Ki Tetzei (‘When you go out’) DEUT. 21:10-25:19 Haftara: Isa. 54:1–10; N.T. Lk. 23:1–25;
by Raphael ben Levi
This Torah portion incorporates a wide variety of commandments from completely different areas of life. It is full of domestic and civil laws that can at first glance appear tedious unless we understand that they are as relevant for the Church now as they were at the time they were given. When we take time to examine them with the Holy Spirit’s help we see are included timeless messages which are frequently disregarded today by those claiming to be believers. (e.g., honouring ones’ parents (21:18-22); adultery (22:22) or exploiting employees (24:14).
The consequences for a child’s repeated rebellion against their parents (22:18-21) was severe. Forming godly character within children is the sacred duty of parents and we only need to fast forward to modern times to understand why. And yet it is not guaranteed that even then a child will avoid being rebellious which is a mystery and a heartache for parents who experience it. And Scripture provides us with many examples.
Yeshua takes this one step further in His Parable of the Prodigal Son in Lk.15. An astounding thing in that story is how both the prodigal (the younger son) and his older brother were rebellious but they just expressed it in different ways. Here, Yeshua was hinting what Paul makes explicit in Rom.3:20;23 that “20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” 23“All have sinned (rebellious) and have fallen short of the glory of God.” This is the problem but where is the solution? Paul continues, “24 They are set right as a gift of His grace, through the redemption that is in Messiah Yeshua. 25 God set forth Yeshua as an atonement, through faith in His blood, to show His righteousness in passing over sins already committed. 26 Through God’s forbearance, He demonstrates His righteousness at the present time—that He Himself is just and also the justifier of the one who puts his trust in Yeshua.”
“Like an addiction, sin takes hold of us and causes us to act in ways we never wanted. For Paul the cross of Yeshua deals finally and definitively with the dual reality of sin. Not only are we forgiven of our sins—our wilful acts of disobedience—but we are also liberated from the power of sin.” (THE VOICE)
Rebellion may only begin with one person yet has a ripple affect that can jeopardise the very identity of a community or nation. The consequences for a rebellious child was stoning but we never see it implemented in Scripture because with all of Israel’s failings, in this one respect, there was never any need. Yet in these end times Yeshua said that everything would turn upside down: “…brother shall betray brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.” Mk 13:12
74 of the Torah’s 613 commandments (about 12%) are contained in this Parasha that deal with many ethical and moral issues – some are clear and others shrouded in mystery that need to be teased out. For example, in Deut.22:9 we read about the crossbreeding of animals and using two species of animals to plow together (do not be unequally yoked – an ox and an ass – clean and unclean) which is forbidden. And it’s interesting that in these end times scientists are experimenting in developing the creation of human chimeras as in Greek mythology in an effort to produce supper-soldiers with super-abilities. A chimera is a creature with a diverse genetic constitution; a hybrid created through fusion of a sperm and an egg from different species.
Understanding these things places God’s prohibitions in context which would have been otherwise difficult to comprehend. Satan seeks to manipulate and distort God’s creation to destroy and replace it with his own forms of hybrids. Gen. 6.
Another example is the prohibition to plant various species together, that has a spiritual application regarding being unequally yoked. The Hebrew word, “Kilayim” is mentioned only twice in the Bible, in Lev19:19 and in this parasha (Deut 22:9–1: And wearing a garment with ‘sha’atnez’ (combination of linen and wool) worn close to the heart refers to double-mindedness. In this regard the priesthood were exempt because the blur between sacred and secular became redundant since every part of their lives was consecrated to God. And it is the same for us as believers who have been made “Kings and priests of God” through the precious blood of Yeshua.
Other laws that are in this parasha include themes that forbid ungodly lifestyles such as transgender and gay lifestyles that are ‘detestable’ in the sight of God (22:5) and the importance for protecting the weak and vulnerable in society from the terrible evil of thing such as human trafficking.
The laws in this parasha contain spiritual applications whether they appear to be issues great or small even down to details concerning human cleanliness (use of a latrine – 23:13-15) and caring for the environment (e.g not disturbing a birds nest).
This was something understood by the sages to the point that every single word in Scripture is significant. None of God’s words are obsolete but every jot and tittle holds important significance.“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Tim.3:17-18)
Scripture addresses every issue covered in this Parasha head-on so as to separate the Israelites from the surrounding nations who practiced all these abominations. In the same way we as believers are called to do the same. And so it alarms us when those things forbidden by God are tolerated and pervasive. 2Tim. 3:1-5 states that“…in the last days dangerous times [of great stress and trouble] will come [difficult days that will be hard to bear]. 2 For people will be lovers of self [narcissistic, self-focused], lovers of money [impelled by greed], boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane, 3 [and they will be] unloving [devoid of natural human affection, calloused and inhumane], irreconcilable, malicious gossips, devoid of self-control [intemperate, immoral], brutal, haters of good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of [sensual] pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of [outward] godliness (religion), although they have denied its power [for their conduct nullifies their claim of faith].”
