By Dan
& Brenda Cathcart
The video
version of this teaching is at: https://youtu.be/6Wl-FQnzIhE
The
scripture reading is Jeremiah 2:4-28; 3:4; 4:1-2
The Torah
portion this week, Mattot-Massei, picks up as Israel is on the cusp of entering
the Promised Land. They defeat the last foe that is standing in the way of
entering the Promised Land and turn their eyes toward possessing the land. This
haftarah, on the other hand, shows Israel on the cusp of losing everything they
had gained. In line with this, the New Testament readings recommended by First
Fruits of Zion are about the judgment soon to fall on Jerusalem.
On the Torah
reading calendar, these portions of scripture fall in the period of time called
the Dire Straits. The Dire Straits begins on the seventeenth of Tammuz, the day
the children of Israel built and worshiped the golden calf. It ends on the
ninth of Av, the day the temple was destroyed both in 586 BCE and 70 AD. This
is a period of mourning for all that the children of Israel have lost due to
idolatry and iniquity. This haftarah warns of the judgment coming as a result
of Israel’s practice of idolatry and iniquity. How did Israel go from
triumphant possessors of the Promised Land to captives of Assyria, Babylon and
Rome, and outcasts from the Promised Land?
Our
haftarah reading begins with a courtroom scene as opening arguments are being
presented. Jeremiah rises to present the case of the LORD against Israel.
Jeremiah 2:4-6 NKJV 4 Hear the word of the
LORD, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says
the LORD: "What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have
gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters? 6 Neither did
they say, 'Where is the LORD, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who
led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a
land of drought and the shadow of death, Through a land that no one crossed And
where no one dwelt?'
The words
“idols” and “idolaters” in verse five are related to each other both coming
from the Hebrew word “habal,” Number 1891 in Strong’s Concordance meaning vain.
The word “vain” has two primary meanings both of which apply in this context.
The first meaning is to have an excessively high opinion of oneself. The second
is to be useless, producing no results, futile, or worthless. Jeremiah is
saying that idolatry is really an expression of excessive pride in one’s own
accomplishments and is ultimately worthless, empty and futile! God’s case
against Israel is that in their vanity, the children of Israel forgot how God
delivered them from Egypt, took them through the wilderness and gave them the
Promised Land. Instead of making the land of Israel a land that displayed God’s
justice and righteousness, they made it an abomination profaning God’s name.
Jeremiah,
then, turns to list the four specific defendants in the case. Four is the
number of completeness and sufficiency especially as it relates to creation.
With these charges, the case against Israel is complete and sufficient for
judgment.
Jeremiah 2:8 MKJV 8 The priests did not say,
Where is the LORD? And they who handle the law did not know Me; the shepherds
also rebelled against Me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after
things not profitable.
The priests
did not seek the LORD. They forgot who He was and didn’t notice His absence.
The teachers of the Torah did not know the one they were teaching about. The
shepherds are the leaders of the people who were to guide Israel in following
the LORD. By using the word shepherd, Jeremiah emphasizes the spiritual
responsibilities that the rulers had neglected. Far from guiding the people
into God’s righteousness, they actively led them away. Finally, the prophets
who were to keep Israel going in the right direction didn’t bring the words of
God; they brought their own words or even the words of demonic forces
represented by Baal.
To emphasize
the severity of the charges, God compares His people, His nation, to the
nations around them stating that they are far worse than the other nations.
Jeremiah 2:10-11 MKJV 10 For pass over the
coasts of Kittim, and see; and send to Kedar, and carefully consider, and see
if there is such a thing. 11 Has a nation changed their gods who are yet no
gods? But My people have changed their Glory for that which does not profit.
From Kittim
in the west to Kedar in the east, no other nation has abandoned their false
gods trading them for other false gods, but Israel had abandoned the true God
trading him for false gods! They had exchanged the truth for a lie! The
reaction of the heavens to this news reveals the enormity of Israel’s offense
against God.
Jeremiah 2:12 NKJV 12 Be astonished, O heavens,
at this, And be horribly afraid; Be very desolate," says the LORD.
