BRI International Internet Yeshiva Parashah Notes, September 2011
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"I teach nothing new but all things original" -- Rebbe
Parsha Ki Tavo (when you go in)
Deut 26.1-29.8
Haftorah: Isa 60.1-22
De'varim or Deuteronomy is a collection of discourses and speeches given by Moses, strung together by incidents along the way as Israel moved further and further afield from the land of their captivity, toward the Promised Land. Moses faced a major issue with the nation of Israel, and that was the great difficulty the people had in both facing and removing Egypt from their hearts. If we could sum up the basic nature of the Israelites of the Wilderness Journey period it would be one of astonishing ingratitude.
In this reading, Moses instructs the people of Israel: "When you enter the land that God is giving to you as your eternal heritage, and you settle it and cultivate it, bring the first-ripened fruits of your orchard to the Holy Temple, and declare your gratitude for all that God has done for you."
This Parshah also includes the tithing laws concerning that which was to be given to the Levites and to the poor, and it includes details on the proclamation of the blessings and the curses on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal.
The regnal New Year is soon to be celebrated. Its a New Year that brings us that much closer to the prophetic timetable of events that will usher in the Day of the Lord. For almost 40 long and arduous years, since 1981, the Lord has led the
Rebbetzin and myself to build a unique ministry, the focus of which is primarily one of education and outreach to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles who have a heart for the Chosen People of God. We also have a spiritual adjunct to this Work and that is one of "raising up the holy sparks." And we have been successfully identifying Jewish people who have lost (or all but lost) their identity and heritage.
Two factors have mitigated against us as far as attaining rapid growth has been concerned.
Firstly, we were originally commanded NOT to come under any church board. This made things incredibly difficult as far as a support network was concerned. In fact, there have been occasions when I have actually worked closely with church ministries and missionary boards...coming as close to breaking that commandment God gave me as I was game to do. For on occasions mere survival has virtually dictated the terms. Yet, somehow we have muddled through without surrendering our freedom in Messiah. God has indeed tested us and blessed our efforts.
Secondly, we were instructed to refuse the tithe. There are a few Jewish ministries which actually teach tithing along with the ministries of churches. Tithing is encouraged in some Messianic organisations even though I have pointed out over decades that tithing today is highly illegal as far as God is concerned. And so we depend largely on the good will of sympathetic believers whose hearts are knit together with us in love concerning God the Father and His Son the Lord Yeshua.
In this Work we have exalted the personality of Yeshua in all our teachings, and emphasised God the Father's Loving Salvific GRACE above all else.
Whenever I have been in error in a teaching, and it is proven to be wrong, I have publicly confessed that error and have changed accordingly. When I do not have an answer for people with specific questions they may bring, I admit I simply don't know the answer and then I search until I do find one that is biblically satisfying. I am interested in restoring the truth, and proclaiming that truth -- but only in LOVE. Jackboots and Nazi uniforms have no place in this ministry. God is doing "a New Thing" as we stand on the very threshold of the manifestation of the Messianic Kingdom of God.
We may not teach tithing, but we do depend on gifts and love offerings. We do depend on holy Spirit-inspired-giving from brethren with a heart for God.
As Moses has pointed out, giving cheerfully is an evidence of our gratitude toward God Our Father for what He has done for us in redemption. In fact giving to God's Work is one of the great privileges of Messianic discipleship. For, giving is ultimately a LORDSHIP decision in which we turn over control of our finances to the Messiah.
Where is God working? That is where our hearts should be.
Moses declares to Israel that they ought to be a people FILLED to overflowing with gratitude for all that the Lord has done for them. They were to work out their fruit and grain offering amount ahead of time concerning how much they needed to fill their baskets prior to making the journey to the "Place where God has set His Name."
Members of the
International Messianic Community of Faith (IMCF) ought to be all the more grateful for that which they are learning from this educational ministry -- Yeshua said, "You shall know the TRUTH and the truth shall set you free" (
Jn 8.32). The truth, however, never set anyone free. It's knowing the truth, experientially knowing right knowledge, that sets us free.
CAUTION: while none of us can out-give God, if our hearts are NOT right before the Lord of All when we do give, the Lord of All will not bless in return. And why should He? God loves a cheerful giver (
2 Cor 9.7) -- one who gives grudgingly will only reap negative karma. For, when we do not give (in whatever capacity, or definition) our lives tend to stagnate, and the many channels of our future prosperity dam up, eventually closing completely.
Why is this the case? We all dwell in what is essentially and primarily a GIVING universe. God in His wisdom has created it this way. Therefore we have to constantly give in order to receive. This is the nature and order of things. This is the reason God spoke to Israel about the blessings and the curses on two mountains. On Mt Gerizim six tribes stood, and articulated positive BLESSINGS over the occupants of the Land. On another mountain (Mt Ebal) six other tribes stood and articulated negative CURSES -- which are merely the absence of blessings.
