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Ki-Tavo

When you enter in
“A Faithful Treasured Possession”

Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8
Isaiah 60:1-22

excerpted from TorahScope, Volume I

Ki-Tavo is frequently remembered for the lengthy lists of blessings and curses which were promised to Israel as a result of their obedience or disobedience to the Lord. In this season of repentance, which traditionally comes during the month of Elul as we approach the Fall High Holidays, reflecting on such blessings and curses can be a sobering exercise. After all, God declared many times throughout the Scriptures that Israel was a chosen people who were designated as His own possession among all the peoples of the Earth—who were to in turn be a blessing to all they encountered. Here in our parashah this week, after we see instructions on how Israel should honor the Lord with offerings of first fruits and tithes,[1] Moses summarized that the people were declaring their willingness to follow and obey Him fully:

“You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you would walk in his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, and his ordinances, and listen to his voice” (Deuteronomy 26:17, WMB).

This commitment received a positive response from the Lord, who reiterated and amplified just how treasured a possession Israel would be:

“The LORD has declared today that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his commandments. He will make you high above all nations that he has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God, as he has spoken” (Deuteronomy 26:18-19, WMB).

Being “the chosen nation” above all the nations of the world has some rather incumbent, serious responsibilities. Israel was required to be an example of a consecrated people, which fully submitted itself to the will of God. He required specific actions from His people to affirm that they were indeed His, and that they could truly be as prominent as He desired them to be.

Moses gave explicit instructions on what must be done, once the Israelites had crossed the Jordan and entered into the Promised Land. In a very dramatic way, the Israelites were ordered to travel to the area around Shechem to perform a solemn ceremony on Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. There, the Levites would position themselves between the two mountains with six tribes on each side, and make loud declarations about curses which would come upon them as a result of deviant behavior.[2] Declarations about blessings as a result of obedience to God would be made,[3] but so would the consequences of disobedience be specified.[4] As all of these statements were ushered forth, the people would be expected to proclaim Amein, issuing their agreement with what was said. Just imagine a scene of hundreds of thousands of people declaring forth Amein to words which would determine their future (cf. Joshua 8:30-35)!

As we review the different statements which Ancient Israel was to make when they entered into the Promised Land, there are some things which should really strike us. Moses said that if Israel was to diligently obey the Lord, that His blessings would just “overtake” them:

“It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to the LORD your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you, and overtake you, if you listen to the LORD your God’s voice” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2, WMB).

The lengthy list of blessings offered by the Lord (Deuteronomy 28:3-12), culminated in the ultimate elevation for Israel to always be the head and never the tail among those in the world:

“The LORD will make you the head, and not the tail. You will be above only, and you will not be beneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today, to observe and to do” (Deuteronomy 28:13, WMB).

All which was required to attain this status, was simply obedience to God. But as the testimony of Scripture is clear, this is much easier said than done. The narrative and the tone shifts, because there is a much longer list of curses which would come upon Israel if the people chose to disobey God. Moses summarized,

“But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to the LORD your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come on you and overtake you” (Deuteronomy 28:15, WMB).

As you read curse after curse (Deuteronomy 28:16-65), you realize that these negative words touch almost every aspect of human life. After reading through these curses a number of times, you can understand why frequently—when this part of the Torah portion is often read in Jewish synagogues—it is traditionally read quickly and in an almost inaudible tone. So severe are the curses upon Israel, that the Rabbis have sought to minimize even the contemplation of the possible curses. And yet, in this time of personal and corporate repentance, is it not an ideal time to consider some of the consequences of disobedience? Just consider some of the concluding remarks about just how the people of Israel would act, once the effects of disobedience had taken their hold:

“Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be afraid night and day, and will have no assurance of your life. In the morning you will say, ‘I wish it were evening!’ and at evening you will say, ‘I wish it were morning!’ for the fear of your heart which you will fear, and for the sights which your eyes will see” (Deuteronomy 28:66-67, WMB).

