Shabbat Shalom
Today we have two Torah portions to cover. The first is Nitsavim, a Hebrew word that means, “You are standing,” and the second is VaYelech, a Hebrew word that means, “And he went.” Together, these portions cover everything from Deuteronomy chapter 29, verse 10 (though some Bibles will number it as verse 9) through all of chapter 31.
You know, this week’s reading brings something to mind. As some of you may remember, I used to teach the bar and bat mitzvah kids here a few years ago. One week we were discussing the Ten Commands, and we had been focusing for a while on, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” One of the boys raised his hand and when I called on him, he asked, “Craig, are there any commands that tell us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Before I could answer, one of the other boys spoke up and said, “Of course there is! Thou shall not murder.”
Now, of course, the commands of the LORD are not a joking matter. And yet, too often, we as believers do not treat them with the seriousness they deserve.
In this week’s reading, God makes it clear his commands are not to be taken lightly. For example, we read this in:
DEUTERONOMY 29:18-19
Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison. When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way.”
The passage goes on to say that such stubbornness will only bring disaster on the people and the land. Yes, God is patience; He is gracious and long-suffering; He is certainly not short-tempered. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished so what should that tell the children of Israel? That they do not want to be numbered among the guilty! That they should not persist in going their own way!
Unfortunately, in this week’s reading, God reveals to Moses that despite everything the children of Israel has been through, including losing an entire generation in their time of exile in the wilderness, due to their stubborn rebellion to God, the lesson has not been learned. God confirms this to Moses in:
DEUTERONOMY 31:15-16
Then the LORD appeared at the Tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the Tent. And the LORD said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.
Can you imagine the anguish Moses felt upon hearing this prophecy from the LORD? He had dedicated his life to serving the God of Israel to bring them here to the Promised Land, where they might be blessed and serve the LORD, and in his final days in this life, he is basically being told, “Mission Incomplete.”
Now, one can argue that Moses had done all that God had commanded him to do, and that is true. In that sense, Moses had fulfilled his mission – but God’s plan is not yet complete. You see, the fact that the people of Israel will sin and rebel again is not a failure of Moses; Moses was just a man, like any of us. It is not even a failure of the law; for the commands of God are true. What was missing was constant communication between God and his people.
That’s what the Israelites turned down at Mount Sinai; God offered to let them hear from Him directly, but they were intimidated by that and asked for a human mediator instead: Moses. Moses couldn’t be there all the time… and now in this week’s portion, he’s about to not be there at all.
God promised earlier in Deuteronomy a “prophet like Moses” who will restore that constant communication between God and His people, and that prophet like Moses is the Messiah Yeshua. Part of why the law was so hard for the children of Israel to keep is because they were trying to do it on their own. No one can accomplish that apart from God’s help. Perfect obedience requires a lack of sin; and no one lacks sin, except for Yeshua the Messiah, as we read in:
I JOHN 3:5
But you know that he [Yeshua] appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
This is the hope we have as followers of Yeshua; yet are those who say that the Torah is too hard to follow, or that it has been done away with because it was fulfilled in Yeshua, correct? Once we have the power of God through His Spirit, the Ruach haKodesh, at work in our lives, are we to continue to regard the Torah as too hard to fulfill, as having no value and as something that is now done away with and irrelevant?
This week’s reading teaches us the correct answer is, “No!” The Torah is not asking us for more than we are capable of. Here is one of the cornerstone verses of this week’s reading, and we find it in:
DEUTERONOMY 30:11
Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
In this passage, the LORD is speaking through Moses to the people of Israel as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. He has spent time summarizing the entire history of the Exodus from Egypt, the giving of the Torah, and the laws that shall govern them in the land they are about to enter. And so it is entirely appropriate at this point for the LORD to reassure the people, so that they do not feel overwhelmed by the burdens and responsibilities they have been given and he shares these words. “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.”
As Solomon observed, there’s nothing new under the sun. As it was back in the days of Moses, so it is today. I’m sure many of the children of Israel listened to all these commands, this entire Torah, and found themselves overwhelmed by it, and in their hearts were thoughts that it was too much for God to expect of them. That no one could ever keep it. That’s how many believers still feel about it today.
But is that true? Well, if the Torah is to be believed, and IT IS, then we have to accept as true what we read here. “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.”
This is consistent with the life of Messiah Yeshua. He lived a life far above the standard set down in the Torah, and if He is our example, would he set an example that no one can follow? Of course not! He set one we are capable of following!
