Parshah 48 – Shof’tim – Judges D’varim (Deuteronomy) 16:18- 21:9 B’rit Chadashah Reading: Matthew 5:38-42; 18:15-20; Acts 3:13-26; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 1 Timothy 5:17-22; Hebrews 10:28-31 Parshah Shof’tim begins with the office of judges and how to achieve justice. It also describes three other positions within the nation of Israel: the king, the priest, and the prophet. Authorities and responsibilities are defined for each office. What makes the portion stand out is that the Messiah fulfills all four offices at the same time; therefore, this is a powerful portion that actually defines the Messiah to us. A series of specific commandments are also delineated, including the more commonly known “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.” A leader is often required to make tough decisions. For example, it is the responsibility of leaders of to know when the time has come for war or the time is right for negotiations. It is also the responsibility of a leader to help his or her own people in recovering from a catastrophic event. Without a strong leader during critical times a country can become disorganized and lose faith in the ability of their leaders to govern. However, the opposite occurs when a leader responds quickly and calmly to adverse situations. In other words, the primary function of the leader of a country is to provide a sense of peace and stability by responding quickly and calmly in adverse situations. HASHEM understood the fact the people feel a sense of peace and stability when governed by a strong and decisive leader. Therefore, it was not a surprise to HASHEM that the Children of Israel would eventually want a king. 14When you come to the Land that HASHEM, your God, gives to you, and possess it, and settle in it, and you will say, “I will set a king over myself, like all the nations that are around me.” (D’varim 17:14) Because HASHEM knew that the Children of Israel would eventually desire the rulership of a king, He required the king to meet three criteria. The three criteria that HASHEM required for a king of Israel are citizenship, not greedy, and knowledge of HASHEM. The first commandment HASHEM expects a king of Israel to fulfill is that he would be native born. In other words, HASHEM wanted the king to be a natural born citizen. 15You shall surely set over yourself a king whom HASHEM, your God, shall choose; from among your brethren shall you set a king over yourself; you cannot place over yourself a foreign man, who is not your brother. (D’varim 17:15) The king of Israel needs to be empathetic to the sufferings of Israel. Foreigners cannot feel the same sense of belonging as a native-born individual. A foreigner is always considered an outsider. HASHEM forbade choosing a ruler that was a foreigner so that the king would have a personal stake in the land. It was imperative that the king felt the sufferings and the joys of the rest of Israel. Only a person native born to Israel could develop the bonds necessary to identify with the sufferings and the hopes of His people. In other words, a native-born king is more likely to understand the needs of his people. This concept was so important to the founding fathers of the United States that they incorporated into our constitution! Yeshua states it this way: 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me your guest, 36I needed clothes and you provided them, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the people who have done what God wants will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and make you our guest, or needing clothes and provide them? 39When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40The King will say to them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!’ (Matthew 25:34-40) A true leader understands that a country is only as healthy as its people are. Therefore, when the most insignificant part of the kingdom experiences adversity the king also experiences adversity. The second commandment HASHEM expects a King to fulfill is that he will not be greedy. In other words, HASHEM does not want a king to rule over Israel primarily for financial gain. As a result, the king should not be focused on the accumulation of wealth. 17And he shall not have too many wives, so that his heart not turn astray; and he shall not greatly increase silver and gold for himself. (D’varim 17:16-17) HASHEM wanted the kings of Israel to focus on ruling Israel. Desire of a king to accumulate wealth while in office would distract him from committing himself completely to ruling Israel the way that HASHEM desired. A king, who becomes more interested in personal gain, loses interest in the welfare of his subjects. Satan even tempted Yeshua with the accumulation of wealth to distract Him from committing Himself completely to the will of HASHEM. 8Once more, the Adversary took him up to the summit of a very high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their glory, 9and said to him, “All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me.” 10”Away with you, Satan!” Yeshua told him, “For the Tanakh (Old Testament) says, ‘Worship HASHEM your God, and serve only him.’” (Matthew 4:8-10) The kings of HASHEM are to serve Him with all their heart, mind, and soul. Compare this with what is written in the epistle of Sha’ul (Paul) to Titus: 6A leader must be blameless, husband to one wife, with believing children who do not have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. 