Commentary - Year 3 Sabbath 36

Deuteronomy 17:14 - 18:13   -   1 Samuel 10:17-25   -   Psalm 133   -   Acts 13:13-44

Kislev 11, 5764 / December   6, 2003

Kislev 11, 5767 / December   2, 2006

Kislev 11, 5770 / November 28, 2009

Kislev 17, 5773 / November 31, 2012

Kislev 17, 5777 / November 27, 2015

Kislev   9, 5779 / November 17, 2018

Ki haBo / When You Enter   SCRIPTURES should be read first

There were three basic commandments for Israel to observe as a nation when it was established in the land (Talmud: Sanhedrin 20b):

(1)     Appoint a specific kind of king (v.17:15);

(2)     Cut off the seed of Amalek (v.25:19); and

(3)     Build the Temple (v.12:10).

Deut 25:19 "Therefore it shall come about when Yahweh your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.

Amelek was a grandson of Esau (Gen 36:12). Amelek fought against Israel early during the exodus (Ex 17:8); He attacked the stragglers that were faint (Deu 25:17). This was the battle where Israel prevailed as long as the hands of Moses were held up. The ten spies complained that Amelek lived in the land to be conquered (Num 13:29). Balak prophesied that the end of Amelek would be destruction (Num 24:20).

Deut 12:10-11 "When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which Yahweh your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, then it shall come about that the place in which Yahweh your God shall choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to Yahweh.

(1)     A king was required first, (2) to lead war with Amalek (Exodus 17:16, 1 Chronicles 29:23);

(3)  when the land was at peace, the Temple was to be built (Deuteronomy 12:10).

Concerning kings (v.17:14-20):

When there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6).

There being no king in Israel (Judges 17-18), an Ephraimite named Micah had a silver graven image made, which Danites stole and worshipped, on their way to making war with Laish.

There being no king in Israel (Judges 19-29), the concubine of a Levite was raped and killed by Benjaminites, who were unrepentant. The Levite cut her into twelve pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel. Israel went to war with the Benjaminites, and tens of thousands were killed.

The king had to be God’s choice, and had to be an Israelite – a Hebrew. The king was to trust in God’s strength, and therefore was not allowed many horses. The king was to keep his heart aligned toward Yahweh, and therefore was not allowed many wives to turn his heart elsewhere. The king was to trust in God’s provision, and therefore was not allowed great amounts of silver and gold. The king was required to write for himself a scroll copy of the Torah, to be read every day of his life, so that he would observe God’s instruction, and stay mindful of his position under God.

When the people rejected God as their king (1 Samuel 8:7), and requested an earthly king, God’s choice for the first king was Saul.

1 Samuel 10:19 “But you today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have said, ‘No, but set a king over us!’ ”

1 Samuel 10:24: “And Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see him (Saul) whom Yahweh has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.’ So all the people shouted and said, ‘Long live the king!’ ”

After Saul, David became king, and was a type of Messiah King Yeshua. Yeshua would be a descendant of David.

Acts 13:21-23 “And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And after He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ From the offspring of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Yeshua”.

After David, Solomon became king. Solomon was granted great wisdom. Yet, he tried the things God forbade: many horses, many wives, and much gold.

This picture will be fulfilled in the end:

(1)  Israel’s king will be Yeshua. He will act according to Torah forever, not trusting in the powerful things of this world, not turned astray by the pleasures of this world, and not depending upon the riches of this world. Fulfilling Deuteronomy 17:20 (see also 1 Samuel 13:13 and Revelation 11:15), His kingdom will be forever!

(2)  All of the enemies that would attack us today – meaning those that would deter us from our walk with God, will be cut off – eliminated. Their memory will be erased.

(3)  We will have access to God’s Holy Temple, in all its perfection.

Concerning priests (v.18:1-8):

The Levites were to receive the firstfruits from the people, and share in them equally.

They were required to serve “in the Name of Yahweh”. That means that they were God’s representatives, His ambassadors.