Let's be clear about what occurred back then. The representatives of the 12 tribes articulated through the power of speech the entire blessing and cursing of Israel OVER THE LAND. What came out of their mouths so long ago continues to hang over the Land which God gave them. And ALL that are in the Land are UNDER the blessing or the curse. That's how powerful those words were which were ceremonially uttered. It lingers still.
If we do not cheerfully give back in some way to the universe (or natural order), the universe (or natural order) will take back in some unhappy manner what it feels is just recompense (and so, the law of karma). In Jewish thoughtform, if we fail to voluntarily and cheerfully give, because we have convinced ourselves that we cannot afford to give constructively and freely, something destructively and involuntarily will be taken from us.
On that basis none of us can afford not to give. None of us can afford to cheat the basic law of the universe, which IS giving and receiving. While God may not be blind, the law of karma most certainly is. Karma does not differentiate between individuals and personal circumstances.
This is not an opportunity to be provoked into a fear-filled relationship with God. For..."There is NO fear where true love dwells. Perfect love [within the heart of the believer] casts out fear, because fear has torment. He who fears is not made perfect [mature] in love" (
1 Jn 4.18).
Indeed, when we take the words of
Philippians 2.12,13 from Greek back into Hebrew/Aramaic and forward into English we are greeted by the following: "Outwork to its ultimate conclusion your own salvation with reverential exhilaration and monumental joyous exaltation and excitement."
What a dynamic contrast from the beloved AV which has "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
Students, we can only experience "reverential exhilaration and monumental joyous exaltation and excitement" as we discover God's TRUTH and OBEY it. We have read the awesome statement of Yeshua (which has become travestied as a mere cliche) "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free" but most are not cognisant that such an outcome -- typified by the blessings announced on Mt Gerizim and the curses enunciated on Mt Ebal -- is CONDITIONED on obedience (
Jn 8.30-32).
Such obedience is much more than mere conscious assent to the truth of the biblical revelation. After all, there are multitudes that "believe
ON" the Messiah Yeshua, and accept the Gospel of the Kingdom. Very few, it seems, are willing to "believe
IN" Yeshua. Very few are willing to PAY THE PRICE involved in obeying Him!
Again, while God can and often does override our circumstances and suspends His universal laws, upon looking at the heart, there are still very often penalties for our original decision in non-compliance. The example of King David has already been given in a previous lecture. David was forgiven by God, but karma left its scars -- indelibly.
Our Lord Yeshua understood this principle perfectly. Recall His words, "Give and it shall be given unto you. It will be in good measure, pressed down and compacted, shaken together, and overflowing. It will be put right in your lap. For with the same measure that you give out it shall be measured back to you again" (
Lk 6.38 Gk). The Lord added that men would be moved to fulfil this law of faithful return to the giver (same verse, and surprisingly translated correctly in the KJV).
Financial giving to the priesthood of God was not only understood among the Hebrews. It was a success principle promulgated by the ancient Babylonians, Persians, Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and Chinese. These people knew that prosperity was intimately tied in with their practice of giving to God (or the gods). After all, these ancients well recognised the nature of universal substance out of which all that we call wealth emerges.
By consistent cheerful giving the "nature" of universal substance becomes depleted, and, abhorring the vacuum that has been created, "nature" rushes in to fill it with new supply.
Scientists understand this principle perfectly, and some have written volumes concerning it. Giving in order to make room to receive is a universal law that ceaselessly works! Particularly is this the case when cheerful giving becomes a practice.
In this place we do not teach tithing. There are biblical reasons why tithing is illegal in this age of Grace.
But as Messiah's students, and an integral part of a Community of Faith which is restoring the lost Jewish thoughtform to the biblical revelation, we have studied the matter of tithing closely, and are convinced that God's way of financing His Work today is through the self-sacrificial act of GIVING -- and that giving must be from the heart.
The tragedy is that because we believers are no longer under the Mosaic economy, some of us are content with serving God "leftovers." What we have left over, after we have (oftentimes) squandered our cash flow on ourselves and our loved ones, we sometimes give those few cents to God grudgingly.
Yet Moses makes it plain that leftovers were an offense to God. He demanded that the FIRSTFRUITS of Israel's orchards and flocks and herds were to be allocated to the Lord. God was to be prioritised in the budget -- earmarked FIRST and foremost -- and everything else was to be apportioned later. We conveniently forget that all through the Bible God expects and demands our best. None of us have any excuse (let alone a reason) for giving leftovers to God. We are told we are a temple of God. "Know you not that you are a Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God indwells you?" (
1 Cor 3.16).
How often do we need to be reminded that if the Spirit of God indwells us, our every thought and action will be for the GLORY of our heavenly Father. We ought to desire to serve God with our whole lives, not with mere leftovers. It is no wonder some are decidedly not blessed.
On Mt Gerizim the PROMISE of blessings thundered forth from God to Israel. Remember, the absence of a BLESSING -- as represented by the spoken word over Mt Ebal -- is a CURSE.
As the holy month of Tishri fast approaches us, let me encourage us all to be actively diligent and mentally prepared to receive God's BLESSINGS by putting Him and this Work first and foremost in our minds.
Kol Tuv,
Les Aron Gosling
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