Deuteronomy Week 46 - Ekev (Consequently) Notes

These are my first ever Torah Portion notes from 2018 and 2019, drawn from these sources. Every Saturday starting from Friday sunset, God's people get together and read portions from the Torah to learn and look deeper into His word, starting after the 8 days Feast of tabernacles until.Tabernacles the next year:

• The Way Biblical Fellowship: Consequently (Torah Portion: Eikev) 2015 - 2016
• Rob Skiba Virtual House Church

1. 2013 Broadcast   

Scriptures in Week 46:

TORAH:

Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25

PROPHETS:

Isaiah 49:14 - 51:3

NEW TESTAMENT:

Luke 4:1-13; 

John 13:31-15:27; 

Romans 8:31-39; 

Hebrews 12:1-29; 

James 5:7-11

TORAH

Who do you think is stronger? An army of giant warriors, or an army of normal humans with unwavering faith in a God that is a cyclone of flaming electrical destruction? YHWH promises victory in the impossible situations. God is much bigger than a 30 footer and much bigger than your issues in life. However, we are not to be puffed up and self righteous of overcoming to then feel spiritually superior than others. When Yah's people begin to think that they are more powerful than the other nations because they killed tribes of giants to have their own land, Moses convicts us that it was this same pride and stubbornness that will make us be disqualified from possessing the land e.i we will be exiled. We need to remember our stubbornness in the past and the unmerited favour being given to us. Do not judge others living in the world and sin. That same person was you a few years ago. How would you feel if you are being judged like that? 
"Ephesians 2:1-9 King James Version (KJV)
2 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:


9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."

So, let us not be carried away with ourselves. A big part of this is remembering, focusing intently on the fact that YHWH took us out of the house of bondage - He rescued us, we were lost and He saved us. 

Do not be like Menachem Begin - a former Jewish prime-minster of Israel that might as well be called Adolf Hitler II.  

The stand alone aleph/tav appears in peculiar places throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and points to the Messiah who Himself declared that He was the alpha and the tav (alpha and omega), the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

The Hebrew translation of the word 'ekev' refers to the heel or the foot. The use of the Torah idiom here is a figurative way of saying "on the heels of", which an English idiom for "following" "as a result of" "the consequence", or "the reward". It can also be translated as footprint.

You could maybe ask yourself: what footprints are you leaving behind
now and how are people and places effected by you? 

"When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul."

Psalm 94:18-19 KJV

This idea of the footprint and following Yeshua frames this Torah Portion:
"Deuteronomy 11:24-25 King James Version (KJV)
24 Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be.
25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you."

The name Ekev shares a root with the patriarchal name Ya'akov (Jacob). What many people do not realise is that the word ekev is also the same word used in Genesis 3:15 regarding the Seed War in which Yeshua and His people will crush the head of Satan and his Nephlilm and Satan will bruise Yeshua heel. This connects perfectly since the Israelites are prepared to take back a land filled with the seed of Satan - Nephilim hybrids. This therefore reinforces the idea that if Israel shema, they will crush the enemies head. 

Ekev is connected to seed and the shema. Both the promised and the corrupted.

The importance of the shema is inextricably connected to the triumph over the Nephilim. I saw a video by The Riverwinds that speak about both of these things.

Genesis 17:6-8. By being obedient we get two things: seed and land - these are tools to carry out His mission - to be a light to a dark world. It is part of YHWH's plan of redemption.

"Genesis 17:6-8 King James Version (KJV)

6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

We are supposed to lead people to YHWH and bring glory to His name. We are to be imitators of Yeshua and walk as He walked.

"John 8:12 King James Version (KJV)

12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

This parsha is all about being a light, and it is all about life. Being a light and following Torah are inextricably linked. The good works we are called to are not showy religious acts or do-gooder deeds- they are the mitzvot, they are walking according to His judgements and chukim/statutes. It means keeping the sabbath and all other feats to the best we possibly can. It means eating clean food and wearing tzit tzit and it means His will and not ours, it means loving one another and looking out for the disadvantaged and the stranger, the poor, the widow, the orphan. It means loving YHWH will all our heart, with all our soul and with all our strength in order to bring glory to His name.  

Blessing in Hebrew is barach. It means to be released from restrictions and limitations. To barach someone or something means to infuse the object of blessing with unlimited potential and empowerment.   

Do you ever feel alone in your Torah/righteousness walk? I sure do. Somethings the loneliness is very overwhelming. In a way it is bitter sweet to be alone, because you feel isolated for a while and you want human connection. However, when you get that, the people you are friends with are not on the the same tune of understanding or awareness. They are indulged in worldliness and love what everyone else lives. They love sin. They take everything lightheartedly and not seriously. So by seeing that my friends are like this, i realise that being alone and set apart from that is a blessing, because i ultimately know it is unfulfilling. However, since i was in their shoes, i feel sorry for them because they are missing out while they think i am missing out from what they think is greater. 

