Devarim/Deut
31:1-30
Moshe
left the scene, his purpose to prepare the way for the Moshiach was
accomplished. It cannot be merely coincidence that his replacement carried the
same name as Yahshua the Nazarene. We conclude that it is only the Moshiach who
can safely lead us and keep us in Eretz Yisrael.
Our Moshiach was once quoted as saying:
“ Yochanan/Joh
15:15 “No longer do I call you servants,
for a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you
friends, for all teachings which I heard from My Father I have made
known to you.
Joh 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and
appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should
remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name He might give you. “ end
quote.
The prophets also speak concerning this week’s teaching.
Hos 14:8 “What more has Ephrayim to do with idols? It
is I who answer and look after him. I am like a green cypress tree, your fruit
comes from Me.”
Hos 14:9 Who is wise and understands these words,
discerning and knows them? For the ways of יהוה are
straight, and the righteous walk in them, but the transgressors stumble in
them.
Mic 7:18 Who is an Ěl like You – taking away
crookedness and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His
inheritance? He shall not retain His wrath forever, for He Himself delights in
kindness.
Mic 7:19 He shall turn back, He shall have compassion
on us, He shall trample upon our crookednesses! And You throw all our sins into
the depths of the sea!
Yoel/Joe 2:15 Blow a ram’s horn in Tsiyon, set apart a
fast, call an assembly.
Joe 2:16 Gather the people, set the assembly apart,
assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes. Let a bridegroom come
out from his room, and a bride from her dressing room.
Joe 2:18 And let יהוה be
jealous for His land, and spare His people.
Joe 2:23 And you children of Tsiyon, be glad and
rejoice in יהוה your Elohim, for He shall give you
the Teacher of Righteousness, and cause the rain to come down for you, the
former rain and the latter rain, as before.
Blessing for the Torah:
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher
bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn
ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
you have selected us from among all the peoples, and
have given us your Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Torah Readings: (the years when this Parashah is read
separately):
- 31:1-3
- 31:4-6
- 31:7-9
- 31:10-13
- 31:14-19
- 31:20-24
- 31:25-30
- Maftir:
31:28-30
Haftarah: Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20; Joel 2:15-27
Aliyah
Rishon 31:1-3
Deu 31:1 And Mosheh went (va yelech) and spoke these
words to all Yisra’ĕl,
Deu 31:2 and he said to them, “I am one hundred and
twenty years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. And יהוה has said to me, ‘You do not pass
over this Yardĕn.’
Moshe was 120 years old and he was still on
his feet – walking. In other words he had no physical disability.
Deu
34:7 And Mosheh was one hundred and twenty
years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his freshness gone. (His
vitality had not left him)
The Hebrew word for “freshness” is only found once in the Torah. It is
not said of any other person that they were this old and their vitality had not
left them. The question then is: What was the secret?
Some say something extraordinary must have happened to Moshe when in
the presence of YHVH to receive the ten sayings – “aseret divrot”
Others say Moshe did not lead a double life, he walked what he believed
and he believed what he walked, his private life and his public life were in
harmony with each other. It is extremely stressful to say one thing and be
something else.
Maybe Moshe’s walking days were not yet over. In the
book of Revelation we see him walking back into history to prepare an end time
people to return to the Torah of Messiah.
Rev 11:3 “And I shall give unto my two witnesses, and
they shall prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clad in
sackcloth.”
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees and the two
lampstands that are standing before the Elohim of the earth.
Rev 11:5 And if anyone wishes to harm them, fire comes
out from their mouth and consumes their enemies. And if anyone wishes to harm
them, he has to be killed in that way.
Rev 11:6 These possess authority to shut the heaven,
so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy. And they possess authority
over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as
often as they wish.
Rev 11:7 And when they have ended their witness, the
beast coming up out of the pit of the deep shall fight against them, and
overcome them, and kill them,
Rev 11:8 and their dead bodies lie in the
street of the great city which spiritually is called Seḏom and Mitsrayim,
where also our Master was impaled,
Rev 11:9 and
some of the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations see their dead bodies
for three and a half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be placed into
tombs,
Rev 11:10
and those dwelling on the earth rejoice over them and exult. And they
shall send gifts to each other, because these two prophets tortured those
dwelling on the earth.
Rev 11:11
And after the three and a half days a spirit of life from Elohim entered
into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw
them.
