EIKEV (BECAUSE) by Raphael ben Levi
One of my favourite psalms is Ps.91, a beautiful psalm which promises God’s complete covering over us when we place our trust in Him. “1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High (Elyon) will abide in the shadow of the Almighty (Shaddai). 2 I will say of Adonai, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” In these two verses are contained 3 different words expressing the nature of God:
Most High (Elyon) – This title means there is no idol, god, or created being that should be worshiped or exalted over Him. “For you, LORD (YHWH), are the Most High (El Elyon) over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.” (Ps.97:9)
El Elyon, is used 28 times in Scripture with the first occurrence of this name for God found in Gen.14 when Abraham encountered the mysterious priest and King of Salem, called Melchizedek. The name El Elyon reveals to us that God is the One true, most powerful God who splits the sea, calms the storm, and is worthy of our worship.
“The Most High God, El Elyon, is not a God too high or far away. He is a God who planned to dwell with humanity from the beginning. From the Garden of Eden to the new heaven and earth promised in Revelation, God is not aloof but desires to live with us. Jesus, fully God and fully man, fulfilled this plan. …Though he is the King of Glory, the Ancient of Days, and the Alpha and Omega, he is a God of relationship, a God who wants to do life with us. This is beyond comprehension. El Elyon, the Most High God, longs to be known just as we do, and he has made it possible through the Word and Jesus.” www.biblestudytools.com
Almighty (Shaddai) – Means the God of more than enough, our all sufficiency and One who gives us strength in our weakness who nourishes us through the Ruach. He is the Maker of all things in the universe. “All things were made by Him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (Jn.1:3). He does “great and awesome” miracles! Nothing is too hard Him for He has unlimited power!
The name El Shaddai is used repeatedly in the book of Job, a righteous man who pleaded his cause before the Almighty until God’s display of power and wisdom ultimately caused him to to be silent before the Lord’s sovereignty and authority. Even Job’s righteousness“ was like “filthy rags” compared to Him.
He is the God who chooses to transform us through His power into a people sanctified unto Him as He did with Job. He is God, embodied in Yeshua – God made flesh – who fed thousands with only a few fish and loaves of bread: who healed the sick and crippled – made the deaf to hear and the blind to see – and cast out demons, working mighty miracles, even raising people from the dead! What a mighty God we serve!
Yet the wonder is that the God who is El Shaddai would humble Himself to bring salvation through His only begotten Son to the ‘whosoever’ who chooses to be His disciple.
Lord (Adonai) – the translation of YHWH. No other nation worshipped a god by this name except the Israelites. “Adonai`’ (YHVH) was the name God gave Moses when he asked who was commissioning him to free his people from slavery. YHWH is the great “I AM.”
Did you know that this psalm reveals we have “guardian angels” (Ex.23:20; Ps.43:3)? God has provided us with heavenly messengers to protect us from dangers known and unknown of which many believers can bear testimony to. Ps.91 provides us with confirmation of this for all those who know and love Him:
9 For you made the Eternal [your] refuge, the Most High your only home.
10 No evil will come to you; plagues will be turned away at your door.
11 He will command His heavenly messengers to guard you,
to keep you safe in every way.
12 They (guardian angels) will hold you up in their hands
so that you will not crash, or fall, or even graze your foot on a stone.
13 You will walk on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the lion and the serpent underfoot.
14 Because he clings to Me in love,
What we read in Ps.91 is based on a conditional promise: “…Because he clings to Me in love…” as found in the opening section of our parsha: 12.“Because [eikev] you listen to these rules and keep them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and steadfast love that He swore to your fathers. He will love you, bless you, and multiply you.” (Deut.7:12–13)
The three names of God contained in just a couple of verses from Ps. 91 connects directly to our parasha for this week, called “eikev” meaning “because.” The word “eikev” is derived from from the verb “akav”, which means, “to take or grasp (by implication) by the heel” [as in the name Ya’akov meaning ‘supplanter’] and is first used in Gen.3:15 – proto-evangelium (first proclamation of the [Christian] gospel. “And I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.”
Satan attempted to strike the heel of the Messiah (destroy) but instead the Messiah crushed the Devil’s head and broke the curse of sin by becoming a curse for us that we might be reconciled to God. Instead of being blinded and deafened by sin we can choose life, and this was what God was now offering the Israelites who demonstrated His power as El Elyon, El Shaddai and Adonai combined.
In Jewish tradition, the last generation is described as “the heels of Mashiach, with feet of bronze” (representing judgement) since that particular generation is expected to hear His footsteps and those who fail to hear will be judged. In the world today peoples’ ears are cluttered with so many ‘voices’ that seek to crowd out their ability to ‘hear’ but blessed are those who give Him first place in their hearts.
Scripture emphasises the importance our responsibility as believers to thank God in all circumstances (‘hakarat ha-tov’) for His immeasurable blessings to us through Yeshua. Paul writes: “In everything give thanks…” He didn’t say “for everything.” Some things are evil, hurtful, harmful, or tragic. But, God has given us the capacity to triumph in every circumstance through His death and resurrection because in Him we have become ‘more than conquerors.” And so we “…rejoice in the Lord always: and are careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make our requests known to God. (Phil.4)
This was not a strong point of the Israelites during their 40 years sojourn in the desert. Neither has it been a strong point of the church through the ages. They complained and rebelled against God, frequently reminding Him of His promises but forgetting their accountability.
