Ekev “because”
It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.
As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.
Torah Portion Name and Readings-
Ekev is the Hebrew word for “because” and is the name of the weekly Torah Portion reading for the Deuteronomy starting in chapter 7 verse 12 and going through chapter 11 and verse 25.
Prophets and New Testament-
It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of Isaiah in chapter 49 verse 14 through chapter 51 verse 3.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Matthew in chapter 16 with verses 13 through verse 20.
Torah Portion Overview-
In this torah portion we get a focus on Moses’ encouragement to Israel to love God, worship Him only, and obey Him. Moses encourages Israel to hold fast to the covenant. Indeed, it seems that he is constantly remembering the failure of their fathers, and warning them not to do the same. Moses starts out warning Israel that if Israel obeys the Lord they will be blessed and protected. Moses encourages in what we would call today an anti peer-pressure encouragement that Israel should not fear the nations because the Lord is with them, they must not worship other gods. The Lord tested Israel to know what was in their heart but now the Lord will bless Israel. The blessing comes with a warning though, Israel should not forget the Lord when they are blessed. Lest Israel become prideful in their blessing, there is a reminder that the Lord is going to be with Israel when they fight against the nations they are dispossessing, they are being destroyed because of how evil they are, not how righteous Israel is. In other words, Israel isn’t good, God is. To drive the point home, Moses reminds Israel of the sin of the golden calf and other rebellions. After that failure Moses made a second pair of tablets and the Lord wrote on them and Levi was chosen to serve. Israel should fear the Lord, love Him, and keep His commandments and circumcise their hearts and show kindness to orphans, widows, and strangers. In order to remember them and walk in His ways, Israel should remember the disciplines (judgements) of the Lord. Israel must obey the Lord’s commandments so that they will live long in the land, teach them to their children, and not worship other gods. There is a promise of much blessing, but they have to obey. If Israel obeys then the Lord will be with them and they will posses the land. In all this we can see the heart of encouragement, that Israel remain faithful to the Lord, follow after Him and keep His commandments.
Today I want to talk about the circumcision of the heart. Moses encouraged the people of Israel to remove the “foreskin of the heart”, that is, to remove the stubborn, hard part of their heart. When reading the heart in the Old Testament it is best to think of the mind. So Moses is asking Israel to remove the stubborn part of their mind.
“Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the LORD your God, the earth with all that is in it, yet the LORD set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today. Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God; him you shall serve; to him you shall hold fast; and by his name you shall swear.”
Deuteronomy 10:14-20 (NRSVue)
It is of note that Moses first called out the fathers of Israel, that is, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and after this called Israel to circumcise their hearts. It’s almost as if he is saying, “you were circumcised in your flesh (which came from the fathers), now be circumcised in your heart”. He calls them to remove the stubborn part of their heart. What stubborn part? The part that does not love, the part that does not obey. Physical circumcision does not grant a heart of obedience, as was shown by the second generation’s parents. We can see then that Moses viewed circumcision as incomplete, that is, lacking, because it was unable to change the heart. Thus, the outward physical sign must be followed by the inward change. Yet we know that Israel did not circumcise their hearts, we know that they walked in disobedience and rebellion and so were judged.
The idea of heart circumcision was then taken up by Paul, in his letter to the Roman Christians. In it he argues that the Gentiles who by nature keep the law, show that their heart is circumcised.
“When gentiles, who do not possess the law, by nature do what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, as their own conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them on the day when, according to my gospel, God through Christ Jesus judges the secret thoughts of all. But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relation to God and know his will and determine what really matters because you are instructed in the law, and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, you, then, who teach others, will you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by your transgression of the law? For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the gentiles because of you.” Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you are a transgressor of the law your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So, if the uncircumcised keep the requirements of the law, will not their uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then the physically uncircumcised person who keeps the law will judge you who, though having the written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law. For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something external and physical. Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not the written code. Such a person receives praise not from humans but from God.”
Romans 2:14-29 (NRSVue)
There are so many points to consider here that I cannot possibly talk about them all. Indeed, In my opinion, Romans is the second most complicated book in the Bible (with Revelation being the first). There are a few points I would like to make here about Paul’s arguments about spiritual circumcision.
