Parashat Ki-Thavo

When: literally “because”. The fact that YHWH fulfills His promise to bring us into His Land is enough reason to give back to Him the best of what it brings forth. (v. 2) Inheritance: “what flows down”, related to the Hebrew word for a seasonal river. It is how we receive what we have a right to. What qualifies us as legal inheritors of the Land? First, leaving Egypt. The first step out of Egypt was to gather back together in Goshen after having been scattered all over that land as slaves. The plagues pushed us to go back to the place where we had been free as guests to care for our flocks. It may take great crises again to push most of Israel back into community as a people, but now the door is open to do so voluntarily because it is the right time to become a true nation once again. Will we enjoy the comforts of Egypt so much that we wait until it is nearly too late to escape the plagues that are coming upon it? Our Egypt is not just sin, but the lawless Church, and even after we have left it, some of its doctrines (invented to maintain its power base) still have a hold on us. Take possession: or "take it over" (including the sense of dispossessing whomever was there previously). It is not enough just to settle, as we see in the Land today. We are not called to have compassion on those YHWH calls His enemies. Settle: connotes permanence (being "planted" as Amos 9:15 says). He does not say to borrow it or live there as squatters on land owned by someone else. As we will see below, Israelites have no permanent claim to any other place, and will not truly be able to settle down or be at rest anywhere else, so Israel must seize and take authority over it all, or we will continue to be overrun by enemies. The term “settle”, as in English, even connotes marrying it! Once “seated” there, we remain and don’t move anywhere else. Part of the tribe of Yehudah is already there, but that’s like trying to drive the engine of a car; you need the rest of the car to make it function properly. We cannot all come there now, so we know it is not yet time; when we are able to settle and practice Torah fully, we will know it is YHWH’s salvation and that it is time to go. On a deeper level, YHWH’s inherited portion is His people, whom He found in the wilderness—literally, the place of the Word—and encircled us so that no enemy could reach us. (32:7-10) We could not fully enter the place of the Word while we were in the renewed slavery of our Egypt. Until the physical and allegorical come together (which we pray is soon), the Land of Israel is wherever His people are, and loving them is where our focus must be.

Ground: or soil. How is this different from our Land? The Hebrew word for “ground” is adamah, which is related to “Adam”, for he was made from it. All men come from Adam, but only those given an inheritance by YHWH will live in His Land. Right now, until it is rendered holy again, it is merely adamah. Eretz Israel does not really exist until Israel takes possession of it; right now it is to some degree Eretz Yehudah, but Yehudah is losing its grip on it. Beginning: first or best. Giving the firstfruits symbolizes giving our whole selves to YHWH. How big a basket should we bring? That depends how generous we are. It is up to us.

Arrived in: or, attained to. These are the firstfruits of having taken possession of the Land. We are not fully “in the Land” until we bear fruit. We are required to say something to mark the significance of the occasion, for it has to do with more than literally being on the ground of Israel. Even if we have been there for a long time, the day we say this is the day we have come into the Land in a new sense. And though we are not there yet, we should be preparing for that day by practicing the conscious submission to YHWH of our firstfruits, whether that means making the decision that our natural selfish inclinations will not own us today, that YHWH will come before any other claims on us when they compete, or giving Him the best of our time and resources. This will change us and refocus us on where we are headed. Putting H m first now will also help earn us the right to dwell in His Land in the first place.

5. "Then you shall testify and say in the presence of YHWH your Elohim, ‘An Aramean was causing my ancestor to perish, and he went down to Egypt with a few people and stayed [there] as a guest, but there he became a large, mighty, and great nation.

Aramean: The Aramaic Targum Onqelos identifies this as Lavan, Yaaqov's uncle, who used up every ounce of his energy for his own purposes (Gen. 31:40); LXX, "My father abandoned Syria". Stayed as a guest: or sought hospitality. By making this affirmation we are identifying with Yaaqov, the captivity he fell under, and YHWH’s deliverance of him.

7. "‘But when we cried out to YHWH, the Elohim of our forefathers, YHWH heard our voice, and paid attention to our affliction, our misery, and our distress.

There are parallels here to the "cry" of the trumpets on Yom T'ruah (Rosh haShanah) and the "affliction of our souls" on Yom Kippur. We cried: i.e., together, not only as individuals. The concept of an elohim paying closer attention when called by his true name is what led the Babylonians to avoid speaking the names of their gods, because they were afraid of being watched too closely. However, the Jews wrongly borrowed this practice when they returned from captivity, and made the speaking of YHWH's Name taboo. The Hashmoneans put an end to this, but then the Rabbinic authorities reinstated it and by Y'shua's day it speaking YHWH’s Name was considered the only blasphemy worthy of death. Undoubtedly Y'shua was commonly breaking this taboo.

9. "‘and He has brought us into this place and has given us this Land--a Land that gushes with milk and honey!

The Land is not just the soil but its character. One has not fully inhabited this Land until he keeps its laws. No one who does not keep the Torah may remain there. But returning to the Torah is also the first stage of re-entering the Land, and if we are faithful in this, we may proclaim boldly that the Land is ours. We do not need to make compromises in order to go back, but regard it as an established fact and only await YHWH's timing.

