Speak

      This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled D'varim, meaning "Words", from Deut. 1:1, referring to the words which Moses spoke to the children of Israel. D'varim (dabar - word, thing, matter, acts, chronicles, saying, commandments, speech, utterance, speaking, counsel, decree, judgment, language, promise, purpose, spoken, sing, declare, warn, threaten, to arrange in order) is also the name of the fifth book of the Torah, or Deuteronomy in Greek. In many ways this fifth book of the Torah moves us forward chronologically and physically in the journey to the promised land, but also takes us back to the beginning, spiritually. This book opens with telling us that the Israelites were very near the end of their forty-year wandering through the wilderness: "...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..." (v. 3).

     Moses began to recount the Israelites' history with the LORD, including their failure to heed His word to them. However, Moses also reveals the LORD's caring heart towards His people: "The LORD your God who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place. Yet for all that, you did not believe the LORD your God, who went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day." (Deut. 1:30-33). Again, Moses said, "For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) wilderness (midbar/dabar - wilderness, uninhabited land, a desert or sterile sandy country, a pasture fit for feeding flocks, speech, the mouth as an organ of speech/speak, declare etc.- see above). These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing." (Deut. 2:7).

     As we look at the word "wilderness" used in the above verse, it is the Hebrew word midbar with the root word of dabar. The meaning of the word "wilderness" here means both a sterile desert or a pasture fit to feed the flock. How can it mean both, as they seem to be opposites? Perhaps because "wilderness" is attached to its root word dabar, which means to speak and more. "Wilderness" even means the mouth as used to speak. We know that while traveling through the wilderness, the Israelites used many occasions to speak the curse of the sterile desert rather than the blessing and the glory of the green pasture that fed them, and where they lacked nothing. How are we speaking of "the wilderness" in which we sometimes find ourselves, as it awaits the spoken words of our mouths to determine its characteristics toward us? These are the words that Isaiah spoke from the LORD over the wilderness: "The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God." (Isa. 35:1-2). This beautiful and powerful prophetic testimony was not what was spoken by the Israelites in the wilderness, but rather bitterness and rebellion. Self-pity and unbelief spoken in the wilderness did not serve the Israelites well, and in fact, caused many deaths. For us, the prophetic promise has already been established, as we read in Isaiah. We can leave the world as a spiritual desert wasteland by the words we speak, or we can speak the promise of God leading to the transformation of the spiritual wilderness into an abundant garden of joy, singing and glory. Paul wrote that all of creation is groaning, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. (Rom. 8:18-22). What and how are we speaking in the wilderness?

     How we speak when we are in the spiritual wilderness is especially important at this time. This Sabbath is also designated as Chazon, meaning that it is the Sabbath before Tishah B'Av. Tishah B'Av, or the ninth of Av refers to a date that throughout history has seen disaster befall Israel and/or the Jewish people wherever they might be in the world.

     Some of the events from history that have occurred around or on the ninth of Av include the destruction of the two temples by the enemies of Israel. Solomon's Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC which was followed by the Babylonian captivity, and the Romans destroyed the second temple in 70 AD that had been built under Zerubbabel. Also on or around the ninth of Av in different years, three nations expelled their Jewish populations: England in 1290, France in 1306 and Spain in 1492. In 1942, Jews were deported from the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland and taken to Treblinka concentration camp on the ninth of Av. The ninth of Av this year will follow this Sabbath and will be observed with fasting as the saddest day on the Jewish calendar.

