Joy in the Messiah

שֹׁפְטִים
Shoftim / Judges
Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9
HafTorah Portion Isaiah 51:12-52:12
Brit Chadasha John 1:19-27

    Shoftim begins with the instructions for judges, justice, and judgement.  God is instructing the judges to judge with ‘just justice’. The explanation of ‘just justice’ is in Deuteronomy 16:19 ‘You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous…’ This would be a payment to change the opinion or the outcome of authority figures, thus twisting the truth.
    In Leviticus, the command for judging righteously is stated in Leviticus 19:15-18 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. ¹⁶ You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.’
     In the Brit Chadasha, Yeshua continues the warning of judging righteously in Matthew 7:1-6 ‘Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. ³ And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a log/plank is in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ⁶ Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.’
         In Matthew 7:6 Yeshua is telling us not to judge by The Torah those that live outside of Torah. Yeshua warned to not throw what is holy to the dogs or swine as Torah is the Holy Word of God.  The eye focused on Torah and through Torah was the correct way of life.  If we discard Torah due to our judgment, then we flaunt Torah as being inadequate to deal with life.  Casting Torah before the unclean swine enables them to tear believers to pieces.  The pig is considered to be the most unholy of all creatures.  To be torn to pieces by a pig is symbolic of being torn by an unholy and unclean life. 
     James 4:11-12 reminds us that there is One Torah giver, we are to live by the Torah, and judge righteously those that are walking in Torah.      
     Deuteronomy 17 contains instructions regarding worshipping other gods.  Deuteronomy 17:2-4 states: “If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing His covenant, ³ who has gone and served other gods and worshiped the, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded ⁴ and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently.’
     God declares that He appointed/gave the gates (land) to the people, so transgressing would be a direct transgression against Him and His covenant. The transgression of worshipping other gods is stated as worshipping the sun or the moon.  In Leviticus 26:30 God warns that He will destroy the sun images and destroy the worshipers in Deuteronomy 4:19. Shoftim contains the penalty for sun-worship which was death by stoning if there were two or three witnesses.
    In the days after the divided kingdom such practices were followed by some kings of Judah and Israel. Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, built altars to the host of heaven and worshiped them, even in the house of the Lord (2 Kings 21:3-5,11). Some kings of Judah dedicated horses and chariots to the worship of the sun and burned incense. The prophet Jeremiah states in Jeremiah 8:2 that the kings of Judah loved and served the sun and worshiped it. Ezekiel provides a very graphic picture of sun worshipers in the Lord’s house, facing East in worship of the sun in Ezekiel 8:16. Asa, in 2 Chronicles 14:5 and Josiah in 2 Chronicles 34:4, sought to destroy such worship by breaking down the altars to the sun in the cities in all Israel. However, it was still practiced at the time of the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah 19:13. 
     Deuteronomy 17:18-20 describes the balance of humility that Kings needed to rule with humility by reading and obeying the Torah.  
     Deuteronomy 18 continues with allotted portions for the priests and Levites (Cohen), and avoiding wicked customs of the nations. Deuteronomy 18:17-22 explains the true prophet of God versus false prophets.      
    Deuteronomy 19 explains the three cities of refuge and necessary property boundaries, and conduct for witnesses. In Deuteronomy 19:15-22 the law of witnesses states that there must be two or three witnesses. This part of Shoftim also includes the implications of a witness who is proven to be false and a liar.  The case of two is repeated in Matthew 18:16, and 2 Corinthians 13:1.  A matter is decided upon on the basis of two or more witnesses.  A matter of truth, a matter of lashon hara, a matter of anger, death, deception, adultery, and even a matter of life. Yeshua in John 8:1-11 confronted the accusers, the ‘witnesses’ and once confronted, they left.  In Mark 6:7 and Luke 10:1-5 Yeshua sends out His disciples two by two. Ecclesiastics 4:9 states that two are better than one. In the Torah portion Ha’zinu God calls heaven and earth as witnesses. And in Revelation 11:3-12 there is mention of the Two Witnesses. Could these be Moshe and Elijah, who were the two with Yeshua in Matthew 17:1-12? 
       Deuteronomy 20 closes Shoftim with instructions for battle with words of encouragement, Deuteronomy 20:3-4: He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. ⁴ For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
     Words of encouragement are repeated throughout Scripture. 
     1 Samuel 17:47 ‘And that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hand.
     2 Chronicles 20:15 ‘And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.’
     2 Chronicles 32:7 ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.’
     Proverbs 21:31 ‘The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.’
     Exodus 14:13-14 ‘And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.’
     Zechariah 4:6 ,Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.’
     1 Corinthians 15:57 ‘But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through Yeshua.’
     Shoftim ends with the atonement for the unsolved murder, Deuteronomy 21:1-9.The assumption is that since the killer has not been identified, then he cannot be punished according to Torah.  The issue is not about finding the killer and bringing him to justice; rather it is about what to do about the very serious problem of the bloodguilt that now rests upon the land and upon the people of the local community. Notice that this case is further defined as having discovered the body “out in the open”.
     Verse 2 speaks of the judges/shofet, who are to come to where the victim was discovered and begin the inquest. The first job is to carefully measure the distance from the location of the body to the nearby towns and determine which town was closest to the murder scene. Great care has to be taken because whichever town is closest is assigned the bloodguilt brought about by the crime.
   But what is the explanation for the form of killing? Why is the animals neck broken instead of it being slaughtered? The only other place the Torah commands neck breaking of an animal is in the law of dedicating first-born animals, where it is stated of donkeys in Exodus 13:13.
     The breaking of the neck explains the fact that the donkey is not fit for an offering, which strongly suggests that the ritual killing in Deuteronomy 21 was also not intended as a sacrifice. Instead, because no one knew who the killer was, no blood can be spilled to atone for the murder. However, the innocent blood of the victim was spilled on the land which cannot be left without a response, which lends to the unusual ritual described here.    
     

