Parashat 48 Portion 165 ‘’Ki Tetzei’ Deut 23:10-24:4 Is 1:16-26

Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has made us set apart through His commandments and commanded us to engross ourselves in the words of the Torah. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah – Amein

כי־תצא מחנה – when you go forth in a military camp

Deu 23:9  “When the camp goes out against your enemies, then you shall guard yourself from every evil matter. 

Deu 23:10  “When there is any man among you who is not clean because of an emission (nocturnal) in the night, then he shall go outside the camp. Let him not come into the midst of the camp. Lev15:16

Deu 23:11  “And it shall be, at the approach[b] of evening, that he bathes with water. And when the sun sets let him come into the midst of the camp. Footnote: bLit. To the face of evening. 

Deu 23:12  “And you shall have a place outside the camp, where you shall go out, 

Deu 23:13  and you shall have a sharp implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your excrement. 

Deu 23:14  “For יהוה your Elohim walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you. Therefore your camp shall be set-apart, so that He does not see unclean matter among you, and shall turn away from you.

 

Midrash: See Stones Chumash – page 1055 Sanctity of the camp – context of spiritual warfare.

Our battle is primarily against ‘’principalities, against authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual matters of wickedness in the heavenlies’’ Eph 6:12

If there is sin in our camp these spiritual forces will overcome us- Rev 13:7

What would motivate Israeli soldiers to obey the above instructions? See Deut 23:14

 

2Co 6:16 …. For you are a Dwelling Place of the living Elohim, as Elohim has said, “I shall dwell in them and walk among them, and I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.”

2Co 6:17  Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate, says יהוה, and do not touch what is unclean, and I shall receive you

 

Question? How can there be spiritual warfare during the millennium? Mat 5:18  “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from (Gk 3928 -neglected or discarded)the Torah till all be done. (Gk 1096 ‘’ginomai’’ (aorist verb) come into being or until they are carried out properly according to YHVH’s satisfaction – only at the end of the millennium do the present heavens and earth disappear 2Pet 3:10) 

 

Miscellaneous Laws

Deu 23:15  “You do not hand over to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. 

Deu 23:16  “Let him dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it is pleasing to him. Do not oppress him. 

 

This law was only practiced by Israel – other cultures and nations dealt very harshly with escaped slaves. In a Torah observant culture slaves were well treated.

 

Deu 23:17  “None of the daughters of Yisra’ěl is to be a cult prostitute, nor any of the sons of Yisra’ěl be a cult prostitute. 

Deu 23:18  “Do not bring the harlot-fee of a whore or the pay of a dog[c] to the House of יהוה your Elohim for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to יהוה your Elohim. Footnote: cMale prostitute. 

 

The fact that this is even mentioned reflects on how corrupt the priesthood was to even allow such sacrifices.

 

‘’The Scriptures uses imagery of "prostitutes" or "harlots" to metaphorically describe the spiritual unfaithfulness of leaders and nations to YHVH, particularly in the books of Hosea, Jeremiah, and Revelation.’’

 

In fact some of YHVH’s people are described as more depraved that actual physical prostitutes - Eze 16:30  “How weak is your heart!” declares the Master יהוה, “seeing you do all this, the deeds of a shameless whore. 

Eze 16:31  “You built your arched place at the head of every way, and built your high place in every street. Yet you were unlike a whore, you scorned a harlot-fee! 

Eze 16:32  “The wife who commits adultery who takes strangers instead of her husband! 

Eze 16:33  “To all whores they give gifts, but you gave gifts to all your lovers, and bribed them to come to you from all around in your whorings. 

Eze 16:34  “Thus you are different from other women in your whorings, because no one whores after you, and in you giving a harlot-fee, while a harlot-fee was not given to you. Thus you are different.”

 

When a believer is more committed to their Spiritual leaders and the doctrines of religious men they reveal an unfaithfulness to YHVH and His Torah. This is compared to a whore who is unfaithful to her husband.

 

Pro 28:9  He who turns away his ear from hearing the Torah, Even his prayer is an abomination.

 

 The Parable of the Two Sons

Mat 21:28  “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 

Mat 21:29  “And he answering, said, ‘I do not wish to,’ but afterwards he repented and went. 

Mat 21:30  “And having come to the second, he said similarly. And he answering, said, ‘I go, master,’ but he did not go. 

Mat 21:31  “Which of the two did the desire of the father?” They said to Him, “The first.” יהושע said to them, “Truly, I say to you that tax collectors and whores are entering into the reign of Elohim before you, 

Mat 21:32  for Yoḥanan came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but tax collectors and whores believed him. And when you saw it, you did not repent afterwards, to believe him. 

 

Deu 23:19  “Do not lend at interest to your brother, interest of silver, interest of food, or interest of whatever is lent at interest. 

