Endings and New Beginnings
Ha’azinu
Torah Portion Deuteronomy 31:19-32:52
Halph Torah Portion 2 Samuel 22:1-51
New Testament John 6:26-35
Here we are at the end of this Torah cycle. We have the Children of Israel ready to cross over the river Jordan. Are you ready for what lies ahead? Moses is giving his last words for he is going to die. Josuha is preparing to take over the leadership of Moses. It is the end of their wandering the desert, this is a time of great excitement. At the same time, there is sorrow for the losses they have endured. Can you imagine what went through their head at that time?
Another viewpoint would be the preparation of the Bride for the Bridegroom. Spotless and all adorned with fine clothing and Jewels. This is how we are to present ourselves before our King.
As we make preparations for Sukkot which is the marriage supper of the Lamb. We are reminded of when we were preparing to cross over the Jordan to go into the land. He said that we will live long in the land if we follow His rules. All of this points to the time we will live Him in the Kingdom.
Yeshua said in, Joh 14:15-26 MKJV
(15) If you love Me, keep My commandments.
(16) And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, so that He may be with you forever,
(17) the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him nor know Him. But you know Him, for He dwells with you and shall be in you.
(18) I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.
(19) Yet a little while and the world does not see Me any more. But you see Me. Because I live, you shall live also.
(20) At that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
(21) He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him.
(22) Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, Lord, how is it that You will reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?
(23) Jesus answered and said to him, If a man loves Me, he will keep My Word. And My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
(24) He who does not love Me does not keep My Words, and the Word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
(25) I have spoken these things to you, being present with you.
(26) But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.
So, IF we love Him we will obey His commandments. IF we do not love Him we will not keep His commandments. Similarly, if we love our spouse, we will do what is necessary to show that we love them.
In this Torah Portion, we see that the Children of Israel must choose to leave all their pagan practices behind and follow the one true God. Yet they said repeatedly that they would follow Him, they would prove otherwise. From the time they left Egypt to the 490 years after they crossed the river Jordan, they did not heed the voice of God. Our God is merciful and loves those who love Him. When the 490th year was complete then judgment began and first, the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom were carried away to Babylon.
As we come to the end of this Torah cycle let us never forget our past lest we repeat the mistakes of our ancestors. Let us put our hand to the plow and go forward into what YHVH has for us to do and DO NOT Look back.
Luk 9:57-62 MKJV
(57) And it happened as they were going in the way, one said to Him, Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.
(58) And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.
(59) And He said to another, Follow Me! But he said, Lord, first allow me to go and bury my father.
(60) Jesus said to him, Let the dead bury their dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.
(61) And another also said, Lord, I will follow You, but first allow me to take leave of those in my house.
(62) And Jesus said to him, No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
How many of us say we will do one thing and when it comes down to doing what we said we do the opposite? Did not our master say let your yes be yes and your no, no? How can we say we love Him when can’t even keep our vows?
Yes, it is with sorrow we finish this year’s Torah cycle but it gives us time to reflect on all of the wonderful things our Father has taught us. This time of the year we see those who we have not seen for months. It is a time of celebration and hope for the future. It is a time to rejoice for the time of His appearing is quickly approaching.
Joh 14:1-12 MKJV
(1) Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me.
(2) In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
(3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.
(4) And where I go you know, and the way you know.
(5) Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You go, and how can we know the way?
(6) Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.
(7) If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. And from now on you know Him and have seen Him.
(8) Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.
(9) Jesus said to him, Have I been with you such a long time and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. And how do you say, Show us the Father?
(10) Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The Words that I speak to you I do not speak of Myself, but the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works.
(11) Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the very works themselves.
(12) Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes on Me, the works that I do he shall do also, and greater works than these he shall do, because I go to My Father.
Deu 18:15-19 MKJV
(15) Jehovah your God will raise up to you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brothers, One like me. To Him you shall listen,
(16) according to all that you desired of Jehovah your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying: Let me not hear again the voice of Jehovah my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, so that I do not die.
(17) And Jehovah said to me, They have spoken well what they have spoken.
(18) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brothers, one like you, and will put My words in His mouth. And He shall speak to them all that I shall command Him.
(19) And it shall happen, whatever man will not listen to My Words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.
Joh 6:29 MKJV
(29) Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent.
How can we say that we love and yet we are unwilling to do what He said? We do not listen to Him who was promised. (Deu 18:19) And it shall happen, whatever man will not listen to My Words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.
Because of our hard hearts, we did not want a personal relationship then and now it is only on our terms that we want that relationship. We are not in any position to dictate the terms of the covenant. Yet, that is what do all the time. He is our King and we are His vassals who can not tell the King how we are to worship Him, rather all can do is either follow Him or suffer an eternity without Him.
Are you ready for what lies ahead? Are you willing to follow Him no matter the cost? To quote a friend of mine Time is Short. When will we stop playing games and do what He says when He says it? Are we too going to back away and say what our forefathers said, or are we ready to follow the great Shepherd for He knows the way? Are we going to trust Him and listen and do what He says to us?
As we head into this next year let us resolve to follow Him and not complain. Let us clean up our camp for our King walks in our midst and in our hearts. Let us be in one accord and not fight each other over petty things, but be ready to defend our faith and lay our lives down for our King! May YHVH bless us in this year ahead and tell of what He has done for us, for this is going to be a great year, IF we do what He said with our whole heart, soul, and our whole being. And let us love our neighbor as ourselves.
Blessings to you and may YHVH guide us through the days ahead. May you prepare your hearts for the day of atonement that we may be cleansed not just on the outside but that our hearts would be circumcised so that we would be found ready to enter into His Kingdom!
