PARASHAH NITZAVIM
(Deuteronomy 29:10-30:20) Week 51
NITZAVIM: STANDING; ‘You are standing today all of you before the Lord your God, the heads of your tribes, your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel’. Deut. 29:10
CHAYIM: LIFE; ‘I have set before you, life and death blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life!’ Deut. 30:19
The Message of Standing on His Word: SHEMA! Hear and obey!
LECHAM HACHAYIM: BREAD OF LIFE …Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35
ETZ CHAIM: TREE OF LIFE; ‘And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Gen 2:9
‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Rev. 2:7
SHORESH POREH ROSH: Root bearing a head or HEMLOCK which is lethal when consumed by humans. “Let there not be among you a man, woman, family or tribe whose heart turns away today from Adonai our God to go and serve gods of those nations. Let there not be among you a root bearing such bitter poison and wormwood.” Deut. 29:17
Idol Worship: The Hemlock of the HEART
TESHUVA: RETURN; “But you will return and pay attention to what Adonai says and obey all His Mitzvot which I am giving you today”. Deut.30:8
The essence of the SHEMA: To HEAR and OBEY
BRIT MILAH: CIRCUMCISION; The Covenantal ‘cutting away’ of all that was un-necessary, to expose the most vulnerable, feeling part of a heart!
“Then Adonai will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your children so that you will love Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being, thus you will live!”
THE CHOICE: Moses distilled each word of Deuteronomy down into the simplest form to understand in verses 30: 19-20
“I have presented you with life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, CHOOSE LIFE SO THAT YOU WILL LIVE, YOU AND YOUR DESCENDANTS, loving Adonai your God, paying attention to what he says, and clinging to him, for this is the purpose of your life!
Please consider the Two Trees in Paradise:
Tree #1 represents Chayim or LIFE; “The Tree of Life” … SPIRITUAL LIFE…of the New Nature.
Tree #2 represents Binah or KNOWLEDGE; “The Tree of Knowledge” … MAN’S INTELLECT…of the Old Nature.
Adam and Eve chose to eat from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge, which produced death.
Will we choose LIFE by the Spirit of the Living Word, or will we choose DEATH by the Spirit of the Legalism of the Law?
There are TWO TORAH’S: The TORAH of the Spirit or The TORAH of Death
Haftarah (Old Covenant) Reading: Is. 61:10-63:9
The Seventh and Final Haftarah of Consolation: These magnificent verses are the antidote for the dark fears of curses and the prophetic judgement from Deuteronomy…
ADONAI’S TORAH is the antidote for our sickness, failures, and sinful natures…which are diseased and restless!
Jesus (Yeshua) is the bridegroom, and the Church (Jew and Gentile) is the bride!
“For Zion‘s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out brightly and her salvation like a blazing torch!”
May we join with the zeal of ADONAI and declare the blessings yet to come for Israel, through the Tribulation and after, in the new Jerusalem where Yeshua will rule and reign with justice, for the Millennium.
By our prayers, our immersion in Torah, and standing (Nitzavim) boldly for the truth, may we be part of this supernatural ushering in of the Nation of Israel into the fullness of the Covenant with ADONAI, through the righteousness of Messiah!
“For He said, ‘They are indeed my people, children who are not disloyal. So, he became their Savior. In all their troubles he was troubled, then the angel of His Presence saved them, and his love and pity he redeemed them.”
Brit Chadashah (New Covenant) Reading: Rom 9:30-10:13, Heb. 12:14-15
Messiah Yeshua is the HEART of TORAH!
It is through Messiah Yeshua and His righteousness that we are:
SAVED FREED REDEEMED TAKEN TO DWELL WITH HIM
THE FOUR CUPS OF PASSOVER IS THE GOSPEL MESSAGE!
Yeshua came to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. It is by our love and faith in the Salvation of the Lamb of God that we are given the power to hear and obey!
Turn from sin and apathy and turn your face, fully, into the face of HASHEM!
BARUCH HASHEM! Praise the NAME!