Bechukotai (my regulations) Lev.26:3–27:34; Jer.16:19–17:14; Matt.21:33–46
God clearly set out His terms for living under His covenant; He is never ambiguous! The first word in our Torah portion is “if” a very small and humble word but one that demands a decision which has life changing consequences for better or for worse. It is a word that demands a choice. It frequently places us in an uncomfortable position, because sometimes the right choice can be painful. Who would not prefer to keep the status quo instead of rocking the boat and enduring the fellowship of His sufferings?
We see how the Lord gave Israel choices that are no different for every born-again believer. Here we see how everything is black and white – there is no middle ground: “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them…” and we are provided with the consequences. Lev. 26:3
The other “if” in this chapter is in verse 14ff: “But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant…” Lev. 26:14–15 Again the consequences are clear.
If the Israelites obeyed God’s commands they would be richly blessed and He would dwell in their midst.
Yeshua said something interesting and profoundly simple to His disciples in John 14: “If you love me, hold on to my commands”. Another translation puts it this way: “Loving me empowers you to obey my commands.”
And He follows this up with the best of all promises: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth…” He is ‘The Truth’, as He declared publicly in John 14, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life!” And it is this truth as referred to that can set us free!
Yeshua promised every true believer, 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will see me no longer, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 The one who has my commands and holds on to them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I too will love him and show myself to him.”
Three times in this short passage, Yeshua reiterates the message: “If you love me hold on to my commandments” and as we know, three is the number representing completeness. It is a great wonder and investment to dwell upon God’s love and allow it to permeate our lives. But it comes as a direct consequence of walking in obedience, albeit imperfectly, in transparency, integrity and faithful intent. How much do we love God? This is a very important question we should be frequently asking ourselves as we seek to deepen our relationship with Him.
God judges us in His mercy taking remedial action with the objective in His infinite love to return us back on the right path so that we might enjoy the full benefits of His salvation. In the Book of Lament.3:32-33, the prophet Jeremiah said that, “…if He (God) causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness. For He does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.” However bad things may appear, history has demonstrated the inviability of this fact.
The Jewish race has suffered more than any other people on the face of the earth, but they will never be destroyed. They experienced exile following the destruction of the 1st Temple and returned 70 years later to become a nation again only to face the destruction of their 2nd Temple a few centuries later followed this time by a 2000 years of exile. The 9th of Av known as ‘Tisha B’Av’ is where world Jewry mourns the destruction of these two temples, but it was not the end. Out of the ashes of the Holocaust the nation of Israel was reborn on May 14th 1948.
Despite rampant vicious anti-Semitism anti-Zionism globally, Israel remains alive and vibrant, a blessing to the world despite all the irrational hatred.
Israel is unique among the nations. Their history is not a matter of growth and decline like every other empire through the ages. Instead, it is fully dependent upon the conditions laid out here in chapter 26 of our parasha. If Israel would stay true to its mission, it would flourish. If it rebelled, it would suffer all the consequences as listed. But in any case, God would remain faithful to His covenant promises towards them.
What we see in chapter 26 is the application of the words that God spoke to Cain in Gen. 4: “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” (Vs 6-7)
Some scholars interpret the word “chattat” translated as “sin” is more accurately translated here as a “sin offering.” Throughout the Tanakh this word is used interchangeably but here it incorporates both meanings of the word: sin and a sin offering: “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, a sin offering is crouching at your door; (sin) desires to have you, but you must master it.”
Again, Cain was given a choice and his actions would have consequences that would resonate through the ages even as it has been with Israel, minus the covenant promises.
God reminded the Israelites regularly that He was their God who brought them out from slavery to freedom and empowers them to experience freedom when they walk in His ways. 1500 years later, Yeshua put it this way: “I have come that you may have life and life in abundance,” and “…whoso the Son sets free shall be free indeed!” Is it really that simple? The incomplete gospel is when we restrict our message to knowing Yeshua as our saviour. The full gospel is when we combine this with knowing Yeshua as our Lord. The difference is momentous.
The Haftarah (prophetic portion) for this week (Jer.16:19–17:14) mirrors the theme of promised blessings for obedience and punishment for disobedience.
Because God alone is the One who grants us blessings Jeremiah promised that those who place their trust in man instead of God will reap the consequences. Interestingly, in contrast to the portion in Leviticus, Jeremiah opens with specifying the negative consequences of disobedience and then follows with the promise of blessings for righteous living. In chapter 17:5-6, he wrote, “Cursed is he who trusts in man, who makes mere flesh his strength, and turns his thoughts from the Lord. He shall be like a bush in the desert.” Then, he follows on with the statement, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (v’s 7–8)
The Haftarah ends with the beautiful proclamation that God alone is the hope of Israel, source of life-giving water, our healer and Saviour. We too, when we place our trust fully upon God and walk in His ways will never fail. And Jeremiah concluded (v’s. 13-14): “LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water. Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.” This is the heart cry of one who recognises their own weakness and dependance on the living God as their sole means of salvation.
A central focus of this parasha is to understand what it means to be a good custodian of God’s word – the treasure of treasures, someone who puts theory into practice. Dear friend, I would exhort each one of us to make the wise choice to live in the fullness and abundance provided for us through Yeshua and drink deeply from the water of Life offered to those who walk hand in hand with Him.
And in all of this, brokenness is the starting point for learning to become a good custodian as with the cry of the prophet: Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”
And I want to conclude with words of encouragement but also caution. A heart of fidelity is most precious in the sight of God, but it comes at a price and begs the question who is willing to pay that price? May we each choose to follow in the footsteps of the Master and learn from the example and pitfalls of Israel.
This ends our reflection for this parasha and concludes the book of Leviticus. Let us say the traditional blessing after finishing a book in the Torah:
“Chazak chazak v’nitchazek” (“Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened”)
