#40 — Parshat Va’Etchanan
Devarim 3:23-7:11
Overview
Parashat Va’Etchanan concludes Moses’ first speech in Deuteronomy. Moses recalls he is not allowed to cross into the promised land despite his pleas (Deuteronomy 3:23-29); he exhorts Israel to keep the statutes and rules he is teaching them. Moses especially warns against idolatry (Deuteronomy 4:1-40).
Moses sets apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River (Deuteronomy 4:41-43).
Our parashah proceeds with Moses' second speech. Moses repeats the “ten words” which G-d spoke directly from the burning Mount Sinai and recalls his role as mediator (Deuteronomy 4:44-5:33). He emphasizes again that keeping G-d’s commandments is foremost serving and loving the L-RD alone (Deuteronomy 6). Israel should not make any compromise with the Canaanites but destroy them completely together with everything associated with their idols (Deuteronomy 7:1-5).
For you are a people holy to the L-RD your G-d. The L-RD your G-d has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession (Deuteronomy 7:7).
We understand the L-RD keeps His covenant with those who love Him but will repay those who hate Him. Conclusion: so keep the commandment (Deuteronomy 7:8-11).
When you will search after Him with all your heart and soul
Hear O Israel…
In Parashat Va’Etchanan Moses exhorts the people to hold fast to the L-RD and not to forget His covenant. Moses’ words perhaps are best summarized in the Shema found in this parashah: “Hear O Israel, the L-RD our G-d, the L-RD is one, and you shall love the L-RD your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).
A warning and a prophecy
But Moses not only exhorts, he also warns the Israelites:
When you father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the L-RD your G-d, so as to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. And the L-RD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the L-RD will drive you (Deuteronomy 4:25-27).
This is a warning, but not only that; it is also a prophecy. Moses knows that this apostasy from the L-RD together with its dreadful consequences actually will take place. In verse 30 He talks about a time when “all these things have come upon you.” (See also Deuteronomy 31:29)
Forsaking the L-RD will have dreadful consequences: “For the L-RD Your G-d is a consuming fire, a jealous G-d” (Deuteronomy 4:24, see also Deuteronomy 6:15). The L-RD cannot tolerate His people going after other gods in His land.
Exile, the end?
Will Israel break the covenant and thus end up in exile? Is that how things will end?
Yes it would – if the conditional covenant of Mount Sinai with its blessing for obedience and its curse for disobedience would be the final determining factor, this would be the end.
But behind the conditional covenant made at Mount Sinai there is yet another unconditional covenant of G-d: the covenant with the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. About that covenant we read: The L-RD your G-d is a merciful G-d. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that He swore to them (Deuteronomy 4:31).
Yes, Israel will taste the bitter fruit of its idolatry when it ends up in exile. “There you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell” (Deuteronomy 4:28).
Exile: that’s what serving completely unresponsive gods of wood and stone brings. Moses warns Israel they will discover that false deities are absolute do-nothings who will leave G-d’s people completely helpless.
But when Israel will be at this low point, they will remember the One who can truly help them. Moses’ prophecy keeps in mind who Israel’s G-d is: the One who acts for the sake of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The final return of the last days
“But from there you will seek the L-RD your G-d and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).
We can read this as a gracious promise from the L-RD: “IF you search after Him with all your heart and all your soul.” And the L-RD indeed has shown Himself gracious in this way.
But it is not only a conditional promise. More than that, it is also a prophecy. The Hebrew word כי (ki) translated above as “IF” can also be rendered as “when” or even as “for.” There will come a time when Israel truly will return to the L-RD, in the last or latter days.
We see this clearly when reading what Moses says next: When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days[1], you will return to the L-RD your G-d and obey His voice (Deuteronomy 4:30).
Prophecy Repeated and Combined
At the end of the book of Deuteronomy Moses’ prophetic promise will be repeated (Deuteronomy 30:1-6). But the later prophets also elaborate on this special promise. In the book of Jeremiah this future spiritual renewal and obedience of Israel is even called a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31).
This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the L-RD; I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their G-d and they shall be My people. … For I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more (Jeremiah 31:33,34).
The prophets actually combine this promise with something else which the Torah also assigns to the last or latter days[2]: the rise of Israel’s Messianic king. (Genesis 49:1,10; Numbers 24:14,17). Because it is “in his days” that “Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely” (Jeremiah 23:6).
