stones. (See Peake’s Commentary on the Bible.) Or just chapter 6 (the core commands) may have been written thereon, if there was not room for all five books of the Torah.
26. "‘Cursed is [anyone] who does not uphold the words of this instruction by carrying them out.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'
Uphold: or ratify, establish, apply, implement, and continue in an already-existing authority, with the sense of making it foundational—not thinking you are really a Bible-believer while you are marginalizing the Torah. It is our job not just to hear the Torah, but to let it change our walk and make sure it is clear for all Israel to see. The priests and the whole nation formed a great cloud of witnesses. All of us in the Northern Kingdom had ancestors who completely gave up on continuing in the Torah, and everyone has gaps in his obedience, so we are all under a curse. But Yirmeyahu (11:1ff) and Y’hezq’el (18:26ff) uphold the fact that we will not be cursed if we turn back to Torah. Y’hoshua 8:33 tells us that rather than standing on the two mountains (as verses 12 and 13 specified), which are only two miles apart, they only stood in front of the two mountains, to give the blessings and curses. Were they already deviating from what was commanded
CHAPTER 28
1. "Now if you listen carefully to the voice of YHWH your Elohim, and are vigilant to [conscientiously] carry out all His orders which I am commanding you today, this is what will occur: YHWH your Elohim will appoint you to be highest over all nations of the earth,
Listen carefully: literally, listen listening, but the term means more than mere hearing; it includes paying attention, heeding, and obeying. The repetition of the same term in different forms is an idiomatic way of emphasizing that one is “really listening”—an active listening that does something about what one hears (Yaaqov 1:22ff), with the purpose of understanding every nuance and following the directions it gives. This is a survival kit for living in His Land, so do not waste anything you are taught. This is how we become the highest nation. We will be like the empires in Daniel and more, yet beneficial to all the other nations who capitulate to the Torah. How could it not improve them? Despite any tribute imposed on them, they would still come out far better than when left to their own trial and error, because this is the wise way to make any nation work. (4:6) the highest spot is the best place to set a light, but it also gives us the best vantage point. From there you can see the whole picture—just what men have been seeking all along. This sounds like a promise, but there is a conditional clause, so it is also a contract. This will only come about if we are careful to preserve the conditions by which we can carry it out. Be vigilant: The root word means to build a hedge around. Pay attention so you can carry it out, for very specific results are desired. If we do not, nothing is accomplished, and there is no covenant. We are still signed up for the covenant; if anyone tells you otherwise, see chapter 30. But we have not been carrying out all of it, so we cannot receive all of its benefits until we do.
2. "and all these blessings will fall upon you and catch up with you if you will listen to [and obey] the voice of YHWH your Elohim.
Blessings: literally, knee-bendings. Thus it is easy to see how we can “bless” YHWH, but how does He bless us? As a parents bends down to listen to his small children, He will pay special attention to us if we obey. (Gibor) He takes an interest in us, and wants to pick us up and set us on a higher place so He can interact with us more on an eye-to-eye level (v. 1). Catch up: They will chase you down and surprise you if your focus is on walking on the path and obeying YHWH, not on the promised blessings. You will not be able to avoid being blessed! But don’t expect the blessings to be low-level ones like a Cadillac or money in the bank; as we rise higher, our definition of blessings will become clearer. Ultimately they all point to living at peace in His presence in the Land of Israel and, like Avraham, being able to bless everyone who will put themselves in a position to receive what we conduct onward. Now He starts to list what this will involve:
3. "You [will be] blessed in the city, and blessed [shall] you [be] in the field.
This includes safety and fruitfulness both of crops and livestock. But whether we gather together on the Sabbath, festival, or new moon, or whether we are at work alone, making a living, He wants to be directly involved in our lives.
4. "Blessed will be the fruit of your body, the fruit of your tilled soil, and the fruit of your livestock--[that is,] the offspring of your cattle and the increase of your sheep and goats.
All of these are our continuance. When we have more children, we can cultivate more fields and raise more livestock. If we listen and obey, He will bend low and make sure this fruitfulness comes to pass.
5. "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
Basket: What we need to contain our fruitfulness. (See 26:2.) Kneading bowl: what we need in order to make our fruitfulness useful. Whether gathering our grain or making it edible, there will be no breakdown in the process. If the dough rises well, the texture of the bread is better, and it is more enjoyable to eat. He not only wants to give us enough to eat, but also to eat well.
6. "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
Going out and coming in is an idiom throughout Scripture for waging war and coming back victorious (Y’hoshua 14:11; 1 Shmu’el 29:6), but can also refer to going to work in the fields and bringing home the increase. Note the similar phraseology in Matithyahu 5:3-12.
7. "YHWH will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck down before your face: they will come out against you [from] one direction, and take flight before you [in] seven directions.
They would come in as one unit, but run away as individuals, scattered and therefore powerless.
8. "YHWH will ordain a blessing [to be] upon you in your storehouses, and upon all that your hand undertakes to do, and He will bless you in the Land that YHWH your Elohim is giving to you.
Storehouses: not just for our own later security, but in particular where we put the provision for the needy and the foreigners who are here to learn from us.
9. "YHWH will establish you as a people set apart for Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you will guard YHWH's commandments and walk in His ways.
One thing He will not do is make us like the other nations; that is not a blessing! We have made the mistake too many times of wanting a king like them, etc. But He sees our being separate from all others as a desirable goal, for He does not want us to keep up with them, but to be more righteous than they are.
10. "All the people of the earth will perceive that the Name of YHWH is proclaimed upon you, and they will stand in awe of you.
Name of YHWH is proclaimed upon you: or "you are called by YHWH's Name"—not another name or just an ambiguous substitute title. Stand in awe: or "be afraid" (depending on whether they want to know the truth or not). When we walk in Torah, those who do not want to comply with what YHWH defines as right will consider us dangerous, especially if we become as comfortable with judgments as with blessing.
11. "Then YHWH your Elohim will make you overflow with benefits--in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your tilled ground in the Land which YHWH swore to your forefathers that He would give to you.
We overflow so we can benefit many more people. The rest of this verse sounds just like verse 4, except here it says that not only will you have these things; you will have plenty of them! We need to be specific when we ask, so that we do not end up with only one or two of something rather than what we really need.
12. "YHWH will throw open to you His store of pleasant treasure, the heavens, to provide rain for your Land at its proper time and to bless all the work of your hand; then you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.
This treasure is not individual wealth, but corporate wealth based on making sure we are all fed. Notice that, in the Kingdom, we will be working, not sitting on a cloud. The “heavens” here are not a place of imaginary delights, but the very practical sky full of clouds. Treasure from the heavens is not a shower of gold coins or a castle coming down onto our lawn. Rain in season is one of the greatest blessings. It means our children will not starve, nor will we. If the Land bears well, its people will be strong and more intelligent. The greatest accomplishments and the greatest armies are traced to those with the greatest food supplies, and the more varied the diet the better. In ancient times, Israel was a land coveted because of its fertility, and though the Land had become ruined, the Israelis are again getting the most out of every drop of water that is available.
13. "Thus YHWH will make you the head, not the tail. You will only be on top, and never the one underneath, if you listen well to YHWH's orders that I am laying on you in order to preserve them and carry them out,
It is the elders and "exalted of face" (honored) who are defined as the head (Isa. 9:15). Prophets who teach lies are the tail. Amaleq attacked the weaker of the people, who were lagging in the rear--the tail. (25:17-18) Just as Amaleq is atheistic, believing only in fate and chance, so one who dares to prophesy lies cannot truly believe that he will be held accountable to YHWH.
14. "and do not turn aside--right or left--from any of the things that I am commanding you this day in order to walk after other elohim and serve them.
Turning aside from the covenant includes not just things that are obviously bad like murder or prostitution, but turning in the other direction—toward things that “seem right to a man”—morals that are nonetheless not in agreement with Torah or not required by it, things that stroke our ego but have no beneficial effect for those we are called to help. There are ditches on either side, so keep moving directly ahead instead.
15. "But if you do not listen carefully to the voice of YHWH your Elohim, and pay close attention to carry out all His orders or His prescribed limits that I am placing upon you today, then this is what will take place: all these curses will come upon you and catch up with you:
Catch up with: or "overtake". Why are we back to curses already? We did curses in the last chapter! And we’ve only had a handful of blessings. Why this again? Because YHWH knows Israel’s tendency to slack off on our part of the covenant, yet expect Him to keep His nonetheless.
16. "Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed will you be in the field.
All the blessings will be directly reversed if we turn away from walking in the right direction, both as a general result of the kind of decisions that involves as well as YHWH’s personally ensuring that the way is difficult for those who deliberately walk amiss.
17. "Cursed will be your basket and kneading bowl.
18. "Cursed will be the fruit of your body, the fruit of your tilled soil, and the fruit of your livestock--[that is,] the offspring of your cattle and the increase of your sheep and goats.