Why is it fruit of the ground (adamah) again, and not of the Land? Because when YHWH is our priority, we return to the place Adam once was. He was in the presence and will of YHWH, and when we uphold our end of the covenant, we will be too. Me: This time the reference to self is positive, not negative, for it reflects the fact that this is not only about our ancestors but of each of us today as well. And it is the terminology of one man, for we cannot get back to the Land until we are all one man. By second Temple times, the procedure here was to take the basket of firstfruits from an oxcart and place it on the shoulder when arriving at the Temple Mount, whereupon the Levites would chant Psalm 30:1. While the basket remained on his shoulder, the donor recited verse 3. When he reached verse 5, he would take the basket down and hold it by its rim. A cohen would put his hand beneath the basket and wave it while he recites the entire confession through verse 10, then place the basket beside the altar, bow, and depart.(Mishnah Bikkurim 3:2-6)

Rejoicing is a command. It literally means to "brighten up". During the season of Teshuvah, even before the ruling is made on Yom Kippur, we are to already be rejoicing that YHWH has let us know that there is an opening allotted to repent and be cleansed. Like the traditional Jewish prayer of thanks in the morning that all of one's orifices are working properly, we need to thank Him t hat in Israel He has allowed us times to let out the things we have unwisely let into our gates. If YHWH has blessed you, He has also inherently blessed the Levite and sojourner if you are obeying the Torah, because you are to provide for them. Sojourner: one who is among Israelites to learn about their faith, or in the process of becoming an Israelite. We share our blessings with both those who teach us and those who have come along to learn.

Remember Yaaqov's (James') statement that "pure, undefiled religion" includes caring for widows and orphans in their affliction. (1:27) The tithes are to be given to the Levites to be distributed as needed. This is not done in the place where all Israel gathers, but in the Levitical cities in each region. Then when we make the trip to that place during the pilgrimage festivals, we swear that we have indeed fulfilled this order to care for those who are weak and those who are without inheritance:

Consecrated things: They never were ours to start with, and to keep them in one's house too long is a form of robbery from YHWH. (Mal. 3:8) We are given them first so that we can share in the truth that it is "more blessed to give than to receive". (Acts 20:35) Notice all the components: one has not just set aside his tithe, but has actually made sure it got into the right hands. He has not done too much or too little. Again, this is the basis for the "pure religion and undefiled" of which Yaaqov (James) 1:27 speaks. Not forgotten: a frequent warning in this book (4:9; 4:23; 25:19, etc.). If we have not transgressed, doesn't that mean we have remembered His commands? Why does He seem redundant here? Because a key element of "not forgetting" is recounting His commands to the next generation. "Forget" also means to misplace or ignore. We are now in the process of putting the misplaced commands back where they belong: on our lips and in our hearts.

Guilt: or injustice or mourning, sorrow; Hirsch, "in a state of utter grief". As You have commanded me: Note the similarity to what Y'shua said in his final recorded prayer before his crucifixion. (Yochanan 17:4)

Lean over and look: Hirsch, "Look testingly down."

The way to arrive in the Land is to begin doing today what we are commanded to do when we arrive there.

Declared: or "had YHWH promise"--a causative phraseology that was typical covenant- affirmation language. Aramaic, "You have selected YHWH". Listen [and obey]: carrying out the orders to the letter alone is not enough; hearing what He is saying through them is His real goal.

Particular treasure: has the connotation of being a special jewel locked or securely hidden away from everyone else. This emphasizes the holiness for which He had designed this "uncommon" people, who were not to be considered just another of the nations. 1 Kefa/Peter 1 speaks of an inheritance reserved in heaven for us, to be revealed (on earth) in the end times. (Y'shua had said that was where no corrupting force from earth could affect it.) Chapter 4 speaks of us as being living stones that are precious to YHWH. We keep His commandments not just for our own sake or His, but for the benefit of all Israel.

Highest: the same term as a name used of Himself: elyon. Praise: a "shining song", or even a "boast that seems foolish"; renown: "name, reputation, glory"; beauty: "glory and honor, gleaming splendor".

CHAPTER 27

Along with the elders: Those whom the individual Israelites knew more directly stood behind what he said. Since then, our elders have tended not to stand behind Moshe’s writings. The whole commandment: Not just the parts we are comfortable with or what makes sense to us; all of it is necessary to get a complete picture of YHWH, His will, and His ways. Today: We must see the Torah as being given to us afresh each morning.

Whitewash: or coat with plaster, so the uncut stones (v. 6) could be written upon. (v. 3, 8) Anciently, to make the plaster required heating the limestone until it is brittle, crushing it, and mixing it with water.

All the words: Not just the ten commandments, but the specifics expounded on throughout the rest of the Torah—the purity laws, property laws, instructions for the Sabbath and Festivals, etc. YHWH is in these details. We have to know them, but more; we have to be them. They determine our priorities, whom we marry, what we eat, etc., for the purpose of setting us apart to Him. With several million people present, the whole Torah could be written fairly quickly. Indeed, it is the job of all Israel to be a witness to the words of YHWH. As individuals, we cannot keep the whole Torah, but as a community we can. (30:14; Yirmeyahu/ Jer. 11:1ff) Such stones were always set up as a reminder or recognition of something that took place at that site. They are a picture of the living stones that all Israel is to be. The problem is that after many years it would fade or crumble, exposing the bare rocks again until we no longer know what they bore witness to. So there has to be another crushing so they can be re-plastered. We live in such a day, when we are “re-covering” that to which the words bore witness so we can again fulfill our side of the covenant.