     For this Sabbath reading portion before Tishah B'Av, the chazon vision of Isaiah is read. The meaning of the Hebrew word chazon/haza is "a vision as the vision seen by a prophet, a divine vision, divine revelation/to see, perceive, prophesy, provide, to see God, to behold the face of God." The vision of Isaiah reported what the LORD saw concerning His people. The LORD saw a desolate wilderness: "Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence; and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers." (Isa. 1:7). As desolate as the vision was for the land, it was even more so for the people: "Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment...Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah: To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?' says the LORD..." (v. 5-6, 10-11). In this vision, the rulers and people of Israel are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah. This vision is not just about the land and people of Israel. We have previously seen that the land to which the LORD was bringing the Israelites after their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt was the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) 'eres land. In Hebrew, 'eres is also used to refer to the whole earth (see also Gen. 1:1-2). When the LORD first revealed this vision to Isaiah, He said, "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth ('eres)! For the LORD has spoken (dabar, see above)..." (Isa. 1:2). This vision is for all who have been grafted into the Name of the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) LORD and the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Holy One of Israel as written in Hebrew in Isa. 1:4. To use an expression, we are mistaken if we believe that what happens in Israel stays in Israel. Do we think that what the LORD spoke in this vision about Jerusalem only applies to Jerusalem? - "How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers." (v. 21). We are mistaken if we believe that Tishah B'Av, the ninth of Av, has nothing to do with the rest of the earth. History tells us that empires were judged and eventually pulled down, and world wars were forged around the events above that were associated with the ninth of Av.

     What does Isaiah's chazon vision tell us about God's plans for this desolate spiritual wilderness described here? The LORD drops a seed of life into the middle of the desolation: "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together,' says the LORD, 'though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow...If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword;' for the mouth of the LORD has spoken (dabar, see above)." (v. 16-20). Then the LORD says: "I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors (ya'as - to advise, consult, give counsel, purpose, plan, guide, exhort, admonish, counselor or minister to a king, to provide for, to declare future things) as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her penitents with righteousness." (v. 26-27).

     Following the report of this chazon vision of Isaiah's in Chapter 1, there is a powerful prophetic promise in Chapter 2 regarding the house of the LORD in the latter days, that all nations and many people shall flow to the mountain of the LORD where: "He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem...Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the LORD." (Isa. 2:1-5). How awesome was this chazon vision for the latter days that flowed out of the desolate spiritual wilderness that the LORD had seen! It is a vision that impacts the whole 'eres earth.

     As the ninth of Av approaches this year, the heartbroken nation of Israel is in mourning even while it finds itself facing the attacks of enemies from all directions as was prophesied in scripture. These enemies are supported and directed by nations, and include nations, that have acquired nuclear weapons. Let us all who call upon the Name of the LORD cleanse our hearts, turn from evil, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Ps. 122:6) and pray that all of Israel shall return to and call upon the Lord our Savior, and be saved (Rom. 11:26-27/Isa. 59:20). Let us speak that seed of life that the LORD has dropped into the wilderness.

     If you would like to learn more about speaking in the wilderness, you can pray with me: "Father, You have shown us how to speak in the wilderness to bring life and glory in a place of desolation and waste. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that the words that I speak revive and renew those who are desolate. I pray that You would teach me Your ways so that I will walk in your paths. I pray for Israel and all of the seed of Abraham, both by the flesh and by faith, that they would live in the peace and safety of the Lord and in Your salvation, the Messiah/Christ Jesus, Immanuel, according to the words of Your prophets. I pray that we would all hear Your voice, turn away from sin and evil, and turn back to You. Especially as the ninth of Av approaches this year, we stand in the gap in the wall of fire and the hedge of protection that You have set around Jerusalem and Israel, and all those whom You have called by Your name. I ask these things, Father, in the name of Your Son, Jesus. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as Α Ω , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.

     

