Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Has God rejected the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because the Jews rejected Jesus? Have Christians become the new Israel, the spiritual Israel, the true Israel, the new people of God? Let's tackle this prickly question in this week's five Minute Torah Shalom and Blessings from Shalom Makin, the place where disciples of Yeshua learn, connect and grow. I'm Darren. Before we get into the five minutes of my five Minute Torah commentary, let's cover a few quick facts about this week's Torah portion. This week we are wrapping up the Book of Leviticus. We're studying the portions 32 and 33, the double portion of Bahar Bechuchotai Leviticus 25:1 through 27:34 and here are the three things that you need to know about it. Number one the shmitah or the Sabbatical Year in this week's Torah portion, God gives Israel the laws of the Shmitah or the Sabbatical year for for six years they are to work the land, but in the seventh year they must neither sow, prune nor harvest. Instead, they are to let the fields and the vineyards grow wild, gathering only what they need for the moment, a practice that teaches them to trust in the Lord to provide for their needs during the rest of the year. They were also to release all debt owed by a fellow Israelite in the seventh year. Although this aspect isn't spelled out in our current reading, it can be found in Exodus 21, Deuteronomy 15 and Deuteronomy 31. The shmitah was a reminder that our provision doesn't rely on our efforts alone, but it's ultimately in the hands of Heaven. Number two, the Yovel or the Jubilee year. Not only was Israel commanded to let the land rest every seven years during the Shmitah, but also to observe a Yovel or Jubilee every 50th year. Like the Shmita, the Jubilee required that the land lie fallow, meaning no sowing, no pruning or harvesting was to be done. In addition to this, there was the Jubilee involved a reset for land where all the property was returned to its ancestral owners, restoring family inheritances. This practice applied to all the land except for properties within walled cities which could only be redeemed within the first year after the sale. The Jubilee served as a means to prevent long term poverty and economic disparity by ensuring that no family would permanently lose their land and heritage. It also reminded the Israelites that the land ultimately belongs to God and and they are merely its stewards. And Number three, Gimelut Hasidim acts of loving kindness. Our Torah portion includes several prohibitions against exploiting fellow Israelites, such as charging interest on loans. It also outlines specific steps to assist an Israelite who has become impoverished, providing ways to help them regain their footing. This measure includes supporting them before they fall into severe poverty, buying back property they had to sell, and ensuring they are treated with dignity and respect. By following these guidelines, it's easy to see how other nations would say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people, and Israel would fulfill her role of being a light to the nations. Are you a disciple of Yeshua? There are a lot of people who say they are, but when it comes down to it, they really don't even know what it means to be a disciple. Why? Because discipleship is a concept unique to to Judaism. It's an intimate relationship between a rabbi and his student. Yeshua called 12 men to be in his inner circle of discipleship, and those 12 men changed the world. What did they know about being a disciple that we don't? I wrestled with this question when I wrote my book the Four Responsibilities of a Disciple. There were a ton of books already written on how to make disciples, but I wanted to know what it meant to be a disciple because it seems that all of these disciples that were being made in our day really weren't having an impact on the world around them like they should. I found out that there were four responsibilities every disciple should know, and that when implemented, living out these four responsibilities has the potential to change the world. If you want to know what it means to be a true disciple of our Master Yeshua, then check out my book the Four Responsibilities of a Disciple, using the link below. This week's Torah commentary is called the Rejection of Israel and comes from a book, Five Minute Torah, Volume 3. The portion of Bechuchotai is the last reading in the Book of Leviticus, and although the bulk of the book of Leviticus deals with laws of the sacrificial system and the inauguration of the Levitical duties, it ends on a quite different tone. The portion of Bechukotai begins with a reminder that the children of Israel will be blessed if they heed the Lord's instructions and and obey his commandments. It begins, if you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them. And then it's followed by a list of things that will happen as a result of their obedience. However, immediately following is a stern warning of what will happen if they refuse to obey his Torah and walk in his ways. This List of curses is nearly three times as long as the blessings for obedience. When reading this list of afflictions that will come upon the Israelites, it seems that God will be angry enough to wipe them off the face of the earth entirely. He tells them, and you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And those of you who are left shall rot away in your enemies lands because of their iniquity and also because of the iniquities of their fathers, they shall rot away like them. This is Leviticus 26, verses 38 and 39. This seems to confirm what many within the church believe has happened. God has rejected Israel just as he promised. Because of a misunderstanding of Paul's language in Romans 11.
[00:05:42] Entire denominations within Christianity believe and teach that the Jewish people had been forsaken by God due to the rejection of Yeshua as the Messiah. They believe that the Jewish people are no longer the true people of God, that they have been displaced or replaced by a truer people of God, namely Christians. But is this really what Paul meant? If so, this would contradict what the Lord had already promised in the Torah.
[00:06:10] Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them. For I am the Lord their God. But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I may be their God. I am the Lord. Leviticus 26, 44, 45. The apostle Paul himself rejects this line of reasoning that the physical people of Israel have been captured off or displaced. I asked then, has God rejected his people? By no means. For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people, whom he foreknew Romans 11:1 2. Who then is Paul referring to when he speaks of the natural branches who are broken off from the olive tree? In verse 17 he's speaking of the same Israelites both John the Immerser and Yeshua longed to reach. He he is addressing those who rely upon their Israelite heritage rather than their relationship with God to get them into the kingdom. John rebuked them for this line of reasoning bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Luke 3:8 Yeshua also longed for the secular and wayward among his people to return to God and his Torah. He explained this to the spiritual leaders of his day. Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick go and learn what this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. Matthew 9:12 13 speaking through the prophet Isaiah, the LORD makes the bold statement that all is Israel will walk before him in righteousness. At some point in the future your people shall all be righteous they shall possess the land forever. Isaiah 60, verse 21 Paul, looking forward to the fulfillment of this promise, says that one day all Israel will be saved. Romans 11:26 Both of these passage anticipate a time when the blessings of our portion will be fulfilled. I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you, and I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. Leviticus 26:11 12 has God rejected Israel, the people he redeemed from Egypt? God forbid. Once again, if you want to understand how Rabbinic literature helps us better understand the teachings of Yeshua, then you need to check out my video series called Perkei Avot and the Teachings of Yeshua. It's based on a Rabbinic text called Perkei Avot, also known as Ethics of the Fathers and compares the teachings within it the to the teachings of Yeshua. You should check it out. It will revolutionize the way you look at both Rabbinic literature and the teachings of our Master. Just click on the link right here to get.