Round stones need mortar to fit together. The mortar in YHWH's temple is our love and commitment to one another. Y'shua said men would know that we are his because of this love--because it makes us into one structure. The Torah can only be written on round stones (v. 8) when all are joined together.

This altar has been located by archaeologists, and is largely intact.

Undamaged stones: Hirsch, "intact stones"; LXX and Aramaic, "whole stones"--those that have not been reshaped by human tools. A chisel often cracks the stone, making it useless, and YHWH does not want any of His people ruined by the teachings of men. This represents the altar built of people shaped only by the water of the Word itself--or who let themselves be put back into the "river" of the Water of the Word and be re-smoothed after once having been enslaved to men. In every case--here, in the Tabernacle, both Temples, and the Maccabean rededication, the altar was built and/or in use before the rest of the Temple was. Thus it represents "forerunners" in the restoration of Torah to the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel, who because of the trail they are blazing, are, perhaps, required to be more strictly pure in doctrine and practice than others who may follow later. It suggests the same theme as in 2 Timothy 2:21 in which one's position in the "house" of the Master is determined by how thoroughly he cleanses himself from impurities after having been selected to be some sort of vessel for that house. Ascendings: because of building this altar, we should take another step higher, coming closer to YHWH.

Peace offerings: from the same root word as "undamaged"stones, meaning complete. Wholeness is indeed what we want to offer up to YHWH. Many are clamoring for the rebuildilng of the Temple, but first must come the altar, the place for . Rejoice: literally, "brighten up". This and 26:11 are probably the basis for Sha'ul's statement that "YHWH loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7) The procedure and "script" for the peace offering are found in Psalm 116.

It is possible that they wrote the Torah out twice—once on the standing stones, and once on this altar. The "letter of the Torah" is written on the mountain of cursing. (v. 13) Indeed, Sha'ul (Paul) speaks of the letter "killing", while the spirit gives life. (Romans 7:6; 2 Corinthians 3:6) He also literally says that the handwriting of threatened judgments therein that was our adversary was "whitewashed over" (atoned for) by Y'shua's blood so the Torah becomes our friend instead of our tyrant (Colossians 2:14), teaching us the underlying principles of reality rather than just telling us that we will be punished if we disobey. (See note on v. 26.) An analogy would be the point at which we learn WHY our parents told us not to touch a hot stove--it was for our own good! Mount Eval: the mountain of curses (v. 13). The Torah is a curse to those who try to obey it in their own fleshly power. Paul says we are meant to be a letter written not on physical materials, but by the spirit on the human heart. (2 Cor. 3) The Torah can take the form of letters carved on stone, but it is fearful and condemns us. Write: Many of us were "whitewashed" by Y'shua's blood long before we had His Torah written on our hearts. But a whitewashed wall in itself has no content; it tells no one anything. Torah, however, explains what Israel is to be. This altar stood in the midst of the Land and told anyone who wished to sojourn in that Land what kind of lifestyle they were obligated to live if they did. Plain: or distinct, “pleasingly clear”; it should not be overspiritualized. Of course there are deeper levels on which to understand it, but if we are not carrying it out literally, we are not doing the Torah. We are not just to tip our hats to something it tells us to do. Hirsch, "to be well understood". All: Thus, other than some visions of what the tabernacle was to look like, Moshe did not receive any instruction other than what was written down. The Talmud, the embodiment of an alleged oral torah, is actually the freezing of the halachah (way to walk) at one point in history, while it was meant to remain fluid so that each community in each generation could interpret the authoritative Word in the ways most suitable for their particular needs. Of course it does give us many details from second temple times that do aid in understanding Scripture, especially the Renewed Covenant, but in itself it is not as authoritative as Scripture itself, being often even the recognition of several opposing interpretations.

Be silent: or "pay attention". Forget your own opinions, which only demonstrate our foolishness. Wisdom is to not answer too hastily, but slow down and approach carefully. We need to also practice inward quietness, silencing our thoughts so we can clean our own lives out of His vessel. His words already carry more than enough The people of YHWH: If we have entered into covenant with Him, our lives are no longer our own. (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

11. And Moshe gave people orders on the same day, saying,

12. "These [are the tribes who] shall stand on Mount G'rizim to bless the people after you have crossed the Yarden: Shim'on, Levi, Yehudah, Issachar, Yoseyf, and Binyamin.

These are all sons of Yaaqov's true wives, including both of Rachel's only sons. So Yaaqov, too, like Avraham, had sons of the curse and sons of the blessing. (Galatians 4) There are twelve curses and twelve blessings, just as there are twelve tribes.

Re’uven lost his birthright due to disobedience toward the principle now codified I v. 20; the other son of Leah who is here is Z'vulun, and he may have been placed here so that both of Rachel (his truest wife)'s sons can represent the blessings, because Yoseyf's stone on the high priest's breastplate was the same as the stones on his shoulders. Sh'khem, the town which sits between the two "shoulders" of these mountains, means "shoulder" or "upper back", which bears the body's burdens, and the high priest carried the names of all the sons of Israel on his shoulders. The first two sons mentioned in v. 12 slaughtered the whole town of Sh’khem. (Gen. 34)

Respond: possibly in antiphonal song. Loud: lofty or magnified.