Finally, one of the 74 commandments contained in this parasha that holds special interest refers to the phrase about the ‘curse and death on a tree’ Punishment began by flogging. Deut.25:1-3. According to the law, someone could receive anything up to 40 lashes in number. The sages limited this to 39 lashes. Flogging was so brutal with the custom of 13 strikes to the chest and 26 to the back that often the victim died from the beating. When Pilate wanted to release Yeshua with a flogging (cf Luke 23) he was not letting Yeshua off the hook lightly.
“… flogging consisted of 39 lashes with a whip made up of multiple leather straps, 18-24 inches long that had small metal balls woven into them. There were also pieces of sharp metal, bone or glass attached to these straps. After repeated blows, the metal balls would bruise and eventually open the victim’s skin. The pieces of metal and bone would become embedded into the skin and then rip outwards as the whip was recoiled. The lashes would target the entire back, buttocks and the back of the legs of the victim. Sometimes, the bowels would be opened up and most often blood vessels and veins would be severed. This led to tremendous blood loss and dehydration. This condition led to hypovolemic shock, which leads to the following bodily reactions: The heartbeat will become rapid in order to try to pump more blood throughout the blood-starved body. Of course, it pumps in vain. Blood pressure drops drastically. The kidneys shut down so to save fluids for a now fluid starved system. `due to the loss of fluids the victim will thirst, can faint, and go into shock. Lastly the heartbeat becomes erratic and eventually goes into cardiac arrest. Many died simply from the flogging.”
Following the flogging, Yeshua was compelled to carry the crucifixion stake He would be crucified on. This form of torture was considered one of the worst ever devised by man. Isa 53 provides us with a graphic description:
“He was despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief; And like One from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or esteem Him. But [in fact] He has borne our griefs, And He has carried our sorrows and pains; Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken, Struck down by God and degraded and humiliated [by Him]. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]; The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him, And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, We have turned, each one, to his own way; But the Lord has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing] To fall on Him [instead of us]. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth [to complain or defend Himself]; Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before her shearers, So He did not open His mouth. …He was cut off from the land of the living [by His death] For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke [of death] was due…Because He had done no violence,Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.Yet the Lord was willing To crush Him, causing Him to suffer;… My Servant, shall justify the many [making them righteous—upright before God, in right standing with Him], For He shall bear [the responsibility for] their sins.”
Yeshua willingly took upon Himself our sins and the punishment we deserved to open the way for a restored relationship with God.
Criminals who were hung on a tree after being convicted of a capital offence had to be taken down and buried on the same day. Bodies could not be left overnight, since anyone hung on a tree is considered cursed by God…“If a man guilty of a capital offence is put to death and you hang him on a tree his corpse shall not remain on the tree overnight. You must bury it the same day; anyone who is hanged is a curse of God.” (Deut 21:22–23)
The phrase “hang him on a tree” referred to crucifixion. The Jewish leaders claimed that Yeshua’s hanging was “proof” that He blasphemed because He claimed to be the Messiah, and in their interpretation no true Messiah would hang on a tree and become a curse of God.
In fact the reverse is true. Yeshua took the full measure of the curse upon Himself that should have been ours by hanging on a tree: “Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’” (Gal. 3:13)
Under Roman law, the bodies of executed criminals were handed over to their next of kin, except in some cases where they were left hanging for the vultures to finish off. However, in Jewish custom, an executed criminal, could be retrieved from the execution stake following permission from the Roman authorities. But instead of allowing their bodies to be placed in family tombs, (desecration) they provided a burial site for criminals just outside the city (cf. Jos., Ant. v. 44) in case those already buried were desecrated, known as “pauper’s graves.”
Things needed to happen in accordance with prophecy: we know something else, something which the disciples did not realise at the time: the prophet Isaiah declared that the Messiah would be buried in a rich man’s tomb: “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth” (Isa.53:9). The Messiah would be put to death as a criminal (Isa.53:3-4), with criminals (53:9), and yet He would also be buried with the rich (53:9) in a new tomb that up to that time had never been used.
Why is it that the Haftarah reading for this parasha is from Isa 54:1-10 skipping the entire previous chapter? Small wonder since it describes in minute detail the type of death endured by the Messiah. Judaism re-interpreted this chapter in the Middle Ages and is now understood to refer to the nation of Israel. Scripture says it differently: Gal. 3:13-14“…Christ purchased our freedom and redeemed us from the curse of the Law and its condemnation by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs [crucified] on a tree (cross)”— 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might also come to the Gentiles, so that we would all receive [the realisation of] the promise of the [Holy] Spirit through faith.”
When we begin to understand the full measure of physical suffering that Yeshua took upon Himself for us, we can never again say that He doesn’t love us or know what it means to suffer! He has paid the full penalty of our sins.
Yeshua came to earth the first time and became the Suffering Servant to redeem us from our sins, but will return again soon in judgment as the Conquering King.
There is currently an acceleration in the spiritual realm as we are see a clash between the forces of darkness against the Kingdom of Light. The time for our departure is very close and Scripture urges us to be prepared and ready. Our highest desire is to walk in close fellowship with the Lord who broke the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us through His shed blood on the Cross for our sins. And so we echo the precious words of our Messiah in Ps.40:9: “ I delight to do Your will, O my God. Yes, Your Torah is within my being.”
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