Due to this, i have a thirst and a vehement desire for a like minded community and fellowship around may age and older to give us a sens of purpose and to support one another so we can overcome what the enemy throws at us. Greater numbers count. 

YHWH is not saying His beloved will never suffer sickness, sadness or calamity. He is not saying His people will never be brokenhearted. the promise YHWH is making is that when we do experience negative things like this in the course of our lives and relationship He will never leave us alone to suffer or die in misery, affliction, grief, and depression, He will instead stay radically engaged with us as we go through these things and will deliver us and peel them off in us due time and manner.

We do not earn material blessing from YHWH by Torah observance. The blessings are not intended as a reward on earth for being good or for doing good. To the contrary, the blessing are given for redemptive, testimonial purposes. He causes blessings to follow those who sh'ma, sh'mar and asah His Torah simply because the people of the world need to see, and long for, the beauty of walking in fellowship with Him.

The Hebrew word for remember is zakar. It is not just a passive recall but active commemoration. It is to periodically celebrate something - like Hanukkah and ones marriage or ones birthday. It can even mean to re-enact. It means to bring into remembrance, to bring things to the forefront of your mind, to focus on intently upon. 

The enemy will not want you to remember anything regarding the greatness of YHWH, but anytime you feel that you cannot cope, just take a moment and zakar/focus intently on all the victories YHWH has given you. Note that YHWH is asking them to want He did to Dudimose II - that was 41 years ago - we sometimes forget what He has done for us as recently as a mouth ago.

In chapter 8 we will read that He tells us to remember how He lead us through the wilderness, testing us and teaching us and teaching us what it means to follow Him and that it is YHWH who has given us the land, and the ability to produce wealth. The mitzvot of commemoration empower us to put everything that happens in our lives into proper perspective. Do not let yourself forget that you were chosen to talk, dress, eat and live a lifestyle so different from the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Canaanites that they would marvel at your God and desire to know Him.

Little by little: He is not letting the enemy consume us all at once. It seems that sometimes we do not get the victory all in one big swoop - that might not please us to hear, but YHWH knows what He is doing and it is for our benefit. 

The wilderness is a place of snakes, scorpions and heat. Furthermore, it lacks the two things necessary for LIFE - bread and water. The 41 year trip of Israel in the wilderness represents victory over DEATH. Resurrection.  The wilderness experience was intended to teach us about the work of Messiah Yeshua because of the Sign of the Messiah—deliverance from DEATH (in the wilderness, a place of DEATH) unto LIFE (the abundance of Eretz Yisrael). 

We are to not bless the food - we are to bless YHWH! We are not instructed to pause while still hungry to 'say grace' before eating. We are to pause after eating our fill and say a  few words to thank YHWH.

YHWH is the one that gets us wealth and blessing. But when people get this wealth, they get too consumed in it and forget YHWH. We do not have to strive in vain. He provides all our needs. We should not need to worry about everything so we can supply ourselves. 

If you worship false gods that do not help you, then you will perish. That includes sports players, singers, superheroes/fictional characters, technology money, entertainment, self, sex and religious saints.

Two prophets are effectively saying the same thing:

"Deuteronomy 10:12-13 World English Bible (WEB)

12 Now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 to keep Yahweh’s commandments and statutes, which I command you today for your good?"

"Micah 6:8 World English Bible (WEB)

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good.

    What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,

    to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"

The Differences

Micah is talking about what YHWH DEMANDS of you (darash - strong word) and it is directed at man. This is focused more on being good to others. Begins with this is what is good, heightens the impact.

Moses is talking about what YHWH is asking of you (sha'al - gentle word) and it is directed at us - Israel/church. This is centred on loving YHWH. Ends with the phrase for your good, minimising the impact. 

It is not a religious thing - it is a heart thing.

Foreskin - orlah: means blockage. Remove from your heart that of the flesh which causes a blockage, that which causes you to not to fully surrender to YHWH in love. It has always been about the heart issue.

"1 Corinthians 10:11 World English Bible (WEB)

11 Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come."

Moses is speaking to the people before they are to cross the Jordan - but certainly he is also speaking to us. 

