Portion KI-THAVO (26:1-29:9)
CHAPTER 26

1. "Now this is how it will be when you come [ki-thavo] into the Land that
YHWH your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance, [after] you take possession
of it and settle in it:

Take possession: or "take it over" (including the sense of dispossessing
whomever was there previously). It is not enonugh just to settle, as we see
in the Land today. Israel must take authority over it all, or they will
continue to be overrun by enemies. Settle: connotes permanence. (Compare
"planted" in Amos 9:15.) As we will see below, Israelites have no permanent
claim to any other place, and will not truly be able to settle down or be at
rest anywhere else.

2. "You shall take from the beginning of all the fruit of the ground that
you shall bring from the Land that YHWH your Elohim is giving to you, and you
shall put it in a basket and go to the place where YHWH your Elohim shall
choose to set His Name.

Beginning: or possibly, "best", but elsewhere the emphasis is on it being
the first of the produce, whatever its quality, though YHWH clearly deserves
the best. Only as we do this can we say we have truly come into the Land.
Giving the firstfruits symbolizes giving our whole selves to YHWH. Set His
Name: Hirsch, "give His Name a dwelling".

3. "And you shall come to [the one who is] the high priest in those days,
and tell him, ‘I acknowledge today to YHWH your Elohim that I have arrived in
[attained to] the Land that YHWH swore to our forefathers that He would give
to us.'

4. "Then the cohen shall take the basket from your hand and set it down in
front of the altar of YHWH your Elohim.

5. "Then you shall testify and say in the presence of YHWH your Elohim, ‘My
ancestor was an exalted one [yet he was] about to perish, so he went down to
Egypt with a few people and stayed [there] as a guest, but there he became a
large, mighty, and great nation.

My ancestor: This applies in many ways to Avraham, but completely to
Yaaqov. An exalted one... about to perish: or "a wandering Aramean", i.e.,
without a place to permanently settle, though the Land had already been
promised. Alt., "An Aramean sought to destroy my ancestor". The Aramaic
targum Onqelos identifies this Aramean as Lavan, Yaaqov's uncle; LXX, "My
father abandoned Syria". Sought hospiitality: or "lived there as an
outsider".

6. "‘But the Egyptians treated us wickedly, oppressed us, and assigned us to
heavy servitude.

7. "‘But when we cried out to YHWH, the Elohim of our forefathers, YHWH
heard our voice, and paid attention to our affliction, our misery, and our
distress.

There are parallels here to the "cry" of the trumpets on Yom T'ruah (Rosh
haShanah) and the "affliction of our souls" on Yom Kippur. We cried: i.e.,
together, not only as individuals. The concept of a deity paying closer
attention when called by his true name is what led the Babylonians to avoid
speaking the names of their gods, because they were afraid of being watched
too closely. However, the Jews wrongly borrowed this practice when they
returned from captivity, and made the speaking of YHWH's Name taboo. The
Hashmoneans put an end to this, but then the Rabbinic authorities reinstated
it and by Y'shua's day it speaking His Name was considered the only blasphemy
worthy of death. Thus undoubtedly Y'shua was commonly breaking this taboo.

8. "‘Then YHWH brought us out from Egypt with a strong [severe] hand and an
outstretched arm, with a great awe-inspiring spectacle, with distinguishing
signs, and conspicuous miracles,

9. "‘and He has brought us into this place and has given us this Land--a
Land that gushes with milk and honey!

The Land is not just the soil but its character. One has not fully
inhabited this Land until he keeps its laws. No one who does not keep the
Torah may remain there. But returning to the Torah is also the first stage
of re-entering the Land, and if we are faithful in this, we may proclaim
boldly that the Land is ours. We do not need to make compromises in order to
go back, but regard it as an established fact and only await YHWH's timing.

10. "‘So now, behold, I have brought a beginning of the fruit of the Land,
which You, O YHWH, have given me.' Then you shall set it down [leave] it
before YHWH, bow down [in worship],

Bow down: or "lower oneself". This is what constitutes worship of YHWH.
By second Temple times, the procedure here was to take the basket of
firstfruits from an oxcart and place it on the shoulder when arriving at the
Temple Mount, whereupon the Levites would chant Psalm 30:1. While the basket
remained on his shoulder, the donor recited verse 3. When he reached verse
5, he would take the basket down and hold it by its rim. A cohen would put
his hand beneath the basket and wave it while he recites the entire
confession through verse 10, then place the basket beside the altar, bow,
and depart.(Mishnah Bikkurim 3:2-6)

11. "and rejoice over every good [thing] that YHWH has given to you, to your
household, and to the Levite and sojourner who are among you.

Rejoicing is a command. It literally means to "brighten up". During the
season of Teshuvah, even before the ruling is made on Yom Kippur, we are to
already be rejoicing that YHWH has let us know that there is an opening
allotted to repent and be cleansed. Like the traditional Jewish prayer of
thanks in the morning that all of one's orifices are working properly, we
need to thank Him t hat in Israel He has allowed us times to let out the
things we have unwisely let into our gates. If YHWH has blessed you, has
also inherently blessed the Levite and sojourner if you are obeying the
Torah. Sojourner: one who is among Israelites to learn about their faith, or
in the process of becoming an Israelite.