The order of verses 4 and 5 are reversed here, because there is a cause-and-effect relationship in both directions. And increase is mentioned here because though our livestock bear young, they will be devoured by enemies (see below), so we will have no net increase.
19. "Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
If you are not blessed in your going out and coming in, you are not blessed at all, because you have lost the war. (See note on verse 6.)
20. "YHWH will send upon you cursing, turmoil, and corruption in all that your hand endeavors to do until you are devastated and ready to perish because of the wickedness of your deeds by which you have forsaken Me.
21. "YHWH will make the pestilence stick close to you until it has used you up from off the Land where you are going to take possession.
22. "YHWH will strike you with a wasting lung disease, fever, and burning inflammation, with extreme heat, with the sword, with blight, and with mildew, and they will dog you until you have become lost.
23. "Moreover, the sky that is over your head will be brass, and the earth that is under you will be iron.
Sky: or heaven. I.e., not only will there be no rain; your prayers for it will not be heard, but will "bounce back", nor will the ground respond to your cultivation—like the curse on Qayin. The soil will be too hard to work. There will be no help from heaven or earth--exemplified by Assyrian warfare that simultaneously attacks both you and those on whom you would naturally rely for help. Contrast the promise of restoration after His punishment in Isaiah/Yeshayahu 60:17.
24. "YHWH will change the rain of your Land into dust and ashes; it will come down on you from the skies until you are destroyed.
Not only will the lack of rain leave the earth dusty; even more dust will be added from the sky—possibly from volcanoes! Dust and ashes, in an ironic twist, are what is used to symbolize mourning and repentance. Compare Mat. 5:4: "Blessed are they that mourn [over their sin], for they shall be comforted. This is what the second part of Yeshayahu (40-66) is all about.
25. "YHWH will cause you to be struck down before your enemies: you will go out against them from one direction, but flee before them in seven directions, and you will be a terrifying example to all the kingdoms of the earth.
We cannot avoid being a light to the nations, no matter which course we take, but this way we will be on the wrong end of it, being an example of what not to be!
26. "Your corpse will become meat for all [kinds of] fowls of the air and beasts of the earth, and no one will scare them away.
Avraham is the one who chased away the birds from the corpses of the animals by which YHWH cut the covenant with him. (Gen. 15) To forsake this covenant means we will no longer have the benefit of being under his covering, as we will forget that that is whose descendant we are.
27. "YHWH will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with hemorrhoids, and with a scab and itch from which you cannot be healed.
To add insult to injury! And a constant itch is a real scourge—sometimes even worse than outright pain.
28. "YHWH will strike you with madness and blindness and bewilderment of heart.
One example would be those who committed suicide when the stock market crashed. Blindness: This is why Y’shua's disciples asked him whether a blind man or his parents were the ones who sinned. (Yochanan/John 9:2) But in that case the man was blind only to demonstrate YHWH's power to heal. Bewilderment: We became confused when we left the Torah, being unable to understand many parts of Scripture any longer, though they are simple when we read straightforwardly wit the intent of obeying.
29. "And you will grope about at noonday, as the blind person gropes in gloomy darkness, and you shall not be successful on your journeys, and you will be nothing but oppressed and robbed for all [your] days, and there will be no one to rescue [you].
For a blind person , why would it make any difference whether it was noon or dusk? Much of the darkness we experience we have brought on ourselves. Even in the light of day, there is no understanding if we have embraced the darkness. If we define inherently-unfruitful relationships as beneficial, we will wonder why we are getting nowhere. The word here for "blind" means someone who has skin growing over his eyes. As with cataracts, he can see some things, but not clearly. The Torah, though it is so simple, has been so blurred to us until this day when the curse is being lifted. No one to rescue: This is prescient of the denial of entry in so many lands to which the Jews tried to escape the Third Reich. Only those willing to give up their comfortable lifestyles to go to the Land when it was available but still undeveloped and primitive were allowed the open door until after the curse had run its course.
30. "You will betroth a wife, but another man will lie with her. You will build a house, but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but not gather its grapes.
Those who have just betrothed a wife, built a house, or planted a vineyard are the ones who are exempt from going to war (24:5, etc.), yet this time the war will overtake them nonetheless. There will not be sufficient numbers to be able to afford to let these men stay home.
31. "Your ox will be slaughtered in front of your eyes, but you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be taken away by force from before your face, and will not be returned to you. Your sheep [will be] delivered up to your enemies, and you will have no one to rescue them.
One eats of his slaughtered ox when he brings it as an offering to YHWH; this may be a reference to them making sacrifices to other elohim, who do not allow men to participate in their feasts as YHWH does. But an ox was one’s security, and many have had their “bulls” slaughtered in front of their eyes as “reliable” investments showed their true volatility.
32. "Your sons and daughters will be entrusted to another people, and your eyes will search for them and fail with longing for them all day, but there will be nothing to empower your hand.
This is even worse than losing one’s house, for it is losing one’s home. This is very sad, because He is not speaking to pagans, but to Israel. Our children become part of another people when they take on completely different values, losing all sense of what YHWH has defined as right and honorable.
33. "A people you are not familiar with will devour the fruit of your tilled ground, and everything for which you have labored, and you will only be exploited and crushed every day,
Be exploited: Hirsch, "have your rights violated". How much of our debt is now owned by Muslims and atheists? The House of Yosef is reaping what we have sown.
34. "and you will go mad because of the sight which your eyes will see.
This is the psychological collateral of all of these curses.
35. "YHWH will strike you with a malignant inflammation in the knees and the legs from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to your scalp.
36. "YHWH will bring [both] you and the king that you set over you into a land with which neither you nor your ancestors have been familiar, and you will worship different elohim--wood and stone.
I.e., if you find pagan worship fascinating (as our ancestors did), the poetic justice that you will reap is being forced to worship deities that are not at all benevolent like YHWH is.
37. "And you will become a[n appalling] horror, a proverb, and a byword in all nations into which YHWH will drive you.
Have you ever heard of "the wandering Jew"? But now they are blessed to be the first ones who are eligible to return—though the rest of the nation may need to return before they can be truly secure there.
38. "You will carry abundant seed into the field, but will harvest little, because the locust will consume it.
39. "You will plant vineyards and work them, but you will neither drink the wine nor gather [grapes], because the worms will eat them.
40. "You will have olive trees throughout all your territory, but will not anoint yourself with oil, because your olive tree will drop [its fruit] off.
We may appear well-to-do, but really not be. Worse than terror coming from outside, we will be unsuccessful in the things we work hard to accomplish.
41. "You will bear sons and daughters, but they will not belong to you, because they will go away into captivity.
42. "The locust will take possession of all your trees and [the] fruit of your Land.
43. "The alien who is in your midst will climb high above you, and you will descend far below [him].
Climb: or "be lifted". This seems to be repeating itself through the Palestinians today, whom modern Israel is being pressured to treat better than our own people--and many politicians comply because most are not directly interested in YHWH.
44. "He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he will be the head, and you the tail.
Even in Yehudah's diaspora, one profession his sons were permitted to engage in, even when hated and persecuted, was moneylending—but it often meant they were hated for it.
45. "What's more, all these curses will fall upon you and chase you down and overtake you until you are overthrown, because you did not listen to [and obey] the voice of YHWH your Elohim and pay close attention to carry out all His orders or His prescribed limits which He laid upon you,
46. "and they will be upon you as a distinguishing mark and a sign, and upon your descendants until the age.
Sign: Hirsch, "instructive wonder". I.e., it would teach us to repent, or teach others what to avoid. Until the age: often translated "forever", but a curse only holds as long as there is no intervention either from our own choices or from someone else on our behalf. Since we are seeing repentance today in both houses of Israel, we know what the Father's attitude toward the prodigal son(s) will be. All this can be reversed if we only turn back to YHWH and His Torah. He is paying attention to us again rather than remaining withdrawn from us, and that in itself constitutes a blessing. But if we deny that we have a disease, we will never treat it, and we will be on our own again. It is not that He is throwing bad things at us, but when we take ourselves out from under His covering, there is nothing to keep the evils from us, and what comes comes. Don't put Him in a position where He cannot come near you because He cannot stand the stench of the place where you are standing.
47. "Since you did not serve YHWH your Elohim with joy and with gladness of heart because of the abundance of all [things],
Are you relieved when you hear that the tithe is technically only for agricultural products? Or are you eager to find a parallel in your circles? If you see His Torah as drudgery, no matter how precisely you obey, it does not count. Joy is not just for the festivals, but for every act of loving our neighbors as ourselves. “Would it kill you to say ‘Thank you’ now and then?” If so, you will never be satisfied and always disappointed. If we are too busy taking care of His gifts to pause and spend time with Him, He turns them on their heads. It is hard to say whether these curses apply if we no longer consider ourselves Israel, but that in itself is a worse place to be, because YHWH only disciplines those He loves. Do not buy into the curse! Just have a joyful heart! It is not that we have to answer His invitations; we get to!
