D'varim/Deuteronomy
CHAPTER 7
12. "And [this is what] will [follow on the] heel ['eqev] of your paying attention to these rules, guarding them, and carrying them out: YHWH your Elohim shall guard for you the covenant and the lovingkindness that He promised [with an oath] to your forefathers.
13. "And He will befriend you, bless you, and make you great; He will also bless the fruit of your womb as well as the fruit of Land: your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the offspring of your cattle and the sheep of your flocks in the Land which He promised your forefathers [that He would] give to you.
14. "From among all peoples, you shall be [the ones most] blessed; there shall not be anyone sterile among you--male or female--nor among your animals.
15. "And YHWH will take all sickness away from you, and place upon you none of the dreadful Egyptian diseases with which you are familiar, but will send them upon all the ones who hate you.
Such an awesome offer! And it is again offered to us. This Torah portion could not come at a better time of year. In nine days we will begin a month especially devoted to repentance, which leads up to the ten “Days of Awe” (Yamim Nora’im)—a total of 40 days. In Scripture, the number 40 signifies a time of transition or change, as seen in the deluge of Noakh, the age when Yitzhaq married, the number of years in each segment of Moshe’s life, and the number of days he was on Sinai to receive the Torah, among many other examples. These 40 days are a time in which we focus on what is wrong with us as individuals, where we are lacking, and also where we are strong. It is a time for extreme honesty with ourselves, when we let down our guard and allow ourselves no protection from the truth. Not that we do not question our motives all year; this is a time to establish that as a pattern of taking a serious look at ourselves whenever necessary. This is a time when we expect to truly change, to learn to obey YHWH and the authorities He has placed over us, because not heeding authority was our ancestors’ downfall in the wilderness. They lead up to Yom haKippurim (Yom Kippur), when we do not even wear protection on our feet, but are totally exposed to reality—but what follows that, if we are exercised by it, is the season of joy at Sukkoth. To really enter into that joy, we must make the most of these 40 days. They are about becoming true Hebrews—those who “cross over” from our weaknesses and failures to something better…
CHAPTER 9
1. "Pay attention, Israel! Today you will cross over the Yarden to enter in and dispossess nations larger and stronger than yourself, cities of great size and [fortified] with walls [reaching] to the sky,
Pay attention: This is not mere information, but a command. This pep-talk has gone on for several chapters, and it seems Moshe notices some people beginning to nod off or get into other conversations, so he calls their attention back to what he is saying, for it is crucial to their survival. Today: not literally, for there still other things to discuss, not to mention the thirty days of mourning for Moshe, before they would cross. But the time had come to move on to what to a generation raised on manna in the wilderness was an entirely new existence—one in which the free provision would cease, and they would have to enter into maturity rather than continuing to be hand-fed, to take responsibility rather than expecting it all to fall out of Heaven. Not everything would be done for them anymore. In Goshen they had made the transition from being builders and had learned to keep flocks; now they were making a transition from being wanderers to a people with a Home. The term for “cross over” is where we get the word “Hebrew”, and even in our day, well over 3,000 years later, we need to see every day as a day to live as Hebrews. Crossing over must be our priority not just every day, but “every today”. It is for this day every time we read it. If we think we have “every day”, we will put things off that cannot wait until tomorrow. Yesterday’s crossing over is gone, and we are never guaranteed tomorrow; all we have is today. If we do not make our commitment new even in the small decisions of today, we are less likely to be in the right position when the “big” occasions we have been holding out for finally come. As Hillel said, “Do not say, ‘I will study when I have leisure’, for you may never have leisure.” And there will never be a time when it is not “today”. YHWH’s commands are not out of reach, so that someone must ascend to Heaven to get them for us. What we are specifically to cross over is the Yarden. There was a particular way YHWH wanted them to enter His Land, because, though it might have been simpler to enter via the mountain range as the spies had, there is a particular picture He wants us to see here, because there is a way we can cross the Yarden every day as well. How? The key is in the fact that it does not actually say “Yarden River”, so, while that is literally what they did cross at that time, there is a deeper lesson. Yarden means “descender”. Though every river runs downhill, this one ends up at the lowest place on the earth’s surface. Every day we encounter many things that try to drag us down and separate us from all things Kingdom and from accomplishing YHWH’s will. It may be fatigue, illness, being broke financially, or simply laziness or misplaced priorities. We will not get closer to the Most High while we are descending. But we cannot stay on this side and simply maintain the status quo either. If we do not decide to cross over whatever causes us to descend, we will take no new ground. We cannot afford to descend even one more day. After 2,700 years of descending, with only a short comeback under Yahshua, we are too close to the pit to fail to ascend. We must not go where the descent is. Every day we have occasions to make a conscious decision to cross over and gain victory over our emotions and whatever else would drag us down spiritually or otherwise. To cross over, we need our footing to be sure. So Moshe tells us “Listen up! Learn where you stand and how you must walk if you are not to be washed downstream.” To pass over what descends is to begin to ascend. Coming either from the east or west, as soon as one gets into the Land of Israel, one must begin to ascend. This is built right into the terrain. So we must do all we can to be in a constant state of