Shalom All, 

Welcome to this week's Torah / Bible study.  “These are the words [Devarim] which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness” (Deuteronomy 1:1).  Last week’s readings in the Book of Bamidbar (Numbers) concluded with Torah portion “Matot–Masei”.  This week, we begin the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), with the Torah / bible section that is also called Devarim.  In this study section, Moses retells the wilderness saga and reviews with all the people everything that Yahweh had ordered them.  He begins with God’s directive at mount Horeb to get moving and take the Promised Land, which extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River, including the lands of Ammon, Moab, and Edom.  The book of Deuteronomy begins, “These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel.  Devarim in the Hebrew name of the book.  Deuteronomy comes from the Greek meaning of the repetition of the law.  A person should never consider himself to be above learning Torah. If the Torah really does convey the words of the living God, then it continues to impart revelation regardless of how many times a person has read it. It will always be new. When Moses recapitulated the Torah in the words of Deuteronomy, he delivered the same Torah, but it became like new material as he spoke it. 

The second redeemer, the Messiah, will be like the first redeemer. Just as Moses reiterated the Torah and it became like a new Torah as he did, the Messiah will reveal a “New Torah” to the world in the Messianic Era. Then the Torah will go out from Zion. All nations will ascend to Messianic Jerusalem to learn Torah from the Messiah. The Messiah’s “New Torah will go forth” to all nations, as it says, “A Torah will go forth from Me, and I will set My justice for a light of the peoples” (Isaiah 51:4). 

The New Torah of Messiah is not a different Torah, nor does it contradict anything in the Torah of Moses. Instead, the New Torah reveals the spiritual Torah behind the Torah of Moses, that is, the hidden will and wisdom of God. It will be the same Torah, but the Messiah will reveal the inner meanings. He will open the spiritual dimensions of the Torah and show us the things hidden in the Torah. The written scroll of Moses containing Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy can be compared to the physical body; the Torah of Messiah is like the divine soul which animates the body.

It is possible that the people leaving Egypt quite content not to move forward once they had received the Commandments at Horeb (another name for Mount Sinai).  They were no longer under bondage, and the easiest thing to do would be to stay there.  The promise of milk and honey or success comes at a price which few are willing to pay.  Change can be difficult.  It takes effort to cope with a new situation: but life is a journey.  We are not meant to stand still and stagnate.  We are meant to move forward. Whether that is increasing our minds, that of our children or other. 

Like the Stars of Heaven

Though the hosts of Israel might seem innumerable as the stars, God knows each person individually. With God, no person is inconsequential. He knows each of us by name.  Israel had now reached the Promised Land as promised to their forefather Abraham.  

One night Abraham was in his tent when God appeared to him in a vision and said, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great" (Genesis 15:1). Abraham objected that a reward was of little use to him since he had no heir to give it to. Then Yahweh took Abraham outside the tent and showed him the myriad stars splayed across the night time sky. Yahweh said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them. ... So shall your descendants be" (Genesis 15:5). It was this promise that Abraham believed and God credited to him as righteousness. 

In Deuteronomy 1 the promises God made to Abraham in the Negev were about to be fulfilled. The children of Israel had multiplied into a host that Moses likened to "the stars of heaven in number" (Deuteronomy 1:10).  Though the hosts of Israel might seem innumerable as the stars, God knows each person individually. The Psalms say, "He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them" (Psalm 147:4). With God, no person is inconsequential. He knows each of us by name.  When the people of Israel struggled under the bondage of the Assyrian and Babylonian exile, they felt that God not longer saw them. The people said, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God" (Isaiah 40:27). The prophet Isaiah responded by telling the Israelites to look up into the night time sky and see the stars:  Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:26)

If God marshals the starry host, shepherding them so that not even one of them escapes His notice, He also watches over and cares for the people who are like the stars of heaven. Not one of them is missing before Him. 

Facing the Consequences of Sin.

"Heb 13:17  Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you"  (Hebrews 13:17). 

