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Air Jordan
Devarim
"words"
DEUTERONOMY 1:1-3:22
ISAIAH 1:1-27
PSALM 137
2 CORINTHIANS 10:1-7
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Parashat
Devarim
always falls during the Nine Days of Tisha
B'Av
. The severe rebukes in
Devarim
are consistent with the period commemorating numerous historical calamities upon Israel, beginning with the evil news of the ten spies and the news that Israel would not be able to cross into their Promised Land.
Parashat
Va'etchanan
will therefore always
follow
Tisha
B' Av
. There are strong connections in
Va'etchanan
to the calamities, and encouragingly, there is a prescription for remedying the behaviors and attitudes that preceded such calamities.
In Devarim, Moses re-tells the incident with the spies, the calamity that befell on the 9
th
of Av. (Dt 1:18-46)
The extra telling in
Devarim
may explain more about the great failure after the 9
th
of Av when
ha-dvarim
pursued the Israelites.
Then we set out from
Horeb
, and went through all that great and terrible
wilderness (
midbar
)
which you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the LORD our God had commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-
barnea
.
I said to you, '
You have come to the hill country of the Amorites which the LORD our God is about to give us
.
See
, the LORD your God has
placed (
natan
, gave
)
the land before you; go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you
. Do not fear or be dismayed
.' (Dt 1:19-21)
The tripwire for the time to cross into the Land was in the hill country of the
Amorites. Moses doesn't tell Israel to go to battle; instead, he just says to go up (
alah
), a resurrection hint, and to take possession because it was already given to them. He uses the imperative of the verb "see" (
רְאֵה
). The tribe of Reuven ("see a son") is associated with Tammuz, the Fourth Month when the explorers walked most of their journey. The explorers were told to "see" the Land for the month of Tammuz. Perhaps Moshe thought they would see the Son as he had on the mountain. He told them to look for a "tree." Of course there were trees in the Land, but Moses wanted to know if the representatives of the twelve tribes could see into the spiritual, supernatural as he did in his 40 days on the mountain.
So I spoke to you, but you would not
listen
. Instead you rebelled against the
command
of the LORD, and acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country.
The
Amorites who
lived
in that hill country came out against you and chased you as
bees (
ha-dvarim
)
do
, and crushed you from
Seir
to
Hormah
.
Then
you
returned
and wept before the LORD
; but the LORD
did not listen to your voice nor give ear to you
. (Dt 1:43-45)
A few important points emerge:
*
The Amorites chased the Israelites like bees (ha-dvarim), which are a natural bug; Moses had promised them a supernatural bug, the hornet (ha-tzira) would go before them to conquer their enemies.
*
They returned and wept, and there has been weeping for generations on the 9
th
of Av because the Israelites had to remain in the wilderness (midbar); each year the portion Devarim is read to remember the calamitous decision not to hear the devarim of Elohim in the midbar that led to their being chased by ha-dvarim.
*
The month of Av is associated with the Tribe of Shimon and the attribute of hearing, the quality of Shimon's name, and the commandment to "
Shma
,
Yisrael
..."
Had the ten spies hidden the devarim (words) in their hearts, the Words would have been like bees, ha-dvarim, released upon their enemies, and there would have been no battle at all! Moses didn't tell them to suit up in their best armor; he just said Adonai had already given it to them. All they needed to do is go up and inherit it. No battles! The hornet would drive out the peoples of the Land little by little.
The unity of YHVH in the
Shma
in the next portion reads:
And these words (
ha-dvarim
) that I command you today shall be upon your heart... (Dt. 6:6)
The play-on word is like saying that the Word upon the Israelite heart will be like placing "bees" there, and the Word will go forth in battle against their enemies. This season is one of seeing and hearing, not engaging new battles. Repentance may bring forgiveness, but it may not restore the opportunity immediately when the time-window closes. It may also mean that when the window does open again, there will be many natural battles to gain what could have been effortless, with the Spirit of Adonai preparing the way.
This traces back to the misunderstanding in roles. The ten spies thought they were bringing back a military intelligence report. Natural. Moses thought they would go up the mountain like he did and see a Tree and the Son. He told the explorers to first "ascend the mountain," perhaps hoping for their "mount of transfiguration" experience like he'd had with Yeshua and Elijah. Spiritual. Supernatural.
Because their vision was natural, the men of war were chased by a swarm of bee-people.
The supernatural
tzirah
is mentioned again in Joshua's final recap,
similar
to Moses' summary in
Devarim
before him:
You crossed the Jordan
and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and the
Amorite
...Thus
I gave them into your hand.
