Torah Portion HA’AZINU– Devarim (Deuteronomy) 32:1-52 Haftarah: Hosea 14:2-10
When they kept asking Him, He stood up and said, “The sinless one among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7 TLV
Shabbat shalom, dearly beloved,
Many laws in the Torah can be quite shocking for a Western mind. Especially laws that penalize sins of immorality, idolatry, and rebellion. Those normally require the death penalty by stoning. Take, for example, this law below.
“But if this thing is true—that the signs of virginity were not found in the young lady—then they are to bring the young woman out to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city are to stone her with stones to death, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to behave like a prostitute in her father’s house. So you are to purge the evil from your midst.” Deuteronomy 22:20-21 TLV
Israelite women that lost their virginity before marriage could be subject to death by stoning if discovered. It reminds us of the predicament of many Arab Muslim women that are murdered every day to restore honor to the family —for exactly the same reason as in the Torah.
Let us see what happened to rebellious sons that refused to listen to their parents.
“Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not listen to the voice of his father or mother. They discipline him, but he does not listen to them. They will say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious—he does not listen to our voice. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his city are to stone him with stones to death. So you will purge the evil from your midst—and all Israel will hear and be afraid.” Deuteronomy 21:18, 20-21 TLV
Can you imagine how many of our rebellious sons and promiscuous daughters would be stoned every day? How about you and I? Were we rebellious or promiscuous before we met the Jewish Messiah Yeshua and the power of His Holy Spirit? Probably most of us reading these lines would have deserved to die by stoning according to the laws in the Torah. See this instruction below about adultery:
“Suppose a man is found lying with a married woman. Then both of them are to die—the man who lay with the woman and the woman. So you are to purge the evil from Israel.” Deuteronomy 22:22 TLV
How many adulterers would die daily today?
The question is, are these laws still in effect today? Did Yeshua abolish them? Does faith in Yeshua cancel them? Let us see what He Himself says about all the laws in the Torah, including the ones above:
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets! I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif shall ever pass away from the Torah until all things come to pass. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others the same shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-19 TLV
He said it, and it stands. These laws still stand until heaven and earth pass away. He came to fulfill them, which in Greek means, “to bring the full interpretation of them.” Without Yeshua, we cannot possibly understand the Torah, let alone walk in obedience to it. Let us take a look at the rest of the chapter to see how Yeshua interprets the Torah of His Father in full.
“For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and Torah scholars, you shall never enter the kingdom of heaven!” You have heard it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever commits murder shall be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca’ shall be subject to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be subject to fiery Gehenna.” Matthew 5:20-22 TLV
Exceeding the righteousness of the Pharisees means not only keeping the written word but also the spirit of the law. Murder is not only a physical act of killing but also the angry, hateful, vengeful thoughts behind it. Let us see His interpretation of adultery.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that everyone who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. And if your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away! It is better for you that one part of your body should be destroyed than that your whole body be thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you that one part of your body should be destroyed than that your whole body go into Gehenna.” Matthew 5:27-30 TLV
Again, we see that the full interpretation of adultery is not only the act itself but also the thoughts and attitudes that precede the act. These sins are so grievous to Yah that Yeshua said it’s best to gauge out your own eye (for looking and lusting after a woman that’s not your wife). Think, for example, pornography. And He said even to cut your own hand before you use it for sinful, immoral acts. This is exactly how people are punished in Arab Muslim societies. This horrifies the West, but it’s in the Bible, both in the Tanakh and Brit Chadasha (the Old and New Covenants).
What are we to do with this revealed truth? Should we start stoning the immoral, promiscuous, rebellious, and angry among our ranks and families?
We will find the answer in the Holy Scriptures. Yeshua Himself answers this in the Book of Yochanan (John) when the Pharisees brought him a woman caught in adultery:
“The Torah scholars and Pharisees bring in a woman who had been caught in adultery. After putting her in the middle, they say to Yeshua, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of committing adultery. In the Torah, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?” John 8:3-5 TLV
According to the Torah and the words of Yeshua in Matthew 5, she should be stoned to death, no doubt. However, He proceeds to bring the full interpretation of the spirit behind the Torah laws:
“When they kept asking Him, He stood up and said, “The sinless one among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He knelt down again and continued writing on the ground.” John 8:7-8 TLV
What was He writing on the ground? Maybe the names of all those married men that had gone to bed with her? Or maybe the names of all those men present that were immoral in one way or another? The fact is that he was looking for ONE sinless man to execute her. And he found none.
“Now when they heard, they began to leave, one by one, the oldest ones first, until Yeshua was left alone with the woman in the middle.” John 8:9 TLV
Not one of those men was innocent enough to condemn her. Their hands were not clean, and if they dared condemn the woman in their condition, judgment would befall them.
“Straightening up, Yeshua said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” “No one, Sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Yeshua said. “Go, and sin no more.” John 8:10-11 TLV
Yeshua ruled mercy over judgment. However, it was not cheap grace or pretending she did not deserve to be stoned to death. It was His mercy to give her a second chance to live in purity. Therefore, His instruction to her was, “Go and sin no more.” Receiving Yeshua’s grace is not a light matter; it is a sobering issue that should teach us to thank Yah for His great mercy, and to have a healthy fear of God all the days of our lives. The moral and the social laws of the Torah are still in effect until heaven and earth pass away. Through Yeshua, we obtain mercy above judgment so we can live pure and holy lives and “go and sin no more.”
And if we obtained such mercy, we need to extend it to others.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Pardon, and you will be pardoned.” Luke 6:37 TLV
Had it not been for Yah’s mercy through Yeshua, where would you and I be today?
Pray with me.
Abba, thank you for pouring Your mercy on me through Yeshua when I deserved judgment. I respond by full Teshuva, repentance, returning to You and Your ways. I commit myself to “go and sin no more,” to live in purity and holiness before You all the days of my life. I choose to extend the same mercy that I have received unto others. In Yeshua’s name. Amen.
“For judgment is merciless to the one who does not show mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” Jacob (James) 2:13 TLV
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