8.30.25 ~ Timeless and Relevant Truth
Good morning!
In last night's zoom call we examined the five individuals, four of the five are mandatory, in this week's Torah portion, Shoftim/judge, and how we should have all 5 displayed in our daily lives if we want to make an impact in this world. And with each one I gave a descriptive word to evaluate our lives by:
Within our Torah portion there is a unique command for the king.
And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write
him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites
And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may
learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes,
to do them:That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel. (Deut. 17:18-20)
What a strange set of rules for a king. He has to hand write two complete Torah scrolls. One for his library and the other to go everywhere he goes. Huh? What if he goes to battle or enters the palace, or he sits in judgment, or he sits down to eat or goes to play disc golf or pickleball? Yeppers, he has to take the copy with him everywhere! Why? Enquiring minds want to know :-)!
I wonder...would that be relevant today? My answer is, Yes! When God inspired Moses, mouth to mouth (Num. 12:8; 2 Tim. 3:16,17), to pen the words of Torah, God made His Words timeless and relevant to every generation. There's no other book in the world that can speak to every generation's unique needs, challenges, struggles and experiences. We can all identify without any difficulty how each generation is different. The issues that plagued us a half-century ago are not the issues we confront today, and conversely: today we have dilemmas never experienced before in history. Our bodies, psyches, souls, sensitivities, and environments are different. Our world has changed in significant ways and, like the "energizer bunny" it's still going!
Hence, a prayer of mine and desire to be able to say, like Isaiah:
The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word the individual who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. (Isa. 50:4)
For those planning on reigning with the King of kings, whether you write your own copy or hide it in your heart (Psa. 119:105), like the great kings in Israel's history, the Torah must remain immune to change, even when life is constantly morphing. One pristine Torah Scroll must never leave the ivory tower of the king’s treasury house (aka your casa bonita) and the other you must take everywhere you go. These two truths speak of life to the fullest and of the timeless God who is relevant to every generation; His eternal word transcends borders of time, geography, and people.
Unfortunately, modern day religious systems have taken the word and treated it like the famous country boy whose archery fame spread far and wide. The story is told that a delegation of the finest archers traveled to his farm estate to see for themselves if the rumors were true. As they approached the estate, they observed hundreds upon hundreds of trees, each one painted with a target, and in the center of each bullseye, there was a single arrow. Amazed at the sight, they asked the lad how it was that he had become such a fine shooter. He replied plainly that he would shoot the arrow first, and then paint the target around it.
This is the error some make with Torah. You can’t just keep on adjusting Torah to your predefined positions and denominational desires. If the Torah is true, it is true in all times and in all places. If it is not true, who needs it all together?
Let's dig a little deeper...
"And it shall be with him and he should read it/v'kara bo all the days of his life/kol yemei chayav in order that he learn to fear God, to observe all the words of this Torah..."
The actual literal translation reads: "He should read in it all the days of his life." This means that the king, or the leaders under the King, must be able to see in Torah a perspective for "all the days of his life," for everything that transpires in his life and in the life of his people. He has to read in it/v'kara bo his entire biography/kol yemei chayav; all the events of his life. Every new situation has a perspective from Torah, guidance from God’s blueprint for life.
On this Shabbat, may it be a true goal for us from this day forward: "Live the timeless and relevant truth"!
Shabbat shalom!
- Judge-discernment
- Officer-boundaries
- Priest-devotion
- King-guidance
- Prophet-intuition
Within our Torah portion there is a unique command for the king.
And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write
him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites
And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may
learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes,
to do them:That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel. (Deut. 17:18-20)
What a strange set of rules for a king. He has to hand write two complete Torah scrolls. One for his library and the other to go everywhere he goes. Huh? What if he goes to battle or enters the palace, or he sits in judgment, or he sits down to eat or goes to play disc golf or pickleball? Yeppers, he has to take the copy with him everywhere! Why? Enquiring minds want to know :-)!
I wonder...would that be relevant today? My answer is, Yes! When God inspired Moses, mouth to mouth (Num. 12:8; 2 Tim. 3:16,17), to pen the words of Torah, God made His Words timeless and relevant to every generation. There's no other book in the world that can speak to every generation's unique needs, challenges, struggles and experiences. We can all identify without any difficulty how each generation is different. The issues that plagued us a half-century ago are not the issues we confront today, and conversely: today we have dilemmas never experienced before in history. Our bodies, psyches, souls, sensitivities, and environments are different. Our world has changed in significant ways and, like the "energizer bunny" it's still going!
Hence, a prayer of mine and desire to be able to say, like Isaiah:
The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word the individual who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. (Isa. 50:4)
For those planning on reigning with the King of kings, whether you write your own copy or hide it in your heart (Psa. 119:105), like the great kings in Israel's history, the Torah must remain immune to change, even when life is constantly morphing. One pristine Torah Scroll must never leave the ivory tower of the king’s treasury house (aka your casa bonita) and the other you must take everywhere you go. These two truths speak of life to the fullest and of the timeless God who is relevant to every generation; His eternal word transcends borders of time, geography, and people.
Unfortunately, modern day religious systems have taken the word and treated it like the famous country boy whose archery fame spread far and wide. The story is told that a delegation of the finest archers traveled to his farm estate to see for themselves if the rumors were true. As they approached the estate, they observed hundreds upon hundreds of trees, each one painted with a target, and in the center of each bullseye, there was a single arrow. Amazed at the sight, they asked the lad how it was that he had become such a fine shooter. He replied plainly that he would shoot the arrow first, and then paint the target around it.
This is the error some make with Torah. You can’t just keep on adjusting Torah to your predefined positions and denominational desires. If the Torah is true, it is true in all times and in all places. If it is not true, who needs it all together?
Let's dig a little deeper...
"And it shall be with him and he should read it/v'kara bo all the days of his life/kol yemei chayav in order that he learn to fear God, to observe all the words of this Torah..."
The actual literal translation reads: "He should read in it all the days of his life." This means that the king, or the leaders under the King, must be able to see in Torah a perspective for "all the days of his life," for everything that transpires in his life and in the life of his people. He has to read in it/v'kara bo his entire biography/kol yemei chayav; all the events of his life. Every new situation has a perspective from Torah, guidance from God’s blueprint for life.
On this Shabbat, may it be a true goal for us from this day forward: "Live the timeless and relevant truth"!
Shabbat shalom!
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