Deu 23:20  “To a foreigner you lend at interest, but to your brother you do not lend at interest, so that יהוה your Elohim might bless you in all that you put your hand to in the land which you are entering to possess. (‘’Shayira banking’’ lends money without interest to Muslims and non -Muslims)

 

(95) Jesus said, "If you have money, do not lend it at interest, but give it to one from whom you will not get it back." (Gospel of Thomas) one of the so called lost gospels. See also Stones Chumash 1057 see also Jn 21:25

 

Deu 23:21  “When you make a vow to יהוה your Elohim, do not delay to pay it, for יהוה your Elohim is certainly requiring it of you, and it shall be sin in you. 

Deu 23:22  “But when you abstain from vowing, it is not sin in you. 

Deu 23:23  “That which has gone from your lips you shall guard and do, for you voluntarily vowed to יהוה your Elohim what you have promised with your mouth. 

 

Mat 5:34  “But I say to you, do not swear [vainly][i] at all, neither by the heaven, because it is Elohim’s throne; Footnote: iShem Toḇ texts include ‘vainly’. 

Mat 5:35  nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; Isa_66:1 nor by Yerushalayim, for it is the city of the great Sovereign; Psa_48:2. 

Mat 5:36  nor swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 

Mat 5:37  “But let your word ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ And what goes beyond these is from the wicked one. 

 

Yahshua took an oath - Mat 26:63  But יהושע remained silent. So the high priest said to Him, “I put You to oath, by the living Elohim that You say to us if You are the Messiah, the Son of Elohim.” Mat 26:64  יהושע said to him, “You have said it. Besides I say to you, from now on you shall see the Son of Aḏam sitting at the right hand of the Power, Psa_110:1 and coming on the clouds of the heaven.”

 

YHVH took an oath - Heb 3:18  And to whom did He swear that they would not enter into His rest, but to those who did not obey? 

 

If you are a son or daughter of the covenant – your word is your bond.

 

Deu 23:24  “When you come into your neighbour’s vineyard, you shall eat to the satisfaction of your desire, but do not put any in a receptacle of yours. 

Deu 23:25  “When you come into your neighbour’s standing grain, you shall pluck the heads with your hand, but do not use a sickle on your neighbour’s standing grain. 

Laws Concerning Divorce

Deu 24:1  “When a man takes a wife and shall marry her, then it shall be, if she finds no favour in his eyes because he has found a matter of uncoveredness[a] in her, and he shall write her a certificate of divorce, and put it in her hand, and send her out of his house, Footnote: aProof that she is not a maiden, indicating that she had previously been fornicating. See also Mat_5:32 and Mat_19:9. 

 

Mat 19:7  They said to Him, “Why then did Mosheh command to give a certificate of divorce, Deu_24:1, Deu_24:3 and to put her away?” 

Mat 19:8  He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts, Mosheh allowed you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 

Mat 19:9  “And I say to you, whoever puts away his wife, except on the ground of whoring, and marries another, commits adultery. And whoever marries her who has been put away commits adultery. (maybe Yahshua wanted the man to forgive his wayward wife)

 

Deu 24:2  and if she left his house and went and became another man’s wife, 

Deu 24:3  and the latter husband shall hate her and write her a certificate of divorce, and put it in her hand, and send her out of his house, or when the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, 

Deu 24:4  then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled, for that would be an abomination before יהוה. And do not bring sin on the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance. 

 

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. 

Luk 12:32  “Do not fear, little flock, because your Father did delight to give you the reign. 

Addressing this little remnant flock YHVH says:

Isa 1:16  “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Stop doing evil! 

Isa 1:17  “Learn to do good! Seek right-ruling, reprove the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. 

Isa 1:18  "Come now, and let us reason together,” says יהוה. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 

Isa 1:19  “If you submit and obey, you shall eat the good of the land; 

Isa 1:20  but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword,” for the mouth of יהוה has spoken. 

The Unfaithful City

Isa 1:21  How the steadfast city has become a whore! I have filled it with right-ruling; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers. 

Isa 1:22  Your silver has become dross, your wine is mixed with water. 

Isa 1:23  Your rulers are stubborn, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and runs after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow reach them. 

Isa 1:24  Therefore the Master declares, יהוה of hosts, the Mighty One of Yisra’ěl, “Ah, I shall be eased of My adversaries, and I shall be avenged of My enemies. 

Isa 1:25  “And I shall turn My hand against you, and shall refine your dross as with lye, and shall remove all your alloy. 

Isa 1:26  “And I shall give back your judges as at the first, and your counsellors as at the beginning. After this you shall be called the city of righteousness, a steadfast city.” 

