By His EVERY Word: Blessings and Curses | Parashat Ki Tavo

Friday, September 4, 2020

Blessings and Curses | Parashat Ki Tavo | By His EVERY Word

Parashat Ki Tavo / פרשת כי־תבוא

“When You Go In”

Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8

Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-60:22

B'rit Chadashah: Ephesians 1:3-6, Revelation 21:10-27

Shabbat | 5 September 2020 | 13 Elul 5780

Portion Ki Tavo ~ Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8

Blessings and Curses

A cursory read through this week’s portion invariably leaves a sober imprint of the verses regarding God’s promise of blessings for obedience, and especially His dire warning of curses for disobedience.

Here we find Israel coming into Adonai’s chosen land. Through this tiny people—the “least” among nations, the Almighty would reveal Himself and work His redemption for the world. From Jerusalem, where Adonai has placed His Name forever, His glory, holiness, justice, lovingkindness, and mercy would be made manifest to the nations. All this through Israel, even in her fall. “For salvation (Yeshua in Hebrew) is from the Jews.” Deut. 7:7, 1 Kings 9:3, 2 Chron. 7:16, John 4:22

All redemptive prophecy begins and culminates with and through Israel.

Yeshua (Jesus) is not a new paradigm, separate from the people of His lineage. Right up to very end, throughout the book of Revelation, He is the [Passover] Lamb, “the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.” He Himself proclaims: “I am the root and the descendant of David.” Revelation 5:5, 22:16

There is a grave misunderstanding among those who love Jesus. This week’s portion throws a spotlight on Scriptures that often compounds this misunderstanding.

We must understand that every kingdom has a king. And every kingdom has laws, regulations, and statutes that identify it uniquely among the nations.

YHVH is God Almighty over all kings and kingdoms. His ways are beyond ours—high and lifted up—wisdom surpassing the wise—lovingkindness, grace, mercy, and justice in unfathomable measure. And He is holy, holy, holy.

Into a barbaric world, He desires to show His attributes through Israel

“See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him? Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?” Deuteronomy 4:5-8

Israel was already a “redeemed” people, “chosen by God’s grace,” “set apart” for His purposes.

The “Law,” or Torah was two-fold:

Torah means teaching. It taught God’s people HOW to live as a redeemed people—that the world would learn of the One True Living God and His Kingdom.
It contained the system for a temporary remedy for sin until Messiah, the final sacrifice, and the end of the sacrifice system. (And transition to the new priesthood.)

Consistently throughout the Scriptures, obedience to God’s commandments carried with it the issue of relationship, love, faithfulness, and earthly promises so that the nations would see His goodness. Disobedience was tantamount to infidelity (in the sight of the nations—mocking His Name—and idolatry, whoring with other Gods. This reaped earthly disaster.

God pleaded with Israel to be faithful and live under His protection and blessing.

“This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. The Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken.” Deuteronomy 26:16-19

“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God; Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country…” Deuteronomy 28:1-3

Disobedience—unfaithfulness to God, was a conscious choice. Knowingly turning one’s back on the goodness of God while living in His Kingdom was folly.

(Like living in a country illegally, taking the benefits, but not abiding by its laws. Yet far worse, considering this is God Almighty who bestowed His Kingdom and untold blessings upon us!) YHVH clearly delineated the spiritual laws of His Kingdom—as real as the physical laws of our world. If one jumps off a building, he is subject to the laws of gravity.

“But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country…” Deuteronomy 28:15-16

The Tenakh is replete with such warnings. And yet, we are told that the accounts in the Old Testament happened as an example and were recorded FOR US, FOR OUR INSTRUCTION. 1 Corinthians 10:11

So where does this idea come from... that after YHVH spent the lion’s share of the Bible using Israel (and severely punishing her) TO INSTRUCT US on how important His commands are TO HIM ... and Jesus reiterated the authority of Torah in Matthew 5:17-20 ... and Paul said the Law is “holy, and just, and good,” ... the Law “is spiritual” (Romans 7:12,14) ... we “establish the Law” (Romans 3:31), etc., ...that God suddenly did away with His Torah for the life of the redeemed who carry His Name?! Where DOES this idea come from?

