Parashah 46: 'Ekev (Because - Wages)

Parashah 46: 'Ekev (Because); Deuteronomy 7:12 through 11:25.

Haftarah (Writings and Prophets): Isaiah 49:14 through 51:3.
B'rit Hadasha (New Testament): Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13; James 5:7-11.

Summary & Overview

TORAH
Deuteronomy 7:12 | Blessings for Obedience
Deuteronomy 8:1 | A Warning Not to Forget God in Prosperity
Deuteronomy 9:1 | The Consequences of Rebelling against God
Deuteronomy 10:1 | The Second Pair of Tablets
Deuteronomy 10:12 | The Essence of the Law
Deuteronomy 11:1 | Rewards for Obedience

Last week we looked at how YHVHs people are like sheep, chewing the cud,
and at leadership and what YHVH requires of them. We also looked at the Two
Witnesses and the revealing of Yshua the Messiah in the Last Days.
Remember, our aim is to find Messiah in the pages of this Book as well as to
seek the messages He has for His people who live in the Last Generation
before His return.
The Book of Deuteronomy is compiled in the last few days of Moses life when
he reached the age of 120. This was when Moses spoke his last words to the
children of Israel, before his death. The words of a dying man are very
significant, and Moses would have only spoken those words that were the
closest to his heart, the things that carried him through difficult times, sharing
the wisdom and last minute advice he thought would be beneficial for his loved
ones in his life.
When you are old, living the last days of your life, what will you say and do?
You will gather your children, grandchildren, friends and everybody you know,
to speak your last words to them. In the Book of Deuteronomy Moses reiterates
the importance of keeping YHVHs Commandments, studying His Word, not
adding or subtracting from it, and walking in His Word to the best of your
abilities. This is the heart and central message of Deuteronomy, making this
Book so important to all those who read and study it.

Obey His Words (Dvarim)

As YHVHs special nation, the children of Israel are preparing to enter the land
that has been promised to them. Most of these second-generation Israelites
have never known anything other than life in the desert, so it is critical that they
are taught the importance of and the extreme necessity of keeping the
Commandments of YHVH that pertain to living in the land. The Almighty is fully
capable of defeating the enemies in the land and caring for their needs, but only
IF they do things HIS way. Moses is very aware of their tendency to forget what
he has told them to remember, so he will do his best to present them with the
consequences for disobedience of the Commandments.
Deut 7:12 And it shall be, because (ekev) you hear these right-rulings,
and shall guard and do them, that YHVH your Elohim shall guard with
you the Covenant and the kindness which He swore to your fathers

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The first part of this verse looks as follows in the Hebrew text (read from right to
left):
Deut 7:12

aleph-tav (et) you hear/listen/obey because And it shall be
The first thing to note is the stand-alone aleph/tav in this verse. The
aleph/tav appears in peculiar places throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and
points to the Messiah who Himself declared that He was the alpha and the
omega (aleph / tav in Hebrew), the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Considering this implication, this first part of Deuteronomy 7:12 would then
read:

Deut 7:12 Then it shall be because you listen to Yshua .

Everything in the Torah is given to man through the Aleph-Tav and everything
that is created is spoken into existence through the Aleph-Tav.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the
earth
In Hebrew it reads (from right to left):

Brysheet bara Elohim et ha-shamayim vet ha-arets.

