Parasha Devarim
Deuteronomy 1:1 –
3:23
Please pray this Prayer
Before reading.
In the name of Yahushua
Our Messiyah,
I pray for the Spirit of Understanding
The Spirit of Knowledge and
The Spirit of Wisdom
As I read through this Parasha
That the Light of Torah may
Revealed to me. Amen
The Sabbath of
Devarim is the 43rd Torah Portion, it is also known as “Sabbath
Chazon” or the Sabbath of vision it is one of the greatest Sabbath of the year.
There is no greater day for the Yisraelites than the day that the Temple was destroyed.
The Talmud teaches
that if a husband is going away on a long trip, he has to lie with his wife the
night before he leaves. Whenever there
is a separation, there has to be an equally great union.
On this week in
history, both the temple in Jerusalem
were destroyed and it is regarded as the most negative day of the Year. In
addition to the psychic and spiritual damage, thousand of people were killed
when the temple was destroyed. Where there was a tragic day in the physical world,
it was a day of amazing love in the upper world.
Where there is a
great amount of darkness, there is also the possibility for a great amount of
light. The greatest revelation of the light of the Creator is Messiyah
Yahushua. This means that this Light is revealed completely only on the Sabbath
of Deverim.
One of the gifts of
this Sabbath of Devarim is that all of our spiritual strength can be double, as
Elisha ask Elijah for a double portion of his blessing.
One week before the
9th of Av, on the Sabbath that connects us to the greatest
separation, the destruction of the Tabernacle, we gain access to the most
incredible Light. On this Sabbath, we have the power to double the strength
of Elijah the Prophet.
This book is a repetition of both the history
and the laws contained in the three previous books, which repeat what Moses
delivered to Yisrael (both by word of mouth, that it might affect, and by writing,
that it might last) just before his death. There is no new revelation in it,
but, that of the death of Moses in the last chapter, nor any new revelation to
Moses, and therefore the style here is not, as before. YAHVEH spoke unto
Moses, saying.
But the principles of
Torah are repeated and commented upon, it explained and enlarged, and some with
some particular precepts clarified is given, with abundant reasoning’s for the
enforcing of the understanding.
In this book Moses
was divinely inspired and assisted, so that this is truly the word of YAHVEH
written by Moses as that which was spoken to him with an audible voice out
of the Tabernacle of the congregation, Lev. 1:1.
The Greek
interpreters call it Deuteronomy, which signifies the second law,
or a second edition of the Torah, not with amendments, for the
principles Torah needed none, but with additional clarification, for the
further direction of the people in specific cases, not mentioned before. That
is why this book of the Law was design to be place on the outside of the Ark,
Deut 31:25 That
Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of YAHVEH,
saying, 26Take this book of the law, and put it at the side of the Ark
of the covenant of YAHVEH your EL, that it may be there for a witness against
thee. 27For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while
I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against YAHVEH and how much more after my death?
One could safely say
that Deuteronomy is the policeman of the Torah, since it contains the laws that
stand against us, both in chapter 11:17And then YAHVEH’S
wrath be kindled against you, and HE shut up the heaven, that there be
no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from
off the good land which YAHVEH give you. 11: 26Behold, I set before you this day a blessing
and a curse;
27A blessing, if ye obey the
commandments of YAHVEH your EL, which I command you this day: 28And
a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of YAHVEH your EL, but turn aside
out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye
have not known. 29And it shall come to pass, when YAHVEH thy EL hath
brought thee in unto the land whither you goes to possess it, that thou shalt
put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.
Deut 28:15But
it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not listen unto the Voice of YAHVEH your
EL, to observe to do all HIS commandments and HIS statutes which I command thee
this day; that all these curses shall come "against" upon thee, and overtake thee: 16Cursed
shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. 17Cursed
shall be thy basket and thy store. 18Cursed shall be the fruit of
thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks
of thy sheep. 19Cursed shalt you be when you come in, and cursed
shalt thou be when you goes out.
Deut 30:1And
it shall come to pass, when all these things are come "against" upon thee, the blessing
or the curse, which I have set before thee, and you shall call them to mind
among all the nations, whither YAHVEH your EL hath driven thee.
