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Today is a sad Torah portion because we see Israel about to enter the Promised Land...Unfortunately, without Moshe, their precious and courageous leader who had, through direct contact with YHWH, taught them the will, desire and commands of YHWH for 40 years. We close this Torah cycle with the blessings that Moshe spoke over the people of Isra'el just before his death:
Deuteronomy 33: 11 This is the blessing that Moshe, the man of God, spoke over the people of Isra'el before his death: 2 "ADONAI came from Sinai; from Se'ir he dawned on his people, shone forth from Mount Pa'ran; and with him were myriads of holy ones; at his right hand was a fiery law for them. 3 He truly loves the peoples -all his holy ones are in your hand; sitting at your feet, they receive your instruction, 4 the Torah Moshe commanded us as an inheritance for the community of Ya'akov. 5 Then a king arose in Yeshurun when the leaders of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Isra'el together. 6 "Let Re'uven live and not die out, even though his numbers grow few."
7 Of Y'hudah he said: "Hear, ADONAI, the cry of Y'hudah! Bring him in to his people, let his own hands defend him; but you, help him against his enemies."
8 Of Levi he said: "Let your tumim and urim be with your pious one, whom you tested at Massah, with whom you struggled at M'rivah Spring. 9 Of his father and mother he said, 'I don't know them'; he didn't acknowledge his brothers or children. For he observed your word, and he kept your covenant. 10 They will teach Ya'akov your rulings, Isra'el your Torah. They will set incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar. 11 ADONAI, bless his possessions, accept the work he does; but crush his enemies hip and thigh; may those who hate him rise no more."
12 Of Binyamin he said: "ADONAI's beloved lives securely. He protects him day after day. He lives between his shoulders."
13 Of Yosef he said: "May ADONAI bless his land with the best from the sky, for the dew, and for what comes from the deep beneath, 14 with the best of what the sun makes grow, with the best of what comes up each month, 15 with the best from the mountains of old, with the best from the eternal hills, 16 with the best from the earth and all that fills it, and the favor of him who lived in the [burning] bush. May blessing come on the head of Yosef, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
17 His firstborn bull - glory is his; his horns are those of a wild ox; With them he will gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth. These are the myriads of Efrayim; these are the thousands of M'nasheh."
18 Of Z'vulun he said: "Rejoice, Z'vulun, as you go forth, and you, Yissakhar, in your tents. 19 They will summon peoples to the mountain and there offer righteous sacrifices; for they will draw from the abundance of the seas and from the hidden treasures of the sand."
20 Of Gad he said: "Blessed is he who makes Gad so large; he lies there like a lion, tearing arm and scalp. 21 He chose the best for himself when the princely portion was assigned. When the leaders of the people came, he carried out ADONAI's justice and his rulings concerning Isra'el."
22 Of Dan he said: "Dan is a lion cub leaping forth from Bashan."
23 Of Naftali he said: "You, Naftali, satisfied with favor and full of blessing from ADONAI, take possession of the sea and the south."
24 Of Asher he said: "May Asher be most blessed of sons, may he be the favorite among his brothers and bathe his feet in oil. 25 May your bolts be of iron and bronze and your strength last as long as you live. 26 "Yeshurun, there is no one like God, riding through the heavens to help you, riding on the clouds in his majesty. 27 The God of old is a dwelling-place, with everlasting arms beneath. He expelled the enemy before you and he said, 'Destroy!' 28 So Isra'el lives in security; the fountain of Ya'akov is alone in a land of grain and new wine, where the skies drip with dew. 29 Happy are you, Isra'el! "Who is like you, a people saved by ADONAI, your defender helping you and your sword of triumph? Your enemies will cringe before you, but you will trample down their high places."
Note that Moshe said all the aforementioned things to his people, knowing that he himself would never see the Promised Land - the place he had been looking forward to seeing, ever since he had led the Iraelites out of Egypt. Why didn't he get to the Promised Land? Because he had failed to "speak to the rock" as commanded by YHWH:
Numbers 20: 8 "Take the staff, assemble the community, you and Aharon your brother; and before their eyes, tell the rock to produce its water. You will bring them water out of the rock and thus enable the community and their livestock to drink." 9 Moshe took the staff from the presence of ADONAI, as he had ordered him. 10 But after Moshe and Aharon had assembled the community in front of the rock, he said to them, "Listen here, you rebels! Are we supposed to bring you water from this rock?" 11 Then Moshe raised his hand and hit the rock twice with his staff. Water flowed out in abundance, and the community and their livestock drank.
Remember, Moshe was probably more obedient than any of us could ever hope to be, but YHWH refused to allow him entrance into the Promised Land because he had been guilty of the sin of disobedience, himself. That was enough to provoke YHWH's anger against Moshe.
Does this mean Moshe won't see Heaven? Of course not! He will enter Heaven - the Levite priests at the time continuously offered sin sacrifices on their people's behalf! Moshe was among YHWH's faithful servants; he believed and obeyed to the best of his ability. He just didn't get to go to the Promised Land here on Earth because that was his punishment at the time.
