DEVARIM - WORDS-Things - דברים- Audio Podcast July 22, 2023
Notes
Transcript
Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
REVIEW
We completed the book of Bamidbar - in the wilderness / Numbers
From that book, we will continue to speak about common themes in Deuteronomy/ Devarim
Distorted Thinking
Today very predominant
We talked about the prophetic significance of the Golden Calf - idolatry
We will continue to mention the role the golden calf played in the whole journey
We finished the book of Bamidbar - in the wilderness / Numbers talking about the tribes and their journeys
The Torah goes on to recount the 42 stations from the Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land.
So, journeys 1 through 11 were in the first year following the Exodus, and journeys
32–42 in the fortieth year,
meaning that there were 19 journeys in the intervening 38 years.
According to the Midrash, 19 of these 38 years were spent in Kadesh, and the other 19 wandering through the desert.
The journey from Egypt (Mitzrayim) is a perpetual one:
what is expansive and uninhibited by yesterday’s standards, is narrow and confining in light of the added wisdom and new possibilities of today’s station.
Thus, each of life’s “journeys” is an exodus from the land of Mitzrayim: having transcended yesterday’s limitations, we must again journey from the Mitzrayim that our present norm represents relative to our newly uncovered potential
In our Torah portion today, and in the whole book of Devarim, we will continue to examine these stations.
Introduction
Introduction
Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
These are the words
1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
Devarim = Deuteronomy
elle-ha deverim = these are the words
אלה-ה-דברים
Very extensive information in Devarim= very rich
Yeshua’s quotations mostly from Deuteronomy
In previous Torah portions we explained the commandments of God is what “these are the words” meant.
We also explained that Deuteronomy is known as the second giving of the Law.
I would proposed to you, that while that is true, there is a deeper level of reception on behalf of Israel as we will see.
2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.
3 Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him as commandments to them,
Picture of Journey
An 11 day journey that lasted 40 years
Reason why the journeys are moments and opportunities to learn
Lesson are very important to learn - some of us have more difficulty learning.
As they journeyed they came across different nations
In today’s Torah portion we will talk about a practical lesson:
People of faith - known for hospitality
In this Torah portion a couple of nations are inhospitable
Are you going to be known for your hospitality or your hostility?
Hospitality is not just entertaining
Or a good meal.
It is more
We will see this in this Torah Portion
The first generation that came out of Egypt was “thick headed”
You could hit them with a baseball bat and they would not understand
In language teaching we had a saying: “Even if you injected the skills to learn a second language, they would vomit it.”
As we enter Devarim, we must remember Moses here is dealing with second generations, perhaps even the third.
It is not the same group as the first generation that he brought out of Egypt with him - the hit me with a baseball bat generation.
Devarim = Deuteronomy
elle-ha deverim = these are the words
אלה-ה-דברים
Hebrew words are very special and they tell us a lot
Sometimes when you see the word - elle = אלה (aleph/lamed/ hey)
That means something bad is about to happen
In this particular portion: elle-ha-deverim - we know that the words of rebuke will come from Moses to the children of Israel
The language used, and style seem to indicate that the Moses of this book is a bit more sure of himself- more confident in what the Lord called him to do.
Therefore, the Moses rebuking the people seems to be more pronounced than the other books prior to this one.
He starts with a long list of mistakes made in the wilderness so that they could review
A good teacher reviews what was presented before introducing more.
We will see new things in Devarim, but there will be a review
What is different in this delivery?
Answer: He uses more contextual clues, rather than specific details
He would use names of places to refer to the context:
3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal Peor; for the Lord your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor.
You see Moshe is referencing the place where this happened
You need to know what happened
This is a very cultural way of speaking
After all the Lord expects you to know what is happening
This is what happened
3 So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.
In fact, according to the Sifri (Midrash/ halakha), the numerous place names listed here are not landmarks indicating where Moses spoke these words—indeed, some of these places do not even exist as geographical locations (as of yet- as they have not been found).
Rather, these are words of rebuke by Moses to the people of Israel.
Instead of mentioning their sins outright, he alluded to them with these place names.
Here are a few more examples
Picture with Places
“In the desert”—the time they complained: “If only we would have died in the desert” (Exodus 17:3).
“In the Aravah (Plain)”—their worship of Baal Peor in the Plains of Moab (Numbers 25).
“Opposite Suf”—the trouble they made at the shores of Yam Suf, the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:11 and Rashi on Exodus 15:22).
