Parashat 50 – Ki Tavo = when you go in to the land.

Dev/Deut 26:1-29:8

The events described in this Torah portion are connected to the feast of Sukkot. This will be the first appointment we have with YHVH in the millennial kingdom. The instruction around this event as given to us in this Torah portion clearly establishes the kind of foundation that will be established as we enter into the millennial kingdom of our Messiah.

     Once again the tone for the Torah portion is set by the title and opening words. The sages remind us that the title “Ki Tavo” is presented in its future tense form. The use of this kind of language suggests to us some future time when the land of Yisrael will be divided according to the inheritance of the different tribes of Yisrael. This event will take place at the commencement of the Messianic age. 

       Amo 9:15  “And I shall plant them on their own soil, and not uproot them any more from their own soil I have given them,” said יהוה your Elohim!  (Yisrael will never be dispersed again)

The preparation for this future event begins NOW!!!

We who are not Jewish believers in Messiah need to trust our Heavenly Father that we are securely grafted into the root of Yisrael.

Rom 11:16  Now if the first-fruit is set-apart, the lump is also. And if the root is set-apart, so are the branches. (dear reader I know this may offend some, but YHVH did not set the church apart as the first fruit- it has always being a believing remnant who trust in Messiah and live by YHVH’s Torah)

Rom 11:17  And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, have been grafted in among them, and came to share the root and fatness of the olive tree,

Rom 11:18  do not boast against the branches. And if you boast, remember: you do not bear the root, but the root bears you!

Rom 11:19  You shall say then, “The branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.”

Rom 11:20  Good! By unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by belief. Do not be arrogant, but fear.

Rom 11:21  For if Elohim did not spare the natural branches, He might not spare you either.

Rom 11:22  See then the kindness and sharpness of Elohim: on those who fell sharpness, but toward you kindness, if you continue in His kindness, otherwise you also shall be cut off.

Rom 11:23  And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, shall be grafted in, for Elohim is able to graft them in again.

Rom 11:24  For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more shall these who are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

Rom 11:25  For I do not wish you to be ignorant of this secret, brothers, lest you should be wise in your own estimation, that hardening in part has come over Yisra’ĕl, until the completeness of the gentiles¹ has come in. Footnote: ¹Gen. 48:19.

General Overview: The Yisraelites are commanded to bring the first of their fruit to the Temple, and to deliver all tithes to their proper recipients. Moshe explains how the blessings and curses are to be proclaimed on Mts. Grizzim and Ebal when the Hebrew nation enters into Yisrael. He then details the blessings they will receive for following the commandments of the Torah, and the calamities which will result from disregarding them.

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,

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:

26:1-19
27:1-10
27:11-26
28:1-14
28:15-57
28:58 - 29:1(28:69 Heb.)
29:2(1 Heb.) - 29:9(8 Heb.)
Maftir: 29:7(6) - 9(8)

Haftarah: Yeshayahu/Isaiah 60:1-22

Isa 60:1  “Arise, shine, for your light has come! And the esteem of יהוה has risen upon you.

Isa 60:2  “For look, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness the peoples. But יהוה arises over you, and His esteem is seen upon you.

Isa 60:3  “And the gentiles shall come to your light¹, and sovereigns to the brightness of your rising. Footnote: ¹Isa. 60:19,20, Rev. 21:23,24.

Isa 60:4  “Lift up your eyes all around and see: all of them have gathered, they have come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are supported on the side.

Isa 60:5  “Then you shall see and be bright, and your heart shall throb and swell, for the wealth of the sea is turned to you, the riches of the gentiles come to you.

Aliyah Rishon 26:1-19

This section introduces us to the mitzvah of bikurim, (firstfruit) the requirement to bring one's first fruits to the Set Apart Temple. This mitzvah (commandment) applies to fruits and produce grown in the land of Yisrael, and only those for which the land of Yisrael is praised: wheat, barley, dates, figs, grapes, pomegranates and olives. When in the Temple, the owner of the fruits recites a prayer acknowledging his humble past as well as the struggle he had to go through to enter into the land. The prayer includes a declaration that no part of the tithe has been withheld and the priest presents the prayer and the offering before YHVH.

