45th Portion
[18-24 Aug 2024]
Theme of the Book of Deuteronomy:
Possessing the Promised Land
Meaning of "eikev" = "as a result / consequently"
This week's Torah portions:
Sunday: Deuteronomy 7:12-8:10
Monday: Deuteronomy 8:11-9:3
Tuesday: Deuteronomy 9:4-29
Wednesday: Deuteronomy 10:1-11
Thursday: Deuteronomy 10:12-11:9
Friday: Deuteronomy 11:10-21
Shabbat: Deuteronomy 11:22-25 & Isaiah 49:14-51:3
Apostolic Writings:
Hebrews 8:11-13
Romans 8:31-39
Daily Bread for Busy Moms portions:
Ezekiel 33-39
1 Chronicles 13-18
1 Thessalonians 5
2 Thessalonians 1-3
1 Timothy 1-2
John 4-7
This is the 40th portion of our 2022/2023 torah reading cycle and the 3rd portion in the book of Deuteronomy.
In the previous portion we read that Moses addressed the nation shortly before they entered into the Promised Land. In this portion Moses continued to speak to them and he told them that if they were to continually obey Abba's instructions - that they would continually live within His provision! If you don't shama (Hebrew for "listen and obey") - you will harvest the consequences thereof. Hence the title of this week's portion - "eikev" - which is Hebrew for consequently.
Many from the generation of the Israelites who initially moved out of Egypt did not enter into the Promised Land. It was as a result of their inability to get out of their slave mentality. They were unable to loosen themselves from the past. An important thing to remember here is that that this does not mean that we should forget the past. From previous portions we most certainly saw that we should always remember the past so that we will be able to testify about it. It does however mean that we should loosen ourselves from the slave / victim mentality which came in through the past.
If you cannot move away from the bondage of the past, you cannot step into the promises of the future!
In this portion, Moses straight up addressed the rebellious hearts of the nation and how many times they have turned away from Abba. What is beautiful to notice is that as he addressed their sin - he also told them that they could be set free!
From this we thus can learn that we have to address our sin if we want to be set free and forgiven. THEN we can walk into our blessings.
If Abba was not forgiving - after Moses broke the first set of stone tablets - Abba would not have given them a second set!
Moses reminded the people about the manna which Abba supplied to them in the desert. And he reminded them about Abba's words that mankind does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceed from the mouth of of God.
If we shama (listen and obey) - we WILL live in his blessing! If not, we will harvest the consequences! When we repent, we can be set free!
From the former portions we also know that it's all about an inheritance. And this inheritance is not so much about the physical as it is about the spiritual!
Just like the rest of the portions - the Israelites were (and we are today still) presented with the constant option / reality to choose!
In the late Gerrit Nel's teaching on Kol Kallah, he shares that "life comes from the Word of God." A phrase that comes as no surprise to anyone reading the Bible. But we seldomly truely grasp the full concept!
We don't live from / are sustained by the things we see in the natural. We are sustained through Yeshua, our Messiah - eventhough we live in the natural.
Gerrit Nel further said in his teaching: "The life that we live here (in the natural) is a result of the life that we embrace in the spiritual."
Therefore we have to ask ourselves what it is that we are embracing with our lives. Do we embrace life - through obedience? Or do we embrace death - through disobedience / rebellion? Rebellion on the religious ear sounds so harsh / overly dramatic. But Scripture is pretty clear that anything and everything that's not according to Abba's instructions is rebellion against Him!
Without Abba's grace we would have stood no chance whatsover! This however does NOT mean that we can make His grace cheap through living disobedient lives and then simply claiming His grace. That's not how it works! He is a God of principle and order. His instructions does not change as a result of our rebellion.
Everything in life has consequences - whether it be in the physical or in the spiritual realm. It either leads to life OR it leads to death! There is no grey area in between! There's no option like a little bit of life and a little bit of death, it's one or the other. The choice is in our hands every single day!
Abba does not require perfection from us. Because we all fall short. THAT is what His grace is for! For when we realise that we fall short or have wandered away from His instructions & we repent and turn back to Him! His grace is not cheap and to be used as we please in our rebellious lives. It's a gift we receive when we repent and turn away from our rebelliousness!
Abba wants us to experience the fullness of His blessings and the plans He has in store for us! It's His heart's desire! To do so, to experience that - we have to live according to His instructions! It's not through our own abilities that we'll get to this point. We'll get there so surrendering ourselves and walking according to His principles! He will take care of the rest! The question is not whether it's possible to Abba. Nothing is impossible for Him. The question is if we are willing to shama - listen and obey!
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Portion 40: Eikev (The blog you are reading now)
