51. Nitzavim

27 Elul 5781

Deuteronomy 29:9(10)-30:20*

Isaiah 61:10-63:9

John 12:41-50

 

Since I have been walking this road of Father’s Ancient Olam, I have come to love, more and more, the wonder of His times and seasons. So much so, that what used to be extremely foreign to my physical and spiritual self has now become an integral part of my life each year, with more meaning and a greater impact on my walk. I remember when Shabbat was foreign and learning to rest was a real struggle and now if anyone asks me to do something that requires the setting of an alarm or emerging out of our Shabbat bubble, I really struggle.

These last few Torah portions are so significant for the next steps into this new season.

Moshe is instructing the people of Israel to REMEMBER!

This reminds me of the brains ability to remember and learn. In learning there is a concept called primacy and recency. Primacy is what you remember at the beginning of a lesson and recency is the last thing you cover at the end of a lesson. Our brains have a heightened awareness of these things and so it is often what is heard or learned in the middle that we tend to forget or find difficult to recall with clairty. Moshe is making sure that before the Isrealites enter the Land that they are reminded about the paths HaShem is calling them to walk in.

This is the Law – the Torah that we are called to walk in!

Now,  I am not sure how many of you feel confused about this term, "The Law". I am sure many of you have been told that if you are keeping the Sabbath, reading from the Torah cycle, keeping the feasts and the dietary laws etc., that you are under the Law – in a very negative way -  like it is a heaviness we were meant to be set free from.

Is this the verse that possibly could impact your journey with HaShem?

It almost sounds like the Law is a curse like a cancer. Is that what it means?

Absolutely not!

Paul says “the curse”, singular, not “curses”, plural.

The Curse of the law, condemnation, is what happens to a person when one chooses death and evil over goodness and blessing by intentionally falling away from HaShem. The Curse of the Law was eternal death and separation from HaShem then and it remains the same today.

What Paul is explaining is that Yeshua became the object of the Curse of the Law in our placed, and so a follower of Yeshua will NOT have the possibility of eternal death hanging over his head for his sin and short comings.

The Law is not a curse and Paul never said that it was - Paul would have  contradicted Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount and his walk in the Jewish community if this was what he meant. The consequences of breaking HaShems laws are real for each of us and every believer will need to face the consequences for sinning but those consequences don’t (for the most part) include eternal damnation.

(Source: Tom Bradford – Torahclass.com Deuteronomy chapter 29, lesson 40)

The Law (the Torah) is made up of 3 primary elements:

1. the laws and commands,
2. the list of blessings for being obedient to those laws and commands,
3. and the list of curses for being disobedient to those laws and commands.

The curses of the law are only one element of the Law; they represent the consequences and the penalties for not keeping the law.

That is what Yeshua came to set us free from!

He did not come to bring a divide between us and Himself – for He is the Word, He is the Torah – therefore He is the LAW!

What Moshe is doing in these chapters is reminding the tribe of Israel to walk in the ways of the WORD! Not being separated from it at any time and that when they do separate themselves from the WORD (the LAW) they will be subject to the curses of the Law.

Who of you would like to walk around in this life outside of the covering of The Word – Yeshua?

Moshe is instructing the Israelite’s to walk under the covering of Torah – in order to walk in abundance and the blessing of HaShem’s WORD, The LAW – aka The Torah! How deceived have we been in the church? How many times have we heard the teaching that we no longer need to keep the laws of the Torah? That we don’t need to keep the Sabbaths and the feasts as these are only for the Jews?

It is time – to sift out the chaff and cling to the truth of the Word. Father, Himself says that His Word never returns void – and Yeshua declared in Matthew 5:18 “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

What we need to be praying for is the ability to understand this Law – this Torah. For when we do, we will truly see!

Deuteronomy 29:3 Moses says that many of the people standing in front of him, personally witnessed the wonders of Egypt and Mt. Sinai, but then in verse 4 he says that despite that the Lord has not given you a mind to understand nor eyes to see nor ears to hear; meaning that they did not understand the meaning of it all. A more direct Hebrew translation is “you have “seen” but you don’t “see” and that even though you have ears, you don’t “hear” – this is all about Spiritual Blindness.

It is going to take divine intervention to give to us the insight we need to understand the divine Word of HaShem. Without this spiritual awareness there is no hope of understanding the significance of His laws and commands and his redemption plan for each of our lives.

Only those who had faith and trusted HaShem were given the “unlock code” to His Word. Only those who loved HaShem and WANTED to be obedient were given minds to understand, eyes to see, and ears to hear.

Sh’ma Israel! Sh’ma … listen AND obey.

I pray that as you study and prepare for Yom Teruah/Rosh Hoshanna that you will seek Father and His spiritual gift of understanding and decoding the Law for your walk – when we walk in this we will know the lightness and the blessing of His covering!

For Yeshua said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

 

Baruch HaShem and Chag Sameach!

Michelle