“Paran”—the sin of the spies, who were dispatched from Paran (as recounted in Numbers 13 and later in our own Parshah).
“Tofel” and “Lavan” (meaning “Defame” and “white”)—their defaming the white manna (Numbers 21:5).
“Chatzerot”—where Korach’s mutiny against Moses took place. (Numbers 11:35) Numbers 13
“Di-Zahav” (literally, “too much gold”)—the sin of the golden calf. Deuteronomy 1:1
Exodus 32
Keeping all this in mind, let me get into the message
PRESENTATION
Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
Moses seems to be using this context to deliver the rebuke with this generation than the previous.
The previous was more thick-headed.
If you would rebuke them, they would complaint, plot against Moses and Aaron.
They would blame shift, argue, rebel.
The second generation has a better ability to reach deeper meanings just with the context reference which we called Hyperlinks
But a place brings back memories more easily if you have been there
It was difficult to forget Egypt and move on
So this is very typical of Jewish culture, Latin American culture, my cultures
What is important to notice is that they are quiet listening to all the list of mistakes and errors committed during the journey.
It is very difficult to learn is you are not listening
You cannot listen if you are speaking - quiet
They are not complaining but just accepting what Moses is pointing out
In our lives we also have moments, days or years of revelation, times when we learn and grow and are enriched.
But the purpose must always be to move on, move away, and carry the enlightenment and enrichment to someplace else—some corner of creation that awaits redemption.
Devarim is like an executive meeting to evaluate where we have been, where we are, and where we need to go.
The problem is that we do not stop to reflect how we got here and learn from the mistakes
If Moses had spoken like this to the previous generation, chances are they would have retaliated.
You have to be more “DIRECT” and “FIRM” with the less experienced generation to get through.
Sometimes you have to use very unorthodox methods
But this generation, Moses is addressing here is more receptive.
They are functioning at a higher level.
So, what is different about this generation, in addition to not being so thick-headed?
They are listening silently - because these mistakes Moses is pointing out were committed by the previous generation.
The problem arises when the mistakes pointed out to us, belong to us.
Moses lists all the different stations where they camped, the events, and what the Lord said.
No one is trying to defend himself- interrupting and arguing.
They could also have said: Moses, we didn’t do that.
That was our parents. So, do not bring it to us.
Moses, we didn’t have time, or this or that.
But they are standing silently, receiving the rebuke.
Maturity/ MATURITE
When somebody is able to do that, they have developed a higher level of maturity - spiritual growth.
They are accepting a rebuke that belongs to someone else.
Then we call them Mature
What is the point of rebuking this generation and not saying the previous generation died in the Wilderness.
They paid for their sins.
We do not need to mention them anymore.
We might risk hurting someone’s feelings if we bring it up.
Moses does not take that approach.
He very carefully outlines the mistakes.
Unless you believe you can learn from someone else’s mistakes, and see the value in it, you are not going to stand and receive the correction.
When you are secured in who you are, you will not the need to shift the blame.
This seems to be the case with this generation.
We typically become defensive when something is brought up to us: I didn’t do that!
And point the finger.
We can still learn something from somebody else’s mistakes - like the previous generation.
There is no need to use the baseball bat.
Your ability or inability to receive through listening shines your level of maturity - picture
You will be exposed and hurt, not because the person speaking with you is bad, but because your immaturity, insecurity, your low level of understanding.
The most natural man’s reaction is we do not want to be rebuke;
Picture of man in light
we don’t want to be told we are wrong;
we don’t want to measure up to what is expected of us.
This is the natural man - human - acting without knowing God.
The spiritual man - who knows God, welcomes the rebuke.
Specially nowadays, it is all about don’t make feel bad, guilty.
Build me up!
Leave me with my distortions
There is no change unless we realize we need to change.
There is no conviction unless we realize we are guilty.
There is no acknowledgement of guilt until sometimes it is exposed.
13 Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.’
Maturity Picture
This generation is Devarim benefitted from the lessons of the previous generation.
They followed Joshua like no other generation.
We can take it personally, and go to our distortions: personalize it, internalize, or we can say: maybe this does not apply to me, but maybe I can learn something.
Or something may come up in the future and what I have learned today, I may use then.
This generation Moses is speaking with has attained a better level of self-sacrifice.
It was not easy.
It was very difficult for the previous generation to take on the role of a sacrificial life since they had developed rituals in bondage.
No matter how good they had it, they had the tendency to default in negativity: poor is me mentality.