12. "When you have finished [the task of] tithing a tenth of all your crops
the third year (the year of the tithe) and have delivered it to the Levite,
the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow, so they [can] eat it within your
gates and be satisfied,

Remember Yaaqov's (James') statement that "pure, undefiled religion"
includes caring for widows and orphans in their affliction. (1:27) The
tithes are to be given to the Levites to be distributed as needed.

13. "then you shall say in the presence of YHWH your Elohim, ‘I have removed
the consecrated things from my house, and furthermore, I have given them to
the Levite, the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow, according to all the
orders You have given to me. I have not stepped outside of Your
commandments, nor have I forgotten.

Consecrated things: They never were ours to start with, and to keep them
in one's house too long is a form of robbery from YHWH. (Mal. 3:8) We are
given them first so that we can share in the truth that it is "more blessed
to give than to receive". (Acts 20:35) Notice all the components: one has
not just set aside his tithe, but has actually made sure it got into the
right hands. He has not done too much or too little. Again, this is the
basis for the "pure religion and undefiled" of which Yaaqov (James) 1:27
speaks. Not forgotten: a frequent warning in this book (4:9; 4:23; 25:19,
etc.). If we have not transgressed, doesn't that mean we have remembered His
commands? Why does He seem redundant here? Because a key element of "not
forgetting" is recounting His commands to teh next generation. "Forget" also
means to misplace or ignore. We are now in the process of putting the
misplaced commands back where they belong: on our lips and in our hearts.

14. "‘I have not eaten of them in my guilt, nor have I removed [or consumed]
any of it for unclean [use], nor designated any of it for the dead; I have
obeyed the voice of YHWH my Elohim, and have carried out everything just as
You have commanded me.

Guilt: or injustice or mourning, sorrow; Hirsch, "in a state of utter
grief". As You have commanded me: Note the similarity to what Y'shua said in
his final recorded prayer before his crucifixion. (Yochanan 17:4)

15. "‘Lean over and look down from Your holy dwelling place--from
heaven--and bless Your people Israel, and the Land which You have given us as
You swore to our forefathers--a Land that gushes with milk and honey.'

Hirsch, "Look testingly down."

16. "This day YHWH your Elohim has commanded you to carry out these
prescribed tasks and procedures; therefore pay close attention and perform
them with all your heart and all your soul.

17. "You have declared YHWH to be your Elohim, and [promised] to walk in His
ways, and keep His prescribed ordinances, His commandments, and His [legal]
procedures, as well as to listen to His voice.

Declared: or "had YHWH promise"--a causative phraseology that was typical
covenant- affirmation language. Aramaic, "You have selected YHWH". Listen
[and obey]: carrying out the orders to the letter alone is not enough;
hearing what He is saying through them is His real goal.

18. "YHWH has also declared you this day to be His particular treasure of a
people, as He had promised you, and [told you] to keep His commandments,

Particular treasure: has the connotation of being a special jewel locked
or securely hidden away from everyone else. This emphasizes the holiness for
which He had designed this "uncommon" people, who were not to be considered
just another of the nations. 1 Kefa/Peter 1 speaks of an inheritance
reserved in heaven for us, to be revealed (on earth) in the end times.
(Y'shua had said that was where no corrupting force from earth could affect
it.) Chapter 4 speaks of us as being living stones that are precious to YHWH.

19. "and [promised] to make you highest above all nations that He has
appointed, for praise, for renown, and for beauty, and that you may be a
people holy unto YHWH your Elohim, as He has said."
Highest: the same term as a name used of Himself: elyon. Praise: a
"shining song", or even a "boast that seems foolish"; renown: "name,
reputation, glory"; beauty: "glory and honor, gleaming splendor".




CHAPTER 27

1. Then Moshe, along with the elders of Israel, gave the people orders,
saying, "Guard carefully all the orders that I am giving you today.

Along with the elders: Moshe was introducing to Israel those to whom he
would gradually turn over authority.

2. "And this is how it will be on the day when you cross the Yarden into the
Land which YHWH your Elohim is giving to you: you will set up large stones,
and whitewash them with lime.

Whitewash: or coat, so the uncut stones (v. 6) could be written upon. (v.
8) YHWH covers what we were with Y'shua's blood.

3. "And you shall write on them all the words of this instruction when you
have crossed over, so that you may enter the Land that YHWH your Elohim is
giving you--a Land that flows with milk and honey, just as YHWH the Elohim of
your ancestors has promised you.

4. "So when you have transitioned across Yarden, you shall set up these
stones (about which I am giving you orders today) on Mount Eval, and
whitewash them with lime,

Round stones need mortar to fit together. The mortar in YHWH's temple is
our love and commitment to one another. Y'shua said men would know that we
are his because of this love--because it makes us into one structure. The
Torah can only be written on round stones (v. 8) when all are joined
together.

