Parashat VaEthkhanan

(Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11)

Begun: literally, "opened up". He had seen miracle after miracle, and spoken face to face with YHWH on numerous occasions. He had seen YHWH's afterglow--the most a human being could see and still survive. Yet it was only beginning. Thus far he had done most of these things alone; if the people had also been intent on knowing YHWH instead of doing their own thing, it might have been different. Now Israel was finally proving to be a people compliant with YHWH's wishes, and he wanted to see the fruition of this. He has finally “whipped the people into shape”, and uses this as a bargaining piece to ask that YHWH continue His mercy, using this flattering language as well.

Cross over: The same word for being a Hebrew. He had passed through the Reed Sea, but not crossed over into the Land. He had known his affiliation with the Hebrews for eighty years, but he wanted to really BE a Hebrew. There is a parallel in those who have been born again. It is like leaving Egypt, yet the church is still the wilderness; it may have carried us through the centuries of exile, but until we return to Torah and begin to live as Israel, we are not truly Hebrews. "Crossing over" is becoming not just a group of "saved" individuals, but becoming a people--a nation. And this requires leaving behind what we were before. The Temple had high walls, and once one went through the gates he could no longer see what was outside. It also requires dying to self. That is our responsibility, though we cannot do it alone (see v. 28). Moshe walked by sight instead of by faith, and this disqualified him from entering the Land. The bar continues to be raised; it is not enough to be merely Israelites; we must be Hebrews as well. Pleasant mountain: or perhaps “hill-country", but more likely a reference to Mt. Moryah, where he knew Avraham had sacrificed Yitzhaq, and Yaaqov had seen the gateway to heaven. (Actually this mountain was not taken until seven years after King David had been crowned--an excellent picture of why the Temple Mount still is not fully in Israel's hands; it must await the next "David"--the king chosen by the two houses of Israel together.) So he may in essence be saying, "Of what benefit is all that you have brought me through, if I do not get to the Land? My life is not complete." Levanon: in the general sense, the snow-capped mountains north of the city of Dan. But the word means "very white", and he may have also been referring to the purity and true righteousness of Mt. Moryah and its connection to the heavenlies, for Yerushalayim’s palaces and the Temple would indeed be largely built from cedars of Levanon.

Passed over me because of you: He had lived out a picture of crucifying Messiah a second time. But it was not done out of arrogance, but anger. While admitting his guilt (unlike Adam) and submitting to YHWH’s sentence, he would not lie and say he liked the verdict. He still held some resentment for their ungratefulness that he blamed for disqualifying him from the goal he had spent 40 unnecessary years preparing them for. He should have arrived there when he was much younger and had time to enjoy it, so he lays this guilt trip on them so they will remember that they owe it to his memory to at least examine themselves and be decent people by walking in the Torah he had brought them. Y’shua could say the same to us: Our sin cost Him His life, so the least we can do is behave according to His explanation of the Torah’s deeper intent. Too much: Yet if the people gave Moshe instead of YHWH the credit for all he had done so far, what would happen if he had brought them across the Yarden too? Even Moshe, YHWH's instrument, was not to be worshiped (echoed in Rev. 19:10; 22:8,9). It was for their benefit that he could not enter the Land, so they would remember who their real leader was. (YHWH did not even let them find the place of his tomb, 34:6.)

Summit: or gap--the way by which they would pass from the plateau to the Yarden plain. Lift up your eyes: includes a sense of seeing in the spirit, for while he could probably see further than we can today with Israel's haze, it is unlikely he could physically see it all--though it is only about 50 to 60 miles from Mt. Nevo to the Mediterranean Sea. But the names of the different directions also have spiritual meaning in Hebrew. Westward: toward the sea--perhaps a reminder of where they had come from; north: toward the hidden treasure--the mystery of the remnant who would remain faithful; south: toward the "right hand"--a title for Y'shua, the fullness of the Torah; and eastward: toward the place of "breaking forth" (i.e., sunrise)--the complete birth of the restored Adam, which is still to come. So he could still keep "going up" (ascend) though he was not able to enter the Land. This vision showed him that all he had worked for was not in vain after all. He could not cross "THIS Yarden", but he would cross another threshold and be able to see YHWH after all--in a body that would not be destroyed by His intensity.

Here is another reason Moshe could not cross over: he represents the Torah, which is meant to bring us to the border of the Promised Land, but it will have done its job if it does. (See Galatians 3:24) Y'hoshua (the longer version of Y'shua's name) is the only one who can bring us all the way. He has been in the Land before, and knows its dangers, but still wants to go. This is a "son in whom YHWH is well-pleased". He has searched it out and knows his way around, which is more than could be said for Moshe. "What the Torah [alone] could not do, weakened as it was due to our flesh, YHWH has done" in sending Y'shua the Messiah (Romans 8:3). He taught us to die to self and become one united people. And he indeed went on "before us", as the firstfruits of the resurrection. (1 Cor. 15:20) Yet notice that Y'shua has to be strengthened (or made brave) by Moshe (i.e., the Torah) as well. Moshe was to tell Y'hoshua all that he had just seen in the vision (v. 27) and give him the strength it had given him. When Y'shua was tempted, everything he said was from Moshe. Faith without works is inadequate; without the Torah, Y'shua had no foot to stand on. We need to both keep the commandments and have the Testimony of Y'shua to ultimately conquer. (Rev. 12:17)

On the spiritual level, Moshe's melancholy Still remains. They were still in a false elohim's territory until Y’hoshua was fully strengthened to finish the job.