 

 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 48 Portion 164 ‘’Ki tetzei’’ Deut 22:6-23:9 Is 31:5-9 + 32:14-18

 Baruch atah, YHVH Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah

Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has made us set apart through His commandments and commanded us to engross ourselves in the words of the Torah. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah – Amein

כי יקרא קן־צפור ‘’when you accidentally encounter a birds nest’’

Deu 22:6  “When you come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young – 

Deu 22:7  let the mother go without fail, and take the young for yourself, so that it might be well with you, and that you shall prolong your days. 

 

קָרָא Strongs 7122 - A primitive root; to encounter, whether accidentally or in a hostile manner: - befall, (by) chance, (cause to) come (upon), fall out, happen, meet.

 

This ‘’seemingly’’ least of all commandments may not be such an ‘’insignificant encounter’’ as some may believe. It may be YHVH’s way of revealing the true condition of our hearts.

The consequences of ignoring this instruction will have serious consequences – see vs 7 The phrase ‘’so that you may prolong your days’’ (includes millennium) is used by Moshe 30 times in the book of Deuteronomy – always regarding obeying YHVH’s instructions. Isa 65:20  “No more is an infant from there going to live but a few days, nor an old man who does not complete his days, for the youth dies one hundred years old, but the sinner being one hundred years old shall be lightly esteemed. Isa 65:21  “And they shall build houses and inhabit them, and plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

 

Isa 31:5  “Like hovering birds, (Heb A primitive root; to cover – or protect) so does יהוה of hosts protect Yerushalayim – protecting and delivering, passing over and rescuing.” (way of escape)

Isa 31:6  Turn back to Him from whom the children of Yisra’ěl have deeply fallen away. 

Isa 31:7  For in that day, let each man reject his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made for yourselves, as a sin.

Isa 31:8  “And Ashshur shall fall by a sword not of man, and a sword not of mankind shall devour him. But he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become slave labour, 2 Kings 19:35 – 185 000 Assyrian soldiers killed by a messenger of YHVH

Isa 31:9  and his strength pass away because of fear, and his commanders shall be afraid of the banner,” declares יהוה, whose light is in Tsiyon and whose furnace is in Yerushalayim. 

Isa 32:17  The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the service of righteousness be rest and safety forever. 

Isa 32:18  And My people shall dwell in a home of peace, and in safe dwellings, and in undisturbed resting places, 

 

Once again our haftarah portion seems to suggest this the Torah portion can be viewed and best understood in the context of the millennial rule of Messiah.

 

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 22:8  “When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you do not bring blood-guilt on your house when one falls from it.

Deu 22:9  “Do not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled. 

 

We are forbidden to ‘’mix or combine’’ ideas from any religion or philosophy which contradicts the teachings and truth of the Torah.

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.

 

Rev 22:14  “Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city. (Only a Torah obedient end time people will be part of the Bride of Messiah)

 

2Th 2:11  And for this reason Elohim sends them a working of delusion, for them to believe the falsehood. (consequences of lawlessness – Mat 7:21-23)

 

Deu 22:10  “Do not plough with an ox and a donkey together. 

Deu 22:11  “Do not put on a garment of different kinds, of wool and linen together. 

Deu 22:12  “Make tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself. 

 

When we wear ‘’tzitzit’’ we are declaring that we do not want to be unequally yoked with people who do not believe it’s important or necessary to obey the ‘’tzitzit’’ command or any other command. (we don’t reject them; we can’t be unequally yoked with them)

Num 15:37  And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, 

Num 15:38  “Speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, and you shall say to them to make tzitzit[b] on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord in the tzitzit[b] of the corners. Footnote: bSee Explanatory Notes - “Tzitzit”. 

Num 15:39  “And it shall be to you for a tzitzit[b], and you shall see it, and shall remember all the commands of יהוה and shall do them, and not search after your own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring, Footnote: bSee Explanatory Notes - “Tzitzit”. 

Num 15:40  so that you remember, and shall do all My commands, and be set-apart unto your Elohim.[c] Footnote: cAlso see Exo_20:6, Deu_7:9, Deu_11:1, Deu_30:16, Neh_1:5, Dan_9:4, 1Jn_5:2-3, 2Jn_1:6. 

Num 15:41  “I am יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, to be your Elohim. I am יהוה your Elohim.” 

 

Laws Concerning Sexual Immorality

Deu 22:13  “When any man takes a wife, and shall go in to her, and shall hate her, 

Deu 22:14  and shall make abusive charges against her and bring an evil name on her and say, ‘I took this woman, and when I came to her I did not find her a maiden,’ 

Deu 22:15  then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the proof of the girl’s maidenhood to the elders of the city at the gate. 

Deu 22:16  “And the girl’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he hates her. 

