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The Torah
portion for this Shabbat is called Eikev
meaning “consequence”. Israel is told that if
they would be faithful to observe the commandments
of the Lord, the ‘consequences’ would be blessing
and health and prosperity and protection. But
that’s a big ‘if’. God promised that He would
go before us to drive out the Canaanite inhabitants
of the land, who had spurned 400 years of opportunity
and warning from God to turn from their wickedness.
It is a mistake to suppose that the Canaanites,
and later the Philistines, were innocent victims
of an ‘occupying force’ otherwise known as Israel.
It is a mistake to suppose that they were unaware
they were sinning grievously against God. I would
remind you that four centuries earlier, Abraham
had broken bread with Malki-tzedek (Melchizedek),
a fellow worshiper of the one true God of heaven
and earth. There had, for centuries, been an awareness
of the belief in a single Creator, one of infinite
power and infinite holiness, and who demanded
moral uprightness. The Canaanites were not to
be driven out because of their ethnicity (as were
the Jews who have been evicted now that Gaza is
under Palestinian jurisdiction - “no Jews allowed”).
They were to be driven out on account of their
wickedness, their despicable religious and sexual
practices. Israel was to have nothing to do with
such abominations, and to allow the Canaanites
to remain would inevitably lead to experimentation
with Canaanite ways, leading to breaking Covenant
with God.
So strict
was the ban, that even the silver and the gold
with which the Canaanites adorned their idols
was to be burned. It was not to be kept as spoils
of war. It was not to be put into the Tabernacle
treasury. This parallels the prohibition found
in chapter 23: "You shall not bring the monies
earned by either male or female prostitution into
the house of the Lord your God as an offering,
for both of these are an abomination to the Lord
your God" (Deut. 23:18, paraphrased). This
principle could be applied today in offerings
received in churches. No matter how difficult
a church’s financial situation might be, it should
be unthinkable to accept monies earned through
objectionable practices. This isn’t just about
drug dealing, prostitution or gambling. It might
be the‘respected doctor, an ob/gyn who supplements
his or her income by performing abortions. To
receive their contributions would be to take blood
money! God says, “Not in My house!”.
In chapter
eight, God announces that we are about to enter
a lovely and fertile land, and we would soon eat
and enjoy of its bounty. We are warned not to
take our prosperity for granted, or worse, begin
taking credit for it. We are reminded that it
is the Lord our God who gives us the ability to
make wealth, and that due appreciation and glory
be given Him. I imagine some people saying, “Hey,
I’ve worked hard to get where I’m at! Why should
I thank anyone else?” You should be thankful because
there are plenty of others who have worked just
as hard, some harder, and didn’t get the ‘breaks’
you got. So give credit where credit is due...
or face the consequences.
Lest we
become arrogant and think we were given the land
on account of our moral greatness, God reminds
us in chapter 9 that it had nothing to do with
any righteousness on our part, but rather the
wickedness of the Canaanites. We’re reminded that
we had repeatedly provoked God in the wilderness.
We’re reminded of our sin in the golden calf debacle.
We’re reminded of our many rebellions, and that
Moses had had to repeatedly intercede with God
for us.
We are
reminded in chapter 10 of the second set of tablets
which Moses had to procure. We are reminded that
God, who is the Sovereign over all the earth,
chose us for Himself. Consequently, Moses writes,
Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your
neck no more (10:16). We are told that we
should be characterized by our love and support
of orphans, widows and resident aliens, for we
ourselves had been resident aliens. We learned
first-hand what it meant to be oppressed, courtesy
of the Egyptians. How dare we ever turn around
and be oppressors!
In this
regard, I find it sadly ironic that Natan Sharansky,
presently Minister of the Interior in Israel,
and formerly a Soviet dissident and refusenik,
who himself suffered such intolerance and hatred,
has for several years now been directing his own
brand of intolerance and hostility toward Messianic
Jews. There has been a systematic witch-hunt
of sorts, an attempt to expel (if possible) all
Messianic Jews from Israel. In spite of the promise
in Israel’s Declaration of Independence to “uphold
the full social and political equality of all
its citizens without distinction of race creed
or sex,” guaranteeing “full freedom of conscience,
worship, education and culture...,” there seems
to be selective enforcement of the law. Jewish
followers of Yeshua have for years been singled
out through legislative maneuvers, aided in large
part through the efforts of Sharansky. I guess
the intolerance he suffered in the gulag didn’t
teach him to be tolerant of others - at least
others of differing convictions.
Finally,
in chapter 11, we are enjoined to impress these
words of God upon our hearts and minds, and to
teach them diligently to our children, and that
God would bless us abundantly if we would walk
in His ways. All the territory from the Arabah
(wilderness) to Lebanon and from the Mediterranean
to the Euphrates River was to be ours, compliments
of God, to whom all the earth belongs. And, yes,
that would include Gaza.
Shalom,
Rabbi Glenn
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