CHAPTER 4

Now: or, this time. Since Moshe would not be going with them to the Land, this is his last occasion to prod them to Listen: includes consent and obedience. Survive: If Moshe was being kept out of the Land for one infraction, how much more strict would be the expectations once they got into the Land? But for our situation, the word can also be translated "revive"; this is necessary before we too can inhabit the Land. “This time” applies to us as well. Prescribed boundaries and proper legal procedures: rulings and enactments added to the initial commands He gave at Sinai (see vv. 13-14) when particular instances came up that needed further clarification (Ex. 18:16-23); e.g., the man gathering sticks on the Sabbath (Num. 15:32-35) or gathering a double portion of manna the day before the Sabbath (Ex. 16:22ff). They set a precedent for later rulings where specifics are not given in the Torah but where unity is needed. The option chosen must not be “unconstitutional” (i.e., must agree with the Torah), but can be just as authoritative for those under the jurisdicton of the authority that rules.

It seems that the commandments that YHWH most ardently warns us to be especially careful about are those that fall by the wayside most frequently! So Moshe says to carry out the rulings in the way that he is telling us, not in the way that makes the most sense to us or that we are most comfortable with. If we fall short of these, we will also almost certainly fall short of YHWH’s commands. Y'shua echoes this warning, reminding us that one who diminishes the Torah will receive a commensurately low position in His Kingdom. (Mat. 5:18-19; see also Rev. 22:18 and Prov. 30:5-6) Add: anything more that is said about them should only be to make the meaning clear, not to mandate new requirements. Minor rulings are to be applications of the root principle to a particular case; the "way of walking it out" is open to interpretation and may vary according to the community or tribe, but where a ruling is made, one under that authority is bound by it. So it is imperative that, as in Moshe’s day, people in positions of authority are chosen based on how well they know the Torah, for it sets the parameters for how to interpret any other Scripture. For this reason, we accept many Jewish traditions, because they have been the ones who have built the most fences around Torah, for modern Judaism is based on the P’rushim (Pharisees) who specialized in such fences. Y’shua, however, said our righteousness had to exceed theirs—i.e., their fences were not strong enough, so we need to outdo them as Y’shua Himself did, taking rather strict interpretation that strengthen and undergird the words of Moshe. He is not adding to them, but giving them a firmer foundation, which is what He meant when He said “I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” (Mat. 5:1-20)

Here is the concrete example Moshe uses of the types of rulings he is talking about. The reference is to Numbers 25:1-5. This command did not come from Sinai, but was based on what did.

Stayed with: closely adhered to, even "pursued". They did not have the attitude of "I've got to obey", but of "I get to obey!" Compare Tzefanyah (Zeph.) 3:18, in which those who grieve for the Temple are the ones who will be regathered to the Land. He will not take every member of every family. (Yirm./Jer. 3:14)

Prescribed limits and principles of proper judgment: i.e., the mindset of a Hebrew--parameters, delineations, and frames of reference around which to figure out how the rest applies. Inside the Land: literally, within the inner [nearest] part; i.e., so may get as close to His heart as possible. Inherit: or "take possession". He is giving us access to the Land (which can also be a metaphor for all of the rich blessings that He gives us through the Messiah), but only by following His principles carefully will we be able to harness all of its potential. These prescribed customs were not just so our ancestors could make it through the wilderness or so they could pat themselves on the back for doing so well, but so they would be strong enough to take possession of the Land. These things must become second nature to us or we will not be ready to enter in.

Observe and carry out: or, study them carefully (keeping careful guard over them, building a hedge around them), then we can accomplish their intended result. They are not meant to simply be done without learning their deeper message; in that case, "the letter kills". But the spirit--the heart of what they are meant to teach us--brings life! As we begin to do things to protect the commandments, they will truly become ours. The more effort we put into guarding them, the more important they will become to us. Wisdom: witty skill. Modern Israel’s enemies are drawing the opposite conclusion as Yehudah, in fear of losing support from its strongest allies, pulls back from territories deeded to them by YHWH and gives hope to the Muslims that they can conquer Israel after all. They have no respect in the eyes of the other nations around them. But in Messiah are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2) He wants us to build out city on the mountain so that the world will see what results from keeping His commandments.

8. "And who is a great nation whose customs and rulings are as just as this instruction that I am setting before you today?

Just rulings: another example is the case of the daughters of Tz’lafchad, who asked that general principles in the Torah be clarified. (Num. 27)

Soul: mind, will, emotions, appetites, that which motivates you most deeply. Forget: or "wither away from"—the result of not actively nurturing the memory and keeping it fresh by recounting it to our children and carrying out the memorial ceremonies YHWH put in place for us. But the root word means “to misplace”, for when something is out of place and we cannot find it, we eventually become oblivious to it. Heart: inclination or resolve. Children and grandchildren: As they learn from us, they help correct us as well when we fall back into old habits that they have never developed because they never lived in the semi-pagan context we inhabited for so long. As they learn Torah from the earliest days, they should be even more Israelite than we are!

Teach: train and instruct the unaccustomed; reshape; literally, prod. His intimacy with them would be greatly diminished, as they would be spreading across a whole land and not gathered in one place as one body as they had been. The memory must be preserved even in those who have not seen it as vividly as the generation to whom he speaks.