ascension. Sometimes the only thing that makes the difference between ascending and descending is to ask the question of which our current activity is leading us toward. If we never even consider the question, we are just “going with the flow”, and the Yarden ends in the Dead Sea where nothing can live. (“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end are the ways of death.” Prov. 16:25) Remaining in our own ways of thinking is guaranteed to make us descend. It takes us farther from unity, because Israel all crosses over at one spot. Get into His flow instead. Seize the day! But this is just the beginning. The purpose of crossing is not just to be on the other side, but to overcome the things that intimidate us. But before we can do so, we have to put ourselves in an ascension mode so we are in the right context. The season of our joy (Sukkoth, per Lev. 23:39ff), the picture of the Kingdom when we again seize the Land, is preceded by Yom T’ruah and Yom Kippur, the time we “cross over”. But it is the experiences after we cross over that will establish us in the Land. The command is to be glad you are outside in temporary dwellings at Sukkoth, because that is how we take the Land: by rejoicing before YHWH as a people, now that we have become Hebrews. This is the time we really get to know each other—the best as well as the worst. We cannot learn that if we are all in isolated motel rooms. But when we are outside and exposed to all the dangers, we very quickly come to depend on one another—and we find out who is dependable. Dealing with what takes us lower allows us to be more comfortable with one another, and glad to be dependent on each other. In this picture of the Kingdom, we are no longer isolated with our own ideas; rule is back and we can get down to the real business. The right attitude (commitment to one another) will help us get things done. So help one another “cross over” and stay away from the bad attitudes which bring them down and are so contagious.
2. "a people tall and lofty, the descendants of the Anaqim, with whom you are familiar and [about whom] you have heard [it said], ‘Who is able to stand before the face of the descendants of Anaq?'
The report was not evil because it was untrue; there really were big people and high walls there. Ruins of several cities from that period have been found with walls still reaching to 12 or 13 feet, indicating that at one time they were much higher. Hatzor’s wall, at points, began on a hill 40 feet above the surrounding ground, adding all the more to the height. Yes, there was some exaggeration, but if the spies, who were fresh out of Egypt with its great monuments, considered them high, they must not have been unimpressive, though only a few were much more than 10 acres in size. What was evil about the report was that it discouraged the people: “We can’t do what YHWH wants, or we will lose ourselves!” These very words had kept Israel from taking the Land 38 years earlier. It was not the size and numbers of the enemy that kept Israel from conquering them; it was these words that took away their courage! They said the Land would consume us, when it is actually a Land YHWH especially provides for. Moshe puts the facts on the table (yes, there are big people there and it is not an easy place to conquer), but immediately gives them the antidote to fear:
3. "But understand today that YHWH your Elohim is the One Who crosses over ahead of you; a consuming fire, He shall annihilate them or bring them into subjection before your face, so you shall dispossess them and destroy them quickly, as YHWH has told you.
If the enemies were not beyond our ability to defeat, there would be no honor for YHWH in the victory. Operating at normal capacity will not lead to progress. We must do more than live up to our potential; we must “be all we can be”—and more. That is when you know it is YHWH. Find your limits, then go beyond them. Our goal is that one man will rule not just Israel, but the entire world! If we are not reaching beyond our limits, we are not heading Home, because Home is beyond us. As long as we are expecting manna and not wanting to move on from where we are comfortable, we will not get anywhere. As we get closer, the water may get deeper—to the point where we have to breathe through straws to get across, but keep heading for what seems impossible, because really the only reason victory is unimaginable is because you are in the way. It is only beyond you if you tie yourself up with doctrines or fears or priorities that keep you stuck. Many say they want to be part of what is on the other side, yet refuse to learn to swim. Looking out for your own interests sweeps you away from unity and you end up downstream in the place of death, where the water is undrinkable. Such strength is found only in unity; it allows us to be more than we can be on our own. Embrace not just the lovely aspects of it—the Sabbath, the Festivals, the music and dancing—but also the relinquishing of your own personal priorities. Yes, count the cost, but remember that YHWH is in this equation. Compare these walls to Him and they appear smaller by the minute. These people had grown up eating the miraculous manna, wearing clothes that did not wear out, and seeing the pillar of fire lead them. But we have seen YHWH work too, so when we see the big walls and big people, we should not consider them such a big deal. We cannot defeat them until we get there. Why are we more afraid of the seen than the unseen? It is the unseen that gives us our breath. If we become Hebrews and take the first step, He will pass us before we get there and provide the part we cannot provide. It is amazing how much smaller they are when you get there. It may be like fighting a football team, but we will not be grasshoppers in comparison. Do not wait for Him to start first, for there is no growth in trust that way. He will prepare the way and set the stage, underwrite us and be sure we succeed, but we must walk it out. He will not do it all for us. When He delivers our enemy into our hands, it is up to us to slay it. When He lays bare the inconsistencies in someone's belief system, cut it to pieces with the sword of His Word. There will be carnage. It will not be easy. We will get bloodstained. But if we cross over and continue to obey, He will make sure our battles are successful. Anything we miss, He will take care of. We have the guarantee in writing.