48. "you will serve your enemies, whom YHWH will send against you--famished, thirsty, without clothing, and in lack of all [things]--and He will permit a yoke of iron [to be placed] upon the back of your neck until he has overthrown you.
One can never just serve self; you must always serve someone, and if it is not one Master, it must be the other. The congregation at Laodikea, without knowing it, was "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17), so these curses may not always be obvious to those they come upon, but they are a direct result of failing to follow YHWH's instruction. But He does all this to bring us to the end of ourselves so we will return to the protection of His covenant. He tells us to buy back the things we gave away for nothing in return, for we have no covering any longer. Are we waiting for something better to come along? It will not. Most often what turns us aside is thinking it is our responsibility to guarantee that we will receive the things He called His blessings (vv. 3-14), but that is His job. He will make sure we have the things we need if we seek His Kingdom first (Mat. 6:33); if we spend our time focusing on the “things”, we will not have time left to do the things He does assign us.
49. "YHWH will bring a nation against you from far away--from the remotest part of the earth, darting like an eagle--a nation whose language you will not understand,
50. "a nation of fierce countenance, which will not show regard for the elderly, nor have mercy on the young.
What could better describe the Nazis’ extermination camps, where they put those on both ends of the spectrum, from whose labor they could derive no benefit? Fierce: or greedy. This is the philosophy of all nations that are not based on fear of YHWH. Respect for elders is hardly known anymore. Now we only see a "thin entering wedge" in our culture, but once it gets its foot in the door it will lead to the same butchery that is described here. A part of losing our children is that they take on the attributes of our enemies and are therefore no longer “us”, even if they do survive.
51. "And it will eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your land, until you are decimated -- [a nation] who will not leave you either grain, wine, or oil, or the young of your oxen or the flocks of your sheep, until he has eradicated you.
Grain, wine, and oil: these are all symbols of the worship and blessing of the true Elohim (11:14), but He will bring "a famine for hearing the words of YHWH" (Amos 8:11). We will lose the things we were supposed to use to celebrate YHWH, because if we withhold them from Him, He will make sure we will not be able to keep them for other purposes.
52. "He will also besiege you in all your gated cities, until your lofty and fortified walls, in which you placed your confidence, fall down all over your Land. And he will cause you distress in all your gated cities throughout the whole of your Land, which YHWH your Elohim has given to you.
Even the places that seem safe will not be.
53. "And you will eat the offspring of your own body--the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom YHWH your Elohim has given to you--during the siege and the straits into which your enemies will press you.
54. "The man who is [most] timid among you and most delicate--[even] his eye will be evil toward his brother and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he will leave alive,
The evil eye: not some mysterious occultic spell, but in Hebrew thought, one who is grudging, not generous or glad to share his possessions. Consider this meaning when interpreting, for example, Luke 11:34.
55. "in that he will not give to any of them [some of] the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing to spare during the siege and straits into which your enemies shall press you within all your gates.
He has nothing to spare: i.e., it is all he has left.
56. "The [most] tender and delicate woman among you, who is so dainty and delicate that she would not [even] dare to place the sole of her foot on the soil, [even] her eye will be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son and daughter,
57. "and toward her miscarried fetus that comes forth from between her legs, and toward her children whom she shall bear, because for lack of anything [else], she will consume them in secret during the siege and straits into which your enemies shall press you within your gates.
Miscarried fetus; Aramaic, "the youngest of her children". These are far from kosher, but they show the extent to which we will be driven if we refuse to obey. This is as graphic as YHWH can get. If we do not teach our children to hear and obey, we will end up having to have them for lunch! Or, stated differently, if no one holds you accountable, you will become a cannibal. These horrors did literally take place at least twice, during the sieges of Shomron (2 Kings 6:28ff) and Yerushalayim (Yirmeyahu 19:9). But many consume their children in much less obvious ways--through physical or sexual abuse, through forcing them to live out the parents' own unfulfilled dreams, etc. (Compare how Lavan did this in Gen. 31:14-15)
58. "If you do not take special care to carry out all the words of this instruction that are written in this document so that you may stand in awe of this weighty and awesome Name, ‘YHWH your Elohim',
Document: based on the word for "count" or "number", from which we get the word "cipher". Indeed, every word in Hebrew has a numeric value, but the emphasis here is to take stock of ourselves in light of them: when weighed, do we come up short? This...Name: not a substitute. Weighty: glorious, authoritative, of utmost importance. He is not found wanting when He is weighed against all rivals, which we have nonetheless often chosen instead of Him, through neglect of His commands.
59. "then YHWH will make your wounds extraordinary beyond description, and the wounds of your seed--plagues, that is, which are intense and long-lasting, and miserable, long-lasting sicknesses.
60. "In addition, He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt, in the presence of which you were terrified, and they will follow you closely.
With some of the things Egyptians worshipped, like the dung beetle, we might expect that the most common diseases of Egypt were exotic ones like cholera and malaria. But when Dr. Rosalie David of Manchester University did autopsies on Egyptian mummies, she discovered that they died from heart disease, cancer, hardening of the arteries, and high blood pressure. Dr. Claude Rufeis also did X-rays on 14,000 mummies. He, too, found that they had died from heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and rheumatism. What could better describe our modern catalogue of diseases? This in itself should be a wake-up call.
61. "That's not all; YHWH will stir up against you every sickness and plague that is not written in the document of this instruction, until you are decimated.
I.e., just in case I've missed mentioning any potential curse, it will fall upon you as well! In contrast to 14 verses about the rewards of obeying, YHWH goes on and on three and a half time as long with the threats of punishment, because this tends to motivate people much more powerfully than wisdom--just like a school child who is more motivated by the "switch" than by the advantages an education will give him if he patiently endures and builds a firm base for prosperity later in life.
62. "You who were numerous like the stars of the sky will be left with few men, because you would not heed the voice of YHWH your Elohim.
A full third of the tribe of Yehudah was destroyed within three to four years only a few decades ago. Efrayim's decimation is harder to trace, but it is coming to light more and more clearly day by day.
63. "And just as YHWH was glad to bring you benefit and to make you abundant, even so YHWH will take pleasure in destroying you and bringing you to nothing, and you will be uprooted [and torn away] from the Land into which you are going to take possession.
You do not want to get on the “bad side” of someone who has the power to do all these things!
64. "And YHWH will scatter you among all peoples, from one extremity of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other elohim with which neither you nor your ancestors have been familiar.
Part of the curse is learning these new concepts of deity that we had accrued over the years. The idea of a god-man is a punishment! This strong delusion has come because we walked away from the simple Torah, descending from the best vantage point so that we could no longer even distinguish a man from YHWH.
65. "What's more, among those nations you will not find [even a] moment’s rest, neither will the sole of your foot find relief; rather, YHWH will give you a trembling heart there, failing of eyes, and faintness of soul.
Yehudah’s pogroms are well-known, but the New World was populated first by those being chased from their own lands and churches because they insisted on being true to the Biblical text and had reformist ideas—the “heretics” of their day, who would not celebrate Christmas, who kept the Sabbath, who refused obvious idols. This breadbasket of the world has been a great blessing as an open door to repent. It is a test to see whether we will establish the Kingdom in its fullness this time, or if this will be the last straw that prevents any possibility of the covenant truly being renewed. The philosophies of many Western nations which largely stem from the Northern Kingdom of Israel have ended up in such paranoia, rootlessness, and despair. Only recently has this fearfulness gone away because of the presence of the Israeli nation back in the Land.
66. "Your life, too, will hang in doubt in front of you, and you will have dread day and night, with no assurance of your life.
We would be so full of fear that the sound of a leaf driven by the wind would send us running. (Lev. 26:36)
67. "In the morning you will say, ‘Who will make it evening?' and in the evening you will say, ‘Who will make it morning?', for the terror deep inside you with which you will tremble, and for the spectacle that your eyes will see.
The thoughts might be, "If only it were night, our enemies could not find us", and "If only it were daytime, so we could see our enemies coming and have enough warning." But hopelessness would prevail, especially with today’s surveillance techniques which would make Hitler’s power pale in comparison.
68. "Then YHWH will bring you in ships to Egypt again by the route I told you that you would never see again, and there you will be sold to your enemies as slaves and servant-girls--yet no one will buy you.”