Words&Vision

With this week's Sabbath reading portion, we are beginning the fifth Book of the Torah, which we call Deuteronomy. From the Greek, the word "Deuteronomy" would be translated as "A copy or repetition (of the law)". In Hebrew this fifth Book is called D'varim, or "Words (of Moses)". To review the Books that we have studied in the Torah: B'reshiet ("Beginning") is Genesis, Sh'mot ("Names") is Exodus, Va-yikra ("Called") is Leviticus, B'Midbar ("In the wilderness") is Numbers, and now, D'varim ("Words") is Deuteronomy. D'varim, referring to Moses' words to the Israelites, is also the title of this Sabbath reading portion. However, this week's reading portion is also connected to a special Sabbath. It is the Sabbath before Tisha B'Av, also called the Ninth of Av. The Ninth of Av is a date with important meaning to the Jewish people, because on this date throughout history they suffered many disasters, and the ninth of Av is considered by many to be "the saddest day on the Jewish calendar". Among the events associated with this date, both the Temple of Solomon and the Second Temple in Jerusalem were destroyed by enemy nations on this date. Jewish tradition holds that the ten spies who brought back the frightening report of giants in the Promised Land to the Israelites, and caused them to refuse the enter the land as God had commanded them to do, happened on the ninth of Av. A Jewish revolt against the Romans around the ninth of Av in 135 AD was crushed, and hundreds of thousands of Israelites were killed. Jews were expelled from England on the ninth of Av in 1290, and from France on the ninth of Av in 1306, and from Spain on the same date in 1492. On the ninth of Av, SS Commander Heinrich Himmler received formal approval from the Nazi Party for "the final solution", which resulted in the Holocaust. Jews were deported from the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland by the Nazis, and transported to Treblinka death camp on the nnth of Av, 1942. These are just some of the disasters that are related to Tisha B'Av, the ninth of Av. Many Jewish people fast on this day in prayer and repentance. However, it is a deep thing to consider that this special memorial Sabbath is also called Chazon, or "Vision". What sort of "Vision" is the Lord telling His people to have? Many Jewish people meditate during this time upon the prophesied Third Temple, yet to be built, from a "vision" given to the prophet Ezekiel. Will this week's D'Varim words of Moses give us any insight into God's call for "Vision"? Yes- the direction for the "Vision" is revealed immediately in the first chapter of Deuteronomy. The D'Varim of Moses were spoken before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, on the eastern side of the Jordan River, in the plain (araba - desert wilderness, sterile region, darkened, to wander/heaven, pledge, give as security for a debt, be liable for another) opposite Suph (referring to the Red Sea). The place from which the D'Varim, or words of Moses, began was, to the natural eye, a darkened wilderness, a sterile environment, but, according to the Hebrew meaning of the word used, it can also mean "heaven" and the concept of a substitute given for a debt as assurance of payment, which is what Jesus did for us as He made atonement for us, and redeemed us. So which "Vision" should we have in this place of the D'Varim? We can choose the natural Vision of darkness and lifelessness, or we can choose the spiritual Vision of heaven and redemption, which is God's Vision. The specific places within this area mentioned in this first chapter, from Paran Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, to Dizahab, also direct us to the chazon Vision. Their meanings are, on one hand, "caverns, white as diseased skin, whitewash, foolish, insipid, false, false prophet or false prophecies", or, on the other hand, they can mean "beautify, glorify, gleam, adorn, bestow aid, make white, purify, cleanse, purge, the sounding of the trumpets, protected enclosure, abounding with gold, brilliance, splendor, fair weather". Which chazon Vision shall we see, believe and exalt into manifestation? Here is a timely reminder of scripture's definition of "faith": "Now faith (pistis/peitho - strong conviction of the truth of something/induce by words to believe, obey, trust) is the substance (hypostasis - the cause, the underlying foundation, the substantial quality of, the essence, the assurance) of things hoped for, the evidence (elegchos/elegcho - proof, evidence, proved or tested/ to bring to light) of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." (Heb. 11:1-3). Look at the power of a chazon Vision of faith! All things are established by it. According to the verse above, God even used it to create the worlds. Upon the foundation of faith, all things are built. It is so necessary and required of the people of God that without it, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). We can find more information from the D'Varim words regarding the chazon Vision in this portion from Deuteronomy: "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..." (Deut. 1:3). Now, besides the meanings found in the places of their current location, time is used to expand on the chazon Vision. The meanings of "eleven" and "forty" in Hebrew