Reflection for Devarim
“Learning to Abide and Rest”
John 15:1-11
Hebrews 3:7-4:11
excerpted from TorahScope Apostolic Scriptures Reflections
In our weekly Torah readings, we have now arrived at the fifth and final book of Moses, Deuteronomy, known by the Hebrew title of Devarim or “Words.” A tremendous amount of information has been conveyed in the previous four books, from the Creation account and early human history witnessed in Genesis, to the judgments upon Egypt and the Exodus, to the fire and smoke of Mount Sinai, to the wilderness trek of the camp of Israel—and now the people were getting ready to really enter into the Promised Land. In many respects, Deuteronomy was Moses’ final summary of what had proceeded in Israel’s recent past, with a reiteration and amplification of many of the episodes, and a reaffirmation of many commandments.
Here, on the plains of Moab overlooking the Jordan River to the west, Moses communicated to Israel via five discourses and poems (Deuteronomy 1:6-4:43; 4:44-28:69; 29-30; 32; 33), and two narratives about his final days before dying (Deuteronomy 31; 34). The purpose, of repeating much of what has transpired, was that Ancient Israel could truly be prepared with knowing the severity of the responsibility they would have once they entered into Canaan, occupy the Land, and become implanted as a new nation with its own territory. What would this responsibility entail? What would dereliction from the commandments of God mean, should they be ignored and/or purposefully violated?
Within the first parashah of Deuteronomy, there is one principle which is affirmatively expressed, in order to let the people of Israel know that they were steadfastly watched and cared for by the Almighty. Despite their tendency to exercise independence as human nature is wont to do, Moses reminded the Israelites about how the Holy One fought on their behalf, and carried them like a father would carry a son needing help:
“Then I said to you, ‘Don’t be terrified. Don’t be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you have seen how that the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.’ Yet in this thing you didn’t believe the LORD your God, who went before you on the way, to seek out a place for you to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day” (Deuteronomy 1:29-33, WMB).
Moses conveyed how the Lord loved His people so much, that He desired them to intimately know how they were within His protection and care at all times—if they would accept it. The Father wanted His children to be dependent on Him for all things. However, as it is witnessed not only in the Torah, but also much of the Bible, the proclivity of God’s people has been to want to do their own thing, often ignoring His direction. From the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve would not even follow the simple instruction to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, to the rebellious generation of Israelites who delayed the entry into the Promised Land and died in the wilderness—the disobedient suffered the consequences, and passed on the effects of their sin to their successors. Human free will causes people to want to act most independent of the Creator, despite His assurances for provision and defense.
The need for people to rely upon the Lord for their sustenance and needs, is a message which continues into the Apostolic Scriptures. In the midst of the conversation which occurred during the Last Supper, Yeshua the Messiah spoke of how His followers were to abide in the vine, just after He washed His Disciples’ feet, declared Himself to be the way, truth, and life, and how He would send the Comforter or Holy Spirit after He left (John chs. 13-14). Yeshua likened His own self to a vine which produces fruit useful for the Kingdom. He admonished His Disciples to abide in Him, the Vine, in order for them to produce lasting spiritual fruit:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you. In this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples. Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. 1If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:1-11, WMB).
As one reads Yeshua’s teaching about the Vine and the Vinedresser, some similarities with Moses’ teaching about God being a watchful caregiver, to the generation preparing to enter into the Promised Land, can be observed. Note how those who were unfaithful would be cast aside, including: those who did not bear positive fruit unto God, or those who had complained in the wilderness and as a consequence died off. On the other hand, if there was a good chance for an individual to be useful for bearing fruit in the Kingdom—just as the younger people from the wilderness generation did enter into the Promised Land (cf. Numbers 14:29)—then in God’s mercy He may be most forbearing in His decision to judge. Some followers of the Messiah are pruned of fruitless branches in their lives, in order to bear fruit of their good branches. In the process of becoming more and more like Yeshua, those aspects of our lives which are sinful or still reflective of our fallen humanity, naturally get cast out.
Each Believer today needs to place his or her complete trust in our Heavenly Father, and rely exclusively upon Yeshua—not only to be dependent for all things—but so we can truly make the Messiah’s sacrificial example one which we manifest in our daily lives. Sadly, the concept of abiding in Him and depending on Him for guidance and sustenance, is easier said than done for most. Yet, if we have experienced salvation, then we are to have the Holy Spirit resident inside of us, guiding us in all our actions (cf. Ezekiel 36:26-27). As the Messiah Himself taught,
“Yeshua answered him, ‘If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word which you hear isn’t mine, but the Father’s who sent me. I have said these things to you while still living with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you…Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment; about sin, because they don’t believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to my Father, and you won’t see me any more; about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged” (John 14:23-26; 16:7-11, WMB).
