Remember Who You Are!
Parashat Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8; Haftarah, Isaiah 60:1–22
Rachel Wolf, Congregation Beth Messiah, Cincinnati
Ki tavo, when you come in (ki tavo) to the land . . . Remember Who You Are!
Toward this end, as Moses approaches the conclusion of his discourse to all Israel, he commands many practical, active, and concrete things that will serve as constant visible reminders to the people of Israel of who they are, and to whom they belong.
The significance of the identity of the Jewish people cannot be overstated.
Through the painstaking record-keeping of Moses, we witness the long, intensive efforts by God and by Moses to impress upon the people the seriousness of being the covenant people of God – the great blessings that will come from observing God’s commands and principles, and the dreadful curses that follow from God’s people turning away (see Deut 28).
Here are some of the constant visible reminders from this portion:
Reminder #1: First of All, First Fruits
Demonstrate and declare your origins and identity!
This week’s portion begins: “When you come in to the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it . . .” The first thing the people are told to do is to take some of the firstfruits of the land, put them in a basket, and bring it to “the place God has chosen to put his name” (Deut 26:1–2). There, before the priest, at the holy place, the people of Israel are to
(1) publicly declare their covenant identity, and then
(2) recount their origins and history.
First they are to say to the priest: “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us” (26:3).
Next, they are to tell the story of their origins. After recounting their humble beginnings each Israelite is to say:
So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me. (Deut 26:8–10)
Reminder #2: The First Billboards
Israel is to set up huge stone signposts to be their solid visible reference point:
It shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land the Lord your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you. (Deut 27:1–7)
Moreover, they are commanded to use good handwriting! (v.7)
Reminder #3: Two Mountains
Do Not Forget: You are the people of God; you are to represent him in your actions. Just before the detailed recital of the blessings and curses in chapter 28, Moses sets up a powerful visible and audible reminder for the people that literally shouts to them as they are entering the Land: Representatives of six of the tribes are to stand at the top of Mt. Gerizim to recite the blessings over the people, and the other six tribes are to stand at the top of Mt. Ebal to recite the curses over the people. Remember, at this point these blessings and curses are all in the “if, then” formula. This is a reminder, literally from on high, that Israel’s actions will affect their future—because they belong to the Lord their God. As they walk between these mountains these voices of their own brothers are to encourage them to choose the right path.
Yet as we read the blessings and curses in chapter 28, we know the tragedies that are to come. But that is not the end of the story! Zion is called to Awake! and Arise!
Prophetic Words of Consolation in the Haftarah Portion that are to cause Jerusalem to Remember who she is: Awake and Arise!
During the seven weeks between Tisha B’av and Rosh Hashanah we read the seven Haftarot of Comfort and Consolation from Isaiah. Biblical comfort is not emotional sympathy. It is the proclamation of the besorah that Israel’s times of constant battlement are at an end. We are called to proclaim this truth to our people!—that in God’s historical timetable we are entering the holy era of Comfort, when God sets into action his plan to conquer the pervasive violence of evildoers. In Scripture, those who hate Israel also hate God.
But after the reverberating call to “Comfort!” in Isaiah 40, the prophet’s visions show that this is a process. I am going to quickly explore this process in the fourth Haftarah of Comfort (Isaiah 51:12–52:12) and then connect it to this week’s haftarah.
Three Times: AWAKE, AWAKE! Remember Who You Are!
The Resurrection of Jerusalem
In this haftarah portion Zion is called twice to Awake, Awake! But before that, the prophet, or perhaps God himself, first exhorts God’s Holy Arm to “Awake, awake! and put on strength” as in ancient days, when his arm parted the Red Sea for the redeemed to cross over (Isa 51:9–11). This is key, and gives us a pattern for prayer, because it is by God’s power that the subsequent Awake and Arise will happen.
After God’s arm of power is awakened, then, in 51:17, Jerusalem is being called to awake from the exhaustion and dejection of warfare and captivity; from having drained the cup of God’s wrath:
Awake, awake!
Stand up, O Jerusalem,
You who have drunk at the hand of the Lord
The cup of his fury. (51:17)
Then God asks a question that I have repeatedly posed to our congregation and to Christians I know. God cries out: “By whom shall I comfort you?” (51:19). I believe he is calling all of us to take on this role today.
But Isaiah also indicates that God’s arm has indeed awakened. Calling Israel “You afflicted,” he speaks through the prophet:
See I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling . . .
You shall no longer drink it.
But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you. (51:22–23)
Finally, Zion is called to again, “Awake, awake!” But this time Zion is called to the beauty and strength she was created for. Zion, Remember who you are! This time she is called to both awake and arise:
Awake, awake
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city! . . .Shake yourself from the dust, Arise . . .
O captive daughter of Zion!” (Isa 52:1–3)
In this week’s Haftarah, Isaiah 60:1-22, Jerusalem is called not only to awake and arise, but to Arise and Shine out into the darkness!
Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
[“Risen” in Hebrew is the word for the sun rising.]
For behold, the darkness shall cover the land,
And deep shadow the people;
But the Lord will arise [like the sun] over you,
And his glory will be seen upon you.
The nations shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising. (Isa 60:1–3)
Historical Progression to Resurrection
In these consolation sections of Isaiah we see this progression:
Zion is called to awake from the stupor of captivity
Zion is called to awake to her beauty and strength in order to shake off her captivity and remember her calling
Zion is called to arise and shine as the glory of the Lord rises upon her in the sight of all the nations.
The righteous of all the nations are drawn to Jerusalem’s light, bringing help and gifts, and with acceptable offerings for the God of Israel, the God of the whole earth.
This is the death and resurrection of Jerusalem that brings life to the whole earth. Yeshua understood his own death and resurrection to be tied to the death and resurrection of Jerusalem, the holy city, in the eternal plan of God. Jerusalem is at the center of God’s plan to release the captives of all the earth. This is why she is so embattled from all sides. How can we be signposts, like those Moses commanded, to help our people Remember who they are? God is still asking, “By whom shall I comfort you?” Can we say, as did Isaiah, “Hineni!”?