Parasha Devarim

Me

This week we read Parasha Devarim, Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22, which is our very first Parasha in Deuteronomy. This is the final book of the Torah and is Moses’ final sermons to Israel on reminding them of what God has in store for them, what their father’s did in the wilderness, and why it is so important for Israel to maintain relationship with Adonai.

In fact, It has been noted that the structure and form of the book resembles an ancient middle-east covenant treaty between a sovereign king and his vassals, with a preamble (1:1-5), a historical prologue (1:6-4:49); covenantal obligations (5:1-26:19); blessings and curses (27:1-30:20), and a concluding section (31:1-34:12). The LORD, the sovereign King of Israel, would be the King of the land that He was giving to the Israelites, and they, in turn, were to love and obey Him as His vassals.

Also, Parasha Devarim is read every year on the Shabbat immediately preceding Tisha B’Av, or the ninth of Av, which begins this evening after Shabbat. Tisha B’Av is a day of mourning and traditionally a fast day in Judaism. Tisha B’Av is the day on the Hebrew calendar that both the first Temple was destroyed by Babylon and the second Temple was destroyed by Rome, both of which resulted because of Israel’s sin and rejection of faithfulness to God and His Torah. Likewise, the B’nei Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness while the first generation out of Egypt died due to their rejection of God and His Torah in rejecting the Promised Land at the evil report of the spies, which is part of what Moses reminds the second generation of in this week’s parasha.

Now, as I said a moment ago, Deuteronomy is the final teachings of Moses to the second generation of Israel before his death and their entrance into the Promised Land. And it begins with these words.

Deuteronomy 1:1–2 TLV

These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan—in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Di-Zahab. It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

According to the sages of the Mishnah (the Sifri), the numerous place names listed in verse 1 are not landmarks or geographical locations, but rather words of musar (rebuke) by Moses to the people of Israel. That is, instead of detailing their sins outright, he alluded to them with code words:

"In the wilderness" (בַּמִּדְבָּר) - that is, the time they complained "if only we would have died in the desert" (Exod. 17:3)

"In the Arabah" (בָּעֲרָבָה) - that is, their most recent sin with the Moabite women (and Ba'al Peor) in the plains of Moab (Num. 25)

"Opposite Suf" (מוֹל סוּף) - that is, the complaint of Israel at the shores of Yam Suf (at the start of the great exodus from Egypt)

"Paran" (פָּארָן) - that is, the Sin of the Spies, who were dispatched from Paran (Num. 13)

"Tofel and Lavan" - (תּפֶל וְלָבָן, "libel" and "white") - that is, their libeling the white manna (Num. 21:5)

"Hazerot" (חֲצֵרת) - that is, where Korach's mutiny against Moses took place

"Di Zahav" - (דִי זָהָב) - "too much gold") the sin of the Golden Calf

I am a Messianic Jewish rabbi, and at this point I have spent over half my life either training for or serving in the Messianic Jewish rabbinate. But beyond that, I have grown up in the Messianic movement, I am the son of a Messianic Jewish rabbi (and oddly the son-in-law of a Messianic Jewish rabbi), I have helped plant Messianic synagogues across the Gulf Coast and in New York, I have served leading youth, leading Bible studies, on worship team, and leading liturgy… Honestly, there probably isn’t much in a Messianic synagogue I haven’t done at one point or another.

I have legitimately known what my calling is my whole life, and whether I want to admit it or not, God has been preparing me in this trajectory for as far back as I can remember. But, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been points in my life in which I have not walked contrary to or rejected in some way or another His call and purpose for my life.

In fact, one specific (and PG) memory I have of sort of rejecting what God was calling me to do was when He first began to call us to New York. I truly feel the Lord has always spoken to Danielle about next phases in our life before He speaks to me, I jokingly say it is because she is the harder sell so He deals with her longer, and she would say I am the harder sell and He deals with me the longest because He starts talking me through her. Either way, in about 2002 or 2003 the Lord began telling Danielle He was going to take us to minister in New York, and generally speaking when God says move we are pretty quick to get up and move. But when Danielle first starting feeling this call from HaShem she came and shared it with me and I flat out shot it down… In fact, for probably close to a year or so she would come to me every so often and tell me she really felt the Lord calling us to New York, she didn’t quite know why or where, but she was certain.

