Chosen

      Jesus said to His disciples: "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you....I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go out and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another." (Jn. 15:9-17). The word translated here as "friends" is the Greek word philos, a word much deeper in significance, meaning "friend, associate, a son of gladness who is the friend of the Bridegroom, companion, dear to God and favored with His intimacy, joined with." Jesus was not speaking of His disciples as casual friends or acquaintances.

     Sometimes we can be filled with spiritual pride when we think that we were smart enough to chose Jesus. However, Jesus chose us, and He didn't choose us of His own will, but in accordance with all whom the Father placed in His hands (see Jn. 6:38-41, Jn. 17:11-12, Jn. 18:8-9). Like the disciples in the Gospel, we simply accepted the invitation proffered to us. Along with the acceptance of this invitation comes the expectation that we will listen to the commands of Jesus and obey them as stated above and thereby produce the fruits that result from that obedience and our relationship as friends of Jesus. Do we fulfill this expectation?

     The above words of Jesus to His chosen disciples very much reflect what we will learn from this Sabbath reading portion titled Ki Tavo, which means "When you come in." This reading portion covers Deuteronomy chapters 26 through 28. In these chapters, the LORD ties the identity of the Israelites to Himself. He does this for a specific purpose, which we will see.

     This Sabbath title, Ki Tavo, comes from Deut. 26:1-3: "And it shall be, when you come into the land 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/fruit (peri/para - fruit, fruitful, firstfruits, boughs, offspring, progeny/bear fruit, be fruitful, show fruitfulness, increase, to bear) of the ground...And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, 'I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us." This is a declaration that the LORD has fulfilled His promise of the land to them.

     The LORD then instructed His people: "So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you." (v. 11). There is to be joy in this relationship with the LORD who keeps His promises, as there is joy in our relationship with Jesus, above.

     Jesus told His disciples to keep His commandments in their relationship with Him. The LORD said the same to Israel through Moses: "...you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice (qol - voice, noise, sound, thunder, call aloud, cry). Also today the LORD has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God, just as He has spoken." (v. 17-19).

     The LORD repeated His promise regarding the relationship He was forming with Israel: "Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, O Israel: This day you have become the people of the LORD your God. Therefore you shall obey the voice (qol- see above) of the LORD your God, and observe (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) His commandments and (*vaw (nail)-aleph (Lord)-tav (cross/covenant) His statutes which I command you today." (Deut. 27:9-10).  Again the LORD said: "...if you diligently obey the voice (qol - see above) of the LORD your God, to observe carefully (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth...The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you." (Deut. 28:1, 9-10). In these chapters it is also written that the blessings of God follow the obeying of His voice, commandments and statutes, and curses follow the disobedience to the same. We also need to understand that the LORD is not satisfied with the keeping of His written commandments, but He also demands that His people hear and obey His voice. The spoken Word of God preceded the written Word. The spoken Word is the tool of creation and the communication that the LORD used with mankind, including the patriarchs of the Hebrews. The spoken Word of God is identified as Jesus in the New Testament by the use of the Greek word logos (logos/legos - of speech, a word uttered by a living voice, the sayings of God, something said, utterance/to say, to speak, to teach, to exhort, command, call by name) in connection with His identity within the Godhead. (see Jn. 1:1-5, 14).

     The voice of God has not been replaced by the written Word of God but confirms it. The LORD still speaks today. He speaks to us through others, but He also speaks to us intimately, within ourselves, by His Spirit in us. Jesus told us that He would send the Holy Spirit, which He did on Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks (Acts 2:1-4), and the Spirit would lead us and teach us (Jn. 16:7-15). If we are not hearing the Spirit of God, it is because we are not listening (Ex. 20:18-19).

     The LORD includes above the idea that the special relationship that the LORD has with His people is not only for their benefit but affects all of the nations on earth. This is spiritual fruitfulness brought forth by the LORD through the obedience of His people. From another reading portion of this Ki Tavo, "When you go out" Sabbath, the LORD prophesies beautifully of the effect upon other nations when the LORD glorifies His people: "Arise, shine; For your light (see also Jn. 8:12, Mt. 5:14-16) has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you...The Gentiles/nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising...and they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD...The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you...And they shall call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel." (Isa. 60:1, 3, 10, 14). 

     Jesus called His disciples to His joy and God called His people to rejoice in the promise that had been fulfilled by the LORD. The promise of the land (eres - land, country, whole earth, world, nations) had been a transformative promise. What once had been in the hands of idolatrous tribes was now going to become something else in the hands of the people who worship the true God of creation. From another reading portion of this Sabbath, Isa. 35, we see this transformation: "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...They shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God...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 in the desert...No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sadness shall flee away." These verses from Isaiah prophesy of a total transformation of land, beasts and people, and the great joy that accompanies it.

     Today, when the Jewish people speak of "the final redemption", they are speaking of the appearance of the Messiah/Christ. The identifying description of the Messiah/Christ lies in the above verses about the healing of the blind, deaf, lame and dumb (unable to speak). Jesus performed these miracles in His first appearing to affirm His identity as the Messiah/Christ. When John the Baptist was in prison, he sent messengers to Jesus to ask, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" Jesus answered him, saying, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel (good news) preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." (Mt. 11:3-6). Jesus also freed the tongues of the dumb as mentioned above (see Mark 7:32-35). The same spoken logos Word of creation Who became flesh and called us His friends commanded the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and the dumb to speak, and the dead to rise, and this same logos spoken Word transforms all living creation. 

    The transformation doesn't end there, however. There is a further transformation awaiting the creation. Isaiah prophesied: "...And they shall declare My (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) glory among the Gentiles/nations...For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me,' says the LORD, 'so shall your descendants and your name remain...all flesh shall come to worship before Me,' says the LORD." (Isa. 66:19-23, excerpt. See also Isa. 43:18-19, 2 Pet. 3:10, 13-14, Rev. 21:1). Jesus also told His disciples to go into all nations to teach and declare all that He had commanded them (see Mt. 28:18-20, Mk. 16:15-18).

     All of this proceeds from the LORD's instruction to His "special people", called by His name, to "obey the voice...and keep His (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) commandments" with rejoicing. We should never let these already accomplished and yet-to-be manifested great works of God slip from our awareness, our obedience, our faith, our lips nor our vision.

     "When we come in", the obedient people of God bring His name, His transformation power, and His spoken and written Word, with them. The world was changed by God through a small population of people dwelling in a small nation, the Israelites and their fruit: the preserved Word of God and the Messiah/Christ who came from within them, and the world will be changed again.

     If you would like to learn more about the purpose of God's special people "when we come in", you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, I rejoice in Your voice and in Your written Word. I rejoice in the relationship into which I have been brought with You and Your Son. I rejoice in the Holy Spirit who brings Your voice and Your Words to me. I rejoice in the transformation of creation, and the transformation in my life as a new creature in Christ. The old has passed away, and You bring forth the new (2 Cor. 5:17). Forgive me when I have limited Your Word and my vision. "All things are possible with God": this is the testimony that You have placed on the lips of Your special people called by Your name. I declare this glory of God to the Gentiles/nations in the name of 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.

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."