In this section, Moses reminds the new generation that before the Israelites left Horeb, he had to create a system of leaders in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens because their quarrelsome nature has been such a heavy burden.  These leaders were commissioned to judge cases and disputes fairly, showing no favouritism.  [Throughout the bible we find instructions about righteous judgement i.e. Deu 16:19  Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous]. 

After this, they moved on.  When they reached Kadesh-Barnea, Moses told them: “Look, Yahweh your God has placed the land before you.  Go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, has told you.  Do not be afraid, do not be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 1:21).  Note that every instruction God gave and Moses implemented was for the whole congregation, which included those of other genealogies Deu 1:16  And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.  My point is that “Israel” included non birth right descendants of Jacob so that those today claiming instructions were solely for the “Jews” are misled or deceived. (Read an article titled “We Ought To Be IS-RAEL-I” on Forwardtoyahweh.com). 

The idea of representative leadership seems to have taken hold, and the people approached Moses asking that scouts go ahead of them to find the best way into the Land.  Moses appointed one man from every tribe.  Each representative came back saying that the Land was bountiful; however, 10 scouts said the inhabitants were bigger and stronger than the Israelites.  The implication was that God was not big or strong or faithful or real enough to defeat them.  The Israelites chose to believe the faithless majority, instead of the two faith-filled spies Caleb and Joshua.  This contrary belief to what God had promised is called in the King James version “an evil report” [Num 13:32  And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. Num 14:37  Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before Yahweh].  When we believe or do things contrary to God’s word we are being “evil”! 

Believing the majority report was contrary to everything that they had witnessed and experienced.  God had moved powerfully and miraculously on their behalf both in Egypt and in the desert.  Not only that, He had proven Himself by going ahead of them in the first place and charting the way they should go.  Protecting them from the heat of the sun via a cloud during the day and the cold of the night via a ceiling of fire.  They only had to follow and obey.  They had no justifiable reason to think that God would bring them to the edge of the Promised Land only to desert them and leave them to their own devices or strength.  In this section Moses reminds the new generation of the devastating consequences for their parent's lack of faith: the entire generation died in the desert, as would he.  Moses also reminds them that when their parents knew they had sinned by listening to the 10 spies, and understood the consequences of their sin, they tried to "make it right" by fighting the enemy in their own strength and at their own time.  Subsequently, they suffered a terrible defeat. 

Moses seems to be teaching that the majority does not always know what is best, and sometimes following the majority can have unforeseen, tragic consequences.  It is far too easy to get pulled along by the crowd.  Thus Yahashua said Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.   The few, related the percentage of the seekers.  Likewise many of the seekers will come saying Lord Lord let me in I did all these good things in your name and belief in you, yet he said Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.   Possibly because they failed to understand 1Jo 2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  1Jo 2:4  He that says, I know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1Jo 3:22  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 

We also understand that although God forgives us when we repent for not following Him, we cannot escape the consequences of our actions.  God will not desert us, but there will be changes that we have to live with and accept.  To repent is to stop doing the contrary action to God’s instructions and begin to do it / them. 

Moses Prepares the Nation for Change.

In “Devarim”, we see that Moses is giving his parting words.  In less than 40 days, he will die.  Moses will not be crossing the Jordan with the Israelites.  So, he takes this opportunity to point the people towards Yahweh God and impress on this new generation the importance of heeding His instructions.  As they move forward, he wants them to be aware of their tendency to get into trouble.  But self-examination will help them bear fruit.  He also wants them to remember that their strength is in Yahweh Himself.  It is YHVH whom they will follow as they cross the Jordan to take the Land.   In that Land, they will experience a drastic lifestyle change.  They will no longer journey through the wilderness under His leadership, but will live in an abundant land under Joshua’s leadership. 

He wants the people to internalize the message that despite their disobedience and grumblings, God had carried them throughout their 40-year journey through the wilderness the way a father carries his children.

