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Shabbat Shalom, this week’s parasha is Re’eh, which means, “see,” and covers Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17. The start of this parasha is Moses telling the Jewish people that he is setting before them a blessing and a curse. The blessing is if they obey the commandments of God, which he is about to tell them. The curse is if they do not obey these commandments and go after other gods that they have not known.
Chapter 12 begins with the Lord telling the people of Israel to destroy all the places where other nations have worshiped different gods. The Israelis are not going to worship Adoni in the same way that the inhabitants of the land did. They are to only seek the place of worship that the Lord is going to give them. They are to worship God in the way He says, when they inherit the land. Moses tells the people not to seek how the nations, that are destroyed, worshiped their gods. They could be trapped into doing the same, and Adoni finds how they worshipped their gods to be abominable. The chapter ends with Moses saying, “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.”
In Chapter 13, Moses warns of prophets and people who can interpret dreams, who do signs and wonders. Even if those prophets or dream interpreter’s words come true, but they say “let us serve other gods and go after them”, the people of Israel are NOT to listen to a word that those prophets or dream interpreters say. They should be put to death for trying to get people to rebel against God. If a whole city goes to serve other gods, there is a need to find out if this is true. If it is, then everyone and all the animals in the city are to be put to death and all their possessions are to be burned as a burnt offering to Adoni. God puts great weight on the sin of turning away from Him and disobeying Him. That weight is death. For the Lord brought them out of Egypt and redeemed them from slavery.
Chapter 14 begins with what animals can and cannot be eaten. This is because the Israelis are a people holy to God. Further on, the chapter goes into how the Jewish people should tithe. They are to bring all the yield of the year with them to the place Adoni chooses and eat the tithe there. If they cannot bring the tithe because they are too far away, then they are to sell the yield and bring the money. Then, they should buy meat, wine, and grain to eat at the place of worship. Also, they need to bring some of the tithe for the Levites since they have no inheritance of the land. The end of chapter 14 says that at the end of every three years, they are to bring out their tithe and give it to the Levites, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow so that they can eat and be filled. As a result, God will bless them in all the work that they do.
Chapter 15 discusses the Sabbatical year. At the end of every 7 years all debts are to be forgiven. In verses 7 and 8 Moses says, “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” They are to be a kind and giving people, looking out for the least among them. For they received their blessing from the Lord and He is commanding them to share that blessing with all of their brothers and sisters.
How can we be generous with what the Lord has given us? Or have we grudgingly looked upon the least among us and held our blessing for ourselves. In Chapter 15,verse 10, it says, “You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.” Then God commands that ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
Just as the people of Israel were to obey the commandments of the Lord, we too have to obey what Jesus has said. In Mark 12:29-31, Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
We see that the first commandment is to love Adoni with every fiber of our being. To put Him always before us in every action and thought that we take. Just as He commanded the people of Israel, that in everything they do whether it is being mindful of the things that they worship and to be careful about activities that take time away from God. Or what they physically put in their bodies. As Jesus stated the second commandment is caring for the people around you. In both cases, we are to obey the Lord. Now, take a moment and think about what things you have put in your life that you are worshiping: Facebook, people’s approval, selfishness, politics. What is consuming your attention? Adoni told the people of Israel to put those things to death. Are you willing to turn from those things and look to Jesus and what He says? You can either have the blessing or the curse. Thank you.