בס”ד
Parashat D’varim (Things/Words) Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
Haftarah: Isaiah 1:1-27
It is my experience that believers are paying less and less attention to proper theology today. I hear those who are leaders of congregations espousing beliefs that are absolutely in conflict with the Bible and seem to be unconcerned that their teaching is not grounded in the Scripture. Unfortunately this is not new, as this week’s Torah portion reveals. Moses knows that the time is approaching for the people to finally enter the land and he reminds them how they acted faithlessly 39 years earlier at the incident with the spies. It was during this low point in Israel’s history that the people made a very shameful statement in regard to HaShem. Whereas it was with grace and love that G-d brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, yet the Israelites asserted something quite different.
“And you spoke evil in your tents and you said, ‘In the L-rd’s hatred of us He brought us out of the land of Egypt to give us into the hand of the Amorite to destroy us.'” Deuteronomy 1:27
It is hard to image that the people who saw so many miracles and received so many blessings from the hand of G-d, could now speak so irreverently about Him. What caused them to do so? First the text makes it clear that this statement is not attributed to just a few individuals, but these sentiments were what the vast majority of Israelites felt. Why they responded in this way is not a mystery; the answer is because HaShem was not responding in the way in which the people wanted. This verse reveals a very common spiritual condition. Many individuals only want a relationship with G-d if this relationship is upon their terms. When HaShem begins to act in accordance with His holy character and His perfect will, many “so called” followers are quick to state that this is not “my G-d”. What they mean is that G-d is not behaving in accordance with their views and desires. In other words, HaShem is not acting like the god they have created with their minds.
Notice how far removed the people were from the truth, for one of the greatest acts of G-d’s faithfulness and loving kindness was being asserted by the people as motivated by hatred! One cannot be more wrong than that. It is clear that Israel’s theology was not rooted in their personal experiences with G-d nor based upon Moses’ revelation (Scripture) to them. Rather their theology was nothing more than them exercising their human intellect and placing their expectations of what they wanted G-d to do upon their mentally-created god. It is very dangerous when our minds create god, rather than each individual realizing that he is created by G-d and is in absolute need of divine revelation (Scripture) to understand, albeit in a limited manner, the Living G-d. Naturally, the greatest revelation of G-d is when He put on human flesh and visited man, performing His redemptive work in the person of Yeshua.
Shabbat Shalom
4 Comments on “Parashat D’varim (Things/Words) Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22”
I think this is making an idol. We create an image / belief with our minds hands and worship our idol rather than God.
Thank you for sharing
Sadly, so is. Sometimes, these known faithfuls would ask G_d their desires, but once His response is presented into their lives, G_d’s response is scoffed, scarcely appreciated let alone given thanked for. One outstanding model of such scenario is Jesus Christ who came to help to redeem His own yet was He derided, slandered and killed. Such had come my way quite a number of times, when certain believers asked for God’s intervention, a job to help them sustain their lives, and when an
honest job comes their way, they got oblivious on what they petitioned to G_d, instead of seeking G_d’s face, being grateful for His goodness, they despise and turn down that precious, humble job. May G_d forgive us, we all have the tendency to fall into this temptation, God be merciful to us. In His Name, amen.
The God who we serve is so amazing if you stop and ponder even a fraction of what he has done for us. One of the most important, is that he freed us from a horrible enviroment (Egypt), one that not only was physically debilitating but grossly suffocated our growth in him spiritually and hindered our ability to communicate and serve him effectively. He brought us to a place were he would patiently teach us his ways on how to serve,sacrfice and pray to him. Still knowing that we would sin again and again. David says it well in the Psalms 5:8 “But I can enter your house because of your great grace and love.” It was because of his great grace and love that the Israelites were freed and could go before him to offer up their sacrifices at his holy tabernacle and it is the same for us today. I believe the Israelites, like us forgot what he had done. Forgot their forefathers and all they had endured and in so doing forgot that he is a God full of grace and love. God is always telling us to remember what he has done, through his feast and Sabbaths. To remember him in the morning, afternoon and evening when we pray. Let us not be a people who forget, but remember and live a life reminding those we love.
I agree when you conclude: the right scribtures should be taken to the people, before they can be made understood in its true context to get to what He wanted us to become. He has given us His guidence and warning during the whole book, up until the end He wants us to turn (even in the end of times after the 3 we get a break…) And there are many who, each for their own particular reasons, don’t want to listen and even try to stop others form hearing or wanting to. I wish you wisdom and do pray He will grand someone to speak in His name soon and we will finaly hear the truth of it.
To start building a peacefull world of understanding and love toward eachother, guided by His point of view of love and eternity, for I see brothers fighting brothers and the truth being burried allong with them. And that hurts.
Be blessed, Gabriela