The Disobedient Son

One of the harshest judgments in the Torah is the prescribed sentence for a disobedient son. When a son will not obey his parents, the Torah tells them to bring the son before the elders which will result in the son’s death through stoning. Many parents today might remember times when their sons, usually when they were teenagers, flat out refused to obey. However, the irrevocable punishment of stoning would not occur to us; instead we are horrified at the thought of putting a son to death. When does the behavior of a son cross over this line and be deserving of this harsh punishment? What does this judgment have to do with Israel and Yeshua?

 

Who Shall be King, Priest and Prophet?

This Torah Portion contains references about the selection and affirmation of the king, the priest, and the prophet. Moses tells the children of Israel how to select a king and what principles should govern his behavior in Deuteronomy chapter 17. Moses describes the set apart or sanctified status of the priest and the qualities of a prophet of God in Chapter 18. The offices of king, priest, and prophets are so that the children of Israel will not follow after the ways of the Canaanites who were already in the Promised Land. What can we learn about our own lives through these instructions for the king, the priest, and the prophet? Yeshua, as the divine Son of God, fulfills all the roles of king, priest, and prophet. What do these instructions reveal about Yeshua’s threefold mission?

 

Seek the Place the LORD Chooses

Moses’ words to the children of Israel that were recorded in the book of Deuteronomy included instructions that were to be carried out in the Promised Land. One of these instructions was to seek for the place where God would put His name. After the children of Israel took the Land, they set up the Tabernacle of Meeting at Shiloh where it remained for about three hundred years. It was, then, moved to Kirjath Jearim before finally ending up in Jerusalem. Was the place that God would place His name wherever the Tabernacle was set up or was Jerusalem the place God had in mind all along? What were they to do at this place?

Remember the LORD Your God

As Moses spoke his final instructions to the children of Israel, he recited their history from the time God took them out of Egypt. He wanted them to remember that God is the one who brought them out of Egypt and led them in the wilderness. He reminded them that those forty years were to humble and test the children of Israel. It seems odd to us in this “name it and claim it” era of church doctrine that God wouldn’t just do everything the children of Israel asked Him to do. How did God humble and test His People? What was the purpose of God humbling them and testing them? Does God still humble and test His people?

These Words Shall be in Your Heart

During Moses’ last instructions to the Children of Israel during his last week before his death, he told them to put the words that he spoke into their hearts.  These words are God’s instructions. How did God communicate them? What exactly are they and how do you put them in your heart?