Tag Archives: Deuteronomy

Torah is your light, and makes you into a light!

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Deuteronomy 4:6, Keep. Keeping Torah (YHVH’s instructions in righteousness) was the means for YHVH’s chosen people to be salt and light to the surrounding nations. Torah is literally a “witnessing tool.” What kind of righteous witness are you (via your Torah lifestyle) to those around you who are lost in spiritual darkness?

YHVH's Torah will help guide you in the spiritual darkness of this world, and it will make you a light to others in that darkness as well.

YHVH’s Torah will help guide you in the spiritual darkness of this world, and it will make you a light to others in that darkness as well.

Wisdom [Heb. chokmah] and understanding [Heb. biynah]. Chokmah means “intelligence, skill (in war); wisdom (in administration); shrewdness, wisdom; prudence (in religious affairs); wisdom (ethical and religious). It derives from the verb chakam meaning “to be wise; to be or become wise, act wisely; to make wise, teach wisdom, instruct; to show oneself wise, deceive, show one’s wisdom.” According to the TWOT, chokmah and it’s root verb represents a manner of thinking and attitude concerning life’s experiences including matters of general interest and basic morality. These concerns relate to prudence in secular affairs, skills in the arts, moral sensitivity, and experience in the ways of YHVH. In the Tanakh, chokmah is used in relationship to the whole gamut of human experience whether it be technical artisan skills, military tactics, political and administrative leadership. It is expressed in shrewdness as opposed to foolishness or silliness. Prudence is another aspect of chokmah as it relates to how one speaks, uses his time carefully and in the practical affairs of life. The Bible reveals that Elohim is the source of all wisdom, and wisdom is not to be found in human speculation. Elohim alone provides wisdom for man’s guidance, so that he can live the best possible moral and ethical life (Ibid.).

Biynah means “discernment or insight” or “the ability to understand something, comprehension, the power of abstract thought, an individual’s perception or judgment of a situation.” According to the TWOT, binyah refers to knowledge that is superior to the mere gathering of data. It is necessary to know how to use the knowledge one possesses. This is where perception or judgment comes into play. One must properly interpret the data and make wise and discerning decisions as to how to act.

Torah is your wisdom in the sight of the nations. Consider the following:

  • Your life may be the only Bible some people read.
  • Torah is light. Light quietly does, it is silent. It doesn’t talk about doing, it does! YHVH is looking for doers, not talkers.
  • What kind of reputation do you have in the community?
  • People may not be turning to the light of Torah as a result of your example YET, but when times get tough in this country (“when you are in tribulation … in the latter days, Deut 4:30), they may well turn to you for the answers because they remembered that there was something different about you—something pure, pristine and holy. That’s when they’ll be looking for answers.
  • Torah makes us a great people. YHVH measures greatness differently than the world does. Are you great by the world’s standards or YHVH’s standards?
  • How does YHVH measure greatness? Love, faith, truth, obedience, servanthood, giving, selflessness, self-sacrifice.
  • Comparatively speaking, how does the world measure greatness? Money, power, fame, possessions, intellect, physical appearance, good sounding words.
  • Which type of greatness will last into eternity?

Never forget this: Yeshua the Messiah is the spiritual light of the world that came from heaven to guide men through the spiritual darkness of this world and lead them to his Father in heaven. He is not only the Light, but the Word of Elohim made flesh. In other words, he is the Living Torah Word of Elohim. He was the exemplification and personification of the Written Torah. Only through him living in us through is Set-Apart Spirit can we properly obey YHVH’s Torah commandments. This we will do by his power in us and out of a loving relationship with him. The Testimony of Yeshua makes these truths very clear for those who have eyes to see and hearts to comprehend!

 

Parent! Are you teaching your children Torah or to be idolators?

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Deuteronomy 6:7, 10–16, 20–25, Instruct your children in the Torah, so they don’t fall into idolatry. YHVH is constantly warning his people against idolatry; idolatry is anything that gets in the way of our relationship with him. What is of higher priority in your life than serving YHVH? What in your life takes more of your time, energy and money than serving YHVH? What draws your heart away from the study of his written Word, from prayer and fellowship? What or who hinders you from moving forward in your spiritual walk? What in your life keeps YHVH from getting out of a spiritual box in your life? This is idolatry!

Boy reading from a gevil parchment scroll. This one is written on goat skin.

Boy reading from a gevil parchment scroll. This one is written on goat skin.