5. "and build there an altar to YHWH your Elohim--an altar [made] of stones.
You shall not wield an iron [implement] upon them.

This altar has been located by archaeologists, and is largely intact.

6. "You shall construct YHWH your Elohim's altar of undamaged stones, and on
it you shall offer ascending [offerings] to YHWH your Elohim.

Undamaged stones: Hirsch, "intact stones"; LXX and Aramaic, "whole
stones"--those that have not been reshaped by human tools. A chisel often
cracks the stone, making it useless, and YHWH does not want any of His people
ruined by the teachings of men. This represents the altar built of people
shaped only by the water of the Word itself--or who let themselves be put
back into the "river" of the Water of the Word and be re-smoothed after once
having been enslaved to men. In every case--here, in the Tabernacle, both
Temples, and the Maccabean rededication, the altar was built and/or in use
before the rest of the Temple was. Thus it represents "forerunners" in the
restoration of Torah to the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel, who because of
the trail they are blazing, are, perhaps, required to be more strictly pure
in doctrine and practice than others who may follow later. It suggests the
same theme as in 2 Timothy 2:21 in which one's position in the "house" of the
Master is determined by how thoroughly he cleanses himself from impurities
after having been selected to be some sort of vessel for that house.

7. "You shall also offer peace offerings, and eat there, and rejoice in the
presence of YHWH your Elohim.

Peace offerings: from the same root word as "undamaged"stones. Rejoice:
literally, "brighten up". This and 26:11 are probably the basis for Sha'ul's
statement that "YHWH loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7) The
procedure and "script" for the peace offering are fouind in Psalm 116.

8. "Then you shall write all the words of this instruction on the stones in
a thoroughly plain manner."

The "letter of the Torah" is written on the mountain of cursing. (v. 13)
Indeed, Sha'ul (Paul) does speak of the letter "killing", while the spirit
gives life. (Romans 7:6; 2 Corinthians 3:6) He also literally says that the
handwriting of threatened judgments therein that was our adversary was
"whitewashed over" (atoned for) when Y'shua's blood rendered the Torah unable
to condemn us, and thus it becomes our friend instead of our master
(Colossians 2:14), teaching us the underlying principles of reality rather
than just telling us that we will be punished if we disobey. An analogy
would be the point at which we learn WHY our parents told us not to touch a
hot stove--it was for our own good! Mount Eval: the mountain of curses (v.
13). The Torah is a curse to those who try to obey it in their own fleshly
power. Paul says we are meant to be a letter written not on physical
materials, but by the spirit on the human heart. (2 Cor. 3) The Torah can
take the form of letters carved on stone, but it is fearful and condemns us.
Write: Many of us were "whitewashed" by Y'shua's blood long before we had His
Torah written on our hearts. But a whitewashed wall in itself has no content;
it tells no one anything. Torah, however, explains what Israel is to be.
This altar stood in the midst of the Land and told anyone who wished to
sojourn in that Land what kind of lifestyle they were obligated to live if
they did. Plain: or distinct; Hirsch, "to be well understood". All: Thus,
other than some visions of what the tabernacle was to look like, Moshe did
not receive any instruction other than what was written down. The Talmud,
the embodiment of an alleged oral torah, is actually the freezing of the
"halachah" (way to walk) at one point in history, while it was meant to
remain fluid so that each community in each generation could interpret the
authoritative Word in the ways most suitable for their particular needs. Of
course it does give us many details form second temple times that do aid in
understanding Scripture, especially the Renewed Covenant, but in itself it is
not as authoritative as Scripture itself, being often even the recognition of
several opposing interpretations.

9. Then Moshe and the Levitical priests said to all of Israel, "Be silent
and listen, O Israel: This day you have become the people of YHWH your Elohim.

Be silent: or "pay attention".

10. "So you shall listen to [and obey] the voice of YHWH your Elohim and
carry out His orders and His enactments, which I am laying upon you this day."

11. And Moshe gave people orders on the same day, saying,

12. "These [are the tribes who] shall stand on Mount G'rizim to bless the
people after you have crossed the Yarden: Shim'on, Levi, Yehudah, Issachar,
Yoseyf, and Binyamin.

These are all sons of Yaaqov's true wives, including both of Rachel's
only sons. So Yaaqov, too, like Avraham, had sons of the curse and sons of
the blessing. (Galatians 4) There are twelve curses and twelve blessings,
just as there are twelve tribes.

13. "And these [are the tribes who] shall stand on Mount Eval to pronounce
the curse: Reuven, Gad, Asher, Z'vulun, Dan, and Nafthali.

Reuven lost his birthright; the other son of Leah who is here is Z'vulun,
and he may have been placed here so that both of Rachel (his truest wife)'s
sons can represent the blessings, because Yoseyf's stone on the high priest's
breastplate was the same as the stones on his shoulders. Sh'chem, the town
which sits between the two "shoulders" of these mountains, means "shoulder"
or "upper back", which bears the body's burdens, and the high priest carried
the names of all the sons of Israel on his shoulders.