I minced no words with her and flat out told her she was wrong, I didn’t feel that way at all. At this point we had grown up in a Messianic synagogue in Mobile, we had been very active in helping plant five Messianic synagogues along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida, and we were actively helping my father-in-law leading a synagogue in Mississippi. I wasn’t afraid of Messianic ministry, I wasn’t running from my call any longer, I had fully embraced it. But I told Danielle that God couldn’t be calling us to New York because we were not at all prepared to share the Good News with the Jewish community there. I told her verbatim, “the Jewish community in New York would eat us alive...”

Thinking back on it all these years later, my response sounds eerily similar to that of the evil report of the Promised Land from the ten spies… Eventually, I was at a rabbis conference in Orlando and a long time friend of our family who is a rabbi in Long Island approached me and told me about this college in Nyack, NY that was starting a ground breaking Messianic Jewish studies concentration on their Pastoral Ministries degree and I should consider going. I called Dani that night and said, “Hey baby, what do you think about moving to New York…?” To which she boldly and very sarcastically responded, “What the heck do you think I’ve been saying all this time?”

See, I grew up in the Jewish community of Mobile and the thought of being actively in ministry among the Jewish community of New York scared me… Not that the Good News was any different between Alabama and New York… But the task seemed so much bigger… But, ultimately, once we took the plunge, we figured out pretty quick that God had already been preparing us for it all along and we had nothing to fear from the beginning. Ultimately we spent a little over five years there, I matriculated through the Messianic Studies program, I served as rabbinic intern at the synagogue in Long Island and we helped plant a synagogue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. We learned a lot there and God did even more preparing us for what lied ahead while we were there. And, funny enough, the area we moved to is Rockland County, the county Nyack sits in, which is about 65-70% Jewish and about 50% of that are Chassidim.

We

Maybe you’ve got memories similar to this, memories where you look back and know without a doubt God was directing your footsteps on a particular path but you were fighting… Maybe fighting really hard…

Maybe you felt the Lord leading you to leave your job and make a leap of faith into a new venture and you’re scared to death it will all blow up in your face.

Maybe you have felt the Lord call you to make a cross country move and are afraid that things work work out.

Maybe you feel the Lord has directed you to move into an active ministry roll and you are afraid you aren’t ready or wouldn’t be successful.

Maybe you have felt the Lord direct you to make some lifestyle changes in your family to better solidify your devotion to the Lord and you’re afraid to give up the old ways or habits.

Or maybe it is something entirely different that the Lord has been directing you toward and you just haven’t quite stepped out of the fear and trepidation mode yet.

God

Well, this is kind of where we find Israel at in Parasha Devarim. The first generation has now died off in the wilderness and the second generation is now camped on the shores of the Jordan River looking across at Jericho. They can almost taste the Promised Land from here. They are witnessing the final two months of Moses’ life with them and they are listening to Moses spend these final two months reiterating what God has called them to do, what has happened from Egypt till now, and what they need to do moving forward, as well as how dramatically important a faithful walk with HaShem is for Israel’s future. But even more so, Moses is reminding Israel that they have nothing to fear moving forward into the Promises of God. Fear is what robbed the first generation of seeing God’s fulfillment, and this generation shouldn’t let fear get the best of them as well.

And I believe the reality Moses is sharing with Israel throughout Deuteronomy, but especially here in Devarim is one we must cleave to in our discipleship today if we are going to be successful in fulfilling the Great Commission.

To fully see the faithfulness of God’s call on our lives our fear of the Lord must be greater than our fear of the world.