During Temple times, Jewish farmers were required to separate from their produce several different tithes. These were distributed to the priests, the Levites, the poor, and one tithe which was eaten by its owners in Jerusalem. The different tithes were not all given each year, rather there was a three-year cycle.

Deu 26:1  “And it shall be, when you come into the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it,

Deu 26:2  that you shall take some of the first of all the fruits of the soil which you bring from your land that יהוה your Elohim is giving you, and shall put it in a basket and go to the place where יהוה your Elohim chooses to make His Name dwell there.

The events described here coincide with the festival of Sukkot.

The Hebrew root of bikkurim (first fruits) is the same as that of bekhor (first-born)

The bride of Messiah is a kind of first fruits:

Rev 14:1  And I looked and saw a Lamb standing on Mount Tsiyon, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s Name¹ written upon their foreheads. Footnote: ¹Some texts read: having His Name and His Father’s Name.

Rev 14:4  They are those who were not defiled with women, for they are maidens (pure and undefiled by mixture). They are those following the Lamb wherever He leads them on. They were redeemed from among men, being first-fruits to Elohim and to the Lamb.

The implications of this are profound and very important for us to know and understand. The Bride of Messiah is beginning to understand and prepare herself as a possession of Yahshua and to possess of the land of Yisrael.

This will most probably be only those who are part of the first resurrection.

Jas 1:18  Having purposed it, He brought us forth by the Word of truth, (Torah) for us to be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures.

It is the purpose of a dedicated first fruit to bring set apartness to those who are not part of the first fruit.

Rom 11:16  Now if the first-fruit is set-apart, the lump is also. And if the root is set-apart, so are the branches.

Deu 26:3  “And you shall come to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I shall declare today to יהוה your Elohim that I have come to the land which יהוה swore to our fathers to give us.’

Deu 26:4  “And the priest shall take the basket from your hand and place it before the altar of יהוה your Elohim.

Deu 26:5  “And you shall answer and say before יהוה your Elohim, ‘My father was a perishing Aramean, and he went down to Mitsrayim and sojourned there with few men. And there he became a nation, great, mighty, and numerous.

“you shall answer - "v'anita v'amarta" can also mean to shout out loudly (even with a tune)

Deu 26:6  ‘But the Mitsrites did evil to us, and afflicted us, and imposed hard labour on us.

Deu 26:7  ‘Then we cried out to יהוה Elohim of our fathers, and יהוה heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression.

Deu 26:8  ‘And יהוה brought us out of Mitsrayim with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with great fear and with signs and wonders.

Deu 26:9  ‘And He brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Deu 26:10  ‘And now, see, I have brought the first-fruits of the land which You, O יהוה, have given me.’ Then you shall place it before יהוה your Elohim, and bow down before יהוה your Elohim,

Deu 26:11  and shall rejoice in all the good which יהוה your Elohim has given to you and your house, you and the Lĕwite and the stranger who is among you.

Deu 26:12  “When you have completed tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Lĕwite, to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, and they have eaten within your gates and have been satisfied,

Deu 26:13  then you shall say before יהוה your Elohim, ‘I have put away the set-apart portion from my house, and also have given it to the Lĕwite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your command which You have commanded me. I have not transgressed Your commands, nor have I forgotten.

The sages tell us:  “We can keep the Torah in two different ways: We can fit the Torah into our lives, or we can fit our lives into the Torah.

The first way involves seeking out as many leniencies as possible so the mitzvot don’t interfere with our lives too much.

