Nitzavim Slides (pdf)
Nitzavim VaYalech Slides (pdf)
Nitzavim Notes (pdf)
Overview of Nitzivim (“You are Standing”) Deuteronomy 29:10 – 30:20
This Portion is exceptionally short – just 1-1/2 chapters long, so this will be a rather short commentary.
Rabbinic tradition says that this Week’s Portion takes place on the last day of Moses’ life…that he died on the anniversary of his birthday.
Chapter 29 – Moses Addresses the People
Israel stands united before Moses: Men, women, children, even the stranger among them….and even the unborn — representing all future generations (including us today!). And they were still standing before Moses, even after all of the dire warnings that Moses delivered to them in last week’s Portion
Yehovah speaks through Moses to Israel, giving them a new covenant: their right to occupy The Land is dependent upon their obedience to His Torah. This is not THE New Covenant, but A new covenant to replace the conditional covenant that Yehovah made with them at Mt Sinai back in Exodus 19 .…which they broke by worshipping the Golden Calf. Had they kept that covenant, Israel would have immediately gone into The Land – without the 40-year delay to eliminate that first unbelieving generation – and established Yehovah’s Kingdom here on Earth. But that is not what happened; Israel lost Yehovah’s promises to make them a kingdom of priests. That is why this new covenant is necessary…to give them The Land – but it did not make them a kingdom of (Melchizidek) priests.
Yehovah’s original covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12 is unconditional, giving Israel the right to possess The Land forever; this week’s covenant is conditional, making their right to occupy The Land conditional upon their obedience. This is an extremely important distinction that most of the world today does not understand.
The chapter ends with: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” This verse has several levels of meaning and interpretation. The simplest meaning is: Yehovah will judge us (as individuals) for those sins that are “hidden” from those around us; but the “publicly known” sins of a family, people group, or nation will be judged by Yehovah in a very public manner. A deeper, more spiritual meaning would be: the very public sins (of idolatry) of the Northern Kingdom were judged when they were dispersed among the Nations (hidden)…but they will be revealed (and restored) again before Messiah returns!
Chapter 30 The Blessing of Returning to Yehovah
Moses warns the people about the exile and desolation of the Land that will result when Israel abandons Torah (because of disobedience); he continues by prophesying that, in the end, “You will return to God.” God will re-gather the outcasts of Israel from the four corners of the world back into The Land.
Moses then reminds them of the practicality of Torah: “For the commandment which I command you this day, it is not beyond you, nor is it remote from you. It is not in heaven . . . It is not across the sea . . . Rather, it is very close to you, in your mouth, in your heart, that you may do it.”
Finally, Moses offers them freedom of choice: “I have set before you life and goodness, and death and evil: in that I command you this day to love God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments…. Life and death I have set before you, blessing and curse. And you shall choose life.”
Haftarah Reading (Isaiah 61:10 – 63:9)
This week’s Haftorah is the final “Haftarah of Consolation” as we prepare for Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) which starts this Monday evening. As we are about to enter the Days of Awe – the 10 days between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur – we read the Prophet Isaiah’s description of Israel’s joy when she is finally redeemed, comparing it to the joy of newlyweds. We read from Isaiah 63:1-7:
“For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
Brit Chadashah (Romans 8:19-23)
In the Torah Portion, just before Moses reveals God’s merciful redemption of Israel, he makes this statement that seems out of place: “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of this Law.” While this verse is speaking of “things”, the context indicates that it could also be speaking of “people”….people who have been hidden and subsequently revealed….just as the Northern Kingdom of Israel was hidden, dispersed to the four corners of the world…and is now ready and waiting to be revealed and restored after 2,700 years of exile. In the Brit Chadashah, the Apostle Paul describes (what I believe to be) this same situation of revealing the concealed. As we read, notice that this is a major event which affects the entire creation. We read from Romans 8:19-23:
“For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of the body.”
So the restoration of Dispersed Israel is the redemption of the Bride of Messiah – and God removes the curse from the Land – just as Isaiah prophesied in the Haftarah – in preparation for the Millennial Reign of Messiah Yeshua with His Bride!