Creation consists of 7 days, and the first verse consists of seven words. In the
middle of these seven words, we find a word et that is not translated in our
English Bibles. The word et or Aleph-Tav that represents the Aleph-Bet
or the Hebrew Alphabet, with Aleph the first letter and Tav the last letter of the
22 letters. The Aleph-Bet also represents the whole Hebrew Language that is
contained in these 22 letters. This means that everything to the left of the
Aleph-Tav in Gen 1:1 (heavens and earth), is spoken through the Hebrew
Language (Aleph-Tav) through the One Who is the Aleph-Tav, the Messiah.
John 1:1-4 In the beginning (Bresheet) was the Right in Hebrew means Spiritual
Word (et), and the Word (Aleph-Tav) was with and everything on the Right
Elohim, and the Word (Yshua) was Elohim. 2 The comes from YHVH. Left in
same was in the beginning with Elohim. 3 All things Hebrew represents the physical,
were made by Him; and without Him was not His Creation and where we are.
anything made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and
the life was the light of men.
In the context of Deut 7:12; when you hear, listen and obey the words of Yshua
(the Word of YHVH), THEN His creative power will do a work in your life, the
same way He spoke and created all things in the beginning. This makes these
words (Dvarim) so important for YHVHs restoration/re-creation process in the
lives of His people. If you remove any part of His Word, then you will not be fully
restored/created in that area of your life.

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Hear and Do Receive Wage
Deut 7:12 And it shall be, because (ekev) you
hear
Verse 12 opens, in the Hebrew, with Vhaya ekev
tishmaun.
Vhaya means And it shall be; but also,
And you shall do.
tishmaun, we have a form of the word shema or to hear and do.
ekev or ekeb is the key word in the Torah Portion and is generally
translated as because. We see that its meaning includes as a result of
or consequently. In other words, if you do something, then (ekev) or as
a result, will receive something as a result. This is why ekev is
sometimes translated as reward or wages.
What is interesting is that tishmaun is the future tense, from the verb shma,
suggesting that there will be those who hear and obey in the future; not just
when these words were spoken and written, making this Commandment
applicable to future generations as well.
Every Commandment in the Torah is based on this principle; when you hear
and obey, it will result in something. To put it in todays terms; when you go to
work and perform the duties you will get your wage at the end of the month,
fortnight or week. This implies that if you follow and obey YHVHs
Commandments, it is like being employed by Him and you follow the
stipulations in your Letter of Offer (faith in Yshua) and Position Description,
(YHVHs Torah). Yshua used this same analogy to describe the Kingdom of
YHVH:
Matt 20:1-8,8 For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went
out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. 2 Now when
he had agreed with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them into
his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others
standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and said to them, You also go into the
vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you. So they went. 5 Again he
went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. 8 So when
evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, Call the
labourers and give them their wages (ekev), beginning with the last to
the first.

Vineyard is the word kerem meaning garden or vineyard. We see three

things that are associated with a Garden; the kaf k,
which means hand or labour, the resh r which means
head or leader, and the mem ,, which means water.
The Garden has an Owner and He employs workers who
will till the ground (kaf), and lastly, they need water
(mem) with which to water the Garden.

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Kerem has the gematria of 260 and relates to the following words:

neer meaning to break up, freshly plough or till.

kel-o-kale meaning worthless.
kaw-tsah meaning strip off, scrape; by implication, to
segregate.
sar meaning stubborn, rebellious.
This garden was tended by good servants and lazy rebellious servants. How the
servants tended the garden determined their worth and ultimately their reward,
when brought into the context of the parable of the talents. The aim of the
servants was to till the ground, plant the seed, water the seed and remove all
the tares and weed growing in between the plants in the garden. Prophetically
speaking, those who are lazy and hid their talents will not receive a reward
(ekev).
When you enter the Kingdom (Garden) of YHVH, you become His Bondservant
out of free will, just like you would accept a job offer out of free will. Then you,
as bondservant, need to serve your Master in His Kingdom, just like you would
serve the Company that employs you, and by complying with the expectations
of the Master, you will receive a reward.
Aqav has the gematria of 172 and relates to the following words:

