Haftarah Acharei Mot
Ezekiel 22:1-19 (A); 22:1-16 (S)
Haftarah Kedoshim
“Patience for Return”
Amos 9:7-15 (A);
Ezekiel 20:2-20 (S)
excerpted from TorahScope Haftarah Exhortations
This week’s Torah teaching will often combine the readings for Acharei Mot (Leviticus 16:1-18:30) and Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:1-20:27), into one large parashah for reflection and study. From instructions for the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur[1] to the penultimate admonition in the second to last verse—“You shall be holy to me, for I, the LORD, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine” (Leviticus 20:26, WMB)—the theme of pursuing and attaining holiness persists. There is no doubt that if this people faithfully obeyed God as laid out, that they would be a distinct nation, set-apart from the other nations of the world.
Depending on whether one is following the Sephardic or Ashkenazic suggested Haftarah, or whether both readings are chosen, the traditional passages from Amos and Ezekiel remind Bible students that the challenge for Ancient Israel to maintain holiness, was a recurring theme expressed by the Prophets down through the centuries. The Lord anointed Amos to prophesy primarily to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and later Ezekiel to the Southern Kingdom exiles in Babylonian captivity. While these are both different vantage points, their selected admonitions for this week have a similar tone, as the rebellious nature of God’s people required them to be punished. By not adhering to God’s commandments regarding holiness, the Lord was compelled to punish the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and later the Southern Kingdom of Judah—by banishing them to foreign nations. Yet by His grace, there is a promise of restoration given to them, as the punishment issued will only be temporary, and the people will be restored to the Promised Land:
“‘For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the first fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things’” (Ezekiel 20:40, WMB).
Our selection from the Book of Amos was directed to the Northern Kingdom Israelites, who would be attacked, taken into Assyrian exile, and consequently dispersed. The Prophet Amos spoke in a metaphor, as though the Lord would scatter them like grain shaken in a sieve. Yet even though scattered and consumed (cf. Hosea 9:8), He will know what happened to everyone:
“‘Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to me, children of Israel?’ says the LORD. ‘Haven’t I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,’ says the LORD. ‘For behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth. All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, ‘Evil won’t overtake nor meet us.’ In that day I will raise up the tent of David who is fallen and close up its breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old” (Amos 9:7-10, WMB).
Of those who would not be killed by the sword, God promised to scatter the rebellious House of Israel like seed. But all hope is not lost. Amos prophesied how there will be a future restoration of the Tabernacle of David, and the ultimate return of Israel to the Promised Land:
“‘In that day I will raise up the tent of David who is fallen and close up its breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,’ says the LORD who does this. ‘Behold, the days come,’ says the LORD, ‘that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the one treading grapes him who sows seed; and sweet wine will drip from the mountains, and flow from the hills. I will bring my people Israel back from captivity, and they will rebuild the ruined cities, and inhabit them; and they will plant vineyards, and drink wine from them. They shall also make gardens, and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they will no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them,’ says the LORD your God” (Amos 9:11-15, WMB; cf. Acts 15:16-18).
The conclusion to Amos’ prophecy, is actually one of the passages which many in today’s Jewish Diaspora have clung to for future fulfillment. With the formation of the State of Israel in 1948, many religious Jews have particularly cited these verses as “God’s promise” that once the return and rebuilding process is underway, there will never again be a future expulsion. However, there is a valid argument that appropriating the holiness commandments, seen in Kedoshim, might be part of the rebuilding. For surely if the Almighty punished Ancient Israel for lack of obedience during the times of Amos and Ezekiel, will His immutable nature now give modern-day Israelis a “pass”? I would ask you to consider this, as the pressure of the world today continues to grow, as a part of what is often known by the oxymoronic label: “the Mideast peace process.”
To expand your study this week—one which coincidentally includes the 61st anniversary of Israel’s declaration of independence and formation (2009)—take a look at Ezekiel 20 and 22. Note the similarities about disobedience to the commandments of God, and parallels you might be considering from the Torah in Acharei Mot and Kedoshim:
“But they rebelled against me and wouldn’t listen to me. They didn’t all throw away the abominations of their eyes. They also didn’t forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the middle of the land of Egypt. But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among which they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I caused them to go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, which if a man does, he will live in them. Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They didn’t walk in my statutes and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keeps, he shall live in them. They greatly profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness, to consume them. But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out” (Ezekiel 20:8-14, WMB).
If you read a little further in the larger cotext (beyond the prescribed Haftarah verses), you will discover the expectation of not only Israel returning to obedience, but God bringing them back into the Promised Land:
“As for you, house of Israel, the Lord GOD says: ‘Go, everyone serve his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to me; but you shall no more profane my holy name with your gifts and with your idols. For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the first fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things. I will accept you as a pleasant aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries in which you have been scattered. I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations. You will know that I am the LORD when I bring you into Eretz-Israel, into the country which I swore to give to your fathers’” (Ezekiel 20:39-42, WMB).
Additionally, Ezekiel 22 speaks of the scattering of Israel, and its future restoration, as our selected Haftarah passages come to a close:
“‘I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries. I will purge your filthiness out of you. You will be profaned in yourself in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ The LORD’s word came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the middle of the furnace. They are the dross of silver. Therefore the Lord GOD says: “Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the middle of Jerusalem”’” (Ezekiel 22:15-19, WMB).
As you take the time to read our three critical selections from the Prophets, you will note a degree of overlap and consistency. Our Heavenly Father had a plan to scatter His disobedient people into the nations of the world for chastisement. However, at His appointed time, He promises to gather them back to the Land of Israel, with the ultimate aim of them being molded into a people, who will diligently obey Him and are blessed by Him.
While we may not be necessarily seeing all of these things today, we are likely on the way to seeing the fulfillment of these prophecies some time in the future. Today’s Messianic movement has been responsible for bringing many Jewish people to saving faith in Yeshua the Messiah, and exposing non-Jewish Believers to their faith heritage in the Scriptures of Israel. Being the people who God wants us to be, is a challenge for much of the present generation. How we learn to be obedient to Him, and fulfill the mandate which He has given to us, are things which may take some time to learn and refine. However, with all of the complementary prophecies seen elsewhere in the Scriptures, we can have comfort that all of what has been promised will take place in the Father’s time!
The challenge for Believers in the Messiah Yeshua, is waiting upon Him. In the interim as we wait—let us learn to be joyful, and be obedient to the Lord! Let us sit down and be encouraged by the message of these ancient prophecies, and what they mean for men and women of faith.
NOTES
[1] Leviticus 16:1-34.
