“Frail man, his days are like grass, like a sprout of the field, so he sprouts. If a wind passes over it, it is gone, and its site knows it no more. But the kindness of HaShem is forever and ever upon those who fear Him, and His righteousness upon children’s children. To those who keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commands to fulfill them.” Psalms 103:15-18
As I put this Op together it is Shabbat, 1 June 2024! What a week leading up to this Shabbat it has been! Truly historic in witnessing another giant fall of America with the conviction of Pres Trump. Like or dislike Trump doesn’t matter. All Americans should be outraged and highly concerned at what has taken place with such an obvious corrupt and manipulated trial. Again, its a giant indicator America is falling just as HaShem said it would in the very end just before the Final Redemption!
Is it a coincidence at the same time of all this judicial corruption being exposed we see America voicing its utter disdain, contempt and outright hatred for Israel while Israel is literally in a battle to defend its very existence in a seven front war? HaShem warns, touching Jerusalem and His nation of Israel whether in words or deeds will result in severe consequences! And here we are today!
Further, is it a coincidence the month of May 2024 we witnessed a record amount of severe weather alerts and tornados which ripped apart the Midwest of the United States? The National Hurricane Center released their forecast for the hurricane season 2024 which begins today, 1 June 2024, and they are saying because the ocean waters are at record heat temperatures, to expect to see a record number of storms and catastrophic hurricanes to strike America this year! Again, there is no such thing as a coincidence with HaShem!
Is it a coincidence the more America voices its hatred of Israel, our economy is crumbling and the value of the US dollar is being dumped by nation after nation across the globe? Inflation is skyrocketing and now today we each have to figuratively speaking take a loan out from the bank just to pay the bills and buy the groceries! Its very, very concerning!
The more America plots and seeks to disrupt Israel’s ability to defend herself, the faster America will fall! So, how do we as HaShem’s people living in America today deal with this? Life is no doubt extremely difficult and full of concerns so much so it is utterly impossible to try and prepare for each possible scenario! Catastrophe can literally come upon each and every one of us at a moments notice now! We truly are in the End of Days, literally moments from the beginning of the Birthpains of Messiah!
Keep this in mind and as I always include in my Op’s never forget the following eternal attributes of HaShem and His Torah:
- 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 the ONLY truth there is per Psalms 119:142
- He says His Torah is a tree of life and eternal per Proverbs 3:18-19 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 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
- He says His Torah is the way of faith per Psalms 119:29-30
- He says His Torah makes us wiser than our enemies per Psalms 119:98
- He says His Torah is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path per Psalms 119:105
- He says one who finds His Torah has found life per Proverbs 8:35
- He says one who finds His Torah has found favor from HaShem per Proverbs 8:35
- He says Messiah Yeshua is the GOAL of His Torah, meaning without His Torah, Messiah cannot be known per Romans 10:4
- He says if we had believed Moshe/Torah, we would have believed Messiah per John 5:46
- He says His salvation is far from the wicked for they sought not His Torah per Psalms 119:155
- He says to hold fast to and guard His Torah, for it is our life per Proverbs 4:13
- He says His Torah is the bread of life per Proverbs 9:5
This weeks Torah portion address this very topic of this Op! It is the last Torah portion of the book of Leviticus ‘Bechukosai’ which is found in Leviticus 26:3-27:34! This Torah portion begins with the very first verse which says “If you will follow My decrees and observe My commandments and perform them…”
So, what does this very first verse tell us? Look at the wording HaShem begins with? He begins with ‘IF’, which denotes the decision is up to each of us! We get to choose each and every day which way we will walk. Its not an issue of Replacement Theology which teaches the Torah has been done away with and tossed out so it is no longer any concern, just the opposite, we are to choose even today and this Torah portion tells us what happens when we choose HaShem and what happens when we choose to walk away!
HaShem says when we follow and toil in our study of His Torah and perform His commandments, the following blessings will be bestowed: “Then I will provide rains in their time, and the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit. Your threshing will last until the vintage, and the vintage will last until the sowing; you will eat your bread to satiety and you will dwell securely in your land.”