(Repeat it again)

In fact, in the midst of this early recounting of Israel’s journey so far, one of the big things Moses points out early on is the victory Israel experienced against Sihon and Og at the end of Numbers. See the first generation could have never mentally survived the thought of battle with Sihon and Og. Heck, God even had to take them in a round about way out of Egypt just so they wouldn’t face war right away because He knew their heart. Yet, this second generation is getting ready to take the Land and has already experienced battle and divine victory.

Deuteronomy 2:24–25 TLV

“ ‘Rise up, journey on, and cross over the Wadi Arnon. See, I have handed over Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land—begin to possess it! Engage him in battle! This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the peoples everywhere under heaven. When they hear the report about you, they will tremble and twist in anguish because of you.’

Moses reminds Israel of the battle, which is probably still pretty fresh in their minds, and He reminds them of the victory that God provided them. But, He reminds them specifically that before God ever sent them into battle He had already told them He would provide the victory. But it wasn’t just a victory then and there only that God was providing, He said He’d use that victory to strike fear and dread in the hearts of peoples everywhere because of Israel. Moses is telling this second generation who has only ever known the miraculous that they have now won a war miraculously and that God is going to do the same miraculous work in everything they put their hands to moving forward.

Kind of makes you wonder what things would have looked like had the first generation simply trusted God the same way, right?

In fact, the language here in Deuteronomy 2:25 is very interesting in and of itself. It is amazingly similar to what we read in Joshua 2, particularly

Joshua 2:8–11 TLV

Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and she said to the men: “I know that Adonai has given you the land—dread of you has fallen on us and all the inhabitants of the land are melting in fear before you. For we have heard how Adonai dried up the water of the Sea of Reeds before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard about it, our hearts melted, and no spirit remained any more in anyone because of you. For Adonai your God, He is God, in heaven above and on earth beneath.

But I want you to pay close attention here… Rehab doesn’t tell Joshua’s spies that the Canaanites have been afraid of Israel only since a couple of months back when they defeated Sihon and Og… No, she says—

Joshua 2:9–11 (TLV)

“I know that Adonai has given you the land—dread of you has fallen on us and all the inhabitants of the land are melting in fear before you.

For we have heard how Adonai dried up the water of the Sea of Reeds before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

When we heard about it, our hearts melted, and no spirit remained any more in anyone because of you. For Adonai your God, He is God, in heaven above and on earth beneath.

Rehab says fear and dread of Israel has overtaken the people living in the land of Canaan since they heard about how God brought Israel out of Egypt with His mighty hand. Let that sink in for a moment… The Canaanites have been afraid of and dreading Israel since Israel left Egypt… For forty years the people of Canaan had been simply waiting for the dreadful day when these people wandering the wilderness would show up knocking at their days with a can of whoop butt… I can only imagine the way the hearts of Canaan were skipping beats for forty days while the first generation was camped across the Jordan waiting anxiously for the 12 spies to bring back word of the Land. Yet, while the Canaanites were terrified of Israel, Israel let their fear of the world overpower their fear of God.

Think about it, all this time while Israel wandered the wilderness because they were afraid of the big kids on the playground on the other side of the river, the people of Canaan were terrified of Israel… Another way to put it is that the very people God was sending Israel in to dispossess had more faith in the God of Israel than Israel did...

Interestingly, the Hebrew word for fear is the word Yarei and depending on the prefix and structure of the word along with context it can mean both fear, as in to fear for your life, or revere, as in to revere Adonai. The word is used in Parasha Devarim with regards to Adonai saying He will make the people of Canaan fear for their life because of Israel. It is also used in Parasha Vaetchanan (next week) in the command for us to “fear Adonai” as in to revere HI’m as Holy.

To fully see the faithfulness of God’s call on our lives our fear of the Lord must be greater than our fear of the world.

So throughout Devarim, or Deuteronomy, Moses is going out of his way to make sure this second generation doesn’t make the same mistake. In fact, in Deuteronomy 3 Moses reminds Israel of the choice the two and a half tribes made to choose their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan but that they are required to first go to battle with and in front of the rest of the tribes to make sure they secure their inheritance in the Promised Land before going back. Moses then tells Joshua, which is a message ultimately for all Israel, at the end of our Parasha this week...