Several times YHVH instructs the children of Israel to be certain to instruct their children in the ways of Torah-righteousness. In the Shema, YHVH commands, “And you shall teach them [i.e., his Word] diligently to your children, and talk 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” (6:7). Then in verses 20–25 of the same chapter we read,

When your son asks you in time to come, saying, `What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which YHVH our Elohim has commanded you?’ Then you shall say to your son: `We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and YHVH brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and YHVH showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers. And YHVH commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear YHVH our Elohim, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before YHVH our Elohim, as He has commanded us.’

Too often in the church-system the children have had to take the backseat when it comes to discipleship and ministry. They get a few table scraps thrown at them called “Vacation Bible School” (once a year) and a little “Jonah and the Whale” type teaching on Sunday morning accompanied by some, often inane, craft project. Seldom does the head pastor of the church bother with the children’s ministry. Usually, this function is relegated to the younger associate pastor. Typically, the position of “Youth Pastor” is viewed as nothing more than a stepping stone to the “top dog” position of “Head Pastor.”

Furthermore, seldom do parents spend any meaningful time during the week instructing their children in the ways of YHVH. As redeemed Israelites, it is our opportunity to follow the Torah and to place the highest ministry priority on instructing our children in the truths of the written Torah, in the truth of Yeshua the Living Torah, and in the fundamentals of who they are as members of the commonwealth of Israel (Eph 2:12) and in preparing them for the kingdom of Elohim. If we don’t, who will?

As parents, what are you doing on a regular basis to diligently instruct your children all day, every day? As grandparents, aunts and uncles and members of gospel-orientated Torah community, what are you doing to help in teaching the children?

What was the attitude of the disciples when they attempted to shoo the children away from Yeshua. What was Yeshua’s response? Read and compare Matthew 19:13–15 with 18:1–5 and go and do likewise, for they are our future and our legacy!

 

Pithy and Life-Changing Lessons from Deuteronomy Chapters One to Three

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Deuteronomy 1:29, He will fight for you. How does Elohim fight for us? Let’s look at the example of the children of Israel. We can learn a lot from them (1 Cor 10:11). How many examples are there of the Israelites sitting down and doing nothing while YHVH fought for them? Few if any. What then does YHVH require? We must do our part, and he will do the rest. What is the part we are to do? That depends. Sometimes it depends on what we we’re capable of doing. Often he requires us to come to the end of our resources and abilities, and then he will step in and finish off fight on our behalf to the victorious end. We also have to fight only the battles he has told us to fight. Sometimes we choose to fight battles he has not instructed us to fight. This was the case with the Israelites who chose to go up and take the Promised Land when YHVH told them not to do so. They were defeated (Deut 1:42–45). YHVH will not support his people in a battle he has not sanctioned. When YHVH tells us to go to battle we have to fight how he tells us to fight, who he tells us to fight, and when he tells us to fight. If the Israelites had gone up against Jericho using conventional warfare tactics, they would have been defeated because that’s not how YHVH instructed them to defeat that city. The same is true of Gideon’s unconventional method of defeating the Midianites. Often YHVH will fight for us when we submit to his battle plans and fight the enemy his way. The Israelites defeated the Amalakites when Moses stood on a hill with his arms outstretched in a cross-like formation. Likewise, they overcame Jericho by marching around it blowing shofars. Gideon used lamps and shofars to defeat the enemy. David used a slingshot. Sometimes the Israel defeated their enemy with the help of the ark of covenant, through prayer and praise and so on. The biblical list of unconventional methods of YHVH’s people defeating their enemies is a long and inspiring one! What can we learn from all of this? For YHVH to fight for us, we must first do things his way so that he’ll fight for us. This means knowing when and who to fight and how to fight. Often we have to wait on YHVH for the answers to these questions even as a military officer has to wait for headquarters to give him his marching orders. Headquarters won’t back or support the soldier who takes matters into his own hands. Conversely, headquarters won’t tolerate a solider who refuses to obey orders. The same is true of YHVH.

Deuteronomy 1:39, Little ones…knowledge of good and evil. “Little ones” were those under the age of 20 (see Num 14:29; 32:11). Certainly, children under the age of 20 Continue reading →

 

Are you possessing the land or just warming a pew with your blessed ASSurance waiting the second coming?

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Deuteronomy 2:31, Begin to possess [the Promised Land]. Possession of the Promised Land was a process. This concept is as true for us as much as it was for the children of Israel. The idea in mainstream Christianity that when you receive salvation at the beginning of your spiritual walk and that’s all there is to possessing or entering the kingdom of Elohim is a seriously incomplete one. It doesn’t fit the biblical models or the teachings of the apostolic writers about the need for the believer to persevere and overcome to the end to receive his ultimate eternal inheritance.

