Parashat Ki Tavo: Teachings by Joseph Shulam

In our desire to provide you with the teaching of Messiah Yeshua in a Jewish context, we provide in-depth teachings of the weekly Torah portions throughout the year.Below are various perspectives from various teachers and staff members from Netivyah Bible Instruction ministry.

The Source of Our Salvation (2023)

The reading of this next Shabbat is named Ki Tavo, from the Torah we read from Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8. From the Prophets (The Haftarah) is from Isaiah 60:1-22 and from the Gospel we read from Matthew 4:13-24.

Last Shabbat as we rolled the Torah Scroll, I notice that the right side of the Torah Scroll was getting very close to the end. This reminded me that in just in a few days from now, this year, according to the Jewish calendar, 5783 will soon become 5784. As Bob Dylan (Baruch Zimmerman) said in his song, “Times are a changing!” In these last days so much has changed all around our world and also in Israel, both inside and outside.

Israel is going through a very difficult and very challenging time. Our government needs help from God. Our nation, the nation of Israel, needs God’s grace and serious introspection, from our prime minister to the last member of our parliament (Knesset) and every civil servant in this country. This whole nation needs to do some soul searching and learn from our past history that divided, the Jewish nation cannot stand. Very similar circumstances brought about the fall of Jerusalem in the year 70 C.E (A.D).

The radicals led by Elizar Ben Yair, were looking and were desiring the absolute perfect, free and independent state of Israel. Such a state never existed. From the day that Abraham and his group arrived in this part of the world and until now, Israel has been the salami between the empires. Israel was always connected and dependent to one of the two empires that surround this land. We were always connected to the empires on our north, Assyria, the Babylonians, even earlier, on the Hittite empire. Remember that Abraham had to buy the cave of Machpela from Ephron the Hittite. The Hittites were holding all of south Judea and also most of the Eastern Galilee. Later it was Egypt and later it was the Babylonians.

Now, with all the bravado that Israel is broadcasting, the truth is that we are dependent on the USA, and on the prayers of many Christian Evangelicals who pray for our country and stand with the Jewish people. It is a total farce to think that we are an independent self-standing Jewish country.

As the Kings of Israel in our ancient history had to run to Assyria and Babylon and beg for help, so we are doing now! We are running and begging the President of the USA to invite our prime minister to the White House in Washington and sometimes even begging Mr. Puttin in Moscow for help. Just like in the good old days of King Hezekiah of Judea, the kings of northern Israel went to Babylon and to Damascus to seek help.

Israel needs help and needs your prayers. We, the Jewish Disciples of Yeshua in this land of Israel need your help in so many different ways. In the late 1970’s when my family was horribly persecuted, I and my family went through attempted murders. Only after we appealed through Mike Adams, who was the congressional aide to Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee, and reached all the way to the President of the USA, and he called the Israeli Embassy in Washington, did the persecution end. The same dependency and need of support are true now. I realize that out of pride many Israelites live in LA land and don’t see or confess or admit that Israel as a country, needs help and support both political and financial.

It is important for our brothers and helpers and supporters to realize that the solution is like the prophet said a long, long-time age:

“I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. “But if you say to me, “We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?”’ Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part, to put riders on them!” (Isaiah 36:5–8 NKJV)

In short dear brothers and sisters, Israel is in deep trouble! For the last 30 weeks hundreds of thousands of people have been rioting all through the country against the judicial reformation that the government of Israel is trying to pass. The reality in my opinion, is what some ministers in the present government are trying to do is to castrate the Supreme Court of Israel so that the present government would have complete freedom and control to legislate and do whatever it pleases. These demonstrations and the action of the present government are splintering this nation and forcing deep division between the supporters of the present government and those who oppose the limitation of our democracy.

This deep division put many of the Israeli army leadership, former generals and heads of Israel’s glorious intelligence agencies, military pilots and executives of major successful Israeli industries and professors with international acclaim, to take sides and deepen the divide in Israeli society.

In sort dear brothers and sisters, Israel needs your prayers. We the disciples of Yeshua our Rabbi, Savior and the King of the Jews, need your prayers and your support.
We have the opportunities to do good and feed the poor of Jerusalem and publish interesting and inspiring materials. In print, we publish the
Teaching from Zion magazine and send it to thousands of brothers and sisters around the world, for free, and if you don’t get this magazine by mail, you can always download it from here.

We are feeding close to 180 families who are sent to us by City Hall of Jerusalem to receive food; good food of very high quality with four different Kosher levels. We have a scholarship fund that help Jewish Disciples of Yeshua study in the Universities in Israel without extra financial strain, and succeed. Over the years we have blessed hundreds of disciples of Yeshua to study and succeed in to become lawyers, and doctors, and social workers, psychologists, and engineers.
This part of our ministry is a kind of insurance for the future of the community of disciples of Yeshua in the land of Israel. You can see that Netivyah has not made appeals for funds very often, but we have some financial challenges that are not a result of mismanagement, but a result of new opportunities to do better and become a bigger blessing and improve our outreach in the media and do better and feed more needy citizens of Jerusalem, while we continue to bless the Jewish disciples who are serving in the Israel Defense Forces. This time I am asking you to make some extra effort to help us be a help and a blessing to the people of Jerusalem and to the disciples of Yeshua in the land of Israel and to many in the world who need and want good basic and solid teaching from God’s Word.

Now a few words from our Torah Portion that will be read in the synagogues this next Shabbat, September 1st, 2023.
This Torah portion starts with these words:

“And it shall be, when you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it…” (Deuteronomy 26:1)

The first thing that has struck my interest is that this text has full assurance that this is something that will happen. It doesn’t say “If you come into the land…”. It says

“When you come into the land.”

