Nitzavim: Standing — נצבים

​Thoughts on Torah for Last Week.
 
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Deuteronomy 26-29
This parsha contains the proverbial blessings and cursings for Israel whether they observed or violated the Lord’s commands. When the Lord decrees blessings on the faithful, there is an inheritance.  We see this in both the Torah and Brit Hadashah/New Testament.  But the conditions for receiving an inheritance seem to be different – sort of a paradox.  We’ll reconcile these differences in this review and see how blessings and inheritance fit into the broader view of the Lord’s mandate to be perfect.  But first let’s review the mitzvot/commandments in these chapters.  Go to Part 19 at time mark 54:15 - HERE.

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Blessings and Inheritance in the Torah
In a previous review, we set out the triad of blessings that God promised ancient Israel for living His law.  Those blessings included:
 
                                                       A perpetual inheritance of land,
                                                     Enduring posterity, and
                                                         physical protection
 
Of the blessings of inheritance, the Lord said in this parsha,
 
"And the LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you." 28:11.
 
An inheritance of land appears to be the lead blessings for those that follow.  Indeed, to prosper in fruit of the ground requires land and the food produced from that land sustains life.  God gave Israel the promised land and the Law so that they may live. 
 
 
Blessings and Inheritance in the New Testament
In the Sermon on the Mount,  we see Yeshua begin with this same sort of promise of inheritance.  But here it is connected to the condition of our hearts:
 
                        Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
                               Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Throughout the Gospels,  Yeshua emphasized that the first step in following Him is to have a pure heart- have pure motives, attitudes and desires.  Yeshua could have freed the Jews from Roman rule, but He knew that unless the Jews changed their hearts, they would just corrupt His righteous law and be back into bondage.
 
A close analysis of the 5th chapter of Matthew, indicates that the rest of the blessings promised in the Torah would follow, but that would first mean cultivating a pure heart and then applying  the law with pure motives, attitudes and desires – verse 16-47 or what we can call His “Standard of Perfection”.  And it is this Standard of Perfection that Yeshua is asking of us to live to be with Him forever – Inheritance.
 
Standard of Perfection
Once a Believer accepts Yeshua as Messiah and is “Saved”,  Yeshua teaches that there is a Standard of Perfection for each of us to acquire.  And this quest for perfection is the central teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.  He said in verse 48, “Be ye perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect”.  So in other words, 

"Perfection is achieved when we can apply the Law (actions)

with the Love of a Pure Heart (pure motives, attitudes, desires).

​So in summary, this is how we summarize Matthew 5,

Standard of Perfection

verses 3-11	-	​verses 16-47	-	verse 48	-	-
​Cultivate a pure heart – pure motives, attitudes and desires.	>	Apply the Law with a pure heart which is letting our light shine and are good works. Apply the Law by following Yeshua’s example. ​ Apply the Law by looking at these examples.	>	​Being Perfect as the Father is Perfect	>	Inheritance

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Hebrew Study

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Isaiah Chapter 49
Jehovah empowers his Endtime servant after he is rejected to restore his people and to implement their new exodus.

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Resource Links for this Week's Portion

TORAH: Deuteronomy 29:9 to 30:20
GOSPELS: John 12:41-50

Listen and Read the Portion
First Fruits of Zion

Torah Pearls with Nehemia Gordon

HAFTARAH: Isaiah Chapter 50

Commentary with Avraham Gileadi, PhD