are revealed in rabbinical teaching. This is a quote: "Eleven refers to the conveyance of the Divine Light which transcends the limits of the world within the limits of the world. The world was created with ten utternances. Eleven, thus refers to a level above the limits of that set. Nevertheless, since it is also a number which follows in sequence to ten, we can understand that it refers to the fusion between the transcendant Divine Light and the framework of limited worldy existence." So even though in the world, this number creates the Vision for us of the power that transcends the limits of the world. While this teaching is not found as such in scripture, the idea of it is definitely found in the D'Varim Words of Christ: "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life'...'These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (Jn. 8:12, Jn. 16:33). From the same rabbinical sources, we also have commentary on the significance of the number forty/fortieth: "The number forty in Torah is the ascent from one level to the next higher one. We get a new mission at forty. But the attainment of the higher level can come only after first fulfilling all aspects of the previous level...and allowing for the emergence of something entirely new." It is mentioned that the basis for these thoughts was the nature of the many events in scripture that revolved around the number forty. So the number forty used here is bringing God's people to a higher level, a new level in God's chazon Vision for His people. In this case, the Israelites were coming to the end of the forty year period when God commanded them to wander in the wilderness because of their disobedience. He kept His Word to them that within this forty year period, the disobedient generation would pass away (see Num. 32:13, Josh. 5:4-7), leaving the new generation to take up the chazon Vision of God, and enter into the Promised Land. A trip that should have taken eleven days took forty years because the people of God, including Moses at one point, failed to see and follow the "Vision" of God. Here is another indication of the chazon Vision that can be seen again in the D'Varim words from Deuteronomy Ch. 1: "On this side of the Jordan...Moses began to explain this law, saying, 'The LORD our God spoke (d'var/dabar) to us in Horeb (horeb/harab - desert, dry/waste, desolate, decay, destroyer, dry up [parch], slay, smite down, kill), saying: 'You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Turn (pana - turn oneself, look, regard, prepare, appear, behold, turn towards the face, direct one's course), and take your journey (nasa - journey, go forth, forward, depart, break up camp, cut out quarry stones, bend a bow), and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land (eres - earth, nations, land of the living, Sheol: the land without return) of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates. See (ra'a - see, look, consider, respect, regard, enjoy, foresee, have vision, discern, gaze at, look intently at,to be caused to see, experience, meet, visions), I have set the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega:see Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13) land before you; go in and possess the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) land which the LORD swore to your fathers - to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - to give to them and their descendants after them." (Deut. 1:5-8). These words relate that while in one of the (spiritually) worst places, Horeb, God spoke His D'Varim Words on the Mount to Moses, giving him the Law. Then they were to take the Words of the Vision of God, and go forward. Jesus gave the same D'Varim Words to His disciples, which we call the Great Commission: "Go, therefore, into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ...make disciples of all the nations teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you..." (Mk. 16:15, Mt. 28:19-20). While the Israelites were still on this side of the Jordan River, waiting to cross into the Promised Land, Moses was repeating the chazon Vision to this new generation so that they might be established in it. An elderly Joshua would do the same at a later time, reinforcing the Vision of God before the Israelites, after they had settled in the Promised Land, and the Vision was renewed among the people again at that time. (see Josh. 24). When the LORD commanded the Israelites to SEE the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) land, it was in the sense of seeing with the same Vision as the LORD sees, according to the meaning of the word. This foundational idea, or "beginning" principle, was established in Gen. 16:13: "Then she (Hagar) called the name of the LORD who spoke (D'var/dabar) to her, You-Are-The-God-Who-Sees; for she said, 'Have I also here seen (ra'a - see above) Him who sees (ra'a - see above) me?' Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ("Well of the Living One seeing me" or "Well of the Life of Vision"); observe (hinne/hen - see, behold!