14. "Then the Levites shall respond and tell all the men of Israel in a loud
voice,

Respond: possibly in antiphonal song. Loud: lofty or magnified.

15. "‘Cursed is the person who makes any carved or molte image (a disgusting
thing to YHWH your Elohim--the undertaking of the hands of a
craftsman/artificer), and puts it in a hidden [disguised] place." And all the
people shall answer, ‘Amen!'

Disguised place: perhaps this includes underhandedly sneaking paganism
into the church by changing the names of foreign gods, rituals, and symbols.
Amen: "This is firmly true and verified; so may it be established."

16. "‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or his mother.' And all the
people shall say, ‘Amen!'

Dishonors: or esteems them lightly. In the broader sense, it includes
the one who does not take seriously the fact that he is already under a curse
because of his very first ancestors' sin. Y'shua said our "mother" was now
the ones who do the will of his Father. We must not take this lightly. And
our ultimate Father is YHWH, our foremost authority; we must not take His
Name lightly--either by failing to use it or by "taking it in vain".

17. "‘Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor's boundary-marker.' And all
the people shall say, ‘Amen!'"

Moves: displaces or shifts (to one's own advantage); LXX, "removes".

18. "‘Cursed is one who misdirects the blind [so that they wander] on the
road.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'

This certainly includes those who take advantage of people's spiritual
ignorance or biblical illiteracy for their own gain or cause a "weaker
brother", who looks to you as his example, to stumble. On the road: Psalm
18:20-21 says YHWH rewards us for keeping His way. Teaching lies to those
who do not yet know how to test the truth of your statements keeps the light
of Torah from people who are unable to stay on the path by themselves.

19. "‘Cursed is anyone who influences [due] process for the sojourner [among
you], the fatherless, or the widow.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'

Influences: to in any way change the "shape" of a just ruling as it would
be handed down for the native of the land, if the one being judged is a
foreigner. The word's range of meaning covers stretching, turning,
inclining, extending, turning, bending, or thrusting aside.

20. "‘Cursed is [a man] who lies [sexually] with his father's wife, because
he uncovers his father's [nakedness beneath] the extremities [of his
garment].' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'

His father's extremities: the Aramaic interpretation is "reveals his
father's shame", but literally it says "his father's wings", which suggests
that this somehow renders vulnerable YHWH's "Body" itself. Who is His body
but the community who "flees under His wings for protection" (Psalm 91:4).

21. "‘Cursed is he who lies [sexually] with any kind of animal.' And all
the people shall say, ‘Amen!'

22. "‘Cursed is [any man] who lies with his sister--[either] the daughter of
his father or the daughter of his mother.' And all the people shall say,
‘Amen!'

23. "‘Cursed is [any man] who lies with his mother-in-law.' And all the
people shall say, ‘Amen!'

24. "‘Cursed is the one who strikes down his neighbor secretly.' And all
the people shall say, ‘Amen!'

Strikes down: includes a thrust, blow, attack, beating, subjugation,
wound, or slaughter. Neighbor: literally, one from the same flock.
Secretly: literally "under cover" or "in a protected way". The only way one
could literally strike on down secretly would be to sneak up on him. But it
could also mean deceiving him into being taken advantage of in any way. Thus
"back-stabbing", gossip, and "character assassination" are certainly included
in this sin.

25. "‘Cursed is one who takes a bribe to strike down an innocent [free]
person.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'

26. "‘Cursed is [anyone] who does not uphold [and continue in] the words of
this instruction by carrying them out.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'

Uphold: or ratify. All of us, at least in the Northern Kingdom, had
ancestors who completely gave up on continuing in the Torah (instruction),
but everyone has gaps in his obedience, so we are all under a curse, and
therefore YHWH can have mercy on all of us. (Rom. 11:32) Y'shua redeemed us
from this curse (Gal. 3:10ff), but taking this out of context has often
caused the weak and ignorant to stumble by thinking Paul was contradicting
both Torah and Y'shua, who said he did not come to do away with the Torah.
(Mat. 5) In truth, he is neither denying nor changing the Torah. The
weakness of the Torah (Rom. 7, 8) is that our flesh does not want to obey it.
But "the life of the flesh is in the blood"; Y'shua's blood makes us able to
obey. Keeping the Torah for the sake of self and personal gain (even reward
from YHWH) is indeed a curse, but keeping it because it is what is best for
the whole community of Israel brings great blessing (chapter 28).


CHAPTER 28

1. "Now if you listen carefully to the voice of YHWH your Elohim, and pay
close attention to [conscientiously] carry out all His orders which I am
laying on you today, this is what will happen: YHWH your Elohim will appoint
you to be highest over all nations of the earth,

2. "and all these blessings will fall upon you and catch up with you if you
will listen to [and obey] the voice of YHWH your Elohim.

3. "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.

4. "Blessed will be the fruit of your body, the fruit of your tilled soil,
and the fruit of your livestock--[that is,] the offspring of your cattle and
the increase of your sheep and goats.


