נצבים - וילך (Standing – He went) September 24, 2011

There is a constant battle waged between what men say and what G-d actually states in Torah. The paradigm shift challenges us to examine our traditions keeping only those which bring us closer to G-d. If our tradition is mere religion invalidating Scripture then we need to let it go. With this in mind, let us look at the true meaning of brit  ברית (covenant) in the portion Nitzavim and why it is so important to understand it in light of Messiah Yeshua’s identity.  In Bereshit 15: 9 and 10 the model is established for the subsequent covenants between G-d and the people of Israel. The elements of importance in the brit habetarim  הבתרים ברית  (covenant of the parts) are that there needed to be a mediator between G-d and Abraham together with the shedding of blood. The mediator needed to die for the covenant to take effect.

Today’s portion begins in Devarim 29:9-14 with “All of you are standing here today in the presence of YHWH your God: your tribal leaders, your elders, your scribes, all the men of Israel,10 with your children and your wives (and the foreigner too who is in your camp, be he your wood-cutter or your water-carrier),11 and you are about to pass into the covenant of YHWH your God, sworn with imprecation, which he has made with you today,12 and by which, today, he makes you a nation for himself and he himself becomes a God to you, as he has promised you, and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.13 Not only on your behalf am I today making this covenant and pronouncing this solemn curse,14 not only on behalf of those standing here with us in the presence of YHWH our God today, but also on behalf of those not here with us today.

Moshe is speaking not only to the Jews of that day but to all of us today as well as to the “gerecha” גרך, the foreigner among us. When both religions agree that the Torah is not for the gentiles, they have both agreed to change the Word of G-d.  Instead of making a separation between Jew and Gentile, we need to begin to make the separation between believer and non-believer. That is more biblically accurate. The believing gentile has always been a part of Israel and has always had to come under the same Torah as we do (from the leaders and elders to the wood-cutter and water carrier);—from the highest to the lowest of positions, all were equal.

Whenever G-d made a covenant with His people there needed to be a mediator. In today’s portion, we do not see any animals to be sacrificed, only the people of Israel.  Our sages say that the Levites and the Cohanim were between Mount Gerazim and Mount Ebal and they represented the sacrifice, since they wouldn’t have any inheritance in the land. However I see it differently.  G-d made a covenant with a people without a blood sacrifice to make it function, therefore the covenant could not be fulfilled.  In Jeremiah 31: 31-32 we read: “ Look, the days are coming, YHWH declares, when I shall make a new covenant with the House of Israel (and the House of Judah), but not like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt, a covenant which they broke…” This would be fulfilled one day as a renewed covenant with the shedding of blood of our Messiah Yeshua.  Moshe was pointing to this day.
A terrible dishonor was done to the Scriptures when sadly St. Jerome changed the words in the book to the Hebrews 9:11 and following, by Rabbi Shaul, (look specifically at verses 15, 16 and 17). He changed the words covenant to testament and mediator to testator thus corrupting the meaning and leading millions of people in a false direction. There is today a confusion concerning the Biblical books, which now have the misnomers ‘Old Testament and New Testament’, giving the impression that the Word of G-d is a testament instead of being His Teaching to us.  It also gives the impression that there is one book that is ‘old’ and the other ‘new’ one which is ‘much better’’.  The only way a last will and “testament” could take effect was when the person would die. G-d cannot die.  In verse 16, 17 it should read instead, “Now wherever there is a covenant, the death of the mediator is established; the covenant comes into effect since it has no force while the mediator is still alive.”  A testament is one way, while a covenant is two ways. Yeshua would perform the role of the mediator replacing the animals, the goats and bulls more efficiently. He offered himself to G-d as the mediator of the renewed covenant.  Yeshua himself said that he did not come to abolish the Torah in the tiniest of strokes and that whoever taught others to change the Torah would be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; in other words, least in G-d’s Presence.

There are too many corruptions done to the Word of G-d to go into in these brief Drashot but all I can do is implore you to read the Torah for what it says and not what we have been led to think that it says. It is a simply thing to change the direction of thought and G-d’s true message by changing one word. The Torah is the foundation of G-d’s revelation and if any book or man says anything contrary to the Torah, we need to believe the Torah. G-d would never contradict Himself.  Yeshua himself said not to believe in Him but in the One who sent him.

May G-d add blessings to His Word.