Dr Clifford Denton.
Nitsavim/Vayelech: Deuteronomy 29:10-30:20/31:1-30.
28th September 2024/25 Elul.
If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. (Deuteronomy 30:4)
Picture by Helen McNeill.
Our theme is family. Mostly, in our studies this year, we have applied the teaching to our own family. Yet, we are also part of a much bigger family, the entire covenant family of God, which began when God made a covenant with Abraham.
In our portion this week we read of another covenant, one made with the Children of Israel in the Land of Moab, on the borders of Canaan (Deuteronomy 29:1). God’s covenants with Israel are all interconnected. The covenant at Horeb was the foundation on which the covenant at Moab was made. These covenants were within that which was made with Abraham (Genesis 17) and looked forward to the New Covenant, promised through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31) and fulfilled by our Lord Yeshua through His sacrifice.
Paul’s teaching about the Olive Tree of Romans 11 shows us that those who live by faith in Yeshua in the Gentile world are grafted into the family of Israel. This is described in Ephesians 2 by a different metaphor, that of the one new man.
The outworking of the covenant plan of God, made necessary by the Fall of Adam and Eve, is primarily seen through the history of Israel. Here on the border of Canaan Moses summed up all of his teaching, earnestly entreating Israel to keep their covenant responsibility – yet knowing that there will be times of falling away.
Within this, however, the heart of God for His people is revealed, as it is time and again through the biblical Prophets. Whenever Israel falls away, there will be a way back, once they come to their senses as a nation and turn to God in repentance: If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. (Deuteronomy 30:4)
When Yeshua was on the earth, He confronted teachers of the Torah who needed reminding about God’s heart for the repentant sinner. The Father heart of God is revealed in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), which echoes God’s promise in our study this week. If Israel were to break the covenant, God would withdraw His favour and distance Himself from them (Deuteronomy 31:17). The purpose would be that they would come to repentance even if they were driven to a distant country. The Father would always be ready to welcome them back.
As we consider the growing tensions in the world today with Israel back in their land and central to these tensions, do we have the right perception of what is happening in what, in effect, is our family through adoption. There are many Jewish believers in Yeshua. We, who live by faith in Yeshua from among the Gentile nations, are their brothers and sisters in the Lord’s covenant family. Have we, as believers together in Him, grasped this fact firmly and clearly? Moreover, the promise given by God is still vibrantly relevant for the restoration of many more Israelites who are yet far from Him, stated here by Moses and reiterated throughout the biblical Prophets. We live in a very special day which will witness the beginnings of a great move of God to bring many to faith.
Our final Torah study for this year will be written next week at the beginning of the Autumn Feasts in the month of Tishrei. These Autumn Feasts are prophetic pointers to the days preceding the Lord’s return. Are we ready and have we the clear understanding of our position in the covenant family of God? Let’s take time to study this as we draw near the end of the Torah studies for this year and then ongoingly in the days ahead. The One New Man (Ephesians 2) is the unity of believing Jews and Gentiles whom God will strengthen and increase through days of tribulation ahead. As we strengthen our own family let us also be conscious of our place in the historical and worldwide family of God.