5. "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6. "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you
go out.

Note the similar pattern used by Y'shua in the "Sermon on the Mountain"
(Mat. 5).

7. "YHWH will cause your enemies who come on the scene [and grow strong]
against you to be struck down before your face: they will come out against
you [from] one direction, and take flight before you [in] seven directions.

8. "YHWH will ordain a blessing [to be] upon you in your storehouses, and
upon all that your hand undertakes to do, and He will bless you in the Land
that YHWH your Elohim is giving to you.

Ordain: Aramaic, "appoint". I.e., it is a deliberate act of His, not
something casual in His eyes.

9. "YHWH will establish you as a holy people for Himself, as He has sworn to
you, if you will guard YHWH's commandments and walk in His ways.

Notice the conditional clause!

10. "All the people of the earth will perceive that the Name of YHWH is
proclaimed upon you, and they will stand in awe of you.

Name of YHWH is proclaimed upon you: or "you are called by YHWH's Name."
Not another name or substitute title. Stand in awe: or "be afraid"
(depending on whether they want to know the truth or not). They will consider
us dangerous and try to kill us for the sake of that Name. (Luk. 21:16ff)
But we are not to be afraid of them, or He will turn us over to them.
(Yirm./Jer. 1:8ff) Women of faith are only called Sarah's daughters if they
both do good and are not afraid. (1 Kefa 3:6)

11. "Then YHWH your Elohim will make you overflow with goodness--in the
fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your
tilled ground in the Land which YHWH swore to your forefathers that He would
give to you.

Make you overflow with goodness: Hirsch, "mark you out for goodness",
which may form the basis for those YHWH marks for protection (as He did in
mercy to Qayin) in Y'chezq'el/Ez. 9:2ffand Revelation 14 before He brings
judgment on the rest. Those who choose to obey Him when they don't "have to"
(before there is a rod of iron) are spared certain plagues. LXX, "multiply
you for good"; Aramaic, "grant you abundant prosperity".

12. "YHWH will throw open to you His good treasure-store, the heavens, to
provide rain for your Land at its proper time and to bless all the work of
your hand; then you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow [be
bound to them].

Treasure-store of heaven: Y'shua gave a slightly different meaning to
this concept by casting the heavens as a sort of bank where one could make
deposits by giving away wealth on earth, and thus find that YHWH would pay
"interest" on the "loan". (Mat. 6:20) Borrow: or "be bound by them".

13. "Thus YHWH will make you the head, not the tail. You will only be on
top, and never the underdog, if you listen well to YHWH's orders that I am
laying on you in order to preserve them and carry them out,

It is the elders and "exalted of face" (honored) who are defined as the
head (Isa. 9:15). There were 144,000 eldres of Israel, so those sealed in
Rev. 14 may only be leaders of a larger group. There are also 24 elders
around the throne, corresponding wit the 24 orders of priestly duty that
David lined up. Prophets who teach lies as the tail. Amaleq attacked the
weaker of the people, who were lagging in the rear--the tail. (25:17-18) Just
as Amaleq is atheistic, believing only in fate and chance, so one who dares
to prophesy lies cannot truly believe that he will be held accountable to
YHWH.

14. "and don't turn aside--right or left--from any of the things that I am
commanding you this day in order to walk after other gods and serve them.

15. "But if you do not listen carefully to the voice of YHWH your Elohim,
and pay close attention to carry out all His orders or His prescribed limits
that I am placing upon you today, then this is what will happen: all the
curses will fall upon you and catch up with you.

Catch up with: or "overtake".


16. "Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed will you be in the field.

17. "Cursed will be your basket and kneading bowl.

18. "Cursed will be the fruit of your body, the fruit of your tilled soil,
and the fruit of your livestock--[that is,] the offspring of your cattle and
the increase of your sheep and goats.

19. "Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you
go out.

20. "YHWH will send upon you cursing, turmoil, and corruption in all that
your hand endeavors to do until you are devastated and ready to perish
because of the wickedness of your deeds by which you have forsaken Me.

Cursing: LXX, "want"; Aramaic, "calamity". Corruption: or rebuke;
Hirsch, "the feeling of reproach".

21. "YHWH will make the pestilence stick close to you until it has used you
up from off the Land where you are going to take possession.

22. "YHWH will strike you with a wasting lung disease, fever, and burning
inflammation, with extreme heat, with the sword, with blight, and with
mildew, and they will dog you until you have gotten lost.

Extreme heat: Hirsch, "parchedness". Gotten lost: gone astray or
perished.

23. "Moreover, the sky that is over your head will be brass, and the earth
that is under you will be iron.

Sky: or heaven. I.e., your prayers will not be heard,but will "bounce
back", nor will the ground respond to your cultivation. There will be no
help from heaven or earth--exemplefied by Assyrian warfare that
simultaneously attacks both you and those on whom you would naturally rely
for help. Contrast the promise of the restoration despite His punishment in
Isaiah/Yeshayahu 60:17.

