Dr Clifford Denton.
Vaetchanan: Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11.
17th August 2024/13 Av.
Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. (Deuteronomy 3:27)
Picture by Helen McNeill.
On Tuesday of this week, Tisha B’Av (9th of the month of Av) was commemorated. It is one of the most solemn days of the Jewish year. On this day in history, it is recorded that many prominent sad events took place. Among them are those listed below, as they appear in Jewish records (for example What Happened on the Ninth of Av? – Chabad.org):
- The spies returned from Canaan with a bad report. (1313 BCE)
- Twice, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. (423 BCE, 69 CE)
- The Bar Kochba revolt was lost at the Battle of Betar. (133 CE)
- The Romans ploughed up Temple Mount. (134 CE)
- The Jews were expelled from England. (1290 CE)
- The Jews were expelled from Spain. (1492 CE)
- World War II and the Holocaust, historians conclude, was the long-drawn-out result of World War I. Germany declared war on Russia, effectively catapulting the First World War into motion, on the 9th of Av. (1914 CE)
All of these are extreme low points of Jewish history and cause deep reflection among Jewish people every year. Why would God allow these things to happen to His chosen people?
It is not for the world to pass judgement in a shallow way. With a Greek philosophical worldview, we would easily attribute cause and effect and refer to the passages of our Torah portion this week for justification, from such verses as Deuteronomy 4:23-27, Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you……… the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. That is surely it, we can so easily but superficially conclude – breaking the covenant has brought all the punishments of Tisha B’Av.
Yet, we also have God’s ultimate promise that in His heart for His people is a purpose of redemption, not irrevocable punishment: But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them. (Deuteronomy 4:29-31)
God will not compromise His Word. Moses knew this when He was forbidden entry into the Land of Canaan, and just as the Children of Israel have discovered throughout all generations. Yet, we must approach Scripture with a Hebraic, not a Greek mindset. We must live with paradox and questions that do not always bring forth a totally logical answer. We must realise that the “big picture” of God’s covenant purposes is to be fulfilled, according to His infinite loving kindness and intent, despite the hard trials of life. Who would have seen ahead to the sacrifice of Yeshua when Moses was instructing the Children of Israel on the border of Canaan? How can we plumb the depths of God’s purposes?
These are the great matters for consideration on each new Tisha B’Av, with the immensity of history behind, and God’s covenant purposes and His character to discern throughout life’s journey.
In the midst of our study this week is a restatement of the Ten Commandments. Those wonderful matters that were made known by God to His people in the dramatic moments at Mount Horeb, with the heart-cry of God also made known: Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! (Deuteronomy 5:28-29)
Following this is what is considered the central statement of faith for all Israel, the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9): Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Our need is to seek to understand all that pleases God in our lives, considering all that has resulted in the journey of history, including the awesome times recalled at Tisha B’Av. The importance of teaching God’s ways to children of every generation, searching out the balance of God’s covenant purposes is a topic that we therefore cannot take lightly from our studies this week. This has been significant through every generation and is no less for ours.
For us, it is no small thing to consider the New Covenant in relation to the Old Covenant in light of our reading of Torah. It should be a matter of the highest priority to take this into our family studies and prayers, so that we might be those who fulfil all that God desires of His people in our generation.