Tag: protection

Parashah Mattot 2019 (Tribes) Numbers 30:2 – 32

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In the previous parashah, Moses had been reviewing the sacrifice requirements that were to be followed when the Israelites entered the land God promised to them. In this parashah, he begins by explaining the rules regarding when a vow is made. God had told Moses he was to die, but before that was to happen God had one more thing for Moses to do: destroy the Midianites.

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Moses took 1,000 warriors from each tribe and sent them to battle with Midian, in retribution for the sin they caused Israel to do at Ba’al-Peor. The 5 Midianite kings were killed, as well as all the males, and much booty was taken. The warriors had saved alive all the women and children, but this made Moses mad because these were the same women who, under the advice of Bilyam (who, by the way, met his end during this battle), had seduced the men of Israel into sin.  These captives were all killed, except for the virgin women. In accordance with the Torah, the men stayed outside the camp for 7 days, undergoing the cleansing ritual God had proscribed.

This parashah ends with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh asking to remain on the east side of the Jordon because they were cattle farmers, and that land was perfect for raising cattle. Moses said that unless they first go into Canaan and do battle with the other tribes to conquer the land, they could not separate themselves from the rest of the people. If they are willing to first fight alongside their brothers, then once the land was conquered they could return and have their own land outside of God’s Promised Land. They agreed to that, and Moses gave them his blessing to remain on the east side of the Jordon.

For the record: although we are told that half of the tribe of Manasseh stayed on the east side of the Jordon, in Numbers 26:29-32 we learn there are actually 8 sub-tribes of Manasseh and only 6 of those remained on the east side.

The subject of vows, specifically how a man (father or husband) is allowed to void the vow of a woman, would certainly be an interesting topic to discuss, given this age of empowerment of women and equal rights. However, although I am not a coward, I am not going there because I do have something else to discuss.

Rueben was one of the tribes that rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the desert, under the influence of Dathan and Abiram. Gad and Reuben had, I am sure, become close to each other because they were next to each other in both the camp and the march for 40 years. Now, Reuben, along with Gad and Manasseh, seem to be continuing on this path of rebellion.

Moses acquiesced to their request only on the condition that they fight alongside the other tribes to do as God had commanded them, and to make sure that the other tribes are as well settled as they would be, before they could completely settle in their own land, outside of God’s Promised Land.

And that brings me to the point of today’s message: they chose to reject God’s Promised Land because they liked what they saw and wanted it now, instead of trusting that God would provide for them later. Yes, the land there was favorable for cattle, but there were places in the land of Canaan that would have served just as well.  Their choice to live where they liked, instead of doing as God had told them and trusting in him to make sure they would be provided for, demonstrated more of the same faithlessness that resulted in the death of 250 of their leading men. Eventually, they would be conquered by the Assyrians and disseminated throughout the world.

How often do we think that what we have now is better than what we might get? It’s like being on Let’s Make a Deal, and Monty Hall is asking if you want the prize you can see before you or the one in the box that Johnny is bringing down the aisle now? I suppose that Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh felt that way when they saw the beautiful cattle land before them and had no idea what was on the other side of the Jordon. They decided not to trust that God knew what they needed and was able to provide it for them, so they said they will stick with what they have now. Even though they were told that they would be on their own, they decided to take what’s here now instead of trust in God for later.

How often do we do that? How many times have we accepted what we see in front of us and settle for something that may not be what God has planned for us because it is easy and here, now?  Why wait for something that may or may not be better when I see something I like that is here and available to me right this second?  This is what God meant when he warned Cain, all those years ago, that sin is crouching at his door and he must conquer it. The here and now is what this world loves, but God is not subject to linear time and his timetable is based on what he knows is best for each of us. We want it now, and God wants us to have it when we are ready for it- BIG difference! And you know what? His timing is always perfect, and ours is almost always wrong.

The message today is that we must trust in God and not trust in our own feelings. We are, by nature, impatient and when we want something that we know God hasn’t provided, we are asking for trouble. We may not want to follow all the instructions in the Torah because they are harder than listening to our religious leaders who tell us we don’t have to follow them all. We may see a baked goods display at a banquet during Hag haMatzot (the seven days of no leavened products after Passover) and decide that we can forego the fast just for now because we can start it again tomorrow.  Or maybe we will accept that invitation to go somewhere or do something we know we really shouldn’t be doing, but it just sounds like so much fun we can have and I am really bored right now.

Selfishness and pride will always lead us to the same place…Sheol. God knows what we need, God how much we need, and God knows the perfect time to give it to us. We, on the other hand, have no idea what we need, and whatever we think we need we want more of it than we really do need. And we want it N-O-W!!

Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh rejected the promise God gave them to provide a land rich in good things and accepted what they saw in front of them which they liked and wanted to have now. We all have that same potential to reject God’s good things promised to be given to us later for the good things the world offers us right this minute.

We think in terms of immediate satisfaction whereas God’s plans for us are eternal.

Let me finish today with this question: why settle for a moment of pleasure when you can have an eternity of joy?

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I wish you all Shabbat shalom and until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Parashah Ki Thavo (when you come in) Deuteronomy 26 – 29:8

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We start with the end of the Second Discourse of Moses when we finish Chapter 26. The First Discourse was a review of the journey, the Second Discourse a review of the laws and codes given by God, and the Third Discourse (beginning with Chapter 27) is the enforcement of those laws.

Chapter 28, one of my most favorite of all the chapters in the Torah (in the entire bible, in fact) is known as the “Blessings and Curses” chapter.

Covenants have three components: first, you tell what the conditions of the covenant are, second the rewards of complying, and third the punishment for not complying. Following this format, the Second Discourse of Moses told of the conditions of the covenant, and Chapter 28 tells us the rewards for obedience and the consequences of disobedience.

The rewards, the blessings, are wonderful, and impact every part of our lives. Going in and coming out, in the fields (our work), the fruit of our body (happy, healthy family), the fruit of our herds and flocks (financial stability) and ultimately we will be known as a people blessed and protected by God (that would make a wonderful epitaph, wouldn’t it?)

But that’s not why this is my favorite.

After we are told all the wonderful things God will do for us when we obey, we are then told what will happen to us if we disobey. And these curses are the exact opposite of the blessings, except they go way beyond one-for-one, curse for blessing. Initially, we will be cursed going in and out, barren wives, failed crops, herds dying, enemies attacking and winning, we will be the tail not the head, but then it gets worse. We will suffer all the plagues of Egypt and, well…let’s just leave it at it gets worse. Ultimately, we will be known as a people cursed and abandoned by God.

Obviously, the curses aren’t why this is my favorite chapter, either.

What makes this my favorite chapter is because it demonstrates the true nature of our God- a loving, compassionate and fair Father who wants only to do good for us.

Let’s start with the first curse- Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve screwed up royally and God cursed the Earth (not them- the earth). Down the road a-ways, in the B’rit Chadasha (New Covenant), we get told who has rule over the earth- it isn’t God. Oh, yes- God is in control of everything, all the time, but we often read how He cedes rule to others. God has ceded rule (not control) over the earth to the Enemy, the Evil One, Satan.

You don’t believe me? Read Revelations 12: 7-12; read Ephesians 2:1-2; read John 12:31; read 1 John 5:19: the New Covenant tells us that the Enemy has dominion over the Earth.

So, what it comes down to is this: the curses that we read about in Chapter 28 aren’t things that God does to us, they are things that happen because we live in a cursed world with a really nasty guy running the show. Just being alive is a curse.

God does not curse us, He protects us from the curses!

The blessings of God are a kippur, a covering, which protects us from the world we live in. It’s like a golf umbrella that covers us and even the wind won’t make it turn inside-out. It’s stronger than the weather, which is the rain (or reign, if you will) of the Evil One falling down on us.

In other words, we receive curses when we show that we are so stubbornly rebellious we don’t have enough sense to come in out of the reign (of the Evil One.)

God’s blessings are what He does for us; the curses are what happens to us (when we walk away from God’s Kippur.)

That’s why I love this chapter so much: it tells me how wonderfully compassionate God is, how much He wants to do good for us, how He doesn’t do anything bad to us and when bad things happen it’s because we have left God’s protection by disobeying Him.

The blessings are what we receive for doing what is best for us and when we don’t, God will leave us on our own because He gave us Free Will. And He gave us Free Will because He loves us so much that He wants us to love Him back by our choice to do so.

What’s really unbelievable to us humans, self-centered and hedonistic as we are, is that even when someone hates God, rejects Him, and curses Him to His face, even that person will receive a blessing now and then. Just because God still loves him (or her) and even when being hated, God will love you enough to give you an occasional blessing.

It is said He rains on both the righteous and unrighteous, which I believe demonstrates His love for all.

So, that is why I love this chapter- it shows us how much God really loves us, and His wonderfully compassionate, forgiving and accepting nature. It also shows that He honors His word and does what He says He will do, which gives me confidence in His promise of salvation.

We can’t earn salvation but we can earn blessings. That is comforting, challenging and hopeful all at the same time.

Go earn some blessings today- all you need to do is read the Word, honor the Torah (as Yeshua/Jesus did) and get blessed.

For me, I try to do one less sin every day. That doesn’t mean not do a sin today, then never do that sin again- that can’t be done, at least, I can’t do that. But what I can do is one less sin every day.

We can never be sinless, but we can always sin less.  So, do one less sin today.

