In a little over a week, the Feast of Trumpets will occur, which is one of the Feasts of the LORD commanded in His Word. This Sabbath reading portion is titled Ki Tavo, meaning "When you come in." The vo letters in the title Ki Tavo, refer to the Hebrew word bo, which means: "enter, come in, lead in, cause to come in, to attain to, to bring near, to bring upon." Our Sabbath title comes from Deuteronomy 26: "And it shall be, when you come into (bo - enter, come in, lead in, cause to come in, to attain to, to bring near, to bring upon) the land (eres - land, country, ground, world, earth, nations, whole earth and its inhabitants) which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce/fruits of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and put it in a basket (tene' - basket, to weave, woven) and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide." (v. 1-2).
What I learned from this Sabbath reading portion was awesome and beautiful. It shouts, "Prepare to be changed, and to bring change!" to me, especially in view of the coming feast. The two verses above begin us on our journey. The rest of the Sabbath study will show us the radiant result of the journey. The journey of change is not just for our sakes, but for what the world will see in us, affecting them also.
As we look at the two verses from Deuteronomy, above, the Israelites were to enter into something. The meaning of the Hebrew word bo also includes the idea of leading in, attaining, to bring near, to bring upon. Their entering in will cause something to be brought near, and to bring upon or cause to happen. They not only enter themselves, but the idea of leading others in is also part of the meaning. The land (eres), which they are supposed to enter, is not limited in meaning to a specific piece of ground, but also refers to nations and the whole earth. The Israelites entering into the land has far-reaching spiritual implications. They are not just to enter and visit the land, but they are to possess (yaras - to occupy by driving out previous tenants, to expel, devour, new wine) it, and dwell (yasab - dwell, remain, abide, continue, have one's abode, to sit down, thrones) in it as given to them by the LORD.
Upon entering the land, the Israelites were to bring the first fruits of the land as an offering. They were to bring it in a basket. Jesus is identified in scripture as the first fruits of the resurrection: "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. (1 Cor. 15:20-23). It is specifically written above that the first fruits of the land are to be placed in a basket. The Hebrew word for basket as shown above, not only means a basket, but to weave or woven. Jesus, in accordance with Jewish burial customs of the day, as illustrated by the Shroud of Turin, was enveloped in a linen cloth, which is a woven fabric. This was the "basket" that held Him, if you will. Peter and John, the disciples, saw the empty linen fabric laying in the open tomb after Christ's resurrection. Seeing the empty linen caused John to believe. (see Jn. 20:3-8).
The above is not the only reference to resurrection in this week's Ki Tavo, "When you come in," Sabbath reading portion. When the Israelites brought in their offering of the first fruits of the land after they entered in, they were to proclaim: "My father was a Syrian/Aramean, about to perish (abad - perish, surely, utterly, destruction, broken, undone, be exterminated, put to death, blot out, cause to vanish, be lost, have no way to flee, to be wretched, to slay, to cut off), and he went down (yarad - sank, fell, go down, descend, sink down, be taken down, brought down to a lower region) to Egypt (misrayim/masor/sur - Egypt/besieged places, fortified, distress, hemming in/assault, adversaries, bind up, enclose, confine, shut in, show hostility and to treat as a foe) and dwelt there...." (v. 4-5).
Hopeless in death and utterly cut off, taken down to the lower region so fortified that none can escape: death, the grave and hell. Evil was inflicted upon them in that place (v. 6). This would have been a place without any hope, however: "Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers...and the LORD heard our voice...So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land...and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me." (v. 7-10, excerpt). With a great personal effort, the LORD brought His people out of the previously inescapable place of death and torment. And we remember, honor and proclaim this great liberation with the Firstfruits, Christ, encased in a woven "basket," who descended into hell after His death in order to preach to and liberate the prisoners there. (see Eph. 4:8-10, 1 Pet. 3:18-20).
