Seeing

We have been reading in Deuteronomy, the fifth Book of the Bible. Deuteronomy is a word that comes from the Greek language and means "to repeat". As we have seen so far, though, Deuteronomy is so much more than just a repetition of the Law, as Moses is speaking to the Israelites in their fortieth and last year of journeying through the wilderness. They are soon to enter the land which the LORD promised to their fathers before them. In Deuteronomy, or D'Varim in Hebrew, meaning "Words", Moses has revealed deep things of God to His people. This week's Sabbath reading is titled R'eh, or "See/Behold", and covers Deuteronomy chapters 13 through 16 in the Torah portion. R'eh comes from the Hebrew word ra'a meaning "see, look, behold, show, appear, consider, perceive, provide, foresee, have vision, give attention to, watch, inspect, to be caused to see, to gaze at". This word is first used in the Bible in Genesis, when, as God created each thing, He saw that it was good. The Word of God, as in Deuteronomy, is supposed to make us "see"- not as the world sees, but as God sees. This week's Sabbath portion is overflowing with things for us to "see". The first thing that I saw, was the mention of something 16 times from Ch. 12 through Ch. 16. The LORD commanded His people through Moses that when they enter the new land and inhabit it, they are to destroy all of the places of idol worship (Deut. 12:1-4). The LORD then commanded: "But you shall seek (daras - seek with care, diligently enquire, require, tread upon, rub, thresh, to study, to follow, to care for) the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His (aleph-tav, Alpha and Omega/Jesus' identity, see Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13) name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go." (V. 5). Again the LORD says in another place: "...the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide...in the place which the LORD chooses" (v. 11, 14). Now the Hebrew word for "place", which is maqom/qum - can mean a physical place, but it also has the root meaning "raise, arise, raise up, become powerful, fulfilled, succeed, proven, endure, establish". This "repetition" regarding "the place the LORD chooses", or "the place the LORD chooses to put His name" goes on many more times in these few chapters. Not only are the Israeites to seek this place of His name, but they are to come there, a place of sacrificial offerings, with their whole household, including servants, and with the Levite in their midst, with rejoicing (Deut. 12:7, 12, 18; 14:26; 16:11, 14). After entering and subduing the land, the men of Israel were to appear (ra'a- to see, behold, perceive, appear, consider, foresee, have vision, give attention to, watch, inspect, to be caused to see) (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) before (panim - face(s), presence, before) "the LORD your God in the place which He chooses three (salos - three, triad, third) times (pa'am - footstep, stroke, beat, anvil, to beat persistently, to strike) a year for these three of the Feasts of the LORD: Passover/Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Deut. 16:16). They are to seek the place of the name, and ra'a see the beaten aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega panim face of the LORD. When they entered the land, they were to destroy the places of idolatry, and rejoice in the place where the LORD has put His name. The people were not in the land yet in the chapters of this reading portion, and the LORD does not give them any further hints as to this place's identity, except that they were to "seek" it. It was not until many generations later that the Word of the LORD came to King David, saying, "...Yet I have chosen Jerusalem (meaning "teaching of peace", or, "foundation of peace"), that My name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel." (2 Chron. 6:6). David was the spiritual catalyst, as the forefather of the prophesied Messiah, for the revealing of this place. Yet the LORD tells the Israelites to prophetically "seek" this place well before that when they were still in the wilderness. We know that Jerusalem is a very significant physical place, a place where the salvation plan of God was fulfilled in Christ's death and resurrection, and the restoration and renewal of the souls of men through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place there (Acts 2), as well as being the focal point of vital future prophetic events. However, it is also a spiritul place, according to the reading portion from this week's Sabbath lesson "R'eh" or Ra'a (see meaning above), as we will see. We see this in another reading portion from this Sabbath when the Word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, "O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal, and all your walls of precious stones (see also the Bridal City of the Holy Jerusalem: Rev. 21:9-11, 18-21). All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children." (Isa. 54:11-13). The prophesied walls of this spiritual Jerusalem are created out of salvation, and the gates are created from praise (Isa. 60:18). We can see that the LORD is speaking of teaching peace, the meaning of the name "Jerusalem". This is a city not built of common stones, but of precious stones. In this same Sabbath portion from Isaiah, the LORD promises: "But with great mercies I will gather you...but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you says the LORD, your Redeemer...For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,' says the LORD who has mercy on you...Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters (see Jn. 7:37-38, Rev. 21:6, 22:16-17); And you who have no money, come, buy and eat...Incline your ear and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you - the sure mercies of David." (Isa. 54:7-8, 10; Isa. 55:1, 3). This physical yet spiritual place carries "the sure mercies of David". David wrote a Psalm about those mercies that God had shown and promised him, saying: "Also, I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My mercy I will keep for him forever, and My covenant shall stand firm with him. His seed also I will make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven." (Ps. 89:27-29). Yes, this is about an earthly king, but those who can "see", also see the heavenly King who will reign, as God promised David, forever on his throne. This prophesied King is the Messiah, whom we know and receive as being Yeshua, or Jesus (Luke 1:30-33, Acts 2:29-32). This is the sure mercies of David. The Word of the LORD through Moses to the Israelites told them to "seek" this place of His name. Again from this Sabbath portion of Isaiah: "Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, For He will abundantly (raba - multiply, increase, much, more, exceedingly, abundance, enlarge) pardon." (Isa. 55:6-7). This is a place where, if we seek the LORD, return to Him, desire our unrighteous ways and thoughts to be changed, we will find the LORD, and He will forgive us abundantly. The Hebrew word for "pardon" used in this verse is salab. It means forgive, pardon, spare, but it derives from the root meaning of "lightness, lifting up". If you think that you could never be pardoned by God, take hope in the fact that God has made this provision for you, and for all of us who desire it. The Father has placed all judgment in the hands of His only begotten Son, Jesus. The Son, who healed the paralyzed man, proved by this miracle that He has the authority to forgive sins (see Mt. 9:1-8). The Father has also placed the authority of resurrection in the hands of His Son (see Jn. 5:24-27). How much more does this show the authority that the Son, Jesus, has been given to forgive sins. All of us have sinned (Rom. 3:10-12, 23-24) and must come to the place where the LORD has put His name, YHWH, the Holy Name of which each Hebrew letter, when combined together, bears the meaning: "Behold the Hand, Behold the Nail", and there we are promised that we will receive His mercy and pardon. It is written that the mercies of God are new every morning, and available for us (Lam. 3:22-23). Do not hesitate to come to Him. Jesus, as we can see, is also that place we are to seek where the LORD has put His name (Jn. 5:43). In another part of this week's Sabbath reading, Proverbs 16 says: "In mercy and truth, atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil." (Prov. 16:6). In this place where the LORD has put His name, a place of sacrificial offerings, the atonement for iniquity is found "in mercy and truth". John described Jesus, our atonement, in the same way: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, and the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace (charis/chairo - good will, loving kindness, favor, of the merciful kindness of God to turn those to Christ/rejoice, joyfully) and truth." (Jn. 1:14). Again from Prov. 16, part of this Sabbath's reading portion for R'eh, "See", the qualities of a king are described (v. 10-14). At the end of this series of verses comes one of my personal favorites: "In the light of the king's face is life, and his favor is like a cloud (ab/ub - cloud, envelope, threshold/cover with cloud, wrap around) of the latter rain." (v. 15). There is a King, whose face contains a kind of light that gives life. Again, John described Jesus, the eternal Word, in this way: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...All things were made through Him...In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (Jn. 1:1-5). We see here the connection between light and life, and the Agent of both. Jesus said of Himself: "I am the light of the world. He who follows (see the meaning of "seek" above) Me shall not walk in darkness, but hae the light of life." (Jn. 8:12). The resurrection of the dead mentioned earlier is also part of this Sabbath's reading portion. It is described in "a song of salvation" that will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city; God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in." (Isa. 26:1-2). Isaiah continued in the Word of the LORD: "...O LORD we have waited for You; the desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You...LORD, You will establish peace for us...Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." (v. 8, 12, 19). If the LORD repeats a phrase 16 times within just a few pages, it is something His people are to seek and "see" in the Sabbath portion titled "R'eh":See (perceive, foresee, watch, have vision, inspect, give attention to, cause to be seen". We are being called by the LORD through Moses to see and understand something important, not only with our physical eyes, but with the eyes of our spirit. Proverbs 16 also contains this verse: "How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver." (v. 16). If you would like to know more about ra'a seeing the raising up place where the LORD has chosen to put His name, which is upon His Son, Jesus, you can pray with me: "Lord God, I seek the place of Your YHWH name, in order to see Your aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega face. I find Your abundant mercies in that face, the face of Your Son, Jesus, and the atonement in mercy and truth which You have provided for me through the blood of His sacrifice. Your mercies are new every morning for me and my whole household, and I seek them early and rejoice in them. Jesus, come into my heart, and fill my soul and spirit, and establish Your habitation there. Create in me a pure heart, and a new being in Your own image. I thank You, LORD, for showing Your people the beautiful place that You have provided where we can go to find this graciousness - within our own hearts. In Jesus' name, I pray these things. AMEN."