51st Portion
[29 Sept - 5 Oct 2024]
Theme of the Book of Deuteronomy:
Possessing the Promised Land
Meaning of "Ha-'Azinu" = "listen / give ear"
This week's Torah portions:
Sunday: Deuteronomy 32:1-6
Monday: Deuteronomy 32:7-12
Tuesday: Deuteronomy 32:13-18
Wednesday: Deuteronomy 32:19-28
Thursday: Deuteronomy 32:29-39
Friday: Deuteronomy 32:40-43
Shabbat: Deuteronomy 32:44-52 & 2 Samuel 22:1-51
Apostolic Writings:
Romans 10:14-11:12
Daily Bread for Busy Moms portions:
Habakuk 1-3
Zephaniah 1-3
Haggai 1-2
Zecheriah 1-7
2 Chronicles 19-28
Revelations 4-13
Acts 13-21
This is our second last reading in the book of Deuteronomy and the first portion again after Yom Teruah - which is the first one of the last three biblical festivals. This week's portion is the shortest one of the entire Torah Cycle.
The entire portion is the song which Moses sang on the last day of his life. In this song he called heaven and earth as witnesses to his words. He also told the Israelites to remember the past and how far they have come over the years.
From this portion, as the yearly reading cycle is drawing to a close, we are reminded to also look back over the past year. We should look back to where we started and where we are now. Abba's heart for us is that we will grow on our faith walk and mature in our relationship with Him!
It's a reminder that we have to be honest with ourselves and ask ourselves if we have been consistent in our faith walk? Did we progress or regress? Did we lock our eyes on Yeshua the Messiah, or did we lose focus?
Remember that in these last few portions Moses addressed the Israelites right before they entered the Promised Land and before Moses passed away. Moses told them that as long as they obeyed God, they would walk in His blessing / His promises & Promised Land. He also told them that when they receive the blessings, they should not fall away from the instructions.
The same applies to us today. If we obey Abba's instructions, we will live in His promises for our lives. And just like Moses reminded the Israelites to not fall away from the instructions when they were walking in their blessings... We too, should continue to follow His instructions even when we are already living in some of His promises over our lives.
When we get to a point where we live in our blessings, we cannot become lukewarm and complacent. When we get to that point (before we reach that point also, but moreso when we do) it should go over into action and inspire us to bless others with that which Abba has blessed us!
When we realise that everything we have - literally EVERYTHING - belongs to God anyway... it becomes a whole lot easier to give it away!
If we take some time to look over our lives, we'd be able to pinpoint so many instances where Abba has blessed us. Sometimes we didn't even realise that it came from God! Regardless of how good or how bad our lives might get - we should always continue to serve Him!
Moses warned the Israelites that if they became complacent, that God would turn His face away from them. We know that God never changes. Thus, the same still applies to us today. When we become complacent, He will also turn His face away from us.
Moses was about to go up to the mountain that day, yet he chose to worship. In this lies a great reminder to all to us, that we are called to live a life of worship! We are called to a worshipping lifestyle, a lifestyle of living in intimacy with the King of Kings!
Praise and worship is not an occasional thing that we do when we get together with other believers. Abba's heart for us is that it will be a complete lifestyle!
The way we speak. The way we act. The way we interact with others. It all should speak of a lifestyle of worship! A good guidance to see what's rooted in our hearts is to see what comes out of us when we are squeezed. What comes out of us when we are facing tough and difficult seasons in life? Are we still able to praise Abba or do we become negative and start questioning His goodness and faithfulness? That will be a true representation of our lifestyle.
We should never take any credit for ourselves - since it does not belong to us anyway. All glory goes to God! When we live a lifestyle of worship, it will automatically be the case! Our real wealth is to serve and worship Him!
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Portion 46: Ha'Azinu (The blog we are reading now)
