Devarim (Deuteronomy)
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Meaning
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Day Six
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Haftara
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B'rit Hadashah
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1 Our Father, we receive Your Words and hide Your commandments with us; 2 we incline our ear unto wisdom, and apply our hearts to understanding; 3 We cry after knowledge and lift up our voices for understanding; 4 we seek it as silver; and search for it as for hidden treasures; 5 We declare that we shall understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. Declaration of Proverbs 2:1-5.
Deuteronomy 28:64-29:9 (NASB)1
64 "Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known.
65 "Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. 66 "So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. 67 "In the morning you shall say, 'Would that it were evening!' And at evening you shall say, 'Would that it were morning!' because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. 68 "The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, 'You will never see it again!' And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer." 29 1 These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He had made with them at Horeb. 2 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land; 3 the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. 4 "Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. 5 "I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. 6 "You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the LORD your God. 7 "When you reached this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet us for battle, but we defeated them;
8 and we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. 9 "So keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.
65 "Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. 66 "So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. 67 "In the morning you shall say, 'Would that it were evening!' And at evening you shall say, 'Would that it were morning!' because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. 68 "The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, 'You will never see it again!' And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer." 29 1 These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He had made with them at Horeb. 2 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land; 3 the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. 4 "Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. 5 "I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. 6 "You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the LORD your God. 7 "When you reached this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet us for battle, but we defeated them;
8 and we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. 9 "So keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.
There are some weeks I think that the entire world is relieved at the close of a very heavy and angst-filled week! The mildly annoying thing was that I was unable to sign into the website yesterday to publish the Torah Bites for the day. Even late last night, there was no entry. The “Internal issues, our people are working” message came up yet again. The most shocking event was that I saw a man die. While cruising through the news, I saw the footage of Charlie Kirk in his last moment. We live in such an age! In 1963, the footage of John Fitzgerald Kennedy was sketchy and black and white. In the sixty-two years since that day, cameras have advanced to such a degree that I almost could have been standing in the crowd in Utah when Charlie Kirk died. The first thing I thought was that this poor man was dead before he hit the floor. He couldn't have known what hit him, and I'm sure he didn't suffer. I confess that I didn't know who this fellow was before he was killed. How did I miss that, being such a news geek? I am saddened by his death and the fact that he left behind a young family. I'm perplexed and doubly saddened by the reports of Democrats cheering and other members of the “left” celebrating his death. The fact that mainstream media news celebrated a possible assassination of others whom they despise because of their 'conservative' stand. The clip I viewed left me feeling, “I'm so done with mainstream media”. So this week is ending with my accepting the fact that our world is certainly “circling the drain” at an even faster rate, now that another good man has been gunned down before us all.
The sadness over human affairs is balanced by the fact that our God is still in control! I still have the haven of our little homestead here, when life “out there” truly appears absolutely insane. I was sifting through my social media last night and here was one of the offerings: “My wife asked me this morning if I saw the dog bowl... (wait for it). I didn't know he could.” I laughed and laughed. It was a healing. It is a fact that humor can lift a heavy heart for the better!
22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22.
There are five more hens in the coop as of last night. They're housed in the little annex until they can get to know the alumni crew for several days, separated by a lattice door. I marveled that when we went into the main coop after they settled, there was the head rooster, Sheamus, and the second “in command”, whom I finally named, Elliot, with only one hen between them. The way Sheamus acts in the daytime, I wouldn't have thought they'd be on the same roost! I gathered up two eggs, enough for a dish of food for the new hens, and made my exit. I can hear Sheamus crowing as I write this morning. Richard has come back from the first coop check, and he states that "everything is okay in there”. However, nobody met him at the door this morning. They were all busy, gathered at the lattice door, busy watching the newbies that arrived last night!
Now we're going to take a look at our last selection for the week. I suppose that it didn't help that all these judgments were being read in the same week that world events took such a turn. But we are at the end of it today. I would argue that mankind is so obstinate and dense with their own passions and agendas. We need all the warnings that God deems necessary for us to fully integrate and realize that God's way IS the BEST! The history of Israel is for us to learn lessons of life and truth. These lessons come to us from the ultimate parent of the universe! I don't know about you, but I want to listen up!
64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. Deuteronomy 28:64.
Here is another curse with a double meaning that was prophecy. Indeed, there are parts of Israel that are scattered all over this planet! They're mostly known collectively as Jewish neighborhoods. I would venture to say that there are those on the planet today who have ancestry of Israel, and they don't even know it. I was totally unaware of my own until I was in my forties. Before I met the Jesus of the Bible and made a decision to follow Him when I was fifteen, I once decided that if I was ever to 'change my religion', it would be Judaism. What sort of child gets an idea like that? Now I've met a lady in my sewing group who made that very same decision as a child. She was born and raised in Scotland and converted to Judaism as a young woman. To her knowledge, there were no connections to Israel whatsoever in her family lines that she knows. To this day, Israel is indeed scattered among all people.