The first thing to realize is that Paul is talking about Gentiles (there is much debate as to whether these are pagan Gentiles or some Christian Gentiles, some scholars I read hold the former view while I hold the latter view, as do other scholars) who have no exposure to or knowledge of the law, that are by nature doing what the law requires. But what does this mean?
Is Paul arguing that Gentiles by nature will eat kosher? No, I don’t think so. Here is why, eating or not eating certain foods is something that is often cultural. It is not something we do by nature. For instance, I won’t naturally avoid a certain food unless I believe it to be harmful. Indeed, the nature of mankind is not to avoid eating but to eat, that is, he is driven by hunger not by abstinence in his natural state.
What about other commandments? Is Paul arguing that the Gentiles will by nature keep the feast days? No. For how would someone naturally keep a certain day to God unless he had been instructed to do so.
Indeed, these verses cannot be about the entirety of the law. As Joseph A. Fitzmyer S.J. explains in his work Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 33 of Anchor Yale Bible,
“Again, the phrase ta tou nomou, lit., “the (things) of the law,” means some of the precepts of the law, not necessarily all that is prescribed by the Mosaic law. Paul does not imply a perfect observance of the Mosaic law by such Gentiles. But what they do, they do physei, “by nature, instinctively,” in other words, by the regular, natural order of things (BAGD, 869), i.e., prescinding from any positive revelation.”
But what is Paul talking about? I believe that Paul had in mind the same thing that Moses did when he spoke of heart circumcision, that is, a heart to obey God and love each other. I think Paul is talking about Gentiles who by nature are loving to their brother, and thus, keep the second greatest commandment. By keeping the second commandment they are keeping the law. Remember that it is said that we fulfill the law by loving each other.
“Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”
Romans 13:8-10 (NRSVue)
Does this mean that Gentiles should not eat kosher, or keep the feast days? Not specifically, for I believe there are many health benefits to eating Biblically clean and I find great joy in the feasts. However, this does mean that Paul is not saying that Gentiles will by nature do these things.
A second argument about this passage is much more simple. Paul cannot be arguing that Gentiles have to keep the entire law, because the law requires circumcision! By arguing that Gentiles are not required to be circumcised, he is also arguing that Gentiles do not have to keep the entire law.
Is Paul saying that they shouldn’t keep the law? No. He is not arguing about what should be done, that is, he is not arguing that Gentiles have to keep the law, but about how Gentiles should be accepted in and not rejected because of their lack of circumcision. In other words, heart circumcision is not about what we do, it’s about who we are. Heart circumcision means you love, but you love not because you are commanded to, but because you are a Christian and have a new heart. The Holy Spirit gives us a new heart, the ability to love and obey. With this new heart, we are spiritually circumcised. Our stiff neck, our stubborn refusal to obey or believe is removed. Thus we come to God soft and gentle, ready to love and obey.
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Deuteronomy 7:12 If Israel obeys the Lord they will be blessed and protected.
Deuteronomy 7:17 Israel should not fear the nations because the Lord is with them, they must not worship other gods.
Deuteronomy 8:1 The Lord tested Israel to know what was in their heart but now the Lord will bless Israel.
Deuteronomy 8:11 Israel should not forget the Lord when they are blessed.
Deuteronomy 9:1 The Lord is going to be with Israel when they fight against the nations they are dispossessing, they are being destroyed because of how evil they are, not how righteous Israel is.
Deuteronomy 9:8 Moses reminds Israel of the sin of the golden calf and other rebellions.
Deuteronomy 10:1 Moses made a second pair of tablets and the Lord wrote on them and Levi was chosen to serve.
Deuteronomy 10:12 Israel should fear the Lord, love Him, and keep His commandments and circumcise their hearts and show kindness to orphans, widows, and strangers.
Deuteronomy 11:1 Israel should remember the disciplines (judgements) of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 11:8 Israel must obey the Lord’s commandments so that they will live long in the land, teach them to their children, and not worship other gods.
Deuteronomy 11:22 If Israel obeys then the Lord will be with them and they will posses the land.
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Isaiah 49:14 The Lord will remember Israel and bring her back.
Isaiah 50:1 Israel was divorced because of her sins and God is the Almighty Judge.
Isaiah 50:4 The spirit of the prophet is comforted by the Lord.
Isaiah 51:1 Israel should remember their heritage.
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
Matthew 16:13 Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
References-
Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 205.
Joseph A. Fitzmyer S.J., Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 33 of Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 309.
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