Deu 22:17  And see, he has made abusive charges against her, saying, “I did not find your daughter a maiden,” and yet these are the proofs of my daughter’s maidenhood.’ And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city. 

Deu 22:18  “And the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him, (Heb ‘’yasar’’ A primitive root; to chastise, literally (with blows)

 

Deu 25:1  “When there is a dispute between men, then they shall come unto judgment, and they shall be judged, and the righteous declared righteous and the wrongdoer declared wrong. 

Deu 25:2  “And it shall be, if the wrongdoer is to be struck, that the judge shall cause him to lie down and be struck in his presence with the number of blows according to his wrong. 

Deu 25:3  “Forty strikes he gives him but no more, lest he strike him with many more blows than these, and your brother be degraded before your eyes.

 

Deu 22:19  and fine him one hundred pieces of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought an evil name on a maiden of Yisra’ěl. And she is to be his wife, he is not allowed to put her away all his days. 

Deu 22:20  “But if the matter is true, that the girl was not found a maiden, 

Deu 22:21  then they shall bring out the girl to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done wickedness in Yisra’ěl, to whore in her father’s house. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst. 

Deu 22:22  “When a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from Yisra’ěl. 

Deu 22:23  “When a girl who is a maiden is engaged to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, 

Deu 22:24  then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and shall stone them to death with stones, the girl because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has humbled his neighbour’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst. 

Deu 22:25  “But if a man finds the girl who is engaged in the field, and the man takes hold of her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 

Deu 22:26  “But you shall do no matter to the girl. The girl has no sin worthy of death – for the matter is like a man who rises against his neighbour and murders him – a being – 

Deu 22:27  for he found her in the field, and she cried out, the engaged girl, but without anyone to save her. 

Deu 22:28  “When a man finds a girl who is a maiden, who is not engaged, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, 

Deu 22:29  then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty pieces of silver, and she is to be his wife because he has humbled her. He is not allowed to put her away all his days. 

Deu 22:30  “A man does not take his father’s wife, nor uncover his father’s skirt.a Footnote: aHebrew - kanaph: wing, extremity, border or robe. 

Those Excluded from the Assembly

Deu 23:1  “He who is wounded by crushing of testicles or whose penis is cut off, shall not enter into the community of יהוה. 

Deu 23:2  “A mamzera shall not enter the community of יהוה, even a tenth generation of his shall not enter the community of יהוה. Footnote: aMamzer (Hebrew) - Born from prohibited union – usually some form of incest.

Deu 23:3  “An Ammonite or Mo’aḇite shall not enter the assembly of יהוה, even a tenth generation of them shall not ever enter the assembly of יהוה, (possible reference to males only)

Deu 23:4  because they did not meet you with bread and water on the way when you came out of Mitsrayim, and because they hired against you Bil‛am son of Be‛or from Pethor of Aram Naharayim, to curse you. 

Deu 23:5  “But יהוה your Elohim refused to listen to Bil‛am, and יהוה your Elohim turned the curse into a blessing for you, because יהוה your Elohim loves you. 

Deu 23:6  “Do not seek their peace nor their good, all your days, forever. 

Deu 23:7  “Do not loathe an Eḏomite, for he is your brother. Do not loathe a Mitsrian, because you were a stranger in his land. 

Deu 23:8  “The children of the third generation born to them do enter the assembly of יהוה. 

Uncleanness in the Camp

Deu 23:9  “When the camp goes out against your enemies, then you shall guard yourself from every evil matter

 

Mat 5:17  “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets.[e] I did not come to destroy but to complete. Footnote: eThe Law and the Prophets is a term used for the pre-Messianic Scriptures. 

Mat 5:18  “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.[f] Footnote: f Luk_16:17. 

Mat 5:19  “Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens. 

Mat 5:20  “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the reign of the heavens.

 

All those who cling to the righteousness of the Torah will be hated - Joh 15:18  “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 

Joh 15:19  “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, for that reason the world hates you. 

 

Why is it called “Sinai”? (thorny) Because it is the mountain from which hatred (Hebrew: sina) came down to the Nations-of-the-World. (Shabbos 89a)

 

Rom 3:1  What then is the advantage of the Yehuḏi, 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.

 

 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 49 Portion 163 ‘’Ki – teitzei’’ Deut 21:10-22:7 Is 2:4-7 + 12-17

Baruch atah, YHVH Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah.

Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has made us set apart through His commandments and commanded us to engross ourselves in the words of the Torah. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah – Amein

כי־תצא ‘’when you go out’’ When you go out to ‘’war’’ and when you go out to be confronted by the realities of this life. The Torah of Messiah is the only reliable ‘’road’’ map we have to navigate our pilgrimage through this life and in the life to come – in the ‘’olam ha za and in the olam ha ba’’.