aqav meaning to take by the heel, follow at the heel,

footprint, footstep.
beh'-kah meaning to half, part also called "shekel of the
sanctuary"
ben-am-mee' meaning "son of my people"
ben-yem-ee-nee' meaning Benjamite, of Benjamin (son of my
right hand)
Connecting all these thoughts first of all reveals the Messiah, the Son of
YHVHs Right Hand (Yshua sitting at the right hand of the Father). He is also
the Son of His people, because He was born from one of the tribes of Israel
(Judah). These two concepts prove that He was God (Elohim) Who came in the
form of a man. Secondly, it reveals His followers who walk in His footsteps, and
follow His halechah (walk) are the ones who need to pay their half-shekel,
which is their contribution so the Body of Messiah can function effectively (See
Parashah 21 Ki Tissa - for details on the half-shekel meaning). This coincides with
the concept of working in the Vineyard and receiving a reward/wages (aqav).
Q - But what about being saved by grace and not by works?
When you read this parable, it relates to both. You enter His employment
because of His Grace, but will receive the reward (ekev) based on your labour
within His Vineyard. This principle is confirmed in the parable of the talents as
well as what we read in James 2:14-17:

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 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does
not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and
destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, Depart in peace,
be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are
needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it
does not have works, is dead.
Works are called mitsvots in Hebrew and your works are none other than
obeying YHVHs Commandments. These are not your works, but these are the
good works (mitsvots), which YHVH prepared beforehand that we should
walk in them (Eph 2:10)

Ekev and the Jaaqob (Jacob) Connection

Ekev or ekeb bqi has a different meaning when you Remember, there are no vowel
change the vowel points, and one of the words that comes markings in the Hebrew Torah.
from doing this is aqab. Aqab means to supplant or The pronunciation and
to circumvent. So, in the context of our Torah Portion, meanings of the words are
are we circumventing YHVHs Commandments? To derived from the context. So,
circumvent means to find a way around, and there are these words could have several
many followers of Jesus/Yshua who reason and definitions, as long as those
circumvent their way around the Commandments, not meanings fit into the context of
hearing and obeying His Word. If we read this in a the Scriptures where they
positive light, in the context of our Parashah this week, we appear. And, as long as there is
harmony with the context, we
are trying to circumvent the curses that will come as a
can have multiple meanings,
result of circumventing or breaking His Commandments.
even in the parshat or simple,
Aqab is also the root word for Yaaqob straight-forward understanding
of the Scriptures.
(Ya [ Yud] Aqab ) or Yahs Supplanter or Yahs
Circumventor. Jacob circumvented Esau so that the
Birth right (line of Messiah) could come from him, instead of from the man of
the field (Esau). Later on, YHVH changed Jacobs name (destiny/character) to
Israel, that means the righteous people of Elohim. As we saw last week, Jacob
meeting up with Esau after 20 years, place these characters in a prophetic end
time perspective.
Prophetic Application: Two brothers have to reunite, the one has the
bloodline of the Messiah, that is Jacob, and the other is from the field/world,
that is Esau. Jacob represents Judah or the Jews because Yshua is born
from the line of Judah. Esau, the man who loved to spend time in the field,
represents Ephraim (Christians), the ones who come from the nations (field),
who will be reunited with their brother Judah in the end, each representing a
stick in the hand of Messiah Yshua (Eze 37).
In this analogy, Jacob or the Jews are the
good guys who are persecuted by Esaus
hostile attitude (kiss of Esau bite marks on
the neck Gen 33:4 see Hebrew text on the
right). Kiss is the word nashaq, which means
to kiss, armed, armed men. This reveals the
Anti-Semitic attitude of Christians, attacking
and speaking against their Jewish brothers.

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 YHVH will deal with the Jews and they will wrestle with Him until He
changes their walk and characters. We who come from the nations, need to
embrace the Jews with open arms, not biting or slandering them, but
lovingly accepting them as part of the twelve Tribes of Israel. With this, I do
not say that we accept the things that are non-Scriptural, but they have much
to offer, and we can learn a lot from them.

