Congregation Faithful Stewardship
Man does not live on bread alone, but on every
word that comes from the mouth of the LORD
Deut. 8:3; Matt.­ 4:4, NIV

Parashat:	רְאֵה : Hebrew, Re'eh.English, Behold or See or Watch out!
Torah:	Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17
Haftarah:	Isaiah 54:11-55:5
Apostolic Scriptures:	Acts 8, 9

                       Av 25, 5769
                       August 15, 2009




Blessings and Curse
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse… (Deut. 11:26, NIV)
This portion of Scripture (parasha or Torah reading) begins with the imperative verb רְאֵה, re'eh ( English, see). Since re'eh is in the command form, it should be translated Behold! Because of the context and the extreme importance that G-d places on blessings and curses, a better interpretation would be Listen up! Watch carefully! Pay attention! Watch out! or Now get this! The Almighty is saying to Listen up because your future is in your decisions; that is, good decisions bring blessings and evil bring curses.
The Almighty offers His blessings which are almost beyond our imagination. His blessings so great and miraculous that other nations cannot comprehend nor obtain them without the Eternal One! By the same token, the curses also are almost beyond comprehension!
We also need to embrace our covenant relationship with G-d with a sober urgency. In fact, since our covenant was established through the Messiah's sacrificial blood, the stipulations remain the same for us as they do for Israel: blessings are the result of obedience and cursings, disobedience. You are not blessed just because you are in covenant – you are blessed because you are obedient to the covenant. God's blessings are obtainable -- He designed us to walk in His miraculous blessings!

Success is not guaranteed unconditionally
Joshua explained … be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law [correctly translated, Torah] my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law [Torah] depart from your mouth: meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:6-8.
Notice: the Almighty wants you to be strong and courageous and to obey all the Torah and not to let the Book of the Torah depart for your mouth…and do everything written in it.
As we are confronted with challenges, issues, obstacles in our lives, obedience to the Torah is our guarantee that He will deliver us in His way, in His time, every time without fail. HaShem (G-d) is faithful to His Covenant.

Rehearse the covenant of Sinai
In verse 29, when Israel entered the land G-d gave them, they proclaimed on Mount Gerizim the blessings and then on Mount Ebal the curses. They pronounced these proclamations as they passed between the two mountains. They did this in front of their enemies and in the territory which was occupied by the Canaanites. These declarations (written in Deuteronomy 27:9-28:68) were to be stated as a reminder of the covenant G-d made with Abraham and again at Mount Sinai. In this, they pledged their allegiance to G-d's covenant. They proclaimed before their enemies and reminded themselves to follow His Torah. Approximately 21 blessings and approximately 124 curses were proclaimed. Those in covenant with G-d need to remember, to whom much is given, much is required.
It would behoove us to read the blessings and cursings often, as an extra reading. You will be astounded as you read that section in light of your personal life and of America; you may think you are reading and listening to the news. Even as it was said to Queen Esther "who knows whether you have come into the kingdom, for such a time as this," (Esther 4:14, KJV), we can impact the world for G-d. The body of those who are in covenant with G-d need to pick up the torch and proclaim the alarm!
Watch out, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse…

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