68 And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you. Deuteronomy 28:68.
Adam Clarke helps us with this verse. It may mean that Israel would be sold into another situation LIKE Egypt.
“And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again - That is, into another state of slavery and bondage similar to that of Egypt, out of which they had been lately brought. And there ye shall be sold, that is, be exposed to sale, or expose yourself to sale as the word התמכרתם hithmaccartem may be rendered; they were vagrants, and wished to become slaves that they might be provided with the necessaries of life. And no man shall buy you; even the Romans thought it a reproach to have a Jew for a slave, they had become so despicable to all mankind. When Jerusalem was taken by Titus, many of the captives, which were above seventeen years of age, were sent into the works in Egypt. See Josephus, Antiq., b. xii, 100:1, 2, War b. vi., c. 9, s. 2; and above all, see Bp. Newton's Dissertations on the Prophecies... This is an astonishing chapter: in it are prophecies delivered more than 3,000 years ago, and now fulfilling.”
Adam Clarke continued:
“O God, how immense is thy wisdom, and how profound thy counsels! To thee alone are known all thy works from the beginning to the end. What an irrefragable proof does this chapter, compared with the past and present state of the Jewish people, afford of the truth and Divine origin of the Pentateuch!”
Now there is a word I had to look up this morning! Irrefragable is an English adjective modifying things (laws, statutes, etc.) that are “impossible to refute, break, or alter”. Since around 1533, it has been used as derived from the Latin word 'refragari', which means “to oppose or resist”. There was also a third sense that applied to inflexible or obstinate people. Now we can read that last paragraph by Adam Clarke and rejoice with him about the prophetic aspects of Torah!
In the twenty-ninth chapter of this fifth book, we find the final summation of the contract.
1 These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.... 9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. Deuteronomy 29:1; 9.
Charles Henry Mackintosh (1820-1896) is quite famous for his “Notes on the Pentateuch”. Genesis began with 334 pages all by itself. The two-volume work on Deuteronomy is over 800 pages. All this is still in print and available in many languages! He had a lot to say just on these first verses in this twenty-ninth chapter. I include only two of those paragraphs. Here is our meditation for the weekend break. Charles Mackintosh preaches about 'balance' that we've touched on again this past week. Feel free to read it as many times as you need to let it all sink in. I did.
“For any one to imagine that he can enjoy the blessed sense of intimate relationship, while living in the habitual neglect of our Lord's commandments is a miserable and mischievous delusion. "If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love." This is the grand point. Let us deeply ponder it. "If ye love me keep my commandments." "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God."
These are seasonable words for this day of easy going, self-indulgent, worldly profession. May they sink down into our ears and into our hearts! May they take full possession of our whole moral being, and bring forth fruit in our individual history. We feel persuaded of the need of this practical side of things. We are in imminent danger, while seeking to keep clear of everything like legality, of running into the opposite evil of carnal laxity. The passages of holy scripture which we have just quoted — and they are but a few of many — supply the divine safeguard against both these pernicious and deadly errors. It is blessedly true that we are brought into the holy relationship of children by the sovereign grace of God, through the power of His word and Spirit. This one fact cuts up by the roots the noxious weed of legality.”
The sadness over human affairs is balanced by the fact that our God is still in control! I still have the haven of our little homestead here, when life “out there” truly appears absolutely insane. I was sifting through my social media last night and here was one of the offerings: “My wife asked me this morning if I saw the dog bowl... (wait for it). I didn't know he could.” I laughed and laughed. It was a healing. It is a fact that humor can lift a heavy heart for the better!
22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22.
There are five more hens in the coop as of last night. They're housed in the little annex until they can get to know the alumni crew for several days, separated by a lattice door. I marveled that when we went into the main coop after they settled, there was the head rooster, Sheamus, and the second “in command”, whom I finally named, Elliot, with only one hen between them. The way Sheamus acts in the daytime, I wouldn't have thought they'd be on the same roost! I gathered up two eggs, enough for a dish of food for the new hens, and made my exit. I can hear Sheamus crowing as I write this morning. Richard has come back from the first coop check, and he states that "everything is okay in there”. However, nobody met him at the door this morning. They were all busy, gathered at the lattice door, busy watching the newbies that arrived last night!