The text identifies clearly which land is in question: “The land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it.” Nowa days it is so important for all those who believe the Bible to be the word of God to review and understand that there is no question and it is beyond reasonable doubt that God has given this land, the Land of Israel, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River as an inheritance to Israel. The third point is the words that the person who is coming to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple and is bringing his first fruits states: The next point that this text clarifies is:

“I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’”

We must remember that this whole conversation is taking place in the Temple of the Lord and in front of a priest of the Lord, who is there to receive the first fruits that this Israelite man is bringing on the day of Shavuot (Pentecost). The unique thing about this text is that it is the only text in the whole Bible that we learn what the worshipper said with his mouth when he came to offer this special sacrifice and gift to the Lord of his first fruits. Now to the words that this worshiper says:

“And you shall answer and say before the LORD your God: “My father was a [lost wondering Syrian], about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.’ “Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 26:5–10 NKJV)

What we have here is a very short synopsis of the history of Israel from the patriarch Abraham until the exodus from Egypt and they settled in the Land. The thing that interests me is this phrase “a lost wondering {Syrian} Aramean. This text reminds me of the following text from Isaiah the prophet.

“Doubtless You are our Father, though Abraham was ignorant of us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.” (Isaiah 63:16 NKJV)

This text from Isaiah is extremely interesting and it has the same spirit like our text in Deuteronomy. It diminishes the importance of our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the history of salvation and gives God only the credit and glory for our salvation and fulfillment of His promises. With these words the prophet refocuses and credits the LORD only as the source of salvation and faithfulness to His promises. “Abraham didn’t know us (was ignorant of us) and (Israel (i.e., Jacob)) does not acknowledge us.).

This is what the rabbis said about this text from Isaiah 63:16ff:

“In the time to come the Holy One, blessed be He, shall say unto Israel, ‘Go now to your forefathers, and they will reprove you.’ And they shall say before Him, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! To whom shall we go? To Abraham, to whom Thou didst say, know of a surety [that thy seed shall be a stranger ... and they shall afflict them ...], yet he did not entreat mercy for us? To Isaac, who blessed Esau, and it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have dominion, and yet he did not entreat mercy for us? To Jacob, to whom Thou didst say, I will go down with thee into Egypt, and yet he did not entreat mercy for us? To whom then shall we go now? [Rather] let the Lord state [our wrongs]!’ The Holy One, shall answer them, since ye have made yourselves dependent upon Me, ‘though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow’.” (Babylonian Talmud – Tractate Shabbat 89b.).

This text has the same attitude like the text in Deuteronomy 26:5-10. The dependence of Israel on our pedigree being the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), our racial I.D. Is according to Deuteronomy and Isaiah; not the source of our success. Nor is our pedigree as Jews and Israelites something that we can rely on. Only our relationship with the Almighty God, the creator of the Universe, is the source of our salvation and our blessing to receive and hold on to the inheritance that we have in the Lord Himself. He, the Almighty alone, is our savior and He alone has the power to say to us, like to all the nations of the world:

“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow!”

Just as a reminder of what is written above – the words in Deuteronomy about Abraham and the words of Isaiah 63:16 are the most significant words especially for Jews, but also for Christians and all mankind. For the Christians it is of great importance to realize the following:

1. Your church (no matter what church you attend) will not save you and it doesn’t have any authority to forgive your sins. Only God can forgive your sins!

2. Your reliance on the founders of your church denominations – is powerless and hopeless and damaging your relationship with the Almighty God of Abraham who created the Heavens and the Earth. God alone is your savior and He loves the world so much that He sent His Only Begotten Son to save you and me and all who die with Yeshua in Baptism and Resurrect into a New Life!”

3. Race and pedigree will not help us in our relationship with the Creator! Our relationship will help us if we do have a relationship with God the Almighty Creator.

a. Relationship is first and foremost a communication, and I would say here that it is always a two-way communication. The simplest way to understand this is this: God gave us the book – the living Word – the Manuel of discipline for a good life and a course that will guide us if we follow it to eternal life and a relationship with God.

b. Obedience to the road map of our lives and following the map of what to do and how to do it and the why we need to do it, all done with gratitude and understanding that although the road is a long and hard road – it does lead to life eternal with the almighty God and creator and Yeshua our Messiah our brother.

4. We put our life on God’s altar by serving our fellow men like Yeshua said to those renegade disciples that worshipped him, but ignored the poor and needy and the widows and the orphans:

““Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’” (Matthew 25:41–45 NKJV)

Our relationship with the Almighty God our Creator and our relationship with Yeshua (Jesus), who participated in the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, is based is based on our relationship and attitude and service to our fellow man, and especially to each other as brothers in the faith and family and community of the saints. It is based on our love for God and for Yeshua and for each other as human being, the Children of the King of Kings!

Never Forget Our Humble Beginnings (2022)

The reading this Shabbat is another one of my favorite Biblical narratives. The previous Shabbat was Ki Teitzei, “when you go out to war”. This Shabbat the reading is from a Torah portion that is called Ki Tavo, “when you come in”. The reading is from Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8.

The scripture gives instructions to the children of Israel how to enter the land of Canaan. The first instruction when you enter the land of Canaan, the land that the Lord has given you, is to gather the first fruits of the land and the trees, and put them in a basket, and take them to the house of the Lord, and dedicate your first fruits gathered in your new land to the Lord.

The setting of this event is on the day of Pentecost, Shavuot — the feast of weeks. The feast of weeks falls exactly 50 days after the Passover. If the Passover is in the end of March or the middle of April, Shavuot/Pentecost is 50 days later. In fact, that is why the feast is called Pentecost, because Pentecost means “50” in Greek.