Rabbinic tradition states that this Torah portion contains more commandments than any other Torah portion – 74 commandments out of a total of 613 commandments. This implies that this Torah portion gives us a greater opportunity to live a more fruitful and fulfilling life - Jas 1:25  But he that looked into the perfect Torah, that of freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing of the Torah.

יצר הרע לא דברה אֶלָּא תורה כנגד Stones Chumash – p1046  

‘’The Torah does not only talk against the evil inclination’’

The apostle Paul understood this limitation that was placed on the Torah by the religious leaders and goes on to explain the liberating intention of the Torah in his letter to the Romans.

The focus of the Torah was Life in the Spirit and not bondage to our flesh.

To understand the following scripture in Rom 8 more clearly let us substitute ‘’flesh’’ for ‘’yetzer ha ra’’  and ‘’life’’ with the righteousness of the Torah.

 

Rom 8:1  There is, then, now no condemnation to those who are in Messiah יהושע, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (the righteousness of the Torah)

Rom 8:2  For the torah of the Spirit of the life in Messiah יהושע has set me free from the torah of sin and of death. (which focuses on the fruit of the evil inclination- you cannot reform your fallen nature you can only die to it – daily- we do not deny the realty of the flesh; we can only overcome it by the realty of walking in the Spirit or righteousness of the Torah of Messiah)

Rom 8:3  For the Torah being powerless, in that it was weak through the flesh, Elohim, having sent His own Son in the likeness of flesh of sin, and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh, 

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. 

Rom 8:5  For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the matters of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the matters of the Spirit. 

Rom 8:6  For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. 

Rom 8:7  Because the mind of the flesh(religion) is enmity (hatred)towards Elohim, for it does not subject itself to the Torah of Elohim, neither indeed is it able, 

Rom 8:8  and those who are in the flesh are unable to please Elohim. 

Rom 8:9  But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, this one is not His. (the Spirit of Messiah dwells in the Torah of righteousness)

Rom 8:10  And if Messiah is in you, the body is truly dead on account of sin, but the Spirit is life on account of righteousness. Gal 2:20

Rom 8:11  And if the Spirit of Him who raised יהושע from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Messiah from the dead shall also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit dwelling in you. (The Torah was never meant to be separated from the Apostolic scriptures)

 

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 

 

If we walk in the light of Romans 8 we will see the ‘’fullness’’ of this Torah portion.

 

Marrying Female Captives

Deu 21:10  “When you go out to fight against your enemies, and יהוה your Elohim shall give them into your hand, and you shall take them captive, 

Deu 21:11  and shall see among the captives a woman fair of form,  אשׁת יפת־תאר and shall delight in her and take her for your wife, 

Deu 21:12  then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails, 

Deu 21:13  and put aside the mantle of her captivity, and shall dwell in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a month of days. And after that you shall go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 

Deu 21:14  “And it shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go at her desire, but you do not sell her at all for silver. Do not treat her harshly, since you have humbled her. 

 

This Israeli soldier who captured this woman could have treated her badly, even killing her – if he acted according to his evil inclination – after all she belonged to a people who were enemies of Israel. However, this Israeli soldier chose to act according to the instruction of the Torah in this matter by extending mercy and kindness to her. He was guided by the Spirit or righteousness of the Torah and not by his flesh.

 

Let us place ourselves in that ‘’captive woman’s position – a gentile ‘’hostage’’ ‘’captured’’ by a loving Messiah Redeemer.

 

Lam 3:22  The loving-commitments of יהוה! For we have not been consumed, For His compassions have not ended. 

Lam 3:23  They are new every morning, Great is Your trustworthiness.

 

The only limit to YHVH's mercy is us.

 

Jas 2:12  So speak and so do as those who are to be judged by a Torah of freedom.

Jas 2:13  For the judgment is without compassion to the one who has shown no compassion. And compassion boasts (triumphs) over judgment.

We cannot ignore or over emphasize grace over sin or sin over grace. You can’t fake this lie either- We must discern between the flesh (soul) and the Spirit – Heb 4:12

 

We must also take another serious look at Joh 16:8  “And having come, (the Set Apart Spirit) He shall convict[a] the world concerning sin,b and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment – Footnotes: aOr confute or prove wrong. (People don’t just go to ‘’hell’’ just because they are evil. Evil people go to ‘’hell ‘’ because they have rejected YHVH’s ‘’grace’’ found and explained in the scriptures.)

 

Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn

Deu 21:15  “When a man has two wives, (the Torah does not teach that having two wives is a sin) one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and the first-born son is of her who is unloved, 

Deu 21:16  then it shall be, on the day he makes his sons to inherit his possessions, he is not allowed to treat the son of the beloved wife as first-born in the face of the son of the unloved, who is truly the first-born. 

Deu 21:17  “But he is to acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the first-born by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength – the right of the first-born is his. 