Hosea speaks about both latter day promises in a single prophetic breath: Afterwards the children of Israel shall return and seek the L-RD their G-d, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the L-RD and to His goodness in the latter days (Hosea 3:5).
And G-d says through Ezekiel, My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall have one shepherd. They shall walk in My rules and be careful to obey My statutes (Ezekiel 37:24).
The Leader and Savior who gives Israel repentance
Who is this shepherd of Israel? We are convinced this is Jesus the Messiah.
In Orthodox Judaism, Jesus of Nazareth is often regarded as someone who takes Israel away from G-d’s Torah. But that is a fundamental and tragic misperception. Especially when we consider what He came to do.
Jesus said He didn’t come to abolish the Torah and the prophets but rather to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). His sacrificial death and resurrection are actually the basis of the new covenant about which the prophet Jeremiah spoke. It is through Him that G-d’s Torah is written on our hearts.
On the basis of His death Israel is called back to G-d and offered complete forgiveness. By trusting in His atoning death and resurrection we receive the spiritual renewal of the new covenant. By His Spirit He changes us from the inside out. He is the shepherd who will make Israel truly follow the L-RD.
Here is how His immediate emissaries proclaimed it shortly after His resurrection in a speech to the Sanhedrin: “G-d exalted Him to His right hand as Leader and Savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31).
Jesus’ death and resurrection opened the door for Israel’s final return to G-d. He is the door back to G-d.
In the two thousand years since, in every generation a remnant of Israel have turned back to the L-RD through faith in Jesus. But the day is coming when all Israel will recognize Him as their king. G-d Himself said it through the prophet Zechariah: “They will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10).
According to Zechariah’s prophecy, in that future day not only will a fountain be opened for cleansing of sin but also idolatry will forever be eradicated from the land (Zechariah 13:1-3). On that day the prophecy of Moses will find its complete fulfillment.
Till then, we’d love to talk with you about this.
Faith in Jesus: Idolatry or idolatry’s antidote?
A serious objection
One of the prime objections of Orthodox Jewish people against faith in Jesus is that it is a forbidden form of idolatry for Jewish people. (Whether it would be idolatry for gentiles to believe in Jesus is less clear.) In the light of Deuteronomy’s strong warnings against idolatry this is a very serious objection.
G-d’s servant to the nations
Before addressing this objection further, let’s first consider this. According to the prophet Isaiah, G-d’s servant the Messiah would “bring forth justice to the nations” (Isaiah 42:1). Bringing forth justice in that context equates to converting the nations to the One true G-d (compare Isaiah 41). The Messiah would be “a light to the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). G-d Himself says it is because “I am the L-RD; that is My name; my glory I give to no other, nor My praise to carved idols” (Isaiah 42:8).
In history, it has been Jesus of Nazareth who has had this effect on the gentile world. Jesus fully affirmed the Shema (Mark 12:29-31). His early followers called upon the gentiles to abandon their idols (e.g., Acts 14:15). Because of Jesus, millions turned from idolatry to recognize the G-d of Israel as the One true G-d.
No other G-d
But doesn’t considering Jesus as G-d constitute idolatry?
Not if Jesus really is the promised Messiah – because the Hebrew scriptures call the Messiah G-d (e.g., Isaiah 9:5, Psalm 45:6-7). They say He will sit at the L-RD’s right hand as L-rd (Psalm 110:1). He will be served (i.e., worshiped) by all peoples, nations, and languages. His dominion will be everlasting (Daniel 7:15). He is even called the “L-RD our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6).
But let’s also consider the message of the scriptures of the New Covenant (New Testament) concerning Jesus. Jesus is definitely not another god in addition to the L-RD; rather He is Immanu-El, G-d with us.
The message of the gospel is that, in Jesus, Hashem Himself came to us. Jesus is G-d’s ultimate intervention on our behalf. If that is true, then faith in Jesus is not faith in another god but rather faith in the L-RD Himself. As Jesus stated, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
Faith in Jesus is faith in the salvation of G-d. And as such it is rather the opposite of idolatry. If Jesus is indeed who the New Covenant scriptures say He is, then what the first century apostles say to the Sanhedrin is true: “Salvation is in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
If Jesus is indeed who He claimed to be, then that statement is in full alignment with the Shema. If the L-RD alone is our G-d then we shouldn’t trust in anybody or anything except the salvation He personally brings. Just as there is no other G-d but the L-RD there is no other salvation than the one He brings.