I can trade a sin for a blessing? Oy! Vot a deal! 

Parashah Ki Tavo (When You Come In) Deuteronomy 26 – 29

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This parashah is one of my favorites, mainly because of Chapter 28, which is the Blessings and the Curses.

Moses starts out by telling everyone that they must bring the first fruits of the land to the place where God will place His name, and the pronouncement they must make which is to re-affirm their history, what God has done for them and that they have not strayed from God’s commandments.

When the people are in the land they are to stand at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim and pronounce the curses upon people who do sinful things, with all the people saying, “Amen!” to each pronounced curse. The blessings are also to be said, although they are not specified here- only the curses are specified.

The blessings are identified in Chapter 28, as well as the punishment (curses) that will fall upon the people for disobedience. When you read the curses, they are more numerous than the blessings and as wonderful as the blessings are, the curses are relatively just as devastating and horrible.

But does God really curse people? Isn’t He the Lord of lords and Kings of kings? Isn’t He compassionate, long-suffering, abounding in grace and love? Does the Lord, God Almighty really sock–it-to-us just because we screw up?

This is what I love about this chapter- the truth of God’s “curses” is that they aren’t curses from God, they are curses we impose on ourselves by walking away from God.

God’s blessings are active- He gives them to us. We can earn them through obedience, and even when we are disobedient God will still bless us (He rains on the righteous and unrighteous, alike) because He is a loving and compassionate God.  The blessings will come, without end while we obey and (as Micah advised) when we walk humbly with our God. In other words, God holds this giant umbrella, a hoopah, a kippur, a covering that protects us from the world and the horrible things in it. When we walk with God, meaning when we are obedient and staying in His will, we are protected. Oh, yeah, just like when we have an umbrella in the storm, our pants and feet get wet, and we may have to suffer some wind damage to our hair, but we are protected. The full force of the storm is kept away from us. That’s what it is like when we stay obedient.

God stays on His own path- ain’t nothing gonna change where God wants to go. So what happens when we disobey? He goes His way and we wander off in another direction. Ever try to walk with someone in the rain when they are holding the umbrella? If you don’t watch your step and make sure you are going where they are going, you get soaked. When we disobey God and wander off His path, we lose the kippur of protection that God provides us (i.e., His blessings) and therefor we suffer the curses of this cursed world.

It’s that easy. God actively blesses us, and His “curses” are not curses at all- it is Him passively allowing us to wander away from His protective kippur;  what it comes down to is when we disobey God’s commandments, we curse ourselves!

If you feel that you are being cursed, under attack, check yourself out in the mirror. Ask yourself, “Am I walking with God or am I wandering off on my own?” God doesn’t really punish us, but He will allow us to punish ourselves when we disobey and wander off on our own. Even with Job, the curses and horrors Job suffered, were allowed by God but not directly performed by God.

We could argue that passively allowing evil is not really different than performing the evil, itself. In fact, we are told in Deuteronomy that we should NOT stand by and allow evil, we should help even our enemy if his donkey is overladen. So why can God get away with allowing evil to happen to others?

I don’t know. Maybe because He is God? Maybe because His plans are way above us, and what we perceive as a plan for evil He knows is really a plan for good. How many times in your life have you felt that you were never going to come out of a situation smelling good, yet when you look back that terrible time is what led to to a real blessing in your life? My first date with Donna was the “Date from Hell” but we got past it and just last week we celebrated our 20th Anniversary of that first date. And even today, each kiss is better than the last one.

It’s alright to question God, He’s big enough He can handle a few questions, but don’t expect to understand the answer. Hello? He’s God, and we aren’t!

God will bless you when you obey, and when you disobey you choose to walk away from His protection from the world so you suffer curses.

Here’s one last interesting thought: if you look closely, you will see that curses are the opposite of the blessings. That proves (to me, at least) that the curses are what exist in this world and the blessings are the absence of the curses. Just like being under an umbrella in the rain- all around us it is raining (curses), but under the umbrella we are safe from it.

How many times throughout the Tanakh is God described as our shield and protector?

God is our umbrella: do you have enough sense to get out from under the rain?

God’s Curses aren’t Really from Him

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I just finished reading one of my favorite chapters from Torah- D’varim 28 (Deuteronomy). This is the chapter where Moshe tells the people about the blessings they will receive from God for obedience, and the curses they will receive for disobedience.

The blessings are about 1/3 the number of curses. This is not unusual for a covenant: if you read the covenants and warnings throughout the Tanakh, the promises of a blessing for keeping with the conditions of the covenant are nearly always followed by the promises of being cursed for violating the covenant. Except for the unconditional covenants, God tells us what blessings He will give when we obey and, if we don’t obey, how He will send terrible curses upon us.

But does God really “send” terrible curses?

