Nitzavim-Vayelech “You are standing - And he went”
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-
Nitzavim-Vayelech are a double Torah Portion. Nitzavim is the Hebrew word for “You are standing” and vayelech is the Hebrew word for “and he [Moses] went”, this is the name for the weekly Torah Portion reading for the Book of Deuteronomy starting in chapter 29 verse 10 and going through chapter 31 verse 30.
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 61 verse 10 through chapter 63 verse 9.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of John in chapter 12 with verses 41 through 50.
Torah Portion Overview-
In this Torah portion we get to hear about the return of Israel! Though they were scattered to the ends of heaven, or “the uttermost parts of heaven”, that is, the ends of the earth, the furthest places away from Jerusalem, even there Yahweh will gather His people and bring them back!
Deuteronomy 30:1-6 (ESV)
“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. And the LORD your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”
Earlier Deuteronomy explained that this return would happen in the latter days.
Deuteronomy 4:27-31 (ESV)
“And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.”
The latter days is a phrase which has eschatological meaning, it often refers to the last days or the days of His return. However there is an understanding that the “latter days” started around the time of Yeshua (Daniel 10:14 and 9:24-27) and continues on even to this day. Thus we must think of the latter days as “now but not yet”, that is, we are in them but they are still to come! G. K. Beale explains this well in his book “A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New”. So we can see a promise, that Israel will be restored! I have previously mentioned the second or greater Exodus and suggested that it was both here and yet to come. I want to go into more depth on this topic.
First, we must recognize that Israel was taken into captivity into Assyria and never returned. Historians point out the fact that many Israelites migrated to Jerusalem and the surrounding areas during the captivity of Israel, and this is true. However, the prophecies of the return of Israel make no sense if it is just referring to those who moved to Jerusalem. We can see then that there is a people called Israel that needs to return.
Other scholars such as Michael S. Heiser point to the spreading the gospel after Christ’s resurrection and link it to the Diaspora. I think they are right in this. But this cannot be the only meaning. The reason for this is that the prophecy has only been partially fulfilled. The reason I say this is that most of the prophecies surrounding the return of Israel, focus on the return to the land. Although it is possible for the return of Israel, to be metaphorical in the sense of the land, it seems unlikely with the amount of verses dedicated to Israel’s return. See Isaiah 10:20-22, 11:10-16, 35:1-10, 44:21-23, 51:1-16, Jeremiah 3:12-4:2, 12:14-15, 16:14-16, 30:3-24, 31:1-14, 31:31-36, 33:7-8, 14-26, 46:27-28, Ezekiel 11:16-21, 20:33-44, 28:25-26, 36:21-38, 39:21-29, Hosea 1:2-2:1, 2:14-23, 3:4-5, 6:1-3, 14:1-9, Amos 9:14-15, Zechariah 10:6-12. Yes, it seems that there’s an element of the return that must be focused on the land. Israel, those who were captive have not returned, and they do not remain in the land. It seems that these prophecies about Israel must be understood from now and not yet perspective.
To clarify, I do believe there is a type of restoration where Israel is restored spiritually. This happened at the cross and the resurrection. We were in exile from his presence, we are no longer in exile from his presence. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and we have free access to the throne of God through prayer. We can come to him through worship at any time and do not need to go to a temple. Our lives are sacrifices that we offer to him. And thus We are restored from the exile of his presence.
Remember, the exile is the result of the curse of the law. We previously stated that the curse of the law could be said to be exile, from land (Deuteronomy 28:36, 64), presence (Ezekiel 5:11), and life (Deuteronomy 28:26). Adam too suffered this exile when he was exiled from the land (of Eden), exiled from the presence of God, and exiled from life (death). We have already seen that we have been restored from the exile presence yet we continue to die, and we do not live in the land. Thus, We are still in exile, but we are not in exile. We are restored to right relationship with the Most High, but we have not yet found the blessing of living in the land. Furthermore, we suffer the ultimate exile that is, death.
So what is this exile and when will it end? In the latter days. But when are these latter days? Are they now or later? I believe they are when the Messiah returns! Remember,as we have previously stated, it is the task of the Messiah to bring Israel back (Matthew 15:24, Isaiah 11:10-16, Jeremiah 30:3-24, Jeremiah 33:14-26, Ezekiel 20:33-44, Hosea 1:2-2:1, Hosea 3:4-5, Ezekiel 37:15-28). It is my belief that this will happen either right before he returns or immediately when he returns. I do not believe we can create a timeline of events because I believe the end times is supposed to be unknown. The Bible says the rulers of the world would not have crucified the Lord of Glory if they had understood, that is, if they had known that crucifixion would be their destruction and defeat, they would never have crucified him. I believe rulers of this world, that is, Satan and his allies, would do everything in their power to keep the end from coming if they could. Thus, it is my belief that they do not understand the end. For this reason, I believe that we also cannot truly understand the end yet.
We still die and we are not in the land so what now? How are we to live our lives? There are those who hyper focus on the end times. They live their lives, preparing for the end, They spend their time studying the end. Yet we find a great irony, because in focusing on the end, they neglect the present. The present of our lives is what we will be judged for. What I mean is this, the actions of our lives or the lack of actions, the love of God or the lack of love, the time spent with God or the lack of it, these things we will be judged for. Yahweh will not judge us for an improper understanding of the end times. Thus, the hyper focus on the end times is a distraction from what really matters. We should seek to live our lives and preparation to be with him to dwell with him!
To put it another way we are the temple of Yahweh, what are we doing to act as his temple? Do we offer up daily prayers? Do we offer sacrifices through our lives? Do we live for him or are we just looking for him to return? We do want him to return and that is a good thing, but let us remember to spend our lives for him!
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Deuteronomy 29:10 Covenant is made with those present and those who will come
Deuteronomy 29:18 Yahweh will punish those who rebel and destroy the land
Deuteronomy 30:1 The Lord will forgive, gather and restore those who were exiled
Deuteronomy 30:11 The law is not too hard, obey and be blessed
Deuteronomy 31:1 Joshua is replacing Moses and the Lord will be with him and the people
Deuteronomy 31:9 Moses writes the law and commands it to be read every 7 years at Sukkot/Tabernacles
Deuteronomy 31:14 Israel will disobey and rebel
Deuteronomy 31:23 Joshua is commissioned and Moses admonishes the people
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Isaiah 61:10 Rejoicing for salvation coming for the Jews
Isaiah 62:6 Yahweh is raising up watchman to pray and remind Him of His promises and prepare the way
Isaiah 63:1 Vengeance comes from Edom
Isaiah 63:7 The Angel of the Presence saved Israel
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
John 12:41 Some leaders believed in Yeshua but did not confess publically because they wanted the praise of men
John 12:44 Believe in Jesus or else you will be judged by His words
Bibliography
S. R. Driver, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Deuteronomy, 3rd ed., International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1902), 328–330.
Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 361–365.
J. A. Thompson, Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 5 of Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1974), 309–311.
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