24. "YHWH will change the rain of your Land into dust and ashes

Dust and ashes: in an ironic twist, this is what is used to symbolize
mourning and repentance. Compare Mat. 5:4: "Blessed are they that mourn
[over their sin], for they shall be comforted. This is what the second part
of Yeshayahu (40-66) is all about.

25. "YHWH will cause you to be struck down before your enemies: you will go
out against them from one direction, but flee before them in seven
directions, and you will be a terrifying example to all the kingdoms of the
earth.

26. "Your corpse will become meat for all [kinds of] fowls of the air and
beasts of the earth, and no one will scare them away.

Fowls of the air often signify evil spirits in Scripture (e.g., Gen.
40:17; Mat. 13:32: Rev. 18:2) Avraham is the one who chased away the birds
from the corpses of the animals by which YHWH cut the covenant with him.
(Gen. 15) To forsake this covenant means we will not know how to chase away
the demons, because we will be without Avaraham's help.

27. "YHWH will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with hemorrhoids, and
with a scab and itch from which you cannot be healed.

28. "YHWH will strike you with madness and blindness and bewilderment of
heart.

Blindness: This is why Y'shua's disciples asked him whether a blind man
or his parents were the ones who sinned. (Yochanan/John 9:2) But in that
case the man was blind only to demonstrate YHWH's power to heal.
Bweilderment: or stupefaction. We certainly became stupid when we left the
Torah, being unable to see many parts of Scripture any longer.

29. "And you will grope about at noonday, as the blind person gropes in
gloomy darkness, and you shall not be successful on your journeys, and you
will be nothing but oppressed and robbed for all [your] days, and there will
be no one to rescue [you].

Robbed: despoiled or plundered. Gloomy darkness: or dusk. Why would it
make any difference whethe it was noon or dusk for a blind person? The word
here for "blind" means someone who has been made blind by skin tha grows over
his eyes. As with cataracts, one can see somewhat, but not clearly. Paul
saw his "scales" removed (Acts 9:18), but said most of Israel was still under
a type of blindness (Rom. 11) and would be until the "fulness of the
Gentiles" (the northern Kingdom of Efrayim, Gen. 48:19) returned.

30. "You will betroth a wife, but another man will lie with her. You will
build a house, but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but not gather
its grapes.

Those who have just betrothed a wife, built a house, or planted a
vineyard are the ones who are exempt from going to war (24:5, etc.), yet the
war will overtake them nonetheless. They will not have sufficient numbers to
be able to afford to let these men stay home.

31. "Your ox will be slaughtered in front of your eyes, but you will not eat
of it. Your donkey will be taken away by force from before your face, and
will not be returned to you. Your sheep [will be] delivered up to your
enemies, and you will have no one to rescue them.

One eats of his slaughtered ox when he brings it as a sacrifice to YHWH;
this may be a reference to them making sacrifices to other gods, who do not
allow men to participate in their feast.

32. "Your sons and daughters will be entrusted to another people, and your
eyes will search for them and fail with longing for them all day, but there
will be nothing to empower your hand.

This only happens when a land is overrun by its enemies.

33. "A people you are not familiar with will devour the fruit of your tilled
ground, and everything for which you have labored, and you will only be
exploited and crushed every day,

Be exploited: Hirsch, "have your rights violated".

34. "and you will go mad because of the sight which your eyes will see.

35. "YHWH will strike you with a malignant inflammation in the knees and the
legs from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to your
scalp.

36. "YHWH will bring [both] you and the king that you set over you into a
land with which neither you nor your ancestors have been familiar, and you
will worship different gods--wood and stone.

This happened in the case of both northern (Israelite) and southern
(Yehudahite) kings. (Yirm. 39; 2 Chron. 33:11)

37. "And you will become a horror [that makes people appalled], a proverb,
and a byword in all nations into which YHWH will drive you.

A horror: Hirsch, "desolate". Byword: or taunt. One of these would be
"the wandering Jew".

38. "You will carry abundant seed into the field, but will harvest little,
because the locust will consume it.

39. "You will plant vineyards and work them, but you will neither drink the
wine nor gather [grapes], because the worms will eat them.

40. "You will have olive trees throughout all your territory, but will not
anoint yourself with oil, because your olive tree will drop [its fruit] off.

41. "You will bear sons and daughters, but they will not be yours, because
they will go away into captivity.

42. "The locust will inherit all your trees and [the] fruit of your Land.

43. "The alien who is in your midst will climb high above you, and you will
descend far below [him].

Climb: or "be lifted". This seems to be repeating itself through the
Palestinians today, perhaps because most of the modern nation of Israel's
leadership are not directly interested in YHWH, and even the very religious
often refuse to mention the name by which He revealed Himself, or find
loopholes to get around obeying Him.

44. "He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he will be the head,
and you the tail.

Even in Yehudah's diaspora, one professional her sons were permitted to
engage in, even when hated and persecuted, was moneylending.