Beneath (or under): based on the word for "compressed", because like the crossing of the sea, they had to put themselves in a position where they could be crushed by its weight. This is probably the context for Y'shua's comment that if one has faith he can tell "this mountain" to be removed. Was he just speaking in generalities? Or was he referring to the potential curse in the Torah which they were accepting upon themselves here? By trust in him, it becomes not a threat hanging over their heads, but a wedding canopy for the betrothal ceremony between YHWH and Israel, in which the two tablets formed the ketubah (the written contract for the marriage). Yochanan the Immerser, who Y'shua said stood in Eliyahu's office, was called the "Friend of the Bridegroom" (one of the two witnesses). Moshe, here, is the friend of the Bride, who leads her to her Husband. Moshe and Eliyahu were the two who spoke to Y'shua on another mountain, and appear to be the two witnesses of Revelation 11. Velikovsky's theory that the earth was passing through the tail of a comet during the exodus could explain the massive force that it would take to lift the mountain off the ground. The head of the comet would have an extremely strong gravitational pull. (Perhaps it also had something to do with lifting the walls of water up when they passed through the Reed Sea.) The "flashes" (v. 16) may have been the exchange of electrical discharges between the comet and the earth, in a much more violent phenomenon than we usually imagine, to the point that Psalms 18, 29, and 46 could be taken literally. Psalm 77 actually says "the universe [itself] shook". Psalm 68 says "Sinai itself was moved". Psalm 97 says the "mountains melted like wax." Obviously there is something cataclysmic going on, not just an isolated east wind; that only accomplished the rapid drying of the land between the waters for them to cross the sea.

Seeing...a voice: By tradition this took place on Shavuoth, the feast of Weeks, and the voice went out in 70 languages, to correspond with the 70 nations in Genesis 10. The upshot was that 3,000 disobedient to the commands fell in one day. (Ex. 32:28) In Greek the day is called Pentecost (50th). This immediately gives us a basis for the imagery of the "tongues of fire" which were visible above the heads of the "sent ones" as the mighty sound of wind [which is the same word for spirit] again some 1,500 years later, and good news went out in many languages, and 3,000 obeyed it--a reparation of what took place the previous time.

Stone: by tradition, it was sapphire, corresponding with the "plane" on which YHWH's feet stood (Ex. 24:10) and like which His throne appeared (Ezkl. 1:26; 10:1), and the inscription went all the way through the stones so that when held backwards the gaps between the letters spelled something different. This reminds us of the contrast between "the spirit of the Torah" and the letter, the curse and the promises, the choice between life and death that it offers, and the fact that long after sinful world is done away with and recreated and the sin against which it spoke is long forgotten, the Word of YHWH will still endure forever. There is even a tradition that in the Messianic kingdom, the letters of the Torah will rearrange themselves and, though all the letters are still present, it will present a different message for the altered environment to which it will still go one speaking. Moshe wrote the words of the Torah on the slabs after YHWH had carved into them the instructions for building the Tabernacle. (Ex. 34:28)

YHWH gave the initial instructions, but because they were afraid to hear directly from Him, only Moshe heard the rest of what He said, and though they had designated him to be the spokesman for YHWH, they had to trust that He was relaying what YHWH actually said, for to obey YHWH they had to obey Moshe.

Form: likeness, representation of any particular shape. The following verses specify that no animal or planet, man or star, could adequately depict Him. He is not to be defined by any of the things He has made. Like His commandments, they are all here to serve us, not enslave us. ("The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath.") We are not to understand Him according to the limitations of any particular creation of His. When they made the golden calf, they called it YHWH. They were not consciously going after other gods, but were putting His name on pagan things. An inscription was later found on an item devoted "to YHWH and His asherah"; it was simply trying to give Him honor in the way the other nations honored their deities. But He does not wish to be worshiped or understood in such a way, but in "spirit and in truth".

17. "the shape of any beast that is on the earth, the shape of any winged creature that flies through the sky,

18. "the shape of anything that creeps on the ground, or the shape of any fish that is in the waters below the land;

It is interesting to note that the only specific animal he names is the fish, and this is precisely what Christians have identified with the Messiah.

Apportioned: divided, assigned, distributed; Aramaic, "designated to serve". I.e., He gave them to all the nations and they are common (contrast v. 20). But none of them is to be identified specifically with YHWH. "Armies of heaven" probably also refers to spiritual beings who, though they have a place and indeed have authority over particular nations and are limited to such (e.g., Daniel 10:13ff), are not themselves meant to be worshiped, at least and especially by Israel, who, unlike the others, has access to the highest authority.

Why throw away such a rare privilege and not rise to the awesomeness of it all, settling instead for something that the nations all stoop to--nations that He considered a mere drop in the bucket in comparison (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 40:15)?

YHWH was angry: Aram., "anger emanated from YHWH".

I.e., “I will not be there to remind you anymore; you must be ready to stand on your own. You do not want to start the delay all over again for another generation.” And the same holds true for us today—after over 2,700 years of exile. This is his way of goading us into building better fences around YHWH’s instructions.

24. "because YHWH your Elohim is a consuming fire; He is a jealous El.

