Ki Tetze “When You Go Forth”
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 who profess our faith in Jesus, we study the Old Testament to understand the historical, cultural, and contextual background of the history of our heritage in Jesus. This is commonly known as the Messianic teachings of Christianity and is a part of our Saturday Church in Norman, Oklahoma.
While customs are not commandments there is beauty for believers in Jesus (Yeshua) to understand their identity as grafted into the covenants with Israel. As descendants of Abraham, all Christians are heirs according to the promise given to Abraham even before Sinai. Christians should study and learn the Torah and show respect for their Jewish brothers and sisters. It is through the study of the law that we see another level of greatness in Jesus who is the lawgiver and the greatest Torah teacher of all time.
Ki Tetze is the Hebrew title for “When you go forth” and is the name for the weekly Torah portion reading for the Book of Deuteronomy starting in chapter 21 verse 10 and going through chapter 25 verse 19.
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 reading comes from the book of Isaiah in chapter 54 verses 1 through verse 10.
The gospel readings that are incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Matthew in chapter 24 with verses 29 through 42.
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 Overview-
The forty-ninth reading from the Weekly Torah Portion cycle is called Ki Tetze in Hebrew, which means “When you go forth” in English.
In the Torah Portion Ki Tetze, we see that 74 of the 613 commandments in the Torah (Old Testament) are given. We see the commandments for the firstborn, rebellious children, burial and how to dignify the dead, the return of lost objects, safety requirements, forbidden plant, and animal hybrid mutations, penalties for adultery and other sexually immoral behavior, and so much more. Ki Teitzei is a beautiful reminder that our works and actions cannot bring salvation, only Jesus can. It is also a great reminder and retelling of how to show honor in our lifestyle to our savior Yeshua (Jesus Christ).
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Deuteronomy 21:10 Female Captives
Deuteronomy 21:15 The Rights of the Firstborn
Deuteronomy 21:18 Dealing with Rebellious Children
Deuteronomy 21:22 Miscellaneous Laws and Ordinances
Deuteronomy 22:13 Sexual Relations laws
Deuteronomy 23:1 Exclusions to the Assembly
Deuteronomy 23:9 Sanitary, Ritual, and Humanitarian Precepts
Deuteronomy 24:1 Marriage and Divorce laws
Deuteronomy 24:5 Miscellaneous Laws and Ordinances
Deuteronomy 25:5 Levirate Marriage
Deuteronomy 25:11 Various Commands and Ordinances
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Isaiah 54:1 The Covenant of Peace
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
Matthew 24:29 Destruction of the Earthly Temple
Matthew 24:35 Jesus’s teaching are eternal
Matthew 24:39 The coming of the Son of Man
The Book of Deuteronomy “Devarim” which means “Words.”
The Old Testament is commonly referred to as the Torah. It is the most sacred of all of Israel’s Scriptures. Most of our modern Bibles include the Old Testament “Torah” as the first five books in the Bible. The name in Hebrew of the fifth book of the Bible (Deuteronomy) is Devarim. The name “Devarim” comes from one of the opening phrases in the book of Deuteronomy which means “Words,”
The Greek Septuagint is where we find the English name for “Deuteronomos” called “Deuteronomy.”
The book of Deuteronomy is primarily comprised of the farewell teachings of Moses to the children of Israel. Like all good prophets and leaders in the Torah, Moses encourages the children of Israel to remain faithful to the covenants they made with God.
Moses then continues to review the stories of the giving of the Torah at Sinai, the journey to the Promised Land, the review of some of the Torah laws, and the introduction to new laws.
It is also important to point out that the format of the book of Deuteronomy also follows a general pattern of Ancient Near Eastern treaty documents.
As Messianic Christians, we find the book of Deuteronomy and the stories therein, as a historical account of how we as believers are grafted into the covenants and promises of God with our forefathers and how we can learn to walk and learn from their actions.
To Watch an overview of this week’s Torah Portion CLICK HERE