/they which see), it is between Kadesh and Bered (two very dangerous places in meaning)." That verse from Genesis brings a powerful moment of revelation that made the difference between life and death for those involved. With the same Vision that God used to see her, Hagar saw the life-giving well that appeared before her to save her son, and herself in a sterile, desolate wilderness. Anyone and everyone can see with the natural eyes of men, but only the people of God are called to carry the chazon Vision of God, rather than the vision of the world. There is a beautiful prayer-song with this thought titled, "Be Thou My Vision". The vision of the world has always been, to me, a faith-killer, rather than a faith-builder. Before Tisha B'Av, the ninth of Av, and the remembrance of its tragedies, the LORD has ordained through His Sabbath reading portion for this week that His people renew their Vision to be the same as God's saving and providing chazon Vision. While we live in the world and its vision, we are not to be of the world and its vision. (Jn. 17:11; 14-16). From another portion of this Sabbath's D'Varim reading, Isaiah was called into His prophetic office by a Vision: "The vision (CHAZON/haza - vision, oracle, revelation/see, behold, look, prophecy, to have a vision of, to see God) of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah." (Isa. 1:1). Isaiah begins by exposing the rebellion and iniquity of God's people: "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints." (v. 5). The body of God's people is without soundness. The land and cities of His people are desolate and burned. Except for a small remnant left, they would be wiped out completely like Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 6-9). Their feasts, prayers, and sacrifices are without value before the LORD because they have fallen backwards into evil, and their hands are full of blood (v. 11-16). Their cities have become full of murder, injustice, corruption and thievery (v. 21-23). Isaiah saw the spiritual condition of God's people. They had turned aside from the Vision of the LORD. They were no longer seeing as God sees. Because of it, destruction was heading their way. However, the LORD begins to speak (D'Var/dabar), and the people will now be told the Vision of the LORD for His people: "Therefore the Lord says...I will turn My hand against you, and thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her penitents with righteousness. The destruction of transgressors and sinners shall be together..." (v. 24-28). The LORD continues His remarkable chazon Vision in Isaiah Ch. 2. The LORD gives the word (D'Var/dabar) that will create His awesome Vision before the eyes of the people: "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word (D'Var/dabar) of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Isa. 2:1-3). As we read further into Chapter 2, we can see that all of the nations are changed, because of the Words of the Vision that the LORD has spoken to His prophet. The LORD does not leave His people without His chazon Vision. One of the LORD's prophets wrote: "I will stand my watch and set myself apart on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the LORD answered me and said: 'Write the vision (chazon - see above) and make it plain on tablets, that he may run (rus - run, guard, hurry, bring hastily, to cause to hasten) who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak (puah - breathe, blow in order to excite, or kindle [a fire]), and it will not lie. Though it tarries (mahah/ma - is reluctant/because it is questioned such as "to what purpose?", "how long?", "by what means?", "because of what?"), wait (haka/haqa - be adhered or tied to it [as piercing]/entrenched, carved into it); Because it will surely come, it will not tarry (ahar - delay, slack, defer, be hindered, be late, stay behind)." (Hab. 2:1-3). As Jesus brought the prophetic Word regarding the tribulation to come in all of its terrors and troubles, He concludes with a Vision for us. He told us to "watch", and He said: "Now when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." (Lk. 21:28). Peter tells us that when we see the destruction of the Day of the Lord, faith tells us: "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." ( 2 Peter 3:12-13). The chazon Vision of God is waiting there for us to discover. It is a Vision that will bring us to the next, new level, and will overcome the conditions of the world, rather than be overcome by them. I believe that if we will see as God sees, we will be part of the Vision that will change the world. If you would like to know more about the D'Varim Words, and the chazon Vision of God, you can pray with me: "Dear Father, I ask You to give me eyes to see as You see, and a heart to receive and understand the chazon Vision that You have given in Your D'Var Word, which is Jesus. Your Vision leads me to repentance, and causes me to seek Your face and Your path. Your Vision provides for me before I even have need. Your Vision keeps me from being overcome by the world. Your Vision, created in Your D'Varim Words, directs my faith, so that it is no longer my faith, but the faith of the Son of God. Let my eyes be full of Your Divine Light, Your Son, Who is the saving Light of the world. I also pray in agreement with the prayer of the Jewish people, who pray in part, '...let our eyes gaze upon Your compassionate return to Zion. Blessed are You, LORD, who restores Your presence to Zion.' I pray all of these things in the name of Your Son, my Savior, Jesus. AMEN."

