Torah Commentary Archives
Ekev “Because”
Deuteronomy 7:12–11:25
Isaiah 49:14–51:3
2Kings 1–3
Matthew 4:1-11 Luke 4:1-13
James 5:7-11
The Longing Within
A few weeks ago Kathy and I had the pleasure of hosting Barry Phillips of Remnant of Yisrael . Barry is a cherished friend of many years now. In the early 2,000's, I had the privilege of taking Barry and his wife, Laura, on their first trip home to Israel. Through the years I have had the privilege of bringing hundreds of people to the Land. Surprisingly some have treated the trip as a checkmark on their bucket list while others are forever transformed by Israel. Barry and Laura are part of the latter group.
During his visit with us, Barry taught a message which I think ties into this Torah portion. It was titled 'Exiles or Captives”. This message is available on his web site. To summarize the message I ask the question, “Are our lives today defined by the word exile or captive?” The answer lies in where your heart's desire or focus. It might seem strange to define oneself by these two terms, exile and captive, so let me explain.
During a recent conference I shared a message titled “Longing for Home.” After my title was submitted I questioned whether maybe I should have called it “Longing for Home, Israel.” Unfortunately the thought came in late, so I let it go. Interestingly enough I had more than one person come to me to share they had seen my message title but did not come because they didn't know the subject I would be speaking on. I was asked, “Where is home?” My question to them, “Are you an exile or a captive?” You tell me.
This Torah portion contains a verse which has been used for much debate. In Deuteronomy 8:10 we read, “So you will eat and be satisfied, and you will bless HaShem your Elohim for the good Land He has given you.” This verse has been used to debate whether we should pray before or after a meal. I feel we are missing a bigger point if this is all we focus on from this verse. Notice the verse uses the phrase, “The good LAND He has given you.” How do you define that phrase? If your definition is the place you are living today, I dare say you are a captive. If those very words bring forth a longing to be in the Land of our inheritance you will fall into the category of exile! Being an “exile” actually has a positive connotation in this case.
My point is, if we understand that Israel is our home, everything we do in life will be marked by the fact that we are not there, even our thanking Father for a meal. The verse is not there to give us instruction of when to give thanks, but rather consider it a reality to help understand we are in exile.
Many years ago I was having Shabbat dinner with a Jewish family in Jerusalem. As the father reached out for the cup of wine he first dipped his fingertips in his water glass and added a few drops of water to his wine. My questioning look brought forth this explanation from him. He shared wine in Jewish thought speaks of joy. He said that on that night his joy was full, but not complete for there was no temple in Jerusalem and the Messianic Kingdom was not yet established. On that Shabbat my friend revealed to me that even while dwelling in Jerusalem, the holy city, there is still a longing for Yah's Kingdom to be established. His thought was that even though he was living in Jerusalem the Kingdom had not manifested, so he was still living in exile. His longing was clear to me.
On that night in Jerusalem, my doctrines may have been different from my Jewish friends, but our longings were and continue to be the same. From that Shabbat on, whenever I have the opportunity I place a few drops of water in my wine, looking forward to the day it is no longer needed because Messiah has returned and set up His Kingdom. On that day, our joy will not only be full, it will be complete. With this story, I pass the tradition to you.
Toward the end of the Torah portion, in Deuteronomy 11:12 we read that the eyes of Yah are on the Land of Israel from the beginning of the year to the end. Barry shared a thought I want to contribute, “This means that anything outside the Land of Israel is in His peripheral vision.” Interesting thought to ponder!
Is the Land of Israel as much our focus as it is Yah's? Where are our spiritual eyes focused today? This is a personal question which only you can answer for yourself. For me, my desire and longing is to be focused on the same thing He is focused on; His Land, His people and His coming Kingdom.