Moshe and Joshua spoke some prophetic words about Israel’s future, and the importance of ADONAI’s Torah!

In our final Torah portions of the year we discover some prophetic words about Israel’s future and the importance of ADONAI’s Torah:

First, Moshe (Moses):

Deuteronomy 31: 24 Moshe kept writing the words of this Torah in a book until he was done. When he had finished, 25 Moshe gave these orders to the L'vi'im (Levites) who carried the ark with the covenant of ADONAI:

26 "Take this book of the Torah and put it next to the ark with the covenant of ADONAI your God, so that it can be there to witness against you. 27 For I know how rebellious and stiffnecked you are! Here, even while I am still alive with you today, you have rebelled against ADONAI; so how much more will you do so after my death?

28 Assemble for me all the leaders of your tribes and your officials, so that I can say these things in their hearing, calling heaven and earth to witness against them - 29 because I know that after my death you will become very corrupt and turn aside from the way that I have ordered you, and that disaster will come upon you in the acharit-hayamim (end of days/last days), because you will do what ADONAI sees as evil and provoke him by your deeds." (CJB)

NOTE:

What did Israel do? As we can see in the rest of the Tanach (“Old Testament”), the people kept straying. They had one king after the next – some good, some bad. One would lead people completely away from Torah; the next would revive Torah observance, and Israel would prosper again.

When YHWH finally caused the dispersion of the Israelites into the world (Jeremiah 39–43) He chose the Tribe of Yehudah/Judah/the Jews to take Torah into the world and safeguard and preserve it (Genesis 49:10, Micah 4:2).

YHWH returned the Land of Israel to the Jews in 1948, using what happened in the Holocaust as leverage (the world briefly felt sorry for the Jews and returned Israel to them, thus fulfilling TWO of Isaiah’s prophecies (Isaiah 66:7-8) that Israel would become a nation again, and that it would happen in ONE day).

Once the Israelites began to return to Israel, the barren desert Land began to prosper and flourish once more.

However, Israel made the huge mistake of allowing the Arab settlers to remain – settlers who were mostly criminals and outcasts from the Arab (mostly Muslim) nations … the offspring of Ishmael who was "...a wild donkey of a man. Whose hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand will be against him…” (Genesis 16:13-16).

HUGE mistake of Israel to allow the Muslims to remain, because they continue to try to take over the Land … and Israel has actually been giving in to them, little by little…. They even gave them the Temple Mount!!!!

And because Israel has been so lenient and tolerant (despite God’s constant warnings), there are now THREE major world religions in Israel – two of which clearly do not adhere to Torah: Judaism, Christianity and Islam…

All this has happened, AFTER YHWH amply warned them in ancient times, throughout the Torah, to STAY AWAY from pagans and their various religions!

Now, to be fair - Israel isn’t the only nation who has strayed completely away from YHWH. Just take a look around you to see what’s going on in the rest of the world today.

And why is that? Because hardly anyone bothers adhering to His Torah!

Let’s look at Joshua 8 (Joshua was Moshe's successor), which reveals the importance of REMEMBERING and LIVING a Torah lifestyle – which was pertinent to not just "the Jews" but to EVERYONE who accepts YHWH as their God. Even the "foreigners" who had come out of Egypt with Moshe were commanded to “do exactly as” His people did! (For a complete picture of this, check out Exodus 12:49, Numbers 15:13-16, Isaiah 56:6, Galatians 3:28 and Romans 10:12-13.)

Joshua 8: 30 Then Y'hoshua built an altar to ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, on Mount 'Eival, 31 as Moshe the servant of ADONAI had ordered the people of Isra'el to do (this is written in the book of the Torah of Moshe), an altar of uncut stones that no one had touched with an iron tool. On it they offered burnt offerings to ADONAI and sacrificed peace offerings.

32 He wrote there on the stones a copy of the Torah of Moshe, inscribing it in the presence of the people of Isra'el. 33 Then all Isra'el, including their leaders, officials and judges, stood on either side of the ark in front of the cohanim, who were L'vi'im and who carried the ark for the covenant of ADONAI. The foreigners were there along with the citizens. Half of the people were in front of Mount G'rizim and half of them in front of Mount 'Eival, as Moshe the servant of ADONAI had ordered them earlier in connection with blessing the people of Isra'el.

34 After this, he read all the words of the Torah, the blessing and the curse, according to everything written in the book of the Torah. 35 There was not a word of everything Moshe had ordered that Y'hoshua did not read before all Isra'el assembled, including the women, the little ones and the foreigners living with them. (CJB)

And there you have it - it was recorded in Joshua: the immense importance of obeying and living by YHWH’s instructions. The blessings awaiting those who obey, and the curses awaiting those who act on their own. How could ANYONE EVER suggest Torah is NOT important to anyone who believes in YHWH?