{"id":19277,"date":"2021-07-29T08:01:01","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T15:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/?p=19277"},"modified":"2021-07-29T08:01:08","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T15:01:08","slug":"natans-notes-on-deuteronomy-11-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/2021\/07\/29\/natans-notes-on-deuteronomy-11-14\/","title":{"rendered":"Natan’s Notes on Deuteronomy 11\u201314"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Deuteronomy 11<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 11:1, Love YHVH \u2026 and keep\u2026his commandments.<\/em><\/strong>Compare this verse with what Yeshua said in John\u202f14:15. When we understand that Yeshua is \u201cYHVH your Elohim\u201d does that not give us a new perspective about not only who Yeshua was\/is, but his teachings in the Gospels? Does this shed new light on the issue when Paul said to \u201cfollow me as I follow the Messiah\u201d (1\u2009Cor 11:1)? What did Paul mean by this? Was Paul really pro-Torah?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 11:8, That you may be strong.<\/em><\/strong>Obeying YHVH by keeping his Torah-commandments keep us strong. Strong<\/em> is the Hebrew word chazaq<\/em> meaning \u201cto be strong, grow strong, to prevail, to be firm, be caught fast, be secure; to grow stout, grow rigid, to restore to strength, give strength, sustain, encourage, make bold, encourage, to repair, to withstand.\u201d Obedience to YHVH\u2019s commandments make a people strong morally and spiritually, so they have the fortitude to conquer the spiritual land that YHVH has given them for their inheritance\u2014to expand the kingdom of Elohim with boldness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 11:13, If you will hearken.<\/em><\/strong>Stale versus fresh manna. <\/strong>In the Hebrew, this phrase literally reads, \u201cIf hearken, you will hearken\u2026.\u201d Rashi (the Medieval Jewish Torah scholar) interprets the double usage of this verb to mean, \u201cIf [you] listen to the old, you will listen to the new\u201d meaning that if one listens to what one has already learned by taking care to review and understand it, one will gain new insights or fresh insights into the Torah (The ArtScroll Sapirstein Edition Rashi\u2014Devarim<\/em>, p. 110; The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash<\/em>, p. 995). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does this teach us about studying YHVH\u2019s Word consistently and regularly? YHVH gave the Israelites fresh (not stale) manna every day, even as he watered the land of Israel with the early (fall) and latter (spring) rains (a symbol for spiritual refreshment), so that the land would be fruitful without the need of man-made irrigation systems. Manna and rain both came from heaven and are used as figures of speech Hebraically to represent Torah-truth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is your life being renewed regularly with fresh revelation and insights into the Word of YHVH, into his very heart and character? Does this not refresh, nourish and sustain the ground of your life, so that it yields an abundant spiritual crop of joy, shalom, intimacy with the Father and anointing? Is your life a place of fresh manna and constant rain, or a place of stale bread and drought? If so, what changes do you need to make in your life to change this situation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 11:14, Grain [wheat and oats]\u2026wine\u2026oil.<\/em><\/strong>(See also Gen 27:28; Ps 104:15.) These were the three most important agricultural crops in ancient Israel. These three foods represented  what are known today as the three basic nutritive elements: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. The yield of these crops were easily stored for long periods in the hot, dry climate, and kings laying in supplies at forts and strongholds for possible siege and war included these crops (e.g. 2 Chron 11:11; 22:28; Golden Jerusalem<\/em>, by Menashe Har-El, p. 11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 11:18\u201321,<\/em><\/strong> Teach them to your children.<\/em><\/strong>Homeschooling One\u2019s Children. <\/strong>This is a repeat of the second third of the shema<\/em>, which is found in Deuteronomy 6:4\u20139. This is a reiteration of the biblical mandate for parents to give their children a Torah-based homeschooling education. This command takes precedence over that of any civil government\u2019s laws requiring a parent to give their children a publicly sanctioned education. In fact, parents aren\u2019t active to one degree or another in educating their own children are being disobedient to this clear Torah command and are therefore sinning. The majority of Christians in the mainstream church have egregiously missed the mark on this one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 11:18\u201319,<\/strong> Lay up these words. <\/em><\/strong>Read and meditate