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The name of this week’s Parasha is Re’eh, which means “see” and covers Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17. Moses presented the blessings for obedience, and the curses for disobedience, to Adonai’s commandments described earlier in Deuteronomy 11. Upon entering the Promised Land, the Jewish people would proclaim the blessings on Mount Gerizim and the curses on Mount Ebal, with each tribe’s responsibilities listed in Deuteronomy 27. When they conquered the Promised Land, the Israelis were to obey everything Moses told them.
Moses emphasized the importance of worshipping God according to His standards in chapter 12. The Jewish people were to obliterate anything from the idolatrous Canaanite religion, because Adonai must not be worshipped like that. The Chosen People must go where God directed them and worship Him there with their offerings; however, they could eat as much meat as they wanted, provided the meat was eaten without blood.
The Israelis were to follow all these standards without any deviations, in order to receive Adonai’s blessings for their obedience. Moses stressed avoiding the idolatrous practices of the Canaanites, including child sacrifices by fire, because these practices were opposed by Adonai.
Moses also stressed the consequences for worshipping any other gods but Adonai in chapter 13. Anyone who promoted idolatry, whether by claiming prophetic authority or power to interpret dreams, was to die for their rebellion against Adonai. If a family member, friend or wife encouraged idolatry, the accuser must throw the first stone, followed by the rest of the community.
Any town that practiced idolatry was to be entirely destroyed and their possessions burned as a burnt offering to God. None of the town’s possessions were to be spared, or those who possessed these items would suffer Adonai’s wrath. We see that in Joshua 7, Achan and his family were punished with death by stoning for disobeying this command in keeping items from Jericho that Adonai ordered to be destroyed. Greed and deception will always bring pain and suffering, so let’s obey God’s commandments and trust in His provisions!
The distinctions between clean and unclean animals are presented in chapter 14. Any animal that chewed cud with a split hoof divided in two was clean, but animals that did not meet both of these conditions were unclean. Any animal living in the water with fins and scales was clean, but those without fins and scales were unclean. Clean birds were acceptable to eat, but unclean birds were unacceptable to eat. Clean winged creatures, which are listed in Leviticus 11, could be eaten, but any flying, swarming insects were considered unclean.
Anything found dead was not to be eaten, but could be given or sold to Gentiles. The prohibition against cooking a young goat in its mother’s milk from Exodus 23 is repeated here, which could be due to the use of this practice in Canaanite worship, or as a prohibition against animal cruelty.
The Jewish people were commanded to set aside a tenth of their crops to eat at the place God chose to dwell among them. If they lived too far away, they could exchange their tithe for silver, come to this place and spend the silver on whatever they wanted to eat and drink. They were to bring a title at the end of every 3rd year and store it in their towns for the Levites, aliens, fatherless and widows to eat, which would lead to Adonai’s blessing.
In chapter 15, the Israelis were commanded to cancel debts among each other at the end of every seven years. This did not apply to debts owed by Gentiles, but was given to the Chosen People so that Adonai would bless them with financial and governing power over other nations. The Jewish people were to be generous when lending money to each other, since there would always be poor people among them.
The Israelis were to free their Jewish servants after six years of service and generously supply them with food and drink, in order to remember their redemption by God from Egyptian slavery. Any servant who wanted to stay with his or her master would have their ear lobe pierced, signifying that they would serve their master for life.
The Jewish people were also commanded to give unblemished firstborn males of their herds and flocks to Adonai. These animals were not to be worked or sheared, but must be eaten at the place God chose to dwell; however, any blemished animals could be eaten.
The parasha ends with the command to celebrate Passover, Shavuot and Succoth in chapter 16, and are also listed in Leviticus 23. Every Jewish man must come three times a year, with appropriate gifts, at the place Adonai dwelt to celebrate these holidays.
There are several principles from this passage that we can apply to our lives. We must be completely devoted to worshipping God according to His standards, not when and how we feel like it. In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira found this out the hard way when they attempted to deceive the Holy Spirit by not giving all the money they received for their property to the disciples, and died as a result.
Giving anything else the worship that is due to God will harm our relationship with Him. God is pleased by those who obey Him, but those who show disrespect to God and His commands will bring pain and separation from Him onto themselves.
Second, we must care for those who are in need. The commands here to care for the physical necessities of those in need are also affirmed by James in his letter to the Messianic believers. We must not forget those who lack our material blessings and must use what God has so graciously blessed us with to provide for the needs of others, so let’s make it a point to think of ways that we can help each other!
Finally, we must strive for holiness in every aspect of our lives. We must not allow other people or items to deceive us or lead us away from worshipping God. Since we are under the New Covenant, obedience to the prohibitions against certain foods in this passage is no longer mandatory to be in a right relationship with God. However, we would be wise to recognize the principles found in this passage regarding holiness and avoid anything that can damage our witness for Yeshua, whether it’s partaking in gossip, being ungrateful for what we have or engaging in lustful thoughts and actions.
Since our actions and words have consequences, we must behave in a way that honors Yeshua and keeps us from falling into temptation, because we are called to be a holy nation of Messianic Jews and Gentile Christians through our faith in Yeshua.
Our holiness is found in Messiah and our faith in Him is the only way that allows us to be reconciled to Adonai, so let’s live in a way that glorifies God by remaining loyal in our faith in Yeshua as Lord and Savior through what we say and do!