These days are commanded by the Torah to be accounted for from the day after eating the Passover to the 50th day. This counting is of such importance, and it is called “the counting of the sheaves” (in Hebrew, “sephirat ha-omer”).

We must remember that it is no accident that the apostles of Yeshua gathered on Mount Zion on the feast of Pentecost and waited on top of Mount Zion for the power of God to be poured out on them, as Yeshua promised would happen. Why specifically on the day of Pentecost? Because the day of Pentecost is the day of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, exactly 50 days after they left Egypt.

But, there is another element of great importance related to Pentecost, and that is the promises given by the prophets of God that the Gentiles will come to Jerusalem, and that the Gentiles will say to each other:

“Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” — Isaiah 2:3 [NKJV]

This prophecy by Isaiah is a prediction of two things:

1. The giving of the Torah from Jerusalem and Mount Zion.
2. The gentiles will come up to Jerusalem and Mount Zion to worship the God of Israel.

It is not indicated in any biblical text that the giving of the Torah from Jerusalem and Mount Zion will be a different and totally new Torah (God’s instructions), but a renewal of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. In fact, what happened in Jerusalem on that Pentecost around the year 30 CE (AD — as Catholics indicated the counting of the years) is very similar and parallel to what happened at the foot of Mount Sinai when Moses came down with the tablets of the Ten Commandments.

There were torches of fire over the people. There was a revelation of God’s words in different tongues, and the splitting of the tongues — the languages — had also a physically-visible aspect. The One God spoke from the mountain, and His voice split into many tongues.

Because the English translations, and even earlier Latin translations, of the biblical text didn’t associate what happened on Mount Zion with what happened many years before on Mount Sinai, they couldn’t understand the setting of the event and they didn’t associate what is happening with the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Therefore, they had a deep lacuna (gap) in their interpretation.

One of the most interesting and intriguing things that happened during the feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) in our texts is that we have the only text in the Bible that tells us how and what was said by the worshipper, when he brought his basket with the first fruits of the land and the gifts to the Temple, and presented his offerings to the priests:

“And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us.’” — Deuteronomy 26:3-6 [NKJV]

This is one of the most intriguing texts for me in the Torah. Here is seemingly a successful farmer who is bringing his offering of the best of the best of his produce of fruits and vegetables and cereals, a basket full of good things dedicated to the God of Israel. And he says:

“My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us.”

This is an Israelite worshipper coming to Jerusalem, or to Shiloh, to worship God with a basket full of fresh fruit and vegetables, the first fruits of the land right after the summer harvest, and what he has to say is, “My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation…”

If I analyze this statement there is in it the classical “immigrant” paradigm. “I came with nothing, almost perishing, and in this new land, I became great, mighty, and populous.”

But, the person who is saying these things to the priest in the Temple or in the Tent of Meeting is a person who has land, prosperous land, and a harvest of wonderful first fruits. The summer wheat harvest is finished. His storehouses are full and his barns are ready for the winter months. He could dance and rejoice and show off his successful year and his full bank account.

But, no! He remembers the humble beginning of his family! He remembers Abraham his father (several generations earlier). He remembers that Abraham was a wanderer, lived in tents, had to go out of the country that God promised him as an inheritance and outside of His own land, in Egypt under the horrible conditions of a harsh slavery that lasted more than 200 years, where Israel became a great nation.

What can we learn from this Torah portion?

We must always remember our humble beginnings. We must always remember that our success is not based on our stability and wealth, but our success is based on the hardship of bondage and affliction.

The next verses in Deuteronomy 26:7-9 give us the secret of our success, and ought to keep us humble and full of gratitude, and above all give all the credit of what is good and faithful and prosperous to the Lord only:

“Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey…’” — Deuteronomy 26:7-9

This text has built in it three things that, if we ever forget them, the Lord makes sure that we repeat our ethos, and the story repeats itself. Much to my regret we have had to do this exercise more than one time in our history.

In conclusion, let us not forget where we came from and who the father or our nation and the father of all the faithful is: a man who left the great cities of the ancient Middle East, Ur and Haran, to follow God, and came down to the land of Canaan that was a very messy and difficult place, because everyone who lived here in this land at that time was a foreigner (“the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite”).

This was not enough, because Abraham, and after him Isaac his son, and after him Jacob and his children, all had to taste the exile the diaspora before they could settle in the land and repeat this school of hard knocks more than once: in the Babylonian exile, and then the fall of Jerusalem and the exile after the fall of Jerusalem by the Romans, an exile that we are still in the process of restoration and return from — a cure of this nation of Israel and preparation for the return of the bridegroom to take His bride.

The members of the nation of Israel, the physical children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, must remember, as in the days of Moses and Israel dwelling in the land of Canaan, a prosperous and successful nation, that our stability and success are only when we are dependent on God and His promises. An attitude of humility and repentance and awareness that our good life in this land is only dependent on God’s goodness and not on the charity and support of the nations.

Our recognition that our future is based on our recognition and dependence on God, and our faithful relationship to Him whom He sent to be our teacher and the fulfillment of our destiny to be the light of the world is based on our humble submission to the Creator and His instruction!

We must remember that the words of Hosea the prophet in the process of our repentance:

“O Israel, return to the Lord your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity; Take words with you, And return to the Lord. Say to Him, ‘Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. Assyria shall not save us, We will not ride on horses, Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, “You are our gods.” For in You the fatherless finds mercy.’ I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him. I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, And lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon. Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; They shall be revived like grain, And grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’ I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in Me. Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them.” — Hosea 14:1-9 [NKJV]

Brad TV Video Teaching – Ki Tavo (2022)

Transcript of a video teaching by Joseph Shulam.

