This is the month of “slichot” (forgiveness) as we approach Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur, an intense period where Jewish people pray daily and examine their lives and seek to place them in right relationship with God and other people.
Ps.139 is closely aligned with the month of Elul – the month of introspection as the “King in the Field” awaits to embrace us with open arms – “Paneem el’paneem”. This is our yearning when ‘just enough’ is unacceptable because our God is more than enough not just enough, and all sufficient, not barely sufficient! In v.23, the psalmist prays, “Search me O God and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the everlasting path.” The founder of Chasidic Judaism once said: “I so desire the presence of God that my heart cries out in pain when I cannot feel it but for many their sickness is that they have forgotten they ever had that desire.”
Yearning for an ever deepening walk with God follows those who seek to be transformed closer into His likeness. This was the psalmist ambition: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek…to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord.” Ps.27:4, It was his “sickness” as it has been for countless others.
When we gaze upon the beauty of the Lord it pierces the depths of our soul and exposes our hearts. Yet, when we love someone so much the sweetness of it also becomes our pain. At that moment our hearts burst to the rhythm of His heartbeat! It’s our ‘sickness!’ It’s not the pathway of man-made religious traditions and obligations but manifests with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
His love sets us free to reach out to others even our enemies; His joy brings hope and a sense of meaning and purpose: His peace destroys the authority that binds us to chaos and restores order amid the insanity and lawlessness within this world: His patience is our quietness and confidence that’s our strength when all else has evaporated (Isa.30:15): His kindness is the balm of Gilead which brings healing to those forsaken by others: His goodness is the breeze casting out the world’s pollution: His faithfulness never fails even when others may betray us: His gentleness is the Balm of Gilead for those wounded by the cruelty of others (Prov.15:1): and self control is the hallmark of true wisdom.
Our God is the best friend we can have in life. “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Prov.18:24) Yeshua exemplifies the ultimate friend who offers us unconditional love. How can we do any less than offer Him the totality of our lives? Scripture tells us that “…the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him, (Whose hearts are completely His). (2Chron.16:9)
The month of Elul is the month of the “King in the field” where He reminds us that He is reaching out to embrace us face-to-face and is awaiting our response. Let’s always give Him our best and as we worship Him right now in spirit and truth and the beauty of holiness.
SHOFTIM (Judges) Deut. 16:18–21:9; Isa.51:12–52:12; Jn. 8: 1-11
By Raphael ben Levi
Many people are unaware that there’s no mention of synagogues, rabbis, Pharisees, Sadducees, or Yeshivas in the OT because they only began to be developed in the 3rd century BC following the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon. In Yeshua’s day they had been firmly embedded in Jewish day-to-day life and all of them were developed from one text in our parasha from Deut.17:8-13.
Following their return to the Homeland after 70 years of Babylonian exile the Jewish nation faced various issues domestic, judicial, social and religious, all the things that fashion daily life. As the Torah became more accessible to people, different interpretations began to be formulated (the schools of Shamai and Hillel – e.g., Mk.10:4. regarding divorce – quoting from Deut.24:1 the Pharisees asked Yeshua, “If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house. What say you?”).
Varying interpretations of the Torah were plentiful replacing Divine revelation on every issue through individual leaders such as in the time of Moses. As schools of interpretation were formulated the body of knowledge and opinions formulated became known as the “Oral Law” – a collection of sayings, deliberations and reflections that were codified in the 5th century AD known as the Talmud (learning). The Talmud is compiled into 2,711 densely packed pages of commentaries which orthodox Jews commit to making a lifetime of intense study. Judaism attempted to built a fence around the Law as a means of protection against false interpretations and only those deemed worthy (with “semikhah” – “authority’) were eligible to interpret Scripture on their own merits rather than quoting from the Oral Law. Yeshua was recognised as one with semikhah. Matt.7:29 states that “…When Yeshua had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”
Those with “semikhah” usually comprised only of one or two people within any generation, with authority to interpret the Torah without referral to sages in the Oral Law. The crowds of Jewish people freely acknowledged that Yeshua spoke with semikhah which greatly embarrassed and angered the religious hierarchy.
