בס”ד
Parashat Ki Teitzei (When you go out) Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-10
The seven prophetic passages from Tisha B’Av to Rosh Hashanah all speak about the faithfulness of HaShem to keep His word to Israel. This means that although Israel will spend many years in exile, one day HaShem will return the Jewish people back to the land and in a righteous obedience rooted in faith they will worship their G-d. At the center of this promise is the work of Messiah Yeshua to bring about this redemption.
In this week’s prophetic reading one encounters one of my favorite verses. It focuses on something that I have written about frequently, the right of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. If one reads all the haftarah, he will learn of a great transformation that is coming to the spiritual condition of the Jewish people. The text is very clear that this change can only come about as a result of G-d being merciful to His people. In verse five G-d is spoken of as the “Redeemer”. Literally the phrase is “your Redeemer”, addressing Israel. However later in that same verse HaShem is called the “G-d of all the earth”. The point that must be understood is that the world will not experience the full measure of redemption, i.e. the Kingdom of G-d until Israel goes through this transformation which is brought about by means of the mercy and the grace of G-d,
“…with great mercy I will gather you in
.” Isaiah 54:7
“…and with eternal grace I will be merciful to you, said your Redeemer the L-rd.” Isaiah 54:8
Once again it is clearly revealed that something has to happen before all the goodness of the Kingdom of G-d can be enjoyed by the world. What is this? Now we arrive at the verse I love so much,
“For to the right and to the left you shall spread out and your seed shall inherit the nations and in the once desolate cities you will inhabit
.” Isaiah 54:3
No one doubts that this passage is prophetic in the sense that it deals with the last days, nor can one deny that HaShem is revealing that in the future Jewish individuals will return to the land of Israel and spread out throughout the land and settle in particular cities. These cities are the desolate cities that the Jewish people resided in over two thousand years ago. These places are not just along the Mediterranean coast, but also in Judah, Samaria, Gaza and the Golan Heights: the very places that the world wants Israel to give away for a promise of “peace”. Personally I recommend that Israel move in obedience to the promises that the word of G-d reveals, rather than the false promises of those who have at the heart of their desire the destruction of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
Shabbat Shalom