I propose He didn’t. We change and waver, but He is trustworthy, unchanging, immutable. “For I, the LORD, do not change…” Malachi 3:6

“The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.” Psalm 33:11

Blessed be His Holy Name, forever, amen!

Shabbat shalom!

His EVERY Word Ministries

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Do Not Be Deceived

Thousands of Palestinians have been rioting along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip. More are promised. WHY?

Israel ENTIRELY MOVED OUT of Gaza in 2005 and turned over FULL CONTROL TO THE PALESTINIANS who then elected

HAMAS. GAZA IS JUDENREIN--NO JEWS ALLOWED. (Why do we still see “Free Gaza!” placards waved at BDS and Israel hate rallies?)

ISRAEL HAS NO CONTROL OVER OVER GAZA but has been attacked relentlessly since the 2005 withdrawal.

The current riots are being called peaceful protests by nearly all media outlets, however, it is clear that Hamas is attempting to ignite a violent confrontation with Israel.

Even if ALL they did was create the massive ecological crisis of dense toxic clouds choking Israeli communities from the burning of tons of tires on the border, Israel must take defensive action.

But this is merely a smoke screen to hide the violent attacks: hurling explosives, rocks, and molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers, as well as attempts to breach the security fence by terrorists.

Hamas KNOWS full well the IDF cannot allow any breach of the security infrastructure and will act against those who are involved in these attacks. (And in case the IDF does NOT respond to provocation, Hamas has been rehearsing fake woundings and deaths--making ready their “Pallywood” media productions--used with great effectiveness since the 2000 Intifada. (See video below from 60 Minutes)

Palestinians received MANY TIMES MORE PER PERSON in charitable humanitarian aid than any other recipient in the world, including those in drought or war ravaged countries. However, the Arab leaders choose to use the funds for weapons in their war to fulfill their charter to destroy the Jewish state, rather than build infrastructure, create jobs, educate (except false hate-filled education, turning youth into martyrs.)

While Israel with far less has built a nation that blesses the world with miraculous agricultural, technological and medical advances -- in spite of being under continual attack.

DO NOT BE DECEIVED, beloved.

Why Do They Always Want to Kill the Jews?

In the simplest of terms, anti-Semitism is from the devil—it’s his survival plan.

From Genesis 3:15, the gauntlet was thrown down between the serpent and the Jews. It would be the “seed of the woman,” the Messiah, who would crush the serpent’s head.

From what people would this Messiah come? “...salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).

Generation after generation throughout history, satan has sought to exterminate the Jews. In the time of Moses, he influenced Pharaoh to murder all the male babies at the time of the deliverer’s birth. In Esther’s day, Haman plotted to have all the Jews of Persia annihilated.

Because his fate is sealed in the Word of God, he could not succeed, and the Messiah of Israel was born. Yeshua (Jesus) fulfilled His days, died, and rose from the grave according to prophecy, and set the captives of Hades free.

Yet the devil is still after the Jews, isn’t he? Why is that?

The story isn’t over. God has promised throughout the Bible to preserve Israel, His People—for His own Name’s sake.

THEY ARE A SIGN OF THE EXISTENCE AND FAITHFULNESS OF GOD TO THE WORLD, and to the veracity of the Bible! When King Frederick the Great of Prussia asked his Lutheran pastor to provide him with visible proof of God’s existence, he answered with just two words: “The Jews.”

The Jews and Israel are not only in the beginning of the Bible, but their prophetic future continues to unfold right through to the New Jerusalem, with Yeshua, Son of David, Lion of of the Tribe of Judah.

If satan were to succeed in wiping out the very nation that God promised to preserve, he would prove God to be untrustworthy and a liar—and the Bible to be a book of lies.

This truth: “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you...” (Genesis 12:3) is why no nation that harms the Jewish People can be blessed. As has been illustrated by the Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans, Germany, the former Soviet Union and most stunningly, the British Empire. Almighty God will turn a destructive hand to the nation or culture who curse His Children.

And so beware even today of those in Christian garb who would take from the Jewish People God’s promises of a future Land and their reigning Messiah. Satan will be active to the end trying to destroy both; even as he is now by spreading through Christian ranks the damnable doctrines of Replacement Theology and Palestinian Liberation Theology. Neither God’s Chosen People, with their unique and special place in the Divine plan of God, nor their future King will be overcome.