Watered by foot? This refers to the irrigation system that was developed by Egypt by using a shadoof - an irrigation tool which consists of a long, tapering, nearly horizontal pole mounted like a seesaw. A skin or bucket is hung on a rope from the long end, and a counterweight is hung on the short end which dug up canals from the Nile to flow inland. The Egyptians could easily use their feet to kick away the dirt which was blocking the flow of water. Similarly, he could also shut off the flow of water by using his foot to kick the dirt back into the canal. In contrast to Egypt, a valley oasis, a narrow strip of fertile land, surrounded by desert, relying on one source of water  - the Nile, is different of how the Torah describes the Promise Land:

"Deuteronomy 11:11 World English Bible (WEB)

11 but the land that you go over to possess is a land of hills and valleys which drinks water from the rain of the sky,"

Israel's precarious dependence on rain from heaven for its water supply made it harder to fall into the error of believing that they single-handedly were in control of their own livelihood. Instead, they were forced to depend on YHWH.

The rainfall and everything else in Israel is subject to YHWH’s direct supervision in every detail.The purpose of being in the land of Israel is to live in a state of closeness with the Almighty, understanding that in everything we do in this world, we are “partners” with Him. Our efforts can only succeed if they align with His will expressed to us through His Torah. We have already read of a dangerous attitude:

Devarim 8:17 "then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have

gained me this wealth.'  

Note that it was a whole people that was blessed or judged. 

Israel does have the River Jordan. It was not able to be used in the same way as the Nile, however. Because it is located hundreds of feet below sea level, they could not dig ditches to their fields for irrigation. Today, as a result of their own strength, the Israeli’s have been able to “solve” their water problem by pumping up the water from the Sea of Galilee. But did God do this or man? YHWH promises to send rain and to make the land produce in great abundance because He will choose to bless it. If you have to go to such great lengths to get the land of Israel to produce then by my reckoning you have just identified yourself as a counterfeit. If there is such a need for irrigation, and techniques that were not even known until recently, then how does this compare to what Israel was like when the people truly relied on YHWH and not technology? I imagined it must have rained a lot more. Clearly that does not happen, which is a sign of the hypocrisy and the falsity of the state of Israel ruled by Satan's servants. This is a myth. Israel has not blossomed naturally.

We are to be passionate and obsessed about Him and His Torah. Torah is His heart.

If there is a large finite number of stars (angels) therefore all the people that have been grafted into Israel or are the descendants of the Lost Tribes (Britain, Native Americans, Scythians, Parthains ect.) then this could be literal.

Could it be that the reason why Micheal had to guard the bones of Moses in Jude is because that if Satan got a hold of it, the Israelites would have taken the bones and would have worshipped Moses' body as a god. This would make sense why the devil would want this to happen.

Just how Joshua will soon lead the charge into the promise land to wipe out the leaders of the Nephilim nations, Yeshua will lead the charge at Armageddon to take back the land by destroying the world leaders and citizens that have become Nephilim via the Mark of the Beast.

To hearken to YHWH means to walk in victory, giving Him all the glory. It means to trust in Him for all your wealth. it means to dwell in lovely tents, to love one another and be a light to a dark world. It means life and life abundant. It means to love Him, to cleave to Him and follow wherever He leads. It means He is your Elohim and your praise. It means not to forget but to remember all that He has done for you. It means to walk humbly, His will not ours. It means all your heart, all your soul and all your strength. It means using all the blessings He has given you for His purposes, it means trusting and worshipping Him even when everything goes wrong.

It means being thankful and having your heart burst with love for Him. It means life.

PROPHETS AND NEW TESTAMENT

Isiah speaks of the promises and YHWH's faithfulness to His people that are willing to seek out and do His commandments.

Moses and Yeshua's sermon on the mount are very similar. Moses is being the picture for Yeshua 1400 years later, Moses' pleading for the people parallels Yeshua.  

When Yeshua was tested, He relied on the word.

"Deuteronomy 8:3 King James Version (KJV)

3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."

You are not a victim of circumstances. You are instead a beneficiary of YHWH's discipline and training, all of which is being used for good. When trails happen, remember that YHWH loves us as a father loves a son. Get excited because it is our opportunity.

We fulfil the commandments properly when we love others the way YHWH loves us. Ahavah oto (to love YHWH) has nothing to do with how it makes you feel. It is about joyfully surrendering to His desire, and choosing His will over your time. We are to do this with our neighbour.

Hebrew word for love is ahav. To ahav literally means to pant after with desire for increasingly meaningful and frequent interactions and expanding maximal levels of intimacy in all appropriate forms. This is YHWH's attitude, and should be our attitude to Him.

"Romans 8:38-39 King James Version (KJV)

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

All trails and tribulations are to be an opportunity to test us. It reveals if we are obedient or disobedient to all things. Despise not the chastening of YHWH.

Just like Job, we need to worship YHWH and bless Him for He is in change to take things away from us. 

"Job 1:20-22 King James Version (KJV)

20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."

Shalom
Jonathon Karagiannis - 24/8/19