So Moses sternly warned the Israelites of something else of great importance: “When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (i.e., when God blesses and prospers you) … Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’ “ (Deut.8:11-17)
Moses itemised the blessings of God. He would bless the fruit of their womb and the produce of their soil, their grain their new wine and their oil, the increase of their herds and the young of their flock, in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you. From all peoples, they would be blessed—there would not be male or female barren among them or their livestock. God would remove all sickness from them, and He would not inflict on them any of the terrible diseases of Egypt but inflict them on all who hate them.
Israel failed to live up to these expectations and as a result failed to receive the fullness of God. But when they walked to His ways nothing was impossible and no wall unscalable. As Moses told the Israelites: “17 You might say to yourselves, “Those nations are so much more powerful than we are! How can we ever displace them in the land?” 18 But don’t be afraid of them! Remember what the Eternal, your God did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt…He is your God and will do the same thing to all the nations you’re so afraid of right now.”
Our God is El Shaddai, a God of miracles who promises to do exceedingly abundant above all we hope or imagine when we seek wholeheartedly to meet His conditions: “…unto Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” (Eph.3:20)
All this has been made possible through Yeshua’s shed blood for us on the Cross.
Although Satan has a blood lust to steal, kill and destroy, Yeshua effectively countered it by voluntarily offering His life as a covering which comes into play when we choose to yield our lives to Him. Lev.17:11 states, “life is in the blood,” a statement that prefigures Messiah Yeshua for what His blood would accomplish for us. Scripture provides 7 aspects related to the Blood of Yeshua:
- The Blood on the Doorposts – Redeeming Blood (Ex.12:5-7;13)
- The Blood on the Altar – Atoning Blood (Lev.17:11; Heb.9:11-12)
- The Blood on the Leprous – Cleansing Blood (Lev.14:5-7;14)
- The Blood on the Covenant – Cov. blood (Ex.14:6-8;Jer.31:31-34;Heb.9:13-15)
- The Blood on the Priests – Consecrating Blood (Took 7 days) [Ex.29:1-21]
- The Blood on the Mercy Seat – Pleading Blood (Lev.16:13-14; Heb.9;11-12)
- The Blood on the Cross – Quickening Blood (Lev.17:11;Jn.6:53-54)
Let’s just briefly consider this. Blood Is fundamental to the function of every cell of every component in our bodies. Cells need food to survive, grow, repair themselves and to fulfil their specific functions giving life to the whole body. Exactly the same is true for us spiritually in relation to the blood of Yeshua through which we have obtained eternal life.
I have always found it curious how Satan actually facilitated in advancing God’s eternal plan of salvation for humanity, that simultaneously sealed his own irrevocable destruction? I believe it points to his insatiable blood lust blinded by pride and arrogance. God’s greatest victory proved to be Satan’s greatest downfall and demonstrates how He has outmanoeuvred Satan at every step since the beginning of time – El Elyon!
Cleansing, through the blood of Yeshua nourishes us body, soul and spirit – our thinking, our consciences, our actions and our physical well-being. Yeshua considered it worthwhile to pay the price for our salvation and spurs us on to lead a sanctified life. 1John 1:8-10
How does that play out with people like Corrie Ten Boom who was arrested by the Nazis, sent to concentration camp and lost all her family during the Holocaust? Her victory was through worship of the Lord even within the pit of hell in Ravensbruk concentration camp that brought light in impenetrable darkness. By forgiving her enemies and blessing those who persecuted her against every instinct brought transformation that evil had no answer for. What Satan had intended for evil, God used for good! It is this type of courage and strength displayed in the face of evil, whether in big or the smallest of things that crushes the enemy underfoot! Pure worship is when every part of our being is fully submitted to God. “6 He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. James 4
Sometimes, God chooses not to intervene directly in our affairs whilst evil appears to prosper and the righteous suffer. But as in the case at Purim, He is always working behind the scenes. In Ps.73, the psalmist struggled with this issue: “16 When I considered how to understand this, It was too great an effort for me and too painful” “17 Then I understood [for I considered] their end.”
There are some things in life we may never understand but one thing we know is that there will come a day of reckoning when we stand before the Divine Judge and everyone will receive their just recompense. With this knowledge, the greater the challenge the sweeter will be our victory knowing that He is our defender and strong tower, our refuge and strength, El Shaddai – our God who is ‘more than enough’. And so, we confidently declare, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.” (Rom.8:38-39)
Our God inhabits the praises of His people and covers us in the pinions of His wings that we might be transformed and become surefooted as a deer who scales the heights, (Hab.3:19) Because God always exceeds our limitations!
When God renewed His covenant with the Israelites He urged them to place Him first in every area of their lives. He presented them with a choice: “15 See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you …love the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, … then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.” Deut.30:15-16
The world today is saturated in darkness and echoes the despair and spiritual bankruptcy of every person who resides outside of the Kingdom of God. It reflects the sad and infamous words of Pilate when confronted with Yeshua the One who is the truth with the words, ‘What is truth?’ It echoed his despair and spiritual bankruptcy even when THE Truth stood directly in front of him.
When God renewed the covenant with the Israelites in the land of Moab He urged them in Deut.30:1-10, to serve God wholeheartedly, seeking to please Him in all our ways because this is the foundation of our spiritual warfare. And God is with us will never forsake us even in our darkest moments for He is YHVH, our Adonai: “Can a woman forget her nursing baby or lack compassion for a child of her womb? Even if these forget, I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands. (Isa.49:15-16)
God is bigger than all our problems, (problem solver) bigger than all our anxieties, bigger than any obstacle, bigger than all our questions, dilemmas, crises, – whatever we may be facing, God is bigger…