on this passage. Look at the phrases: in your heart, in your soul, between your eyes, teach and speak<\/em>. How are you walking these commandments out in your life? Are you doing so with consistency, or only here and there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 11:26\u201328, A blessing and a curse. <\/em>Each person must choose which path he will take. <\/strong>This passage begins with the words, \u201cBehold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; a blessing, if you will obey the commandments of YHVH your Elohim, which I command you this day; and a curse, if you will not obey the commandments of YHVH your Elohim, to go after other gods, which you have not known\u201d (Deut 11:26\u201328). YHVH sets before each person two paths: the path of blessing and the path of curses. Each person individually must choose which path he will follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After this, in verse 29, YHVH instructs the Israelites that upon entering the Promised Land, they are to stop between the mountains of Gerizim and Ebal, which are located at the entry point of the land. The former mountain represents a blessing, while the later represents a curse. The town of Shechem is located between the two mountains. The Hebrew word shechem<\/em> means \u201cshoulder\u201d or \u201cback\u201d. The shoulder supports the head, which through the disposition of the mind and the direction in which the head is pointed, determines the path a person will walk whether good or evil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was at Shechem, between the two mountains representing good and evil, that Israel renewed its covenant with YHVH before entering the Promised Land (Josh 8:30\u201335). The power of the covenant that the people made with YHVH on that day thousands of years ago is still visible in the modern land of Israel: Mount Ebal is bare and devoid of vegetation, while Mount Gerizim is lush and green with foliage. This fact stands as a loud testimony and reminder to man today to the power of blessing and cursing, and to the reality and validity of YHVH\u2019s Torah, its covenants and its ability to bless or curse us depending on whether we obey it or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Israel renewed its covenant with YHVH at Shechem at the plains (or oak trees) of Moreh (Deut 11:30). What was significant about this place? This was this exact spot, at the entry point to the Promised Land, that YHVH had established his covenant with Abraham some 500 years earlier. We read about this in Genesis 12:6, \u201cAnd Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem unto the plain [or oak] of Moreh [or teacher].\u201d And it was to this same spot that YHVH brought Israel to renew his promises he had made to Abraham. It was there YHVH would begin to teach them to walk victoriously and righteously before him in their promised inheritance IF they would choose to obey his Torah (or his instructions in righteousness) and to turn their backs on the pagan gods and practices of the nations around them. It was at the same spot that Jacob, upon entering the Promised Land, buried all his family\u2019s false gods and pagan accoutrements (Gen 35:4). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

YHVH is calling his people today to make the same choice as the end times saints prepare to enter into our promised inheritance as YHVH\u2019s kings and priests ruling with Yeshua in his millennial kingdom on this earth (Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6). Presently, YHVH is urging his people to come out of spiritual Babylon (Rev 18:4)\u00ad\u2014to come out from the world and to be separate and to touch no unclean thing (2\u2009Cor 6:17).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As noted earlier, this passage of Scripture starts with Israel having to choose between the blessing and the curse\u2014obeying YHVH\u2019s commands, which leads to life, or disobeying them, which leads to death (Deut 11:26; see also 30:15\u201320). Making the right choices as we go through life is what determines our outcome both here on earth and eternally in our next life, whether good or bad, life or death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier YHVH declared that it was Israel\u2019s spiritual destiny to become a nation of priests (Exod 19:6), and as such Israel would become an example to the nations of the world of YHVH\u2019s righteousness and the wisdom of Torah if they chose to obey him (Deut 4:6\u20138). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today YHVH is calling his people who have put their faith in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel, to be a royal priesthood (1\u2009Pet\u202f2:9), and to prepare to reign with Yeshua as kings and priests in his millennial kingdom (Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6).  