“Amen” means "This is firmly true and verified; so may it be established." Hidden place: or, disguised place, hinting at a conscious intent, though when Rakhel hid her family idol under her saddle, it was probably so engrained in her from her youth that she saw nothing wrong with serving YHWH and also having idols simultaneously. This is how paganism was underhandedly sneaked into what became the Church--by changing the names of foreign gods, rituals, and symbols, putting them into what sounded like a more biblically-oriented context. And idolatry is very often disguised under a genuine respect for Y’shua as the one YHWH anointed, confusing Him with YHWH Himself. Another way this comes out is (in Yochanan Mascaro’s words) using His Name to suit our own flesh. Like Rakhel, many are blinded to the difference it makes to YHWH. His first command was to love Him with all that we are, and not give that type of love to any other. But He has much more to say about taking care of one another (vv. 16-25):

Dishonors: or esteems them lightly. In the broader sense, it includes the one who does not take seriously the fact that he is already under a curse because of his very first ancestors' sin. Y'shua said our "mother" was now the ones who do the will of his Father. We must not take this lightly. And our ultimate Father is YHWH, our foremost authority; we must not take His Name lightly--either by failing to use it or by "taking it in vain".

Moves: displaces or shifts the neighbor’s property line (to one's own advantage); LXX, "removes". This is just one more example of loving one’s neighbor as oneself.

This certainly includes those who take advantage of people's spiritual ignorance or biblical illiteracy for their own gain or cause a "weaker brother", who looks to you as his example, to stumble.(1 Cor. 8) On the road: Psalm 18:20-21 says YHWH rewards us for keeping His way. Teaching lies to those who do not yet know how to test the truth of your statements keeps the light of Torah from people who are unable to stay on the path by themselves.

Influences: to in any way change the "shape" of a just ruling as it would be handed down for the native of the land, if the one being judged is a foreigner. The word's range of meaning covers stretching, inclining, extending, turning, bending, or thrusting aside.

His father's extremities: the Aramaic interpretation is "reveals his father's shame", but literally it says "his father's wings", which suggests that this somehow renders vulnerable YHWH's "Body" itself. Who is His body but the community who "flees under His wings for protection" (Psalm 91:4). The tribe of Re’uven, whose own ancestor had violated this command, was one of the tribes that had to pronounce this curse! But there are twelve curses here; was each a reference to a particular tribe’s tendencies?

22. "‘Cursed is [any man] who lies with his sister--[either] the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'

23. "‘Cursed is [any man] who lies with his mother-in-law.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'

24. "‘Cursed is the one who strikes down his neighbor secretly.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'

Strikes down: includes a thrust, blow, attack, subjugation, wound, or slaughter. Neighbor: literally, one who eats from the same pasture. The only way one could literally strike another down secretly would be to sneak up on him. But it can also mean “under cover”--deceiving him into being taken advantage of in any way. Thus "back-stabbing", gossip, and "character assassination" are certainly included in this sin.

26. "‘Cursed is [anyone] who does not uphold [and continue in] the words of this instruction by carrying them out.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'

Uphold: or ratify, establish, apply, implement an already-existing authority. The priests and the whole nation formed a great cloud of witnesses. Yirmeyahu (11:1ff) and Y’hezq’el (18:26ff) upheld the fact that we would not be cursed if we turn back to Torah. Men say Paul did not uphold it, but he actually did say, “Amen”. He says Y’shua is the goal of the Torah (not the “end” in the sense of being a thing of the past) But then he seems to contrast ‘the righteousness of faith” (Rom. 10:6) But in the very same context, he enlists Moshe (the author of the Torah) as the primary witness to uphold his argument! What this tells us that we are misreading him. What he says is that despite what Yehudah, our past sins, or the weakness of our flesh may say, we can do Torah, and its point is to make Y’shua the King. It’s about both Yehudah and Israel accepting Him as rightful heir to the throne, after first establishing a kingdom worthy of having Him rule over it. What is a kingdom without a king? A curse! All of us in the Northern Kingdom had ancestors who completely gave up on continuing in the Torah (instruction), but everyone has gaps in his obedience, so we are all under a curse, and therefore YHWH can have mercy on all of us. (Rom. 11:32) Y'shua redeemed us from this curse, “plastering it over” with His blood (Gal. 3:10ff), but taking this out of context has often caused the weak and ignorant to stumble by thinking Paul was contradicting both Torah and Y'shua, who said he did not come to do away with the Torah. (Mat. 5) In truth, Paul is neither denying nor changing the Torah. The weakness of the Torah (Rom. 7, 8) is that our flesh does not want to obey it. But "the life of the flesh is in the blood"; Y'shua's blood makes us able to obey. Keeping the Torah for the sake of self and personal gain (even reward from YHWH) is indeed a curse, but keeping it because it is what is best for the whole community of Israel brings great blessing (chapter 28).