4. "After YHWH has expelled them before you, do not think in your heart, ‘[It is] because of my deserving [it that] YHWH has brought me in to take possession of this land'; rather, [it is] because of the wickedness of these nations [that] YHWH dispossess them before you.
He did not grant repentance to Kanaan, but hardened their hearts like Pharaoh’s, so He could keep His promises to the patriarchs. We must not think even being righteous is always to our credit; YHWH opens the door to make it possible to those whom He chooses. (Romans 9)
5. "You are not going in to take possession of their land because of your merit or the uprightness of your heart, but because of the wickedness of these nations YHWH is dispossessing them from before you, so He can fulfill the word which He promised [with an oath] to your forefathers, Avraham, Yitzhaq, and Yaaqov.
It was not like YHWH had no choice but to use them, as if we deserved it; it was only that the other nations were worse than we. It is a gift, but with a gift come expectations of how we will treat it, or He can take it back. Who are we to say it is not what we were expecting? If we think we deserve it, we will also think we can make all the decisions about it. The trouble with the people on the other side was that they had no guarantee. Make no mistake; YHWH had put them there and kept them there for this very time. The advantages we have are the promises to our ancestors and that YHWH continues to offer us repentance. But if they—His friends whom He loved, as who deserved it more than we--did not receive the inheritance, dare we assume we will? Not if we do not cross over! And do we expect it to be without a battle—that we can just go buy a villa there and be out of reach of all the terrorist attacks, just because we are “special”? He keeps trying until the right generation comes along that will finally uphold what Avraham, Yitzhaq, and Yaaqov did. He delights in a repentant heart. But we should remind ourselves that it is not because we are any better than foregoing generations that YHWH is revealing to us that we are Israel. We, too, have also failed at every point. It is only that the time is right, and He allows us to put ourselves in a position to receive it. Don’t be haughty; be thankful.
6. "So [let's] be clear [about this], that YHWH is not giving you this pleasant Land to possess because of your righteousness, because you yourselves are a stiff-necked people.
Not that He does not want us to be righteous; that is not what He is saying, but the first step to becoming righteous is to admit we are still stiff-necked, set in our ways, and unwilling to try a new adventure without complaining because it requires us to change our routine! Righteousness is not something we naturally possess, but once we get in His Land we must walk in righteousness nonetheless. The Israelites are not quite as repulsive as the Kanaanites, whom the land can no longer tolerate, but all things considered, they are not far behind. This does not mean He does not love us. He does. But to enter His Land and remain on it, we must recognize this tendency that still resides in the children of Israel. The only way we know He has granted us repentance is if we are actually walking in the opposite direction to what we were doing before. Being realistic about who we are gives us a head start on how to prepare for battle. And overcoming will be all the more valuable. When we have a stiff neck, it is very difficult to look at our brothers on the left and sisters on the right. All we can see is what is straight ahead of us, and cannot tell how our own actions will affect anyone else. We cannot see the big picture, so we need leaders like Moshe who do. A stiff neck will not bend or bow. It only thinks of self. If we act this way when we enter the Land, guess who will be the next to be expelled? So we need to conquer this tendency now.
7. "Remember--Do not forget!--how you were making YHWH your Elohim furious in the wilderness; from the day you left Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against YHWH!"
Recall the particulars of what went wrong so we will not repeat the same mistakes. It is not just remember or just do not forget, but both; He gives us both perspectives so we cannot wiggle our way out of our responsibility. This is not the world’s psychology, but it is the wise approach. We would rather let bygones be bygones and forget that YHWH ever had anything but pleasant feelings toward us. Or blame it on somebody else. But then we will not be motivated to do better next time. If we did not learn the first time that if we put our finger in a flame, we will get burnt, we are doomed to repeat history! We cannot forget the sin that lies latent in us. The remembering is not meant to make us lose hope of ever escaping our tendency to fail. Rather, it is meant to keep us in touch with reality so we can cross over and ascend rather than continuing to descend. True failure will motivate us to succeed next time, rather than just saying, “Oh well, I tried.” What we should forget are our excuses.