Both Eliyahu and Moshe appeared at Yahshua's transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-4. As such, we expect that they will "witness" to the world about the coming of Yahshua, prior to His appearance in the clouds (following the opening of the Sixth Seal).
We know that there was a dispute between the arc-messenger Michael and Satan, concerning the body of Moshe (Jude 9). Moshe's body would have no value to Satan, so what dispute would he have had? Was there something different about the "death" and/or "burial" of Moshe's body that was unusual? We don't know.
We know that Eliyahu/Elijah was taken up to heaven in his body without dying (2 Kings 2:11). So another possibility is that (like Lazarus) Moshe died, YHVH buried Him, and then (unbeknownst to us) YHVH resurrected him and took him to heaven in his original body. Perhaps Satan protested this, knowing that Moshe would be a key end-time player in counteracting the work of Satan. Maybe Satan's dispute with Michael (Jude 9) was an insistence that Moshe's body belonged in the ground. After all, Moshe's grave, and therefore his body were never found (Deuteronomy 34:6).
Most of this is speculation.
Deu
31:3 “יהוה your
Elohim Himself is passing over before you. He shall destroy these nations from
before you and you possess them. Yehoshua himself is passing over before you,
as יהוה has spoken.
Even
though we know Yahoshua led them into Yisrael, we know ultimately only YHVH is
able to lead them over and establish His people in the land forever. We believe
that YHVH has chosen His son – Yahshua to return in the latter days to
accomplish this.
Aliyah Sheni 31:4-6
Deu 31:4 “And יהוה shall do
to them as He did to Siḥon and to Oḡ, the sovereigns of the Amorites and
their land, when He destroyed them.
Deu 31:5 “And יהוה shall give them over to you, and
you shall do to them according to all the command which I have commanded you.
Deu 31:6 “Be
strong and courageous, do not fear nor be afraid of them. For it is יהוה your Elohim who is going with you.
He does not fail you nor forsake you.”
Stones Chumash translates vs 6 “ Be strong and
courageous, do not be afraid of them, do
not be broken before them, for YHVH your Elohim – it is He who goes before
you, He will not release you nor will He forsake you.”
Even though we may suffer severe reversals in this life
because of our stand for the truth, the day is coming when we will arise
resolute and with an unshakable confidence and witness the total obliteration
of all opposition to His Truth and His Torah.
Aliyah
Shlishi 31:7-9
Deu 31:7 And Mosheh called Yehoshua and said to him
before the eyes of all Yisra’ĕl, “Be strong and courageous, for you are going
with this people to the land which יהוה has
sworn to their fathers to give them, and you are to let them inherit it.
Deu 31:8 “And it
is יהוה who is going before you, He Himself
is with you. He does not fail you nor forsake you. Do not fear nor be
discouraged.”
Deu 31:9 And
Mosheh wrote this Torah and gave it to the priests, the sons of Lĕwi, who bore
the ark of the covenant of יהוה, and to all the elders of Yisra’ĕl.
Rom 3:1 What then is the advantage of the Yehuḏite, or what is the
value of the circumcision?
Rom 3:2 Much
in every way! Because firstly indeed, that they were entrusted with the Words
of Elohim
We owe the Jewish people a great debt for preserving the
Torah all these years. The Word of YHVH will never return unto Him void,
therefore we can be assured that even amongst the Jewish people His Word will
be accomplished.
Aliyah
Reviee 31:10-13
Deu 31:10 And Mosheh commanded them, saying, “At the
end of seven years, at the appointed
time, the year of release, at the Festival of Booths,
Deu 31:11 when all Yisra’ĕl comes to appear before יהוה your Elohim in the place which He
chooses, read this Torah before all Yisra’ĕl in their hearing.
“Appointed time” in Hebrew môêd
/ môâdâh BDB Definition: an appointed place, appointed time, meeting, a set
apart season, set feast, appointed season, an appointed time or signal, a tent
of meeting. These appointments have never been done away with; they are not
Jewish appointments but YHVH’s appointments. Lev 23:2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and say
to them, ‘The appointed times of יהוה,
which you are to proclaim as set-apart gatherings, My appointed times, are
these:……”
Those that truly seek
intimacy with Him abide by these appointments.
Deu 31:12
“Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and
your sojourner who is within your gates, so that they hear, and so that they
learn to fear יהוה your Elohim and guard to do all the
Words of this Torah.
Deu 31:13 “And
their children, who have not known it, should hear and learn to fear יהוה your Elohim as long as you live in
the land you are passing over the Yardĕn to possess.”
