Tag: Parashat Ve’etchanan

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Discussions Torah

Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11: What’s on God’s heart is to be on ours

Photo Credit: Heart in my Hands by Freeimages.com/Chelsee Tysoe. Creative Commons License.

This week’s Torah reading, ואתחנן Va’etchanan (“and I pleaded,” Deut. 3:23-7:11), includes the beginning of Moshe’s elucidation. Deuteronomy is Moses’ farewell to the people of Israel.

This section in particular focuses on how to love God, what is idolatry and how to avoid idolatry. We don’t make statues and bow to them but we still struggle with idolatry in our own day. How? We worship our stuff, the works of men. We create a lot of things, most of them don’t honor to God.

Moses has seen the people backslide over and over again for the past 40 years and he knows human nature enough that this pattern is not going to end. He knows they will do things they should not do, because they are humans and they do what humans do. This book offers both hope and warning.

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Discussions Torah

Deuteronomy 7-8: God’s tough love

Studies in Torah

The Torah has a reputation of being offensive, but it is always truthful. The words in Deuteronomy center on God’s statutes, judgments and commandments. When we come to understand and hear God, we start to ask God why? He says, “because I love you.” Why does He punish us? Because He loves us.

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Discussions Torah

Deuteronomy 6: Teaching children to respect, follow the LORD

Studies in Torah

We are told to follow the LORD’s commandments, the statutes and judgements. The commandments, statutes and judgements are written down so that we will “fear” the Lord and that we will teach that fear to our children and grandchildren.

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Discussions Torah

Deuteronomy 5: Moses elaborates on the 10 commandments

Studies in Torah

Yeshua told the devil, “We are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” The words of God are not limited to the “New Testament,” as a number of Christians assume. Yeshua said, “If you love me keep my commandments.”

We believe with all our hearts that Yeshua and the Father are “one.” We understand that the words of the Torah are Yeshua’s words, just like the Sermon on the Mount/Plain are Yeshua’s words.

Deuteronomy is not just repeating the prior books like a parrot but adding and elaborating on prior teachings. It shows us not just the words of God but the heart of God. When you love someone you want to know what is in their heart.

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Discussions Torah

Deuteronomy 4: Statutes, judgments of the Lord

Studies in Torah

The very first verse tells you what the entire book of Deuteronomy is about: the statues and judgments of the Lord. A statute is a pre-described task, something that God has explained and given as a task. A judgement tells us how to carry out the decision of a judge. A judgement elaborates how to to perform a particular statute. Judgements are not always negative, sometimes judgements are favorable.

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Discussions Torah

Deuteronomy 7-8: Israel were to be distinct from Gentiles, not isolated from them

Studies in Torah

God chose the people of Israel as His primary representatives and He wanted them to remain pure and distinct from the Gentiles but He did not call the children of Israel to isolate themselves from the Gentiles.
The Gentile nations, for the most part, are have always been obsessed with anger, depression and death. God reveals His will even to the Gentiles where there’s rampant rebellion against it.

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Appointments With God Discussions Passover Torah

Deuteronomy 6: We learn God’s ways as we teach them to others

Studies in Torah

Studying the statutes, judgments and commands of the Lord is not limited to the “four questions” during the Passover seder (program). We are to listen and obey God on a daily basis. We also learn more when we are called to teach others.