It is because of this that no Christian should ever have anything to do with any form of anti-Semitism. It is anti-God—originating with the very enemy of God, that ancient serpent, the father of lies.

For Zion’s Sake,

Michael & Sarah

FULL TRANSCRIPT of VP PENCE'S SPEECH in ISRAEL

FULL TRANSCRIPT OF PENCE'S KNESSET SPEECH | By JPOST.COM STAFF

US Vice President Mike Pence speaking at the Knesset on January 22, 2018

“We stand with Israel because your cause is our cause, your values are our values, and your fight is our fight."

“President Rivlin, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Speaker Edelstein, Leader Herzog, members of the Knesset, justices of the Supreme Court, citizens of Israel it is deeply humbling for me to stand before this vibrant democracy to have the great honor to address this Knesset, the first Vice President of the United States to be afforded that privilege here in Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel.

"And I bring greetings from a leader who has done more to bring our two great countries closer together than any President in the past 70 years -- the 45th President of the United States of America, President Donald Trump.

"Thanks to the President’s leadership, the alliance between our two countries has never been stronger, and the friendship between our peoples has never been deeper. And I am here to convey a simple message from the heart of the American people: America stands with Israel.

"We stand with Israel because your cause is our cause, your values are our values, and your fight is our fight.

"We stand with Israel because we believe in right over wrong, in good over evil, and in liberty over tyranny.

"We stand with Israel because that’s what Americans have always done, and so has it been since my country’s earliest days.

"During his historic visit to Jerusalem, President Trump declared that the bond between us, in his words, is “woven together in the hearts of our people,” and the people of the United States have always held a special affection and admiration for the people of the Book.

"In the story of the Jews, we've always seen the story of America. It is the story of an exodus, a journey from persecution to freedom, a story that shows the power of faith and the promise of hope.

"My country’s very first settlers also saw themselves as pilgrims, sent by Providence, to build a new Promised Land. The songs and stories of the people of Israel were their anthems, and they faithfully taught them to their children, and do to this day. And our founders, as others have said, turned to the wisdom of the Hebrew Bible for direction, guidance, and inspiration.

"America’s first President, George Washington, wrote with favor to “the children of the stock of Abraham.” Our second President, John Adams, declared that the Jews, in his words, “have done more to civilize man than any other nation.”

"And your story inspired my forebears to create what our 16th President called a “new birth of freedom.” And down through the generations, the American people became fierce advocates of the Jewish people’s aspiration to return to the land of your forefathers to claim your own new birth of freedom in your beloved homeland.

Please read the rest of this historic statement: http://bit.ly/2BvoR5t

Pray for the shalom, the well-being, the wholeness, of Jerusalem! They shall prosper that love her.

Psalm 122:6

#IsraelMatters #Israel #Jerusalem #JerusalemEmbassy #TruthMatters #VPPenceinIsrael #Knesset

About this blog

Love. How much has been written about this tiny, four-letter word... How many lives have been lifted and ruined in pursuit of it... How many times have we declared it in earnest ... or carelessly...

Love is a universal driving force.

The Bible, God’s love letter to His creation, exalts love above all: “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
—I Corinthians 13:13

Few of us, however, will define love in precise terms.

Beyond Love is the step beyond all the love any of us could possibly muster up in himself, short of our Master’s input. It is simply … beyond human love. And who wouldn’t want to receive that level of love?

Our theme passage for Beyond Love is Romans 8:38 & 39. God provides a challenging list of things—as daunting as they are—that are unable to separate us from His “agape” love for us.

While these verses so eloquently declare that there is nothing that can come between the believer in Jesus the Messiah and His God, it says something else as well. It says that as you allow God to produce through you His “agape” love—that very same kind of love—that love will as well allow nothing to separate you and your loved one. This is a love, Beyond Love.

It is the goal of this site to help us go beyond that human level of love to a love that is, Beyond Love.

Our prayer is that you will be enriched and your loved ones blessed as God’s surpassing love is exemplified in your life.

Love,

Michael & Sarah Lynn

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Friday, September 4, 2020

Blessings and Curses | Parashat Ki Tavo | By His EVERY Word

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