25. "When you have begotten children and grandchildren and have remained so long in the Land as to be spoiled, and you make a carved image resembling anything, and do what is evil in the sight of YHWH your Elohim, to provoke Him to anger,

Moshe was a prophet, but as a shepherd he also could read the tendencies of this flock and knew it would not take long for them to show up again. But in telling them this, he was also challenging him to prove him wrong. Be spoiled: literally, "spoiled rotten" or "corrupted". Humanly speaking, this is why our ancestors had to leave the Land. Those who did not experience these miracles firsthand got used to the Land, and it became commonplace for them; they wanted more excitement. Even at the end of the Kingdom, we still see people who have lived under Messiah's perfect rule rebelling. There has been "too much peace", as in King Shlomo's day. This teaches us to appreciate our trials, so we will not become so slack.

I invoke...as witnesses: the traditional covenant style. Note that there are two witnesses, which is by law what it takes to establish a matter in Israel. (17:6) Yet compare Matt. 5:33. If we swear this way, we will be held to it. After making a promise like this, even YHWH could not show pity at first. Though Yehudah has again inhabited the Land, they cannot be said to truly possess it when they can be forced to give parts of it away.

28. "What's more, you will serve elohim made by human hands there--wood and stone, which can neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell!

Serve elohim: In case we might think we never did something so primitive, we must be reminded that paper money is made from trees and coins are made from mineral stones. Aramaic, "serve the nations who worship elohim..."

Seek: includes the idea of searching with strong desire; inquire: even demand: Where is He? Where must we be in order to meet Him? Determination: "heart", including the understanding, memory, knowledge, and conscience--the innermost being. Passion: emotion, self-life, appetites, and active will--almost an addiction.

In your distress: or "when you have tribulation", a possible allusion to the "Great Tribulation" of which Y'shua spoke. Voice: Aramaic, "Memra" (living Word). You will return...and obey: this is a prophecy and a promise. It is a lifeline we must cling to so that we can "walk by faith and not by sight." This is how the Renewed Covenant will differ from the former: this one will not be broken. (Yirmiyahu/Jer. 31:32; Heb. 8:9)

Abandon: literally, "let you drop".

Has there ever been? We are commanded to ask, so that we will be sure to hear the negative answer. The "earliest days" are invoked as an additional witness.

34. "Or has an Elohim [ever] tried to take for himself a nation out of the midst of [another] nation, by proof-tests, by distinguishing signs, by miracles, by war, by a firm hand and an outstretched arm, and by awe-inspiring spectacles such as YHWH your Elohim performed for you in Egypt--before your [very] eyes?

We have this history as a precedent, yet something more is needed (Heb. 8:7), and indeed there is a promise that one day there will be something that so far supercedes this (Yirm. 23:5ff), that the former exodus will no longer even be mentioned! And already He is beginning to rattle bones that have been dead for over 2,700 years. We can add, where else has a people who for that long had forgotten who they were realized again that they were meant to be a unified nation, and returned to its heritage though every one of them was a citizen of another land?

36. "From out of the heavens He made His voice audible to you, so He might instruct you, and on the earth He made His great fire visible, and you heard His words from the within the fire.

Voice: or "thunderous sound". The more paganism we jettison, the more we wonder if there is anything we can trust. But if we hear YHWH’s voice, we can trust that, for like those who made it to the other side of the Reed Sea, none of us would have come as far as we have if He did not bring us there. And returning Efrayim’s experience of YHWH has always been through Y’shua. Though we have to correct many ideas about Him, our experience of YHWH cannot exclude Him. Instruct: Aramaic, "train".

38. "to dispossess nations greater and more numerous than you from before your face, and to give you their Land as inherited property, as [it is] this day.

39. "So be aware today, and bring it back to mind, that it is YHWH who is Elohim in the heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

Like Y’shua, Moshe does not say that he is the highest authority; though he must remind us of his position to keep us in line, all of his instructions are reminders to be devoted to YHWH.

Extend your days...for all time: literally, "make long days...all the days". If the Land is to be given to us forever, why do we need to prolong our days on it? Because, as he has just reiterated, we will lose it at least once first because of our lack of diligence, but when we are ready to receive it back, His intention is that it will be forever this time.

42. to which a manslayer who had unwittingly killed his fellow could escape (when he had not already hated him beforehand, and, having fled to one of these cities, might survive):

Already beforehand: literally, "three days ago"--a common Hebrew idiom. These cities: or possibly, "cities of El". And, having fled: Aram., "now he could flee".

Plateau: literally, "level land". Golan: This is where the name for today's Golan Heights originated.

45. these are the evidences, the prescribed customs, and the legal procedures that Moshe talked [intensely] about to the descendants of Israel about after they left Egypt

Evidences: or witnesses; the Ark of the Covenant was a specific one, and it housed the Ten Declarations. But even what we witnessed at Sinai was not enough, for we had not clarified how to carry it out or placed a hedge around it to guard it. Loving our neighbor as ourselves is the hedge YHWH gives us to protect our relationship with Himself. These added procedures are not the same as what Yehudah calls “oral torah”, though there is much overlap, for much of that came from these very later rulings Moshe is speaking about, rather than right from Mt. Sinai, as many claim for the oral tradition, so much of it is authoritative. No matter how strange, backward, illogical, worn out, or barbaric these boundaries seem to modern people, we need to learn to walk in them again so that we can truly and permanently possess the Land this time.

47. So they took possession of his territory and the territory of Og the king of Bashan, both kings of the Emorites, which are on the side of the Yarden toward the rising of the sun,

48. from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon and all the way to Mount Sion (which is Chermon),

49. as well as all the Aravah on the sunrise side of the Yarden all the way to the sea of the Aravah below the waterfalls of the cliffs.