When the L-RD will be One and His name be one.
When reading the prophecies of Zechariah, we find a special and important prophecy that pertains to our subject. The L-RD Himself describes Israel’s ultimate repentance and return to Him with the following words: “They will look on Me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over Him, as one weeps over a firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10).
Notice, the L-RD says that He Himself was pierced. That is exactly what happened in the person of Jesus. That is exactly the message of the New Covenant scriptures.
In the book of Zechariah this recognition and repentance leads not only to complete forgiveness for Israel (Zechariah 13:1) but also results in a complete end of idolatry.
On that day, declares the L-RD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more… (Zechariah 13:2).
And the L-RD will be king over all the earth, On that day the L-RD will be one and His name one! (Zechariah 14:9).
If Jesus is indeed the One who was pierced, Israel’s faith in Jesus will be the best antidote to idolatry ever. It will actually lead to the worldwide recognition of the L-RD’s kingship. Then the L-RD will be recognized as the One and Only G-d.
That will be the complete fulfillment of the Shema: Hear O Israel the L-RD our G-d the L-RD is one.
Is faith in G-d’s Trinity excluded by the Shema?
Case closed?
Hear, O, Israel, The L-RD our G-d, the L-RD is one (Deuteronomy 6:5). This excludes faith in a tri-unity of G-d.
Case closed! Right?
Well, not really … if we believe in a biblical way in the Trinity – or better stated, the tri-unity of G-d. We do not believe there are other gods beside G-d, or that three G-ds are working together. Perish the thought!
The doctrine of the Tri-une nature of G-d affirms the Shema. To be clear, we believe in the three-fold nature of the one G-d. We distinguish three persons in the one G-d, something the Shema does not exclude.
About uniqueness not about nature
Why doesn’t the Shema exclude belief in a three-fold nature of the one G-d? Because the Shema is not so much a statement about the absolute oneness of G-d’s nature; it is much more a statement about G-d’s absolute uniqueness.
The Shema may rightly be understood to state, “There is only one who is the L-RD our G-d! Take that to heart, O Israel!”
In the context of Deuteronomy, the Shema is a call to give our devotion to none other than G-d. It is a call to give HASHEM alone our total commitment and devotion as the only true G-d. Besides HASHEM there is no G-d worth our devotion!
We see this is a correct way to understand the Shema when we see the allusion to it in Zechariah 14:9. “On that day the L-RD will be one and His name one.”
It makes no sense to understand this as saying that the nature of G-d will be one in the future. Rather it indicates the day is coming when G-d’s uniqueness will be recognized. The L-RD is unique and unrivaled. The word “one” in Zechariah 14:9 is used the same way as in the Shema.
Not an absolute singularity
The Torah itself indicates that the One and only G-d is not an absolute singularity. The being and essence of the One and Only G-d is much richer and higher than that. The One G-d is personal but in a higher way than we are. He is personal in such a way that He reveals Himself as One and a compound unity at the same time. He uniquely is One and at the same time within Himself a marvelous and holy community of three loving persons who enjoy an absolute harmonious one-ness. This is mind boggling but true. HASHEM is like no other being!
This tri-une nature of G-d becomes especially clear when the Messiah becomes one of us, taking on human flesh. But the contours of G-d’s tri-une nature can already be perceived in the Tanakh – especially if our eyes have been sharpened by further revelation. Below is some of the evidence to consider.
The Spirit and the Angel of the L-RD
G-d’s complex unity is already hinted at, or maybe we should even say indicated, when we read the first pages of the Torah: “Then G-d said, “Let us make man in our image…” (1:26) and when we read “Then the L-RD G-d said “behold man has become like one of us” (Genesis 3:22).
