Parashah Devarim Comments 2024
Jewish people read a portion of the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) every week. Each portion, or parashah, is named by the first words of that portion. It is also true that the names given to the Five Books themselves come from the first words of the book they are reading. This week, in Hebrew schools, synagogues, temples, and Yeshivas around the world, the first portion of the last Book of Moses’ Five Books is read. The Hebrew name for the parashah and the Book is the same. It is “Devarim,” which means “the words.”
When seventy Hebrew scholars translated the Older Testament (called the Tenach in Hebrew) to the Greek language, they titled the Book “Deuteronomy.” The term Deuteronomy is made up of two Greek words: “deutero” which means second and “nomos” which means law. So Deuteronomy means “Second Law.”
This title is descriptive of the book because it is a restating of the covenant God made with His people, Israel. It is also Moses’ last statement to the Jewish people before he dies.
Why Repeat the Torah?
Why does God give the people this repetition of the Torah? Isn’t once enough? One answer is that this is a new generation. The generation that came out of Egypt lost faith and feared that God would not deliver them the first time God was preparing to send them into Canaan to possess the inheritance He promised them. That generation, all male adults besides Caleb and Joshua, would die in the Sinai wilderness because of their unbelief. Moses, too, did not escape this judgment.
So here, beside the Jordan River, Moses is giving his farewell address to exhort this new generation to recommit itself to the Torah and to the God of the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The Covenant Pattern
The agreement God made with His people takes the form of a covenant whose structure was well known in the ancient Near East. It followed a prescribed format: introductions of the parties involved; an explanation of the historical background; stipulations of the agreement; and the blessings for obedience and consequences for disobedience. This is the framework for the entire Five Books God has Moses write.
The parashah for this week serves as the preamble to that covenant: the introduction of the participants (God and His people) and the history between them that explains how they come to be making this agreement.
“As the Stars” — Promise Remembered
It is striking that this exhortation includes a word of encouragement. In the tenth verse of the first chapter of Devarim, Moses says:
“The LORD your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.” (Deuteronomy 1:10)
This affirms God’s faithfulness to His promises and harkens back to the word God gave to Abram:
Genesis 15:1–5
“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” … He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then He said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Moses is saying: God doesn’t make promises He can’t or won’t keep. In this covenant God promises that if you follow His instructions, you will live and prosper; if not, you will suffer and die.
One Story: Tenach and Brit Chadashah
The Apostolic Scriptures carry the same idea into the Brit Chadashah (Newer Testament):
Ephesians 2:11–13
“Therefore, keep in mind that once you—Gentiles in the flesh—… at that time you were separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise… But now in Messiah Yeshua, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.”
“The Blood of the Messiah” is usually thought of as His crucifixion and resurrection; however, the Torah says:
Leviticus 17:11, 14
“For the life of a creature is in the blood… because the life of every creature is its blood.”
Therefore, the Blood of the Messiah is also the life of the Messiah. John writes:
John 1:1, 14
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh.”
Y’shua (the name Jesus would have called Himself) is the Living Word—Torah embodied in word and deed. He never said, “Now I am going to tell you my version of the Holy Scriptures,” yet what He spoke, did, and how He lived are pure Torah.
Ironically, many Jewish people study and contemplate the Gospel in the Torah and Prophets without recognizing the Y’shua revealed there. Likewise, many Christians read mostly the Brit Chadashah and miss the same basic truth: if you boil Torah down to its essence, it is God’s appeal to turn from sin and follow Him—the same message proclaimed by John the Immerser and by Y’shua.
The Torah is the foundation of the Gospel. The Prophets and the Writings remind us of the stipulations, benefits, and penalties in the covenant; the Gospels and the rest of the Brit Chadashah amplify and clarify what God has already revealed. Properly presented, the Older and Newer Testaments fit together like a hand in a glove.
Jordan River Parallels
This parashah is a vivid example of that unity. Moses is condemned to die with his generation for their unbelief; so, too, Yeshua dies an undeserved death for the sins of His people. Moses speaks the Gospel of repentance and deliverance on the banks of the Jordan just before Israel enters the Land. John the Immerser preaches in the same vicinity, heralding the same Gospel and preparing the people for a greater Joshua—Yeshua ben Yosef, Yeshua HaMashiach.