This was not least because Yeshua frequently spoke out strongly against the custodians of the Law who held the people in bondage by their man-made rules and regulations as a means to live in close relationship with God. (Matt.22)
Yeshua never taught His disciples to disregard the Law and made it clear that He had not come to abolish the Law but to fulfil it (Matt.5:17) making the point that all the good works, prayer and study of Scripture in life can substitute for a living relationship with God.
Yeshua taught in the synagogues throughout Galilee and in the initial stages of His ministry everyone was amazed at the power and authority of His words Lk.4:15, This was at least until He began to clash with the religious hierarchy and exposed their hypocrisy. He used the text from our parasha in Deut.17:8-13 to instruct His disciples saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.” Matt.23:1-3 Yeshua taught that transformation in a fallen world only comes when we put our words into action, implying that the religious hierarchy were not a very good example in that respect. He also became slowly alienated from the religious hierarchy due to His Messianic claims causing them to cynically smear His legitimacy: “Is not this Yeshua, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?” In other words, how can He be the Messiah whose mother became pregnant by some unknown person before she was even married?
During the Temple period, the Jewish people sang the psalms as they worshipped in the Temple, but following the rejection of Yeshua as Messiah and the destruction of the Temple in AD70, all the melodies were lost. Since then, although the Jewish people have the Torah they have yet to regain the melody because the substance has been cast aside that’s encapsulated in the person of Yeshua.
Regarding the Law and it’s interpretation, the apostle Paul taught that God’s law is like a tutor who reveals to us our need for salvation, and that Yeshua is that schoolmaster because He is the fulfilment of the Law! The Psalmist wrote “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Ps.40:8) Ps.19 declares that, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the [whole] person; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple…More to be desired are they than gold, even than much fine gold; they are sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb.”
What is my point? Simply that without His grace we are utterly lost, but without Torah we are equally doomed so we need both! Obeying His Word is an outflow of our relationship with the One who searches our minds and hearts. Ps.19 begins with a declaration that, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork…” David then shifts from praising God who reveals Himself in creation, to praising Him for revealing Himself in His Torah. Paul states in the Book of Romans that Creation itself reflects the Creator and God’s Word reveals to us the details that God revealed to the world through the One who is THE WORD (“In the beginning was the word…” (Jn.1:1)
God’s justice is a feature embedded in Torah, something which is largely ignored in our society today which instead is driven by self-interest. But God reminds the Jewish people in Mic.6:8, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?”
The Hebrew word used frequently in the Scriptures for justice is “mishpat” which means ‘to right the wrong’ – to acquit and restore the innocent and sentence the guilty.
God commanded Moses to instruct the people of Israel to appoint “shoftim” (judges) and ‘shotrim’ (officials) who would rule at the gates of the cities and implement the law. These appointed leaders (or shepherds) were to judge with fairness, equality and wisdom, without partiality or falsehood. Transparency and integrity were the hallmark of the judges (the custodians of the law) and the officials who implemented them. A judge in biblical times was someone who knew and understood Torah and rightly divided the Word of God.
Paul wrote in Phil.4:8 that justice is a vital element in the day-to-day outworking of our lives: “whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].”
The wonderful thing for us is that we have Yeshua as our defending attorney because nobody keeps the law perfectly. Although Satan is the accuser of the brethren, God the Father is our judge and Yeshua acknowledges that we are guilty. We deserve judgement because justice always requires a penalty for sin but Yeshua has accepted that penalty on our behalf, paid in full through His blood.
The enemy seeks to ‘steal, kill and destroy’ (Jn.10:10) because he is the accuser of the brethren, who attempts to prosecute us with lawsuits. He strives to keep us away from our settlement because he knows that justice not only calls for wrongs to be righted, but it calls for a resolution.
