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Torah readings

Parashat Ki Tavo (כי תבוא): Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8

“Correcting” an aggressive driver on the road. “Losing it” with a screaming child in the store. We may think we’re far removed from the horror show described in this week’s Torah reading, כִּי־תָבוֹא Ki Tavo (“when you come in,” Deut. 26:1–29:8), but each of us encounters stress that pushes off any mask over our true characters.

A key point in this passage is entering and living in the “rest” God gives us, fully realized through the Messiah and the Spirit. Like Israel’s move from Mitsraim (Egypt) to the Land, our entering God’s “rest” (Hebrews 3–4) is all about a change of identity, purpose and character.

Readings

  • Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8
  • Isaiah 60:1–22
  • Matthew 13:1–23
  • Luke 24:44–53

Companion readings from the B’rit Chadashah (New Testament) from MessianicJudaism.net (also has through-the-Bible readings for prophets and B’rit Chadashah) and First Fruits of Zion:

  • Lk. 23:26-56 (First Fruits of Zion)
  • Mt. 13:1-23; Lk. 21:1-4; Acts 28:17-31; Rm. 11:1-15  (Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern)
  • Lk. 24:44-53 (Parashiot From the Torah and Haftarah by Jeffrey E. Feinbe of Flame Foundation)

Studies

The following are recorded studies and notes on passages from Ki Tavo by Hallel Fellowship teachers:

How Heaven's gardening lessons help us avoid cursed results (Deuteronomy 27-28; Matthew 13)

How Heaven’s gardening lessons help us avoid cursed results (Deuteronomy 27–28; Matthew 13)

The Parable of the Sower is one of the most memorable of the Gospel teachings of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus). The personal lessons of the four types of soil seem far removed from the sobering blessings and warnings for ancient Israel in Torah reading כִּי־תָבוֹא Ki Tavo (“when you come in,” Deut. 26:1–29:8). This study unearths the powerful insights just below the surface in both passages.
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No community without boundaries: Another lesson from the Prodigal Son parable (Deuteronomy 26–28; Luke 15)

No community without boundaries: Another lesson from the Prodigal Son parable (Deuteronomy 26–28; Luke 15)

There’s an old saying, “Good fences make good neighbors.” And the Torah reading תבוא Ki Tavo (“when you come in,” Deut. 26:1–29:8) emphasizes that blessings flow from God to people who establish and enforce proper boundaries. Those include not only fences around property but also fences that clearly establish economic, spiritual and moral boundaries. But there can be no “wealth of nations” without “moral sentiments.” This is an often overlooked lesson from Messiah Yeshua’s parable of the prodigal son.
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Heaven's curses become blessings for the teachable heart (Deuteronomy 27-28)

Heaven’s curses become blessings for the teachable heart (Deuteronomy 27–28)

In the West, we live in an era when many so-called Christian preachers teach their congregants that an overflowing bank account, a fancy house and an expensive car are evidence of God’s blessing. But that’s a heresy that many Pharisees at the time of Yeshua (Jesus) also believed. A key lesson of Torah reading כִּי־תָבוֹא Ki Tavo (“when you come in,” Deut. 26:1–29:8) is that it’s in the periods of sorrow and desolation when God does His best work with us and in us. Check out this study.
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Isaiah 60: Feeling lost, alone, forgotten? Grab Heaven’s Lifeline — the Messiah

As Rosh Hashanah (aka Yom Teruah and Day of Blowing Trumpets) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonment) approach, it’s a good reminder to be more forgiving of the small things that others do to annoy us. And what we do to annoy them. We need to forgive those as we want to be forgiving. The Messiah forgives a massive amount of trespasses. The LORD covers over those egregious sins, so we can at least let go of the much smaller trespasses others do to us.  We may think we’re far removed from the horror show described in the Torah reading כי תבוא…
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Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8: Coveting thankfulness for the LORD’s blessings

There’s more to “you shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17) than lusting after other people’s stuff and spouses. That’s the lesson of Torah reading תבוא Ki Tavo (“when you come in,” Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8), which wraps an elaboration of the Ten Commandments that spans most of the book. Under the hood of the instructions about the thanksgiving ceremony for first fruits of the Land’s crops and the third-year tithe is this message: We also are to be grateful for what the LORD has placed in our hands and use it to produce a “bumper crop” for the Kingdom.
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Studies in Torah

Deuteronomy 27-28: Tale of two mountains

In this passage, Moshe (Moses) reminds the people of Israel that God will bless them if they follow His Torah but he will have to curse them if they do not. He also reminds the people they have the duty to enforce God’s Torah in the land as well. It really is a Tale of Two Mountains.
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Studies in Torah

Deuteronomy 25-26: Sowing seeds of a healthful culture

Honesty in business dealings and setting aside for the LORD the first and a 10th of what He has blessed us with seem like straightforward teachings from these two chapters for modern times. However, what do we do with teachings in this passage about men temporarily marrying their sisters-in-law to perpetuate the name of her dead husband and amputation as punishment for women who “fight dirty” seem way out of step with modern culture? Richard Agee explores what God is trying to show us about Himself with these teachings.
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