Parashat 46 Portion 152 ‘’Ekev’’ Deut 9:1-29 Josh 1 :10-18

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

אתה עבר ''you are crossing over’’

Deu 9:1  “Hear, O Yisra’ĕl: You are passing over the Yardĕn today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and stronger than yourself, cities great and walled (Heb – “”batsar- mysteriously inaccessible controlled by demonic entities) up to the heavens, -

“Shemah Yisrael…” – whenever these two words are used, they are immediately intended to call us to listen carefully and pay careful attention as to what is about to be said.

Moshe then goes on to say that Yisrael is crossing the Yarden River on that day. Why is this important?

Firstly Moshe was not crossing over the Yarden. Secondly those crossing the Yarden must not assume that their crossing had something to do with their own obedience and righteousness. This is a lesson to us who call ourselves believers and believe we are entitled to all the blessings and promises of YHVH.

For many Yisraelites this must have been a wonderful day, yet it must also have been a sad day because there were many others that could have crossed over but never did - and so it shall be again at the end of this age.

This Torah portion draws our attention to the fact that not everyone who calls themselves believers in YHVH and His Messiah automatically qualify to cross over into Yisrael. And not everyone who crosses over the Yarden to Yisrael will automatically stay in Yisrael

 “Walled up to the heavens” could imply that these cities were protected by occultic demonic forces. Eph 6:12

We should consider the implications of this matter in a very sober manner. False doctrines and idolatry have “walled up the truth to the heavens” for many dear precious “called out ones.” Only the mighty power of YHVH working in us will save us from such deception and defeat in the last days. 

Deu 9:2  a people great and tall, the descendants of the Anaqim, whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, ‘Who does stand before the descendants of Anaq?’ 

Deu 9:3  “And you shall know today that יהוה your Elohim is He who is passing over before you as a consuming fire – He does destroy them and subdue them before you. So, you shall dispossess (evict) them and destroy them quickly, as יהוה has said to you. 

YHVH is about to destroy everyone who in any way stands in the way of His people entering His promised land (millennium) His people include the restored 12 of Yisrael tribes and all those grafted into them.

Yisrael today, more than any other time in recent history realize that they are going to have to evict all hostile Jew hating forces off the land of Yisrael.

Deu 9:4  “Do not think in your heart, after יהוה your Elohim has driven them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness יהוה has brought me in to possess this land.’ But it is because of the wrong of these nations that יהוה is driving them out from before you. 

Deu 9:5  “It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wrong of these nations that יהוה your Elohim drives them out from before you, in order to establish the word which יהוה swore to your fathers, to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Ya‛aqoḇ. 

Deu 9:6  “And you shall know that יהוה your Elohim is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. 

Vss 4-6 repeat the word ‘’righteousness’’ three times.

Deu 9:7  “Remember, do not forget how you provoked to wrath יהוה your Elohim in the wilderness. From the day that you came out of the land of Mitsrayim until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against יהוה. 

Deu 9:8  “Even in Ḥorěḇ you made יהוה wroth, so that יהוה was enraged with you, to destroy you.

Note the accusations YHVH makes against His people in vs 6-9.

Does YHVH not remain enraged with those who continually break His covenant and do violence to His Torah?

Deu 9:9  “When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which יהוה made with you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I did not eat bread nor did I drink water. 

Deu 9:10  “Then יהוה gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of Elohim, and on them were all the Words which יהוה had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. 

Deu 9:11  “And it came to be, at the end of forty days and forty nights, that יהוה gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 

Deu 9:12  “Then יהוה said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you brought out of Mitsrayim have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them, they have made themselves a moulded image.’ 

Proverbially speaking, they couldn’t wait for the ink to dry on the ‘’ketubah’’ or marriage contract – It was like a bride on her marriage night been unfaithful to her husband. This unfaithful bride had to first go and engage in sexual intercourse with her old pagan lover before she would consummate her covenant with her loving lawful husband.

It is unheard of; not even pagan unbelievers act this way yet all of His children have acted this way and many continue to do so until today.

Jer 6:15  Were they ashamed when they had done abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed, nor did they know how to blush.

Even though man has been unfaithful from the beginning, YHVH always remains faithful.

2Ti 2:13  If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful—He cannot deny Himself.

And so YHVH sends forth His only brought forth Son to bring a faithless people back into faithfulness to Him.