CHAPTER 28

Listen carefully: literally, listen listening, but the term means more than hearing; it includes heeding and obeying. The repetition of the same term is an idiomatic way of emphasizing that you are “really” listening. It is an active listening that does something about what one hears. (Yaaqov 1:22ff) His Word is a mirror into which we look to truly find ourselves—to see what a true Israelite looks like. Then we must not forget who we are. Don’t only be a hearer, but a “doer of the work” (1:25). Don’t start building and then stop halfway. The way you remain His chosen or elect is to keep diligently obeying. If you are not hearing from YHWH, have you opened His Word? Because any other revelation must be tested by that anyway. Don’t automatically listen to the voice inside your head that is guided by fear, your own experiences, or your own preferences. His voice tells you, “Fear not.” Test the voices in your mind to see if they line up with His Word, for the heart is deceitful (Yirm. 17:9). YHWH cannot inhabit the same space as fear, for it is worship of something other than Him. Do not obey the fear; choose not to accommodate it, for this empowers it, and take actions to fulfill Kingdom priorities instead. And most importantly, do not listen to the many beautiful-sounding voices that tell you that you no longer need to obey YHWH’s commands. Be vigilant: The root word means to build a hedge about or to guard. Take steps to guard it from men who would nullify it by their teachings, opinions, or motives. Guard it from compromise. Memorizing it is the first step to hiding it in our hearts (Ps. 119:11), but this is not enough; it must be carried out. He tells us the same thing over and over, because He knows our tendency to forget to do it. The Torah is alive today—if we will live it out.

Blessings: literally, knee-bendings. It is easy to see how we can thus “bless” YHWH, but how does He bless us? As a parents bends down to listen to his small children, He will pay special attention to us if we obey. He takes an interest in us, and wants to pick us up and set us on a higher place so He can interact with us more eye-to-eye (v. 1).

Whether we gather together on the Sabbath, festival, or new moon, or whether we are at work alone, making a living, in the fields surrounding our Israelite city (and the field is also a picture of the world at large), He wants to be directly involved in our lives.

He will bend down and make sure this fruitfulness comes to pass.

Basket: What we need to contain our fruitfulness. Kneading bowl: Also where the dough is allowed to rise; i.e., what we need in order to make our fruitfulness useful. When both are full, we can eat. If the dough rises well, the texture of the bread is better, and it is more enjoyable to eat. He not only wants to give us enough to eat, but to eat well also.

Going out and coming in is an idiom throughout Scripture for military battles. (Y’hoshua 14:11; 1 Shmu’el 29:6) It is not enough to make us strong and fearless so that we will go willingly; we also need the skill to stay alive in battle! Note the similar pattern of “blessed” used by Y'shua in the "Sermon on the Mountain" (Mat. 5).

8. "YHWH will ordain a blessing [to be] upon you in your storehouses, and upon all that your hand undertakes to do, and He will bless you in the Land that YHWH your Elohim is giving to you.

9. "YHWH will establish you as a people set apart for Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you will guard YHWH's commandments and walk in His ways.

Notice the conditional clause throughout! He sees our being separate from all others as a desirable goal, but we tend to want the opposite. We want others’ approval, and want them to understand us—to be like the world, though not part of it. If we truly walk in His ways, He will be the one who makes us separate.

Name of YHWH is proclaimed upon you: or "you are called by YHWH's Name." Not another name or substitute title. Stand in awe: or "be afraid" (depending on whether they want to know the truth or not). They will consider us dangerous and try to kill us for the sake of that Name. (Luk. 21:16ff) But we are not to be afraid of them, or He will turn us over to them. (Yirm./Jer. 1:8ff) Women of faith are only called Sarah's daughters if they both do good and are not afraid. (1 Kefa 3:6)

This sounds just like verse 4, except here the context is the Land. This in itself is another blessing. We can begin to experience verse 4 already, but the benefits are not complete until we are fully in the context where no one but YHWH and His Anointed rule over us.

Store…the heavens: In an agricultural view, rain in season is one of the greatest blessings. The treasure is not individual wealth, but corporate wealth based on making sure we all are fed. Y'shua gave a slightly different meaning to this concept by casting the heavens as a sort of bank where one could make deposits by giving away wealth on earth, and thus find that YHWH would pay "interest" on the "loan". (Mat. 6:20) Borrow: or "be bound by them".

It is the elders and "exalted of face" (honored) who are defined as the head (Isa. 9:15). There were 144,000 elders of Israel, so those sealed in Rev. 14 may only be leaders of a larger group. There are also 24 elders around the throne, corresponding wit the 24 orders of priestly duty that David lined up. Prophets who teach lies as the tail. Amaleq attacked the weaker of the people, who were lagging in the rear--the tail. (25:17-18) Just as Amaleq is atheistic, believing only in fate and chance, so one who dares to prophesy lies cannot truly believe that he will be held accountable to YHWH.

Turning aside from the covenant includes not just to things that are obviously bad like murder or prostitution, but turning in the other direction—toward things which “seem right to a man”—morals that are nonetheless not in agreement with Torah or not required by it, things that make us feel positive about ourselves, that stroke our ego, but have no beneficial effect for those we are called to help. There are ditches on either side, so keep moving directly ahead instead.

Catch up with: or "overtake". Why are we back to curses already? Because YHWH knows Israel’s tendency to slack off on our part of the covenant, yet expect Him to keep His nonetheless. So He is showing us that we have no right to think that way; this mocks His Name. Contrary to what the Church told us, the curse is not in doing Torah, but in not doing it.

All the blessings will be directly reversed if we turn away from walking I the right direction.