Shalom from Jerusalem. My name is Joseph Shulam, and I’ve been recording together with Brad TV, the Torah portion that are being read in every synagogue every week on Shabbat. This next Shabbat, the reading will come from Deuteronomy 26:1 to 29:8.

The name of the portion is Ki Tavo, which means, and you shall be when you come into the land. When you come into the land, Ki Tavo. The previous portion was when you go out to war. So now it’s when you come into the land. Shavuot is one of the three pilgrimage holidays that the Torah commands to Israel. And these three holidays are still practiced and still celebrated, not only in Israel but in every Jewish community around the world. These were known as pilgrimage holidays because the people of Israel were commanded to come to Jerusalem to worship in the temple on Shavuot, the feast of Pentecost. They were commanded to bring their first fruits and dedicate their first fruits to God in the temple and pass it on to the priest and to the Levites.

Today, of course we have no temple, but Shavuot is a very, very important holiday. And believe it or not, at the beginning of springtime and beginning of summer, Shavuot, the end of the wheat harvest in the land of Israel, and in our communal farm on our Kibbutz, Shavuot is still celebrated. Pentecost is still celebrated in every Jewish community around the world, especially in the land of Israel because it has to do with, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and you dwell in it you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground and you shall bring them from the land that the Lord your God is giving you and put it in a basket and go in the place where the Lord you God has chosen make his name abide. Okay.

So, clearly this portion starts with the feast of Pentecost. Now, isn’t it strange, dear brothers and sisters, isn’t it strange that the holidays that are in the word of God, commanded in the word of God, practiced by Jesus himself, and by the apostles, and celebrated the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost in Acts 2, are totally ignored by the church, all 38,000 of them? Denominations, groups, sects, call themself Christians, ignoring the examples of the apostles and the commands of the Torah and the practices of Jesus himself. What he celebrated; Christians don’t celebrate. What the apostles celebrated; Christians don’t celebrate. What the Holy Spirit gave them on Pentecost, they don’t celebrate. What do they celebrate? I’m not going to say it. You can guess it, but here is the rules and this fantastic text that is unique in the whole Bible in which we know what the worshipers that came on Pentecost bringing their basket of first fruit said to the priest that received them in the temple. We have the words. I think that this is fabulous and fantastic and very important.

Let me read again a little bit further down. I’m starting again from verse one. “And it shall be when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. You possess it and dwell in it.” You, means Israel here. It doesn’t mean anybody else. The Lord your God, who created the heavens and the earth, has given you, the people of Israel, that were slaves in Egypt, and came out of Egypt, to possess the land, the land of Canaan, as an inheritance. “You shall take some of the first fruits of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land, that the Lord your God is giving you and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide,” meaning the temple in Jerusalem. That’s a code word in the book of Deuteronomy for Jerusalem, “the place that God has chosen.”

“And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, here are the words that the worshiper that comes to Jerusalem on Pentecost is commanded to say to the priest.”

I imagine he doesn’t have to say it word for word, but the gist of it, he has to say:

“I declare today to the Lord your God, that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us. Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hands, and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God;’ my father was a Syrian, (a lost Syrian in the Hebrew), about to perish. And he went down to Egypt and dwelled there, few in number and there came out a nation, great, mighty and populous.”

“But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression.”

“So, the Lord brought us out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and with wonders. He brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

“And now behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which you, oh Lord, have given me. Then you shall set it before the Lord your God and worship before your Lord your God you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.”

“When you have finished laying aside the tithes of your increase, in the third year, the Lord of tithing, and give it to the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled. Then you shall say, before the Lord your God; I have removed the holy tithe from my house and also have given it to the Levite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your commandments, which you have commanded me; I have not transgressed your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, my God and have done according to all you have commanded me.”

“Look down, from your holy habitation from heaven and bless your people Israel, and the land which you have given us just as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

This is the only text we have, of what a person that came and brought his tithes, his first fruits, and dedicated them to God.

But let me back up. When he gave it to the priest, what happened with that basket full of first fruits, the best of the field, the purest, the most beautiful? What happened to it? Notice, it wasn’t only for the Priest. It was for the fatherless, the orphans, for the strangers; which means the non-Jews living in the camp of Israel. It was for the widows, for the orphans.

That was the purpose of the tithing folks. That was the purpose of the blessing that God gave this man. And he, on Pentecost is bringing them, and dedicating them to the Lord, on the altar of the Lord. And then the priest takes that, and divides it to the fatherless, to the widows to the strangers, to the poor, to those who are sick, to those can’t work in the fields, and produce fruit. It’s fantastic!

But the most fantastic part of it, in my opinion, is what the guy said about our origin as Israelites, as Jews. How he describes who Abraham our father is. Abraham, our father is a lost Syrian, a lost Armenian, who was about to perish, according to the English translation. Because he was about to perish, he went down to Egypt. Not only Abraham, but he is expanding Abraham into Isaac, and Jacob. All went down to Egypt, because of the hunger that was in the land of Canaan, because they were about to perish. And in Egypt, the nation grew from a few people, according to what he’s confessing here, into a great and mighty nation. And the Egyptian mistreated us, afflicted us, laid us into hard bondage. And then we cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard our cry and delivered us from Egypt and gave us the land, which he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

I am just so touched every time I read this text. Yes, it might be because I’m a Jew. It might be because I live in the land of Israel. It might be because I know God, and I know his son Yeshua, our Lord, our divine Messiah, savior of the whole world. But these words are emotionally touching my heart, and teaching me as a disciple of Yeshua, of Jesus, about giving, about tithing.

