Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, You have set us apart by Your commandments and have commanded us to actively study Your Torah. Please YHVH, our Elohim, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May You open our eyes to see marvellous truths from Your Torah. Thank You for calling us who were once gentiles excluded from the citizenship of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise having no expectation and without Elohim- but now through the blood of Messiah we have gained access into the covenant and have obtained citizenship into the commonwealth of Israel. Blessed are You, YHVH, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Amein
ואתחנן
Hitpael verb of חנן meaning to
plead for mercy for oneself – to seek amnesty for oneself.
Moshe
Forbidden to Enter the Land
Deu 3:23
“And I pleaded with יהוה at that time,
saying,
Deu 3:24 O Master יהוה, You have begun ( החלות) to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand, for who is a mighty one in the heavens or (and) on earth who does according to Your works and according to Your might? –( lit – is there any mighty one who can do your powerful deeds in the heavens AND on the earth.)
Note as with the introduction of the previous Torah portion ‘’YHVH has begun to do something that has never happened before on such a scale and magnitude’’
החלות - Deu 2:31 “And יהוה said to me, ‘See, I have begun רְאֵה הַחִלֹּתִי to give Siḥon and his land over to you. Begin to possess – in order to possess his land.’ (perhaps this current ‘’eviction’’ is presently underway in Israel)
Why would Moshe repeat the same statement?
After all Moshe witnessed all kinds of spectacular miracles of Yisrael’s (Israel’s) deliverance from Mitsrayim (Egypt) and YHVH’s miraculous provision and protection on their wilderness journey - Deu 3:24 O Master יהוה, You have begun ( החלות ) to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand – the rest of the verse gives us a clue – ‘’ for who is a mighty one in the heavens or (and) on earth who does according to Your works and according to Your might?’’
I believe Moshe is referring to a future Messianic redemption that cannot be compared to any other event that has ever occurred in human history - “ for who is a mighty one in the heavens or (not “or” but “and”) on earth who does according to Your works and according to Your might?’’
The Messiah taught us to pray for this reality to come into existence – Mat 6:5-15
אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָׁמַיִם יִתְקַדֵשׁ שִׁמךָ: תָּבא מַלְכוּתֶךָ יֵעָשֶׂה רְצוֹנְךָ בָּאָרֶץ כַּאֲשֶר נַעֲשָׂה בַשָמַיִם:
This world is about to witness the eternal total rule and reign of YHVH through His Messiah – on earth and in the heavens- this has never happened before. YHVH’s desire will be done on earth as it is done in the heavens.
For this reason, Moshe was forbidden entrance into the Promised Land at that time. He ‘’blurred’’ the vision of the future Messiah and His Kingdom – Num 20:10-13 – a sin we have all been guilty of and most probably the same reason why only a tiny, tiny remnant of YHVH’s people will enter the millennial rule with Messiah as His bride at His second coming.
Luk 12:32 “Do not fear, little flock,(Gk ‘’flocklet)
because your Father did delight to give you the reign.
Isa 1:9 Unless יהוה of hosts had left to us a small remnant, we would have become like Seḏom, we would have been made like Amorah.
Even this tiny remnant needs to plead for amnesty.
YHVH will pardon and have mercy on a remnant - Jer 50:20 “In those days and at that time,” declares יהוה, “the crookedness of Yisra’ěl shall be searched for, but there shall be none; and the sin of Yehuḏah, but none shall be found. For I shall pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
YHVH’s steadfast
Love and Compassion
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
loving-commitment.
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!
Mic 7:20 You give truth to Ya‛aqoḇ, loving-commitment to Aḇraham, which You swore to our fathers from the days of old!
It seems that our attachment to this present world and
our perception of the coming Messianic kingdom prevent us from grasping the
reality of the world to come.
To make matters worse we have been conditioned to believe that we go straight to some kind of heavenly utopia when we leave this world.
Why?