45. "What's more, all these curses will fall upon you and chase you down and
overtake you until you are overthrown, because you did not listen to [and
obey] the voice of YHWH your Elohim and pay close attention to carry out all
His orders or His prescribed limits which He laid upon you,

Note the repetition of the language used for the blessings that preceded.

46. "and they will be upon you as a distinguishing mark and a sign, and upon
your descendants until the age.

Sign: Hirsch, "instructive wonder". I.e., it would teach us to repent,
or teach others what to avoid. Until the age: often translated "forever",
but since we are seeing repentance today in both houses of Israel, we know
what the Father's attitude toward the prodigal son(s) will be. All this can
be reversed if we only turn back to YHWH and His Torah.

47. "Since you did not serve YHWH your Elohim with joy and with gladness of
heart because of the abundance of all [things],

48. "you will serve your enemies, whom YHWH will send against you--famished,
thirsty, without clothing, and in lack of all [things], and He will permit a
yoke of iron [to be placed] upon the back of your neck until he has
overthrown you.

Y'shua told the congregation at Laodikea that, without knowing it, they
are "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17)--so these
curses may not always be obvious to those they come upon, but they are a
direct result of failing to follow YHWH's instruction. But he said the
reason he rebukes us is because he loves us. He does all this to bring us to
the end of ourselves so we will return to the protection of His covenant.

49. "YHWH will bring a nation against you from far away--from the remotest
part of the earth, darting like an eagle--a nation whose language you will
not understand,

50. "a nation of fierce countenance, which will not endure the faces of the
elderly, nor have mercy on the young.

Fierce: or greedy. This is the philosophy of all nations that are not
based on fear of YHWH: it sounds precisely like euthanasia and infanticide.
Now we only see a "thin entering wedge" in our culture, but once it gets its
foot in the door it will lead to the same butchery that is described here.

51. "And it will eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your
land, until you are decimated-- [a nation] who will not leave you either
grain, wine, or oil, or the young of your oxen or the flocks of your sheep,
until he has eradicated you.

Grain, wine, and oil: these are all symbols of the worship and blessing
of the true Elohim, but He will bring "a famine for hearing the words of
YHWH" (Amos 8:11).

52. "He will also besiege you in all your gated cities, until your lofty and
fortified walls, in which you placed your confidence, fall down. And he will
cause you distress in all your gated cities throughout the whole of your
Land, which YHWH your Elohim has given to you.

Besiege, cause you distress: the same word, alternately rendered "cramp",
"afflict", or "trouble" you.

53. "And you will eat the offspring of your own body--the flesh of your sons
and daughters, whom YHWH your Elohim has given to you--during the siege and
the straits into which your enemies will press you.

54. "The man who is [most] timid among you and most delicate--[even] his eye
will be evil toward his brother and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward
the rest of his children whom he will leave alive,

Timid: or tender. The evil eye: not some mysterious occultic spell, but
in Hebrew thought, one who is grudging, not generous and happy to share his
goods Consider this meaning when interpreting, for example, Luk. 11:34..

55. "in that he will not give to any of them [some of] the flesh of his
children whom he will eat, because he has nothing to spare during the siege
and straits into which your enemies shall press you within all your gates.

He has nothing to spare: i.e., it is all he has left.

56. "The [most] tender and delicate woman among you, who is so dainty and
delicate that she would not [even] dare to place the sole of her foot on the
soil, [even] her eye will be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward
her son and daughter,

57. "and toward her afterbirth that comes forth from between her legs, and
toward her children whom she shall bear, because for lack of anything [else],
she will consume them in secret during the siege and straits into which your
enemies shall press you within your gates.

Afterbirth: or miscarriage; Aramaic, "the youngest of her children".
These are far from kosher, but they show the extent to which we will be
driven if we refuse to obey. These horrors did take place during the siege
of Yerushalayim. (Yirm./Jer. 19:9)

58. "If you do not take special care to carry out all the words of this
instruction that are written in this document so that you may stand in awe of
this weighty and awesome Name, ‘YHWH your Elohim',

Document: based on the word for "count" or "number", from which we get
the word "cipher". Indeed, every word in Hebrew has a numeric value, and
those words which have the same value have some connection between them.
This...Name: not a substitute, either the name of a chief pagan deity or a
euphemism spoken out of the wrong type of fear of YHWH (a custom learned
while in captivity in Babylon). Weighty: glorious, authoritative, of utmost
importance.

59. "then YHWH will make your wounds extraordinary beyond description, and
the wounds of your seed--plagues, that is, which are intense and
long-lasting, and miserable, long-lasting sicknesses.

Wounds: or defeats.

60. "In addition, He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt, in the
presence of which you were terrified, and they will follow you closely.

61. "That's not all; YHWH will stir up against you every sickness and plague
that is not written in the document of this instruction, until you are
decimated.

I.e., just in case I've missed mentioning any potential curse, it will
fall upon you as well! In contrast to 14 verses about the rewards of
obeying, YHWH goes on and on three and a half time as long with the threats
of punishment, because this tends to motivate people much more powerfully
than wisdom--just like a school child who is more motivated by the "switch"
than by the advantages an education will give him if he patiently endures and
builds a firm base for prosperity later in life.