 

Even if this man feels he is justified in not loving his first wife, he is not allowed to deprive the first born son his double portion inheritance.

 

A Rebellious Son

Deu 21:18  “When a man has a wayward and rebellious son who is not listening to the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have disciplined him, does not listen to them, (the parents have tried everything to correct their son, without success)

Deu 21:19  then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city, 

Deu 21:20  and shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is wayward and rebellious. He is not listening to our voice, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 

Deu 21:21  “Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. Thus, you shall purge the evil from your midst. And let all Yisra’ěl hear, and fear. (the righteousness of the Torah is stoning such a son to death – only true called out Israelites will understand and obey the righteousness of this command)

 

Sometimes parents may legitimately fear future devastating actions of a son who continuously displays violent anti-social psychopathic behaviour.

 

A Man Hanged on a Tree Is Cursed

Deu 21:22  “And when a man has committed a sin worthy of death, then he shall be put to death and you shall hang him on a tree. 

Deu 21:23  “Let his body not remain overnight on the tree, for you shall certainly bury him the same day – for he who is hanged is accursed of Elohim – so that you do not defile the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance. 

Stoning to death was probably the most common method to execute someone who had committed a capital offense. However, hanging a guilty person was meant to send a strong message of deterrence. In ancient Israel, "hanging on a tree" referred to a post-mortem display of executed criminals, a practice that served as a public warning and a symbol of divine curse, not the method of execution itself - Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 45b-46b sin of blasphemy.

 

The phrase "hung on a tree" in the Scriptures, particularly in Acts 5:30, 10:39, and Galatians 3:13, is a reference to Yahshua's execution, using "tree" as a metaphorical or symbolic term for the ‘’cross’’, and alludes to Deuteronomy 21:22-23, which states that anyone hung on a tree is under YHVH's curse. 

That’s why Yahshua’s body was taken off the ‘’tree’’ before the evening – John 19:31

 

Various Laws – reminding us that YHVH speaks to us in ways that allows us to ‘’connect’’ with Him through our actions – will we respond in the flesh or in the Spirit?

Deu 22:1  “When you see your brother’s ox or his sheep straying away, you shall not hide yourself from them. Return them to your brother without fail. 

Deu 22:2  “And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall be with you until your brother seeks it, then you shall return it to him. 

Deu 22:3  “And so you do with his donkey, and so you do with his garment, and so you do with whatever your brother loses, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to hide yourself. 

Deu 22:4  “When you see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down on the way, you shall not hide yourself from them. Help him raise them without fail. 

Deu 22:5  “A woman does not wear that which pertains to a man, nor does a man put on a woman’s garment, for whoever does this is an abomination to יהוה your Elohim. (The Torah of righteousness requires that there should be no confusion in distinguishing between a man and a woman)

Deu 22:6  “When you come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young – (the so called ‘’least’’ of all YHVH’s commandments)

Deu 22:7  let the mother go without fail, and take the young for yourself, so that it might be well with you, and that you shall prolong your days. 

 

Isa 2:4  And He shall judge between the nations, and shall reprove many peoples. And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither teach battle any more. Isa 2:5  O house of Ya‛aqoḇ, come and let us walk in the light of יהוה. Isa 2:17  And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the pride of men shall be brought low. And יהוה alone shall be exalted in that day, Isa 2:18  and the idols completely pass away. 

 

The footsteps of Messiah in the last days:

 

Mishnah Sotah 9:15b ‘Mashiach Ikvot’’ – footprints of Messiah (when will we hear them?)

And the wisdom of scribes will putrefy, (decay/rot) and people who fear sin will be held in disgust, and the truth will be absent. The youth will shame the face of elders, elders will stand before minors. Normal family relations will be ruined: A son will disgrace a father; a daughter will rise up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be the members of his household. The face of the generation will be like the face of a dog; a son will no longer be ashamed before his father. And upon what is there for us to rely? Only upon our Father in heaven.

 

Mat 10:34  “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword, (those who cling to the Torah of righteousness will be attacked)

Mat 10:35  for I have come to bring division, a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – 

Mat 10:36  and a man’s enemies are those of his own household.[d] Mic_7:6. Footnote: dLuk_12:53, Mic_7:6. 

Mat 10:37  “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

 

 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 48 Portion 162 ‘’Shoftim’’ Deut 20:10-21:14 Is 66:12-22

 Baruch atah, YHVH Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah.

Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has made us set apart through His commandments and commanded us to engross ourselves in the words of the Torah. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah – Amein

כי־תקרב אל־עיר When you draw near to a city- note the use of the future tense singular masculine verb – תקרב In other words this action will be ongoing while the present heaven and earth exist.