They had a different set of lenses to see life.
This generation accepted Moses’ assessment of the 40 years in the wilderness, and did not feel guilty of the errors!
How do we know this?
16 So they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
17 Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses.
18 Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.”
Similar to the Mount Sinai statement: what you say, that we will do and we will hear.
Just as we obeyed Moses in all things - so, we will obey you. This generation obeyed.
An obedient generation stands and receives the rebuke of the word.
Picture
Every time we hear these are the words -
Devarim = Deuteronomy
elle-ha deverim = these are the words
אלה-ה-דברים
We can make the mistake to become self-righteous and say we did not make that mistake, rather than learning again.
We can very easily say, if I had been part of the people of Israel that came from Egypt I would have done things differently;
I wouldn’t have complained; I would have obeyed.
It is easy to become self - righteous and point the finger to others.
The fact that is that if you feel like that, and think that way, there is some maturing to do and you probably need some wilderness experience as well.
The way these words were taken was in the scope of national identity, not personal.
We can point the finger more easily when we think individualistically.
The idea is, if it is happening to my people, it is happening to me.
These are the reasons we need to repent for the sins of our fathers, as being part of the nation, part of the same identity.
This is part of taking ownership of your identity as you relate to your people.
You may not have idea how much healing there can be when we apologize for something we don’t really feel we did wrong.
The apology heals the relationships and gives us a sense of togetherness.
We restore the relationship, as we say we are family.
We are of the same people.
quiet picture
This generation in Devarim is a generation of SILENCE - supreme confidence in the salvation the Lord has provided.
Therefore an acceptable sacrifice must be done in silence.
The animals chose for sacrifice, kolshor slaughter, for the sacrifice tend to be silent.
The lamb is specially silent. The dove is also silent.
It is a sacrificial bird is not going to quiver.
These animals do not fight the sacrifice.
They go in a moment of silence.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
He never said, I never did that.
It wasn’t me.
He just took it.
There is power in silence- in remaining quiet.
We must take the time to be silent and meditate about our mistakes and learn.
When Nadab and Abidu died, Aaron kept silent.
1 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.
2 So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ” So Aaron held his peace.
In times of sorrow, and difficulty we must contemplate: what does this mean?
What can I learn from this?
What is God showing me?
Who is He showing me He is?
You may not find the answer but you open yourself to be receptive to learn.
Most of the time, we only react, on the basis of our instinct, like an animal:
Picture
Fight
Flight
Freeze
But we are not called to trust in our animal senses.
We are called to walk by the Spirit, asking the Lord what lessons I need to learn from the specific experience.
He meets us in the experience, that we may experience Him in the sacrifice.
Paul said it this way:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
We need to be willing to die to self - in silence to present ourselves as an acceptable sacrifice.
We are transformed in silence.
In this Torah Portion the people of Moab are mentioned very frequently.
Edom and Ammon are also mentioned.
Moab and Ammon are descendants of Lot.
There are specific commandments from the Lord to deal with each one of them.
But there is a repetition of: on this side of the Jordan
5 On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying,
on this side of the Jordan
1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
in the land of Moab
8 “And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, away from the road of the plain, away from Elath and Ezion Geber, we turned and passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab.
9 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”
They were not allowed to take the land given to the descendants of Lot
There is a midrash that says that when Abraham and Sarah went down to Egypt and Abraham said this is my sister, Lot kept silence.
He did not say, hey - that is not his sister, that is his wife.
Instead he protected Abraham.
The midrash explains that the reward was to give the descendants of Lot property.
This land could not be taken from there unless conquered.
The principle of Moab sets everything Moses is going to explain as it follows
with Amon - be a good sport
16 “So it was, when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people,
17 that the Lord spoke to me, saying:
18 ‘This day you are to cross over at Ar, the boundary of Moab.
19 And when you come near the people of Ammon, do not harass them or meddle with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”
With the brethren- be a good sport
4 And command the people, saying, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully.
5 Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
26 “And I sent messengers from the Wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying,
27 ‘Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the road, and I will turn neither to the right nor to the left.
28 You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink; only let me pass through on foot,
29 just as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord our God is giving us.’
The descendants of Esau, the people from Seir are the same people.
And of course the people of Moab again.
We do not know specifically what the whole picture is about Ammon and Moab in this Torah Portion, or in this part of Deuteronomy.
But in
3 “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever,
4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
5 Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.
6 You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land.
8 The children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.
4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
Not giving bread and water?