7For an overseer, as someone entrusted with the affairs of God must be blameless – he must not be self-willed or quick-tempered, he must not drink excessively, get into fights or be greedy for dishonest gain. 8On the contrary, he must be hospitable, devoted to good, sober-mindedness, uprightness, holiness and self-control. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy Message that agrees with the doctrine; so that by his sound teaching he will be able to exhort and encourage, and to refute those who speak against it. (Titus 1:6-9) The third commandment HASHEM expects a King of Israel to fulfill is that he fully understands and lives by the Torah. 18It shall be that when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself two copies of this Torah in a book, from before the Kohanim, the Levi. 19It shall be with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life, so that he will learn to HASHEM, your God, to observe all the words of this Torah and these decrees, to perform them, 20so that his heart does not become haughty over his brethren and not turn from the commandment right or left, so that he will prolong years over his kingdom, he and his sons amid Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:18-20) Fulfilling the plan of HASHEM for the Children of Israel is the most important duty of the king. HASHEM wanted every king to write his own copy of the Torah. Writing a personal copy of the Torah forced the king to read every word. As a result, a king became intimately familiar with the Torah. In other words, HASHEM wanted the kings of Israel to live by, and observe the same commandments that all Israel lived by. The king was not to consider himself better than anyone else. Therefore, by serving HASHEM the king of Israel was also serving his brethren. HASHEM wanted the kings of Israel totally focused on serving Him and serving Israel. HASHEM gave the kings of Israel three commandments for this purpose. The first commandment HASHEM required was the kings must be native born. HASHEM did not want an outsider to rule Israel. An outsider would not have the empathy for Israel that an Israelite does. The second commandment HASHEM wanted fulfilled was to not accumulate riches while in office. HASHEM wanted the king of Israel to serve him whole-heartedly. The accumulation of wealth would distract him from putting the will of HASHEM first. The third commandment HASHEM wanted a king to fulfill was to write a personal copy of the Torah. HASHEM wanted the king to realize that he had to abide by the same rules that all Israel abided by. HASHEM wanted the king to realize he was the same as everyone else. The king was not above the law, he was equally bound to his subjects through the Torah. Shof’tim Haftorah Commentary Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 51:12-52:12. 12I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass? (Yesha’yahu 51:12) The Haftorah for Shabbat Shof’tim is the fourth in a series of seven successive Haftorah readings that follow the Fast of Av and the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem. The Seven Consolations, each drawn from the Book of Consolations of Yesha’yahu (Yesha’yahu 40-66), offer words of comfort to Zion and promises of future redemption. Each one prophesies the return from exile, the restoration of Zion, and, ultimately the Messianic Kingdom of Heaven on earth. It continues using the colorful metaphorical language of Yesha’yahu to describe people in turmoil who are saved by God. 14The captive will soon be set free; he will not die and go down to Sh’ol (the grave); on the contrary, his food supply will be secured. 20Your children lie helpless at every street corner, like an antelope trapped in a net; they are full of the fury of HASHEM, the rebuke of your God. (Yesha’yahu 51:14, 20) Yesha’yahu promises all these people will come to praise God. He also describes Jerusalem as the chosen one of God, with the special status of “you who drank from My hand” (Yesha’yahu 51:17). There has been much destruction and turmoil that has plagued Jerusalem, but God says the tormentors of Jerusalem will get what they deserve. The Haftorah climaxes with a classic and oft-quoted proclamation of triumph: 1Awake! Awake, Tziyon! Clothe yourself with your strength! Dress in your splendid garments, Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean will enter you no more. (Yesha’yahu 52:1) The verses that follow recall the weight of the exile, and express hope for the greatness of the promised future redemption. The Haftorah concludes with a plea to God for the departure of the people out of exile – which, still, has not been assured at the time of the prophecy of Yesha’yahu. 11Leave! Leave! Get out of there! Do not touch anything unclean! Get out from inside it, and be clean, you who carry the temple equipment of HASHEM. 12You need not leave in haste, you do not have to flee; for HASHEM will go ahead of you, and the God of Israel will be behind you. (Yesha’yahu 52:11-12) The theme of the Torah reading this week is based around the fact that, though Israel has many judges, there is only one true Judge: God. Similarly, as the beginning of the Haftorah rhetorically asks: “Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass?” There is only one true savior, and only one comfort ... and this is in God. Shabbat Shalom
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 17:11:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015