18. "Cursed will be the fruit of your body, the fruit of your tilled soil, and the fruit of your livestock--[that is,] the offspring of your cattle and the increase of your sheep and goats.

19. "Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

20. "YHWH will send upon you cursing, turmoil, and corruption in all that your hand endeavors to do until you are devastated and ready to perish because of the wickedness of your deeds by which you have forsaken Me.

Cursing: LXX, "want"; Aramaic, "calamity". Corruption: or rebuke; Hirsch, "the feeling of reproach".

22. "YHWH will strike you with a wasting lung disease, fever, and burning inflammation, with extreme heat, with the sword, with blight, and with mildew, and they will dog you until you have gotten lost.

Extreme heat: Hirsch, "parchedness". Gotten lost: gone astray or perished.

Sky: or heaven. I.e., your prayers will not be heard, but will "bounce back", nor will the ground respond to your cultivation. There will be no help from heaven or earth--exemplefied by Assyrian warfare that simultaneously attacks both you and those on whom you would naturally rely for help. Contrast the promise of the restoration despite His punishment in Isaiah/Yeshayahu 60:17.

Dust and ashes: in an ironic twist, this is what is used to symbolize mourning and repentance. Compare Mat. 5:4: "Blessed are they that mourn [over their sin], for they shall be comforted. This is what the second part of Yeshayahu (40-66) is all about.

26. "Your corpse will become meat for all [kinds of] fowls of the air and beasts of the earth, and no one will scare them away.

Fowls of the air often signify evil spirits in Scripture (e.g., Gen. 40:17; Mat. 13:32: Rev. 18:2) Avraham is the one who chased away the birds from the corpses of the animals by which YHWH cut the covenant with him. (Gen. 15) To forsake this covenant means we will not know how to chase away the demons, because we will no longer have the benefits of being Avraham's children, as we will forget that that is who we are.

28. "YHWH will strike you with madness and blindness and bewilderment of heart.

Blindness: This is why Y'shua's disciples asked him whether a blind man or his parents were the ones who sinned. (Yochanan/John 9:2) But in that case the man was blind only to demonstrate YHWH's power to heal. Bewilderment: or stupefaction. We certainly became stupid when we left the Torah, being unable to see many parts of Scripture any longer.

Robbed: despoiled or plundered. Gloomy darkness: or dusk. Why would it make any difference whether it was noon or dusk for a blind person? The word here for "blind" means someone who has been made blind by skin that grows over his eyes. As with cataracts, one can see somewhat, but not clearly. Paul saw his "scales" removed (Acts 9:18), but said most of Israel was still under a type of blindness (Rom. 11) and would be until the "fulness of the Gentiles" (the northern Kingdom of Efrayim, Gen. 48:19) returned. The Torah, though it is so simple, has been so blurred to us until this day when the curse is being lifted.

Those who have just betrothed a wife, built a house, or planted a vineyard are the ones who are exempt from going to war (24:5, etc.), yet the war will overtake them nonetheless. They will not have sufficient numbers to be able to afford to let these men stay home.

One eats of his slaughtered ox when he brings it as a sacrifice to YHWH; this may be a reference to them making sacrifices to other gods, who do not allow men to participate in their feast.

This only takes place when a land is overrun by its enemies.

Be exploited: Hirsch, "have your rights violated".

35. "YHWH will strike you with a malignant inflammation in the knees and the legs from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to your scalp.

36. "YHWH will bring [both] you and the king that you set over you into a land with which neither you nor your ancestors have been familiar, and you will worship different elohim--wood and stone.

This happened in the case of both northern (Israelite) and southern (Yehudahite) kings. (Yirm. 39; 2 Chron. 33:11)

A horror: Hirsch, "desolate". Byword: or taunt. Have you ever heard of "the wandering Jew"?

39. "You will plant vineyards and work them, but you will neither drink the wine nor gather [grapes], because the worms will eat them.

40. "You will have olive trees throughout all your territory, but will not anoint yourself with oil, because your olive tree will drop [its fruit] off.

41. "You will bear sons and daughters, but they will not be yours, because they will go away into captivity.

42. "The locust will take possession of all your trees and [the] fruit of your Land.

43. "The alien who is in your midst will climb high above you, and you will descend far below [him].

Climb: or "be lifted". This seems to be repeating itself through the Palestinians today, perhaps because most of the modern nation of Israel's leadership are not directly interested in YHWH, and even the very religious often refuse to mention the name by which He revealed Himself, or find loopholes to get around obeying Him.

Even in Yehudah's diaspora, one professional her sons were permitted to engage in, even when hated and persecuted, was moneylending.

Note the repetition of the language used for the blessings that preceded.

Sign: Hirsch, "instructive wonder". I.e., it would teach us to repent, or teach others what to avoid. Until the age: often translated "forever", but since we are seeing repentance today in both houses of Israel, we know what the Father's attitude toward the prodigal son(s) will be. All this can be reversed if we only turn back to YHWH and His Torah.