Whether it be defending Ancient Israel in the wilderness trek, or guiding Believers via the power of His Spirit, the Holy One really wants to carry His children along the way, providing for their every need. The Creator God desires His sons and daughters to be completely dependent upon Him as they move through life, so that by abiding in Him, they can receive all the bounty of His goodness and love!
In a like manner, since apart from Him people can often do nothing which has lasting spiritual value, it is imperative that we become willing vessels for the Lord to use for His work on Earth. Composing a living sacrifice of high spiritual quality is not always an easy thing (Romans 12:1-2), because it requires our independent personhood to decrease, so that His presence inside of each of us will increase—and we will be consumed entirely by the love of God in our thoughts and deeds!
It is a process, and indeed struggle, for many people to relinquish their human will to the Divine will of our Heavenly Father—as we transition from being focused on doing all things entirely in our own strength, to abiding and resting in Him. If we learn to do this, then not only will we experience great satisfaction in our lives today—knowing that the Lord looks down from Heaven and is pleased with us reliant upon Him—but we can reflect upon the eternal state and the “rest” which we will all be able to experience when Yeshua returns and evil is finally defeated. While a little long, consider the vignette offered by the author of Hebrews, who looked back at the Exodus generation, and had to acknowledge how while having experienced God’s goodness, they were unable to partake of His good intention for them because of rebellion. Their example was to serve as a warning to later generations that now is the time to repent of sin, and focus on the future to come that only Messiah Yeshua can inaugurate:
“Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of the trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me and tried me, and saw my deeds for forty years. Therefore I was displeased with that generation, and said, “They always err in their heart, but they didn’t know my ways.” As I swore in my wrath, “They will not enter into my rest” [Numbers 14:21-23].’ Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there might be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God; but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called ‘today’, lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Messiah, if we hold the beginning of our confidence firm to the end, while it is said, ‘Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion’ [Psalm 95:7-8]. For who, when they heard, rebelled? Wasn’t it all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? With whom was he displeased forty years? Wasn’t it with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? To whom did he swear that they wouldn’t enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient? We see that they weren’t able to enter in because of unbelief. Let’s fear therefore, lest perhaps anyone of you should seem to have come short of a promise of entering into his rest. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, even as they also did, but the word they heard didn’t profit them, because it wasn’t mixed with faith by those who heard. For we who have believed do enter into that rest, even as he has said, ‘As I swore in my wrath, they will not enter into my rest’ [Psalm 95:11]; although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has said this somewhere about the seventh day, ‘God rested on the seventh day from all his works’ [Genesis 2:2]; and in this place again, ‘They will not enter into my rest’ [Psalm 95:11].” Seeing therefore it remains that some should enter into it, and they to whom the good news was preached before failed to enter in because of disobedience, he again defines a certain day, ‘today’, saying through David so long a time afterward (just as has been said), ‘Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts’ [Psalm 95:7-8]. For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day. There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For he who has entered into his rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. Let’s therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 3:7-4:11, WMB).
As we meditate on what it means to both abide in the Lord and rest in Him, making our way through Deuteronomy (and soon considering the fasts of the Ninth of Av and the Day of Atonement), it would be beneficial to work on your dependence toward Him, as you submit to His will for your life. Each of us as born again Believers has a moment-by-moment opportunity, to call upon the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit—to rely upon our Creator for guidance when it comes to our thoughts, words, and deeds. With His Spirit within us, communion with Him, abiding in Him, and resting in Him are all available. The challenge often present is learning how to tap into the Vine, and letting Yeshua’s salvation nourish us, as we bear fruit.
As we contemplate what we have learned during this past year of Torah study, reflecting on each reading’s connection to the Apostolic Scriptures—I would encourage each of us in our remaining weeks to not only seek the Lord even more—but desire to see spiritual fruit manifest in ways which will confirm that we are truly abiding in Him. Will this require any pruning or change on your part? If the Holy Spirit is guiding the way, and you are being truly convicted of life areas you need to see altered, then do not be concerned. Abide and rest in Him, and have comfort in knowing that the Lord is able to do all things, if we have faith and confidence in His ability to carry us like a child in need!