Or we can look at the mitzvot as life itself – “For they are your life.” Deut 32:47

Everyone would agree that the better we keep the mitzvot in this world, the bigger will be our share in the future world. That’s only fair. But the truth is that a person who fits his life into the mitzvot, rather than fits the mitzvot into his life, has it better not only over there but over here too.”

Order will be established in the millennial kingdom – there will be a set apart priesthood and they will ensure that every word of Torah will be obeyed in its letter and in its spirit. We must understand clearly and even fear that there will be no “lone rangers” or any man or woman who have their own agenda’s.

Deu 32:47  “For it is not a worthless Word for you, because it is your life, and by this Word you prolong your days on the soil which you pass over the Yardĕn to possess.”

How serious are we today who hear these instructions and are willing to take them to heart? Those who do will one day utter these words as they enter into the millennial kingdom of Messiah.

Deu 26:14  ‘I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for any unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of יהוה my Elohim, I have done according to all that You have commanded me.

Deu 26:15  ‘Look from Your set-apart dwelling place, from the heavens, and bless Your people Yisra’ĕl and the land which You have given us, as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’

Deu 26:16  “Today יהוה your Elohim is commanding you to do these laws and right-rulings. And you shall guard and do them with all your heart and with all your being.

Deu 26:17  “You have today caused יהוה to proclaim to be your Elohim, and to walk in His ways and guard His laws, and His commands, and His right-rulings, and to obey His voice.

Deu 26:18  “And יהוה has caused you to proclaim today to be His people, a treasured possession, as He has spoken to you, and to guard all His commands,

Deu 26:19  so as to set you high above all nations which He has made, for a praise, and for a name, and for esteem, and for you to be a set-apart people to יהוה your Elohim, as He has spoken.”

Aliyah Sheni 27:1-10

Deu 27:1  And Mosheh, with the elders of Yisra’ĕl, commanded the people, saying, “Guard all the commands which I am commanding you today.

Deu 27:2  “And it shall be, on the day when you pass over the Yardĕn to the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and plaster them with plaster,

Deu 27:3  and write on them all the Words of this Torah, when you have passed over, so that you go into the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as יהוה Elohim of your fathers has spoken to you.

Deu 27:4  “And it shall be, when you have passed over the Yardĕn, that on Mount Ěyḇal you set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall plaster them with plaster,

Deu 27:5  and build an altar to יהוה your Elohim there, an altar of stones – do not use an iron tool on them.

Deu 27:6  “Build the altar of יהוה your Elohim with complete stones, and you shall offer burnt offerings on it to יהוה your Elohim,

Deu 27:7  and shall offer peace offerings, and eat there, and rejoice before יהוה your Elohim.

Deu 27:8  “And you shall write all the Words of this Torah on the stones – plainly and well.”

Deu 27:9  And Mosheh and the priests, the Lĕwites, spoke to all Yisra’ĕl, saying, “Be silent and hear, O Yisra’ĕl: This day you have become the people of יהוה your Elohim,

Deu 27:10  and you shall obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, and do His commands and His laws which I command you today.”

Aliyah Shlishi 27:11-26

These 12 issues discussed here lay a clear foundation for our entry and permanent residence in the land. The sages teach that a person is in public what he is in private. They state that the list of 12 curses relate to what people can do in secret and think they get away with. YHVH intended that there be no double standards in the private and public lives of His covenant people.

Note carefully each of these 12 sins and trust the Ruach to reveal their present day application in your life.

Deu 27:11  And Mosheh commanded the people on that day, saying,

Deu 27:12  “These are to stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have passed over the Yardĕn: Shimʽon, and Lĕwi, and Yehuḏah, and Yissasḵar, and Yosĕph, and Binyamin.

Deu 27:13  “And these are to stand on Mount Ěyḇal to curse: Re’uḇĕn, Gaḏ, and Ashĕr, and Zeḇulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

Deu 27:14  “And the Lĕwites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Yisra’ĕl:

Deu 27:15  ‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved or moulded image, an abomination to יהוה, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amĕn!’