יב הַקְהֵל אֶת-הָעָם, הָאֲנָשִׁים וְהַנָּשִׁים וְהַטַּף, וְגֵרְךָ, אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ--לְמַעַן יִשְׁמְעוּ וּלְמַעַן יִלְמְדוּ, וְיָרְאוּ אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, וְשָׁמְרוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת, אֶת-כָּל-דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת.
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יג וּבְנֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדְעוּ, יִשְׁמְעוּ וְלָמְדוּ--לְיִרְאָה, אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם: כָּל-הַיָּמִים, אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם חַיִּים עַל-הָאֲדָמָה, אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם עֹבְרִים אֶת-הַיַּרְדֵּן שָׁמָּה, לְרִשְׁתָּהּ. {פ}
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Please
note if you can the literal context of these Hebrew words; the emphasis is on
one group of people who have identified themselves with Israel. The rabbi’s have
made a distinction between Noahides and Jews who desire to observe the Torah of
YHVH. THERE IS ONE TORAH FOR BOTH THE GER (EX GENTILE or Noahide) AND NATIVE
BORN. NO DISTINCTION IS MADE IN THE HEBREW TEXT FOR SUCH REASONING.
Hertz Chumash p 888 comments on vs 12 and 13.
Note vs 12 “so that they can all learn to “shema” hear
and they shall “lamed” learn (where
the word “talmidim comes from) and they shall “yirah” fear, ALL the words of
Torah.
This included the children, the sages say “the moral
universe rests upon the breath of school children” Imagine what would have
happened if school children learned Torah from grade one?
Hertz goes on to say that it was this instruction that
inspired the ancient Rabbi’s to divide the Torah into 156 portions (tri annual
cycle) This would mean that everyone in Israel would go through the entire
Torah twice in six years and then on the seventh year they would have a special
reading of the Torah during Sukkot on the “shmittah” year.
Aliyah
Chamishi 31:14-19
Deu 31:14 And יהוה said to
Mosheh, “See, the days have drawn near for you to die. Call Yehoshua, and
present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, so that I command him.” And Mosheh
and Yehoshua went and presented themselves in the Tent of Meeting.
Deu 31:15 And יהוה appeared at the Tent in a column of
a cloud, and the column of a cloud stood above the door of the Tent.
Deu 31:16 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “See, you are about
to sleep with your fathers. And this people shall rise and whore after the
mighty ones of the strangers of the land into the midst of which they shall
enter, and forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.
Deu 31:17 “Then My
displeasure shall burn against them in that day, and I shall forsake them and
hide My face from them, and they shall be consumed. And many evils and
distresses shall come upon them, and it shall be said in that day, ‘Is it not
because our Elohim is not in our midst that these evils have come upon us?’
Deu 31:18 “And I
shall certainly hide My face in that day, because of all the evil which they
have done, for they shall turn to other mighty ones.
“There are times when YHVH hides His face. But then there
are times when YHVH hides His face and we don't even realize that His face is
hidden; we dwell in darkness, and think it is light. This is a double galut, concealment
within a concealment (The Chassidic Masters)” - see further comments Stones
Chumash on vs 17,18 page 1097
“ these verses (17,18) begin with Elohim’s wrath and the
concealment of His countenance because of Israel’s sins. Then, after Israel
acknowledges that its suffering was caused because Elohiim removed Himself from
their midst – which would seem to be a sort of repentance that should inspire
Elohim’s mercy – strangely, Elohim says again that He will conceal Himself from
them. In fact Rashi says this is the harshest of all prophecies (Is 8:17) It is
softened only by verse 21, which promises, no matter what, the Torah will not
be forgotten by Israel.”
Isa 8:17 And I shall wait on יהוה, who
hides His face from the house of Ya’aqov. And I shall look for Him.
Deu 31:19 “And now
write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Put it in their mouths, so that this song is to Me for a witness against the children
of Yisra’ĕl.
Aliyah
Shishi 31:20-24
Deu 31:20 “And I shall bring them
to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and
they shall eat and be satisfied and be fat, then they shall turn to other
mighty ones, and they shall serve them, and scorn Me and break My covenant.
Deu 31:21 “And it shall be, when
many evils and distresses come upon them, that this song shall answer before
them as a witness. For it is not to be forgotten in the mouths of their seed,
for I know their thoughts which they are forming today, even before I bring
them to the land of which I swore to give them.”