So, we see He will provide the rains at their proper time and in proper quantity. The produce the land will be enough with much left over. Everyone will eat to satiety and none will be hungry or dissatisfied and we will dwell securely in the land, which means no crime, no violence, no corruption and ultimately no war!
He continues in verse six: “I will provide peace in the Land, and you will lie down with none to frighten you; I will cause wild beasts to withdraw from the Land, and a sword will not cross your Land. You will pursue your enemies; and they will fall before you by the sword. Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand; and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. I will turn My attention to you, I will make you fruitful and increase you; and I will establish My covenant with you.”
Do we see today peace in the land? Does anyone today lie down to go to sleep with nothing to be concerned about or frighten us? Is the sword i.e. violence/war, just something from a Hollywood script we occasionally consider? Is the effectiveness and fear of the US military amongst our enemies keeping the peace or is the growing weakness of the US military emboldening our enemies around the globe today?
HaShem continues in verse 10: “You will eat very old grain and remove the old to make way for the new. I will place My Sanctuary among you; and My Spirit will not reject you. I will walk among you. I will be Elohim unto you and you will be a people unto Me. I am HaShem your Elohim, Who took you out of the land of Egypt from being their slaves; I broke the staves of your yoke and I will lead you very high.”
Are we eating like we did twenty years ago here America today? Not a chance! How many times do you go the grocery store and common items are now out of stock? Just yesterday in the news it was discussing how another chicken farm in America was destroyed by fire in which millions of chickens were destroyed. The week before a chicken farm culled tens of millions of chickens because of bird flu. Point is, our food supply is rapidly diminishing!
Now, here is where HaShem says what will happen if we do NOT walk in His Torah: “But IF (Again our choice) you will NOT listen to Me and will not perform all of these commandments; if you consider My decrees loathsome, and if your being rejects My ordinances, so as not to perform all My commandments, so that you annul My covenant, then I will do the same to you; I will assign upon you panic, swelling lesions, and burning fever, which causes eyes to long and souls to suffer; you will sow your seeds in vain, for your enemies will eat it. I will turn My attention against you, you will be struck down before enemies; whose who hate you will subjugate you, you will flee with no one pursuing you.”
How often do we hear from the Replacement Theology groups just how much they utterly abhor and loathe HaShem’s Torah? I see and read it all the time now. The outright hatred and disdain for HaShem and His Torah is at levels I have never seen before! What is the effect on the land? One word encapsulates it i.e. LAWLESSNESS! We see law and order swirling down the drain now. Its a free for all and the powerful, wealthy and elite have all the power and are exempt from being held accountable!
Interesting HaShem says He will assign panic to the society who tells Him to take His Torah and get lost. Are we witnessing this today in America? Are we planting our fields with seeds and either the seeds do not sprout or those fields have already been promised to be given to our enemies! How about the millions of illegals who have poured into our country, many are adversaries of America who are here for nefarious and very dangerous reasons, and what is happening? They are being given the benefits, support, healthcare, housing and food which should be being provided to American citizens. Those who hate America will subjugate us and we can truly see this has happened today!
Its curious HaShem talks about how we will flee with no one pursuing us! Was America defeated and expelled out of Afghanistan or did America defeat itself and chose to expel ourselves in shame and dishonor? Was anyone overwhelming us in Afghanistan? No, again we chose to do so and it was broadcast over the entire globe the humiliating defeat of America. I could go on and on showing the examples of what is right in front of us today proving HaShem’s Word is absolutely true and we as a nation are reaping what we have sown!
So, what do we do here and now in this life in America 2024? The Midrash Rabbah for this weeks Torah portion has a very interesting commentary. It says “Why did King David go to the synagogues and study halls when he had planned on going elsewhere? Some understand that these detours were spontaneous; he was simply drawn away from his mundane itinerary by the inexorable pinings of his soul. However, David’s actions were premediated. Before attending to his mundane affairs, he would go to the synagogue to pray for success, and then he would enter the study halls to delve into the Torah and map out the proper way to go about his tasks. Thus, David said that when ‘I considered my ways, this is, when I contemplated my everyday affairs, I returned my feet to Your testimonies’, I prepared myself by going to the synagogues and study halls. The routine became so habitual, adds our Midrash, that even without any forethought, ‘my feet would lead me’ to these holy places.”
