"See"
Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17;
Isaiah 54:11-55:5; James 2:19
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This week's Parsha begins with Deuteronomy chapter 11 verse:
26 "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse - 27 the blessing, if you listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God that I am giving you today; 28 and the curse, if you don't listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God, but turn aside from the way I am ordering you today and follow other gods that you have not known."
Most of the time when we read these verses we focus on the blessings and the curses. I would like us to look at the last part of verse 28. G-D is speaking and telling us that He doesn't want us to turn to "other gods" "which we have not known". One of the things that is so great about our G-D is that He desires for us to know Him. The most High G-D wants us to have a relationship with Him. Jeremiah 31 tells us:
33 "For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra'el after those days," says ADONAI: "I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, 'Know ADONAI'; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more."
These words are repeated in Hebrews 8:
10 "'For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Isra'el after those days,' says ADONAI: 'I will put my Torah in their minds and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 "'None of them will teach his fellow-citizen or his brother, saying, "Know ADONAI!" For all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest.'"
One of the greatest parts of our covenant relationship with G-D is that He desires us to know him.
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This week's Parsha begins with Deuteronomy chapter 11 verse
26 "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse - 27 the blessing, if you listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God that I am giving you today; 28 and the curse, if you don't listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God, but turn aside from the way I am ordering you today and follow other gods that you have not known.
Most of the time when we read these verses we focus on the blessings and the curses. I would like us to look at the last part of verse 28. G-D is speaking and telling us that He doesn't want us to turn to "other gods" "which we have not known". One of the things that is so great about our G-D is that He desires for us to know Him. The most High G-D wants us to have a relationship with Him. Jeremiah 31 tells us:
33 "For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra'el after those days," says ADONAI: "I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, 'Know ADONAI'; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more."
These words are repeated in Hebrews 8:
10 "'For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Isra'el after those days,' says ADONAI: 'I will put my Torah in their minds and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 "'None of them will teach his fellow-citizen or his brother, saying, "Know ADONAI!" For all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest, One of the greatest parts of our covenant relationship with G-D is that He desires us to know him.5765
This week’s Parsha returns us back a few chapters as we read again about the Israelites preparing to enter into the land. This Parsha is read just before Rosh HaShanah/Yom Teruah each year for many reasons. One of the reasons that I like the best is that reading this chapter reminds us that G-D is true to His promises. Here we read about a group of people whom G-D had delivered from Egypt only to have them get to the border of the Promised Land and refuse to receive what was promised to them. Now we read that they are back, having traveled for forty years in the wilderness and the promise is still waiting for them. G-D did not leave them nor did He remove the promise. Rather, He held it in His hands waiting for them to be prepared to receive the gift. As believers in Yeshua we have been given many promises by G-D; each of these promises is ours to receive. The only thing we need to do is allow G-D to refine us until we are in position to receive them. The best way to know what is required by G-D for us to receive these promises is to read those thing that were required by G-D of the Israelites to receive their promises. So each year as we spend these “Days of Awe” in personal reflection considering our place in the Kingdom of G-D, let us reread these verses given to a our ancestors when they were on the verge of getting that which they had been delivered from years of slavery and had traveled through the wilderness for decades to receive. Our choice is the same as theirs; we can choose to allow G-D to make us capable of being blessed through His words or we can spend years in the wilderness looking forward to having what should already be ours.
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Deuteronomy: 26 "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse - 27 the blessing, if you listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God that I am giving you today; 28 and the curse, if you don't listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God, but turn aside from the way I am ordering you today and follow other gods that you have not known.
These words begin this week's Parsha. Those of you who have spent any time at all around Brit Ahm know that we believe in keeping the commandments of G-D. Not just a handful, not just one or two, but each commandment that G-D has given us in His word. You also know that our belief in keeping these mitzvot is not in order to be called righteous because we know our only righteousness comes from G-D's mercy through the Atonement provided by Messiah Yeshua. What we do understand is that G-D has promised His people blessings. These blessings are connected to His commandments and by His Mercy he wrote His Law upon our hearts so that we would have the opportunity to receive His Blessings.