8. "Even at Horev you provoked YHWH to anger, and YHWH became furious enough to have annihilated you.
9. "When I had gone up into the mountain to receive the slabs of stone--the slabs of the covenant that YHWH was cutting with you--I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, neither eating bread nor drinking water.
10. "Then YHWH gave me two slabs of stone inscribed with the finger of Elohim--upon them [was] the likeness of all the words that YHWH had spoken to you from among the flames on the day of the convocation.
11. "It was at the cut-off of forty days and forty nights when YHWH gave me the two stone slabs--the covenant slabs.
12. "Then YHWH told me, ‘Get up! Quickly, go down from this [place], because your people, whom you brought out from Egypt, have brought about a perversion! They have turned away so soon from the way [in] which I directed them! They have made themselves a cast-metal image!'
13. "YHWH even told me, ‘I have observed this nation, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!
14. "‘Leave me alone, so I may cause them to be annihilated, and obliterate their name from under the heavens, and I will make you into a nation more numerous and greater than they!'
15. "So I turned [my] face and came down from the mountain, the mountain being ablaze with fire, with the two slabs of the covenant in both of my hands.
16. "And I looked, and sure enough, you had sinned against YHWH your Elohim, and made a cast-metal bull-calf for yourselves; so soon you had turned off the path [in] which YHWH had directed you.
17. "So I seized the two slabs and hurled them from upon my two hands, and shattered them before your eyes.
18. "Then I threw myself down in YHWH's presence; as before, [for] forty days and forty nights I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the guilt you had [incurred by] going off track and doing evil in YHWH's sight to make Him angry,
19. "because I was terrified in the face of the exasperation and fury by which YHWH was upset with you [and ready] to annihilate you, but YHWH listened to me this time also.
20. "YHWH even breathed so hard [as] to [almost] cause Aharon to be destroyed, but I pleaded for Aharon at that time also.
21. "And I took your sin which you fashioned--the calf--and burned it with fire, then beat it into pieces and ground it thoroughly until it was as powdery as dust. Then I threw its dust into the stream that came down from the mountain.
22. "Then at Tab'erah, Massah, and Qibroth-haTa'avah, you were beginning to make YHWH angry.
23. "But when YHWH sent you from Qadesh-Barnea, saying, ‘Go up and take possession of the Land which I have designated for you', then you balked at the mouth of YHWH your Elohim, and did not trust Him or listen into [the tone of] His voice.
24. "You have been rebellious with YHWH since the day I came to know you!
25. "And I [remained] prostrate before YHWH for the forty days and forty nights when I had thrown myself down, because YHWH had talked about annihilating you.
26. "So I intervened toward YHWH, and said, ‘O Adonai YHWH! Do not destroy Your people and Your acquired possession, which You have brought out from Egypt with a firm hand!
27. "‘Remember Your servants Avraham, Yitzhaq, and Yaaqov! Do not [turn and] look toward the stubbornness of this nation, nor toward its wickedness, nor its sin,
28. "‘or else the land from which you brought us out might say, ‘[It was] due to YHWH's lack of ability to bring them into the Land that He promised them, and because He hated them, that He brought them to their death in the uncivilized territory.
29. "‘Moreover, they are Your people, and Your acquired possession, whom You have brought out by Your intense force and Your outstretched arm.'
Like two parents who each say, “Look what YOUR children did this time”, Moshe and YHWH keep pinning the responsibility for them back on each other. (Compare vv. 12, 26.) If it weren’t for his prayers and largesse, they would have been destroyed. Though YHWH does the miracles, we must not discount all that His servants do for us. He did not need any of them; they were slaves and he never was. They needed him, and he only came back from his idyllic life to help them because YHWH told him to. YHWH made Moshe a better offer, but he persuaded YHWH to spare them, because he loved his brothers. Yet this was the kind of thanks he received. Because of them, he could not enter the Land, though he deserved it more than they. Not that all of them did, for at each of these places of complaining and rebellion, many Israelites died. Moshe would not be there next time; is reminding them that if they do not treat Y’hoshua differently and learn what they did not learn before--and do better--they are doomed. Israel tends to go back to our old habits, though the Torah is much more valuable than diamonds. We need to learn not just its words, but its patterns, the way it sets things in order, and the new ways of thinking it requires.
Commentary on
Parashat Eqev
Crossing Over
the Yarden