שֹׁפְטִים 
Shoftim / Judges
Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9
HafTorah Portion Isaiah 51:12-52:12
Brit Chadasha John 1:19-

The Trees...                     

Shoftim / Judges gets its name from the first opening verses:  Deuteronomy 16:18-19 'You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.  You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.’
     This parsha also contains forbidden forms of worship, laws against divination and magic, property boundaries, laws concerning cities of refuge and the importance of biblical witnesses. We also read about the rules of warfare and the privileges of Priests and Levites.
    Shoftim also contains an analogy that is often missed, until you cross reference it to the prophets and the Brit Chadasha.  Deuteronomy 20:19  alludes man to a tree:  'When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them, for you may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Is the tree of the field a man, to go into the siege before you?'  
     Other than people, trees are mentioned more than any other creation in the Bible. There is a tree at the first of Genesis and the last of Revelation. It seems as if every major character and every major event has a tree or alludes to one. Even Adam’s first instructions were ‘to tend and keep the garden in Eden. Genesis 2:15. In Genesis 3 sin came from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil;  Versus the Tree of Life. 
     In Romans 11, the apostle Paul uses an olive tree to explain salvation and the people of God, and how can we forget the shade tree for Jonah in Jonah chapter 4.
     Trees are at the top of the plant world. They transform the earth from a barren and lifeless mass into an environment capable of supporting other forms of life such as animals and humans. The sages teach the phrase:  ‘because a man is a tree of the field’ teaches that the life of man is from the tree.”
     A man compared to a tree.
     Jeremiah 17:8 'For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.'
     Psalm 1:3 'He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall  prosper.'
     Psalm 52:8 'But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.'
     Psalm 92:12 'The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.'
     Proverbs 11:30 'The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.' 
     The Torah is also likened to the tree of life:  Proverbs 3:18 'She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her fast.'
           Yeshua is the tree of life: Revelation 22:14 'Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.'
         Yeshua explains the tree of good fruit and bad fruit in Matthew 7:17-19 'So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.'
     A tree's primary components are; the roots, which anchor it to the ground and supply it with water and other nutrients; the trunk, branches and leaves that comprise its body; and the fruit, which is harvested. 
     In Revelation 22:16-22 Yeshua tells us He is the root: 'I, Yeshua have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.'  
     We are the branches as stated in John 15:5 and we are to bear fruit. 
           Luke 13:7-9 states: 'Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'  But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'   
     With trees comes the analogy of shade.
     Psalm 121:5 Behold, the Protector of Israel will not slumber or sleep.  The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand. 6The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.…’ 
     Psalm 57: 1 ‘Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me; for the hope of my soul is in you: I will keep myself safely under the shade of your wings, till these troubles are past.’ 
    The prophet Isaiah foretells of Yeshua; Isaiah 11:1-3 ‘A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—  the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,  the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—  and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.’
    The Torah spindles are referred to The Trees of Life, Etz Chaim. Yeshua is The Living God and the Living Torah, He is also the root.  If we have another root, another god, another set of teachings or a lack of His instructions then our root will rot.  The tree is only as good as the root, which is only as good as the water it receives - Yeshua.       A final note:    What about the answer of the blind man to Yeshua in Mark 8:22-24 and John 9:6: ‘Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”