By Raphael ben Levi
More than 1,000 Olim from North America made Aliyah last month and over 2,000 more are expected to arrive in Israel this month. Aliya is known as the “in gathering of the exiles.” But this more than numbers or even about experiencing the reality of being exactly where you belong, but one of the most powerful fulfillments of biblical prophecy unfolding in our time. Across generations, the prophets spoke of a day when God would gather His people back to their homeland, restoring them from the nations where they were scattered. Today, we are witnessing an extraordinary movement as thousands of Jewish families make their way home to Israel, fulfilling God’s ancient promises. In Jer.16:15 is written:
“I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their ancestors.” And there are in fact more than 700 biblical prophecies specifically relating to it.
In Isa.49:22 it speaks how the Gentiles will carry the dispersed Jewish people In their arms and shoulders and bring them back to the land. And every single prayer of blessing spoken over the Jewish people facilitates this prophetic promise!
We love the Jewish people because we love the Jewish God of the Jewish people combined with our Jewish heritage embedded in the Word of God. And this is how we provoke the Jewish people to jealousy. Even higher than when the Gospel has been preached to them in agape love is when they see the quality of agape love manifest between believers in accordance with Yeshua’s command: “A new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I have loved you.” The Aramaic equivalent word for agape love is ‘hooba’ which literally means ‘to set on fire’ conveying the sense of a ‘burning love’ which consumes everything that is unholy. May God give us the grace to be faithful witnesses to both Jew and Gentile.
There will come the day when every true believer will stand before the ‘Bema Seat’ (judgement seat) of Yeshua (1Cor.3:12-15) to receive an eternal reward according to how faithful we have been in the things He has entrusted us with in this life. (2 Cor.5:10 and Rom.14:10). The phrase ‘Bema Seat’ originated from the ancient Olympics where a judge would sit on a chair at the finish line known as the ‘Bema Seat’ and it was his responsibility to determine what order the runners came in after which they would receive their reward.
Although anything exceeding our salvation through Yeshua is in a sense the cream topping, God rewards those who love and serve Him faithfully. May we, each person, run our race well to receive the applause of Heaven on that day when we hear Yeshua speaking to us face to face: “Well done, you good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord!’: Matt.25:23
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Deut. 26:1–29:9; Is.60:1–22; Lk 23:26–56: 24; 44-53 By Raphael ben Levi
It’s a measure of our love that we offer God our best (our first fruits) because anything less falls short of what rightly belongs to Him. But there is more that lies beneath the surface. Entering the Promised Land required each Israelite to remember their history. This made the Exodus a personal memory which ignited a deep gratitude for God’s mercy and faithfulness in bringing them to “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Deut.26:9) and this is what motivated them to offer the best of their own harvest to God. The Israelites had waited many centuries to see this day of fulfilment even as we await with great anticipation and yearning the return of Yeshua to receive us to our eternal home! In the interim, we give Him nothing less than our best, the first-fruits of our lives knowing that the most we can ever give Him is the least He deserves!
The world measures our worth according to a radically different standard to everything Yeshua taught, He taught that success in life is not about gathering material riches but “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kIngdom of Heaven” (i.e., that He is first and foremost our treasure recognising that all we have is from Him). The “remez” implies that to overcome much with very little is better than to overcome much with an abundance. To be faithful and obedient is the level playing field in the Kingdom of God.
We see this well illustrated in Heb.11, showcasing the heroes of faith with names that are included such as Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah who are placed in equal standing alongside the patriarchs, Moses, David and countless others who remain nameless and faceless. Each person walked obediently in faith however little or imperfectly they did so. Each one of us contain the same God-given potential to be heroes in His eyes.
The climax in this week’s parasha sees the assembling of the 12 Israelite tribes on two facing mountains. Six tribes stood on Mount Gerizim to represent the blessings of obedience, while the other six tribes stood on Mount Ebal for the curses that represented disobedience. All the 12 tribes without exception stated they would follow God’s Torah. Yet Jewish history demonstrates the hollowness of their choice that was based upon convenience more than commitment. And it well illustrates that what we say is not always what we may necessarily end up doing.
Serving God faithfully is an expression of our spiritual worship. It is interesting that one of the Hebrew words translated as “worship” is the same for manual work – ‘Avodah,’ This is because Scripture defines work as simply one more form of worship in our daily lives. Every act, however menial, is worship but downgraded to hard labour immediately our focus becomes diverted away from God.
So, during the month of ELUL to ask ourselves: “What are our lives characterised by – true worship or hard labour?” – Blessings or curses? For example, I may strive to acquire material wealth, but it will never fulfil my longings because that’s hard labour. But, when our eyes are fixed on Yeshua, we become repairers of the world, “Tikun Olam” because we allow His light to shine brightly within us. That is true worship.
The sages teach us that the manner of our giving determines much. In 2Cor.9:6 Paul wrote, “… whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” Yeshua illustrated this to HIs disciples as a life lesson with an incident concerning a widow’s mite (Mk.12:41-44) a pittance of only one sixty-fourth of a day’s wages for a labourer. Yet God regarded her offering as far greater than those who gave much out of their abundance.
In Rom.12:1-2, Paul defined the true meaning of giving: our time, our talents, our energy reflected in the Jewish phrase ‘gemilut hasadim’ – generosity towards others without differentiation.