The rabbis teach that Yisrael was not ready for the Promised Land – after all they had become so accustomed to supernatural living in the wilderness. Israel was reluctant to enter the Promised Land because then they would have to sow and plant and look after animals and work for a living.
Is this world, let alone the Christian world ready to receive a Jewish Rabbi Messiah as the king of all kings? One who teaches the Torah to all the nations? One who will make sure that every word and command of the Torah is carried out and obeyed? One who will exalt the humble and lowly and bring to naught the arrogant and proud?
The One who is about to unite the12 tribes of Yisrael and establish them in the promised land to rule over all the nations?
Luk 18:8 ... But when the Son of Aḏam comes, shall He find the(this kind) belief on the earth?”
1Jn 3:2 Beloved ones, now we are children of Elohim. And it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 1Jn 3:3 And everyone having this expectation in Him cleanses himself, as He is clean.
In spite of these realities the remnant can only enter into the Messianic kingdom once they have been pardoned by YHVH.
What then is the difference between this tiny remnant and Moshe?
Moshe was a prophet like unto Yahshua – Deut 18:15 and Acts 7:37, however, today, the likeness of the real Messiah in us will powerfully transform those in whom He dwells - Rom 8:29 Because those whom He knew beforehand, He also ordained beforehand to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, for Him to be the first-born among many brothers.
What makes the difference?
Col
1:26 the secret which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but
now has been revealed to His set-apart ones,
Col 1:27 “to whom Elohim desired to make known what are the riches of the esteem of this secret among the nations: which is Messiah in you, the expectancy of esteem,…”
HalleluYAH!
Joh
3:3 יהושע answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless
one is born from above, he is unable to see[a] the reign of Elohim.”
Footnote: aOr perceive.
Joh
3:4 Naḵdimon said to Him, “How is a man able to be born when he is old? Is he
able to enter into his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”
Joh
3:5 יהושע answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of
water and the Spirit, he is unable to enter into the reign of
Elohim.
Joh
3:6 “That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has
been born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh
3:7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You have to be born from
above.’
Joh 3:8 “The windb blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.” Footnote: bWind and Spirit have the same underlying Hebrew and Greek words.
Deu 3:25 I pray, let me pass over
and see the good land beyond the Yarděn, this good hill country, and Leḇanon.’
Deu 3:26 “But יהוה was enraged (ויתעבר
Hitpael verb of ‘’avar’’ ie YHVH passed over me or ignored me)with me, for your sake, and would not listen to me, and יהוה said to me, ‘Enough of that! Speak no more
to Me about this matter.
Deu 3:27 Go up to the top of
Pisgah, (a pace of contemplation) and lift up your eyes westward, and
northward, and southward, and eastward, and look with your eyes, for you do not
pass over this Yarděn.
Deu 3:28 But command Yehoshua, and
strengthen him and make him brave, for he shall pass over before this people
and cause them to inherit the land which you see.’
Deu 3:29 “And we dwelt in the valley opposite Běyth Pe‛or.
Moshe Commands Obedience – why?
Deu 4:1 “And now, O Yisra’ěl,
listen to the laws and the right-rulings which I am teaching you to do, so that
you live, and shall go in and possess the land which יהוה
Elohim of your fathers is giving you.
Deu 4:2 “Do not add to the Word
which I command you, and do not take away from it,[a] so as to guard the
commands of יהוה your Elohim which I am commanding you. Footnote: aSee also Deu_12:32,
Pro_30:6, Rev_22:18-19.
Deu 4:3 “Your eyes have seen what יהוה did at Ba‛al Pe‛or, for יהוה your Elohim has destroyed
from your midst all the men who followed Ba‛al Pe‛or.
Deu 4:4 “But you who are clinging
to יהוה your Elohim are alive today, every one of you.
Deu 4:5 “See, I have taught you
laws and right-rulings, as יהוה my Elohim commanded me,
to do thus in the land which you go to possess.