Moses passes leadership to Joshua in this portion. In 2 Kings 2, also at the Jordan across from Jericho, Elijah passes the mantle to Elisha. When John immerses Y’shua in the Jordan, many believe it was at the same general area where Elisha received Elijah’s cloak and where Joshua took up Moses’ mantle. John was regarded as a great prophet; when his disciples feared competition from Yeshua, he answered that the Master must increase while he must decrease. As Moses’ authority passed to Joshua, and Elijah’s to Elisha, so John’s authority yields to Yeshua.
“Seventy Tongues” and Shavuot
Jewish tradition says Moses spoke Deuteronomy in “seventy tongues”—that is, all the languages of humanity—by the Ruach HaKodesh. Likewise, tradition says the Voice at Sinai resounded in seventy languages. In Acts, no legend is needed; it is fulfilled:
Acts 2:1–4
“Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like a violent wind… They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them.”
Shavuot is the Feast of Weeks—seven weeks plus one day from Passover (fifty days), hence “Pentecost.” The voice at Sinai and the witness at Jerusalem both point toward the Torah and the Gospel extending to the nations.
“Do Not Be Afraid”
Another unifying thread is the repeated admonition not to fear. The word to Abram begins, “Do not be afraid.” Moses tells Joshua and the people:
Deuteronomy 3:21–22
“Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.”
“Do not be afraid” or “Fear not!” appears over 130 times in Scripture; in this parashah alone, it surfaces repeatedly. The Brit Chadashah echoes it:
John 12:15 — “Fear not, Daughter of Zion! Look, your King is coming…”
Matthew 10:31 — “So do not fear; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
“Under Law” or Under Love?
Some Christians object to these comparisons, insisting, “We are not under the law,” viewing commandments as burdensome or as works-based righteousness. I believe that reflects a misperception of the covenant’s stipulations. Yeshua is the Living Word; His example shows the way to intimacy with God—not merely in the next life by His sacrificial blood, but in this life by the blood of His life, the way He lived among us:
John 10:10 — “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
When you love and respect your parents, you try to please them—not to earn their love, but because you share it. Our Father is the same. He sent His Son to remove the barrier of sin. Once we receive His love, we are under His protection; then pleasing Him follows as the fruit of relationship, not the price of admission.
Between self-centeredness and fervent desire for God, we often pass through “fear of the LORD,” better rendered as awe—profound awareness, wonder, and amazement. Job says:
Job 9:10 — “He does great and unfathomable things, wonders beyond number.”
Dread may restrain sin for a time, but it misses God’s heart. We must grow to love Him and see His compassion in both Testaments. Our obedience then becomes a sweet aroma; without a right heart, our “righteous acts” are empty:
Isaiah 64:6 — “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”
Circumcision of the Heart
Paul’s contrast of “circumcision” and “uncircumcision” points to the circumcision of the heart. You don’t need to attempt all 613 instructions; many don’t apply to everyone. Turn to God, walk in His ways, and strive to be like Him—you will prosper if you do.
Psalm 119:18 — “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13 — “The end of the matter… Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
Unity, Fellowship, and Peace
If we pursue pleasing God, we will also pursue peace and unity with our brothers and sisters. The Bible is God’s love letter to us—one book, one story, one family. In a world growing more divisive and uncompromising, let us focus on what we share in Him, remembering that loving our neighbor outweighs being “right.”
Psalm 133:1–2 — Hineh mah tov u’manayim, shevet achim gam yachad: “See how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in harmony!”
May we strive for the holiness and intimacy He calls us to, that our divisions may dissolve and fellowship overtake us. May it come quickly and in our days. Amen.
4) Wide hero image prompt Ultra-wide midsummer dusk on the east bank of the Jordan (Parashat Devarim): foreground—an unrolled Torah scroll and a simple wooden staff resting on warm limestone; mid-ground—river reeds and a faint path bending toward Jericho’s hills; background—deep cobalt sky with first stars emerging, evoking the “as the stars” promise; reverent, non-iconic (no people); crisp textures in parchment, wood, stone, and water; gentle breeze rippling the river; vivid seasonal palette—gold, copper, and deep blue; soft atmospheric haze; no text.