YHVH sends His son Yahshua to restore the lost sheep of the house of Yisrael – Mat 15:24 – whom His Father divorced because of their unfaithfulness – Jer 3:8 – We respond by killing the Messiah – Yahshua responds by asking the Father to forgive us and reassures us before returning to His Father that he must return to his Father so that He can send us the Set Apart Spirit to comfort us and guide us –

Joh 15:26  “And when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of the Truth, who comes from the Father, He shall bear witness of Me

Joh 16:7  “But I say the truth to you. It is better for you that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you at all, but if I go, I shall send Him to you. 

This same set apart Spirit that was sent to us is a ‘’downpayment’’ (Gk ‘’arrabon’’) or engagement ring – assuring His bride to be that He would come and ‘’collect’’ her and will present to Himself in faithfulness and purity – Hosea 2:14-20

2Co 1:22  who also sealed us, and gave the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.(arrabon)

May He find us worthy to be invited to the great marriage supper of the Lamb - Rev 19:9  And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true words of Elohim.”  

The Golden Calf

Deu 9:13  “And יהוה spoke to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and look, they are a stiff-necked people. 

Deu 9:14  Leave Me alone, so that I destroy them and blot out their name from under the heavens, and make of you a nation stronger and greater than they.’ 

Deu 9:15  “So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 

Deu 9:16  “And I looked and saw that you had sinned against יהוה your Elohim, and had made for yourselves a moulded calf! You had quickly turned aside from the way which יהוה had commanded you. 

Deu 9:17  “And I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes, 

Deu 9:18  “and I fell down before יהוה, as at the first, forty days and forty nights. I did not eat bread and I did not drink water, because of all your sins which you committed in doing evil in the eyes of יהוה, to provoke Him. 

Deu 9:19  “For I was afraid of the displeasure and rage with which יהוה was wroth with you, to destroy you. But יהוה listened to me that time once more. 

Deu 9:20  “And יהוה was very enraged with Aharon, to destroy him, so I prayed for Aharon at that time also. 

Deu 9:21  “And I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it and ground it very small, until it was as fine as dust. And I threw its dust into the stream that came down from the mountain.

 

Law of ‘’Sotah’’ Required of women who are suspected of committing adultery, ‘’sotah’’ is a ritual involving a priest to confirm whether the act occurred or not; a woman who has been unfaithful is made infertile – Num 5:11-31 –

YHVH’s children remain ‘’barren’’ until today. Why? Because of all the golden calves – all the idolatry.

Definition of idolatry – when we fail to or refuse to obey EVERY word that comes out of the Mouth of YHVH.

Deu 9:22  “And at Taḇ‛ěrah and at Massah and at Qiḇroth Hatta’awah you made יהוה wroth. 

Deu 9:23  “And when יהוה sent you from Qaḏěsh Barněa, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the mouth of יהוה your Elohim, and you neither trusted Him nor listened to His voice. 

Deu 9:24  “You have been rebellious against יהוה from the day that I knew you. 

Deu 9:25  “So I fell down before יהוה the forty days and forty nights, for I fell down because יהוה had said He would destroy you. 

Deu 9:26  “And I prayed to יהוה, and said, ‘O Master יהוה, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have ransomed in Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Mitsrayim with a strong hand. 

Deu 9:27  Remember Your servants, Aḇraham, Yitsḥaq, and Ya‛aqoḇ. Do not look on the stubbornness of this people, or on their wrong or on their sin, 

Deu 9:28  lest the land from which You brought us should say, “Because יהוה was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.” 

Deu 9:29  And they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm.’ 

 

Jer 2:1  And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,

Jer 2:2  “Go, and you shall cry in the hearing of Yerushalayim, saying, ‘Thus said יהוה, “I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your bridehood, when you went after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.

Jer 2:3  “Yisra’ĕl was set-apart to יהוה, the first-fruits of His increase. All who ate of it became guilty – evil came upon them,” declares יהוה.’ ”

Jer 2:4  Hear the word of יהוה, O house of Yaʽaqoḇ and all the clans of the house of Yisra’ĕl.

Jer 2:5  Thus said יהוה, “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in Me, that they have gone far from Me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

Jer 2:6  “And did not they say, ‘Where is יהוה, who brought us up out of the land of Mitsrayim, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, through a land of drought and the shadow of death, a land that no one passed through and where no one dwelt?’

Jer 2:7  “Then I brought you into a garden land, to eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land and made My inheritance an abomination.

