Parshat Eikev

Saturday 27 August 2016                         Av  23  5776
 

Parshat Eikev                          by Messianic Rabbi Isaac Roussel, Congregation Zera Avraham
Dev 7:12 – 11:25; Isaiah 49:14-51:3; Hebrews 11:8-13
 

Midrash Rabbah says of our parasha this week, “The Book and the Sword descended from heaven entwined together; the Loaf and the Rod descended from heaven entwined together.” This speaks to the conditional aspect of God’s covenant with his people. While it is eternal, the covenant also has conditions which must be met. God promises blessings if his laws are followed and punishments if they are not. The parasha culminates in the verse where Hashem says, "Now, if you pay close attention to my commandments that I am giving you today . . . I will send rain for your land . . . and you will eat your fill. Make sure that you do not turn away to serve and worship other gods. Then the anger of Hashem will erupt . . . and you will soon be removed from the good land” (Deut 11:13-17). This is, in fact, the second paragraph of the Shema that we recite daily.
 

This midrash, however, also calls to mind that we refer to Yeshua as the living embodiment of Torah (the Book), and as the Bread of Life (the Loaf). He is the living Word of God, as Yochanan (John) asserts at the very beginning of his gospel. Yeshua himself says “I am the Bread of Life, whoever comes to me will never be hungry” (John 6:35). The Book points to Yeshua’s role as prophet. He calls us to understand the fullness of Torah. The Loaf points to Yeshua’s agency as priest and also sacrifice. He brings his own body and blood as atonement for the sins of Israel and the world. He indeed is our perfect Kohen Gadol and also the perfect Lamb led to the slaughter.
 

These two images emphasize the loving kindness of Yeshua in giving us sustenance through proper teaching of Torah and his sacrificial act that brings salvation. All too often this is where it’s left. Yeshua is the embodiment of God’s love for the world. It has led to the image of “Jesus meek and mild”. Years ago I was speaking at a church and afterwards a woman approached me and asked why God began with law and judgment and then changed to love and grace.
I explained to her that this was a misunderstanding of Scripture. God is both loving and just, and Judaism teaches that he holds these in perfect balance. God expresses his love throughout the Old Testament just as much as he expresses his justice throughout the New. This is the inconvenient truth that we like to gloss over.
 

Yeshua is the Book and the Loaf, but he is also the Sword and the Rod. He came as prophet, priest, and lamb, but he will return as conquering King and righteous Judge. Hebrews 4:12 says that the “Word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword.” Yochanan’s vision describes Yeshua as having a double-edged sword extended from his mouth, bringing judgment upon the earth (Rev 1:16). The book of Enoch also uses this imagery of King Messiah: “And the Lord of Spirits sat on his Throne of Glory, and the spirit of righteousness was poured out on him, and the word of his mouth kills all the sinners and all the lawless, and they are destroyed in front of him” (1 Enoch 62:2). Likewise, Isaiah says that the Messiah “will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and order the wicked to be executed.” And Yochanan’s Revelation speaks of the Messiah ruling the nations with an iron rod.
 

During these Seven Weeks of Consolation between Tisha b’Av and Rosh Hashana, we read of Yeshua’s resurrection, words of forgiveness, and promises of returning. But let us recall that these weeks are also leading us to Yom Kippur, which points forward to God’s great judgment of all the earth. Yom Kippur is called the White Fast because while we are mourning, we are also confident of God’s mercy. But it also recognizes that someday justice will be meted out upon all Creation.
David Weiss Halivni took these words of the midrash as the title of his autobiography, The Book and the Sword: A Life of Learning in the Shadow of Destruction. A central event in his book is the finding of a page of the Shulchan Aruch (a foundational Jewish text) while in a concentration camp. He and other the other Jews in the camp clung to this bletl (page) as a sign of hope.
 

May we admit the inconvenient truth that our Messiah is both Book and Sword, Loaf and Rod. As we approach this season of repentance, may we repent not only for our own sins and the sins of our people, but also for the sins of the whole world; a world marching toward a Day of Judgment.
 

And may we seek to be a bletl Torah—a page of Torah—in our daily lives, seeking to bring hope and forgiveness to those around us. That through us, some might come to know the Living Word and Bread of Life.