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The name of this week’s parasha is Eikev, which means “consequence”, and covers Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25. In this parasha, the Israelis are promised blessings for obedience to Adonai’s commandments, and penalties if they disobey His commandments; they are also reminded to remember all that He did for them. If the Israelis obeyed Adonai’s commandments, they would be blessed with numerous people, crops and livestock; He would remove all sickness from them and would not put the harmful diseases of Egypt on them but would put these diseases on everyone who hates them. The Israelis must destroy all the peoples Adonai will deliver to them – they must not pity these people or serve their gods, because that would be a snare to them.
The Israelis are encouraged not to fear the nations they encounter but must remember what God did to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and He will demonstrate His great power against these nations as well. The chapter ends by warning the Israelis to destroy these nations’ idols – anyone who disobeyed would also be set apart for destruction.
Moses tells the Israelis in chapter 8 to remember what Adonai had done for them during their journey, including humbling them and feeding them with manna that neither they or their ancestors knew, to teach them man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of Adonai. Messiah Yeshua quoted from this passage when He was tempted by the devil in Matthew 4.
After Moses tells the Israelis what God did for them, he tells them that they are to keep Adonai’s commandments. They are entering a land where they will lack nothing, and they are to praise God for giving them that good land. However, Moses warns them not to forget Adonai by not keeping His commandments; otherwise, when they experience prosperity, they will become proud and forget all the good things God had done for them. They may think that their prosperity is because of their own actions, but they must remember that it is Adonai who is giving them power to make wealth. The chapter ends with Moses’ warning that if they forget Adonai and worship other gods, they will be destroyed.
In chapter 9, the Israelis are told that even though they will encounter mighty nations in the Promised Land, God will destroy and subdue these nations, so that they may be driven out and destroyed quickly by the Israelis. However, the Israelis must not think that they are possessing this land because of their own righteousness; it’s because of these nations’ unrighteousness that Adonai is driving them out, in order to confirm the oath He swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Moses then describes the Israelis’ journey in the wilderness throughout the rest of the chapter and in the beginning of chapter 10, including several reminders of where and how they were rebellious against God, and how Moses interceded for them.
Moses also tells them what God expects from them: to fear God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, to serve Him with all their heart and soul, and to keep His commandments and statutes, which are for their benefit. Since Adonai, who has dominion over the heavens, the earth and everything in it, loved their ancestors and chose them over every other nation, they are to circumcise their hearts and be stiff-necked no longer. Moses then proclaims of God’s power and integrity, His justice for the orphan and widow, and His love for the alien. The Israelis are also to love the aliens among them, since they were once aliens in Egypt. Moses also tells them how they are to honor Adonai, who has done all these mighty things for them. The chapter ends with Moses noting that God increased their current population to be as numerous as the stars in the sky.
The Israelis are told in chapter 11 to love Adonai and obey His commandments – it wasn’t their children that saw God’s mighty actions, but they themselves were witnesses to what He had done. Their obedience will bring them long life and prosperity in the Promised Land, but disobedience will cause them to perish. They must teach everything Adonai has commanded to their children, so that they and their children will live long in the land. The parasha ends with the promise that if they love and obey Adonai, He will bring them victory against their enemies.
Parasha Eikev teaches us that every choice we make will have consequences – we see that Adonai will bless those who obey Him, while those who disobey Him will suffer for their disobedience. And although we will face obstacles and persecution for our obedience to God, we can be encouraged to know that His great power is unstoppable, and that He will bless us for our obedience. So, let’s show our obedience to Him by being bold in doing what He commands of us, and experience the blessings He desires to give us!
We also see in this parasha that we must remember who God is and all that He’s done for us. It is crucial for us to do this because these reminders help us to stay focused on honoring Adonai and being thankful for His blessings – if we become proud and forget about God, our pride may lead us to falsely think that the good things we have are because of our actions, when in fact every good thing we have comes from Him, while becoming prideful will eventually cause us harm. So, let’s avoid this harmful path by reminding ourselves of who Adonai is through constantly studying and obeying His word, and let’s remember to show our appreciation for all that Messiah Yeshua has done for us by loyally following Him as Lord and Savior!