“Next Moshe and the cohanim, who are L’vi’im, spoke to all Israel. They said, “Be quiet; and listen, Israel! Today you have become the people of Adonai your God.”-Deuteronomy 27:9
In verse 9 of Deuteronomy 27, Moses proclaims to the children of Israel…
“Today you have become the people of Adonai your God”.
What?!
Didn’t they became God’s people back on Mount Sinai?
What was so different about this particular moment in time?
Well, the difference is HUGE!
Back at Sinai, the land was still just a promise that had yet to be fulfilled.
On the other hand…
….the gathering here on top of the mountains of Moab…
….as the Israelites gazed over the vast expanse of the Promised Land…
…was Israel’s official graduation ceremony so to speak.
Their time in the Wilderness was about to officially come to an end.
The important thing to keep in mind is the Mosaic Covenant could only be fulfilled while Israel was settled in the land God had set aside for them.
Minus being settled in the land…
…they wouldn’t be able to use the wine required for certain ritual observances because they had no vineyards.
Nor would they be able to perform the firstfruits ceremonies because they had no crops and no harvest.
They also wouldn’t be able to eat as God required them to eat because up until now their main form of sustenance had been the Manna that was dropped from heaven.
This leads us to the big takeaway for today.
When the people of Israel are disconnected from the land of Israel, not only are they incomplete, the WHOLE WORLD is incomplete.
Israel being in the land is like a light bulb being properly inserted into its chosen socket.
When that happens per God’s design, not only do the people of Israel shine as God intended but the whole world is given God’s Holy light.
If you’re a Jew and you’re not living in Israel, I have to ask you why brother (or sister)?
I visited your Holy Land and it is beautiful.
Indeed it is a land flowing with milk and honey…
…not to mention they’ve got the best falafel sandwiches I’ve ever eaten in my life.
I still wake up in the morning thinking about that hearty falafel sandwich I ate one morning in the German colony of Jerusalem.
To close, understand that while Israel was wandering in the Wilderness they were handcuffed in terms of observing the Lord’s Law.
They were only capable of doing some of it, not all of it.
Why?
Because many of the required observances revolved around agriculture.
In fact, three out of the seven Biblical Feasts revolved around agriculture.
Actually, one could possibly argue that five out of the seven Biblical Feasts revolved around agriculture.
But I digress.
I’m done.
Leave a Reply