“Yahweh your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as He did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness.  There you saw how Yahweh your God carried you, as a father carries His son, all the way you went until you reached this place"  (Deuteronomy 1:30–31).  Although they will experience a change that will require great effort on their part, Yahweh will be with them.   Likewise, when Yahweh ordains a season of change for us, we can trust Him and confidently move forward.  A person should never consider himself to be above learning Torah. If the Torah really does convey the words of the living God, then it continues to impart revelation regardless of how many times a person has read it. It will always be new. When Moses recapitulated the Torah in the words of Deuteronomy, he delivered the same Torah, but it became like new material as he spoke it. 

The second redeemer, the Messiah, will be like the first redeemer. Just as Moses reiterated the Torah and it became like a new Torah as he did, the Messiah will reveal a “New Torah” to the world in the Messianic Era. Then the Torah will go out from Zion.  All nations will ascend to Messianic Jerusalem to learn Torah from the Messiah. The Messiah’s “New Torah will go forth” to all nations, as it says, “A Torah will go forth from Me, and I will set My justice for a light of the peoples” (Isaiah 51:4). 

The New Torah of Messiah is not a different Torah, nor does it contradict anything in the Torah of Moses. Instead, the New Torah reveals the spiritual Torah behind the Torah of Moses, that is, the hidden will and wisdom of God. It will be the same Torah, but the Messiah will reveal the inner meanings. He will open the spiritual dimensions of the Torah and show us the things hidden in it.  The written scroll of Moses containing Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy can be compared to the physical body; the Torah of Messiah is like the divine soul which animates the body.  The sages say, “The Torah which a man learns in this world is like nothing in comparison to the Torah of the Messiah.” Moreover, “the Messiah will elucidate for them the words of the Torah … and he will correct errors in its interpretation.” 

Fear Not.

Do you struggle with fear? What are you afraid of? The Torah commands us to set aside our fears and pursue the commandments boldly.  Moses commanded Joshua to be bold and fearless. Just as the LORD had defeated the Amorite kings, He would give Joshua victory over the rest of the Canaanites. Moses said, “Do not fear them.” Fear cost the first generation their opportunity to enter the Promised Land. 

Moses carefully crafted his address to Israel to give them confidence in God and certainty in His power and promises. He aimed to bolster their faith enough that they would no longer be crippled by their fears. Fear is the opposite of genuine faith. Fear comes from a place of faithlessness. When we have real confidence in God, fear is driven out. When we feel frightened or worried, we must remember who our Father in Heaven is, and that He cares for us and watches over us. Paul tells us, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15).

The Bible repeats the commandment “do not fear” more than one hundred times in various permutations of “Do not be afraid” and “Fear not!” The words, “Do not be afraid,” occur five times in this Torah portion alone. It may not sound like one of the commandments of the Torah but it is a rule of life for people of faith. We live in confidence of the strong hand of God.  He who delivered Sihon and Og into the hands of the Israel will also deliver the Canaanites into the hands of Israel. He who rescued our Master and Saviour from the grave will also rescue us from every trouble and fear.  Yahshua says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29–31). 

God Hates Me?

Does it ever feel like God has it out for you? Is it possible that the loving God loves everyone except for you?

When the Israelites originally heard the bad report from the ten spies, they despaired of conquering Canaan. They felt that God was leading them into a death trap. "God hates us," they said. "He brought us out of Egypt simply to have the Amorites kill us" (Deuteronomy 1:27).Why did the Israelites assume that God hated them?  We tend to project our own feelings onto others. If we don't like a fellow, we imagine that he does not like us. If we harbour bitterness toward another person, we suppose that person is also bitter toward us. Conversely, if we feel affection for another person, we imagine that he or she feels affection for us. 

A hopeful, single man sets his heart on the love of a woman in his community. He works hard to greet her, catch her eye from across the room and initiate conversations with her. She interprets each of these gestures as polite, common courtesies but has no intention of flirting or projecting affection. Nevertheless, he is so enamoured with her that he interprets her courteous responses as if they were expressions of her otherwise hidden love for him. By projecting his feelings onto her, he deludes himself into thinking the girl is in love with him.  Similarly, a woman is seething with anger because of an offensive remark her neighbour made to her. As the woman replays the episode in her head, she projects her anger and malice onto the neighbour, thereby amplifying the offense. She is convinced the neighbour hates her, blinding her to any kindness shown by the neighbour and magnifying every unkindness. She interprets every spoken word as if it had a nasty double meaning. 