Jer 2:8  “The priests did not say, ‘Where is יהוה?’ And those who handle the Torah did not know Me, and the shepherds¹ transgressed against Me, and the prophets prophesied by Baʽal, and walked after matters that did not profit. Footnote: ¹See 10:21, 12:10-11, 50:6-7.

Jer 2:11  “Has a nation changed its mighty ones, which are not mighty ones? But My people have changed My esteem¹ for that which does not profit. Footnote: ¹Symbolic name for His Ark.

Jer 2:12  “Be amazed, O heavens, at this, and be frightened, be utterly dried up,” declares יהוה.

Jer 2:13  “For My people have done two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters¹, to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns, which do not hold water. Footnote: ¹See 5:30-31; 2Tim 4:3

The conclusion of this Torah portion is that YHVH has always loved us and desires to be in a covenant with us. This is our only hope in this world and in the world to come. The question remains ‘’how do we respond to this covenant of such a gracious and kind Being?’’

Let us go back to the garden when YHVH first enters into a covenant with Adam.

YHVH gives Adam the most amazing ‘’wedding gift’’ – a beautiful garden in the midst of a beautiful world filled with beautiful things – He even gives Adam the most beautiful of all gifts – Eve. YHVH has only one condition – man must be totally reliant on Him to know what is right and wrong in this beautiful place which He created.

We know how man responded.

In spite of all this YHVH still offers man a way back to Himself – however the conditions have not changed – He still requires man to be totally dependent on Him to show man what is right and what is wrong. YHVH then requires that man live in complete obedience to everything that He has said.

Mic 6:8  He has declared to you, O man, what is good. And what does יהוה require of you but to do right,(in His Eyes) and to love loving-commitment, and to walk humbly with your Elohim?

This reality was meant to reflect itself in human marriage but very seldom does.

Hosea Redeems His Wife

Hos 3:1  Then יהוה said to me, “Go again, love a woman loved by a friend, and an adulteress, according to the love of יהוה for the children of Yisra’ěl, though they are turning to other mighty ones and love their raisin cakes.” 

Hos 3:2  So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and one and one-half ḥomers of barley. 

Hos 3:3  And I said to her, “You are to remain with me many days, you are not to whore, nor become any man’s, and so I shall also be towards you.” 

Hos 3:4  For many days the children of Yisra’ěl are to remain without sovereign and without prince, and without  slaughtering, and without pillar, and without shoulder garment or house idols. 

Hos 3:5  Afterward the children of Yisra’ěl shall return, and seek יהוה their Elohim, and Dawiḏ their sovereign, and fear יהוה and His goodness, in the latter days. 

Blessed are you YHVH, 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

The only cure for idolatry -

Joh 4:23  “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also does seek such to worship Him. ישתחוו

Joh 4:24  “Elohim is Spirit, and those who worship Him need to worship in spirit and truth.” במשתחוים

רֹאשׁ-דְּבָרְךָ אֱמֶת;    וּלְעוֹלָם, כָּל-מִשְׁפַּט צִדְקֶךָ Ps 119:160 – ‘’rosh’’ is a ruler.

Psa 119:160  The sum of Your word is truth, And all Your righteous right-rulings are forever. 

Only one verb in the ‘’Hishtaphel root’’ of ‘’chavah’’ or  Worship or ‘’eshtachaveh’’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0cOffswSXI

You cannot worship YHVH in Spirit and truth and have idols in your life at the same time.

Parashat 46 Portion 151 ‘’Ekev’’ Deut 7:12-8:20 Isa 54 :10-11 55 :6-13

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

והיה עקב S6118 – this new Torah portion ‘’Ekev’’ or ‘’because of’’ or ‘’the conclusion of the matter’’ is basically stating ‘’that because we have seriously and sincerely pleaded (va etchanan) for His mercy/favour that enables us  to walk in His covenant and to love Him with all our hearts beings and strength. The conclusion is that  YHVH will do for us far exceedingly above what we can ask or think, according to His power that is working in us- Eph 3:20’’ 

Rom 9:16  So, then, it is not of him who is wishing, nor of him who is running, but of Elohim who shows favour. 

ב  וְהָיָה עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן, אֵת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאֵלֶּה, וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם, אֹתָם--וְשָׁמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְךָ, אֶת-הַבְּרִית וְאֶת-הַחֶסֶד, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע, לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ.   

And it will come to be because you truly heard, and you took these judgments into your heart to diligently guard them to do them that YHVH your Elohim will guard and protect you in your covenant with Him and He will keep you in the kindness that He swore to your fathers.