Aravah: i.e., the Rift Valley. Sea of the Aravah: the Dead Sea or Salt Sea.

CHAPTER 5

Consent: hear intelligently and obey. All of Israel: While some of the laws he was about to present apply only to women or to priests or to Nazirites or lepers, all of Israel is responsible to see that they are carried out properly, so all of Israel is to hear them. If one Israelite misses the target, the whole people of Israel is less than it should be. And when we aim at that goal, it needs to be for the sake of all Israel, not just for ourselves. Attentive: on your guard. Take definite measures to keep yourself away from sin. When Adam was given YHWH’s light, his vessel could not contain it, and shattered, scattering the light in every direction. YHWH is now bringing Israel into a place full of light at every turn. Everything in the Land can teach us, and Moshe wants the people to be vessels prepared to contain it. For this to take place, YHWH must repair or remake the vessels, and we tend to rebel against that. As we embrace all the commands he is giving us here, our vessels will be equipped to survive the intensity of the light where we are going.

This covenant was parallel to the one cut with Avraham centuries earlier, but with many addenda. The benefits of the covenant for us if we keep it are listed in Ex. 19:5-6—being His special treasure, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Christianity emphasized being priests and holy, and those are valid aspects, but now YHWH is reminding us that we are also to be a literal kingdom and a literal nation as well, for He emphasizes here that the earth (not just the heavens) is His.

Many of those to whom he was speaking were not even born yet when their parents indeed received the covenant at Sinai. This shows us clearly that the Hebrew idiom pattern of "not this, but that" does not mean that the first was not true at all, but rather that the emphasis is to be placed on the content of the "but" clause. We do much the same when we say, "I'm not talking about that [usage of the word]; what I really mean is..." Knowing this could have spared the church from such errors as saying, "Keeping the letter of the Torah doesn't matter, only following its spirit", or "We do not have to obey the Torah because Paul says we are not under the Law but under grace!" The emphasis is on those who are alive: Psalm 115 emphasizes that it is only those who have breath who can praise YHWH. Y'shua said YHWH is not the Elohim of the dead, but of the living. (Mat. 22:32) Whatever our forebears may have done in obedience to the Torah, it is up to us today to carry it on. While the Kingdom will include those who died in faith, our focus for too long has been to wait until death to partake of the covenant. There is something to do now to ensure that the Kingdom comes, for those who died for it will not receive it until those who are still alive finish the job of making it a reality. We are holding up their resurrection! (Rev. 6:10) We can hasten Messiah’s return (2 Kefa/Peter 3:12) by becoming a people that is truly set apart, for individuals cannot be holy alone; we must be a people so there is something to be holy unto, not just set apart from. The Kingdom is heaven, but we can experience the Kingdom now if we obey this covenant. In fact, the covenant emphasizes that death is the result of not keeping it. We need to leave an honorable name when we die by making this a better place while we can, so His will can be done on earth as it is in heaven.

5. ("I myself stood between YHWH and yourselves at that time, to announce the word of YHWH to you, because you were afraid due to the presence of the fire, and did not go up onto the mountain.), saying,

I myself: a more intimate form of the normal term for "I", much like our English idiom "yours truly". Due to the presence: literally, "from the face".

I am: recognize nothing else as Me. What follows is a paraphrase of Exodus chapter 20.

There may indeed be other elohim given jurisdiction over areas of the world to prevent total anarchy (1 Cor. 8:5; Dan. 10:13, etc.), but none are to obscure Him from us; as far as we are concerned, there are no intercessors except Y'shua. If we are given access to the highest court, why should we go through other middlemen? And why should we bring the man who had tried to take us into his harem into the bridal chamber with the one who rescued us and took us as a husband?

Carved: or shaped. This is not limited to things made of wood and stone; we shape ideas in our minds and then fear them, which is tantamount to worship. We carve out importance for things that might happen, and put them ahead of YHWH, though they have no real value for the Kingdom and are not Israel’s priorities.

In the “better covenant” spoken of in Heb. 8:6ff (quoting Yirmeyahu 31:29ff), YHWH makes some amendments on His side to strengthen the covenant, and one of these is that this punishment for the fathers’ sins will be rescinded. There are also expanded benefits for Efrayim, which did not remain with the covenant as Yehudah did to some degree (so Efrayim must also be recognizable by that time), and this time we will not break it. But the same actions are required of us on our side of the covenant; we have to know His commands (learn them, as verse 1 says) in order for them to be written on our minds. It will not take place magically. Having His commands written on our hearts means we will no longer think of them as burdensome or as something that stands against us, but love them and appreciate them for the freedom they really do grant us as a nation; they may restrict individuals in some ways, but it is for the benefit of us all when we operate as a whole. If we try to operate in Torah as mere individuals, however, they will backfire on us. Another aspect of the renewed covenant is that the city will be rebuilt. Yerushalayim is the capital of a nation, not just a place for individuals to visit YHWH’s House. YHWH’s King will reign there in righteousness. If we walk in covenant, He will take us back into the Land as His namesake was about to do here.

Love and guard...: Fondness for Him alone does not earn us His mercy.