62. "You who were numerous like the stars of the sky will be left with few
men, because you would not heed the voice of YHWH your Elohim.

Voice: Aramaic, "Memra" (Living Word). This (rejection of Y'shua)
accounts for much of Yehudah's suffering and decimation; Efrayim's is harder
to trace, but it is coming to light more and more clearly day by day.

63. "And just as YHWH was glad to do you good and to make you abundant, even
so YHWH will take pleasure in destroying you and bringing you to nothing, and
you will be uprooted [and torn away] from the Land into which you are going
to take possession.

64. "And YHWH will scatter you among all peoples, from one extremity of the
earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods with which neither
you nor your ancestors have been familiar.

65. "Moreover, among those nations you will find no rest, neither will the
sole of your foot settle down; rather, YHWH will give you a trembling heart
there, failing of eyes, and faintness of soul.

The philosophies of many Western nations which largely stem from the
Northern Kingdom of Israel have ended up in such paranoia, rootlessness, and
despair.

66. "Your life, too, will hang in doubt in front of you, and you will have
dread day and night, with no assurance of your life.

We would be so full of fear that the sound of a leaf driven by the wind
would send us running. (Lev. 26:36)

67. "In the morning you will say, ‘Who will make it evening?' and in the
evening you will say, ‘Who will make it morning?', for the terror deep inside
you with which you will tremble, and for the spectacle that your eyes will
see.

Perhaps the thoughts would be, "If only it were night, our enemies could
not find us", and "If only it were daytime, so we could see our enemies
coming and have enought warning." But hopelessness would prevail.

68. "Then YHWH will bring you in ships to Egypt again by the route I told
you that you would never see again, and there you will be sold to your
enemies as slaves and servant-girls--yet no one will buy you.

You will be sold: Hirsch, "you will offer yourselves", in order to at
least have something to eat. No one will buy you: or "there will be no one
to buy you." I.e., you will be left to die. "But we are convinced of better
things concerning you, things belonging to deliverance." (Heb. 6:9; cf. 10:39
in context). The whole point of this threat is that we "be careful not to
refuse the One who is speaking." (Heb. 12:25 and whole context). He has no
desire to carry these things out, and we who have the benefit of retrospect
and can see what He has done once should all the more strive to avoid making
the same mistake again. (Rom. 15:4) And to the nation of Israel as a whole,
He says that when the doubled punishment (Yirm./Jer. 16:18) for her sins has
been completely paid, He will comfort Israel (Yeshayahu/Isa. 40:1-2) and
reverse all these curses. (Yesh. 60:10-18) Indeed, ships will also bring the
people back to the Land. (60:9)


CHAPTER 29

1. These are the words of the covenant that YHWH appointed Moshe to make
with the descendants of Israel in the land of Moav in addition to the
covenant He had made with them in Chorev.

In addition: This whole book is a reaffirmation of the covenant for the
generation now made ready, after 40 years, to enter the Land, so he gives
them more detailed instructions. Chorev: either the desert or at Mt. Sinai.
2. So Moshe summoned all Israel and told them, "You have seen all the
effects that YHWH brought about toward Pharaoh, his servants, and his whole
land in front of your [own] eyes--

3. "the great acts of proof that your eyes have seen: those miracles and
great wonders.

4. "Yet YHWH did not give you a heart to perceive, nor eyes to discern, nor
ears to receive until today:

Receive: The truth had been there all along, but they did not have the
perspective to be able to understand it until this time. We can echo this as
we reflect back on our coming out of "Egypt". Until today: when they could
see all the wilderness wanderings in retrospect, and for the first time Moshe
put all the pieces together so they could see the pattern. We have in a
similar vantage point today, as the time of our exile has begun to end and
the "partial blindness" is being removed from the eyes of both houses of
Israel.

5. "that is, I have led you for forty years in the wilderness; your clothing
has not grown old nor your shoes worn out on your foot.

6. "You have not eaten bread nor drunk wine or an intoxicating beverage so
that you may understand that I am YHWH your Elohim.

By having none of the things on which we normally rely, they had to
depend on YHWH daily, and He proved Himself capable of "saving with much or
with little". We are not intoxicated by the food He gives us, so that our
minds will be clear and we will give credit where it is truly due, unlike the
other nations who thank "luck".

7. "Then when you arrived at this place, Sichon the king of Heshbon and Og
the king of Bashan came out to meet us in battle, and we beat them [struck
them down]

8. "and took their land and designated it as the inherited property of the
Reuvenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Menashe."

He gives them more cause for confidence: even these "bonus" territories,
which were never even promised to them as such, have been conquered with no
casualties; how much more the part that has been foresworn? Currently, these
territories are still in the western part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.


9. "So guard the words of this covenant, and carry them out, so that you may
succeed in all that you do.

Succeed: act wisely, with understanding; Hirsch, "do with thoughtful
reflection".