Eikev - (reward)

Torah Portion:  Eikev (reward)

Torah Reading:  Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25

Prophetic Reading:  Isaiah 49:14-51:3

 

“The Promise of God to Give the Jewish People the Land of Israel Will Be Renewed and Broadened in the Last Days”

In last week’s parasha we read how G-d’s covenant with the Jewish people to give them the land of Israel would be renewed in the last days. In fact, we saw that it will not just be renewed, but broadened to include the nation of Jordan. In this week’s Torah reading we are informed that the promise goes well beyond that of the nation of Jordan,

“HaShem will drive out all these nations before you and you will possess nations greater and mightier than you. Every place where the sole of your feet shall tread on it shall be for you, from the wilderness and Lebanon, to the river, the Euphrates River, until the western sea shall be your boundary.
Deut. 11:23-24

This is the same promise which G-d made to Abraham in Genesis 15:18. What is significant about this is that it is in this same chapter of Genesis that HaShem reassures Abraham of the promise of a son. Of course this son was Isaac, but ultimately we learn from the New Covenant that Isaac pictures Messiah Yeshua. What is the connection? The promise of the increase of land to Israel includes not just Jordan, but also Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and parts of Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

This is God’s peace plan for the Mid East. Please notice that it is not even close to what one hears from others. People say that one has to be pragmatic. I prefer to simply wait for God to fulfill His promises.

Remember that Abraham had to wait a number of years to receive his son, but look what accepting man’s attempt to solve the problem brought about—Ishmael and all the conflict that the Mid East is experiencing now.

I know that it is hard to accept and even to begin to see how this is going to come about. I guess about as far-fetched as a man building a large ship to preserve his family and all the animals.

Remember the name of our parasha—Eikev. It means in this usage a reward. What was the reward for?

“And a reward shall come about if you listen to these judgments and you keep them and do them, and the Lord your God shall keep you and the Covenant of Grace which he swore to your forefathers.”
Deut 7:12