Remember what Yeshua said
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
But in this Torah Portion, the Lord says, just leave them alone.
But the condition is that they cannot be part of “YOU” Israel.
3 “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever,
Why?
4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
5 Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.
The conditions to enter the congregation for them is more strict. He gives the reasons why:
“Because they did not meet you with bread and water”
Bread and water Picture
That is the number one reason.
The other reason is more obvious
They hired Balaam to curse you.
But I turned the curse into blessing for you, because the Lord your God LOVES you.
But because they did not provide you with Bread and water:
6 You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.
Why?
No hospitality - Share food and water with you
but hostility- Picture
Hospitality builds relationship
But He says the Edomites - who tried to kill them with their swords, and the Egyptians who enslaved them, He says they can enter after the third generation.
But the Moabites are worse for the lack of hospitality.
But in Hebrew it is understood that this is referring to a male, not entering an Israelite, referring to marriage.
But a female Moabite can enter the assembly, by marrying an Israelite.
4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
Picture
Balaam the son = ben = בן ( bet and nun sofit)
Daughter = בת = bat = (bet and tov)
There are certain conditions that a Moabite woman needs to meet, and they are very stringent.
Ruth met those conditions
Remember what the Moabites did wrong when Israel came out of Egypt?
1 Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.
2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel.
4 So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me!
6 Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”
Lick up
4308 לָחַךְ (lā·ḥǎḵ): v.; ≡ Str 3897; TWOT 1103—1. lick up, i.e., the eating motion of a grazing bovine (Nu 22:4b+); 2. consume, formally, lick up, i.e., to destroy as a figurative extension of the act of licking as an eating motion (Nu 22:4a+); 3. consume, formally, lick up, i.e., the consumption of an object by the act of burning (1Ki 18:38+);
But Ruth did everything right
1 Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.
3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.
4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years.
5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.
Bethlehem = womb of a woman
Ruth as a woman could enter
2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.
4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.
5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field.
6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
7 And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”
8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.
The bread which she eats is his wife, etc. It is difficult for him, since we find elsewhere that you should use the language of eating, that she ate and licked her mouth, as above, of her sex, yes, through an adulterous woman. As for his wife
Bartenura on Torah, Genesis 39:6
For if the bread which he eats in Gematria is his wife:
Speaks of intimate relatioship
Rashi:
Because if the bread SAVE THE BREAD — this means his wife, but Scripture uses here a euphemism ( Genesis Rabbah 86:6 ) (cf. Joseph's own words in Genesis 39:9 ).
20 This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, “I have done no wickedness.”
No children
Ruth (rooth) = Beauty; something worth seeing; (root = appearance; vision; the act of seeing; sight). Friendship; female friend. Trembling. Satisfied.
16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.
17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.”
She goes and works for her and her mother in law and brings in food
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
18 Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.
23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
She enters the assembly of the Lord by giving birth to the ancestors of Messiah
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel!
15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.”
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him.
17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron;
19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab;
20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon;
21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed;
In the genealogy of Messiah
5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,
Ruth did not demonstrate hostility towards Naomi (Jew), but hospitality - taking care of her.
So, this enmity can be restored through hospitality = doing good to your neighbor
Ruth restores the mistaken made regarding the omission of bread in Beit - Lechem
This story is read in Shavout - there are two loaves of bread in Shavout
Her story extends from barley harvest to wheat harvest - two loaf story.
Also, Ruth is a Gentile and Boaz is Hebrew, bringing together the two loaves of bread in Shavout.
She restores The sin of omission: omitting hospitality, not bringing the bread and water,
of her ancestors ahead of sorcery is what she does well
CLOSING
Are you a hostile person?
The call to restore the sin of hostility -vs hospitality
Do according to the Torah
After so much hostility towards Israel
Israel is called to do it
19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘The fast of the fourth month, The fast of the fifth, The fast of the seventh, And the fast of the tenth, Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts For the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.’
After going through so much, the call is still to rejoice:
Remember the hostility?
the 9th of Av
The evil report of spies
Destruction of first and second temple
Jewish expulsion from England and Spain
Two world wars
A false Messiah (Shimon Bar Koziva) Bar Kokhba - son of the star - in 935 - called the fall of Beitar- against the Romans. This is when the Jews entered exile until 1948
You could not study the Torah back then, at the time of the diaspora
Today we don’t study by choice, because nothing is keeping us from study
They recovered the word = there is a pattern that was used
The same as Yeshua taught this pattern to His disciples 100 years before.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
That’s what happened and Sinai - according to Jewish tradition everyone got healed.