Words&Vision

This Sabbath comes at a very special time of remembrance for God's people called Tisha B'av, or the 9th of the month of Av. The 9th of Av signifies the destruction of the two temples of God in the history of Israel. The first destruction came on that date in 586 BC at the hands of the Babyonians, and the second temple of God was destroyed in 70 AD on the 9th of Av also by the Romans. Other catastrophes for the Jewish people also happened on this date, so the time is marked by repentance, fasting, and another element, which we will discuss. The title of this Sabbath's reading is D'varim/Chazon: the Words and the Vision. D'varim, or the Words, comes from the singular dabar, which has a two-fold meaning. On the one hand, dabar means "to speak, declare, command, promise, warn, sing, appoint, bring into order, to lead or guide especially of flocks or herds to pasture, to speak to a woman in order to propose marriage, to speak kindly, to console". The other side of the meaning of dabar, or word, is to destroy, to threaten, to pronounce a sentence of penalty, put to flight, subdue, to lay snares, to plot against. God's people should seek never to find themselves on the wrong side of dabar, His Word. that side is meant for the enemies of God. We see how the dabar Word of God works in Heb. 4:12. It is described as sharper (tomos - to decisively cut) than a two-edged sword. It is piercing, and within its active power is the ability to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. How that sword of the dabar Word cuts depends upon what it discerns in the heart. Our Sabbath reading portion is from Deuteronomy Chapters 1 through 3. The reading begins: "These are the words (d'varim) which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan....in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month...according to all that the LORD had given him as commandments to them..." (Deut. 1:1-3). These words which Moses is about to speak to the Israelites come at a very important time. The words come nearly at the end of the forty years of wandering commanded by God because of Israel's rebellion. The journey to the Land should normally have taken eleven days (v. 2)! The number eleven, repeatedly used in these verses, can refer to, according to the Hebrew meaning, a choice or discernment between rebellion and submission. "Choice" will play a major role in this reading, as we will see. The Israelites had also just accomplished a military victory over two enemy kings: Sihon, king of the Amorites who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan who dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei (v. 4). Moses later told Joshua, who would become the next leader of the Israelites, to remember the victories over these kings: "Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. You must not fear them, for the LORD your God himself fights for you." (Deut. 3:21-22). Later, when Joshua became the leader, the LORD would repeatedly tell him not to be afraid. What did these enemy kings represent that Moses would command Israel to remember their defeat? These two kings represent the same rebellious kingdoms that we see in the world today. The meanings of the Hebrew words used to describe the kings and their territories of rulership in Deut. 1:4 describe Sihon as "a warrior, a "sayer", who sweeps away or wipes away by using words (amar- speak, utter, promise, command, to intend, to boast, to act proudly, challenge). Instead of the Word (dabar) of God, this king uses words (amar) from the Heshbon stronghold of reason, understanding, thinking, and calculation to make judgments and to "forecast". He uses the words of men from their own understanding, while rejecting the anointed and true Word of God. We see that today when people prefer to believe any amar words, knowledge and understanding of men over the dabar Word of God. It is a powerful stronghold, but the Word of God has already spoken and defeated it. The second king, Og, is a giant, and his dwelling was connected to a goddess of fertility (Ashtaroth). This king, Og, reached out his arm and grasped the richest pastures for himself, according to the Hebrew meanings, as well as all that yields seed, and breeds to bring increase. This king represents an economic giant with a monopoly grasp on the wealth, and the sources or producers of wealth. The fertility goddess, Ashtaroth, according to the fertility cults of Canaan, was considered both the mother and mistress of the god, Ba'al, who is usually represented by the image of a bull. It was believed by their worshippers that the sexual union of Ba'al and Ashtaroth produced fertility, including economic fertility, for the accumulation of wealth. Worshippers of these false gods or idols would engage in perverse sexual practices believing that this would cause these two gods to also join together sexually. This became a type of religious prostitution in various Canaanite tribes and in even more distant cultures. The worship of the accumulation of wealth and immoral sexual activity still go hand in hand today. The accumulation and concentration of wealth has grown to the extent that there are well over two thousand billionaires in the world today, according to Forbes. Just recently, at the end of July, the Commonwealth Games* were opened in Britain with a display of the worship of a huge mechanical bull with a woman sitting on top of it. This is like a modern representation of the Canaanite god, Ba'al. These Games represented the British Commonwealth, an economic and trade confederation