The heavens
are first astonished, stunned, and stupefied. It is as if the heavens are
momentarily frozen. This is followed by great fear. The phrase “horribly
afraid” is number 8175 in Strong’s Concordance meaning to storm, be afraid,
tempestuous or come like a whirlwind. Following the momentary silence and
stillness when first hearing the charges against Israel, the heavens break into
furious motion. The fear of the heavens is like that of a whirlwind culminating
in total devastation. Not just devastation, but great devastation. The Hebrew
language rarely uses superlatives for emphasis. The usual practice is to
emphasize by repeating the word. In this case the superlative “ma-od” number
3966 in Strong’s Concordance is used. Ma-od means vehemence or vehemently. The
word “desolate” is “charab” number 2717 meaning to parch through drought. The
drought that strikes does so vehemently!
God, then,
gives a summary of the charges against Israel tying into the idea of being
parched through drought.
Jeremiah 2:13 NKJV 13 "For My people have
committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And
hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water.
The imagery
is strong. Picture a spring flowing up out of the Earth with everything around
it being green. Contrast that with a broken, empty cistern with everything
around it being dry and dead. Israel traded life for death. God goes on to
state that they traded their position as the firstborn of God to become
servants, slaves and plunder!
Jeremiah 2:14-16 NKJV 14 "Is Israel a
servant? Is he a homeborn slave? Why is he plundered? 15 The young lions roared
at him, and growled; They made his land waste; His cities are burned, without
inhabitant. 16 Also the people of Noph and Tahpanhes Have broken the crown of
your head.
Jeremiah
places the beginning of Israel facing the results of their trade of life for
death and sonship for slavery with the death of King Josiah. When Josiah became
king, he took over from his father Amon and his grandfather Manasseh who did
more evil than the Amorites who inhabited the land before the children of
Israel. Josiah did what was right before the LORD, but the damage had already
been done and judgment set. However, God promised Josiah that judgment would be
deferred in his lifetime.
2 Kings 22:19-20 NKJV 19 "because your
heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what
I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become
a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also
have heard you," says the LORD. 20 "Surely, therefore, I will gather
you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your
eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place."'"
So they brought back word to the king.
The NKJV
Study Bible writes about Jeremiah’s reference to Josiah’s death:
“Egypt forced Judah into a vassal relationship.
The Egyptians had broken the crown of Israel’s head by killing Josiah. Noph is
Memphis, the capital of Lower Egypt. Tahpanhes was in the eastern Nile delta.”[i]
Instead of
drinking the living water provided by God to His chosen people, Israel ended up
drinking the water of servitude and death found in Assyria and Egypt. Jeremiah
describes these waters as the waters of the Nile and Euphrates Rivers.
Jeremiah 2:17-18 NKJV 17 Have you not brought
this on yourself, In that you have forsaken the LORD your God When He led you
in the way? 18 And now why take the road to Egypt, To drink the waters of
Sihor? Or why take the road to Assyria, To drink the waters of the River?
The word
“Sihor” is number 7883 “Shee-khore meaning dark, metaphorically a stream of
Egypt. The phrase “The River” almost always refers to the Euphrates River.
The case
against Israel continues as God contrasts what He has done for Israel and their
response to his blessings.
Jeremiah 2:20-21 NKJV 20 "For of old I
have broken your yoke and burst your bonds; And you said, 'I will not
transgress,' When on every high hill and under every green tree You lay down,
playing the harlot. 21 Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest
quality. How then have you turned before Me Into the degenerate plant of an
alien vine?
Although
Israel’s response to God’s charges against them is not recorded, we can infer
that they attempted to hide their guilt from God and assert that they were not
guilty. God tells them that their attempt to hide their sins by washing with
two different kinds of soap was totally fruitless and inadequate.
