“Oh how I love Your Torah!!!!! All day long it is my conversation.” Psalms 119:97
Humanity will serve someone…either it will be HaShem the Elohim of Israel, or it will be someone else even if it is ourselves…it is just the way it is. Look at the state of America and the world today? The faster we, collectively as a society, embracing every sort of debauchery possible, while running faster and faster from HaShem and His Torah, the more quickly the country is collapsing into tyranny and oppression, disguised as ‘Peace, Safety, Security and Prosperity.’
So why should we strive to keep the Torah of HaShem? Christendom would say Torah is the bondage that one they say is Messiah delivered humanity from and thus Torah should be shunned and rejected, however, this sentiment forms the basis for the Replacement Theology Christendom is built upon.
We will be discussing this concept of why we should strive to keep the Torah but first, always remember the following:
– HaShem never changes per Num 23:19/Mal 3:6/Hebrews 13:8/James 1:17
– His Word is firmly established per Psalm 119:89
– He reveals the end out of the beginning per Is 46:10
– He does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets per Amos 3:7
– He says there is nothing new under the sun per Ecclesiastes 1:9
– He says His Torah is eternal per Proverbs 3:19 and Psalm 119:160
– He says His Torah is perfect and restores the soul per Psalm 19:7
– He says His Torah makes the simple one wise per Psalm 19:7
– He says His Torah Is freedom and liberty per Psalm Ps 119:45 and James 1:25
– He says His Torah is the only good doctrine there is Proverbs 4:2
– He says His Torah will add length of days and years of life and peace per Proverbs 3:2
– He says all of the ways of His Torah are ways of pleasantness and peace per Proverbs 3:17
– He says His Torah is for our good and well-being per Deuteronomy 6:24
– He says His Torah is health for our lives per Proverbs 3:8
– He says His Torah is life to our soul and a graceful ornament for our neck per Prov 3:22
– He says His Torah is better than pearls and all desires cannot compare to it per Prov 8:11
– He says those who walk with His Torah are praiseworthy per Psalms 119:1
– He says observing His Torah is how we purify our path per Psalms 119:9
– He says His Torah is better than thousands in gold and silver per Psalms 119:72
– He says His Torah brings abundant peace to those who love Him and His Torah per Psalms 119:165
– He says there is one Torah for all per Exodus 12:49/Leviticus 24:22
– He says those who hate His Torah love death per Proverbs 8:36
In today’s Torah portion i.e. ‘Eikev’ which is found in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 7:12-11:25. In this portion HaShem says beginning in Devarim 10:12-13 “And now, Israel, what does HaShem, your Elohim, ask of you but to fear HaShem, your Elohim, to go in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve HaShem, your Elohim, with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep the commandments of HaShem and His statutes, which I command you today, FOR YOUR BENEFIT.”
What does HaShem mean when He says following His Torah will be for our benefit? Rashi’s commentary on these scriptures says “The phrase ‘To keep the Commandments for your benefit’ do not mean that man should set his own benefit as the goal in observing the Commandment, for the Mishnah says ‘Do not be like slaves who serve the master with intent to receive a portion.’ Rather, our verse stresses HaShem’s mercy in His reaction to Israel’s sinfulness. All He asks of them is that they observe Commandments for their own benefit.”
Some might challenge that HaShem is only speaking to Israel and thus if one is not ethnically of Israel then none of this applies. How wrong they would be! For HaShem says in Shemot (Exodus) 12:49 “One Torah shall there be for the native and the proselyte who lives among you.” Remember it is the mandate of Israel to teach the Torah to the nations of the world! This was the commission of HaShem and Yeshua reiterated this with His commission to bring the Good News to the whole world! Point is Torah is for EVERYONE regardless of DNA!
HaShem then says in Devarim 11:8-9 “So you shall keep all the Commandment that I command you today, so that you will be strong, and you will come and take possession of the Land (Israel) to which you are crossing to take possession of it, and so that you will prolong your days on the Land that HaShem swore to your forefathers to give them and to their offspring, a Land flowing with milk and honey.”
HaShem is connecting entering the Land of Israel and living in peace and security in the Land to keeping His Torah! This is why Israel was exiled in the first place was due to NOT keeping the Torah, so realistically, if per the doctrine of Replacement Theology, Christendom’s Messiah came to render the Torah null and void, then shouldn’t that mean Israel should be living in safety and security in the Land today since there is no Torah to abide by? I digress.