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When this verse states that Israel “began to possess [the Promised Land],” what does this mean? Why didn’t YHVH give it to Israel all at once? What did Israel have to do to “possess” the land? What do we have to do to possess our spiritual inheritance? Does YHVH just hand it to us, or do we have to persevere, overcome and fight for it?

Leaving Egypt is a picture of a believer’s initial salvation, while entering the Promised Land is a picture of a believer’s ultimate salvation involving his glorification or the redemption of his physical body and being granted eternal inheritance at the resurrection. It’s also a picture of rewards for obedience.

 

Dealing With Difficult Family Members

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Deuteronomy 2:2–9, Edom. Edom (another name for Esau, brother of Jacob) and Moab and Ammon (sons of Lot) were blood relatives of the Israelites. Often those of our own family will stand in our way as we go in to possess our ­spiritual, Elohim-given inheritance and destiny.

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What is the lesson from this passage of scripture on how to deal with less-than-cooperative family members who fail to recognize the calling on your life? Are we to make war with them? Are we in any way to be beholden to or dependent on them for our physical needs? If we became dependent upon them could this help or hinder our chances of entering our own spiritual destiny or “Promised Land”? Does YHVH desire our families to be saved? (See Acts 16:31; 2 Pet 3:9.) How can we be a light to our families if we are fighting and attempting to destroy those who would spiritually stand in our way?

This passage also teaches us to avoid conflicts with family members at all costs. No good can come from such confrontations. How does verse 5 start out? Now go on to read verse 6. YHVH instructed the Israelites to treat their cousins with respect and civility—almost in a business-like manner.

Nowhere does Scripture tell us that we have to like our heathen family members. But neither are we to act offensively toward them. Like the Israelites when forced to encounter long lost relatives, sometimes it is best to smile, be nice, but keep moving on!

 

What is the Book of Deuteronomy all about?

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More Insights About the Book of Deuteronomy

In stark terms, YHVH warns the Isaelites in Deuteronomy of the struggles Israel will have as it walks between two world: the lower world that attaches itself to man’s soul and attempts to pull him downward, and the upper world that pulls the spirit in man heavenward.

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Deuteronomy presents Torah (as does Ps 119) as the way to be spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, materially elevated before Elohim and in the eyes of the surrounding nations (Deut 4:6).

In Deuteronomy, YHVH lays out two extremes: blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience; curse for following the ways of this world, and blessings for following the Word of YHVH. But seldom do individuals find themselves in one extreme or the other, for few are either totally worldly or totally heavenly in the orientation of their lives. They are usually caught up somewhere in the middle ground between the two: not totally evil and not totally good. Their lives are a mixed bag of good and evil, blessings and curses, and a double-orientation toward the heaven and the world. The Bible calls this double-mindedness (Jas 1:8; 4:8), and Yeshua decries such an individual (Matt 6:24, “one can’t serve both God and mammon”). The Bible also calls this being lukewarm­—being neither hot nor cold, and YHVH hates this as well (Rev 3:15–16). Such an individual, if he isn’t careful, can find himself feeding spiritually more from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil rather than the tree of life.

YHVH lays out the highest spiritual ideal for Israel: to be wisdom in the sight of the nations (Duet 4:6), to be the head and not the tail, to be the greatest and not the least, and to be the lender and not the borrower. Such a position of status is possible thanks to following the Torah. He wants the best for his people, but achieving such is conditional on their obeying him. Many people make claim to believe in the God of the Bible, to love him and many even claim to follow and to obey him—just ask them! But in reality, do they? What are the fruits of their lives? Their true spiritual status is based on what they do, not what they profess with their mouths!

Deuteronomy affirms the sufficiency of Torah. The Torah is the Word of Elohim and nothing more needs to be added to it. It is the full revelation of YHVH when it says not to add to the Word of Elohim (Deut 4:2; 12:32). It is the bedrock of the Scriptures and the bedrock of truth. If Torah is the bedrock of YHVH’s word, then the Ten Commandments are the cornerstone in that foundation of truth, which Moses reiterates in Deuteronomy five. The rest of the Scriptures are just commentary or elucidations on Torah, or Continue reading →

 

The Tribes of Israel: Their Dispersion and Ultimate Return

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My apologies, but in my print version of this article, I have numerous footnote references, which, sadly, don’t come through in this online version. If you need the footnotes, please email me and I’ll send you a pdf of this article with the footnotes. You can reach me at natan@hoshanarabbah.org.