Deu 4:6 “And you shall guard and
do them, for this is your wisdom and your understanding before the eyes of the
peoples who hear all these laws, and they shall say, ‘Only a wise and
understanding people is this great nation!’
Deu 4:7 “For what great nation is
there which has Elohim so near to it, as יהוה our Elohim is to us,
whenever we call on Him?
Deu 4:8 “And what great nation is
there that has such laws and righteous right-rulings like all this Torah which
I set before you this day?
Deu 4:9 “Only, guard yourself, and
guard your life diligently, lest you forget the Words your eyes have seen, and
lest they turn aside from your heart all the days of your life. And you shall
make them known to your children and your grandchildren.
Deu 4:10 “The day when you stood
before יהוה your Elohim in Ḥorěḇ, יהוה said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me and I make them hear My
Words, so that they learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth and
teach them to their children.’
Deu 4:11 “And you came near and
stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the
heart of the heavens – darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.
Deu 4:12 “And יהוה spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard a voice of
words, but saw no form, you only heard a voice.
Deu 4:13 “And He made known to you
His covenant which He commanded you to do, the Ten Words, and He wrote them on
two tablets of stone.
Deu 4:14 “And יהוה commanded me at that time to teach you laws and right-rulings,
for you to do them in the land which you pass over to possess.
Idolatry Forbidden
Deu 4:15 “Therefore, diligently
guard yourselves, for you saw no form when יהוה spoke to you at Ḥorěḇ
out of the midst of the fire,
Deu 4:16 lest you should do
corruptly and shall make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any
figure – the likeness of male or female,
Deu 4:17 the likeness of any beast
that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the
heavens,
Deu 4:18 the likeness of any creature
that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water
under the earth;
Deu 4:19 and lest you lift up your
eyes to the heavens, and shall see the sun, and the moon, and the stars – all
the host of the heavens – and you be drawn away into bowing down to them and
serving them, which יהוה your Elohim has allotted to all the peoples under all the
heavens.
Deu 4:20 “But יהוה has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of
Mitsrayim, to be His people, an inheritance, as it is today.
Deu 4:21 “And יהוה was enraged with me because of your words, and swore that I
would not pass over the Yarděn, and that I would not enter the good land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance.
Deu 4:22 “For I am to die in this
land, I am not passing over the Yarděn, but you are passing over, and shall
possess that good land.
Deu 4:23 “Guard yourselves, lest
you forget the covenant of יהוה your Elohim which He made
with you, and shall make for yourselves a carved image in any form, as יהוה your Elohim has commanded you.
Deu 4:24 “For יהוה your Elohim is a consuming fire, a jealous Ěl.
The Bride of Messiah will be immortal and obedient to YHVH’s Torah forever – they will be separate and distinct from everyone else – this too has never happened before.
Of all generations we are the most blessed to witness what we are witnessing in these days.
Maranatha
Some may say that we are teaching salvation by works – YHVH seeks those who follow and obey because of their love for Him and His Words.
Joh
14:15 “If you love Me, you shall guard My commands – Torah - Footnote: aSee also Joh_14:21 and Joh_14:23,
Exo_20:6, 1Jn_5:2-3 and 2Jn_1:6.
Joh
14:16 “And I shall ask the Father, and He shall give you another Helper,
to stay with you forever –
Joh 14:17 the Spirit of the Truth, whom the world is unable to receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. But you know Him, for He stays with you and shall be in you.
Does the Messiah who dwells in you urge you to live a life of Torah observance?
Blessed are you
Yahweh, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of
truth, and have planted everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you,
YHVH giver of the Torah – Amein
1Co
10:11 And all these came upon them as examples, and they were written as
a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come,
1Co 10:12 so that he who thinks he stands, let him take heed lest he fall.
There
are 304 805 letters in the Torah!
Did
you know or does it really matter?
You
decide – your destiny depends on it.