Wastefully: emptily, worthlessly, for nothing; i.e., making it void. Forbidding the use of His true Name is one way of doing this. Are we who claim to be His turning out to be of any benefit to Him? We already have His Name on us; if we are not already truthful, but have to swear by His Name to prove we mean what we say, then we have already disobeyed this command. (Mat. 5:33-37)

Treasure up: or safeguard. It is our responsibility to build a hedge around the treasure He has given us. Be stricter than you have to, to be sure it is not lost! If we are trying to find loopholes in it, we have not successfully hedged out our own will. There is more written about this command than any of the others, yet it receives the least emphasis today, and what publicity it receives is usually inaccurate. Nothing we do on it should be common or profane. It is a gift--made for man, as Y’shua said--but it comes with instructions as to how it is for our benefit. It must be used for us (corporately), not for yourself as such.

14. "‘but the seventh day is a Sabbath for YHWH your Elohim; you may do no work--[neither] you nor your son nor daughter nor your male or female servant, nor your bull, nor your donkey, nor any of your animals, nor the visitor who is within your gates, so that your male or female servant may rest just as you do.

Sabbath: Heb., shabbath, an intense time of desisting. Work: business, craftsmanship, occupation, public or political activity, or anything in regard to your own property (other than what is necessary to keep them alive). The term is from a root meaning messenger; it means anything we do as a representative of another. We may not allow others to work for us, which rules out purchasing anything from shops which we are encouraging to remain open if we do so, thus forcing others to work. Anyone who is within Israelite precincts (or under our authority) must also abide by the same regulations, whether or not they recognize any need to do so when they are at home. Visitor: anyone who recognizes YHWH to any extent is also held accountable to observe His day. What may be done is service to the holy community, especially assembling together to build up the spiritual house.

For this reason: It is linked directly to having been slaves, because when we keep the Sabbath, we are truly freed from Egypt, which had enslaved us to the day of the Sun. The Sabbath is the quintessential opposite of slavery; the more fences we build around it, the more free we will be from anyone else who tries to lay claim to us on this day, for no one but YHWH and Israel have a right to. The less we go into any other public, the less occasion they will have to try to use us for their ends. Put into effect: or attend to, prepare, carry out, do, perform, institute, accomplish, even "make" or "produce"--i.e., do not do other forms of work, and by not doing so, carve out a space in time that is an entity in itself and a picture of the Messianic Kingdom when everything on earth will serve Y'shua's purposes. It already exists, but make it effective.

This is the only command that holds an intrinsic promise. (Eph. 6:2) Honor: respect, give weight to, treat as important, enrich. Compare Prov. 1:7-8; 2:1; 6:20-24. Remember how Y’shua defines our true parents (Luke 8:20ff). Underlying this command is the reminder not to take lightly what our first parents did that got them banished from the ground they lived on and shortened their days, so that we can avoid the same error. They wanted to do things their own way, and if we do not remember them, we are very likely to do the same.

Adultery always involves being unfaithful to one to whom you have vowed loyalty, and thus includes idolatry against YHWH. We are not to be intimate with anyone or anything that is not joined to YHWH. The term technically always involves having another man’s wife; if only a married man is involved, that is fornication. Hear: or listen to, respond to. Your fellow: literally, "one from your same flock" or “one we graze together with”. Since the Samaritan in Y’shua’s parable obeyed the Torah, he proved to be from the same flock as any true Israelite. We must not even listen to slander against anyone with whom we walk in Torah. In English this verse constitutes four verses, thus giving the chapter 33 verses instead of 30 as the Hebrew version has.

Lust for: or take delight in. Envy: desire, wish for, or prefer over what you already have, which YHWH calls us to be content with (Heb. 13:5), since He knows what is best for each of us. He has the right to tell us how to feel, for our desires will cause trouble for our neighbors if we do not control them.

Everyone heard YHWH speak the words in vv. 6-18. Heavy darkness: Aram., "very dense clouds"; LXX: "storm". Delivered: or simple, "gave", but Hebrews 2:2 says it was by the mediation of messengers or angels. The second time, Moshe himself had to carve them out, and the term used then was the same word for carved images that we are not to make (v. 8); i.e., we are to engrave His words on our heart. That is how to prepare ourselves as vessels to enter the Land.

21. "and said, ‘Behold, YHWH has shown us how weighty and magnificent He [is], and we have heard His voice from within the fire, and we have seen that an Elohim can speak with a man, and he can survive.

His voice (the combination of His word and His spirit, or breath) in itself contains His authority and greatness.

They assumed that they had simply been spared by some fluke of His mercy the first time, but did not wish to presume that they would continue to be undamaged by His intensity. They had heard enough to be convinced that He existed, but His presence was too convicting.

24. "‘You [go] approach and hear all that YHWH our Elohim may say, then you can tell us all that YHWH our Elohim tells you, and we will follow through.'

By asking him to mediate, they gave him authority to speak as YHWH to them. They had to trust that everything he told them YHWH had said was really what He had said. They could not say they wanted to obey YHWH, but refuse to obey Moshe.

He saw that they did indeed fear them, and wished this could continue after the fire was gone:

Could you imagine anyone starting a rebellion against Moshe or fornicating in the Tabernacle precinct while this was going on? They were trembling at Him, and this is the "beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10; Prov. 9:10) Nothing else seemed important just then. But sadly, this attitude did not remain long.

Tents are symbolic of the place of waiting on YHWH’s words, so this is a command for us too.

By telling them this, he was strengthening Y’hoshua, as YHWH had told him to. (3:28)

30. "You must walk in every way that YHWH your Elohim has commanded you, so that you may live and it may go well for you, and you may lengthen your days in the Land of which you will take possession.

