Ki Teitzei/When you go out
Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
Isaiah 54:1-10
Knowing where to begin in this week’s torah/haftorah portion was quite a challenge and I also had a difficult time seeing the connection between the two. The haftorah always sheds some light or clarification on the torah portion. Sometimes the ‘connection’ isn’t completely obvious and has what you might say a ‘spiritual’ link. This week the dichotomy between the two was like the Grand Canyon in my mind, and I just couldn’t see the connection. The torah portion contained a bunch of the ‘laws’ that you would hope, especially a non-believer would never see. Things like what to do with women captured after a war; how to get rid of your wife; how to kill a rebellious son, and one of my favorites; what to do when your brother’s ox goes astray. You can just imagine how much easier it would be not to mention these or just say, “those pages must not have been printed in my bible”…or the ‘stand by’, “my dog must have eaten those pages”. I went from all of that to Isaiah 54 with the tenderness and beauty of a loving God restoring His beloved bride, Israel, to full standing with all the heavenly benefits. It’s kind of like when I’m on a walk with our dog at a fast pace, and she decides to sniff something in the grass and I don’t notice, and keep walking…as the leash runs out of slack, she almost becomes air borne as her head is jerked around toward where I am. (I am usually very gentle with her, so don’t call peta or something like that) We serve such an amazing God! Here are His people that have become so to speak ‘barren’ because of their unfaithfulness to the Living God, and He says, “Sing o barren, you who have not borne, break forth into singing…for more are the children of the desolate, than the children of the married woman, says the Lord”. That’s more grace than I know of in me! “Enlarge your tent…lengthen your chords…” I would say “get out of the tent and hang yourself by your chords!” “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you…” I wonder how a “mere moment’ might have felt when they were in captivity to the heathens and forsaken by the Lord. “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed, neither disgraced…for your maker is your husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name; and your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth”. He obviously isn’t worried about His reputation…in fact He is so full of love for His people that He wants His ‘reputation’ to be measured by the love He has for His wayward people, who tried to embarrass Him! Man, what a God is betrothed to us!
9“For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. 10 For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
So today as we look at our shortcomings and even sinfulness; instead of falling into condemnation or justifying our sin; during this time of ‘teshuvah’ (turning and returning), let us be reminded that our God’s love for us overcomes Him, and instead of running from Him, let us begin running toward His incredibly comforting arms of love and comfort. by john eisner
I recently heard a teacher say an amazing thought: “You were not made to love God: you were made to be loved by God!” If we really let that seep into our hearts and minds…we may find ourselves loving God as a response to His love rather than struggling to attain it…WOW!
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