Deuteronomy 3:21–22 TLV

“I commanded Joshua at that time saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that Adonai your God has done to these two kings. Adonai will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to cross into. You must not fear them, for it is Adonai your God who fights for you.’

You must not fear them (the people of the Land, or the world around us) because Adonai your God fights for you. In fact, the first few battles in the book of Joshua Israel really doesn’t even have to lift a weapon because the Lord quite literally destroys the cities and their inhabitants all on His own and Israel just has to clean up the mess.

This was HaShem’s plan all along… He had long struck fear in the hearts of the Canaanites of Israel, since Egypt in fact. All Israel had to do was trust the Lord and march forward. Instead, what should have only been an 11 day journey from Sinai to the Promised Land ended up costing Israel 40 years of waisted time, and an entire generation.

To fully see the faithfulness of God’s call on our lives our fear of the Lord must be greater than our fear of the world.

This message is reiterated over and over again throughout Deuteronomy and the book of Joshua and the Bible as a whole.

The reality is that we often allow fear of the world, fear of the what if, fear of failure, fear of whatever to get in the way of our following through on what God has called us to do. We get in our own way, we get in God’s way when we let the fear of this world take over rather than the fear of the Lord.

1 John 4:17–19 TLV

In this way, love is made perfect among us, so that we should have boldness on the Day of Judgment. For just as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and the one who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love, because He first loved us.

Romans 8:15 TLV

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall again into fear; rather, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Romans 8:37–39 TLV

But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.

2 Timothy 1:6–7 TLV

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power and love and self-discipline.

What could we possibly be afraid of that has not already been subjected to God?

You

As you are sitting there listening to me speak today, I am sure you likely have various thoughts flowing through your mind… For some of you maybe it’s, I wish this guy would shut up soon… For others it’s, “I’m really hungry, how long till Oneg?”

But, honestly, most of you are probably sitting here thinking of something the Lord has placed on your heart that perhaps you’re still walking in fear rather than victory.

Maybe it’s a employment change God is directing and you’re afraid of all the potential downfalls…

Maybe you’re new to faith in Messiah and you’re afraid if you make the necessary changes in your life and walk then you’ll loose family and friends over it...

Maybe there’s the Lord has called you to stand up and take the next step in your congregation to use your gifts and talents for Him.

Maybe it’s a call to go into ministry...

Maybe it’s something entirely different...

No matter what...

To fully see the faithfulness of God’s call on our lives our fear of the Lord must be greater than our fear of the world.

We

If our worship team will make their way back up to the stage.

Fear is a powerful tool, and one the enemy loves to use… He used it to hold Israel back from their calling for forty years… And we are all guilty of letting the enemy use fear to hold us back from what God wants to do in and through our lives. Today is the day to change that. Today is the day to boldly cross the Jordan knowing that God has got this already, knowing that if He has called us then He is going before us, fighting for us, and preparing the way for us. All we have to do is trustingly follow His Presence.

1 John 4:4 TLV

You are from God, children, and you have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

As we worship together in a moment, I want to encourage you to consider this reality:

To fully see the faithfulness of God’s call on our lives our fear of the Lord must be greater than our fear of the world.

As you consider these words, ask the Lord what there is in your life that you are allowing fear of this world overpower His will in your life. Contemplate on all that God has brought you through to get you to here and now, contemplate on what He still has in store for your life and what He still wants to do in and through you. Do not leave this place today without having fully laid all your fears and doubts before the Lord. He is not through with you, and no matter what you’re facing, the battle belongs to the Lord, you have nothing of this world to fear!

For forty years Israel wandered in the wilderness because on one fateful Tisha B’Av they let fear get the best of them. As we prepare for Tisha B’Av this evening, let’s make sure we learn from their mistakes and we push forward in the fear of the Lord.