But first they must learn to reign over the kingdom of their own lives by overcoming the world, the flesh and the devil. To be a priest of YHVH Elohim requires that each person choose righteousness over wickedness, the holy (set-apart) over the profane (that which is defiled, polluted or worldly, see Ezek 44:23; 22:26). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One cannot represent a holy, set-apart, sinless and righteous Elohim before the nations of the world unless<\/em> one is set-apart (from the world) oneself. Yeshua told his disciples that though they were in<\/em> the world, they were not to be of<\/em> the world (John 17:11, 14). YHVH admonished his people to be holy or set-apart as he is holy or set-apart (Lev 11:44 and 45), and the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews declares, \u201cFollow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see YHVH\u201d (Heb 12:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One cannot choose that which is holy (kodosh<\/em> or set-apart) from that which is unholy (defiled or polluted) unless one knows<\/em> what is holy and what is not. YHVH, not man, determines what is holy. To guide man in the walk of holiness, in the rest of this Torah portion, YHVH outlines various times, places, things, actions and foods that are holy to him by which his people can enter into holiness and have holy communion with him. For example, there are holy times (the weekly Sabbath, YHVH\u2019s annual festivals and the sabbatical year), holy places (where YHVH places his name for his people to gather to worship him), holy food (clean verses unclean meats), holy income (our material income is sanctified or made holy through our tithing a portion of it to YHVH), holy lips (YHVH\u2019s people are forbidden to allow the names of pagan deities to come on their lips, and to take YHVH\u2019s name in vain), and YHVH\u2019s people are to destroy any pagan, corrupting, defiling influences (the false gods of the heathens) by putting these things out of their lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being holy or set-apart is the saint\u2019s mission and destiny as YHVH\u2019s set-apart people, and whether we attain to the high level of holiness to which he calls us all depends on the choices we make, for good or for evil, whether we obey YHVH or to disobey him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy <\/strong>11:27\u201328,<\/strong> That you hearken \u2026 If you do not hearken.<\/em><\/strong>The Jewish sages point out that he phrase \u201cthat to hear [Heb. shema<\/em>]\u201d is a metaphor for blessing, while \u201cto not hear[lo-shema<\/em>]\u201d is a metaphor for cursing (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash<\/em>, p.\u202f999). Hearing <\/em>and doing<\/em>, in Hebraic thought and according to the meaning of the Hebrew word shema<\/em>, are synonymous. If one hears, but does not do what he has heard, then he has not heard. Hearing, Hebraically, is more than an auditory function, but involves the activation of the heart resulting in corresponding actions resulting in either blessing (if one hears and obeys YHVH\u2019s Word) or curses (if one does not hear and obey YHVH\u2019s Word). Scripture prophesies that in the future a problem would arise among the people of YHVH. The problem would not be a famine of food and water, but of the ability to hear (shema)<\/em> and to do<\/em> the Word of Elohim (Amos 8:11). Likewise, Isaiah prophesied that there would be those who would say<\/em> (or \u201cdraw near with their mouths\u201d), but who would not do <\/em>(\u201cbut their hearts are far from me,\u201d Isa 29:13). Yeshua accused the religious hypocrites of his day of doing the same thing (Matt 15:8\u20139). Examine your words and corresponding actions. Do they perfectly align, or do you stand convicted before YHVH of disobedience and \u00adhypocrisy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 12<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 12:2ff, You shall utterly destroy.<\/em><\/strong> What are the present-day high placeswhere the world has placed its altars to its gods that as a called-out people and a set-apart nation YHVH is calling us to cast down and to destroy? Idols be they physical or material, emotional, and psychological in nature that form strongholds in our hearts and minds are things that hinder or prevent us from serving and obeying YHVH fully. What prevents you from keeping YHVH\u2019s Sabbath and appointed times annual festivals (moedim<\/em>)? What keeps you from prayer and intimate and set-apart times with him? What keeps you from hearing the voice of Yeshua and from loving him fully by keeping all of his commands? How about television, sports, your job and work schedule, family and peer pressure, fear, sinful habits and addictions, lust, greed, materialism and so on? What are you going to do about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy <\/strong>12:3, You shall obliterate [destroy, put to death] their names<\/em> [i.e. the names of pagan gods].