Bechukotai (In My Statutes)

(This week's Torah portion is Bechukotai. I originally wrote and posted this to my previous blog on 05/15/2007.)

TORAH: Vayikra (Leviticus) 26:3-27:34
HAFTARAH: YirmeYahu (Jeremiah) 16:19-17:14
KETUVIM NETZARIM: MattithYahu (Matthew) 21:33-22:14; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Lev 26:3 'If you walk in My laws and guard My commands, and shall do them,
Lev 26:4 then I shall give you rain in its season, and the land shall yield its crops, and the trees of the field yield their fruit.

This portion starts out with a list of blessings that YHWH will bestow upon those who walk in His laws and guard His commands by doing them.

Then YHWH describes what will happen to those who do not obey Him, do not do all of His commands, reject His laws, and break His covenant:

Lev 26:14 'But if you do not obey Me, and do not do all these commands,
Lev 26:15 and if you reject My laws, or if your being loathes My right-rulings, so that you do not do all My commands, but break My covenant,
Lev 26:16 I also do this to you: And I shall appoint sudden alarm over you, wasting disease and inflammation, destroying the eyes, and consuming the life. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

This is a progressive list, meaning that if the first round of chastisement doesn't result in turning back to Him, then there will be more rounds of chastisement:

Lev 26:18 'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I shall punish you seven times more for your sins.

Lev 26:21 'And if you walk contrary to Me, and refuse to obey Me, I shall bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins,

Lev 26:23 'And if you are not instructed by Me by these, but walk contrary to Me,
Lev 26:24 then I also shall walk contrary to you, and I Myself shall smite you seven times for your sins.

Lev 26:27 'And if in spite of this, you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me,
Lev 26:28 then I shall walk contrary to you in wrath. And I Myself shall punish you seven times for your sins.

Some may have seen this pattern in their own lives and realize that YHWH is trying to get their attention--I know I sure did!

The way to look at these chastisements is to realize and to appreciate to what lengths YHWH will go to bring us back to Him and how long He will keep trying to get our attention. Only a loving merciful Elohim would do whatever it takes to bring us back to Him, no matter how painful it is for us or for Him.

Lev 26:40 'But if they confess their crookedness and the crookedness of their fathers, with their trespass in which they trespassed against Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me,
Lev 26:41 and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies – if their uncircumcised heart is then humbled, and they accept the punishment of their crookedness,
Lev 26:42 then I shall remember My covenant with Ya'aqob, and also My covenant with Yitshaq, and also remember My covenant with Abraham, and remember the land.

As soon as we recognize what is happening and humble ourselves and accept why it is happening and then turn back to YHWH and confess our sins, He will remember us.

Lev 26:44 'And yet for all this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I shall not reject them, nor shall I loathe them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with them. For I am יהוה their Elohim.
Lev 26:45 'Then I shall remember for their sake the covenant of the ancestors whom I brought out of the land of Mitsrayim before the eyes of the nations to be their Elohim. I am יהוה.' "
Lev 26:46 These are the laws and the right-rulings and the Torot which יהוה made between Himself and the children of Yisra'el on Mount Sinai by the hand of Mosheh.

He will never leave us nor forsake us, but will always embrace us when we turn back to Him:

Luk 15:18 'Having risen, I shall go to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against the heaven, and before you,
Luk 15:19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." '
Luk 15:20 "And having risen, he went to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
Luk 15:21 "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against the heaven, and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
Luk 15:22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
Luk 15:23 'And bring the fattened calf here and slaughter it, and let us eat and rejoice,
Luk 15:24 because this son of mine was dead and is alive again, and he was lost and is found.' And they began to rejoice. '

YHWH fulfilled the chastisements upon His people, both the House of Israel and the House of Judah, and they were scattered amongst the gentiles. Especially the House of Israel was so assimilated into the gentiles that they lost their identity, but faithful to His promises, YHWH is calling them back:

Jer 16:19 O יהוה, my strength and my stronghold and my refuge, in the day of distress the gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers have inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no value in them."
Jer 16:20 Would a man make mighty ones for himself, which are not mighty ones?
Jer 16:21 "Therefore see, I am causing them to know, this time I cause them to know My hand and My might. And they shall know that My Name is יהוה!"

YHWH is getting the attention of 'gentiles' from the ends of the earth. They are hearing His voice and realizing that they have inherited lies and have been following false gods. As His people turn to Him, YHWH is being faithful to remind them who He is, including knowing that His Name is YHWH.

Jer 17:9 "The heart is crooked above all, and desperately sick – who shall know it?
Jer 17:10 "I, יהוה, search the heart, I try the kidneys, and give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.

We cannot trust ourselves to know our own hearts, but need to trust YHWH to show us the true state of our hearts by observing what we do in response to His voice.

Jer 17:13 O יהוה, the expectation of Yisra'el, all who forsake You are put to shame. "Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken יהוה, the fountain of living waters."
Jer 17:14 Heal me, O יהוה, so that I am healed. Save me, so that I am saved, for You are my praise.

YHWH does not forsake us. We are the ones who forsake Him. We want to be written in His book, not in the earth! Let's make Him our praise so that He will heal us.

Mat 21:44 "And he who falls on this stone shall be broken, but on whomever it falls, he shall be pulverised."

It is far better to fall on Yeshua Messiah and be broken than to wait for Him to fall on us!

Mat 22:12 and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here not having a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13 "Then the sovereign said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him out into the outer darkness – there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Mat 22:14 "For many are called, but few are chosen."

Many are called, but He will choose for His bride those who are totally and completely devoted to Him, those who lay down their lives for Him.

2Co 6:17 Therefore, "Come out from among them and be separate, says יהוה, and do not touch what is unclean, and I shall receive you.
2Co 6:18 "And I shall be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says יהוה the Almighty."

We cannot stay in the pigpen and expect to become clean. We have to come out and run home to Abba in order for Him to receive us.