of about 15 nations of former British colonies, encompassing 2.5 billion people. This confederation of nations generates great wealth. It is distressing but not surprising that the Games chose to act out the worship of a large bull in their opening ceremonies. The spiritual powers that were represented by these two kings in Deuteronomy Ch. 1-3, Sihon and Og, are still present today, but God has physically and prophetically defeated these strongholds through Moses and the Israelites, and God promises to bring them to final judgment, along with those who partake of them: "The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her (the Whore of Babylon, who sits upon the Beast) will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning...For in one hour your judgment has come. And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore." (Rev. 18:9-11). As Moses told Joshua, remember the defeat of these two kings when you enter the Land, and do not fear them. Joshua would much later still be challenging Israel in the Promised Land to choose that day whom they would serve: the gods from the other side of the River, the gods of Egypt, or the gods of the Amorites - "But for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Josh. 24:14-15). Again that choice is before all of us. God's d'varim Words have shown us Who is truly the LORD, and there are no other gods before Him (Ex. 20:2-5, Deut. 5:6-9). The other title of this week's Sabbath reading, because it comes at the heavy time of the 9th of Av, is Chazon, or "Vision". This additional reading is found in Isaiah Ch. 1. The vision, or chazon, of Isaiah concerning God's people extended throughout the years of rulership of four kings: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Isa. 1:1). It is an interesting side note that Hezekiah tried to impress a Babylonian envoy by opening his treasuries and showing off all of his wealth. Although this took place many centuries after the words of Moses in Deuteronomy, the Babylonians worshipped the same gods of fertility and wealth that we read about above, Ba'al and Ashtaroth, and engaged in the same type of immoral acts in order to join those gods together. God prophesied to Hezekiah by Isaiah that because of his foolishness, the people of Judah would be carried away into captivity by Babylon (2 Kings 20:12-18). Concerning the enduring Chazon Vision that Isaiah received from the LORD concerning His people Judah and Jerusalem, it was a prophetic vision that was to be declared far more widely - to the heavens and the earth (v. 2). So it is a vision that will affect not just the people of Judah, but the heavens and earth as well. The meaning of chozan, or vision, is not only a revelation and divine communication, but at its root it means to see God and His divine presence, and to choose for one's self. As Joshua said to the people of Israel above, "Choose for yourself whom you shall serve." In Isaiah's vision, God calls His people "a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters (sahat - to destroy, corrupt, ruin, to pervert, decay, marred, rotted, injured)!" (v. 4). As God looked at His rebellious people spiritually, their corruption appeared to Him as wounds and bruises, and putrefying sores that had not been closed, bound up or treated with ointment (v. 5-6). The LORD caused Isaiah to see their land as desolate and burned, overthrown by strangers (v. 7). This is the spiritual condition for which the Jewish people repent and solemnly pray about on Tisha B'Av, the 9th of Av, which saw the destruction of the two temples of God. However, there is also a hope and prayer for redemption on Tisha B'Av, the 9th of Av. Isaiah wrote of this redemption that was available if God's people would turn, and worship Him truly, and serve each other, in Godly character and holiness (v. 16-17). If His people will come and speak with Him, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (v. 18). (See also a previous Blog entry titled "theWorm" found under the right hand Archive column under April 15, 2022.). If His people are willing and obedient, God showed Isaiah: "Zion shall be redeemed with justice; and her penitents with righteousness." (v. 27). Both of these verses give promises of our Redeemer, Jesus, and Isaiah was given several other powerful prophetic revelations of the Messiah, as well as His suffering and atonement made for our sins. The LORD uses the term "Zion" here, which has a powerful meaning in regard to His penitent people. It means "sunny mountain, to shine, to be bright, a waymark, sign, monument, signpost, guiding pillar". Those who become Zion are waymarkers and guiding pillars pointing to the way to the Redeemer for others to choose also. We can see that Isaiah's chazon vision did indeed affect the heavens and the whole earth. This Sabbath, we have been given the D'Varim, the Words, and the Chazon, the Vision, and the choice is laid out before us also. If you would like to learn more about the choice before us, you can pray with me: "Lord Jesus, You are my Redeemer, and I choose to serve You, and our heavenly Father. You died for me, and You rose from the dead, so that I can have eternal life with You. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, Who leads me to redemption, and teaches me Your Words and Vision. I desire to be Zion, a shining signpost, a guiding pillar, for those who are also looking for and choosing the way of the LORD. I ask this in Your holy name. AMEN." *Thanks to JP for contributing the information on the Commonwealth Games' opening ceremony.