We also know there are others who lived at or above the standard set by the Torah. For example, we read this in:
LUKE 1:5-6
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly.
Blameless is the key word there. And such an achievement is a requirement for leadership in a congregation, as we read in:
TITUS 1:6-7
An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless–not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
Is blameless keeping of the Torah standard really too hard for any believer to live up to? Notice that these passages do not indicate sin-free living, but blameless living.
I took my examples from the New Covenant writings to demonstrate that this is not only a Mosaic standard: the expectation to live a life blameless according to the written Torah is how Yeshua lived out His example, it is a standard many people are said to have lived up to in both the Old and New Covenant writings, and it was a general expectation for those in leadership in the first-century church.
Would this be expected if it could not be accomplished? The answer, of course, is “No.” It would not be required if it were impossible to do it.
It is important to remember that what the Torah requires is not the LORD’s perfect standard for holy living, but merely the minimum standard for our behavior to be acceptable to Him. In other words, it’s the least anyone could do in gratitude for all He has done.
This is why Yeshua taught things in this style, saying, “You have heard it said, but I say to you.” Each teaching in that style always has Yeshua raising the standards, not lowering them or doing away with them. And He did this to point out that not only was the Torah standard achievable, but much more was possible as well.
It is a myth that no one can live up to the expectations of the Torah. Remember the words from this week’s reading, offered truthfully to the Israelites by God: “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.”
Now, let’s not be deceived. All are subject to sin; all fall short of the LORD’s perfect standard. But there is a vast difference between the occasional slip into sin in a moment of weakness and what Paul identifies in:
GALATIANS 5:21
I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
That phrase, “live like this,” indicates a state of ongoing, willing, unrepentant sin. It is that point at which one gives up the struggle against fleshly desires, snuffs out the will of the Spirit, and we begins to justify and excuse whatever sinful behavior captures and enslaves them.
That is what the LORD is referring to here as well as he speaks to the people of Israel through Moses in this week’s reading. The LORD is not impatient with those who slip up occasionally; but those who allow their hearts to grow hard and unrepentant will not go unpunished by Him.
That’s our insight for today from Nitsavim and VaYelech; the LORD is and will always be consistent. He is not a God who deals unfairly, making demands that are impossible to meet. Because, “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.”
Shabbat Shalom.
Tags: Nitsavim, VaYelech
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on Thursday, October 28th, 2010 at 6:45 pm and is filed under sermons and commentaries, Torah.
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My Nitsavim-VaYelech 2010 Commentary
October 28th, 2010 by Craig Hansen
Shabbat Shalom
Today we have two Torah portions to cover. The first is Nitsavim, a Hebrew word that means, “You are standing,” and the second is VaYelech, a Hebrew word that means, “And he went.” Together, these portions cover everything from Deuteronomy chapter 29, verse 10 (though some Bibles will number it as verse 9) through all of chapter 31.
You know, this week’s reading brings something to mind. As some of you may remember, I used to teach the bar and bat mitzvah kids here a few years ago. One week we were discussing the Ten Commands, and we had been focusing for a while on, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” One of the boys raised his hand and when I called on him, he asked, “Craig, are there any commands that tell us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Before I could answer, one of the other boys spoke up and said, “Of course there is! Thou shall not murder.”
Now, of course, the commands of the LORD are not a joking matter. And yet, too often, we as believers do not treat them with the seriousness they deserve.
In this week’s reading, God makes it clear his commands are not to be taken lightly. For example, we read this in:
The passage goes on to say that such stubbornness will only bring disaster on the people and the land. Yes, God is patience; He is gracious and long-suffering; He is certainly not short-tempered. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished so what should that tell the children of Israel? That they do not want to be numbered among the guilty! That they should not persist in going their own way!
Unfortunately, in this week’s reading, God reveals to Moses that despite everything the children of Israel has been through, including losing an entire generation in their time of exile in the wilderness, due to their stubborn rebellion to God, the lesson has not been learned. God confirms this to Moses in:
Can you imagine the anguish Moses felt upon hearing this prophecy from the LORD? He had dedicated his life to serving the God of Israel to bring them here to the Promised Land, where they might be blessed and serve the LORD, and in his final days in this life, he is basically being told, “Mission Incomplete.”
Now, one can argue that Moses had done all that God had commanded him to do, and that is true. In that sense, Moses had fulfilled his mission – but God’s plan is not yet complete. You see, the fact that the people of Israel will sin and rebel again is not a failure of Moses; Moses was just a man, like any of us. It is not even a failure of the law; for the commands of God are true. What was missing was constant communication between God and his people.