Once all of the curses have taken their toll, life would be so miserable, that one will not be comfortable with either the day or the night. There will be no assurance of life at all. One’s existence will be in a sphere dominated by the power of death—a routine marked with incessant fear and loathing—especially since the people will have been scattered into the nations as a result of their disobedience.

With all of this being witnessed in our parashah this week, is there not a great incentive to be obedient to the Lord? Surely, as a part of His people today—even though we have experienced redemption in Messiah Yeshua—should we not recognize how we can only be blessed if we expel the effort to follow and obey? Sadly, much of religious history is marked by people who have made more of an effort to disobey God, or bend the rules with trying to do as little as possible, then people who have strived to love Him and His ways. Lamentably, the Lord has been quite true to His Word to enact curses and penalties upon disobedient people throughout the ages.

The Faithful Remnant

Pondering this sad reality, I was also reminded that, thankfully, there has always been a faithful remnant of people throughout history who have chosen to diligently obey God to the best of their ability and understanding. As a result, these people of faithful obedience have received the promised blessings, and have prepared the way for each successive generation. In His sovereignty the Lord has always had a group of people who are faithful to perform His Word, making a concentrated, positive difference in society—whether they be Jews or Christians. As the writer of Hebrews stated it, faith is foundational to acts of obedience:

“Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen. For by this, the elders obtained approval. By faith we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible…Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:1-3, 6, WMB).

Apparently, over the ages, it has been the faith of many men and women—who beyond a shadow of a doubt can be counted among the treasured possession of God’s people—which has caused them to be obedient to the Lord. They have been responsible for demonstrating acts of kindness and mercy to others, fulfilling what James the Just called, “Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27, WMB).

Considering the requirement of faith as a critical ingredient for generating obedience, my thoughts turned to some of the words of the Apostle Paul, which addressed the requirement of God’s people to function as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). Paul specified how each person has been given a particular allocation of faith, requiring all Believers to work and serve together in the Kingdom of God:

“For I say through the grace that was given me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3, WMB).

Reading this, I also had to recognize how Paul further said that faith was the means by which Messiah followers receive salvation—not their human works:

“for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, WMB).

But, too many people stop reading at Ephesians 2:9, because nowhere in his letters did Paul ever negate the need for the children of God to have good works. Instead, he asserted how Messiah followers have been created for good works, which come as a natural result of faith demonstrated in action:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, WMB).

James the Just was also noted for his description about how faith and works are to complement one another. A true follower of the Messiah of Israel is to have a dynamic, active faith, which manifests itself in the appropriate deeds:

“Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. Yes, a man will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe—and shudder. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness [Genesis 15:6],’ and he was called the friend of God. You see then that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith. In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:17-26, WMB).

More Faith

In these days of contemplation and repentance, as I have considered the different blessings and curses contingent upon obedience or disobedience to God—all I can do is entreat Him to give me more faith. I ask the Father to increase my faith, so that I can have a heart desirous of serving Him. In a day and age when temptation is rampant and is at clear odds with the will of the indwelling Holy Spirit—I beseech the Lord to reveal more and more of Himself, so that I can endure the trials and tribulations which have been thrust upon me in life. I want to live in accordance with His ways.

It is a great blessing to be given a significant measure of trusting faith. This gift results in one not only desiring to be obedient to the Lord, but it places one’s total confidence in His will for the future. It lets me know that I, personally, am a treasured possession of His—whom He loves and truly cares about!

What about you? Have you been turning your heart and attention toward God in this time of contemplation, in anticipation of the Fall High Holidays? What about your actions toward your neighbors? Have they been consistent with what is expected of able Messiah followers? If not, I would recommend that you go before the Lord and truly seek Him with all of your being—remembering that He is faithful to reveal Himself to those who truly seek Him:

“‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ says the LORD, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future. You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You shall seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart’” (Jeremiah 29:11-13, WMB).

May you be found to be one of His faithful treasured possessions!