Parashot Nitzavim & Vayeilech
Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30

By: Dani'el Rendelman

 

Ask Michele Woolam if it was worth it and she’ll say ‘yes.’

 

She won’t hesitate and she won’t even pause to answer you.

 

She would just say ‘yes, it was worth it.’

 

A few years ago, Michele experienced a total of 55 grueling hours of labor to deliver her tiny six pound, two ounce daughter.  Her harsh birth pains started at 2am on Wednesday and did not stop until 9:17am on Friday morning.  Yet, all of the pain and all of the pressure was totally gone when Michele held her child in her hands right after delivery.  Since then Michele insists that people call her “Marathon Mama” as a joke about her pregnancy experience.

 

Birthing a child is the most awesome experience.  Hours, even days of pain, are forgotten when the purpose behind the pain is finally delivered.  The expectant mother who has carried her baby for many months, has spent hours upon hours waiting for this exact moment and all the problems of pregnancy couldn’t put a dimmer upon holding the newborn for the very first time.  The pain is worth it.

 

Spiritually speaking there is a birthing process going on within each Bible believer.  “Yahshua declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of Elohim unless he is born again,” Yochannan 3:30.

 

There are those that teach that being born again is an instantaneous eternal action, yet everyone knows that labor takes time.  A person isn’t born instantly after they are conceived.  “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”  Yahshua answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter Malchut Shamayim unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

 

The transformation, the development of a sperm into a fetus into a child takes time.  A lot of change is taking place.  Your spiritual development will also change you.  From sinner to saint and from rebellious to redeemed, your life can convert through the power of the Word. This is NOT to say that following the Savior is beyond our reach or that salvation is earned by keeping the ‘law.’  This is to say that the Word of Elohim will enable people to be born of the Spirit.  “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of Elohim.  For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Master stands forever,” 1 Kefa 1:23-24.

 

This word that stands forever, that has never passed away, is the words of YHWH as recorded in the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah.  Within these pages are teachings for living, and instructions on how the Almighty meant life to be experienced.  Everything is discussed including how to worship, raise your children, treat your neighbor, handle problems and what to eat, wear, and say.  The scriptures are very clear on how a Saint should live.  Just read the Torah and discover the Father’s will for your life.  Yahshua was the living word, the ‘word made flesh,’ and those who faithfully trust and obey Him are born again.

 

There are lots of people that believe that the Torah is just too difficult to follow.  They say that since you can’t keep it perfectly then you shouldn’t even try.  They bicker that the Savior has ‘done away’ with the ceremonies of the ‘Old Testament.’  “Who wants to live like a Jew anyway” they question.  Sadly, these people have a point.

 

They are right when they taunt that the Torah is not easy to follow.  They are wrong when they preach that the Messiah did away with the teachings of Moses.  Remember the verse already quoted, “the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Master stands forever.”  This is a direct quote from the book of Yesha’yahu (Isaiah.)  Just because something seems hard doesn’t mean that you don’t do it.  No pain, no gain – right?

 

Here’s the point - if you are totally honest, you will agree that obeying the words of the Torah is not necessarily easy.

 

Haven’t you struggled with certain commandments?  Haven’t you wondered ‘exactly’ how you should keep the mitzvot?  Doesn’t the Torah go against every part of your surrounding family life, workplace, and world?  Has your obedience to YHWH’s will separated you from friends and loved ones?  Does confusion or frustration ever make you want to give up and walk away?  Have you ever felt alone in your life of Torah?  If so, then good!  Your frustrations just mean that the Torah is working!  The word of YHWH is separating you from this world and its comforts.  “For the word of YHWH (the Torah) is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart,” Ivrim (Hebrews) 4:12.

 

It is perfectly normal to struggle in Torah observance.  Don’t let anyone beat you down because you are trying.  The Divine Will is directly opposite to every part of our society.  The Torah is opposed to every bit of your fleshly nature.  Yet, this is how your life was destined to be lived.  The Torah lifestyle is how the Almighty purposed His people to exist.  “When a person knows and grasps in his mind a Torah law... he thereby grasps and holds and encompasses with his mind the divine wisdom and will... while his mind is simultaneously enveloped within them. This makes for a wonderful union, like which there is none other and which has no parallel anywhere in the terrestrial world, whereby complete oneness and unity, from every side and angle, is attained,” says the Talmud.  Romans 2:13 says, “it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.”

 

You must understand that YHWH is actually growing you when your faith is frustrated or when you doubt.  When your ego is experiencing pain, you are very pregnant and about to give birth.  Don’t give up.  Living Torah is a struggle, but it is worth it.  The Torah itself declares in this week’s reading some wise words on this subject.  Write these words down.  Memorize them and reflect upon them the next time you wrestle with the Mitzvot.  Like 55 hours of grueling labor, walking in the Word is worth it.

 

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”  Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”  No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.  See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.  For I command you today to love YHWH your Elohim, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and YHWH your Elohim will bless you,” Devarim 30:11-16.

 

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