If you see His Torah as a burden and drudgery, no matte how precisely you obey, it does not count. Joy is not just for the festivals, but for every act of loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Y'shua told the congregation at Laodikea (which means “people who judge rightly”) that, without knowing it, they are "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17)--so these curses may not always be obvious to those they come upon, but they are a direct result of failing to follow YHWH's instruction. But he said the reason he rebukes us is because he loves us. He does all this to bring us to the end of ourselves so we will return to the protection of His covenant. But He tells us to buy back the things we gave away for nothing in return, for we have no covering any longer. Are we waiting for something better to come along? It will not. Most often what turns us aside is thinking it is our responsibility to guarantee that we will receive the things He called His blessings (vv. 3-14), but that is His job. He will make sure we have the things we need if we seek His Kingdom first (Mat. 6:33); if we spend our time focusing on “all these things”, we will not have time left (at least not the highest-quality time) to do the things He does assign us.

50. "a nation of fierce countenance, which will not show regard for the elderly, nor have mercy on the young.

Show regard for: literally, endure the faces of. Fierce: or greedy. This is the philosophy of all nations that are not based on fear of YHWH: it sounds precisely like euthanasia and infanticide. Now we only see a "thin entering wedge" in our culture, but once it gets its foot in the door it will lead to the same butchery that is described here.

Grain, wine, and oil: these are all symbols of the worship and blessing of the true Elohim, but He will bring "a famine for hearing the words of YHWH" (Amos 8:11).

Placed your confidence: in other things than in YHWH. Besiege, cause you distress: the same word, alternately rendered "cramp", "afflict", or "trouble" you.

54. "The man who is [most] timid among you and most delicate--[even] his eye will be evil toward his brother and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he will leave alive,

Timid: or tender. The evil eye: not some mysterious occultic spell, but in Hebrew thought, one who is grudging, not generous or glad to share his goods Consider this meaning when interpreting, for example, Luk. 11:34..

He has nothing to spare: i.e., it is all he has left.

57. "and toward her miscarried fetus that comes forth from between her legs, and toward her children whom she shall bear, because for lack of anything [else], she will consume them in secret during the siege and straits into which your enemies shall press you within your gates.

Miscarried fetus; Aramaic, "the youngest of her children". These are far from kosher, but they show the extent to which we will be driven if we refuse to obey. These horrors did take place during the siege of Yerushalayim. (Yirm./Jer. 19:9)

Document: based on the word for "count" or "number", from which we get the word "cipher". Indeed, every word in Hebrew has a numeric value, and those words which have the same value have some connection between them. This...Name: not a substitute, either the name of a chief pagan deity or a euphemism spoken out of the wrong type of fear of YHWH (a custom learned while in captivity in Babylon). Weighty: glorious, authoritative, of utmost importance.

Wounds: or defeats.

61. "That's not all; YHWH will stir up against you every sickness and plague that is not written in the document of this instruction, until you are decimated.

I.e., just in case I've missed mentioning any potential curse, it will fall upon you as well! In contrast to 14 verses about the rewards of obeying, YHWH goes on and on three and a half time as long with the threats of punishment, because this tends to motivate people much more powerfully than wisdom--just like a school child who is more motivated by the "switch" than by the advantages an education will give him if he patiently endures and builds a firm base for prosperity later in life.

Voice: Aramaic, "Memra" (Living Word). This (rejection of Y'shua) accounts for much of Yehudah's suffering and decimation; Efrayim's is harder to trace, but it is coming to light more and more clearly day by day.

64. "And YHWH will scatter you among all peoples, from one extremity of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods with which neither you nor your ancestors have been familiar.

Part of the curse is learning these new concepts of deity that we had accrued over the years. The idea of Y’shua as a god-man is a punishment!

The philosophies of many Western nations which largely stem from the Northern Kingdom of Israel have ended up in such paranoia, rootlessness, and despair.

We would be so full of fear that the sound of a leaf driven by the wind would send us running. (Lev. 26:36)

The thoughts might be, "If only it were night, our enemies could not find us", and "If only it were daytime, so we could see our enemies coming and have enough warning." But hopelessness would prevail.

You will be sold: in order to at least have something to eat. No one will buy you: or "there will be no one to buy you." I.e., you will not even be able to be a slave. Y’shua alluded to this when He told His parable about the prodigal son who was not even allowed to eat what the pigs he was feeding ate. A ship took many Jews back to Germany during the Holocaust because no other nations would accept them as refugees. "But we are convinced of better things concerning you, things belonging to deliverance." (Heb. 6:9; cf. 10:39 in context). The whole point of this threat is that we "be careful not to refuse the One who is speaking." (Heb. 12:25 and whole context). He has no desire to carry these things out, and we who have the benefit of retrospect and can see what He has done once should all the more strive to avoid making the same mistake again. (Rom. 15:4) And to the nation of Israel as a whole, He says that when the doubled punishment (Yirm./Jer. 16:18) for her sins has been completely paid, He will