Tithing is coming here from a man who is humbling himself and humbling his origins as an Israelite, as a Jew, as a member of the 12 tribes, the sons of Jacob. He says “our forefather”, meaning Abraham, “came out of Syria.” Humble, about to perish. We are children of a lost Armenian. Literally that’s what the Hebrew says. But we are racially proud of something. We have something to be proud, because we are Jews, because we’re Israelites. No, not according to this word.

On the contrary, we are indebted to God, and to our society and to our community. We are indebted for all the blessings that we enjoy from God. And I say this not only because I’m an Israelite and I’m a Jew, but I say it to my Christian brothers and sisters. We are all under the grace of God, and we have nothing to be proud of ourselves, but only proud of the God who loves us, and has given us a great inheritance on earth and in heaven. That doesn’t give us a right to have our nose up in the air. It gives us a right to be humble. Obligation to be humbled from our origins, whether you are a son of a king of England, or a son of Genghis Khan, or a son of Pol Pot in Cambodia, that murdered hundreds of thousands of people, it doesn’t make difference.

We are all indebted to God for any goodness, for any fruit, for any money, for any house, for any job, for any family that we have, we are indebted to the almighty God for everything. And we need to be grateful and humbled with the privilege of giving tithes, with the privilege of giving gifts, with the privilege of supporting missions and churches, and synagogues, and the fatherless, the orphans and the widows, which we are commanded in the law of Moses, in the prophets and in the New Testament, to take care of these less fortunate than we are.

I think that this is a fabulous portion, very important, because of the words that the worshipers say when they come to Jerusalem. Sometimes they come from the Galilee, sometimes from the Negev, sometimes from Cypress or from Greece or from Assyria, or from Persia, from all over the ancient world. This portion of the Torah, this is the flag of tithing. What it means, the signal, what it means to tithe on Pentecost. When the worshiper comes to Jerusalem.

Let me read one more verse. Verse 11 of the same chapter. “You shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given you and your house, you and the Levite, and the stranger who is among you.” Again, “you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given you.”

What does that say? To me it says that nothing that I have, I have earned on my own. Not even my life, not even my breath, my eyesight my ability to speak, my family, my children, my wife, my house, my car. Nothing, that I have received from God, I have earned; as the Western paradigm of America, of being a self-made man, doesn’t exist in the Bible. None of us are self-made men, whatever we are, academically, educationally, financially, family wise, is all something that we should rejoice for every good thing which the Lord your God has given you, and be grateful for his gifts, and for his mercy. That gives us breath and life and everything that we enjoy.

This is in the book of Deuteronomy, it’s not in the New Testament, although the same principles are in the New Testament, but this is in the book of Deuteronomy.

And I think that verse 15 of the same chapter 26 of Deuteronomy, also has a message that I would like to end this teaching for today.

Look down from heaven. He’s praying to God now. It says, in verse 14,

“I have heard your voice oh Lord. And I have done everything that I could in doing what you asked me to do in keeping your commandments. And now Lord, I am begging you” verse 15, “look down from your holy habitations from heaven and bless your people Israel, and the land which you have given us, just as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Gratitude to God is absolutely necessary. We can complain, but even in our complaint, we need to be grateful. Think about Luke 17, about the 10 lepers that were healed by Jesus on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem through Samaria and only one returned. The Samaritan returned, bowed down in front of Jesus, kissing his feet. And Jesus says, oh, I’m glad you came to thank me, but where are the other nine?

And I’m asking you, dear brothers and sisters wherever you are, where are the other nine? Look at yourself, ask yourself, am I that Samaritan that came back to Jesus, and was grateful? And thanked him? Or am I one of the other nines that enjoys the blessings and forgets the gratitude?

May God bless us all. And forgive us, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.

We Must Get Humility (2021)

The reading for this Shabbat is from Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8, and from the prophets we will be reading this very important chapter of Isaiah 60:1-22. From the New Testament we will be reading from Matthew 4:13-24.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for my brothers and sisters around the world to read these readings every week together with Israel. I will share with you how I see this simple and very beneficial act It is so simple and so important both for you and your family and for the big picture.

By reading together with the Jewish people the same texts from the Torah and the prophets on the same Shabbat – you are joining the Israel team on the same side of the stadium and cheering the same team, God’s team, and wearing the same color t-shirt with God’s people.

Yes, it is only symbolic and only a token, but it is a token that will bless you and give you information from reading the word of God that you are not going to get by going to church, any Christian church, because the sermons and the teaching, although can be wonderful, are not organic but canned fruit, good, but not personally yours. Reading the word of God for yourself it makes it yours, fresh and systematic.

Deuteronomy chapter 26 gives us something that is so very special and unique. It shares with us what a worshipper said to the priest on the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) when he brought his basket of first fruits to the temple on the 50th day after Passover, after the spring harvest started.

I find it fascinating to read, and to hear, the words that the person says bringing his gifts to the house of the Lord. Here is a short but important analysis of the following text:

“And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish [a lost Aramian], and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.” – Deuteronomy 26:3-11 [NKJV]

Here are some of the very special things that we can learn from these words that the worshiper says to the priest, when he brings the best and the first fruits as dedication and gratitude to the Lord for His provision and blessings!

First, the place where I live was given to me by God! No matter where on God’s good earth you are living, it could be a mansion or a small room in a slum or in the woods.

You are living and walking and moving on God’s Earth, on His real-estate. You and I and all that walk on this Earth don’t own anything not even the six-foot grave in which our bones are going to be buried.

When you realize this, that all that we own, and all our possessions, are just given to us to be used for a season and all that we have and all that we are, is from God – that will make us much more modest and humbler.