As we midrash over this Torah portion we need to honestly ask ourselves the question – ‘’why and when will we see more of these blessings of obedience in our lives’’?

Deu 7:12  “And it shall be, because you hear these right-rulings, and shall guard and do them, that יהוה your Elohim shall guard with you the covenant and the loving-commitment which He swore to your fathers, 

Deu 7:13  and shall love you and bless you and increase you, and shall bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. 

Deu 7:14  “Blessed are you above all peoples – there is not going to be a barren man or a barren woman among you or among your livestock. 

Deu 7:15  “And יהוה shall turn away from you all sickness and put on you none of the evil diseases of Mitsrayim which you have known, but He shall put them on all those who hate you. 

Deu 7:16  “And you shall consume all the peoples whom יהוה your Elohim is delivering over to you – your eye shall not pardon them. And do not serve their mighty ones, for that is a snare to you. 

Deu 7:17  “When you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I, I am unable to drive them out,’ 

Deu 7:18  do not be afraid of them. Remember well what יהוה your Elohim did to Pharaoh and to all Mitsrayim, 

Deu 7:19  the great trials which your eyes saw, and the signs and the wonders, the strong hand and the outstretched arm, by which יהוה your Elohim brought you out. יהוה your Elohim does so to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 

Deu 7:20  “And יהוה your Elohim also sends the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. 

Deu 7:21  “Do not be afraid of them, for יהוה your Elohim, the great and awesome Ěl, is in your midst. 

Deu 7:22  “And יהוה your Elohim shall drive out those nations before you, little by little. You are not allowed to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 

Deu 7:23  “But יהוה your Elohim shall deliver them over to you and destroy them with a great destruction until they are consumed. 

Deu 7:24  “And He shall give their sovereigns into your hand, and you shall destroy their name from under the heavens. No one is going to be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. 

Deu 7:25  “The carved images of their mighty ones you are to burn with fire. Do not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it, for it is an abomination to יהוה your Elohim. 

Deu 7:26  “And do not bring an abomination into your house, lest you be accursed like it. Utterly loathe it and utterly hate it, for it is accursed. 

Midrash:

This sounds so amazing. For all of us, this has not been our experience. We do however experience times of blessing, however contrary to popular opinion life is hard and we all face enormous challenges. These only appears to be getting worse.

Joh 16:33  “These words I have spoken to you, that in Me you might have peace. In the world you have pressure,/tribulation but take courage, I have overcome the world.” 

We are called to walk by faith and not by sight – 2Cor 5:7

1Co 2:14  But the natural man does not receive the matters of the Spirit of Elohim, for they are foolishness to him, and he is unable to know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

2Co 4:18  We are not looking on what is seen, but on what is not seen. For what is seen passes away, but what is not seen is everlasting.

So, we might not be seeing all these things now, but soon we will and in the meantime we don’t just sit and wait for them to happen – we are called by YHVH to prepare our hearts to receive and walk in all the blessings His kingdom.

Isa 54:10  “For though the mountains be removed and the hills be shaken, My loving-commitment is not removed from you, nor is My covenant of peace shaken,” said יהוה, who has compassion on you. 

Isa 54:11  “O you afflicted one, tossed with storm, and not comforted, see, I am setting your stones in antimony, and shall lay your foundations with sapphires, 

Isa 54:12  and shall make your battlements of rubies, your gates of crystal, and all your walls of precious stones, 

Isa 54:13  and all your children taught by יהוה, and the peace of your children great. 

So, perhaps Yahshua had this Torah portion in mind when He taught the parable of the Sower.

The Parable of the Sower

Mat 13:1  And on that day יהושע went out of the house and sat by the sea. 

Mat 13:2  And large crowds were gathered together to Him, so that He went into a boat and sat down. And all the crowd stood on the beach. 

Mat 13:3  And He spoke to them much in parables, saying, “See, the Sower went out to sow. 

Mat 13:4  “And as he sowed, some indeed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. 

Mat 13:5  “And others fell on rocky places, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 

Mat 13:6  “But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered. 

Mat 13:7  “And others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. 

Mat 13:8  “And others fell on good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 

Mat 13:9  “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” 

The Parable of the Sower Explained

Mat 13:18  “You, then, hear the parable of the Sower: 

Mat 13:19  “When anyone hears the word of the reign, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is that sown by the wayside. 