Roman historian Munter wrote of the aftermath of the Bar Kochba rebellion, “Palestine [Judah] was reduced to a desolate mound. Captives were sold into slavery in numbers too great to count. First they were brought to the grand annual market at the Terebinth-Eloh tree in Hebron, or in the words of Hyranumous, to the Tent-Ohel of Abraham near Hebron. Each slave sold for the price of a horse. Those captives who were not sold there were brought to the market place in Azza [Gaza] which, because of the great multitudes of slaves who were sold there, was called Hadrian’s market place. And those who were still not sold there were herded into ships and were taken to Egypt. Many died in transit, whether by starvation or by shipwreck, while many also were killed by cruel masters. ( Primordia Eccl. Africanae, pp. 85f.,113).” You will be sold: in order to at least have something to eat. No one will buy you: There will be such a glut in the market that you will not even be able to be a slave, so you will starve. Yeshua alluded to this when he told his parable about the prodigal son who was not even allowed to eat what the pigs he was feeding ate. Does YHWH sound serious? This is the harshest warning anywhere! It would be one thing if this were Genghis Khan making such threats, but this is YHWH, and He can deliver. Why would He do this to us? Why are there so many more curses than blessings? Because He knows our tendency to start well and then slack off after only a few generations. Our pattern is to settle in when YHWH has blessed, and forget that we need to keep improving and seek a higher plane still. And, sadly, most people are not as easily motivated by reward as by fear of punishment. We are more likely to act quickly if we will be penalized for not doing so. Do not be one of these people; overcome the animal part of you. The Levites are the ones who speak the blessings and curses, because they carry the most authority in Israel. If they did not enforce the penalties—or the rewards, showing that they “mean business”—people would take them less and less seriously, and eventually there would be no one we could respect or trust. Before these things ever occurred, He warned us how it would be if we turned away from Him. He is clearly saying that if we are not going to do our part, we should not sign up to be His people. The curses are worse if we put our hand to the plow, then look back. We mock Him by receiving from Him and not becoming what we said we would be—so He multiplies the curse. But our ancestors already signed us up, so we cannot opt out of it; our only choice is to do our part. If we act like spoiled children who think the bill will never come due, we will indeed get what we deserve, but it will not be what we expect! Though it sounds like a hopeless domino effect, at any point in this slippery slide into deeper and deeper trouble, we can say, “Stop! You are right; I did wrong, and this is what I will do about it.” The whole point of this threat is that we turn around and come back. These curses can then turn into blessings. He has no desire to carry these things out, and we who have the benefit of retrospect and can see what He has done once should all the more strive to avoid making the same mistake again. If any of these things is occurring, we would do well to consider why. Not that we should be consumed with paranoia about our relationship with YHWH if we have an occasional itch or a pest in our gardens, for He has said the righteous can stumble without falling. (Psalm 37:23-24) But we should certainly not ignore such possible signs, because each can be an open door to repentance. It is time to make choices. There is a deadline.
CHAPTER 29
1. [28:69 in Hebrew] These are the words of the covenant that YHWH appointed Moshe to cut with the descendants of Israel in the land of Moav, in addition to the covenant He had made with them in Khorev.
Cut: The animals that represented a covenant were cut in half to say, “May this be done to me if I do not keep my side of the agreement.” At this time Israel was to be divided into two parts, standing on two different hills (27:12ff), to demonstrate vividly what the nation of Israel would look like if it did not fulfill its part in keeping the Torah. Indeed, it was divided after King Shlomo’s reign. But YHWH says that one day soon the two nations Israel became will again be under a single ruler. (Y’hazq’el 37:22) In addition to: This whole book is a reaffirmation of the covenant for the generation now made ready, after 40 years, to enter the Land, so he gives them more detailed instructions. Everything added since Sinai now also became counted as part of the covenant. Since they had already proven inclined to look for loopholes, He spelled out more specifics that illustrated the intent and implications of the contract. Some of them came about because specific situations highlighted the need for clarification. There are more responsibilities because they are now going into the Land. The covenant has had not just one, but several renewals, whenever they have been needed. Y’shua is the mediator of the most recent renewal of the same covenant, which has not yet been completed. He proved a man could keep the Torah if he just put away self. When a covenant is renewed, the former one is rolled into it but more details can be added to deal with a new situation on the part of one party. Y’shua said his renewal included not just outward actions but inward attitudes. (Mat. 5-7) It does not set the older one aside; there are just some new needs to deal with. Our version of the covenant had to make some allowances for our condition of exile far from the Land. It was not a trade-in! Nothing can supersede what the Creator said was eternal. Something that is to last forever can never be “fulfilled” except in the sense of being carried to its fullest potential. YHWH has met His side of the obligations, but there are still more generations who nee dto know Him as their Elohim, so we cannot throw the contract out like a completed mortgage. Why would we want to, unless we had been conditioned to see it as a burden rather than a blessing? As Y’shua pointed out, it is only men’s unauthorized additions that make the Torah a burden. (Mat. 23:4 et al) He showed us how to enter into rest while keeping it; He simplified the picture by reminding us what it was really about—loving YHWH with all our hearts, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. We are told that this time it is renewed—when there are two clear houses of Israel and Yehudah to confirm it with again (Yirmeyahu 31:31ff)—it will finally be kept. It will be written on our hearts. That is, it will become our natural inclination—not by magic, but by practice. As with driving a car, though it seems difficult and inconvenient at first, it will become second nature as we continue to acclimate ourselves to it. He has given us the whole car except one wheel, but the car still will not go without that wheel which we must supply. Of course, it requires a whole people in which to practice it properly, as the whole cannot be done by individuals in isolation. It was not meant to be. Moshe did not say, “This is the covenant”, because the words are only the beginning of the covenant; if we do not carry it out, there is still not really a covenant.
2. [29:1 in Hebrew] So Moshe summoned all Israel and told them, "You [yourselves] have seen all the effects that YHWH brought about in the land of Egypt toward Pharaoh, all his servants, and his whole land in front of your own eyes--
All Israel: Not just the Levites, judges, elders, or even just heads of households; the whole nation must be involved in order for this covenant to function. Most had not literally seen these events with their eyes, let alone ever seen an Egyptian, and many others were very young when they did (though it would have been vivid enough to be burned forever into their memory). The rest had been told, just as we are. They probably heard about it every day, and for them it had been from firsthand witnesses; ours may not be as close to the actual events, but their parents did not prove very reliable either, so we are on the same footing indeed. We, like they, must live as if we had seen it firsthand; if two or three witnesses speak faithfully, it is counted as true in Israel. If only a few of those standing here had seen it, YHWH counts it as if they had all seen it. All of Israel is responsible for what two faithful witnesses affirm.
3. "the great acts of proof that your eyes have seen. Those miracles and wonders were great,
Acts of proof: The main reason for His miracles was not their comfort or even provision (though these were the effects) but so they would trust YHWH, to be testimonies in advance to His faithfulness, before they were asked to “sign on the dotted line”. For Avraham it was the other way around.
4. "but YHWH did not give you a heart to perceive, nor eyes to discern, nor ears to receive until today
The truth had been there all along; they had seen the events, but did not have the perspective to be able to understand it until this time, when they could see all the wilderness wanderings in retrospect, and for the first time Moshe put all the pieces together so they could see the pattern. They were focused on gathering manna, and which day not to gather and when to gather a double portion. One rarely recognizes it when he is participating in something heroic or historic. Columbus was lost when he stumbled upon the Americas. The men who stormed Normandy beach were doing their job; they had no idea they would still be being interviewed about it nearly 70 years later. Israel did not know that every move they made, even their complaints, would be used to instruct generations to come for thousands of years. This was a big deal, and we are a part of it! We need to see the big picture with every lost sheep of Israel that we help regather. Every one is significant. While we are small, what is being done is huge. Every little thing we do, right or wrong, will affect Israel for many generations. We undergird those who come later, because they can point to our actions and say, “This is what the Torah looks like.” When we make the Torah seen and not just heard, we establish the Torah. We represent YHWH, and this is only a burden if we do not see it as a joyful privilege, for we can help those who have never seen to see. Though Y’shua had already made it more plain and we could even quote much of Scripture, we did not know what much of it meant whiel we looked at it through Gentile glasses. But we have a similar vantage point today, as the time of our exile has begun to end and the "partial blindness" is being removed from both houses of Israel. We have seen the fulfillment of the curses, and know what to avoid. We also tried to practice it in the wrong context, which turned out to be spinning our wheels. As we pull together again as a nation and not just individuals, we can become fruitful again.
5. "when I have led you for forty years in the wilderness; your clothing has not grown old from upon you nor your shoes worn out on your foot.
40 years later, to the day, they relived the crossing of a body of water on dry ground, though on a much smaller scale. (Y’hoshua 3:15-17) The survival of their clothing was another proof of YHWH’s faithfulness despite the odds. But why does it say “on you” and “on your foot”? Because if we simply carried them with us, it would be no miracle that they did not wear out. But things attached to YHWH last precisely because they are used. His words are our covering, and if we “put them on” every day, they will continue to cover us; we cannot wear out the Torah, but if “left in the closet” and given low priority, it could wear away from dry rot.
6. "You have not eaten bread nor drunk wine or an intoxicating beverage, so that you may understand that ‘I am YHWH your Elohim.
