Torah Commentary Archives

Ki Tetse (When you go out)

Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19

Isaiah 54:1-10

Mark 10:2-12

Luke 20:27-38

1Tim 5:17-18

But, I Don't Understand!

Let's face it, there are instructions in Torah we just do not understand. Take for instance the first words of this Torah portion (the description goes something like this): The next time you men go out to war and see a nice looking woman, you can take her prisoner and go back home to make her your wife. But please remember to shave her head and trim her fingernails.

What does THAT have to do with our lives today? I have no idea.

How about the next verses of a man taking two wives? Just stop the rest of the instructions, I don't need to go any further! I love my wife, but two of them? Momma didn't raise a stupid child! After all, Yah created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Eves, right?

Please do not get me wrong, I am not making fun of anything in Torah! I am, though, being rigorously honest by stating I struggle with a few things, and will continue to until Yah either reveals His meaning to me, or I'm on the other side of Messiah's Kingdom, listening to Him teach Torah.

In the meantime, what I REALLY struggle with isn't the instructions I don't understand, but rather the ones I do! Allow me to share a few examples.

Let's begin with Deuteronomy 22:1-3. Most of us do not own oxen, though some of us may have sheep. But what about when your neighbor's dog wonders over into your yard to do, well, what dogs do? Is your first thought to take him back to your neighbor's and remind them (for the fifty-third time) about their dog being out, or just take the trusty Daisy BB gun and teach him a lesson? The dog, not the neighbor!

How about the instruction in verse 5 about men looking like men and women looking like women? Now, I have never had a problem with understanding which rack I should buy my clothes on but, in our current culture, I sure am tempted to stand on the street corner and preach this verse for a while!

How about verse 8 teaching us to take responsibility for our actions instead of blaming others, or 23:14(13) which says to clean up after ourselves? One more just for kicks: 23:20(19) tells us to not attempt to profit off those in our own family or community. This is not just about lending without interest, but about asking someone to fix our house's plumbing, then not paying them because “they should be doing it out of love for the community.” That one takes in 25:4 also. Two birds with one stone! Make sure it is not the mother bird, though, as that is described in 22:6-7!

See, it is so easy to just say we don't understand and move on, rather than digging deep and discovering great Words of Truth and Life. So, instead of us continuing to be shallow, let us be known as people who dig, ponder, meditate, and obey Yah's life-giving Words, yes?

One last thing, which is especially close to my inner-man. In 25:17-19, we read how Amalek attacked those who were exhausted and straggling behind. My immediate questions are: Why were they exhausted and straggling in the first place? Were the people in the front not aware of those struggling to keep up, or had they lost the compassion to help them along? Why was a rear-guard not assigned to protect them?

In Daniel 7:25, there is a verse I often quote to myself and others. It speaks of a day in which the enemy (Amalek) will seek to wear down or exhaust those who are pursuing righteousness. I see this verse happening to people everywhere I go. It is those folks I need to be looking out for. Why? So I can have compassion for them, and help them catch back up to the safety of the community.

Another important question to ask is: Why were they exhausted in the first place? Some people might say it's because they weren't prepared and/or they're just plain lazy. That may be a common default outlook, but it might be extremely far from the truth.

The reality is, the exhausted stragglers may be the ones who were once leading, but could not hold that position for whatever reasons. They then fell back, both unnoticed and unappreciated. Could they, in their falling back, have been refreshed and restored if someone had reached out a hand? I don't just mean a pat on the back and saying I'm sorry you're tired. I mean, taking action by sacrificing a comfortable wagon seat, strengthening them with a good meal, while also supplying them with prayer and words of encouragement. Would it cost you giving up your comfy seat for a while? Sure. But the much greater cost would be to not nurture and guard the stragglers.

Many people I speak with today, including leaders, are tired. Very tired. Remember, Amalek is seeking to devour folks by wearing them down. But be of strong courage, because your hand WILL make a huge difference in the end! The question, though, is this: What “type of hand” will you be providing the stragglers in your midst? I pray you choose a hand of encouragement, rather than a hand of judgment.