“My father was a nomad, a wondering lost Aramean (Syrian)” – He is speaking of Abraham our father. The worshiper coming now with the basket for the Lord is saying I am really “nothing” and my pedigree means nothing. This too is of great importance.

I have been around God’s Earth a few times in my life, and I have been with some very rich people and most of them were humble and simple and generous brothers and sisters. However, every so often I have met people who are very wealthy, and they are generous, but they are mentally and emotionally “slaves who have become kings.”

They are so full of themselves, and they want you to know that they are full of themselves. These people want to receive the credit for their generosity here and now, from you before they hand you the check.

These words of a man who has just gathered his grain and filled his storehouses with wealth, and his vats are full of new wine, knows what King David knew well when in his last prayer he said:

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You. For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers…” – 1 Chronicles 29:14,15 [NKJV]

Notice David’s words after the long list of his donation for the building of the house of the Lord, and the preparation of the gold and other materials for the Temple in Jerusalem that his son Solomon will build. His words in this last prayer are so similar to the words of our text from Deuteronomy 26.

All of us need to know and confess and act humbly because, like King David, all that we are and all that we can give God is already from His own that we give. This is true for physical and spiritual gifts.

Humility is one of the most needed ingredients that leaders, rabbis, pastors, politicians, and rich people need and ought to be seeking to buy in the marketplace of things of high value that are desperately needed.

We all need to spend much more of all that we are and we must buy humility and simplicity, because at the end of the day, all that we have and all that we give will be useless if we don’t give it with simplicity and humility and generosity – and secretly. Yes, secrecy is also a very-needed and God-required ingredient for our spiritual wellbeing, and for the judgement day.

Israel's Humble Narrative (2020)

The reading this Shabbat is approaching the end of Deuteronomy which means that the High Holidays are quickly approaching. From the Torah we are reading from Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8 (9). The name of this Parasha is Ki Tavo (“when you enter the land”). The reading from the prophets is from Isaiah 60:1-22 and from the New Testament we will read from Acts 7:30-36.

In Parashat Ki Tavo there are some very important pearls that we all need to learn and take seriously. The first part of this reading is dealing with the procedures for each family when bringing their first fruits to the Tabernacle (Temple) and when presenting these first fruits to the priest.

This happened one time a year during the feast of Pentecost (Shavuot). The importance of this text is that we have for the first and last time the words that the worshiper says to the priests during the presentation of the first fruits.

This is of great importance for us today. We read so much about the sacrifices in the book of Leviticus, and also in the New Testament in the book of Hebrews, but we don’t have much of the dialogue that went on between the worshiper and the priest that received these first fruits.

Here is the dialogue between the worshiper and the Priest:

“Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God.” – Deuteronomy 26:4–10 [NKJV]

These words are short, but they contain the essence of the story of Israel then and now! Let me analyze the words of the worshiper to the priests.

First, confession of and revelation of our ancestors’ weakness: we did not come from a proud and aggressive family. We are not a people that takes pride in their origin. We didn’t come from a powerful and great nation. The origins of the Israelite nation are humble and totally dependent on the Lord’s grace.

Second, we became a nation in Egypt. This is no small detail, and it is of great importance. What does it mean that Israel became a nation in Egypt and on the way out of Egypt during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. This point is important to me as a 21st-Century disciple of Yeshua.

What made a bunch of hostile and contrary cousins into a nation is the persecution and suffering that they had to pass through during the years of slavery in Egypt: “the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us.” For the church of today this message ought to serve as medicine.

The race to make Christians more comfortable and to not offend the people who are sitting on the padded benches (pews) and to make the church services more user politically correct has not and will not produce stronger Christians and more unity, and more healthy growth.

The pattern of history for the growth of strong, convicted, fighting the enemy, disciples of the Messiah, has been and cannot be the more comfortable and more politically correct church.

Strength comes from pain, and dedication to the cause and exercising the muscles in resistance to the difficulties. A church without challenges, demanding sacrifice and the exercise of self-discipline, will become a despondent church and will become selfish and one that is seeking internal conflicts.

Each year that an Israelite came to the priest with his joy and pride, the first fruit, the best fruit, the products of his labor. He came with every reason to be proud and self-content with his great success.

The Torah tells us that the Israelite worshiper has to verbalize a humbling narrative that puts him back on the right track - I come from a poor background of suffering and degradation that forced me and my fellow Israelites to unite and become a nation, and it is all with gratitude and through the goodness of our Lord.

Only after these words are spoken does the priest accept the basket of first fruits and dedicates them to the Lord and blesses the worshipper with another year of prosperity.

I believe that we can all get so much from this narrative and can implement some of these principles in our lives: of humility, the confession of who we really are, of taking off our masks of being a successful and proud people, and of returning to the reality of our total dependence on the goodness and mercy of our Lord.

Then it will be the time to bring our first and last fruits to the Lord as an offering of our lives as a living sacrifice which is our reasonable service (see Romans 12:1).

The Words Spoken Upon Bringing Firstfruits (2019)

The Torah portion that is read in the synagogues in Israel this next Shabbat is Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8). The haftarah (reading from the prophets) is Isaiah 60:1-22. From the New Testament, we read from the Gospel of John 13:1 - 15:27.

The Ki Tavo portion has the only words that a worshipper spoke upon coming to the Temple, while presenting a sacrifice and the firstfruits of his field and his flock. This is what the worshipper said on the day of Pentecost (Shavuot), when he came to the Temple to bring his firstfruits:

“And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.”- Deuteronomy 26:3-11 [NKJV]

This same text is repeated on Passover eve in the Seder meal. Since these are the only words that we know were spoken by the worshipper when he came to Jerusalem to bring his firstfruits and his sacrifice, it is important for us to understand them.