We play the same games with God. When we are angry with Him, we imagine that He is angry with us. When we feel resentful toward Him, we suppose that He resents and dislikes us. Emotional swings are a terrible way to gauge even a human relationship. How much more should we avoid characterizing God according to our feelings.  A person's guilt and shame about his sin convinces him that God could not possibly have affection for him. A woman's low self-esteem makes her believe that God is always angry with her. A mother's fear for her children's safety leads her to be afraid of God. A person whose father left home when he was a child projects his resentment and fear of abandonment onto God. A woman abused by her husband visualizes God as abusive.  The cure to all these problems is to trust what the Bible says about God and how He feels. To be a spiritually whole person, the believer needs to accept God's overwhelming love for him or her and learn to rest in that love. Moses pointed out to the children of Israel that, far from hating them, God loved them as His own children. He said, "You saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son" (Deuteronomy 1:31). 

Isaiah Chastises the People.

In this prophetic reading, Isaiah chastises the people for their rebellion against Yahweh.  Despite having been repeatedly reprimanded and punished while in the Promised Land, they have continued on with their sinful ways.  Isaiah even calls their leaders “rulers of Sodom.”  In fact, the people have become so sinful that God no longer delights in their sacrifices and holy day observances.  There is no problem with the actual sacrifices or observances, God ordained.  The problem is they are not performed at the times nor in the manner He ordained; but that they adopted.  Many preachers and would be believers use the following verses to support not keeping God’s ordained weekly and annual appointed Sabbath keeping times.  They fail to see what is being talked about IS NOT God’s ordained times; but that of the worshippers. 

Isa 1:12  When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Isa 1:13  Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Isa 1:14  Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. Isa 1:15  And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Isa 1:16  Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;  

Clearly when we change or offer what and when God has made holy for something we contrive to be holy or its equivalent, it is evil.  Also part of the problem is a people whose hearts are far from Him and are just going through the motions as though that is what makes them holy.  Isa 29:13  Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 

Deu 1:43  So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill. Deu 1:44  And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. Deu 1:45  And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. 

God actually requires us to bring our sacrifices and offerings to Him in holiness, with a heart that seeks Him first, so He expresses His displeasure.  Not only are we to treat Him right by obeying the commandments to Him (Mar 12:29  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mar 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these). 

Isaiah also calls them “partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts.  They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.”  (Isaiah 1:23). 

While these sins, if not repented for, will result in the destruction of the Temple, God does not leave Israel only with words of reprimand: He encourages the people to repent and turn to Him by performing just acts and showing kindness to the widows, orphans, and the needy. 

The Lord Prepares the People for Redemption.

This prophetic portion contains a very precious promise that points to our redemption in the Messiah:  “Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says Yahweh.  ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’”  (Isaiah 1:18). 

This precious promise of renewed intimacy finds its ultimate fulfilment in Yahshua (Jesus to many) and the Brit Chadashah (New Testament) that He ratified with His own blood.   

“It was the LORD’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the LORD makes His life an offering for sin.”  (Isaiah 53:10). 

At that time, a cleansed people would wholeheartedly follow Yahweh and their hearts and minds would be supernaturally filled with the knowledge of God.

“‘After that time,’ declares Yahwhe.  ‘I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be My people.  No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares Yahwhe.  ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’”  (Jeremiah 31:33–34),.

Some points to note:

It was not only the descendants of Jacob (Israel) that got land.

Deu 2:19  And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.  Deu 2:20  (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;

Deu 2:21  A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

Deu 2:25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.  Remember this verse for when they come to Rehab. 

Mark 14:  See 14:1, 12, 17, 21, 27, 30, 49, 68, 72. These verses would show it was a Passover meal in the evening just as prescribed in Exodus 12:6. 

SHALOM.