If Yisra'el Won't Listen - Picking and Choosing your Obediance

General Bible Study

If Yisra'el Won't Listen - Picking and Choosing your Obediance

LovingNeighbor 01-05-2008, 1:46 PM
If Yisra'el Won't Listen
For Parasha Va'era
By Lovingneighbor 1-5-2008

This weeks Parasha is in the book of Exodus also called Shemot, and is called Va'era which means 'And I appeared'. In this weeks parasha:

- YHWH tells Moshe the 4 part plan for Yisra'el
- YHWH sends Moshe to Par'oh but Moshe said if Yisra'el won't listen why should Par'oh
- The heads of the Children of Yisra'el
- YHWH told Moshe he shall be a Elohim to Par'oh and Aharon shall be his prophet
- YHWH says Par'oh shall not hearken to you and I will lay my hand upon Egypt
- Moshe and Aharon went ot Par'oh and cast their rod and it became a serpent but He would not listen to them
- Par'oh wouldn't let the people go so Moshe turned the river to blood but Par'oh's men did also
- Moshe spread his rod over the river to bring forth frogs because Par'oh wouldn't let them go
- Par'oh's men also brought frogs but Par'oh saaid he would let them go if Moshe took them away
- Par'oh didn't let them go so Moshe brought forth lice from the dust
- Par'oh's men could not do the same yet Par'oh wouldn't listen so Moshe brought forth swarms
- Par'oh said he would let them go if Moshe removed the swarms but afterward he didn't let them go
- Moshe told Par'oh because he wouldn't let them go YHWH's hand would come upon his beasts with pestilence
- Par'oh didn't let them go so Moshe sprinkled ashes in the air and they brought forth boils on man and beast
- Moshe told Par'oh because he wouldn't let them go YHWH would bring all His plagues on Par'oh
- Moshe tells Par'oh there will come a fierce hail and to bring in all his servants and animal
- Par'oh repented and asked for Moshe to stop the hail and he did but he wouldn't let them go
- Haftarah - YHWH used Egypt to teach Yisra'el but will punish them

In this weeks parasha we hear a profound statement from Moshe. He first went to Yisra'el to tell them what YHWH wanted and then he is told to go to Par'oh and tell him and his response is profound. He says:

Exo 6:12 And Moshe spoke before YHWH, saying, Behold, the children of Yisra'el will not Shema (hearken) ; how then shall Pharaoh shema (hearken), who am of uncircumcised lips?

This gets to the core of the issue, that the problem with bringing the Children out of Egypt starts with the children wanting to come out of Egypt. We will see later that Par'oh models Yisra'el in his rebellion to YHWH and Moshe just as Yisra'el will do all along the way. Many of them are like Par'oh and I venture to say there are many of his children among Yisra'el like the wheat and tares. Par'oh said he knows not YHWH, and why should he listen to Him. And yet Yisra'el also doesn't really know Him and does not listen to Him.

Recently I spoke with some people who were keeping the sabbath and not the holy days. They were seventhday adventists. I told them that I found it interesting that their same arguments for the validity for shabbat were good for the holy days also but they would say in one breath that even if you lost your job you should keep the sabbath and Elohim would provide and then when talking about the holy days they said how could you take off a whole week you would lose your job. See this is just an example of how we choose whether we will listen to the commandments or not. They went on to discuss that the ten comandments are the moral law and never go away, but the other commandments didn't count anymore. They were picking what they wanted tolisten to in my opinion. They also in my opinion know not YHWH or His son because if they knew him they would know he kept and taught all of the Torah or law and as he will not tolerate lawlessness. So it seems they fit the pattern here of really not knowing YHWH and wanting me to prove why they should listen to Him. This is a dangerous road to go down because like Par'oh the result was that you would simply be used to show others what not to do.

We all have choices to make and how can Yisra'el be of any use to others if they themselves won't listen to Moshe. Moshe was sent first to the people. YHWH didn't himself go to the people he sent someone first. He repeats the pattern. It reminds me of parenting when you give a warning, and then if you have to get up because they are not listening you know there is going to be a punishment. There is always a punishment for not listening or paying attention.

Exo 4:1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

From the beginning even Moshe knew they would not listen to him. They need signs and wonder before they will listen. But this follows them through most of their life. One of the great sins of Yisra'el is they won't listen to the words YHWH has spoken. Here is an example of what will happen to them for not listening to what YHWH has already said.

Lev 26:13 I am YHWH your Elohim, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.
Lev 26:14 But if you will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
Lev 26:15 And if you shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that you will not do all my commandments, but that you break my covenant:
Lev 26:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Lev 26:17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and you shall flee when none pursueth you.
Lev 26:18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
Lev 26:19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as copper:
Lev 26:20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
Lev 26:21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
Lev 26:22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.
Lev 26:23 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
Lev 26:24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
Lev 26:25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
Lev 26:26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
Lev 26:27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
Lev 26:28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
Lev 26:29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
Lev 26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
Lev 26:31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
Lev 26:32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
Lev 26:33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
Lev 26:34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
Lev 26:35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
Lev 26:36 And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
Lev 26:37 And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
Lev 26:38 And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
Lev 26:39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

So what are people doing today who pick and choose what parts of the Torah they think apply to them or that they feel they need to listen to, they are not listening to all the words YHWH has spoken to do them. They even try and say that YHWH does not require those things of them.

Deu 10:12 And now, Yisra'el, what does YHWH your Elohim require of you, but to fear YHWH your Elohim, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve YHWH your Elohim with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

Notice it says all his ways, and this verse is also the verse Mashiach quotes in the new testament as the greatest commandment

Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Yahushua said unto him, You shall love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

So people in religion will claim whatever they are doing is all that YHWH wants them to be doing. This is being right in your own eyes. There are two reasons people won't listen, one is they don't want to listen and the second is because they think they already know. This can be summed up as rebellion and pride

Deu 31:26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of YHWH your Elohim, that it may be there for a witness against thee.
Deu 31:27 For I know your rebellion, and your stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against YHWH; and how much more after my death?

Moshe addresses these two traits as two traits of Yisra'el from their beginning to his end. They have been rebellious and stiff necked or prideful. The torah will be a witness against them two these two traits in how they keep the law. They will not Shema and neither will Par'oh. If you don't think this is about you, then you are proud, and if you know it's about you and won't hear it, then you are rebellious. The best part of the plan of YHWH won't happen until Yisra'el shema's and listens to all the words of Moshe and the Torah. Shalom.

A disciple should diligently search for the truth and humbly deny and reconsider it's possession.