Mat 13:20  “And that sown on rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 

Mat 13:21  yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived, and when pressure or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 

Mat 13:22  “And that sown among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the worry of this age and the deceit of riches choke the word, and it becomes fruitless.[d] Footnote: d Luk_21:34, 2Ti_3:4. 

Mat 13:23  “And that sown on the good soil is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields – some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” 

Sometimes there will be weeds – false teachers

The Parable of the Weeds

Mat 13:24  Another parable He put before them, saying, “The reign of the heavens has become like a man who sowed good seed in his field, 

Mat 13:25  but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel[e] among the wheat and went away. Footnote: eDarnel looks like wheat but is poisonous to man and beast. 

Mat 13:26  “And when the blade sprouted and bore fruit, then the darnel also appeared. 

Mat 13:27  “And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? From where then does it have the darnel?’ 

Mat 13:28  “And he said to them, ‘A man, an enemy did this.’ And the servants said to him, ‘Do you wish then, that we go and gather them up?’ 

Mat 13:29  “But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the darnel you also uproot the wheat with them. 

Mat 13:30  Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I shall say to the reapers, “First gather the darnel and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my granary.” ’ ” 

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

Mat 13:36  Then, having sent the crowds away, יהושע went into the house. And His taught ones came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel of the field.” 

Mat 13:37  And He answering, said to them, “He who is sowing the good seed is the Son of Aḏam, 

Mat 13:38  and the field is the world. And the good seed, these are the sons of the reign, but the darnel are the sons of the wicked one, 

Mat 13:39  and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. And the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the messengers. 

Mat 13:40  “As the darnel, then, is gathered and burned in the fire, so it shall be at the end of this age. 

Mat 13:41  “The Son of Aḏam shall send out His messengers, and they shall gather out of His reign all the stumbling-blocks,[f] and those doing lawlessness,g Zep_1:3. Footnotes: fOr all the causes of sinning/offence. gThe Darnel of Mat_13:25. 

Mat 13:42  and shall throw them into the furnace of fire – there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 

Mat 13:43  “Then the righteous[h] shall shine forth as the sun Dan_12:3 in the reign of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Footnote: h Psa_37:29, Psa_72:7, Psa_75:10, Psa_118:19-20, Psa_146:8, Mal_3:18, Rev_22:11. 

Remember YHVH Your ELOHIM

Deu 8:1  “Guard to do every command which I command you today, that you might live, and shall increase, and go in, and shall possess the land of which יהוה swore to your fathers. 

Deu 8:2  “And you shall remember that יהוה your Elohim led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you guard His commands or not. 

Deu 8:3  “And He humbled you, and let you suffer hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, to make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of יהוה.[a] Footnote: aSee also Mat_4:4 and in Luk_4:4. 

Deu 8:4  “Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 

Deu 8:5  “Thus you shall know in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so יהוה your Elohim disciplines you, 

Deu 8:6  therefore you shall guard the commands of יהוה your Elohim, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 

Deu 8:7  “For יהוה your Elohim is bringing you into a good land, a land of streams of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills, 

Deu 8:8  a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, 

Deu 8:9  a land in which you eat bread without scarcity, in which you do not lack at all, a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you dig copper. 

Deu 8:10  “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and shall bless יהוה your Elohim for the good land which He has given you. 

Deu 8:11  “Be on guard, lest you forget יהוה your Elohim by not guarding His commands, and His right-rulings, and His laws which I command you today, 

Deu 8:12  lest you eat and shall be satisfied, and build lovely houses and shall dwell in them, 

Deu 8:13  and your herds and your flocks increase, and your silver and your gold are increased, and all that you have is increased, 

Deu 8:14  that your heart then becomes lifted up, and you forget יהוה your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, from the house of bondage, 

Deu 8:15  who led you through that great and awesome wilderness – fiery serpents and scorpions and thirst – where there was no water, who brought water for you out of the flinty rock, 

Deu 8:16  who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, in order to humble you and to try you, to do you good in the end, 

Deu 8:17  you then shall say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand have made for me this wealth!’ 

Deu 8:18  “But you shall remember יהוה your Elohim, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is today. 

Deu 8:19  “And it shall be, if you by any means forget יהוה your Elohim, and follow other mighty ones, and serve them and bow yourself to them, I have warned you this day that you shall certainly perish. 

Deu 8:20  “Like the nations which יהוה is destroying before you, so you are to perish, because you did not obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim. 

 

2Co 4:16  Therefore we do not lose heart, but even if our outward man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed day by day. 

2Co 4:17  For this slight momentary pressure is working for us a far more exceeding and everlasting weight of esteem. 