This is the same promise given to those who honor father and mother (v. 16), showing that both YHWH and Moshe are to be honored as our fathers, and that obedience constituted such honor. Y’shua told His listeners to obey those who sat in Moshe’s seat (Mat. 23:2), which was a designated place in each synagogue, so this indicates that if we are part of that assembly, we are under the authority of the teacher there.

CHAPTER 6

The commandment: the main point, what matters most so that we can be set in order to properly inhabit and care for His Land. They are to be carried out for His sake:

3. "So listen, Israel! And be careful to do what will be best for you, and what will [make] you increase greatly, just as YHWH the Elohim of your ancestors has promised you--a Land gushing with milk and honey.

If we get this part right, we will not have to be evicted from His Land. Today we are again on the brink of entering that Land, so we do well to pay close attention to his words:

This is “the” commandment that he has been building up to. (v. 1) Listen: Heb., Sh’ma. This, along with the next several verses, is the heart of the Torah. Only YHWH: or, "YHWH is one (or unified, or all in all)." He is to take first priority in everything, before anything else that is “mighty” in our lives.

Long for: or, love—be passionately committed to. Resolve: literally, heart—the innermost center of our being, where we find our balance--the seat of our motivation, determination, and inclinations. Before embarking on any venture, we must ask how it will put Him first. If it cannot, there is no place for it. Unlike the Gentiles, we are to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first. (Mat. 6:31-33) How do we do this? By obeying the Torah, which is summarized here. It comes from a root meaning to bake bread. (Compare 1 Cor. 10:17) Passion: soul, life-force, or appetite, from a root meaning inhale or refresh oneself. What the wicked hunger for will leave him hungry, but what the righteous “eats” will satisfy him. (Prov. 13:25) Resources: the same word used in Hebrew for “very much”, from a root meaning to rake burning coals or embers together. What should burn within us is love for YHWH. How do we love Him with our resources? By giving them away for His use. We would waste them if we spent them all on ourselves, but if they are in His “account”, they last forever. When we give them up, they no longer weigh us down. Y’shua said this verse was the greatest commandment in the Torah. But He said a second was “like it”—that of loving our neighbor as ourselves. (Lev. 19:18) This is because loving those from the same flock—literally, who graze from the same pasture as we do—is a large part of what YHWH wants from us (see Mikha 6:8), so if we do not do this, we will not truly be loving YHWH either. (1 Yochanan 4:20-21)

On your mind: Aramaic, "taken to heart".

Bring them to a point for: literally, "sharpen them for" or "point them out to". I.e., make sure they understand the "main point", or "teach incisively". Pierce them—make sure the words “get inside” them. Our children are called “arrows in a quiver” in Psalm 127:4. This is how we make them most effective. Even if you have no children, we are all responsible for the next generation of Israelites. Speak of: arrange the words. This means we need to know the Scriptures well so we will know which one applies best in each situation. Mystically, we see here the four stages of life: sitting in your house is being in the womb; walking on the road is living out our lives; we lie down in death, and arise at the resurrection.

What is bound on: or "head-ornaments". Taking this literally does not deter from its figurative meaning, but actually reminds us of it in a very vivid way.

Doorposts: to let everyone who enters know that this is the rule in this house. Your gates: would seem redundant with doorposts if it did not apply to either the seat of a city's judicial rulings or our own bodily orifices, through which sin often gains entrance. (Gen.4:7; Yaaqov/James 1:26) YHWH gives us beards to guard the eye and nose gates, pe'ot of hair to guard the ear gates, and tzitziyoth, on which are often "written" YHWH's name, near the sexual organs to remind us who we belong to.

11. "houses full of every [kind of] pleasantry, which you did not fill, hewn cisterns which you did not dig out, vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant--and you will eat and be satisfied.

Our enemies would be chased away so suddenly that they would leave everything behind.

When He “adds all these things” (Mat. 6:33), we must not forget where they came from.

By which you will swear: since this would seem to contradict Y'shua's recommendation that we not swear at all, especially by heaven (often a euphemism for YHWH Himself), we should look into the other meanings of the word. Indeed, the phrase could just as well read, "His is the Name in which you will be complete." His Name opens many doors, and there is no need to enter any others.

15. "(since a jealous El is [what] YHWH your Elohim [is] in your innermost part), lest the anger of YHWH your Elohim begin to burn against you, and He annihilate you from off the face of the Land.

16. "Do not put YHWH your Elohim to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.

Massah also means "the place of testing". The story can be found in Exodus 12:2-7.

18. "And you must do what is proper and beneficial in the eyes of YHWH, so that it may go well for you and you may go in and take over the pleasant Land which YHWH promised to your ancestors:

19. "that is, drive out all your enemies from before you, as YHWH has said.

20. "In time to come, when your son asks you, ‘What are the evidences and the customs and the legal procedures that YHWH our Elohim has commanded you?',

This is similar to the questions the children traditionally ask at Passover.

22. "‘and YHWH provided distinguishing signs and tokens--intense and severe--upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon his whole household, before our [very] eyes!

23. "‘But he brought us out from there in order to bring us in--to give us the Land that He had promised to our ancestors.

He did not just bring us out of slavery in order to be independent loners. He redeemed us so He can take delivery of us one day. We are not fully saved until He brings us home to His Land.

25. "‘and it will serve as righteousness for us if we are careful to carry out all these orders in the presence of YHWH our Elohim, as He directed us.'