7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Yeshua is saying I am giving you the word, you go heal
9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts,
10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
Here is my verse
11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.
12 And when you go into a household, greet it.
13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.
15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
Bread and Hospitality picture
Seek for hospitality - not hostility - in PEACE
Yeshua is telling His disciples there may be a city who will not receive them as Moab.
He says do not seek their peace and prosperity.
If they do not listen to you, go to a different city where they will listen to you and then you will seek their peace and prosperity, peace and prosperity will come upon that house.
There is a midrash that says:
Picture
“let anyone who is learned come and teach Torah, and let anyone who is not learned come and learn.”
And not in vain has Torah been compared to bread, as it is written (Mishlei 9:5):
5 “Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed.
This is to teach us that just as bread feeds the heart, as it is written in
15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man’s heart.
And if one does not eat bread for one or two days his heart weakens; and, how much more so, if he does not eat bread for a week, his heart weakens greatly, and it is difficult for him to regain the strength that he lost by this — so is it exactly with Torah study, which feeds the holy soul of the Jew
If you know the Torah, come teach
If you don’t know, come and learn
We can even provide with food, lodging, as long as the Lord blesses
Just like the Bridegroom says to the Shulamite woman says:
4 He brought me to the banqueting house, And his banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins, Refresh me with apples, For I am lovesick.
Shullum comes from the same root as shallom- peace
The hospitality is great in the house
The banner of the house is love
Love until you are sick
These are the words
The words express the new covenant
We need to teach the new covenant
The teaching and learning for the next generation: What Moses is doing?
Making sure the second generation internalizes the Torah
Don’t make the same mistakes
Learn from previous generations’ mistakes
If you are thick-headed and took a long time to learn, you want the next generation to learn better
After the Golden Calf, Moses is directed to prepare a mishkan - a tent of meeting
The tent of meeting is outside the camp
7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.
People who want to learn need to work a bit to come to the camp
It is going to cost them
This is far from the camp
8178 רָחַק (rā·ḥǎq): v.; ≡ Str 7368; —1. be far off, i.e., be in a position a relatively great distance from another position (Ps 103:12);
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Consider this verse
3 Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals,
4 but sought the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to the acts of Israel.
5 Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance.
6 And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord; moreover he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah.
7 Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.
8 And with them he sent Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah—the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.
9 So they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people.
Anyone who receives the teacher is considered to receive the Devine Presence.
The sin of Moab is that they did not go out to meet Israel with bread and water.
They did not go out to the servants of Adonai.
They did not extend the hospitality to Israel, they did not extend hospitality to the Lord- Moab and Ammon did not trouble themselves for Israel
We are physical vessels, like Moses.
He was a physical vessel bringing the Torah.
When we show hospitality to the one who brings the Torah shows that we are seeking for Devine presence in our lives.
How far?
3 and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.
4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”
2000 cubits
1 cubit is 18 inch. 2000 cubits is 36K inches/ 12 inch per foot = 3000 feet
3000 feet = There are 3280 feet in a KM. So they had to be at least 1 km away from the ark
If they wanted to see Moses they would have to walk one KM.
Some people will not even cross the street to go to a Bible Study
If you are going to seek Adonai, you are going to trouble yourself - to go out to this tent
This is what it means to exile
We are going to have to work hard to keep the word among us, when the exile comes.
Moses could not record and send it to people to study the Torah.
The day will come when we will need to walk far to study the word
We treat people with hospitality as they seek the Lord
To survive the famine - we need hospitality
The teacher teaches the Torah - reaps the reward
The one providing hospitality - also reaps the reward
The reward of hospitality?
Resurrection
In 2 Kings there’s the story of the woman whose son dies
20 When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
Elisha performs a miracle
32 When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed.
33 He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord.
34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm.
35 He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
36 And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.”
37 So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she picked up her son and went out.
Then Elisha feeds bread to 100 men
42 Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.”
43 But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ”
44 So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.
= Left over/ remnant
If you try to make them work for yourself, rather than being hospitable is worse than not feeding them bread and water.
Hospitality in NT
13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
10 well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.
How do you know the good works - you know the good Word
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
Let us practice Hospitality
in Hebrew comes from two words:
rhea = neighbor
ahav = love
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Keep the Peace of the Lord; practice hospitality
Shabbat Shalom