2Co 4:18  We are not looking on what is seen, but on what is not seen. For what is seen passes away, but what is not seen is everlasting.[c] Footnote: cSee 2Co_5:7, Rom_8:24, Heb_11:1 and Heb_11:13. (the tension between the ‘’already and not yet’’ )

 

Heb 3:7  Therefore, as the Set-apart Spirit says, “Today, if you hear His voice, 

Heb 3:8  do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, 

Heb 3:9  where your fathers tried Me, proved Me, and saw My works forty years. 

Heb 3:10  “Therefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ 

Heb 3:11  “As I swore in My wrath, ‘If they shall enter into My rest...’ ” Psa_95:7-11. 

 

Heb 4:1  Therefore, since a promise remains of entering into His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 

Heb 4:2  For indeed the Good News was brought to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not having been mixed with belief in those who heard it. 

Heb 4:3  For we who have believed do enter into that rest, as He has said, “As I swore in My wrath, if they shall enter into My rest...” Psa_95:11 And yet His works have come into being from the foundation of the world. 

Heb 4:4  For somewhere He has said thus about the seventh day, “And Elohim rested on the seventh day from all His works,” Gen_2:2. 

Heb 4:5  and in this again, “If they shall enter into My rest...” Psa_95:11. 

Heb 4:9  So there remains a Sabbath-keeping[a] for the people of Elohim. Footnote: aThe Greek word is sabattismos, which means Sabbath-keeping. 

Heb 4:10  For the one, having entered into His rest, has himself also rested from his works, as Elohim rested from His own. 

Heb 4:11  Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience. 

 

Heb 11:13  In belief all these died, not having received the promises,[a] but seeing them from a distance, welcomed and embraced them, and confessed that they were aliens and strangers on the earth. Footnote: aSee Heb_11:39.  Rom 14:17

The Coming of the Kingdom

Luk 17:20  And having been asked by the Pharisees when the reign of Elohim would come, He answered them and said, “The reign of Elohim does not come with intent watching, 

Luk 17:21  nor shall they say, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ For look, the reign of Elohim is in your midst!” 

Blessed are you YHVH, 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

 

Parashat 45 Portion 150 ‘’Va etchanan’’ Deut 6 :4-7 :11

 

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

We conclude this week with the final portion of parashat ‘’ve etchanan’’.

Our previous portion (149) about covenantal relationship lays the foundation for set apartness and the most meaningful existence in this life and in the life to come. This Torah portion reveals the highest and most noble calling available to mankind - loving YHVH with all your heart, being and strength.

Is this possibly what Paul meant when he said in Rom 8:19  For the intense longing of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of Elohim. (who are these witnesses?)

שׁמע ישׂראל  Israel listen carefully and intelligently and obey.

   ד  שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל:  יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְהוָה אֶחָד

In the Torah scroll, the ‘’ayin” of the ‘’shemah’’ and the ‘’daleth’’ of the ‘’echad” are enlarged. 

H5707 עד ‛êd  witness to His Set apartness.

H5708 עד ‛êd  menstruation – all of mankind is in a state of uncleaness – this is not permanent.

Joh 15:3  “You are already clean (מטהרים)( ἐστέ) because of the Word which I have spoken to you. (both Hebrew and Greek are present tense verbs – ie the action is not yet complete)

1Co 4:4  For I am not conscious of any matter against myself, yet I am not declared right by this, but He who judges me is יהוה. 

H5703  עד ‛ad perpetuity, for ever, continuing future – His Set apartness will be witnessed now and forever.

Heb 12:26  ….He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” Hag_2:6. Heb 12:27  And this, “Yet once more,” makes clear the removal of what is shaken – as having been made – so that the unshaken matters might remain. 

Why is the ‘’shema’’ the most  important commandment(not prayer) in the Torah? Matt 6:9-13

Because the Messiah said so!

The Great Commandment

Mar 12:28  And one of the scribes coming near, hearing them reasoning together, knowing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first command of all?” 

Mar 12:29  And יהושע answered him, “The first of all the commands is, ‘Hear, O Yisra’ěl, יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one. Deu_6:4. 

Mar 12:30  ‘And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ Deu_6:5. This is the first command. 

Mar 12:31  “And the second, like it, is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ Lev_19:18. There is no other command greater than these.” 

Mar 12:32  And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one Elohim, and there is no other besides Him. Deu_4:35. 