Wine was the most common antiseptic at that time. In ancient times, when on a journey, people would also take fermented drinks along because the water could not be trusted to be free from disease unless the wells were very deep. But our ancestors survived without these ordinary provisions. By having none of the things on which we normally rely, they had to depend on YHWH daily, and He proved Himself capable of "saving with much or with little". But when drinking no alcohol, our minds will be clear and we will give credit where it is truly due, unlike the other nations who thank "luck". They also ate no leaven, so they would not be fooled. This was not just an illusion dreamed up by people intoxicated with newfound freedom or the accidents of nature. What they ate was not something they grew themselves, but manna, which was provided for them and which did not appear on the Sabbath; what “accidental” provision could do that every week? I: prophets can speak for YHWH in the first person; they often do, so if Yeshua does the same, we should no more identify him with YHWH than we would Moshe or Isaiah.
7. “‘Then when you arrived at this place, Sikhon the king of Heshbon and Og
the king of Bashan came out to meet us in battle, and we struck them down
Still speaking for YHWH, Moshe includes Him in the “we” with whom they
fought and to whom they lost.
8. “‘and took their land and designated it as the inherited property of the
Re’uvenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Menashe.
He did not give us the burden of everyday supplies wearing out. (vv. 5-6) The little bit He did give us to do was to do away with His enemies. If we had not done that much, our clothes would have indeed worn out, and Amaleq was waiting close by to engulf us. He gives plenty of cause for confidence for the next step: even these "bonus" territories on the other side of the Yarden, which were never even promised to us as such, have been conquered with no casualties; how much more the part that He has sworn to give? There was no reason to doubt that YHWH can keep His side of the covenant. Og (a giant) was as well-known in his generation as Hitler was in his. YHWH had not only allowed us to kill him, but to take his land as well!
9. “‘So guard the words of this covenant, and carry them out, so that you may succeed in all that you do.’”
You: after many singular uses of the word throughout the blessings and curses, this “you” is plural, showing us that these words are not just about individuals. What one Israelite does affects all of Israel. If one shingle fails, a whole house can eventually be ruined. So see yourself not primarily as a shingle, a nail, or a board, but as part of the house. (Gibor) We need to think not just about what benefits us, but what is best for the whole nation. Succeeding or prospering does not mean becoming individually wealthy, but receiving what YHWH promised to Avraham—that is, becoming numerous and possessing the Land. He will give us more strength if we submit and join in with what He is doing. These things require more of a response than merely “thank you”. In Hebrew, the connection is much clearer. Todah, which means “thank you”, is from the root word yad (hand). Saying “thank you” is thus, by definition, saying, “I will do something about what I am thanking you for; I will now use my hands for You.” We cannot simply believe ourselves into the Promised Land. Since that became obvious, men in power changed the definition of the Promised Land for the masses, moving it from a physical place to a cloud in the sky. We have no promise of prosperity in any pursuit that is contrary to the Torah; anything that serves self will eventually prove to produce only further selfishness, and we will be left with nothing but self.
TORAH PORTION
Ki-Thavo'
(Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:9)
INTRODUCTION: For 40 years Moshe has been building expectation in our ancestors about the wonderful Land to which YHWH is bringing them, and now they are about to actually arrive here. He does not want the immensity of what YHWH has done for us to escape us, so he prescribes a ritual which will set it apart as very special, as well as acknowledging YHWH as the One who made it all possible. Then give back to Him (through those to whom He is closest) a token of what He has given us, before we partake of the rest.
For a second tangible reminder of what He wants us to do, there would be an altar with the whole Torah written on stuccoed stone right in the center of the Land to which anyone could go for reference.
The first ritual was on a personal scale. On the national scale, Moshe also prescribed a one-time but unforgettable event at the site of the altar: an antiphonal calling out of the blessings or curses that would result, respectively, from our obedience or disobedience.
The blessings all resonate with us; that is a given. But in the curses we see a side of YHWH that is somewhat unsettling. If He calls us to mercy and forgiveness, as well as simply keeping our word and not making idle comments, how is it that He makes such grandiose, epic threats? I mean, we all have times when we want to vent and speak the first thing that comes to mind when we are wronged--to express how we really feel, even when we know we won’t go as far as we say. Isn’t He entitled to do the same? If He didn’t have emotions, we would not be truly in His image. But this is YHWH; He is perfect. He won’t say what He won’t actually do. And indeed, history bears out the fact that He did--a few times--let things go as far as He threatened here.
And who are we to say He should not, if we do not keep our part of the bargain? Does He owe us mercy when we do not deserve it? He loves to show it, but who can demand it, when we were so wicked that even such terrifying prospects did not suffice as a deterrent to diverging from His straightforward path? The burden of fault is on us, not Him. The fact that one of our punishments would be that we would have to serve other elohim (28:64) goes to show how frightening the alternatives to YHWH really are, though they put up a facade of offering us the “freedom” to “have fun when and how we want to”. It is always “bait and switch”, and we find ourselves in bondage to our raw wants and desires, having to pay for them over and over.
In contrast, the fact of how lovingly YHWH cared and provided for them when none of the usual “necessities” were available--yet here they were, still alive--should have been enough to make them--and us--want to indeed guard these rare treasures of knowledge, theology, jurisprudence, and ethics that were offered to us freely as a gift. Who in their right mind would refuse them and settle for the best that the fallen world has to offer? Those who step across the line (making ourselves Hebrews) and take the leap of faith find that included in the covenant (at least as renewed after these digressions of ours) is a transplanted will--a “new heart” and a “new spirit” that make us not only want to keep His commandments, but also empower us to do not just the surface actions but to have the right underlying attitudes as well. (See Y’hezq’El 11:19; 36:26; Yirmeyahu 31:33)
Heshbon
“I Declare!”
Blessings and curses: these take up the majority of this Torah portion. First there is the dramatic antiphonal contrast booming from one hill and then the other (Deut. 27:9-13), with the nation in between them at the site of the equally-dramatic avenging of the honor of the tribal patriarchs’ sister some 400 years before this. It must have been a scene those present could never forget for the rest of their lives.
But then the curses are repeated again (28:15-68), so that the blessings are sandwiched between the two iterations, and this latter enumeration of the curses is nearly four times as long as the blessings! Why?
A big part of it is the deterrent potential: make the consequences dire enough that no one will even dare step over the line. Sadly, though, we did it anyway, and the part of our agreement that said we would obey activated the curses, because we had backed out. Yes, this was His doing also, just as much as the blessings were, and despite how outrageous some of these dark promises would seem if spoken by anyone else, He is able to deliver on them—and in fact, He did. He does not want anyone else to have to experience the brunt of the covenant as some of our ancestors have. So He repeats the warnings the second time, more loudly than the first.
After listing all that disloyalty to Him will bring, He comes back and says, “Now you can better understand the things you saw Me do.” (29:4) Some of this perspective comes from hearing what the results of complying and not complying with the covenant will be. But some of it also comes from 40 years of maturing, during which time we experienced more of YHWH’s long-term provision as well as His miracles and the precedents He set which show that He can continue to deliver us and bring us out ahead of all that would try to thwart us. (29:1-8) So, he summarizes, don’t lose this knowledge. Guard the commandments so you won’t drop the ball, either on purpose or by accident, and end up experiencing what He threatened.
So how do we guard them?
Well, obviously, avoid the things listed in 27:15-26. One meaning of “guard” is to build a hedge around. A traditional understanding of this is to make “fences” so we will not even get close to doing the wrong things. That can be great wisdom, for there are many precipices, and physical guard rails are a specific Torah command (22:8), so it would stand to reason that figurative ones are kosher too. But we must be ever so careful to never judge other people by the fences we build, as if they held the same authority as what they are there to guard, for that would be adding to YHWH’s com-mands—which Moshe just explicitly forbade us to do. (4:2; 12:32)
Might there be other ways, then, to guard the commandments? What ideas does this Torah portion itself give us?
One way is to write them in conspicuous places. (27:1-8) We actually guard them better by making them more, not less, public. Let everybody see them clearly; that prevents anyone from monopolizing access to them like the Catholic Church tried to do. When everyone has access, the words cannot be changed without everyone noticing, and they are preserved in their purity and simplicity.
Then, listen carefully. (28:1) It literally says, “Listen listening”, and implies “hearkening”, i.e., obeying what you hear. But that entails both suspending our response until we have heard the whole of what He has to say, and being sure we have heard it properly and are not coloring our interpretation through some preconception about what we like or dislike; our preferences can be changed through proper education, so let His words sink in, meditate on them (Y’hoshua 1:8), and let them color you instead. When your heart is in the right place, then, as Proverbs 4:23 says, guard your heart with all diligence, because whatever comes out of it becomes the shape of your life.