God gave us His Torah that we might enjoy His abundant blessings. In Deut. 28:1-14 the Israelites were given the choice that if they faithfully followed His commandments He would set them high above the nations of the earth at a level that would be the envy of the world. The enormity of this is seen amid their ups and downs, not in their consistency of godly obedience. Although the Jewish people constitute today only 0.12% of the world’s population they have contributed in every area of life disproportionately far beyond any other nation. Paul makes this point when he wrote in Rom.11:11-12, “…did God’s people stumble and fall off the deep end? Absolutely not! They are not lost forever; but through their misconduct, the door has been opened for salvation to extend even to the outsiders. This has been part of God’s plan all along, and so is the jealousy that comes when they realise the outsiders have been welcomed into God’s new covenant. 12 So if their misconduct leads ultimately to God’s riches coming to the world and if their failure turns into the blessing of salvation to all people, then how much greater will be the riches and blessing when they are included fully?” (Voice)
The facts speak for themselves. But does this not contradict the terms of agreement that God set out to the Israelites – blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience? Why then does God richly bless the Jewish people so much although they so often rebelled against the very conditions that are plainly set out here in our parasha? The answer is not a contradiction but an incredible illustration of a loving God who pours out His blessings with infinite care upon a people who don’t deserve it simply because of His covenant promises. Israel’s disobedience led to Divine judgement but God’s covenant will remain intact forever and can never be revoked! And this is true also for us as believers.
Satan has has been working hard throughout history unsuccessfully to destroy the Jewish people through any opening and opportunity in order to falsely accuse God of being a liar and what better way than by destroying His covenant people? Consequently, the history the Jewish people has been assailed with constant calls for their destruction. Yet, even amid the darkest times they have never lost the capacity to rejoice in the knowledge of God’s faithfulness even amid our human imperfections. And this point is strongly reinforced in the Autumn feasts we will soon be celebrating as we see how 5 days following Yom Kippur is Sukkot, the feast of great rejoicing “zeman simchatenu”
The word JOY occurs in the Bible 10 times more frequently than the word HAPPINESS because the joy of the Lord is our strength. Those who have no joy will eventually wither up and die. Joy cannot be affected by circumstances or adversity but too many believers are asymptomatic – they have the Ruach but they have no joy but instead are bowed down with burdens God never intended for them to carry. NOW IS THE TIME TO BREAK FREE and exchange it for His Joy that always pursues us rather than being pursued when we willingly submit our lives to God.
Although everyone seeks happiness and contentment we need to know where to find it – many people look for it in all the wrong places. In Judaism, happiness is not defined by riches, pleasure, success or power. The Hebrew word for happiness, (‘ashrei’) is the first word in Ps.1, translated sometimes as ‘blessed’ used by Yeshua in the sermon on the Mount.
One person wrote, “Psalm 1 opens with: Ashrei ha-ish asher lo halakh ba-atzat reshaim “ — “Aligned Is the person who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked.” The whole Psalm opens on this word. And when Yeshua opens His sermon on the Mount using the same word — makarios, the Greek translation of ashrei — every Jewish person listening would have known what He was doing.
He was quoting the opening of the Psalms. He was saying: the way the Psalms describe the aligned life — that’s what I am now blessing.” (Hebrew For Christians)
Observant Jews recite the prayer known as ‘Ashrei’ three times each day that is taken from Ps.145 which beautifully defines happiness. And we see in Isa.60, how it sums up true happiness for every believer: “Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory of the Lord]; for your light (Messiah Yeshua) has come, And the glory and brilliance of the Lord has risen upon you!”
Is.60 is the antidote against the curses pronounced for our sin nature that inevitably leads to a curse: “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is everlasting life”
Deuteronomy warns about a curse where the people will “grope at noonday as the blind grope in darkness” (Deut. 28:29). But Isaiah states the ultimate in reversals: “Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. “Kumi Ori Ki Va Orech, U’Kvod Adonai Alayich Zarach.” (Isa.60:1-2).
Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) whose author was King Solomon (“the preacher”) is usually associated with unhappiness yet it is always read during Sukkot a feast that’s associated with joy and celebration! Kohelet, uses the word ‘simcha’ 17 times, more times than within the entire 5 books of Torah combined!
After every thought and reflection regarding the pointlessness of life, Kohelet ends on a note of rejoicing: (Kohelet 3:12; 3:22; 8:15; 11:8) This is puzzling since the entire book of Ecclesiastes is simultaneously filled with the Hebrew word “hevel” (“futility”). The answer is how “hevel” when properly translated instead means “a shallow breath.” It is a remez implying that mortal lives are just a fleeting breath and Kohelet concludes that happiness is not contained in the things of this world but rather in the joy of the Lord!
Every believer who has been made righteous in the sight of God is sustained through the many challenges in life by our “sure hope,” through Yeshua. He is our source of joy available to every person who has surrendered their life fully to Him. He is the fountain of life who invites us to drink deeply from His “living waters.”
Let me end on another theme presented during the month of ELUL concerning the beauty of the “King on the Field” from Ps.45 where it states, “All your (Yeshua’s) robes are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia.” It tries to express in words the inexpressible of the exquisite scent of the ointments which permeate the substance of God’s glory poured out in the life of every true believer. (1Pet 2:7) All His garments are filled with His fragrance because He is altogether lovely!
It portrays the Bride of Yeshua prepared for His soon return bearing His fragrance that’s is a mark of the redeemed. Heaven will break out in spontaneous applause when the shofar is sounded and just for the briefest instant, time will be suspended. Scripture states, “For the Lord Himself shall come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the blast of God’s shofar, and the dead in Messiah shall rise first.” (1Thes.4:16) The clock is ticking and the stage is set. The Lion of Judah is preparing to sound the charge and gather His elect to Himself. Dearest friends, are you ready? Are you ready? So, now in the 6th month of Elul we reflect upon what our lives are characterised by? God is not concerned with damage limitation or sticky plaster solutions but to put us back together again piece by piece and rebuild what was broken down through sin and rendered a heap of rubble, stone by stone for His praise and glory!
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