Jeremiah 2:22-24 NKJV 22 For though you wash
yourself with lye, and use much soap, Yet your iniquity is marked before Me,"
says the Lord GOD. 23 "How can you say, 'I am not polluted, I have not
gone after the Baals'? See your way in the valley; Know what you have done: You
are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways, 24 A wild donkey used to the
wilderness, That sniffs at the wind in her desire; In her time of mating, who
can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves; In her
month they will find her.
Their soap
did not serve to wipe out their stains, nor did they change their ways. Far
from turning back to serve god, they continued to go after their idols like a
donkey in heat! When confronted with their idolatry, Israel is ashamed, not
that they sinned but that they were found out.
Jeremiah 2:26-28 NKJV 26 "As the thief is
ashamed when he is found out, So is the house of Israel ashamed; They and their
kings and their princes, and their priests and their prophets, 27 Saying to a
tree, 'You are my father,' And to a stone, 'You gave birth to me.' For they
have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their
trouble They will say, 'Arise and save us.' 28 But where are your gods that you
have made for yourselves? Let them arise, If they can save you in the time of your
trouble; For according to the number of your cities Are your gods, O Judah.
God’s
response was how could they be so stupid as to think a rock or a tree could be
their creator. First Fruits of Zion in Torah Club Volume Three: the Haftarah
comments:
“God reprimands Israel for their spiritual
stupidity. Who would ever think of calling a tree or a stone his creator? Yet
this is, in essence, what Israel did in their idolatry because that is the
nature of idolatry.”[ii]
The New
Testament readings in Luke thirteen and Mark eleven follow this same pattern of
rebuke. When Yeshua received word of the deaths of some Galileans at the hand
of Pilate and the deaths of others when the tower of Siloam fell on them,
Yeshua explained that unless they repented, death was coming to everyone in
Jerusalem! Yeshua followed this up with a parable about a fig tree in a
vineyard.
Luke 13:6-8 NKJV 6 He also spoke this parable:
"A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking
fruit on it and found none. 7 "Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard,
'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find
none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' 8 "But he answered and
said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and
fertilize it.
On the
surface, this parable seems easy to understand. The fig tree seems to represent
Israel. Because it hasn’t produced fruit, the tree would be dug up and
discarded. Quite an argument for the church replacing Israel! However, we need
to understand the parable in the culture in which it was written. First Fruits
of Zion in Chronicles of the Messiah explains that in biblical and
rabbinic literature, the pairing of the vine and the fig tree symbolizes the
promised peace and prosperity of the messianic age as indicated by the prophets
Micah and Zechariah. Micah writes in Micah 4:4:
Micah 4:4 NKJV 4 But everyone shall sit under
his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the
mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
However, in
this parable, the fig tree is not producing fruit! The hoped for messianic age
has been stymied! As the time of Yeshua’s ministry on Earth was getting ready
to begin, John the Baptist warned that repentance was required to bring in the
messianic age.
Luke 3:7-9 NKJV 7 Then he said to the
multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who
warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 "Therefore bear fruits worthy
of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our
father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from
these stones. 9 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.
Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into
the fire."
Yeshua’s
parable indicates that the time of repentance for that generation was coming to
a close. The third year had ended and the fourth was in sight. It is probably
no coincidence that Yeshua spoke this parable in the fourth year of His
ministry just months before He would go up to Jerusalem for the Passover and
give His life as a Passover sacrifice for us!
First
Fruits of Zion explains the meaning of this parable in terms of Yeshua’s
generation.
The vineyard in which the fig tree is planted
is the nation and land of Israel. The fig tree itself represents the generation
of the Master—the generation that had the potential to bring in the Messianic
Era. The owner of the vineyard and the fig tree represents God. He comes to the
fig tree seeking the fruit of repentance. The parable likens Yeshua to the
vineyard’s husbandman. The work of digging about the roots and fertilizing the
tree refers to His message and His work (and perhaps the work of John the
Immerser).[iii]
About three
months later, Yeshua entered Jerusalem to seeming acclamation of Him as King.
However, as he came over the Mount of Olives and looked down on Jerusalem, He
pronounced judgment on that generation; the Messianic age would not begin at
that time.