CHAPTER 29

WCut: The animals that represented a covenant were cut in half to say, “May this be done to me if I do not keep my side of the agreement. At this time Israel was divided into two parts, standing on two different hills (27:12ff), to demonstrate vividly what the nation of Israel would look like if it did not fulfill its part (which is keeping the Torah). Indeed, that did take place after King Shlomo’s reign. He has, in mercy, kept the door open for us many times when we did not deserve it so that the next generation could again try to keep it, but ultimately He had to disperse us because He is also just. Although the reversal of the curse has begun, as long as we cannot ascend to His House to worship in the place He has set His Name, we are still not home. But YHWH says that one day soon the two nations Israel became will again be under a single king. (Y’hazq’el 37:22) Note that Moshe was the one who more directly made the covenant with Israel, though it is on YHWH’s behalf. Therefore, Moshe (who figuratively represents the Torah) is the mediator; Y’shua, the living Torah, is the mediator of the renewal of the covenant. He proved a man could keep the Torah if he just put away self. The renewed covenant is based on the same promises, and we are told that this time it is renewed—when there are two clear houses of Israel and Yehudah to confirm it with again (Yirmeyahu 31:31ff)—it will finally be kept. It will be written on our hearts. That is, it will become our natural inclination—not by magic, but by practice. As we do what we can of our side of the covenant now, He will give us more enabling. As with driving a car, though it seems difficult and inconvenient at first, it will become second nature as we continue to acclimate ourselves to it. Keeping it is the only way we can remain free in our own Land rather than a vassal to Babylon. His part of the bargain is much greater because of who He is, and because He knows our weakness. He has given us the whole car except one wheel, but the car still will not go without that wheel which we must supply. Of course, it requires a mature community in which to practice it properly, as the whole cannot be done by individuals in isolation. In addition to: This whole book is a reaffirmation of the covenant for the generation now made ready, after 40 years, to enter the Land, so he gives them more detailed instructions. Everything added since the ten commandments now also became counted as part of the covenant. Since they had already proven to be inclined to look for loopholes, He spelled out more of the specifics that illustrated the intent and implications of the contract. It is basically the “how to” of the original ten that summarized the rest since we had already become disobedient to them. The covenant was already seeming a burden rather than the fulfillment of a promise made to Avraham because he had kept the part of the covenant that was given to him. But, as Y’shua pointed out, it is men’s unauthorized additions that make the Torah a burden. (Mat. 23:4 et al) He showed us how to enter into rest while keeping it; He simplified the picture by reminding us what it was really about—loving YHWH with all our hearts, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. As with today, they had caught on to the fact that YHWH had made promises, but were beginning to take them for granted, forgetting the conditional clauses. They were beginning to wonder why they had to work so hard to receive them. Chorev: another name for Sinai.

WAll Israel: Not just the Levites, judges, elders, or even just men; the whole nation must be involved in order for this covenant to function. Do not let anyone tell you that women or children may not obey the commands if they are not specifically directed toward a particular segment of Israel.

4. "Yet YHWH did not give you a heart to perceive, nor eyes to discern, nor ears to receive until today

WReceive: The truth had been there all along; they had seen the events, but did not have the perspective to be able to understand it until this time. We can echo this as we reflect back on our coming out of "Egypt". Until today: when they could see all the wilderness wanderings in retrospect, and for the first time Moshe put all the pieces together so they could see the pattern. During our exile we were in the same position. Though Y’shua had already made it more plain and we could even quote much of Scripture, but did not know what much of it meant, because we were looking at it through Gentile glasses. But we have a similar vantage point today, as the time of our exile has begun to end and the "partial blindness" is being removed from the eyes of both houses of Israel. We have seen the fulfillment of the curses, and know what to avoid. We also tried to practice it in the wrong context, which turned out to be spinning our wheels. By returning to an Israelite community—the context in which He gavethe Torah—we can become fruitful in our practice.

6. "You have not eaten bread nor drunk wine or an intoxicating beverage so that you may understand that I am YHWH your Elohim.

Wandering about the wilderness, we had no time to raise vineyard. By having none of the things on which we normally rely, they had to depend on YHWH daily, and He proved Himself capable of "saving with much or with little" by giving us manna to sustain us. We are not intoxicated by the food He gives us, so that our minds will be clear and we will give credit where it is truly due, unlike the other nations who thank "luck".

8. "and took their land and designated it as the inherited property of the Re’uvenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Menashe."

WHe did not give us the burden of everyday supplies wearing out. (vv. 5-6) The little bit He did give us to do was to do away with His enemies. If we had not done that much, our clothes would have indeed worn out, and Amaleq was waiting close by to engulf us. He gives plenty of cause for confidence for the next step: even these "bonus" territories on the other side of the Yarden, which were never even promised to us as such, have been conquered with no casualties; how much more the part that has been foresworn?

WSucceed: prosper, act wisely, with understanding; Hirsch, "do with thoughtful reflection". Prospering dos not mean becoming individually wealthy, but receiving what YHWH promised tyo Avraham—that is, becoming numerous and possessing the Land. These things require more of a response than merely “thank you” as we think of it in English. In Hebrew, the connection is much clearer. Todah, which means “thank you”, is from the root word yadah, which means to cast with one’s hands. Saying “thank you” is by definition saying, “I will do something about that for which I am thanking you; I will now use my hands for You.” Faith without works will not bring us the things He promised to Avraham. We cannot simply believe ourselves into the promised land. Since that became obvious, men in power changed the definition of the promised land for the masses, moving it from a physical place to a cloud in the sky. The way Paul phrased things led Yaaqov to recognize that people would interpret him out of context to mean they no longer had to obey the Torah, so he corrected him, and Paul took the point well. Also, we have no promise of prosperity in any pursuit that is contrary to the Torah—anything that serves self willeventually prove to produce only self, and we will be left with nothing but self , rather than with any of the things YHWH has promised.