Mar 12:33  “And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the being, and with all the strength, Deu_6:5 and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is more than all the ascending offerings and offerings.” )’’more than’’ not ‘’instead of’’’)

Mar 12:34  And when יהושע saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the reign of Elohim.” And after that no one was bold enough to question Him. 

 

Deu 6:4  “Hear, O Yisra’ěl: יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one! 

Deu 6:5  “And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might. 

Deu 6:6  “And these Wordsa which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart, Footnote: aSee footnote at Deu_5:22. 

Deu 6:7  and you shall impress them upon your children, and shall speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up, 

‘’Shinantam” translated as “impress or teach” implies an impartation (sharpening S8150) of the knowledge of Torah is such a way that the children will commit to memory and are empowered to relate these words back to others and are thus enabled to walk in the revelation of Torah.

Deu 6:8  and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 

Deu 6:9  “And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 

Deu 6:10  “And it shall be, when יהוה your Elohim brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Ya‛aqoḇ, to give you great and good cities which you did not build, 

Deu 6:11  and houses filled with all kinds of goods, which you did not fill, and wells dug which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied – 

Deu 6:12  be on guard, lest you forget יהוה who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, from the house of bondage. 

Deu 6:13  “Fear יהוה your Elohim and serve Him, and swear (Heb ‘’shavuah’’) by(in) His Name – (Heb – ‘’bishmo’)

BDB Theological Dictionary explains the act of swearing (Heb ‘’shavuah’’) with seven oneself. It's always been a mystery where the Hebrew week came from — the day, the month and the year are all references to cosmological phenomena, but the week appears to be a strictly theological expression. By creating everything in seven days, YHVH takes an oath to restore His people to Himself – we in turn agree by solemnly declaring that His oath will be carried out.

Deu 6:14  “Do not go after other mighty ones, the mighty ones of the peoples who are all around you, 

Deu 6:15  for יהוה your Elohim is a jealous Ěl in your midst, lest the displeasure of יהוה your Elohim burn against you, then He shall destroy you from the face of the earth. 

Deu 6:16  “Do not try יהוה your Elohim as you tried Him in Massah. 

Deu 6:17  “Diligently guard the commands of יהוה your Elohim, and His witnesses, and His laws which He has commanded you. 

Deu 6:18  “And you shall do what is right and good in the eyes of יהוה, that it might be well with you, and you shall go in and possess the good land of which יהוה swore to your fathers, 

Deu 6:19  to drive out all your enemies from before you, as יהוה has spoken. 

Deu 6:20  “When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the witnesses, and the laws, and the right-rulings which יהוה our Elohim has commanded you?’ 

Deu 6:21  then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Mitsrayim, and יהוה brought us out of Mitsrayim with a strong hand, 

Deu 6:22  and יהוה sent signs and wonders, great and grievous, upon Mitsrayim, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes. 

Deu 6:23  And He brought us out from there, to bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers. 

Deu 6:24  And יהוה commanded us to do all these laws, to fear יהוה our Elohim, for our good always, to keep us alive, as it is today. 

Deu 6:25  And it is righteousness (not legalism) for us when we guard to do all this command[b] before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.’ Footnote: b"Command,” singular, very often has the meaning of “commands,” plural. See also Psa_119:172 and in Isa_51:7. 

Rom 8:4  so that the righteousness of the Torah should be completed in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (the evidence that you have received the righteousness of the true Messiah)

A Chosen People

Deu 7:1  “When יהוה your Elohim brings you into the land which you go to possess, He shall also clear away many nations before you: the Ḥittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Kena‛anites and the Perizzites and the Ḥiwwites and the Yeḇusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you. 

Deu 7:2  “And when יהוה your Elohim gives them over to you, you shall strike them and put them under the ban, completely. Make no covenant with them, and show them no favour. 

Deu 7:3  “And do not intermarry with them – you do not give your daughter to his son, and you do not take his daughter for your son, 

Deu 7:4  for he turns your sons away from following Me, to serve other mighty ones. Then the displeasure of יהוה shall burn against you and promptly destroy you. 

Deu 7:5  “But this is what you do to them: Break down their slaughter-places, and smash their pillars, and cut down their Ashěrim, and burn their carved images with fire. 

Deu 7:6  “For you are a set-apart people to יהוה your Elohim. יהוה your Elohim has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a treasured possession above all the peoples on the face of the earth. 

