Enter His Gates - Shoftim

Thoughts on the Torah

Shoftim

This parsha is always read at the beginning of the 6th month – the month of Elul. This is such a significant month as it leads us into a time of preparation before the next 3 moed (feasts) – Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah or Feast of Trumpets; Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement and Sukkot or Feast of Tabernacles. It is about preparing to leave the wilderness and enter the Promises of Elohim.

 This month of Elul is when the King is in His field. It is a month when I can imagine running into the field and seeing my Beloved amid the wheat and running towards Him with absolute freedom, the protocols of the throne room for this time being set aside as He in His great humility steps into the field to ensure that we have full access to His presence and His promised! Father has seven times in the year that He has created for us to come and meet with Him – to bring us into a place of readiness – let us not miss one moment that He has blessed us with to prepare for this time. This portion specifically addresses issues of the prophet, priest, and King (Yeshua). 👑

The pashat or surface meeting of the text is that the leaders and men of authority would be at the gate to give advice and judge who came in and out to enforce the decisions and ultimately protect the city from evil influences and from those who would bring in things that would counter the Word of Elohim. On a deeper level, we can see this as a metaphor for our lives: we are all like a city, we all have gates (eyes, ears, mouths) and we need to set judges before each of our gates.

The judges at each of gate, are like filters that will decide on what should come in or go out and which laws will be upheld or not. As Moshe was speaking, he was prophetically empowering all generations, those present and those still to come, to step into their role as part of the plan of establishing Eretz Yisrael as the earthly embassy of Adonai Elohim! The shadow of the Heavenly City gives even more meaning to the phrase we hear Yeshua echoing “On earth as it is in Heaven.” And all of this starts at the GATES!

The Hebrew word for ‘gate’ is sha’ar. The verb root means to cleave or divide. It also means to separate one thing of a certain essence from another of the same essence. Applying our minds to Hebrew thinking, a gate would be a place where things are divided up. In the ancient world, the gate of the city or village was the hub of all city life and everything that took place within these gates was overseen by judges and officials. A Hebrew judge is one who: leads and vindicates his people politically and militarily; defends truth; keeps order and protects the peace of the community and stands for Adonai to protect the covenant between Adonai Elohim and His people. Our judge is ultimately Adonai Elohim. 

Deuteronomy 16:18 tells us that we are to appoint these judges. In Hebrew this word is natan which means so much more than just to appoint. The first time this word is used is in Genesis 1:17 when it speaks of Elohim placing the sun, moon, and stars in the sky on the 4th day of Creation. It is all about authority and establishing governance over our lives, to mark His times and seasons so that when He returns, we will be ready! These judges can be likened to the sun, moon, and stars on the 4th day.

I stand amazed at this revelation, that we, in this month of Elul are entering into a time when we are preparing our hearts to enter into the Gates, preparing our hearts for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the times when we have the opportunity to repent and prepare so that we will clothed in garments of righteousness, ready to be seated with Yeshua at the banqueting table, His Bride, with lamps overflowing and our lights shining with fervour!

Oh, that we would with gladness and joy invite our Elohim to stand as the judge at our gates so that we would not be sleeping when the Bridegroom, Mashiach returns! It is not without purpose that we read this Parsha at this time – it is our Good Shepherd leading us into this season of heart and soul preparation so that we may not be found wanting, with empty lamps and sleep-filled eyes but that we would be ready to step into the banqueting hall with purpose, joy and rapture at our glorious Yeshua HaMashiach’s return!

This year the It’s Time calendar is all about Gates. The gates we will spiritually enter into and the gates of our tabernacles that we will be keeping guard over. Gates symbolize power, protection, and inheritance, as seen in the narratives following Isaac's binding and Rebekah's departure to marry him. Standing guard at the gates of our hearts is crucial to preventing the enemy from seizing control of our inner sanctuaries and hindering our communion with Elohim. They also signify the connection between heaven and earth, exemplified in Ya’kov's vision of angels ascending and descending a ladder, symbolising the link with Adonai.

In Psalm 118, the plea to "Open for me the gates of righteousness" emphasises the gateway to the Lord, reserved for the righteous to enter, allowing gratitude and worship.

Our journey, crafted by the Father, leads us along the narrow paths of His Ways, guiding us to deepen our righteousness yearly through the observance of appointed times and seasons, mirroring Yeshua's footsteps towards the Father. This journey demands daily self-sacrifice on the challenging path to the gates of Heaven, offering redemption, sanctification, and restoration, ultimately leading to the presence of The Ancient Olam, a passage unattainable without Yeshua, our Meshiach.

May this new season, lead you to a deeper realisation of the presence of Meshiach in your life. May you tangibly experience His leading along the paths of truth, bringing you closer to your Heavenly Father. May each step you take in keeping His times and seasons bring you to His Gates, ready to enter into His purposes for your life and His Kingdom.

 Baruch HaShem,