 

Why would you draw near to a city? Because the leaders (Judges) of Israel had determined that the inhabitants of that city were a threat, both physically and spiritually to YHVH’s people.

YHVH will not allow any individual or group of individuals to destroy His people. YHVH may choose our enemies to have a partial and temporary victory over His people – to chastise them to cause them to return to His ways.

 

Deu 20:10  “When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then you shall make a call for peace to it. 

Deu 20:11  “And it shall be that if it accepts your call for peace, and shall open to you, then all the people found in it are to be your compulsory labour, and serve you. 

Deu 20:12  “But if it does not make peace with you, and shall fight against you, then you shall besiege it, 

Deu 20:13  and יהוה your Elohim shall give it into your hands, and you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword. 

Deu 20:14  “Only the women, and the little ones, and the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you take as plunder for yourself. And you shall eat the enemies’ plunder which יהוה your Elohim gives you. 

Deu 20:15  “Do so to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations. 

 

Deu 20:16  “Only, of the cities of these peoples which יהוה your Elohim gives you as an inheritance, you do not keep alive any that breathe, 

Deu 20:17  but you shall certainly put them under the ban - כי־החרם תחרימם  : the Ḥittite and the Amorite and the Kena‛anite and the Perizzite and the Ḥiwwite and the Yeḇusite, as יהוה your Elohim has commanded you, 

Deu 20:18  lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their mighty ones, and you sin against יהוה your Elohim. 

Deu 20:19  “When you besiege a city for a long time by fighting against it to take it, you do not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. If you do eat of them, do not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man to be besieged by you? 

Deu 20:20  “Only the trees which you know are not trees for food you do destroy and cut down, to build siege-works against the city that is fighting against you, until it falls. 

 

Midrash - Deut 20:10-20 – in the context of the last days and the great tribulation- pleading and giving His enemies time to repent – increasing the pressure if they refuse – what mercy!

 

Eph 4:8  That is why it says, “When He went up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” שבה שבי  Psa_68:18. Eph 4:9  But what does “He went up” mean, except that He also first went down into the lower parts of the earth? Eph 4:10  He who went down is also the One who went up far above all the heavens, to fill all. 

 

"taking captive captivity" means that Yahshua, through his death and resurrection, triumphed over death and sin, essentially "capturing" the power that once held people captive, signifying his complete victory over evil and his authority to deliver people from its control’’

 

 

Perhaps this is the story of our Messianic redemption – when it comes to laws of warfare, our Messiah King knew that we could not defeat our enemies on our own, so, he went to battle on our behalf to conquer our enemies – showing mercy to some and no mercy to others.

Note the singular masculine tense that is used in Deu 20:10  “When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then you shall make a call for peace to it - כי־תקרב אל־עיר – In fact all the pronouns used in this regard are masculine singular pronouns.

 

See Deut 20:19-20 - Rev 7:3  saying, “Do not harm the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees until we have sealed the servants of our Elohim upon their foreheads.’’ (144 000 witnesses)

 

Isa 63:2  Why is there red on Your raiment, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? 

Isa 63:3  “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. And I trod them down in My displeasure, and I trampled them in My wrath. Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have defiled all My raiment.  Repeated in Rev 19:13

Isa 63:4  “For a day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. 

Isa 63:5  “And I looked, but there was none helping, and I was astonished that there was none upholding. So My own arm saved for Me, and My wrath upheld Me. 

Isa 63:6  “And I trod down peoples in My displeasure, and made them drunk in My wrath, and brought down their strength to earth.” 

 

Atonement for Unsolved Murders

Deu 21:1  “When anyone is found slain, lying in the field in the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you to possess, and it is not known who struck him, 

Deu 21:2  then your elders and your judges shall go out, and they shall measure the distance from the slain man to the cities round about. 

Deu 21:3  “And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer which has not been worked and which has not pulled with a yoke, 

Deu 21:4  and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a wadi with flowing water, which is neither ploughed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the wadi. 

Deu 21:5  “And the priests, the sons of Lěwi, shall come near, for יהוה your Elohim has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the Name of יהוה, and by their mouth every strife and every stroke is tried. 

Deu 21:6  “And let all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the wadi. 

Deu 21:7  “And they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it. 

Deu 21:8  O יהוה, forgive Your people Yisra’ěl, whom You have ransomed, and do not allow innocent blood in the midst of Your people Yisra’ěl.’ And the blood-guilt shall be pardoned to them. 

Deu 21:9  “Thus you purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst when you do what is right in the eyes of יהוה. 

 

Midrash - Atonement for unsolved murders – Deut 21:1-10

 

Deu 21: 1-9  - Purification - This is the essence of the Torah - Num 19:2  “This is a law of the Torah which יהוה has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, that they bring you a red heifer, a perfect one, in which there is no blemish and on which a yoke has never come. 