Now we're going to take a look at our last selection for the week. I suppose that it didn't help that all these judgments were being read in the same week that world events took such a turn. But we are at the end of it today. I would argue that mankind is so obstinate and dense with their own passions and agendas. We need all the warnings that God deems necessary for us to fully integrate and realize that God's way IS the BEST! The history of Israel is for us to learn lessons of life and truth. These lessons come to us from the ultimate parent of the universe! I don't know about you, but I want to listen up!
64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. Deuteronomy 28:64.
Here is another curse with a double meaning that was prophecy. Indeed, there are parts of Israel that are scattered all over this planet! They're mostly known collectively as Jewish neighborhoods. I would venture to say that there are those on the planet today who have ancestry of Israel, and they don't even know it. I was totally unaware of my own until I was in my forties. Before I met the Jesus of the Bible and made a decision to follow Him when I was fifteen, I once decided that if I was ever to 'change my religion', it would be Judaism. What sort of child gets an idea like that? Now I've met a lady in my sewing group who made that very same decision as a child. She was born and raised in Scotland and converted to Judaism as a young woman. To her knowledge, there were no connections to Israel whatsoever in her family lines that she knows. To this day, Israel is indeed scattered among all people.
68 And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you. Deuteronomy 28:68.
Adam Clarke helps us with this verse. It may mean that Israel would be sold into another situation LIKE Egypt.
“And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again - That is, into another state of slavery and bondage similar to that of Egypt, out of which they had been lately brought. And there ye shall be sold, that is, be exposed to sale, or expose yourself to sale as the word התמכרתם hithmaccartem may be rendered; they were vagrants, and wished to become slaves that they might be provided with the necessaries of life. And no man shall buy you; even the Romans thought it a reproach to have a Jew for a slave, they had become so despicable to all mankind. When Jerusalem was taken by Titus, many of the captives, which were above seventeen years of age, were sent into the works in Egypt. See Josephus, Antiq., b. xii, 100:1, 2, War b. vi., c. 9, s. 2; and above all, see Bp. Newton's Dissertations on the Prophecies... This is an astonishing chapter: in it are prophecies delivered more than 3,000 years ago, and now fulfilling.”
Adam Clarke continued:
“O God, how immense is thy wisdom, and how profound thy counsels! To thee alone are known all thy works from the beginning to the end. What an irrefragable proof does this chapter, compared with the past and present state of the Jewish people, afford of the truth and Divine origin of the Pentateuch!”
Now there is a word I had to look up this morning! Irrefragable is an English adjective modifying things (laws, statutes, etc.) that are “impossible to refute, break, or alter”. Since around 1533, it has been used as derived from the Latin word 'refragari', which means “to oppose or resist”. There was also a third sense that applied to inflexible or obstinate people. Now we can read that last paragraph by Adam Clarke and rejoice with him about the prophetic aspects of Torah!
In the twenty-ninth chapter of this fifth book, we find the final summation of the contract.
1 These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.... 9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. Deuteronomy 29:1; 9.
Charles Henry Mackintosh (1820-1896) is quite famous for his “Notes on the Pentateuch”. Genesis began with 334 pages all by itself. The two-volume work on Deuteronomy is over 800 pages. All this is still in print and available in many languages! He had a lot to say just on these first verses in this twenty-ninth chapter. I include only two of those paragraphs. Here is our meditation for the weekend break. Charles Mackintosh preaches about 'balance' that we've touched on again this past week. Feel free to read it as many times as you need to let it all sink in. I did.
“For any one to imagine that he can enjoy the blessed sense of intimate relationship, while living in the habitual neglect of our Lord's commandments is a miserable and mischievous delusion. "If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love." This is the grand point. Let us deeply ponder it. "If ye love me keep my commandments." "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God."
These are seasonable words for this day of easy going, self-indulgent, worldly profession. May they sink down into our ears and into our hearts! May they take full possession of our whole moral being, and bring forth fruit in our individual history. We feel persuaded of the need of this practical side of things. We are in imminent danger, while seeking to keep clear of everything like legality, of running into the opposite evil of carnal laxity. The passages of holy scripture which we have just quoted — and they are but a few of many — supply the divine safeguard against both these pernicious and deadly errors. It is blessedly true that we are brought into the holy relationship of children by the sovereign grace of God, through the power of His word and Spirit. This one fact cuts up by the roots the noxious weed of legality.”
9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. Deuteronomy 29:9.
1 NASB www.lockman.org for daily reading and KJV in commentary unless otherwise specified.
*The Torah and Haftara chapter/verse numbering taken from the Hebrew Bible (Christian-published chapter/verse numbering indicated within parenthesis)
*The Torah and Haftara chapter/verse numbering taken from the Hebrew Bible (Christian-published chapter/verse numbering indicated within parenthesis)
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