The beginning of this portion gives us another clue as to how to guard both the commandments and our hearts. On two occasions it tells us to “Declare”—first, that we have come into the Land and brought the fruits he said He would bless us with. (26:1-11) In other words, rehash how YHWH has kept His promises, doing what He said He would, keeping His part of the agreement. Remembering what He has done and what it cost others to transmit this history to us keeps them in context and helps us to feel their value on an emotional as well as rational level. After making this declaration, He says to rejoice with the others whom He has likewise redeemed. To do this, we must surround ourselves with others who obey and can set an example for us. Learn from them their secrets to success, and absorb the spirit that they exude. And the content of the rejoicing is thankfulness for YHWH’s blessings and instructions that save us the trial and error by which other nations have had to learn what works and what does not.
The second “declare” is to affirm that you have not withheld, misused, or misappropriated what He said belongs to Him for the use of the needy in His community, whether they are part of it, in charge of it, or just there to learn from it. (26:12-15) If we know we are going to have to say that—and woe to you if you say it untruthfully--it will make us more careful to carry out all the steps correctly as we lead up to the time when we need to make the declaration. Remember, others are watching (28:11), seeking to learn from us; if Israel sets a bad example, the whole world goes to the dogs.
Avail yourself of all YHWH’s favor (which puts us in the best position to carry out His orders) and don’t turn aside from it (28:11-14), for that only robs us of the resources we need if we are to guard and obey. And above all, stay loyal to Him. Don’t go after other mighty ones. That includes not turning His messengers into His equals, whether that means deifying messiah or taking the rabbis’ words more seriously than YHWH’s own. Be on your guard!
Study Questions:
1. How can you carry out the concept of firstfruits (16:1-2) if you live in a non-agricultural setting? Is that sufficient, or are you eager to be able to carry it out in the context it was designed for? (26:9-11)
2. How many different tithes are there in Torah? (26:12)
3. Could you make the declaration in 26:13-15? If not, what do you need to do to get to that point?
4. This portion is read during the season of T’shuvah (repentance), so consider: are you obeying YHWH’s commands with all your heart and all your soul? (26:16) How do YHWH’s own sentiments as expressed in 26:18-19 help you get there?
5. Why would YHWH tell the nation to write the whole Torah at an outdoor site, as contrasted with the Tabernacle? (27:3, 8) Why would He choose Mt. Eval as the place to write it? (Look for it on a map. But might 27:13 also have something to do with the choice?) What argument later resulted from this commandment? (See Yochanan/John 4:20)
6. Of the curses in 27:15-25, how many are about our relationship with YHWH, and how many about our relationship with our fellow human beings? Why do you think they are weighted in this way?
7. Why do you think the curses are given before the blessings? (27, 28)
8. What amazing word picture do we have in 28:2 of how much YHWH wants to bless us? What is the only condition under which He can do so? (28:1)
9. Can you think of any area in which He did not promise a physical blessing, not even counting the spiritual ones that come with knowing Him? Why would anyone refuse these awesome superlatives (28:3-14) and opt for the opposite (28:15-68)?
10. Why is this contrast so important to read during the season leading up to the Day of Coverings—or lack thereof?
11. Have all of these curses come upon one part of Israel or another? (See 2 Kings 6:28) And “just in case I missed any” (28:61)—do we really want to be on that side of YHWH? How could we bear to be the brunt of 28:63?
12. What do you think Moshe means in 29:3 when He says we saw YHWH’s works, but they did not understand until this time?
13. For those of us who have no resources for outfitting or travel, how does 29:4-5 give us hope in regard to the second and greater Exodus that Yirmeyahu 16:14-15 tells us is yet to come?
14. How did the recounting of the victories over the kings east of the Yarden River (29:6-7) help those who were preparing to cross the river into Kanaan?
Companion Passage:
The Sidewalk
for kids
Kaden couldn’t believe his eyes. It was his 17th birthday, and his Dad had led him, blindfolded, outside to give him his birthday present.
“Son, I’m proud of how responsible you’ve been since you got your driver’s license. You’ve been a careful driver and you’ve taken good care of my car whenever you’ve borrowed it. So now, take off your blindfold.” And there it was: his favorite kind of car!
“It’s yours,” Dad said, “but if you become at all reckless in your driving, I do reserve the right to take away your privileges, because, after all, I’m paying for it.”
“Of course, Dad”, said Kaden. “Wow! I can’t believe you’d give me what I dreamed of! Thanks, Dad! I love you!”
Kaden showed his car to his friends, and they said, “Wow! Your Dad sure loves you!” He appreciated his gift so much that he wanted to share the joy with them, so he offered to give them rides to school and to work and to the movies and the bowling alley.
But sometimes they were in a hurry, and asked him to drive a little faster. “I’m already going the speed limit!”, he told them. “I promised my Dad I’d be careful with this car.” But they said, “Aw, come on, what difference will ten miles an hour over the limit make? The cops here aren’t that strict. And even if you got a ticket, I bet your Dad would pay for it. After all, he paid for this!” So Kaden hurried up so they could get where they were going on time.
But after a while, he got used to this, and got a little careless about the speed limit even when he was driving by himself. One day, he was in a hurry, but saw that the light was about to turn red. “I think I can make it,” he said, and he floored it and got through, but it turned red just as he was going under the light.
After a while he got used to doing that too, and once he got a warning from the police. His Dad frowned, but just said, “The law is there for a reason, son.” Kaden said, “I understand”, but one day he was in a hurry and, just as he was approaching the railroad tracks, he heard the horn of a train coming. The crossing gate was just beginning to come down, so he said, “I can make this; I’ve gotten good at moving quickly in this thing.”
And sure enough, he got through safely, and the crossing gate just missed his back bumper. This time, however, the police saw him and gave him a ticket. His Dad didn’t pay for it, but took away his allowance for two months to cover the charges. But still he got to keep using the car.
For a while Kaden was more careful again, but one day he was running late for a football game he wanted to watch, and there was a slower driver in front of him. Even though he was in a “no passing” zone, he decided to go ahead and pass. As he went by, he recognized that the driver was Mrs. Finkenbottom, an elderly neighbor of theirs. There was a curve in the road ahead of him and he couldn’t see if anything was coming, but he got past her safely enough and hurried on his way.
A week later when Kaden came home from school, his car wasn’t in the driveway. “Maybe Dad took it to get the oil changed,” he thought. But when he got inside, both of his parents were there, so he asked them where the car was.
“I sold it because of your reckless driving,” his Dad said.
“What do you mean?!” he fumed. “You must mean wreck-less, because I haven’t been in a crash!”
“No, but you caused one,” his Dad said. “Mrs. Finkenbottom saw it. When you passed her, there was a car coming around the curve. The driver saw you coming, but when he hit the brakes, he lost control and narrowly missed hitting both Mrs. Finkenbottom and a child riding a bike, and ran into a tree. Mrs. Finkenbottom recognized your car and reported it. Now I have to pay the deductible from your insurance and the driver’s health insurance, because he had to go to the hospital, so I sold it to cover the cost, ‘cause you’ve shown me that you can’t be trusted with it after all.”
This Torah portion shows that sometimes YHWH does the same thing. Like Kaden, we can start out careful but let things slip little by little so we don’t even notice where we’re headed, but eventually find ourselves using the wonderful gifts He gives us in a way that endangers others or even ourselves. So He may take them away. It doesn’t mean He doesn’t love us. It means He loves us—and His other children—enough to teach us the hard lessons so that the next time it doesn’t turn out even worse.
What does that tell you about how you should act before you get to that point?
This portion is read during the season when we focus on thinking about where we're headed, and changing direction--before it's too late.
The Renewal of
KI-THAVO'
This reading begins with the script of what to say when bringing one’s firstfruit offering, especially if for the first time: in so many words, it says, “I acknowledge” that YHWH has done what He promised to do so that I can now do what He told me to. (Deut. 26:3) “And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land, which You, O YHWH, have given me.” (v. 10) You have put me in a position to give thanks and to help sustain the priesthood and to testify to Your generous provision for Your people.
This, of course, makes our minds jump to an even greater accomplishment of YHWH’s that took place on the very day the firstfruits were to be brought, some 1500 years later. Because of this and what it signified, the Renewed Covenant calls Messiah “the Firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15:23), in the context of the resurrection, which showed what YHWH could do, but it also gave us power to do, from the heart, the things that were external commands to us before that. They were great ideals to shoot for and no one could disagree that they were right and excelled anything else anyone had ever heard before. But there was something in us that weighed our feet down and made “walking in His ways” still a struggle, though He did not give us anything “beyond our reach” (the reach of the entire community’s resources together); what was too hard was what men added to His commands. (Mat. 23:4)
But if any fail in their part, it does put great strain on others fulfilling their portion of the work. Such was the case when, after the Northern Kingdom was gone and a majority of the two remaining tribes had stayed in exile when they had the open door to come back to the Land. How could the whole Torah be fulfilled, too, when many of the remnant in the Land were more concerned with outshining others in their apparent righteousness than with actually meeting the needs of their fellows and the poor and widows and orphans and sojourners among them?