Now, it was much for the
honor of the Divine Principles that it should be repeated; how great
were the things of those principles which was place inside the Ark Exodus 40:20
“And he took and put the testimony
into the Ark, and set the staves on the Ark, and put the mercy seat above upon
the Ark:” Therefore think on how
inexcusable would those be by whom they were counted as a strange thing!
Hos. 8:12 I have written to him the great things of My law, but they were counted as a strange
thing.
There might be a
particular reason for the repeating of it in this book; the men of that
generation to which the Torah was first given were all dead, and a new
generation had sprung up, to whom YAHVEH would have Moses repeated, that if
possible, it might make a lasting impression upon them. Now that they were just
going to take possession of the Promise Land, Moses must read the contract of the covenant to them, that they might know the terms and conditions they were to
hold and enjoy the land, and that they might understand how to behavior in it.
It would be of great benefit to the people to understand this parts of the law therefore gathered up
and put together which did more immediately impact them and their practice; for
the Torah which concerned the priests and Levites, and the execution of their
offices, are not repeated: it was enough for them that they were once
delivered.
But, in compassion
to the infirmities of the people, the Torah was written a second time. The
first sets of law was place inside the Ark
Exodus 40:20 and this second set of the law was place on the outside of the Ark
Deut 31:26.
Precept must be
upon precept, and line upon line,
Isa. 28:10. The great and eternal truths of the gospel should be often
pressed upon people by the ministers of El (Jesus) Yahushua. To write the
same things (says Paul, Phil. 3:1) to me indeed is not grievous, but for
you it is safe. What YAHVEH has spoken once we have need to hear twice, to
hear many times, and it is well if, after all, it be faithfully perceived and practice.
Three ways in this
book of Deuteronomy was magnified and made honorable used:
1. The king was to
write a copy of it with his own hand, and to read it all the days of his life,
ch. 17, 18, 19.
2. It was to be
written upon great stones plastered, after their passing over Jordan, ch. 27:2, 3.
3. It was to be read
publicly every seventh year, at the feast of tabernacles, by the priests, in
the audience of all Yisrael, ch. 31:9, etc. The gospel is a kind of
Deuteronomy, a second law, a remedial law, a spiritual law, a law of faith; by
if we are under the law of Messiyah and it is a law that makes the believer
perfect, then it is wise to learn it.
This
book of Deuteronomy begins with a brief rehearsal of the most remarkable events
that had happen to the Yisraelites since they came from Mount
Sinai. In the fourth chapter we have a most pathetic exhortation
to obedience.
In the twelfth chapter, and on to the
twenty-seventh, are repeated many particular laws, which are enforced (ch. 27
and 28) with promises, blessings and curses, formed into a covenant, ch. 29 and
30.
Care
is taken to perpetuate the remembrance of these things among them (ch. 31),
particularly by a song (ch. 32), and so Moses concludes with a blessing, ch.
33. All this was delivered by Moses to Yisrael in the last month of his life.
The
whole book of Deuteronomy contains the history, except for two months; compare
ch. 1:3 with Jos. 4:19, the latter of which was the thirty days of Yisrael’s
mourning for Moses; see how busy that great and good man has to do good when he
knew that his time was short, how quick his motion when he drew near his rest.
Therefore,
we have more recorded of what our blessed Savior Messiyah Yahushua said and did
in the last week of his life than in any other. The last words of a eminent
persons make or should make deep impressions. For the honor of this book, that
when our Savior Messiyah Yahushua would answer the devil’s temptations with, It
is written, He got all His quotations out of this book, Mt. 4:4, 7, 10.
The
first part of Moses’ farewell teachings to Yisrael begins with this chapter,
and is continued to the latter end of the fourth chapter. In the first five
verses of this chapter we have the date of the sermon, the place where it was
preached verse 1, 2, 5, and the time when verse 3, 4. The narrative in this
chapter reminds them:
I.
Of the promise
YAHVEH made them of the land
of Canaan verse 6-8.
II.
Of the
provision made of judges for them verse 9-18.
III.
Of their
unbelief and murmuring upon the report of the spies verse 19-33.
IV.
Of the sentence
passed upon them for it, and the ratification of that sentence verse 34.
