When Jesus attended synagogues on Sabbath (See Mark 1:21-22), chosen members of the assembly read a designated portion from the first five books in the Bible and an associated portion from the books of the Prophets. During Jesus’ day, congregational leaders selected individuals to give their comments. On at least one occasion, they selected Jesus to read from the Prophets and give commentary. (Luke 4:16-21) The name of each portion comes from the first few Hebrew words in the reading.
Weekly Bible Portion Jesus Would Hear in Synagogue
This study is from portion, Ki Tavo, “When you come,” and is found in Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8.
Portion Ki Tavo in the Bible begins with instructions to God's followers to share what they have with those who are in need. When their goods increase, they take a portion, a tithe, to the Temple and give it to the priests. Once every three years they take a portion and share it with the Levites, strangers, orphans, widows, anyone who has a legitimate need for food and clothing. This follows similar instructions in the prior portion, KiTetze, #47, and emphasizes that His followers are responsible individually to help those who do not have the basics of life.
Jesus supported this idea of caring for others when he quoted from Leviticus 19:18 and said that the commandment second to the greatest is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matt. 22:39)
God is Real and He Wants to be Obeyed
These instructions even give the reason His followers are to provide for others. It is because of what God did for them. In Moses’ time, the people were told to acknowledge, “We cried to Yehovah Elohim* of our fathers, Yehovah heard our voice, looked on our labors and oppression, and brought us out...and has brought us to this place and given us this land...” (Deut. 26:7-9)
I may say that I was never in Egypt. But Egypt is used in the Bible as a shadow of the world and the flesh, and I was a slave of sin. For those who have been redeemed, God heard their cries and brought them out of bondage through Jesus who bought them with His own blood. Underlying this realization is an understanding that God is real, He is alive, and He is active in the world.
Blessings and Curses in the Bible Portion
This portion deals specifically with instructions and promises that pertain to the people entering the land of Judea under the leadership of Joshua. But the actions that brought blessings and curses upon them can teach God's followers today what He wants from them. In Biblical Hebrew, the word translated as blessings, b’racha, has the sense of prosperity, and the word for curse, q’lalah has the sense of worthless of value.
Obedience was so important that they wrote out the instructions on rocks in large enough text that the people could read them as they passed into the land.
The overarching instruction in KiTavo is that if God’s followers will, “Obey the voice of Yehovah your Elohim and do His commandments and His statutes which I command you today” (Deut. 27:10), God will bless them more than any other people, but if they refuse to obey, He will curse them more than any other people.
Choose Between Life and Death
As the people entered the land, representatives of six tribes stood on Mount Gerizim to announce blessings upon the people for obedience, the other six stood on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses on the people for rebellion. The bulk of the people walked into the land between the two mountains.
The scene is reflected again when Moses said, “See I set before you life and good, and death and evil...choose life.” (Deut. 30:15-19) The terms of the covenant are always the same. If the followers of the God of the Bible, Yehovah, will listen diligently to His instructions, statutes and judgments and guard them and do them, He will bless them with life and good. If they rebel, and either don’t guard His instructions, don’t do them, God will cause disasters to come on them.
Encouraging Us to Avoid Rebellion
In an earlier portion, Leviticus lays out the disasters in sets. After each set of calamity occurs, God warns, “If you still won’t be straightened,” and then describs increasing calamities. God disciplines to convince His people to stop rebelling against His teachings and start doing them. “And if you will not listen to Me, and do not do all these commands; and if you reject My statutes, and if your soul hates My judgments, so as not to do all My commands, to the breaking of My covenant; I will also do this to you, and I shall appoint terror over you, the wasting, and the burning fever...” (Lev. 26:14-16)
Why would God punish His own people? Because when they entered into a covenant with Him they said, “All that Yehovah our Elohim says we will do.” (Exodus 19:8) They further agreed that if they rebelled against Him and His instructions He could bring plagues and punishments upon them to remind them of His instructions and the covenants they made. The purpose of the punishment is not to destroy the people, it is to convince them to stop rebelling and repent. In Hebrew, the word that conveys the idea of repent is shuva. It means to turn. Repentance in the Bible is twofold, it means to turn from sin, violating God’s instructions, and turn to obeying His instructions.
God Uses Punishment as a Wise Father
This is not too different from a good parent dealing with a rebellious child. The parent disciplines to get the child to stop rebelling. The purpose of punishment is not revenge or to inflict pain, it is to bring about a desired change in actions or attitude. If mild correction doesn’t work, the wise parent uses increasingly more restrictive discipline. It is a means to an end, not an end in itself
Those who have made a covenant with God, and become His children, and accepted Jesus as their Lord and King, can obey and reap His blessings, or rebel against His instructions and suffer His discipline designed to get His people to turn from their rebellion.
Prayer and Meditation
Father, guide me today and every day to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before you in obedience to your instructions, commandments, statutes and judgments.
*The Hebrew word transliterated here as Yehovah is substituted in many Bibles with LORD or GOD and the word translated as God is transliterated here from the Hebrew text as Elohim.
Jon Thompson - Jon Thompson - freelance article and commercial writer with background in education, business, advertising, sales and emergency ...