This is the greatest victory in the history of man: the liberation of the human soul from the fortified prison of death, the grave and hell. Is anything therefore too difficult for God? As we live with tragic current events that reek with the presence of evil, are we remembering our own proclamation regarding the power of First fruits of resurrection, Jesus? We are to proclaim His death until He returns in our remembrance of Communion, or the Lord's Supper. (see 1 Cor. 11:23-26). This is the food of life, His own life, with which He fed us. The Communion is essential to our spiritual life in Christ, and our proclamation contained within it goes out to the eres: the whole earth and its inhabitants. (see eres above). Do we believe this?
In the two verses from Deuteronomy at the top of the page, the LORD commands Israel to bring their firstfruits and "go to the place (maqom/qum - place/rise, raise, abide, become powerful, to be proven, be raised up) where the LORD chooses to make His name (shem - name, reputation, glory, conspicuous position) abide." (Deut. 26:2). The LORD said that there was a place where He has put His name. Many have written that the geographical features of the city of Jerusalem form the Hebrew letter "shin ש" on the face of the earth (see photo at the top of the page). The shin ש is the letter that begins the word shem, meaning "name." Often the letter shin ש alone represents the name of the LORD. That is an amazing fulfilment of scripture. However, the power and purpose of that Name, ש, is even greater.
The shin letter on the face of Jerusalem is formed by three valleys around and through the area. One might think that the LORD would place His name over a place of beauty, however, the meanings of the three valleys is just the opposite. The Valley of Kidron has the meaning, "turbid, murky, foul, dirty, dark, gloomy, be squalid, to go in filthy garments, a place of refuse." The Valley of Hinnom has the meaning, "lamentation, wailing, groaning, place of the sacrifice of children by fire which is an inhuman and idolatrous practice abhorred by God, also known as Gehenna: the place of constant fires that dispose of refuse and filth, a symbol of hell." Lastly is the Valley of Tyropoeon, also called the Central Valley, that runs through the middle of Jerusalem. This valley has been filled over the centuries with vast amounts of debris. These three valleys also separate the holy mountains of God in or around Jerusalem: Zion, Moriah and Olivet. So this is not only a valley of debris, but a valley of separation. The LORD has used garbage dumps to spell out and magnify His Name in all the eres earth! The LORD God exalts Himself over every situation, condition, and hopeless place. Do we just see the garbage, the gloom, the darkness, the abomination and filth, or do we discern the shin ש Name of the LORD inscribed in the earth as His possession? Do we spiritually write His shin ש Name and proclaim it? Do we scrape His shin ש Name into the soil with our shoe or with a stick as a child might? We have recently seen acts of great darkness, full of murders and expressions of hatred and anger. The weapon against that darkness is the light of the Lord in us, and the power of His Name engraved into the earth..
In another portion from this Ki Tavo "When you come in" Sabbath, The LORD assures us that the way to overcome darkness is with resurrection light: "Arise, shine (or - become lighted up, shine, become light); For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you...Then you shall see and become radiant (nahar - to flow, a stream of light, to beam light, be radiant, flow together, the sheen of a running stream), and your heart shall swell with joy." (Isa. 60:1-5, excerpt).
Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Mt. 5:16). Shining our light before men is not for the glory of our name, but to glorify the shin Name of the Father.
This same power of resurrection light transforms "garbage dumps" into glory and beauty in another Sabbath portion from this week: "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...Say to those who are fearful-hearted, 'Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.' Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams (see "radiant", nahar above) in the desert." (Isa. 35:1-6, excerpt).
Let us flow together as a stream of radiant light. The LORD's Name has already been engraved into the earth.
If you would like to learn more about shing with resurrection light, you can join my prayer: "My Father in heaven and on earth, the whole earth is full of Your glory, and the resurrection glory of Your Son, Jesus Messiah/Christ. Even as darkness thickens, Your light overcomes it. Teach me by Your Holy Spirit how to shine the resurrection light within me, given to me, and prayed for me, by Your Son. Let that light so shine that those who are lost in darkness will see it and follow it to Your salvation. Let unrestrained rejoicing fill the air, replacing the sound of the weeping and groaning of suffering. I ask these things in the Name of Jesus. AMEN."
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