This week, because of the Fall Holy Days, and as we near the conclusion of the Torah cycle, Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship elected to take a look at a double-parsha; first, Vayelekh (Deuteronomy chapter 31) and then Ha’azinu (chapter 32) – where Moses begins to wrap up his final instructions to ‘kol Israel.’
First, he reminds them about the coming conquest of the land, that Yohushua/Joshua will lead them, and to “be strong and of good courage.”
The Erev Shabbat reading begins there, and continues with what rabbinic Judaism calls the final (613th) ‘mitzvah’ in His Torah, to “write out this song,” a.k.a. the second ‘Song of Moses,’ which is the heart of the next chapter, and parsha Ha’azinu:
The Sabbath Day midrash examines a contrast: Moses addressed a people who were about to get a new leader, and finally enter and then begin the battle for their long-promised land.
We currently have no leader, and are evidently closer to losing a land than entering it, although there are certainly battles ahead, one way or another.
Which is where that second song comes in: heaven and earth are His witnesses, and the song is as well. A witness AGAINST the ‘children of Israel.’
But the parallels then and now are stark, too. He has been “roused to jealousy,” with a thing that He calls a ‘no-god.’ There’s provocation from a “vile nation,” and they have become a nation void of counsel, with “no understanding in them.”
When you compare the main news stories today, it’s impossible to deny that judgment has been EARNED. But this is where the ‘plot thickens.’
The prophet YermeYahu, or Jeremiah, is told no less than three times, don’t even pray for those people that were about to see judgment, at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
Which certainly raises a fair question. And the choice.
Regular WARNING: We are in – at best – dangerous times. Particularly so for those who walk in rebellion. This is yet another reading in the continuing series of what you will certainly NOT hear in sun-god-day school.
Vayelekh and Ha’azinu: “Voided Covenant, or Re-Grafting? Either way – it is a CHOICE!”
The combined two-part teaching is here:
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