But when Messiah showed his face again after dying, the human race had been bought back. YHWH was “free” to make good on His promise to give us “a new heart and a new spirit” (Ezek. 36:26), a soft heart rather than a hard one (Ezek. 11:19), so the good that the “knowledge of good and evil” had left in us could finally and increasingly outweigh the evil.
We were given a law of aerodynamics that could supersede the law of gravity (Rom. 8:2) and let us not just walk, but fly. It still takes an effort, but the effort is more in the choice of which law to put in use, especially when everyone around us is going heavy on the gravity! So Paul sacrifices even that apparent righteousness which is tied around his feet, “so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection.” (Philippians 3:10) That power lets us “taste the powers of the age to come” (Hebrews 6:5). Blessings will certainly follow, though many of them are certainly in disguise.
The testimony continues: “I have put away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all …You have commanded me; I have not transgressed any of Your commandments, neither have I forgotten them. ” (Deut. 26:13)
This pattern sounds a lot like Yeshua when he presented his record before the Father in the bid for the redemption of Israel and all mankind: “I have honored You on the earth, having completed the work that You gave me to do… I have revealed Your name to the people whom You gave me from out of the world… I have given them Your word… I have also given them the honor that You gave me, so that they may be one… I have both been making Your name known to them and will [continue to] make it known, so that the love with which You loved me may be in them, and that I may [also] be among them.” (Yochanan 17:5, 6, 14, 22)
That is what qualified him for the resurrection and made its power available to us.
“But if you do not listen carefully to the voice of YHWH your Elohim, and pay close attention to carry out all His orders …curses shall come upon you, and shall pursue you, and overtake you,… since you did not serve YHWH your Elohim with joy and with gladness of heart because of the abundance of all [things].” (Deut. 28:15, 45, 47) “YHWH will scatter you among all peoples… among those nations you will not find [even a] moment’s rest, neither will the sole of your foot find relief…Your life, too, will hang in doubt…YHWH will bring you back to Egypt… and there you will be sold to your enemies as slaves--yet no one will buy you.” (Deut. 28:64-66, 68)
How much more, when we have even more resources at our disposal to be both joyful and obedient, will we have consequences for not using them? This is not foreign to the Renewed Covenant either:
“Where is [a way] opened for those who were once enlightened, and tasted of the gifts of the heavens, [who] took up the standing of the Spirit of Holiness, and tasted of the good word of our Elohim and the powers of the age to come, that if they draw back to turn themselves away, they can be renewed by means of repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of Elohim afresh, and put him to open shame?” (Hebrews 6:4-6)
“If we go on sinning willfully after having received the knowledge of what is true, there is no further sacrifice left in regard to sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery punitive zeal which is about to consume those who oppose. Anyone who disregarded Moshe’s law died with no pity upon [the word of] two or three witnesses; how much worse a penalty do you suppose will he be deemed to deserve, who has spurningly trampled the Son of Elohim and considered the blood of the covenant by which he was set apart [to be] nothing special, and has insulted the Spirit of Empowering Favor?” (Hebrews 10:26-29)
But after these warnings, YHWH says the door for repentance has not yet been closed:
“You have seen… but YHWH did not give you a heart to perceive, nor eyes to discern, nor ears to receive until today... So guard the words of this covenant, and carry them out, so that you may succeed in all that you do.” (Deut. 29:1, 3)
Yeshua said that although, according to Yeshayahu’s prophecy, many were hearing him but were not given understanding (the door had by then been closed for some), there were still some who could understand: “Your eyes are at an advantage, because they see, and your ears, because they hear! For I tell you the truth: many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you are seeing, but did not see it, and to hear what you are hearing, but did not hear it." (Mat. 13:16-17)
Make sure you do not squander that privilege which cost YHWH so dear a price to make possible.
Could Anyone Really Be That Stupid?
Oh, for the day we are among those who bring the firstfruits of the Land YHWH promised our ancestors and get to quote the affirmation that YHWH has kept His promises! (Deut. 26:1-10) And it doesn’t sound like this has to be in some far-off day that now seems utopian to most. The context is while there are still widows and fatherless (26:13), mourning or uncleanness (26:14). Granted, there will be death in the Kingdom, but it will be much rarer. (Isa. 65:20) So, like Yehudah, we may get to live it out in this age as well.
The “Ebal Guidestones” show us that YHWH’s truth is not occult (hidden) knowledge; it is all out in the open for anyone to read His statutes and understand. It is not relegated only to legal experts in back rooms at the city gates--the ancient equivalent of the courthouse. (27:1-8) It holds them accountable.
Why were these particular sins chosen for curses? (27:15-26) Are these the ones YHWH considers the worst? Why do no blessings parallel them? Yeshua brought out this same pattern in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the ones who…” (Matithyahu 5) Instead of doing this in the next chapter (28:1-14), though, Moshe applies the blessings to every context and situation in which we live and thrive. He even says the blessings will chase you down (28:2), and overwhelm you with “too much” good! (28:11)
But then there are those curses… Such morbid allusions to things from our heritage gone askew: If we reject the good gifts He’s given us and credit them to someone (or something) else, there will be no Avraham to chase the carrion-eaters from our unburied corpses (a curse in itself, 28:26 for Gen. 15:11). We won’t get the gracious exemptions YHWH’s administration affords. (28:20 for 20:5-7) The Egypt He brought us out of will recapture us a multitude of ways. (28:27, 36, 41, 60, 68 for Ex. 15:26) Something like Amaleq will come after us again. (28:49-51 for 25:17-18) The plagues will be unbelievable and beyond our ability to deal with. (28:59) And just in case he forgot to mention any, them too! (v. 61) Oy.
These are the terms. (28:69) They are supposed to sound so ridiculously outrageous that it would be, as my wife puts it, “not a brainer” which path to choose. If we were still normal--the way He created us--that could have been assumed. But no! Not us! But YHWH actually had the power to carry these out—much to the shock of those who thought He was kidding. They proved to be the ones with no brains, for though He is patient, He “will not be mocked.” (Gal. 6:7) Verse 63 is downright scary—that we could get to the point where YHWH delights to squash us, like a child who has fun stomping on a roach! Sad that we should bring Him to that point when He had such high hopes for the creatures made in His image.
The “wandering Jew” is the most famous fulfillment of verse 65, but only because the other tribes’ sorrows are much less well-known. But that is changing, and we are seeing how all Israel has experienced these things—some of them so unimaginably grim that we have to pray that one fulfillment in history (2 Kings 6:28-30 for 28:53-57) is enough and they will never have to be repeated again. After all, this worst of them was to take place while we were still in the Land, before our exile. (28:52, 64) May it remain then and then alone, we beg! But the ball is in our court; it all depends how we respond.
What is it that brings on the enemies? The fact that we trust in the walls we’ve built rather than in YHWH (28:52), so they instead become a challenge for foes to surmount, like a mountain that men climb “just because it is there”! And what keeps the locusts and the worms and the looters away? Not pesticide or armored cars, but obedience (29:8); it’s nothing more complicated than finding our joy in serving YHWH (28:47), like the cheerful heart that keeps diseases away. (Prov. 17:22)
What is it we find so hard about that?
Could I Be Under YHWH’s Curse?
There are times in our lives when we experience some of the things on this Torah portion’s list of curses (Deut. 28:15-28), and we have to wonder whether we have slipped out of YHWH’s favor. If we looked only at this part of Scripture, we would have to conclude that we must have indeed gone astray.
But this is only part of the story. There are other Scriptures which interpret the Torah and put some more nuanced conditions and parameters on what would otherwise seem black and white.
Iyov (Job), for example, suffered many of these very distressing things, but not because of something he did or failed to do. We get the behind-the-scenes view because the narrator explains the background of haSatan’s challenge and attempts to discredit his good acts. We are never told if Iyov ever did find out why he experienced all of this, yet YHWH rewarded his being faithful in spite of the accusations. Thus, one of the earliest-written books of Scripture (possibly even the earliest) tells us right off the bat that there is not always a one-to-one correspondence between suffering and some specific sin.
Yeshua was asked a similar question when a man born blind (one of these curses) was brought to him: “Rabbi, who sinned—this man or his parents—that he was born like this?” (Yochanan 9:2) I’ve never figured out why they thought he could sin before he was born--unless they believed in reincarnation! But what was Yeshua’s answer? “Neither…Rather, [it was] so that the works of Elohim might be displayed.” (9:3) YHWH could better demonstrate the healing He is capable of with a darker backdrop.