<\/strong> As The<\/em> ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash<\/em> points out, not only was Israel to remove the idols themselves, but they were not even to refer to them by their proper names (p. 1000). Rashi, the ancient Jewish sage, says that names of ridicule were to be coined for the pagan gods and used instead. He points out in his commentary on this verse that Jews would actually formulate derisive wordplay names based on the original names of the gods. For example, the pagan temple called, \u201cthe house of the crest\u201d became \u201cthe house of the ditch\u201d in that the words crest<\/em> and ditch<\/em> were similar in Hebrew. Or the idol \u201ceveryone\u2019s eye\u201d became \u201cthorn in the eye.\u201d A similar example of this occurred during the Second Jewish Revolt of A.D. 135. The leader of that revolt, Simon bar Kosiba, was given the name Simon bar Kochba <\/em>(meaning \u201cstar\u201d), but when his revolt failed at the hands of the Romans his detractors nicknamed him Simon bar<\/em> Koziba <\/em>meaning \u201cSon of a Lie\u201d (Rabbi Akiba\u2019s Messiah<\/em>, by Daniel Gruber, p.\u202f165). Coming up with names of ridicule for pagan deities and concepts may seem like a silly child\u2019s game to some, but could it not serve to indelibly imprint on the minds of YHVH\u2019s people the seriousness of idolatry and idolatrous practices? Could this not be a means of guiding the younger generation away from the ways of evil and into the paths of righteousness? In following the Jewish interpretation on this Torah command, what are some present day \u201cgods,\u201d \u201cgoddesses\u201d or modern-day idols that could use renaming?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 12:5ff,<\/strong> Put his name.<\/em><\/strong> Where has YHVH chosen to place his name spiritually? Are you bringing your tithes and offerings to that place so that YHVH can bless you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honour YHVH with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your increase so that your barns be filled with plenty \u2026(Prov 3:9\u201310)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use it shall be measured to you again. (Luke 6:38)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Will a man rob Elohim? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, \u201cHow have we robbed you?\u201d In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation [of you!] Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,\u2019 says YHVH of Hosts, \u2018if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast [its grapes,],\u2019 says YHVH of hosts.\u201d (Mal 3:8\u201311)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giving (through tithes and offerings) is a spiritual, kingdom principle and a key to obtaining blessings and success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 12:5,<\/strong> Only at the place that YHVH will choose \u2026 to place his name there \u2026 shall you seek out his Presence [habitation] and come there.<\/em><\/strong>The word presence<\/em> (as translated in The<\/em> ArtScroll<\/em> Stone Edition Chumash<\/em>) is the Hebrew word sheken<\/em> (IFA) and as a verb means \u201cto dwell or tabernacle,\u201d and as a noun it means \u201cdwelling, or tabernacle.\u201d According to The<\/em> TWOT<\/em>, the verb is used 129 times in the Tanakh (OT) of which 43 times YHVH is the subject; that is, it describes where he dwells (e.g. on Mount Zion [Ps 74:2], among his people [Exod 25:8], or in Jerusalem [Zech 8:3]). On several occasions, it refers to his divine and glorious presence dwelling among his people (e.g. Exod 24:16; Ps\u202f85:9). The word mishkan,<\/em> which was the portable tabernacle, sanctuary or earthly dwelling place of the glorious presence of YHVH among his people, is derived from this word. What is YHVH saying in this verse? Namely, he is telling his people NOT to go just anywhere to worship him, but to go only where he has placed his name. How do we know where that is? It will be where his manifest<\/em> glory and presence is to be found!<\/strong> Where you fellowship and worship him collectively with other believers is the manifest glory and presence of YHVH there to confirm that YHVH has placed his name there? If not, why not? Now let\u2019s read Psalm 63:1\u20134,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O Elohim, you re my El; early will I seek you: my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see your power and thy glory, so as I have seen you in the sanctuary<\/strong>. Because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. Thus will I bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. (emphasis added)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us briefly analyze the bolded portion of this psalm of David in light of the above discussion. To see<\/em> is the generic Hebrew verb ra\u2019ah <\/em>meaning literally \u201cto see.\u201d The word power<\/em> (Heb. oz)<\/em> means \u201cmight, power and strength.