Prov.6:30 states that if a thief is caught, he must pay sevenfold. So, if Satan has stolen your health, he has to pay it back seven-fold, but one has to bring him before the judge. If he has stolen your future, your life, your future, your family, your ministry, he has to bring restitution. When we understand the principle of the Divine judicial system it clarifies what ‘mishpat’ really is. We thank God for His amazing grace that covers all our imperfections as the one true Judge over the entire earth and universe that He created!
Yeshua described justice as being a weightier matter in the Torah. For example, in Matt.23:32 He told the scribes and Pharisees, “…you tithe to the nth degree, but you ignore the weightier matters of Torah, being love, justice and mercy.” Another example is an incident we read about in Jn 8:1-11 concerning a woman accused of adultery that again connects with our Torah portion in Deut.16: “If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing His covenant…, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people.” In v.20, it states the underlying principle that,“You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
One commentator noted that, “The Hebrew text here is much more interesting than the English. The English text says: “You shall follow what is altogether just.” The Hebrew texts repeats the word “just” (justice) twice, “justice justice you will pursue!” Any time a Hebrew word is repeated it is used as a literary devise for emphasis. Here it emphasises the importance how at all times justice must constitute the fabric of our being. In the case with the woman caught in adultery we see how justice sought to be misapplied. It focuses upon a point of Torah rather than the person caught in adultery who was merely a pawn. Where was the justice? The religious hierarchy simply sought to manipulate it to further their own agendas.
Deut.17 focuses upon investigations and witnesses against those who “do evil in the eyes of God.” V.4 describes this as an ‘abomination’ and by the word of 2-3 witnesses a matter was confirmed. In order to deter against a false witness, that person(s) would be the one who would be first put him to death (usually by stoning). Two or more witnesses were required to establish a matter under close interrogation but if their witness in any way contradicted the other, they themselves could be accused of false testimony which was also was punishable by death! (cf. ch.19:16-20)
Yeshua was confronted with a carefully conceived trap that appeared foolproof but as always, He outmaneuvered His enemies and responded to them by writing in the dust, maybe from Lev.5:1, “If someone is privy to a ‘crime’ yet does not speak out against all concerned (thereby diluting the evidence) he must confess his guilt and bring an offering to the Temple as compensation”.
Yeshua then answered them with the uncomfortable truth: “He who is without sin should cast the first stone.” It simply addressed the issue, exposing the hypocrisy of the woman’s accusers that recalled the laws for adultery requiring death by stoning for both the adulterer and the adulteress. Only one guilty party had been brought to Yeshua. The adulterer was conspicuously absent which tainted their witness. According to Torah, by condemning the woman they would also be accusing themselves. After being confronted, their true motives were exposed and they could do no more than walk away in humiliation.
Yeshua’s conversation with the adulteress revealed His heart. Her accusers (witnesses) had disappeared, and since in Torah two or more witnesses were needed to uphold any accusation, Yeshua could not legally condemn her had He even chosen to do so. Neither could He overlook the gravity of her sin, because love not only forgives but holds us accountable. He set her free, yet He also warned her to ‘sin’ no more.
The level playing field is that all of us are fully dependant upon Yeshua – “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” This not only keeps us humble but ensures we are travelling in the right direction. God never overlooks the gravity of sin as with the woman caught in adultery because love not only forgives but holds us accountable. He set her free yet also warned her to ‘sin’ no more and we are reminded in the Book of Jude, “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour be honour, glory and power forever.” (Jude 24) We worship God for His Divine grace extended to us despite our imperfections because He alone who is perfectly righteous is entirely just, the Great I AM who is worthy of all praise and honour, power and dominion, glory and majesty throughout eternity!
The segment from the Haftarah portion is from Isa.51 and sums this up nicely with a picture of the saints of God who have triumphed and overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, all through His grace and mercy: “So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. ‘I, even I, am He who comforts you.” (v’s11,12)