A Brief History Lesson

When the children of Israel exited Egypt, they were one nation composed of twelve tribes. Contrary to popular opinion, the Jews (from the tribe of Judah) were only one-twelfth of that nation — not the whole nation. At Mount Sinai, that nation made a covenant with YHVH Elohim to obey him and keep his commandments with the Torah as the nation’s constitution. In return, YHVH promised to bless and  protect the nation of Israel. Several hundred years later, the nation of Israel began to turn away from its covenantal promises by not adhering to its Torah-constitution and by worshipping pagan deities. The result of this apostasy was that the nation of Israel split in two becoming two nations: the Northern Kingdom (composed of the tribe of Ephraim and nine other tribes) and the Southern Kingdom (composed of Judah and two other tribes more or less). The tribes of the Northern Kingdom never did come back to YHVH or his Torah, but continued to walk in the ways of the heathen nations around them. As punishment for their disobedience and rebellion against him, YHVH allowed the very nations whom the Northern Kingdom “fell in love with” other than YHVH to take them captive. This resulted in the Israelite dispersion among the nations of the world as Moses predicted would happen in the Torah. Sadly, the same thing eventually happened to the Jews of the Southern Kingdom. Even though the Torah predicted this would occur (Gen 49:16; Deut 28:64; 29:25–28; 30:1–5; 32:21–29), it also predicted that YHVH would regather his people from the lands where they had been scattered (Deut 30:1–5). The Hebrew prophets spoke extensively about the exile and eventual return of all the tribes to the land of Israel. Often these prophecies were coupled with end time, Messianic and millennial prophecies. The prophecies about the return of the Israelites to their land was partially fulfilled by the return of a small remnant of Jews and Levites to the Israel during the time of Cyrus, king of Persia and Babylon. But this historical event didn’t fulfill these prophecies totally even in the least. First, Ezra makes it clear that only those from the tribes of Judah and Levi returned to Israel after the Jews’ seventy-year exile in Babylon. None from the Northern Kingdom returned. Second, the Jews only came from one nation of exile (Babylon), and not from many nations around the world — including even the furthest islands — as the Hebrew prophets predicted would happen. So the remnant of Jews who returned to Israel from Babylon was only a partial fulfillment of the biblical prophecies about all twelve tribes eventually returning to the land of Israel. Why did YHVH allow a remnant of Jews to return to Israel? Simply this. Had there been no Jews in the land of Israel, the Messiah couldn’t have been born in Bethlehem. With no Messiah, then the Messianic biblical prophecies couldn’t have been fulfilled making the Bible — the Word of Elohim — a lie. Not only that, as we shall see below, it was the purpose of the Messiah to regather the lost sheep of the house of Israel by sending out spiritual fishermen with the good news message of redemption and salvation for all those who would repent of sin (i.e., Toarhlessness, see 1 John 3:4) and place their faith in the Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah. As we shall also discuss below, the apostolic writers of the Testimony of Yeshua (the New Testament) were very well aware that the twelve tribes were still extant in their day, and the gospel message needed to be taken to them. Not only that, but in Paul’s mind, the Gentiles were, at least in part, to be viewed as the lost the sheep of the house of Israel (i.e., the Northern Kingdom). The gospel message was to be like a net to draw them back into the spiritual fold of nation Israel — back into a spiritual relationship with YHVH Elohim through Yeshua the Messiah. Paul makes this clear in several places (especially in Eph 2:11–19). What the Jewish Sages Say For several millennia, many notable Jewish scholars have been aware of the biblical prophecies pertaining to the return of the Israelite exiles (all twelve tribes) from the lands where they were scattered. Even today, Orthodox Jews still pray daily for and look forward to the regathering of the dispersed of Israel from the four corners of the earth. They see this as something to be fulfilled in the end times with the advent of the Messiah. They refer to this event as the final redemption. Here are some quotes from some of these Jewish sages: The late Menachem Schneerson, the head of the Orthodox Jewish Lubivicher Movement, stated that,

The future King Messiah (Messiah Ben [Son of] David) will not only redeem the Jews from exile, but will restore the observance of the Torah-commandments to its complete state, which will only be possible when the Israelites are living in the land of Israel.

At this same time, according Schneerson while referencing the notable rabbinic sage of the Middle Ages, Moses Maimonides also known as the Rambam, Continue reading →