Your Daily Pesuk Sept 15, 2018

Parashat Vayeilech / פרשת וילך

• Sat, 15 September 2018 = 6th of Tishrei, 5779
• ו׳ בְּתִשְׁרֵי תשע״ט

Deuteronomy 31:25-30 (6 p'sukim)

maf: 31:28-30 (3 p'sukim)

Deuteronomy 31:25-30 Tree of Life Version (TLV)

25 Moses commanded the Levites, carriers of the Ark of the Covenant of Adonai saying, 26 “Take this scroll of the Torah, and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of Adonai your God. It will remain there as a witness against you, 27 for I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. Indeed, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against Adonai—how much more then after my death? 28 Gather to me all the elders of your tribes and your officials, so that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will certainly act corruptly and turn aside from the way I have commanded you. So evil will fall upon you in the latter days, because you will do what is evil in the sight of Adonai, provoking Him to anger by the work of your hands.”

30 Moses spoke in the hearing of the whole community of Israel the words of this song, right to the end:

25 וַיְצַ֤ו מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֔ם נֹֽשְׂאֵ֛י אֲר֥וֹן בְּרִית־יְהוָ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃

26 לָקֹ֗חַ אֵ֣ת סֵ֤פֶר הַתּוֹרָה֙ הַזֶּ֔ה וְשַׂמְתֶּ֣ם אֹת֔וֹ מִצַּ֛ד אֲר֥וֹן בְּרִית־יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָֽיָה־שָׁ֥ם בְּךָ֖ לְעֵֽד׃

27 כִּ֣י אָנֹכִ֤י יָדַ֙עְתִּי֙ אֶֽת־מֶרְיְךָ֔ וְאֶֽת־עָרְפְּךָ֖ הַקָּשֶׁ֑ה הֵ֣ן בְּעוֹדֶנִּי֩ חַ֨י עִמָּכֶ֜ם הַיּ֗וֹם מַמְרִ֤ים הֱיִתֶם֙ עִם־יְהוָֹ֔ה וְאַ֖ף כִּי־אַחֲרֵ֥י מוֹתִֽי׃

28 הַקְהִ֧ילוּ אֵלַ֛י אֶת־כָּל־זִקְנֵ֥י שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֖ם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶ֑ם וַאֲדַבְּרָ֣ה בְאָזְנֵיהֶ֗ם אֵ֚ת הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וְאָעִ֣ידָה בָּ֔ם אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

29 כִּ֣י יָדַ֗עְתִּי אַחֲרֵ֤י מוֹתִי֙ כִּֽי־הַשְׁחֵ֣ת תַּשְׁחִת֔וּן וְסַרְתֶּ֣ם מִן־הַדֶּ֔רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוִּ֖יתִי אֶתְכֶ֑ם וְקָרָ֨את אֶתְכֶ֤ם הָֽרָעָה֙ בְּאַחֲרִ֣ית הַיָּמִ֔ים כִּֽי־תַעֲשׂ֤וּ אֶת־הָרַע֙ בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה לְהַכְעִיס֖וֹ בְּמַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יְדֵיכֶֽם׃

30 וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֗ה בְּאָזְנֵי֙ כָּל־קְהַ֣ל יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֥י הַשִּׁירָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את עַ֖ד תֻּמָּֽם׃ פ

Shabbat Shalom, today is "Shabbat Shuvah" the Sabbath of Repentance, the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur!  Today's pesukim give us two types of witnesses against the B'nei Yisrael.

First, the Torah itself, Pesuk 26, and "Heaven & Earth" themselves.  Why did Moshe give us the Torah as a witness against us and our ancestors, and why did he also call Nature itself, Creation, also as a witness against us?

The answer for New Covenant believers is obvious, the purpose of Torah was "NOT" to make us righteous, for the Torah cannot do that itself.  The purpose of the Torah being a witness against us was to show us what Righteousness is, and that we are "NOT" righteous!

As Rav Shaul taught us in...

Romans 7:7 Therefore, what are we to say? That the Torah is sinful? Heaven forbid! Rather, the function of the Torah was that without it, I would not have known what sin is. For example, I would not have become conscious of what greed is if the Torah had not said, “Thou shalt not covet.”[a] 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, worked in me all kinds of evil desires — for apart from Torah, sin is dead. 9 I was once alive outside the framework of Torah. But when the commandment really encountered me, sin sprang to life, 10 and I died. The commandment that was intended to bring me life was found to be bringing me death! 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me; and through the commandment, sin killed me. 12 So the Torah is holy; that is, the commandment is holy, just and good. (CJB).

So the Torah is a "witness against us".  Think of it as in a court room.  You are defending yourself (God is the judge), Satan is your accuser, and in walks Satan's first witness to testify against you that you are a lawbreaker.  The bailiff introduces up the first witness, The Torah.  The Torah gives it's testimony that you are unrighteous.  Which without Yeshua, it is true we all are.

Then Satan calls his Second Witness against you, and in walks "Creation", (heaven & earth), and it also testifies against you.  How?

Rav Shaul again says:

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. In unrighteousness they suppress the truth, 19 because what can be known about God is plain to them—for God has shown it to them. 20 His invisible attributes—His eternal power and His divine nature—have been clearly seen ever since the creation of the world, being understood through the things that have been made.[d] So people are without excuse— 21 for even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. Instead, their thinking became futile, and their senseless hearts were made dark. [e] 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools. 23 They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image in the form of mortal man and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things.[f]

24 Therefore God gave them over in the evil desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies with one another. 25 They traded the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to shameful passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for what is against nature. 27 Likewise the men abandoned natural relations with women and were burning with passion toward one another—men committing shameful acts with other men[g] and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit to recognize God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what is not fitting. 29 They became filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents. 31 They are foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree—that those who practice such things deserve death—they not only do them but also approve of others who practice the same.

Footnotes:

1. Romans 1:13 Lit. brothers (in Messiah’s community).
2. Romans 1:17 Or from trusting-faith to trusting-faith.
3. Romans 1:17 Grk. pistis; cf. Hab. 2:4(2:4 LXX).
4. Romans 1:20 cf. Ps. 19:1-6; Jer. 5:21-22.
5. Romans 1:22 cf. 2 King. 17:15; Isa. 59:1-15; Jer. 2:5; Ps. 14:1-3.
6. Romans 1:23 cf. Deut. 4:16-18.
7. Romans 1:27 cf. Lev. 18:22; 20:13.

So as we can see, both Moshe and Rav Shaul teach us clearly, that the Torah and Creation itself testify against us, the only hope we have is our advocate, the one who has cancelled the "death sentence" against us, who took our place, took the sentence upon Himself and gave to us our Eternal Righteousness, based on our faith in Him.  Yeshua Hamashiach.  

G'mar chatima Tovah!