Num 19:3  And you shall give it to El‛azar the priest, and he shall bring it outside the camp, and shall slay it before him. 

 

Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the defiled, sets apart for the cleansing of the flesh, Heb 9:14  how much more shall the blood of the Messiah, who through the everlasting Spirit offered Himself unblemished to Elohim, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living Elohim? 

 

Marrying Female Captives

Deu 21:10  “When you go out to fight against your enemies, and יהוה your Elohim shall give them into your hand, and you shall take them captive, 

Deu 21:11  and shall see among the captives a woman fair of form, and shall delight in her and take her for your wife, 

Deu 21:12  then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails, 

Deu 21:13  and put aside the mantle of her captivity, and shall dwell in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a month of days. And after that you shall go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 

Deu 21:14  “And it shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go at her desire, but you do not sell her at all for silver. Do not treat her harshly, since you have humbled her. 

 

Midrash – Messiah marrying female gentile captives – Deut 21:10-14

 

Psa 45:10  Listen, O daughter, and see, And incline your ear, And forget your own people and your father’s house; 

Psa 45:11  And let the Sovereign delight in your loveliness; Because He is your Master – bow yourself to Him.

 

Eph 4:8  That is why it says, “When He went up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” שבה שבי  Psa_68:18. Eph 4:9  But what does “He went up” mean, except that He also first went down into the lower parts of the earth? Eph 4:10  He who went down is also the One who went up far above all the heavens, to fill all. 

 

"taking captive captivity" means that Yahshua, through his death and resurrection, triumphed over death and sin, essentially "capturing" the power that once held people captive, signifying his complete victory over evil and his authority to deliver people from its control’’

 

Most scholars and students have difficulty in understanding and explaining these ‘’miscellaneous’’ and somewhat ‘’obscure’’ instructions – What do laws concerning warfare, atonement for unsolved murders and marrying female captives have to do with each other and establishing YHVH’s kingdom on earth?

 

More than we realize!

 

Conclusion:

In the Apostolic scriptures Stephen clearly outlines the reason why YHVH’s children do not take the Torah seriously: Act 7:51  “You stiff-necked Exo_32:9, Exo_33:3, Exo_33:5 and uncircumcised in heart and ears! Lev_26:41, Jer_6:10 You always resist the Set-apart Spirit, as your fathers did, you also do. Act 7:52  “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who before announced the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 

Act 7:53  who received the Torah as it was ordained by messengers, but did not watch over it

 

Jas 2:10  For whoever shall guard all the Torah, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 

Or if you choose to ignore certain parts of the Torah you are guilty of ignoring all of the Torah

Jas 4:11  …speaks against Torah and judges Torah. And if you judge Torah, you are not a doer of Torah but a judge. 

 

How do we know there will still be stiff-necked people in the millennial rule? Because Messiah will rule with a rod of iron during the millennium. (with the exception of the Bride of Messiah)

 

Rev 2:26  “And he who overcomes, and guards My works until the end, to him I shall give authority over the nations, Psa_2:8. Rev 2:27  and he shall shepherd them with a rod of iron, as the potter’s vessels shall be broken to pieces, Psa_2:9 as I also have received from My Father. Rev 2:28  “And I shall give him the morning star. 

Rev 2:29  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.” ’ 

 

Even at the end of the millennium there will be a massive rebellion against the Messiah, His Bride and His Torah.

 

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years have ended, Satan shall be released from his prison, 

Rev 20:8  and he shall go out to lead the nations astray which are in the four corners of the earth, Goḡ and Maḡoḡ, Ezk_38:2 to gather them together for battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. Rev 20:9  And they came up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the set-apart ones and the beloved city. And fire came down from Elohim out of the heaven and consumed them. Rev 20:10  And the devil, who led them astray, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet are. And they shall be tortured day and night forever and ever.

 

The New Heaven and the New Earth – Eighth day – shemini Atzaret

Rev 21:1  And I saw a renewed heaven and a renewed earth,a Isa_65:17 for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. Footnote: aAlso see Isa_66:22. 

Rev 21:2  And I, Yoḥanan, saw the set-apart city, renewed Yerushalayim, coming down out of the heaven from Elohim, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

Rev 21:3  And I heard a loud voice from the heaven saying, “See, the Booth of Elohim is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and Elohim Himself shall be with them and be their Elohim.

Rev 21:4  “And Elohim shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying. And there shall be no more pain, for the former matters have passed away.” 

 

1Ch 12:32  and the children of Yissasḵar who had understanding of the times, to know what Yisra’ěl should do, (Yesh sakar: Means "there is a reward") - Mat 16:1-4 discerning signs

 

Isa 8:16  Bind up the witness, seal the Torah among my taught ones.

 

 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.