Is the world a blessed place, or a cursed place? That’s the basis for my thoughts today. We are told the world was cursed from the original sin of Adam and Eve, and later in the Bible we are also told that the Enemy was thrown to Earth (not to Sheol, but to Earth), that he is the Prince of the Air (the world, not the underground) and that he is/will be given dominion over the world for a period of time.

In the Bible God often describes His desire to protect His people, Yeshua wanted to gather them like a mother hen gathers her young (under her wings for protection), and David often talked about God’s protection as being under His wings.

The Hebrew word “kaphar” means to cover, from which we get the word “kippah”, which is the covering men wear (yarmulka). It is also the way God protects us from the sinful and cursed world. When we are under God’s protective kaphar we do not suffer all the ills of the fallen and cursed world. The way we stay under God’s kaphar is the same way we stay under an umbrella someone is holding in the rain: we walk alongside that person.

When we wander off we are exposed to the world. We have lost our shield, and the curses that are in the world fall on us like an avalanche. We are especially susceptible, I think, because we are not ennured to the dreck (filth) and so the curses seem worse to the clean (formerly clean, that is) than to those who have been dirty for a long time.

That’s how God curses- passively. Whereas humans will actively try to hurt one another, God actively loves and protects us. When we reject His protection by doing what we want to do instead of what He tells us to do, we literally walk away from His covering, which leaves us totally exposed to the world. We are under an umbrella of protection, a kaphar of love and peacefulness, yet we choose to go out into the pouring rain, to chance the lightning, to get wet and cold. Why? Because we’re stupid! Duh!

God will allow us to do as we want. He sends prophets and signs to us, all the time, yes: even today there are signs and prophets, of a sort, to warn us to follow correctly. They remind us of His desire to protect us and save us from ourselves, but it rarely works. Really- it is rare. The number of people who follow God’s laws and commandments is exceptionally small. I’m not talking about the ones that say they do, I am talking about the ones that do. God told Elijah that 7,000 hadn’t bowed the knee to Baal; 7,000 out of how many people living in the Northern kingdom (Israel, or Shomron) at that time? Hundreds of thousands? Maybe over a million? And only 7,000 were faithful.

Yeshua said that many are called but few are chosen (I just did a blog on this last week- use the Search button at the bottom of the page to find it), and also that we must take the road less traveled. How many Jews are there in the world? Usually we number about 4/10 of 1 percent. And there are possibly 250,000 Messianic Believers? I looked at a website that said of all the Christians in the world, the “other” category (not Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox) represent about 2.2%. Of course, you can’t (and shouldn’t) believe anything you read on the Internet, but these numbers are not too far away from what I have heard from other sources. Those that choose God, and ‘walk the walk’, are very few.

The blessings God has for us are beyond our ability to count; in fact, they are beyond our ability to understand! How can such a powerful and awesome entity be so loving and compassionate to those that constantly accept His goodness and mercy, then bite His hand and turn against Him in a heartbeat. Yet, after our own folly and hedonistic desires cause us to hit rock bottom, when we call to Him for help He listens and brings us up from the depth of Sheol, a place we went to intentionally. And not just once, but over and over and over. Seventy times seven times. How can any human understand that? I can’t.

God’s curses are terrible, indeed, but they aren’t so much from Him as they are already here. God protects us from the curses, and when we reject Him we are, in truth, cursing ourselves. God passively, and sadly, watches us walk into the arms of the Enemy.

God’s way is not easy: it separates us from the world and, thereby, makes us an enemy of the world, whereas the real Enemy makes himself out to be a friend to the world. If you are of the world, you cannot be of God. That’s just the way it is, so when we choose the world, we lose the protective covering that God gives us. That’s why I say we really curse ourselves; God, being who He is, simply tells us that He is causing it because, uh…, well…you know something? I really don’t know why He takes the blame for it! Why would God say He will send curses our way when the curses are already here, and it is our choice to live with them?

Maybe because he is in charge of everything, and just like a good leader, he realizes that whatever happens on His watch is His responsibility?

Again, I don’t know. I never said I had all the answers, and if you think you know the answer to this question of why God takes the blame for curses we endure when we walk away from Him, please share it. Perhaps this is a question we can’t ever answer, and perhaps someone reading this has been given the answer. If you think you know why, please let us know.

The bottom line is that there are blessings for us, and there are curses, too. The blessings come from God, and the curses are already here, crouching at our door like a lion. The way we master sin is to stay away from it.

Stay under the kaphar of God. It isn’t easy walking alongside someone holding an umbrella, and often you get a smattering of the rain when you start to stray too far away or the person changes direction quickly. You need to be vigilant, every moment, and stay focused on where the person is going.

Sounds exactly like what the Bible tells us about following the Lord, doesn’t it?