Yeshua came “in the Name of Yahweh” – Matthew 21:9, 23:39. He is Messiah (Anointed) Priest of the Most High God.

Concerning the people (v.18:9-13):

We are not to imitate the detestable things that worldly people do. We are to seek guidance from God, not “readers” or spiritists. God drives people out of their lands because they seek guidance from the wrong places (v.12). We are to be blameless (v.13).

In today’s Psalm 133, which is a Psalm of David, we read, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” When we are in unity under the Great King, how pleasant that will be!

Readings:

Reader 1*  Amen. ¹⁴ "When you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,' ¹⁵ you shall surely set a king over you whom Yahweh your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman.

Reader 2*  Amen. ¹⁶ "Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since Yahweh has said to you, 'You shall never again return that way.' ¹⁷ "He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

Reader 3*  Amen. ¹⁸ "Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ "It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, ²⁰ that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.

Reader 4*  Amen. ^18:1 "The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat Yahweh'S offerings by fire and His portion. ² "They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen; Yahweh is their inheritance, as He promised them.

Reader 5*  Amen. ³ "Now this shall be the priests' due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep, of which they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. ⁴ "You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep. ⁵ "For Yahweh your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to stand and serve in the name of Yahweh forever.

Reader 6*  Amen. ⁶ "Now if a Levite comes from any of your towns throughout Israel where he resides, and comes whenever he desires to the place which Yahweh chooses, ⁷ then he shall serve in the name of Yahweh his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there before Yahweh. ⁸ "They shall eat equal portions, except what they receive from the sale of their fathers' estates.

Reader 7*  Amen. ⁹ "When you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. ¹⁰ "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, ¹¹ or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. ¹² "For whoever does these things is detestable to Yahweh; and because of these detestable things Yahweh your God will drive them out before you. ¹³ "You shall be blameless before Yahweh your God.

1 Samuel 10:17-25

Reader 8*  Amen. ¹⁷ Thereafter Samuel called the people together to Yahweh at Mizpah; ¹⁸ and he said to the sons of Israel, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.' ¹⁹ "But you have today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have said, 'No, but set a king over us!' Now therefore, present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans."

Reader 9*  Amen. ²⁰ Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. ²¹ Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the Matrite family was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. ²² Therefore they inquired further of Yahweh, "Has the man come here yet?" So Yahweh said, "Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage."

Reader 10*  Amen. ²³ So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people." So all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!" ²⁵ Then Samuel told the people the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book and placed it before Yahweh. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house.

Psalm 133   (To be sung.)    A Song of Ascents, of David.

¹ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! ² It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. ³ It is like the dew of Hermon, coming down upon the mountains of Zion; for there Yahweh commanded the blessing – life forever.

Acts 13:13-44

Reader 11*  Amen. ¹³ Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, "Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it." ¹⁶ Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: ¹⁷ "The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. ¹⁸ "For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. ¹⁹ "When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance – all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. ²⁰ "After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

Reader 12*  Amen. ²¹ "Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² "After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.' ²³ "From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Yeshua, ²⁴ after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ "And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.'

Reader 13*  Amen. ²⁶ "Brethren, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. ²⁷ "For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. ²⁸ "And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. ²⁹ "When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰ "But God raised Him from the dead; ³¹ and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.

Reader 14*  Amen. ³² "And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, ³³ that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Yeshua, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'You are My Son; today I have begotten You.' ³⁴ "As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: 'I will give You the holy and sure blessings of David.' ³⁵ "Therefore He also says in another Psalm, 'You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.' ³⁶ "For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; ³⁷ but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.

Reader 15*  Amen. ³⁸ "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. ⁴⁰ "Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: ⁴¹ 'Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, and perish; for I am accomplishing a work in your days, a work which you willnever believe, though someone should describe it to you.'" ⁴² As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. ⁴³ Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God. ⁴⁴ The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.

© 2003  Beikvot HaMashiach
(Followers of the Messiah)