1. The first thing that the worshipper confesses is that he has come to the country that the Lord did swear to Abraham our Father. This confession is an affirmation that we are strangers and pilgrims in this world and in this land. Confessing that we have this land of Israel as a gift promised by the Lord to Abraham is of great importance. This land and this world are not our permanent home. We are tourists, guests, in this land and in this world.
2. “My father was a lost (wandering) Aramean (Syrian) and he went down to Egypt (Egypt was like the United States – a big empire that was rich and powerful).” The worshipper confesses that the father of the nation, Jacob (Israel), was a small family that went down to Egypt, and there became a nation great and mighty. * The function of such a confession, every year when the worshipper comes to Jerusalem to bring his firstfruits and his tithes, is of great psychological value. In this moment of worship and of dedication of his gifts to the Lord, the worshipper confesses and humbles himself and his origin. * The words of the worshipper are humbling. In the moment of euphoria and generosity, bringing his gifts and sacrifices dedicated to the Lord in the Temple, this self-humbling is a very powerful psychological medication. There is no room for pride when you worship the Lord, even if you bring rich and extraordinary gifts.
3. “But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression.” Yes, when we became a nation, rich and powerful in Egypt, the reaction was that the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us.
4. This is the history of Israel, and the history of every nation or group of people who rise up, and grow and become powerful in a land that is not their own. When we know this principle. We can keep a humble attitude and see the hand of the Lord in our history, and be encouraged in the difficult times, knowing that they come when we are successful and blessed by God. The pagan empires will persecute us, but the Lord will deliver us in His good time.
5. When we are in trouble and persecuted and we cry to the Lord, He hears us and sends a deliverer to deliver us from the hand of our enemies. It is so important for us to know that our cries and our prayers are not falling on deaf ears. God hears us, and you, and every sincere soul that calls upon the name of the Lord. The Lord saved us and delivered us from our enemies.
6. Now I am bringing to the Lord my firstfruits, I am worshipping the Lord with the good things that He has given us. Just like King David prayed in his last prayer: “Lord from your own we have given you.” This attitude is a key, a very important key, for sincere and true worship that brings glory to the Lord, and also puts the worshipper in the right place and frame of mind.

I find these words to be so very inspiring and encouraging. It shows the attitude of a true worshipper, and a generous giver of what the Lord has blessed him with. An attitude of humility and submission, giving all the credit to the Lord. There is no “self-made man” here. All that you have is those who worship the Lord and confess and know that it is the Lord that has made us a nation, and made us mighty and powerful, and has blessed us to make us great and humble servants.

How wonderful it would be to keep a humble attitude, and give the Lord the credit for all that we are, and all that we have, and all that we can give to Him. The honor and glory for the goodness and deliverance that He has done for us. Yes, even when it is hard, and even when the enemy is persecuting us, and affliction is our daily bread, even then, giving the Lord the honor and gratitude is always the right thing to do.

The Act of Thanking God for the Good in Our Lives (2018)

The Torah reading this upcoming Shabbat is Ki Tavo. It means “when you come into the land”. These chapters of Deuteronomy are programmatic chapters. They are now giving instruction to the children of Israel about the program that the Lord has for them in relationship to dwelling in the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.

Deuteronomy chapter 26 is of great importance, because it is the only chapter that reveals to the reader what the worshipper who comes to Jerusalem to worship the Lord must say in front of the priest (the Cohen) who serves the Lord in his day. The circumstance is the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost), the occasion is the bringing of the firstfruits that have grown and ripened for the season, the spring season.

This text is of great importance because it gives us a glimpse of what was going on in the Temple behind the doors. The worshipper comes with his gifts to God through the auspices of the priest. The priest receives the gift (sacrifice), and the worshipper says the following strange things:

“Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a lost [wandering] Syrian [Aramean], about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.” - Deuteronomy 26:4–11 [NKJV]

Here in this grand occasion, when the Israelite worshipper comes to Jerusalem, in his hands are the firstfruits of his labor, the best of the best of his fields and orchards. He hands the basket of the firstfruits to the priest, and this is what he says: “My father was a lost [wandering] Syrian [Aramean].” This worshipper is speaking about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These are the fathers of the nation of Israel, and he calls Abraham a lost [wandering] Syrian [Aramean].

Is this Israelite worshipper minimizing the importance of of Abraham by calling him a lost Syrian? Yes, and No! Let us look at another document from a period close to the appearance of the book of Deuteronomy on the scene:

“Look down from heaven, And see from Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your strength, The yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained? Doubtless You are our Father, Though Abraham was ignorant of us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.” - Isaiah 63:15,16 [NKJV]

Here in Isaiah, the worshipper claims the Lord God as the father of Israel, not Abraham. With all of Abraham’s greatness, both in this passage in Isaiah and in Deuteronomy 26, Abraham is not the father of the nation, or the savior of the nation of Israel, or the deliverer of Israel from Egyptian slavery. God Himself is the Savior and the Redeemer of Israel, “…from Everlasting is Your [God’s] name!”

Here are some of the implications of this short text that allows to look into the words that were spoken by the worshipper during the highest moment of his yearly encounter with the Lord, through the priest and the gift of firstfruits to the Lord.

1. The worshipper approaches worship with great humility. He is not the benefactor of the Lord. He is the recipient of God’s goodness and mercy. He confesses both his own and his father’s total dependence on God. King David did the same in his last prayer: “Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: ‘Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You.’” - 1 Chronicles 29:10–14
2. The worshipper brings to the Lord the firstfruits, the best fruit, and not the leftover fruit of the field and from the fruit trees.
3. After giving God the best of the best, the worshipper is invited to thank God for the good things that God has given him. This phrase is worded in a special way. The worshipper is not invited to thank God for everything that has happened in his life during the past year, but the good things that happened in his life. The not-so-good-things that happen in our lives have many sources and causes. The good things that happen to us and to our households are all from God and His goodness.

