WOW! I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT WE RE NEARING THE END OF ANOTHER YEARLY TORAH CYCLE ALREADY! Only 8 more Torah studies to go (little less than two months) before we reach the last portion, Parasha 54, and Sukkot, the final festival of the Hebrew calendar year...
Regarding this week's Torah portion (Parasha 46), we note something VERY important as we continue to witness Moshe (Moses) reviewing for the "new generation" all that ADONAI had done for His people over the last 40 years - and what He expected of them, going forward.
What I've kept seeing reiterated over the last few readings about Moshe's review, is that YHWH expects His people to avoid paganism of all kinds - whatever it takes - because, if they don't, they will be sucked into the same rut they've been trying to escape in their quest to obey YHWH!
For instance, referring back to Genesis 12:1 we see Moshe relating the story of Avram (later renamed Avraham) being told to leave his father's house and go to the land that YHWH intended to show him.
(By the way, for anyone new to Torah, the term "Hebrew" means "to cross over" which is what Avram the Chaldean did in Genesis 12 when he both spiritually and physically "crossed over" to the land YHWH commanded him to go to. Once Avram "crossed over" he became our first Patriarch, Avraham, which means "father of many" or "father of a multitude." Avraham's life - just like yours on your new Torah journey! - was literally turned upside-down once he began obeying YHWH's Holy Will...)
Moving on with this week's Torah portion, referring back to Exodus 33:1, we are reminded of YHWH telling Moshe to "leave this place" and head for the Promised Land."
(Just like Avraham, Moshe/Moses endured many changes on his journey to do what YHWH had planned for him to do, all along... He surely never, in his wildest dreams, ever thought that God was going to use him to liberate His People from the pagan Egyptians, to lead them on a long journey to their own "Promised Land" - Israel ... a place that remains in turmoil to this very day BECAUSE of the struggle between YHWH and the Adversary! ...But we all know how The Book ends, don't we?)
Anyway, shortly - as Deuteronomy ends and the Book of Joshua begins - we will see YHWH's people actually "crossing over" into Israel where they fulfill His Genesis 12:2 promise to have their own land and to make them into a great nation! How very exciting!
Naturally, making them into a "great nation" came with some responsibilities, as YHWH expected His people to be HOLY AND SET APART, adhering only to HIS commands - which included displacing all the pagans they encountered to keep themselves from becoming polluted by paganistic ways. Take a look:
Deuteronomy 7: 12 "Because you are listening to these rulings, keeping and obeying them, ADONAI your God will keep with you the covenant and mercy that he swore to your ancestors.
Deuteronomy 7: 16 You are to devour all the peoples that ADONAI your God hands over to you - show them no pity, and do not serve their gods, because that will become a trap for you.
17 If you think to yourselves, 'These nations outnumber us; how can we dispossess them?' 18 nevertheless, you are not to be afraid of them; you are to remember well what ADONAI your God did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt - 19 the great ordeals which you yourself saw, and the signs, wonders, strong hand and outstretched arm by which ADONAI your God brought you out. ADONAI will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
20 Moreover, ADONAI your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left and those who hide themselves perish ahead of you. 21 You are not to be frightened of them, because ADONAI your God is there with you, a God great and fearsome.
22 ADONAI your God will expel those nations ahead of you little by little; you can't put an end to them all at once, or the wild animals will become too numerous for you. 23 Nevertheless, ADONAI your God will give them over to you, sending one disaster after another upon them until they have been destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their name from under heaven; none of them will be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.
25 You are to burn up completely the carved statues of their gods. Don't be greedy for the silver or gold on them; don't take it with you, or you will be trapped by it; for it is abhorrent to ADONAI your God. (CJB)
Many people use scriptures like the above to suggest "the God of the Old Testament was mean"...But nothing could be further from the Truth! YHWH doesn't waste words; there is a reason for everything He says. In cases like the above, he ordered the extermination of the godless pagans who did not belong to Him and who were/are/would be CONTAMINATING others with their godlessness.
In the above case, those particular pagans lived in the land that YHWH wanted HIS people to inhabit, and in order to keep HIS people from becoming "infected" with pagan ways, He wanted every last one of the pagans and their idols destroyed. (If Israel had only heeded these warnings throughout the millennia, the Land wouldn't be full of paganism now!)
We learn later on exactly why YHWH destroyed these pagans:
Deuteronomy 9: 4 ...it is because these nations have been so wicked that ADONAI is driving them out ahead of you.
IS IT STARTING TO MAKE SENSE TO YOU YET? The Holy One of Israel will NOT put up with any kind of paganism! This means we MUST rid ourselves of any and all idols - mentally, spiritually and physically - in order to truly belong to Him. He has always expected His people to be "wholehearted."
Yeshua reiterated this when he said:
Revelation 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth! 17 For you keep saying, ‘I am rich, I have gotten rich,[b] I don’t need a thing!’ You don’t know that you are the one who is wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked! 18 My advice to you is to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that you may be dressed and not have to be ashamed of your nakedness; and eyesalve to rub on your eyes, so that you may see.
19 As for me, I rebuke and discipline everyone I love; so exert yourselves, and turn from your sins! 20 Here, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If someone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he will eat with me. 21 I will let him who wins the victory sit with me on my throne, just as I myself also won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities.”’” (CJB)
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