So, if God didn't allow Moshe to enter the Promised Land for merely being guilty of striking the rock instead of speaking it as commanded, what do you think YHWH will do with today's "religious" leaders who don't even bother to keep the commanded Seventh Day Sabbath or the Biblical Feasts? Do you think THEY will get to enter the "Promised Land" of Heaven? How about those religious leaders who purposely sin and yet insist "God knows my heart?"
Hebrews 10: 26 For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but only the terrifying prospect of Judgment, or raging fire that will consume the enemies.
The world, for the most part, is blind to YHWH and His Word, yet there are all kinds of pastors and self-proclaimed "prophets" on the internet who push their own doctrines - and some are making bundles of money from their "fluff." We must be VERY careful to learn His Word, obey to the best of our abilities, and keep studying and growing....
Remember what Yeshua said:
Matthew 5: 17 Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah - not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot (words/commands) and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
QUESTION: Has everything happened that must happen? Have heaven and Earth passed away yet? Since when does the word "complete" (or "fulfill) mean "abolished"? Why would God abolish His own original divine teachings which He said were to last forever? Did Jesus come to make a liar out of YHWH (Yahweh), God the Father?
Today's Torah portion directs us to read Joshua 1:1-18, which reveals what happened after the death of Moshe, when his assistant, Joshua took over. Note that Joshua took his job very seriously, reminding people to "take care to follow all the Torah which Moshe my servant ordered you to follow; do not turn from it either to the right or to the left; then you will succeed wherever you go."
Joshua 1: 1 After the death of Moshe the servant of ADONAI, ADONAI said to Y'hoshua the son of Nun, Moshe's assistant, 2 "Moshe my servant is dead. So now, get up and cross over this Yarden, you and all the people, to the land I am giving to them, the people of Isra'el. 3 I am giving you every place you will step on with the sole of your foot, as I said to Moshe. 4 All the land from the desert and the L'vanon to the great river, the Euphrates River - all the land of the Hitti - and on to the Great Sea in the west will be your territory.
5 No one will be able to withstand you as long as you live. Just as I was with Moshe, so I will be with you. I will neither fail you nor abandon you. 6 "Be strong, be bold; for you will cause this people to inherit the land I swore to their fathers I would give them. 7 Only be strong and very bold in taking care to follow all the Torah which Moshe my servant ordered you to follow; do not turn from it either to the right or to the left; then you will succeed wherever you go. 8 Yes, keep this book of the Torah on your lips, and meditate on it day and night, so that you will take care to act according to everything written in it. Then your undertakings will prosper, and you will succeed. 9 Haven't I ordered you, 'Be strong, be bold'? So don't be afraid or downhearted, because ADONAI your God is with you wherever you go."
10 Y'hoshua instructed the officials of the people 11 to go through the camp and order the people, "Prepare provisions, because in three days you will cross this Yarden to go in and take possession of the land ADONAI your God is giving you." 12 To the Re'uveni, the Gadi and the half-tribe of M'nasheh Y'hoshua said, 13 "Remember what Moshe the servant of ADONAI ordered you: 'ADONAI your God has let you rest and will give you this land.'
14 Your wives, your little ones and your livestock will stay in the land Moshe gave you on the east side of the Yarden; but you are to cross over armed as a fighting force ahead of your brothers, to help them; 15 until ADONAI allows your brothers to rest, as he has allowed you; and they too have taken possession of the land ADONAI your God is giving them. At that point, you will return to the land which is yours and possess it, the land Moshe the servant of ADONAI gave you in 'Ever-HaYarden to the east, toward the sunrise." 16 They answered Y'hoshua, "We will do everything you have ordered us to do, and we will go wherever you send us. 17 Just as we listened to everything Moshe said, so will we listen to you. Only may ADONAI your God be with you as he was with Moshe. 18 If anyone rebels against your order and doesn't heed what you say in every detail of your order, he will be put to death. Just be strong, be bold!"
As you all know, the only prophet greater than Moshe is Mashiyach! YHWH chose Moshe to reveal the government of Mashiyach when He gave Torah to Moshe. As we will ultimately see when we begin to start our Torah cycle again in a couple of weeks, the Mishkan (tabernacle) was constructed according to the Tabernacle in heaven, so that each component would reveal the attributes and character of Mashiyach. The aron habrit (ark of the covenant) in the kadosh kadoshim (holy of holies) reveals the Mind of Mashiyach; the table of incense, showbread and menorah reveal the heart, will and character of Mashiyach. This was done so that all who would follow Mashiyach could learn how to enter into the Image of Elohim; Mashiyach is the perfect Image...
Halleluyah! - thank You YHWH for continuing to open our eyes through each weekly Torah portion and allowing us to witness Scripture prophecies unfolding, both in your awesome Torah (Genesis - Deuteronomy), right on through to Revelation!
Since it is the end of another parashah we say: Hazak, hazak, v’nit’chazek! (Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!)
Our prayer is that this lesson touched each of you, and made you aware of the importance of OBEDIENCE to our Creator, who only wants the best for us! Obedience to YHWH is NOT an option for those of us who are His! He provided endless and in-depth guidance for moral, holy living. That never changed just because Yeshua chose to become our Final SIN Sacrifice.
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