There is a question that I am sure many will ask, “What are the other sources in our lives that cause us some hardships and grief?” I will answer this question in a short way because this is not a theological thesis:

1. Our own stupidity and mistakes. This is probably one of the main sources of grief and sometimes suffering in our own lives. There is no one else that we can blame other than our mistakes and stupidity. If we drive too fast around a curve, and the physics of the centrifugal forces throw us off the road, and we have a bad accident, it is not the devil, it is not a demon, it is our own stupidity and lack of foresight and wisdom that has caused the accident.
2. Sin in our lives can have painful consequences that can cause pain and grief, and even illness.
3. Nature, the very nature of all flesh is to age and decay.
4. God at times wants to educate us and equip us for a higher challenge, and like a boot camp, he takes us through a series of obstacles courses in order to build our abilities and train our minds and prepare us, through suffering, for a greater task and success in life.

This last one is one of the most difficult for us to understand, and at times we think that our whole world is collapsing and we can’t take it even one more day. The sun comes up the next day, and we understand that, despite the great hardships and difficulties, in the end, like the apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 8, “all thing work together for the good of those who love the Lord.”

Paul is basing this statement on several passages in the Psalms and in the prophets. The main passage is from Psalms 145:14-20:

“The Lord upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.” - Psalms 145:14–20 [NKJV]

The Key phrase is in Psalms 145:17, “The Lord is righteous in all His ways.” In other words, if you separate one of God’s actions (in the bible or in history or in your own life) you might think that He is unrighteous, but if you look at the big picture you will see that He is righteous and all His ways are righteous.

A Physical Reminder of Israel's Obedience (2017)

This week’s Torah portion is called Ki Tavo (when you enter in). The reading is from Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:9. The first part of the reading is very interesting, because this is the only text in the Torah that tells us what people said when they came to the temple to worship and offer sacrifices.

The occasion that this is speaking of is the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost). I have already written about this before.

The next part of the reading (Deuteronomy 27:1-8) is God’s command to Moses to build an altar on the top of Mount Ebal. This altar was a special altar, because of the size of and the architectural features that were commanded by God.

There are several specific features that this altar was to have. The stones were specified by God. The stones that had to be used had to be whole, and not broken. The stones were not to be cut with iron tools. On the stones, there had to be the inscription of God’s laws.

We have the record of Joshua and the children of Israel building this altar on top of Mount Ebal:

“Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: ‘an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.’ And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.” - Joshua 8:30–33 [NKJV]

As you can see in the pictures that were taken about 30 years ago, the altar that Joshua built, in obedience to the command that the Lord gave Moses, was still standing. It was standing right on the top of Mount Ebal. The size, the type of stones, and the location all fit the description.

Mount Ebal was the mountain from which the curses were being pronounced. This high mountain, right above the city of Nablus today, is right across the valley from Mount Gerizim. This is the place where the blessings were pronounced on the children of Israel.

Mount Ebal has been basically barren, dry and on the East side overlooking the Jordan Valley. Mount Gerizim is on the West side. Looking West, you can see the Mediterranean Sea. It is a fertile mountain, very green almost year around. Even today, the Samaritans celebrate Passover and offer many lambs as Passover sacrifices on top of Mount Gerizim.

I remember well going up to Mount Ebal, only one time. In order to get up there we had to have a heavily armed military escort. We had two military armored jeeps in front and a military armored jeep in the back.

I wanted to see this altar that was still in place. It is a rare thing to be able to read a document that is at least 2600 years old, and describes exactly what God required from Joshua and the children of Israel, then in the book of Joshua describes what Joshua and the children of Israel did, and now 2600 years later man can go and see and measure and photograph the very place and altar that you read about in the Torah, in the Word of God.

I believed that this was true and real before I went up to Mount Ebal with a military escort, but it was extremely exciting and wonderful to go up there and climb on top of the altar, and walk around it and touch it. As Yeshua said, “blessed are those who did not see and believe” (John 20:29).

However, I am blessed also because I have seen the place, and have been in the place, and have climbed on top of the very place that the Word of God states that Joshua built the altar. For me, this was a real faith-building experience.

Not far from this altar, an Israeli fighter jet was shot down. A monument was erected on top of Mount Ebal for the young Israel pilot who died there during the war. For me, there were two altars of sacrifice on top of the barren mountain of where the curses of God were read aloud, and the people in the valley shouted in unison, “Amen”, in agreement.

What is up there these days? Not much! The Palestinian mobs took apart that ancient monument that was built by Joshua the son of Nun, and the children of Israel, after crossing the Jordan River.

This altar was standing there for over 2600 years, a silent witness of biblical truth. A witness to the obedience of faith, that these men and women, who survived the wilderness of Sinai, with murmuring, rebellion, and complaining, when it came to the “doing”, they lived up to the command and built this altar. I confess that I was very sad when the news came that vandalism and hate had a part in destroying this ancient witness and monument.

We can live without the stone witnesses, we can’t live without the human witnesses. The witnesses who, from generation to generation, stand up and speak and witness with their lives the power, the love, the grace, and the truth of God’s Word.

The enemies of truth and love and grace and hope will never win. There will always be men and women who will read the Word of God and believe it. And as often we are frail and weak, out of our weakness and sin we stand up to do the will of our Father who is in Heaven, but also down here on Earth.