HaShem continues in verses 10-12 says “For the Land to which you come, to take possession of it, it is NOT like the land of Egypt from where you left, where you would plant your seed and water it by your foot like a vegetable garden. But the Land to which you cross over there to take possession of it is a Land of mountains and valleys; by the rain of the heavens it drinks water; a Land that HaShem, your Elohim, seeks out; the eyes of HaShem, your Elohim, are ALWAYS upon it, from the beginning of the year to year’s end.” Are the eyes always upon the other lands of the world? Nope! The Land of Israel is His which is why the Adversary and the world work overtime to constantly seek to prevent Israel from dwelling upon it!
Now we get to the crux of the Torah portion. Devarim 11:13-15 says “And it will be that if listening, you will listen to My Commandments that I command you today, to LOVE HaShem, your Elohim, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, THEN I shall provide the rain of your Land in its time, the early rain and the late rain; and you shall bring in your grain, your wine, and your oil. I shall provide grass in your field for your animal and you will eat and you will be satisfied.”
So we see here HaShem is connecting the concept of keeping His Torah to loving Him! If we love Him we will keep His Torah!! Who else said that? “If you love Me, keep My Commandments” spoken by Yeshua in Yochanan (John) 14:15! Point is, first HaShem redeems and saves us, THEN we learn to guard, keep and walk in His Ways i.e. His Torah out of love, devotion and loyalty unto Him! Many in Christendom try and accuse me of teaching a works based salvation but that is NOT what is happening here! We keep Torah because we love HaShem! Pure and simple!
Further on in this Torah portion HaShem then says in Devarim 11:22-23 “For if observing you will observe all of this Commandment that I command you, to PERFORM it, to LOVE HaShem, your Elohim, to go in ALL His ways and to cleave to Him, HaShem will drive out all of these nations from before you, and you will drive out nations greater and mightier than you.” Is it not a great benefit to serve HaShem out of love, devotion and loyalty and in turn He will destroy our enemies? I should stress that walking in His Torah should NOT be done with the intent of receiving blessings. Again it should be done solely out of love, devotion and loyalty to HaShem! Remember as a human being we all WILL end up serving someone, it is in our nature, therefore I say to choose to serve HaShem, Master of Legions, the Elohim of Israel! For He is a kind, beneficent, redeeming, saving, protecting, providing, loving, mighty, righteous, unchanging Great King Who promises He acts on our behalf not because of who we are, but solely because of Who He is and for His Great Name!
Now on the flip side, what happens when Torah is rejected, spit on and or shunned as being nothing more than oppressive bondage? HaShem says in Devarim 11:16-17 says “Beware for yourselves, lest your heart be seduced and you will turn astray and you will serve other gods and prostrate yourselves to them. Then the wrath of HaShem will blaze against you; He will restrain the heavens and there will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its produce; and you will perish quickly from the good Land that HaShem gives you.” And then people wonder why especially in America today our country is spiraling into division, corruption, debauchery, violence, oppression and tyranny? It is cause and effect!
If we are to survive and maintain our composure in this vile, wicked, dark, rotten, misery ridden world, serving HaShem and walking in His Torah is the ONLY way we will survive in it! Remember the False Messiah is referred to as the ‘Man of Lawlessness!’ This word ‘Lawlessness’ means ‘Without the Torah of Moshe’ meaning he is ALL about teaching a doctrine that is devoid of the Torah and leads people away from the Torah. Gee, who out there has been teaching a doctrine the Torah is oppressive bondage and that humanity has been freed from it? I can think of one who has and is doing so……Replacement Theology Jesus Christ fits the bill!
Torah is life and it is the ONLY way we will grow closer and develop a relationship with our Great King. Torah is also the ONLY way to know who is the REAL Messiah and by default know who is the FALSE Messiah!
Time is VERY, VERY short! Much shorter than I think any of us realize! The earth is literally reacting to all of the wickedness and lawlessness through earthquakes, volcanoes, severe and violent weather, etc. It is literally cracking and groaning under the pressure of the lawlessness and debauchery! With this said, we each must ask ourselves the following: Do we want to hear HaShem say “Well done good and faithful servant” or “Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness (Without the Torah)” on that day we stand before Him and give an account of our lives? He leaves the choice up to each of us! Just remember Torah is a great blessing, a great gift and something to be treasured! Choose wisely!
Shabbat Shalom!