So there are more factors than meet the eye. We can’t always reduce the question to such simplistic explanations. In fact, once haSatan was defeated, he stepped up his attacks on the righteous over whom he no longer has authority (who’ve seen through his façade) just for spite or to render them ineffective. (The ultimate expression of this is in Rev. 12:12) Yeshua tells us up front that following him actively to any serious degree puts us directly in his enemy’s crosshairs. (Yoch. 15:18, etc.) When those aligned with the king YHWH will set in Zion—but not yet—encounter those loyal to the old ruler, sparks will fly.
This gives a completely new meaning to suffering. “Don’t be amazed at the fire that is coming on you to test you, as if something strange were happening to you, but be glad to the extent that you are sharing in what Messiah has suffered, so that you too may [experience the] surpassing joy when his exalted position is made public. If reproach is undeservedly cast in your teeth in the name of Messiah, [you are] blessed, because the spirit of dignity and of Elohim rests on you.” (1 Kefa/Peter 4:12-14) Yeshua’s brother also said we should be glad when we meet various trials, because they produce tremendous potential for growth. (Yaaqov/James 1:2ff) What appears to be a curse is sometimes really a blessing.
But that being said, you’re not necessarily off the hook; the first question must still be asked, because it still holds true when the reason is what Moshe was talking about: “If you do not obey the voice of YHWH to be careful to carry out all His commands and His statues…” (28:15)
When you suffer, scrutinize yourself to see if there is some command you may indeed be breaking, especially if your heart has been drifting from YHWH. And even those who are very strict about His statutes have to search our motives to know if we are doing it only (or even mainly) for our own benefit, or where our focus may be off—if we might be neglecting the “weightier matters like justice, mercy, and faithfulness”. (Mat. 23:23)
We may not always be able to sort out which cause is in operation, but we can keep short accounts with YHWH, and repent of what we see. If we love Him and consciously cooperate with His purpose, we are assured that “all things”—maybe not each part, but the sum--will “work together for good.” (Rom. 8:28)
How Do We Do This
in the Meantime?
This Torah portion includes commands that are hard to keep in isolation; they require a framework that we can all participate in to work properly. But where is there currently a community where we can carry these things out the way they are stated? Certainly not in our places of exile, and not even in the Land of Israel of today, where the infrastructure is mostly secular and operates the same way as most governments--with taxes rather than tithes.
We don’t have priests to bring the firstfruits to (Deut. 26:2-11) or storehouses to bring tithes to (26:12-15) right now. We can only carry out remnants or remembrances of full-scale obedience until the structure as YHWH describes it is back in place. But we can do things that are their equivalent in many ways, and often for a variety of recipients; we can certainly care for widows and orphans and support those who spend all their time teaching us or others YHWH’s truth. The possibilities are endless if we have eyes to see the needs and the analogies.
The wording suggests that He may only require a tithe of our “increase”—that is, the profits. “Gain” is one meaning of the word (t’vu’ah). It could be read as just being based on the surplus you have left after you have covered all your expenses, rather than 10% of your gross income. But I wouldn’t stake my life on that being all we are responsible for; the term can also mean “produce”, “crops”, “yield”, or “revenue”, and is based on the word for “what comes in”. (Sounds a lot like “income”!)
YHWH is aware of our financial dilemmas and He also knows where we are being selfish and negligent when we could be giving more. I believe that if someone truly sets his heart to be as obedient as possible, YHWH will let him or her know what He intends, and make a way for him or her to carry it out. We should not jeopardize the well-being of those we are responsible to provide for because of a vague sense of guilt that we are not donating enough, and give irresponsibly. (Mark 7:9-13; 1 Tim. 5:8)
On the other hand, the “holes in our pockets” (Haggai 1:6-10) that seem to hold us back from giving more may disappear if we act in faith like the widow whom Eliyahu challenged to act first before she could see the evidence. (1 Kings 17:11-14; compare Mal. 3:8-11) Believe me, I feel this tension regularly, but I have seen YHWH provide in amazing ways, usually from sources we’d never have expected, because He, not the means He uses, is the focus of our faith--which is why He usually changes the vehicle so we won’t trust in the way He’s done it before, but in Him.
Most importantly, we need to know His instructions inside and out and be eager to do our very best so that as soon as He allows us to be in a position to carry them out properly and precisely again, we will be ready and know how it is to be done. He says that if we listen diligently and put safeguards in place to be able to carry out His will, His blessing will not just come upon us but actually chase us down (28:1-2) so that we have more than enough to be able to live up to all these ideals! (28:11) YHWH promised this when Israel was first going into the Land (27:2; 28:11-12), but the prophets promise that the same scenarios will be repeated once we come back from our exile, having repented of our forsaking His ways. (The haftarah, Isaiah 60, is just one of many examples.)
But if the blessings can recur, so can the curses. (28:15ff) Just because part of Israel is back in the Land now does not mean they could not be “spit back out” if they meet the criteria for that again. (Lev. 20:22) OvadYah Avrahami of Kol haTor Vision in Israel, thinks this may be going on right now in the “public protests against the current government’s attempts to curb the… authority that the Supreme Court has usurped in Israel.” He says, “The flood of Israeli citizens and businesses now seeking alternative domicile could well be the fulfillment of the Biblical statement that ‘The Land will spew out those who are unfit for HaShem’s Requirements’, …the Secular section of the nation, backing a self-appointed authority that has repeatedly… blocked the extension of the Land of Israel to its original borders.” One wonders if the gaps they leave might make room for the rest of our tribes to return also.
The alternative to the nightmare curses promised to those who desert His covenant is to experience the kind of miracles that show that our excuses for not surrendering our resources to Him—that we just would not have enough if we did obey, because of course we have to keep replacing the possessions that wear out—just don’t hold water! (29:4-5)
We can be freed from the Torah’s curses (Galatians 3:10-13) if we come back to trusting and obeying Him who loves to provide. He even provided a just means of forgiveness for our very real offenses against Him, and this is an even stronger argument for sticking close to Him in love than the threat of curses if we don’t.
Biblical Prophecy:
Literal or Figurative?
This Torah portion begins with “when you come into the Land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance…” This phrase with only minor variations appears dozens of times throughout the Torah. This emphasizes that the land of Israel is a very important part of YHWH’s covenant.
Some well-meaning believers are saying the physical land of Israel no longer means anything in YHWH’s economy. They base it on all that Yeshua and the apostles said about the Kingdom being “not of this world”, the temple “built of living stones”, not made with hands, and Avraham seeking “a better country--a heavenly one”. Yeshua said a time was coming when people would not worship YHWH on either the mountain holy to the Jews and the one where Samaritans worshipped. (The one they misappropriated as their basis comes from this very Torah portion: Mt. Grizim, where the blessings are pronounced, Deut. 27:12) Rather, people would worship “in spirit and in truth”. (Yochanan 4:21-24)
For sure that is the more important and eternal principle. But just because he said a time was coming when Jerusalem would not be the focus did not mean that would always remain the case.
Nearly all of the prophets say in one way or another that “YHWH will again choose Jerusalem”. (Zech. 2:12) This portion’s haftarah speaks of that time, when “Gentiles will come to your light…The sons of the foreigner will rebuild your walls, and their kings will wait on you…You will possess the land forever.” (Isa. 60:3, 10, 21, based on Deut. 26:19) The current walls were built when only a tiny remnant of Israel was in the land and they were by no means in control of it. Will the walls have to be rebuilt yet again?
He seems to be alluding to the same event described in Zechariah 14, where YHWH “will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be taken…Then YHWH shall go forth, and fight against those nations,” and “every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, YHWH Tz’vaoth, and to keep the feast of Sukkoth.”
The people above who warn against interpreting these promises literally argue that the modern nation of Israel was put in place by the “deep state” to be the centerpiece of the global “New World Order”.
The Bible does in fact appear to say Jerusalem will, for a time, be co-opted by “Babylon”, the Rebellion, in its final incarnation. How else could the counterfeit pass for the real kingdom?
A false Messiah who claims to be God (2 Thess. 2:4) will set up an unauthorized throne in Jerusalem before the real Messiah arrives. (The Nicene doctrine of the deity of Messiah sets the stage for people to find this deception plausible.) That he does not follow the Torah (Dan. 7:25) signals us he is not from YHWH (Isa. 8:20).
And that same Torah promises that after the curses in this portion come to pass and after our long exile, we will be gathered back to the very same land Y’hoshua was about to take our ancestors into.
“My Kingdom is not of this world” (Yochn. 18:36) is better rendered “not of this age” (it’s the word from which we get “aeon”), for another age is coming when the spiritual and physical will be brought back together—the “Kingdom come…on earth [the physical realm] as it is in heaven” [the spiritual realm]. It begins when “his feet shall stand” not in some ethereal realm, but “upon the mount of Olives” (Zech. 14:4)--a physical place at Jerusalem.
Can’t “in spirit and in truth” (reality) mean we worship YHWH with both heart and body? The dichotomy is only meant to be temporary. As Yeshua said, though the heart aspects of the Torah are more important than outward acts, we are still meant to do both. (Luke 11:42)