Then I sent the hornet
הַצִּרְעָה
(tzirah)
before you, and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow
... Then Joshua dismissed the people,
each to his inheritance
. (Jo 24:12-13; 28
)
The Amorites of Moses' generation, whose fortresses reached to the sky, chased the men of war like bees, but they could have been driven out with the
tzirah
had the Israelite men of war had faith to see and hear
ha-dvar
. Another hint is that Joshua says the tzirah works when the natural, human weapon should not be used so as not to confuse natural and supernatural warfare. "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses." (2 Co 10)
The grave failure of the ten spies is the rejection of Divine leadership, for up until this point, they had followed the cloud and the Ark, which sought out their resting place. Not their fighting place!
Thus
they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD journeying in front of them for the
three
days, to seek out a resting place for
them
.
The cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out
from the
camp.
Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said
, "
Rise up, O LORD
! And
let Your enemies be
scattered, and
let those who hate You flee before You
."
When it
came to rest
, he said
, "
Return, O
LORD, to
the myriad thousands of Israel
." (Nu 10:33-36)
The spies rejected the cloud and the voice of Adonai speaking from between the two cheruvim above the Ark. They preferred to rely on their natural war skills, which judging from their previous battle with Amalek, weren't very good! The ark made a eleven-day journey into only three days, a number of resurrection, yet they didn't wait for the Divine leadership of cloud and Ark. (Dt 1:2) We know why waiting for the cloud was so important. It was a supernatural existence guided by the Holy Spirit:
YOU, IN YOUR GREAT COMPASSION,
DID
NOT FORSAKE THEM IN THE WILDERNESS;
THE PILLAR OF CLOUD DID NOT LEAVE THEM BY DAY, TO GUIDE
THEM ON THEIR WAY,
NOR
THE PILLAR OF FIRE BY NIGHT, TO LIGHT FOR THEM THE WAY IN WHICH THEY WERE TO
GO. YOU
GAVE YOUR GOOD SPIRIT TO INSTRUCT THEM, YOUR MANNA YOU DID NOT WITHHOLD FROM THEIR MOUTH, AND YOU GAVE THEM WATER FOR THEIR
THIRST. INDEED
, FORTY YEARS YOU PROVIDED FOR THEM IN THE WILDERNESS
AND
THEY WERE NOT IN WANT;
THEIR CLOTHES DID NOT WEAR OUT, NOR DID THEIR FEET SWELL
. (NE 9:19-21)
The Israelite men of war disregarded the miracles that had delivered them from slavery and carried them with supernatural, Holy Spiritual food, water, clothes, and sandals. At each step, they craved the natural over the supernatural. If only at Yom Kippur when we fast, we could see how we're supposed to crave the bread and water of the Word! If we could only see how that Dvar in our hearts is how the Father scatters enemies before Him. The enemy isn't scared of US, the enemy is scared of ADONAI TZVAOT and His WORDS. When we don't twist the Word to serve our natural cravings and resist His tests in the wilderness (midbar) where the place the Dvar is tested, then the Word goes before us and elevates us!
WHERE CAN WE GO UP? OUR BRETHREN HAVE MADE OUR HEARTS MELT, SAYING,
'THE
PEOPLE ARE BIGGER AND TALLER THAN WE; THE CITIES ARE LARGE AND FORTIFIED TO HEAVEN. AND BESIDES, WE SAW THE SONS OF THE
ANAKIM
THERE
.'
THEN
I SAID TO YOU, 'DO NOT BE SHOCKED, NOR
FEAR THEM. THE LORD YOUR GOD WHO GOES BEFORE YOU WILL HIMSELF FIGHT ON YOUR BEHALF, JUST AS HE DID FOR YOU IN EGYPT BEFORE YOUR EYES, AND IN THE WILDERNESS WHERE YOU SAW HOW THE LORD YOUR GOD CARRIED YOU, JUST AS A MAN CARRIES HIS SON, IN ALL THE WAY WHICH YOU HAVE WALKED UNTIL YOU CAME TO THIS PLACE
.' (DT 1:28-31)
This is why their feet didn't swell in all the journey. They weren't walking naturally, but carried on a cloud when they followed the Ark! They were walking on air!
Look back over your life-journey. How hard has the Father fought to rescue you from death, tribulations, deceptions, and a self-serving life? If He has carried you this far, He will carry you ALL THE WAY home. You see, all this time you thought YOU were walking. The Father has been carrying you like a man carries his son. He wants you to think like Moses. See a Son. See the Tree. Follow the Word speaking from the Ark, the commandments of Elohim in the Tree of Life.
How do we know our own moving and resting seasons? It's not a mystery. It is written in the Word! Know your moving times. Know your resting times. Follow the Word and remain in the cloud. A cloud is water. The water is the Word. One day you'll realize you've been walking in the Cloud with every act of obedience. You will be SO ready when it's time to cross over Jordan to inherit your Promised Land. Go up and inherit. You can walk on water.
We invite you to hear the full version of this teaching that will include the Heavenly tzitzit on our YouTube live stream today.
**
We're still counting the days until the 9th of Av. Shhhh...just the Good News please.
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