 

1Pe 2:9  But you are a chosen race,[b] Deu_10:15 a royal priesthood,[c] Isa_61:6 a set-apart nation, [d] Exo_19:6 a people for a possession, [e] Isa_43:2 that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light, Footnotes: bAlso see Isa_43:20. cAlso see Isa_66:21. dAlso see Deu_7:6. eAlso see Exo_19:5, Tit_2:14. 

1Pe 2:10  who once were not a people,[f] but now the people of Elohim;f who had not obtained compassion,f but now obtained compassion.f Hos_1:9-10, Hos_2:23. Footnote: fAlso see Isa_65:1, Hos_1:9, Isa_63:16, Isa_64:8, Rom_9:25-26. 

 

Deu 7:7  “יהוה did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more numerous than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples, 

Deu 7:8  but because of יהוה loving you, and because of Him guarding the oath which He swore to your fathers, יהוה has brought you out with a strong hand, and ransomed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim. 

Deu 7:9  “And you shall know that יהוה your Elohim, He is Elohim, the trustworthy Ěl guarding covenant and loving-commitment for a thousand generations with those who love Him, and those who guard His commands, 

Deu 7:10  but repaying those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He does not delay to do so with him who hates Him, He repays him to his face. 

Deu 7:11  “And you shall guard the command, and the laws, and the right-rulings which I command you today, to do them. 

 

Moshe is urging us to do all we can to secure our calling and election sure. Peter encourages us to do the same:

 Confirm Your Calling and Election

2Pe 1:3  as His Mighty-like (supreme) power has given to us all we need for life and reverence, through the knowledge of Him who called us to esteem and uprightness. 

2Pe 1:4  Through these there have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, so that through these you might be partakers of the Mighty-like nature, having escaped from the corruption in the world, caused by lust. 

2Pe 1:5  And for this reason do your utmost to add to your belief uprightness,(courage) to uprightness knowledge, (lit Gk ‘’add to the faith of yours – manliness to manliness add knowledge’’)

2Pe 1:6  to knowledge self-control, ( ‘’seclusion’’) to self-control endurance,(patience) to endurance reverence, (set apartness)

2Pe 1:7  to reverence brotherly affection, and to brotherly affection love. (Gk ‘’agape)

Seven qualities of spiritual discipline that need to be added to ‘’The Faith’’ Manliness, Knowledge, Seclusion/Self control, (know how to be silent) Patient endurance (vasbyt) Set apartness, Brotherly love (Gk philadelphos) and Elohim love (Gk agape)

1Co 16:13  Watch, stand fast in the belief, be men, be strong. 

1Co 16:14  Let all that you do be done in love. 

 

1Co 13:11  When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, I reasoned as a child. But when I became a man, I did away with childish matters. 

In the past men were taught to be men by their fathers and grandfathers. However, you and I have primarily been raised by the internet and social media. Where is the mentoring today?

2Pe 1:8  For if these are in you and increase, they cause you to be neither inactive nor without fruit in the knowledge of our Master יהושע Messiah. 

2Pe 1:9  For he in whom these are not present is blind, being shortsighted, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his old sins. 

2Pe 1:10  For this reason, brothers, all the more do your utmost to make firm your calling and choosinga, for if you are doing these matters you shall never stumble at all, Footnote: a Mat_20:16, Mat_22:14, Rev_17:14. 

2Pe 1:11  for in this way an entrance into the everlasting reign of our Master and Saviour יהושע Messiah shall be richly supplied to you. 

2Pe 1:12  And so I intend to remind you of these matters again and again, though you know them and have been established in the present truth. (‘’proceeding word’’ ‘’present application of truth’’)

2Pe 1:13  But I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by a reminder, 

2Pe 1:14  knowing that the putting off of my tent is soon, even as our Master יהושע Messiah made clear to me. 

2Pe 1:15  And I shall do my utmost also, to see to it that you always have a reminder of these matters after my departure. 

Celebration of Discipline - Richard Foster -  

“My problem was that what I did say had no power to help people. I had no substance, no depth. The people were starving for a word from God, and I had nothing to give them. Nothing.” (xiii). He goes on to say, “Superficiality is the curse of our age. . . The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people” (1). Foster warns that “to know the mechanics does not mean that we are practicing the Disciplines” (3). He continues, “The disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us” (7). He argues that the disciplines themselves are not life-changing, but the God of the disciplines is - end quote.

2Th 3:6  But we command you, brothers, in the Name of our Master יהושע Messiah, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which you received from us. 

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

 

It is time for heavenly men to fulfil their earthly callings – we are the priests in our homes.