It will serve as righteousness for us: LXX, "there will be mercy for us"; Aramaic, "it will be to our merit". This flies in the face of what the Church teaches—“He did it so we don’t have to.” But Avraham’s faith was counted as righteousness. (Gen. 15:6) The fact that we demonstrate our faith through our actions (Yaaqov/James 2:14ff) does not diminish Y’shua in any way. Obeying the Torah is walking in His righteousness as He did. The truth is, He did it so we can too. We have been paid for but not yet delivered; our righteous acts are the way we are “boxed up for delivery”.

CHAPTER 7

Brings you in: How do we enter the Land today? We begin by awakening to a desire and yearning for Torah and the ancient ways, which leads to honoring the Sabbath and YHWH’s appointed times, His dietary laws, and strengthening our observance in every area until we understand that we cannot get anyt closer without a gathered community so we can practically act for each other’s sake. Cleared away: LXX, "removed"; Hirsch, "rendered without hold". They are greater in number, resources, and influence, yet He is pulling His capital out of them, so they are only rich on paper, having now only a “cardboard fortress”. He has removed His stake in them, as He is again doing today with all but Israel. Their names align with different aspects of the Church, through which YHWH has worked because of our ignorance in exile, but which He is now leaving behind like the pillar of cloud left each camping-place behind on the way to the Promised Land. The name of the Chittites means “terror”, and the Church has succeeded because it motivated people by the prospect of escaping hellfire. The meaning of Girgashites is elusive, and the Church also retains power through “mysteries” such as the trinity, which have to be taken on faith. Emorites means “prominent speakers” or orators, and Kanaanites those humble or with bended knee. Prizzites means leaders or chiefs. Hiwites means “life-givers” or “those who make known”. Yevusites (who occupied Yerushalayim, near one of the best natural threshing floors) means “threshers”—those who separate the wheat from the chaff. Why would YHWH want to divest Himself of these seven that seem so complete? But so does the religion of the world. Though they may have much to offer, they do not line up with the Torah.

They had four hundred years to repent since Avraham had lived out the truth among them, yet they did not. Others can become part of the chosen people, but as part of any other religious, financial, governmental, philosophical, or kinship system, and therefore do not belong in Israel’s land. We must displace them by seizing and occupying the Land, replacing the terror of anything else with the fear of YHWH, replacing the unknown by demystifying religion, showing that it is simply about loving YHWH and our neighbors as ourselves, replacing men’s oratory with the true answers from Word of YHWH, replacing false humility with true groundedness about who we are and what belongs to us, not others, replacing the first with the last, raising up leaders from within as Paul did rather than calling in the best-credentialed who do not know the sheep, replacing the proclamation of a “come one, come all” Gospel with the real Gospel to be taken only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel (Mat. 10:6), and replacing the old threshers with those who know based on the Torah what is really useless so it can be blown away and what is really nutritious can feed His people. On the spiritual level, we should give no latitude to the enemies within ourselves that have no backing from YHWH, because selfishness--acting as if we were only individuals--is an arch-enemy of Israel (becoming a people who truly operate in unison), and there are many strongholds in "self" to tear down (v. 5).

Intermarry with them: literally, "make each other in-laws". We cannot be intimate with what disagrees with the Torah. (2 Cor. 6:14) Our priorities are never to be the same as those of the Gentiles. (Mat. 6:31-33)

They: i.e., both of them; the evil one will have the worsening influence on the innocent. This is the nature of those people: they are "missionaries" for their religion, and you are not strong enough to resist their allures. Your child will be considered "plunder" for their deity. If we do not have the mindset of “these things need to die”, our swords will become dull and these “friendly enemies” will kill us instead. Against you: the parents are responsible since they allowed their children to be united with these pagans.

Uprights: "standing stones" or makeshift pillars, used as phallic symbols around fertility cult sites. Groves: not merely stands of trees, but those specifically used in pagan fertility rites. For this reason, no grove of trees of any kind is to be planted near an altar to YHWH (16:21), just so no association will even be imagined by those who are used to such things. Yet the tradition of Christmas trees was rooted in this very practice, and many believers still tolerate it. Pagan concepts must be removed from our minds, our homes, our traditions, our vocabulary, and our priorities.

The "you" here is singular; He sees us as one man. Especially-valued treasure: Hirsch, “belonging exclusively to Himself". The door is open to any who would follow Y’shua by walking in Torah. “Many are called—but few are chosen”, for only those who leave behind their former treasures can be YHWH’s treasure. Few end up actually being the elect, because they do not follow the call they hear.

He does not need big things; indeed, the Holy of Holies is the smallest room in the Temple complex. He wants what is dedicated and committed. He said He would accomplish a victory through Gid’on’s army, but could best show that it was He who was doing it when it was obvious that the ones He used could not.

9. "So recognize that YHWH is your Elohim; He is the Elohim--the faithful El--who keeps the pledge with lovingkindness toward those who love Him and keep His commandments to [the] thousand[th] generation,

Recognize: know intimately because of the foregoing facts; rest assured and do not doubt it. Faithful: Aramaic, "trustworthy". Pledge with lovingkindness: Aramaic, "a generous covenant". Love Him and keep His commandments: This is the authoritative basis for Yochanan 14:15.

The ones...his: an apparent reference to how, just as Israel forms "one man" (v. 6), all the haters of YHWH will also be united into "one man" just before they are destroyed. Defer: or "delay", "be too slow", "leave unfinished"; LXX, "be slack". To his face: Aram., "during his lifetime".