Luke 19:41-44 NKJV 41 Now as He drew near, He
saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, "If you had known, even you,
especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they
are hidden from your eyes. 43 "For days will come upon you when your
enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on
every side, 44 "and level you, and your children within you, to the
ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did
not know the time of your visitation."
The apostle
Mark records that the next day when Yeshua entered Jerusalem, He cursed a fig
tree for not producing fruit.
Mark 11:12-14 NKJV 12 Now the next day, when
they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig
tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.
When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for
figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever
again." And His disciples heard it.
Yeshua was
hungry to see repentance among His people; but He didn’t see any! Instead, as
He proceeded into Jerusalem, He saw the merchants and money changers who made
God’s temple into a den of thieves. Just like in the time of Jeremiah, the
people did not believe judgment was coming on them! They thought their sins
were hidden away and no one would judge them!
After the
courtroom scene in which God presents His case against Israel, God breaks off
His words of judgment and opens His heart. If Israel would just repent, He
would turn away from His righteous judgment of them.
Jeremiah 4:1-2 NKJV 1 "If you will return,
O Israel," says the LORD, "Return to Me; And if you will put away
your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved. 2 And you shall
swear, 'The LORD lives,' In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The
nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory."
The promise
of the Messianic age is yet to come! The disciples thought it would come after
Yeshua’s resurrection at the Feast of Shavuot. Instead, they received the power
of God through the anointing of the Holy Spirit to preach the good news of the
gospel of salvation in preparation for Yeshua’s return. Yeshua’s words to His
disciples at His ascension into heaven bestow the mission on the disciples
gathered on the Mount of Olives at that time and on His disciples throughout
the age as we wait for His return.
Acts 1:7-8 NKJV 7 And He said to them, "It
is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own
authority. 8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Israel went
from triumphant possessors of the Promised Land to exiles and slaves, first to
Assyria and Babylon, and, later, to Rome and all the corners of the Earth. In
their hearts and deeds, they turned away from God to worship idols, the work of
their own hands instead of the creator who brings life. When the Holy Spirit
fell on the disciples on the Feast of Shavuot, many people were convicted of
their sins and asked what they should do. Peter told them to repent. During
this time of the Dire Straits between the time of worshiping the Golden Calf
and the destruction of the temple, we need to repent of our idolatries before
judgment comes on us. Instead, with true repentance comes restoration.
Israel will
come to repentance and God will completely restore the land to Israel. Messiah
will reign and true righteousness will go out from Jerusalem and all the
nations will be blessed in God’s glory.
Study
Questions:
1. Discuss the connection of
this teaching to the Torah Portion Naso, Numbers 4:21-7:89.
2. How does the concept of God
as the fountain of living waters (Jer. 2:13) show up in Yeshua’s ministry?
3. The vine and the fig tree
represent the peace and prosperity of the Messianic Age (1 king 4:25, Mic. 4:4,
Zec 3:10) How is this represented in Yeshua’s teachings?
4. Compare Josiah’s generation
with Yeshua’s generation.
5. First Fruits of Zion
describes the nature of idolatry: “Who would ever think of
calling a tree or a stone his creator? Yet this is, in essence, what Israel did
in their idolatry because that is the nature of idolatry.”[iv] What is
the nature of idolatry?
6. What new insight did you
gain from this teaching? How do you respond to this new insight? How will you
realign your life based on this new understanding?
Bonus: What is the messianic significance of King
Ahaz killing Naboth to obtain his vineyard?
© 2019 Moed
Ministries International. All rights reserved.
[i]
The NKJV Study Bible. Earl D. Radmacher, Th.D. Thomas Nelson, Inc ©1997,
2007. Page1150.
[ii]
Torah Club Volume 3: The Haftarah. First Fruits of Zion. ©1999.
Page 663.
[iii]
Chronicles of the Messiah. First Fruits of Zion. ©2014 D. T. Lancaster. Page
1025.
[iv]
Torah Club Volume 3: The Haftarah. First Fruits of Zion. ©1999.
Page 663.