\u201d <\/em>This too is a generic term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next word is glory, <\/em>which is the Hebrew word kavod <\/em>literally meaning \u201cheavy or weighty.\u201dIn this instance, in reference to YHVH, it refers to \u201cthe visible manifestation of God\u201d and his glory and is often associated with his visible manifest presence within the tabernacle (TWOT<\/em>, vol. 2, p. 943).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next word in verse two to analyze is have seen<\/em>, which is an entirely different word in the Hebrew, even though it is the same English word (to see<\/em>) as used earlier in the verse. Seen<\/em> is the Hebrew word chazah <\/em>meaning \u201c<\/em>to see as a seer\/prophet in an ecstatic way with intelligence, to prophesy, to have a vision, to gain spiritual understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last word is sanctuary, <\/em>which is the Hebrew word kodesh <\/em>and is the name of two rooms in the mishkan<\/em>\/tabernacle: the Kodesh <\/em>(Set-apart\/Holy Place) and the Kodesh haKodashim <\/em>(Most Set-Apart Place\/Holy of Holies).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can we gather from the wealth of information found in this Psalm? When David hungered and thirsted for YHVH as if he were about to die of thirst, he talked about seeking the presence of YHVH in the Set-Apart Place where YHVH\u2019s name and glorious and manifest presence were to be found. There he could literally experience<\/em> the presence of YHVH and gain prophetic insight and understanding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, are you experiencing this kind of breakthrough in your daily walk with YHVH, and in the congregation or fellowship where you attend each Sabbath and at YHVH\u2019s appointed-time feasts? If not, why not? What can you do to experience the intimacy with the Father that David experienced and describes here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 12:8,<\/strong> Right in his own eyes.<\/em> <\/strong>Doing what is right in our own eyes while outside the land of Israel is the religion of the wilderness. That is to say, it is impossible to keep Torah exactly as YHVH prescribed while living outside the land of Israel. Some people interpret this to mean that since it is impossible to properly tithe or celebrate the biblical feasts, for example, outside the Promised Land as the Torah prescribes, then why do these things at all? Others take the attitude that we are to serve and obey YHVH and keep his commandments the best we can no matter where we are. The former is a minimalist approach when it comes to obeying YHVH while the latter takes the maximalist approach. I choose the latter, for I don\u2019t want to be that wicked servant in Yeshua\u2019s Parable of the Talents who buried his talent in the soil and did nothing. Moreover, there is always much to be learned and blessing to be had when our hearts are inclined toward obedience rather than disobedience. Either way, whether we choose to obey YHVH\u2019s commands or not, when living outside the land of Israel, we are still, to one degree or another, doing what\u2019s right in our own eyes. For those of us who are doing our best to follow YHVH\u2019s Torah outside the Promised Land may Nehemiah\u2019s prayer also be ours, \u201cRemember me, my Elohim, for good, according to all that I have done\u2026and do not wipe  my good deeds that I have done\u2026and spare me according to the greatness of your mercy\u2026remember mne for good\u201d (Neh 5:19; 13:14, 22, 30).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 12:30ff,<\/strong> Ensnared to follow them.<\/em> <\/strong>Many well-meaning believers have been snared by heathen-based rituals that have been \u201cChristianized\u201d and called by names such as Christmas, Easter, etc. Have these celebrations of pagan origin snared your heart and mind as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deuteronomy 13:1\u201318 and 18:9\u201322<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moses Prepares the Israelites for Future Prophets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before his death, Moses, the great prophet<\/strong> who spoke face to face with Elohim, prepares the children of Israel and their succeeding generations for the ministry of the prophet to come, as well as warns them against false prophets. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament<\/em> (pp. 544\u2013545) delineates YHVH\u2019s instructions to the people through Moses regarding the office of the prophet. In Deuteronomy 18:9\u201322, YHVH formally proscribes any involvement with the bogus mantic practices of the surrounding nations (vv. 9\u201314). Then having stated that a line of prophets would speak or write with the same authority of Moses, he commanded the Israelites to render the prophet the same obedience he had commanded them to give Moses (vv. 9\u201314). Five certifying signs of a true prophet (Ps 74:9; Matt 12:38; Acts 2:22) were then were then given:<\/p>\n\n\n\n