That’s what the Israelites turned down at Mount Sinai; God offered to let them hear from Him directly, but they were intimidated by that and asked for a human mediator instead: Moses. Moses couldn’t be there all the time… and now in this week’s portion, he’s about to not be there at all.
God promised earlier in Deuteronomy a “prophet like Moses” who will restore that constant communication between God and His people, and that prophet like Moses is the Messiah Yeshua. Part of why the law was so hard for the children of Israel to keep is because they were trying to do it on their own. No one can accomplish that apart from God’s help. Perfect obedience requires a lack of sin; and no one lacks sin, except for Yeshua the Messiah, as we read in:
This is the hope we have as followers of Yeshua; yet are those who say that the Torah is too hard to follow, or that it has been done away with because it was fulfilled in Yeshua, correct? Once we have the power of God through His Spirit, the Ruach haKodesh, at work in our lives, are we to continue to regard the Torah as too hard to fulfill, as having no value and as something that is now done away with and irrelevant?
This week’s reading teaches us the correct answer is, “No!” The Torah is not asking us for more than we are capable of. Here is one of the cornerstone verses of this week’s reading, and we find it in:
In this passage, the LORD is speaking through Moses to the people of Israel as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. He has spent time summarizing the entire history of the Exodus from Egypt, the giving of the Torah, and the laws that shall govern them in the land they are about to enter. And so it is entirely appropriate at this point for the LORD to reassure the people, so that they do not feel overwhelmed by the burdens and responsibilities they have been given and he shares these words. “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.”
As Solomon observed, there’s nothing new under the sun. As it was back in the days of Moses, so it is today. I’m sure many of the children of Israel listened to all these commands, this entire Torah, and found themselves overwhelmed by it, and in their hearts were thoughts that it was too much for God to expect of them. That no one could ever keep it. That’s how many believers still feel about it today.
But is that true? Well, if the Torah is to be believed, and IT IS, then we have to accept as true what we read here. “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.”
This is consistent with the life of Messiah Yeshua. He lived a life far above the standard set down in the Torah, and if He is our example, would he set an example that no one can follow? Of course not! He set one we are capable of following!
We also know there are others who lived at or above the standard set by the Torah. For example, we read this in:
Blameless is the key word there. And such an achievement is a requirement for leadership in a congregation, as we read in:
Is blameless keeping of the Torah standard really too hard for any believer to live up to? Notice that these passages do not indicate sin-free living, but blameless living.
I took my examples from the New Covenant writings to demonstrate that this is not only a Mosaic standard: the expectation to live a life blameless according to the written Torah is how Yeshua lived out His example, it is a standard many people are said to have lived up to in both the Old and New Covenant writings, and it was a general expectation for those in leadership in the first-century church.
Would this be expected if it could not be accomplished? The answer, of course, is “No.” It would not be required if it were impossible to do it.
It is important to remember that what the Torah requires is not the LORD’s perfect standard for holy living, but merely the minimum standard for our behavior to be acceptable to Him. In other words, it’s the least anyone could do in gratitude for all He has done.
This is why Yeshua taught things in this style, saying, “You have heard it said, but I say to you.” Each teaching in that style always has Yeshua raising the standards, not lowering them or doing away with them. And He did this to point out that not only was the Torah standard achievable, but much more was possible as well.
It is a myth that no one can live up to the expectations of the Torah. Remember the words from this week’s reading, offered truthfully to the Israelites by God: “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.”
Now, let’s not be deceived. All are subject to sin; all fall short of the LORD’s perfect standard. But there is a vast difference between the occasional slip into sin in a moment of weakness and what Paul identifies in:
That phrase, “live like this,” indicates a state of ongoing, willing, unrepentant sin. It is that point at which one gives up the struggle against fleshly desires, snuffs out the will of the Spirit, and we begins to justify and excuse whatever sinful behavior captures and enslaves them.
That is what the LORD is referring to here as well as he speaks to the people of Israel through Moses in this week’s reading. The LORD is not impatient with those who slip up occasionally; but those who allow their hearts to grow hard and unrepentant will not go unpunished by Him.
That’s our insight for today from Nitsavim and VaYelech; the LORD is and will always be consistent. He is not a God who deals unfairly, making demands that are impossible to meet. Because, “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.”
Shabbat Shalom.
Tags: Nitsavim, VaYelech
This entry was posted on Thursday, October 28th, 2010 at 6:45 pm and is filed under sermons and commentaries, Torah. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.