Throughout the scripture (starting at the very beginning Genesis 1:2) we read about the Spirit of God, who proceeds from God. (It is the Spirit of God or of the L-RD) God’s spirit is not just an impersonal power or an influence, but a person. The scriptures say you can grieve Him. (See Isaiah 63:10 below)
Throughout the Torah (and also in the rest of scripture) we also encounter the person of the Angel of the L-RD. He is an angel, a messenger or delegate of G-d but He is not a “normal” created angel. For this angel is equated with G-d Himself: He is sent by the L-RD and yet He is the L-RD (see e.g., Genesis 48:16 and Exodus 3:2-6). When we examine the scriptures on this topic we see both the “Sender” and “the One who is sent” are called the L-RD or HASHEM.
So there are the Spirit of the L-RD and the Angel of the L-RD and obviously the L-RD from whom the Spirit proceeds and who sends His Angel. So we see three persons in the one G-d.
Because of this the Torah can tell us that the L-RD appeared to Abraham and was on earth, even appearing as a man (Genesis 18), while simultaneously the L-RD was in heaven. When Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed by this person in whom the L-RD appears on earth we read, “Then the L-RD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the L-RD out of the heavens” (Genesis 19:25). Two persons who both are fully the L-RD are mentioned in one verse.
We see the tri-fold nature of the one G-d – the L-RD, His Angel and His Spirit – also beautifully together in the following passage from the book of Isaiah:
I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the L-RD and the praises of the L-RD…
For He said, “surely they are My people
Children who will not lie.”
So He became their Savior
In all their affliction He was afflicted
And the angel of His presence saved them
In His love and in His pity He redeemed them;
And bore them and carried them all the days of old.
But they rebelled and grieved His holy spirit…” (Isaiah 63:7,8-10)
And would it be a coincidence that the name of the L-RD is mentioned three times in the priestly blessing (Numbers 6:24-26)
Immanu-El
A more literal translation of “Angel of His presence” would be “the Angel of his Face”. And he truly is G-d’s personal interface with us. The image of the invisible G-d, the apostle Paul later would say[3]. He was the One in whom G-d came down to redeem Israel from Egypt (Exodus 3:8) but He came also down as the Messiah to bring about the ultimate redemption.
Just like the Angel of the L-RD is sent by the L-RD and is the L-RD Himself, so is the Messiah sent by G-d and G-d’s son (Psalm 2:7), while he is G-d at the same time (Psalm 45:6-7; Isaiah 9:5[6]; Jeremiah 23:6). Messiah is a special appearance of the uncreated “Angel of the L-RD.”
In the person of the Messiah the “Angel of the L-RD” even enters fully into the human race and becomes one of us, without losing His divine nature! He is “Immanu-el,” “G-d-with-us” (Isaiah 7:14; Malachi 3:1).
True Oneness
But let’s return to the Shema. We presented above that the Shema in its context talks about G-d’s uniqueness and is not making a statement about G-d’s nature.
But let’s say we want to insist the Shema is also a statement about G-d’s nature. Even then the Shema stands not in contradiction to faith in G-d’s tri-unity. Here is why: The Shema does not say G-d is “singular” (יחיד yachid) but rather “The L-RD is one (אחד echad). The Hebrew word echad does not necessarily refer to the unity of a singularity; it can refer as well to a compound unity (e.g., Genesis 2:24 where a husband and wife become “one flesh,” בשר אחד basar echad). And we might rightly expect there to be no greater unity than the unique unity between the three persons eternally existing in the one G-d.
So even if we don’t take the Shema as a statement about G-d’s uniqueness, as seems to be intended, but rather as a statement about the unity of G-d’s nature, it does not necessarily follow that G-d is an absolute singularity.
It actually cannot mean that or the Torah would be contradicting itself. The Torah shows that the One G-d is not an absolute singular unity but a complex unity; or better stated, He is a loving communal unity. G-d is personal in a higher way than we are.
As created beings, we recognize that in discussing the nature of the Creator we are reaching the limits of human understanding and language. As we read His Word and discover the complexity of His nature, we stagger to comprehend “three yet One” at the same time. HASHEM, the one and only G-d, is unique indeed. Full of inscrutable greatness, full of three-personal love, in royal majesty He alone is worthy of our complete devotion and adoration.
Perhaps we even see a hint of the three-fold nature of the One G-d in the Shema itself. It has a threefold reference to G-d: Hear, O, Israel, The L-RD, our G-d, the L-RD is one.
Hebrew: אחרית הימים “the end of the days.”
Again, the same time reference: אחרית הימים “the end of the days.”
Colossians 1:15