“This glimpse into King David’s methods provides a model for those who seek to lead their lives in the path of Torah. Before any worldly activity, one should pray for Divine assistance and consult the Torah for evaluation and guidance, evaluation of the activity against the standards of Torah law, and guidance on how to navigate difficult situations and how to withstand the moral challenges that are sure to come his way.” Are we today being inundated with shall we say difficult moral challenges with all the immorality, depravity and perversions we are constantly being smothered with?
The last paragraph from this Midrash says “For this reason, our verse does not say, ‘if you will observe My decrees, but if you will go in the path of My decrees.’ The chosen wording indicates that HaShem expects us to do more than perform the commandments as they come our way. He wants us to prepare for such observance by going to the synagogue and asking for His help, and by going to the study hall to determine how best to perform the commandment. And if that is true for commandment endeavors, it is surely true for personal or business matters, which must be examined even more closely under the Torah’s light.”
In other words, we strive to make Torah study a priority in our lives. Now I must pause here and reinforce, HaShem knows none of us are Torah scholars or sages and He knows where we live, what we have access too and our abilities i.e. health issues.
When we read HaShem wants us to study His Torah, we do the best we can do, where we are at and with the resources we have! Further, studying His Torah has nothing to do with obtaining salvation. This has been accomplished by the real Messiah Yeshua. Salvation is secure and striving and toiling in His Torah is how we walk and live in the likeness of Messiah Yeshua. Remember: Know Torah, Know Messiah Yeshua. No Torah, No Messiah Yeshua!
Back on track. The commentary from Or HaChaim on this Torah portion, points out “How shall I interpret, ‘If you will follow My decrees?’ Its meaning is ‘IF YOU WILL TOIL IN THE STUDY OF TORAH.’ Having established that ‘Following My decrees’ refers to studying Torah, Or HaChaim analyzes why the verse refers to Torah study as a ‘Decree’, a term that usually denotes a mitzvah (Commandment) whose purpose is unknown. The purpose of Torah study, however, seems obvious, to promote Torah knowledge and observance.”
“The reason that the verse calls toil in Torah study a decree, is because the mitzvah to study Torah includes an obligation to learn even subjects that a person has already learned two or three times and are already known to him. This obligation exists because HaShem wants His children to be engaged in Torah study at all times, regardless of how much it adds to their knowledge; it is a decree that He has ordained, to be followed even when it does not serve the obvious purpose of increasing knowledge. You will find, in fact, that the Sages, of blessed memory, said, that to ensure that a person will always learn Torah with enthusiasm, the wisdom of HaShem, blessed be He, ordained that a person shall learn and forget, so that he is forced to review his learning again and again, and thus will be constantly engaged in Torah study.”
Consider what the Haftarah says for this weeks Torah portion which is found in Jeremiah 16:19-17:14. This is just the first few verses: “HaShem, my Strength, my Stronghold, and my Refuge on the day of distress! To You nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, ‘It was all falsehood that our ancestors inherited, futility that has no purpose. Can a man make gods for himself? They are NOT gods!’ Therefore, behold, I inform them at this time, I shall let them know of My hand and My strength; and they shall know that My Name is HaShem!”
The point is, in the end, the nations will finally realize all the religious idolatry and garbage they held onto was absolutely futile and worthless. They will finally realize HaShem is the One true Elohim and there is no other and His Torah is the ONLY way to walk, the only truth there is and is the only way to have success in life! So, is it a coincidence HaShem attaches these verses from Jeremiah to this week’s Torah portion? Again, nothing is a coincidence with HaShem!
In summary, we are to toil in the study of His Torah, and in doing so, we can put into practice, as best as we can, His Torah, just as Messiah Yeshua did, and in doing so, we will be protected, supplied, and most of all maintain our sanity in a world gone mad with corruption, violence and immorality.
Just a quick Op to hopefully give someone a little sliver of hope in a hopeless world. May our redemption be so very, very soon in our days!!
Shabbat Shalom!
SOURCE MATERIALS:
- Or HaChaim Vayikra by Artscroll
- Midrash Rabbah Vayikra by Artscroll
- The Chumash Vayikrah by Artscroll