Deu 27:16  ‘Cursed is he who makes light of his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’

Deu 27:17  ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbour’s boundary.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’

Deu 27:18  ‘Cursed is he who misleads the blind in the way.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’

Deu 27:19  ‘Cursed is he who twists the right-ruling of the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’

Deu 27:20  ‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s bed.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’

Deu 27:21  ‘Cursed is he who lies with any beast.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’

Deu 27:22  ‘Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’

Deu 27:23  ‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’

Deu 27:24  ‘Cursed is he who smites his neighbour secretly.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’

Deu 27:25  ‘Cursed is he who takes a bribe to slay an innocent being.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’

Deu 27:26  ‘Cursed is he who does not establish the Words of this Torah.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’

Aliyah Reviee 28:1-14

Deu 28:1  “And it shall be, if you diligently obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard to do all His commands which I command you today, that יהוה your Elohim shall set you high above all nations of the earth.

Deu 28:2  “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim:

Deu 28:3  “Blessed are you in the city, and blessed are you in the field.

Deu 28:4  “Blessed is the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your livestock – the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

Deu 28:5  “Blessed is your basket and your kneading bowl.

Deu 28:6  “Blessed are you when you come in, and blessed are you when you go out.

Deu 28:7  “יהוה causes your enemies who rise against you to be smitten before your face – they come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

Deu 28:8  “יהוה commands the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and shall bless you in the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you.

Deu 28:9  “יהוה does establish you as a set-apart people to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you guard the commands of יהוה your Elohim and walk in His ways.

Deu 28:10  “And all peoples of the earth shall see that the Name of יהוה is called upon you, and they shall be afraid of you.

Deu 28:11  “And יהוה shall make you to have plenty of what is good, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land of which יהוה swore to your fathers to give you.

Deu 28:12  “יהוה opens to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. And you shall lend to many nations, but you do not borrow.

Deu 28:13  “And יהוה shall make you the head and not the tail. And you shall be only on top, and not be beneath, if you obey the commands of יהוה your Elohim, which I command you today, to guard and do.

Deu 28:14  “And do not turn aside from any of the Words which I am commanding you today, right or left, to go after other mighty ones to serve them.

Aliyah Chamishi 28:15-57

When it comes to curses in the Torah we note that in several places the use of the third person as in Lev 26 – This is YHVH Himself who will bring these calamities on us because of our disobedience. We note in parashat  Bechukotai the Torah speaks in the plural of the curses, whereas in this week's Parsha the curses are mentioned in the singular.

It is safe to assume that these curse will not be upon the bride of Messiah, however because we are in a process of reaching perfect perfection in all things, we must assume that our restoration has something to do with the effects of these curses on our lives that are in a process of being perfectly restored. When we understand the nature and the impact that these curses have had on our and others, lives we will truly be able to minister life and light to the nations.

Once again let us meditate on each of these curses and ask the Ruach of YHVH to show us what needs to be restored and healed in our lives.

We must fear and not be arrogant. We must know that everything that is done in secret will be revealed, not to shame us but heal us and set us free.

Deu 28:15  “And it shall be, if you do not obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard to do all His commands and His laws which I command you today, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you: (hyphil verb also meaning to take hold of you )

Deu 28:16  “Cursed are you in the city, and cursed are you in the field.

Deu 28:17  “Cursed is your basket and your kneading bowl.

Deu 28:18  “Cursed is the fruit of your body and the fruit of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

Deu 28:19  “Cursed are you when you come in, and cursed are you when you go out.

Deu 28:20  “יהוה sends on you the curse, the confusion, and the rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the evil of your doings by which you have forsaken Me.

Deu 28:21  “יהוה makes the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess.

Deu 28:22  “יהוה smites you with wasting disease, and with inflammation, and with burning, and with extreme heat, and with the sword, and with blight, and with mildew. And they shall pursue you until you perish.