YHVH's Discipline
Last week we looked at examples where YHVH said no.
Discipline is the suppression of
This week we will look at YHVH's discipline. His base desires, and is usually
discipline is not only fatherly but also motherly. The Book understood to be synonymous
of Proverbs links "Shaddai," one of the names of YHVH, with self-restraint and control.
with YHVHs discipline. Discipline is when one uses
Prov 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the discipline reason to determine the best
of YHVH, and do not loathe His reproof; For course of action regardless of
whom YHVH loves He reproves, As a father the one's desires.
son whom he delights in.
Job 5:17 Behold, happy is the man whom God (Elowah) corrects:
therefore despise not thou the discipline of the Almighty (Shaddi):
Shaddai is first used in Scripture in Gen 17:1 where Abram was 90 years old
and YHVH revealed Himself as El Shaddai, instructing Abram to walk (halak)
before Him and be perfect. This was the day Abrams name changed to
Abraham, receiving a hey h or Ruach, which is the anointing of the Spirit of
YHVH. The number 90 has supportive significance, connecting with the
following words that also add up to 90:
lamech meaning powerful.
yaw-sak meaning to anoint.
mayim meaning water.
From these meanings, we see that being anointed by the Spirit of YHVH and
having the water, which is the Word of YHVH, makes you powerful, as we
learned later how Abrahams strong faith is recognised throughout history. This
gives us the insight that our faith is based on the Word and the anointing of
YHVHs Spirit, not just one or the other, but both.
Perfect is the word tamiym meaning integrity, truth:without blemish,
complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright(-
ly), whole. When you look at the Hebrew letters, it reveals more insight on how
to be perfect (blameless) before YHVH. YHVHs discipline is there to help us to
become perfect.
Tamiym consists of two parts, tav , which means yoke and cross and
mayim , which means water. You are only perfect when you have both
these symbols in your life; the tav that is the yoke you carry, the application
of your faith in a practical way, and secondly, mayim or the water of the Word
that cleanses and nourishes you. All these meanings together with the
symbolism of the Hebrew letters is similar to this passage in relation to the Body
of Messiah and the Bride:

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 Eph 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah loved the
Assembly and gave Himself up for her 26to sanctify her, cleansing Her by
the washing with water through the Word, 27and to present Her to
Himself as a glorious Assembly, without spot or wrinkle or any such
blemish, but holy and blameless.

Although Shaddai is related to the word for Destroyer and Self-Sufficient

One, it comes from a Hebrew root word meaning a womans breast (as in a
source of nourishment for babies). This specific name, Shaddai ,
represents the maternal, gentle, nourishing characteristics of Elohim. This tells
us that His discipline is not only strict and just, but also merciful and tender. We
can, therefore, count it all joy even when going through times of discipline and
suffering because we know that YHVH's love for us is entirely balanced. We can
rest assured that His discipline will bring us to maturity, and we will be ready to
possess the Land when we come out the other side.

The Household of YHVH

Deut 7:13 And He will love you and bless
you and multiply you; He will also bless the
fruit of your womb and the fruit of your
land, your grain and your new wine and
your oil, the increase of your cattle and the
offspring of your flock, in the land of which
He swore to your fathers to give you.
This verse states the conditions for releasing love
that is associated with the blessings of YHVH. Surely YHVHs love is
unconditional, but this verse reveals the contrary. We have learned previously
that to receive YHVHs blessings you have to be in Covenant with Him and to
receive His mercy, you have to humble yourself. His love is conditional in a
similar way. There are also different levels or conditions, each one releasing a
different level of love.
Example: For example, you love ice-cream, you love jogging, you love your
friends and their children, but you will love your children more and your spouse
in a more intimate way. The type of love is dependent on the kind of relationship
you have with the object, action or the person. YHVH loves all people (the
world), but He loves His family members on a different level. The love
mentioned here is the love a Father has for His children. This is a special kind
of love, different to any other love between two people. To receive this kind of
love, you have to be His child and part of His Family.
Q How are we accepted into the Household of YHVH?
The only way to enter the Household of YHVH is through adoption. This
process is called becoming a Bondservant of YHVH. The Commandment of
the Bondservant is the first Commandment mentioned after YHVH gave the Ten
Commandments. A Bondservant was someone who became a slave for seven
years to a fellow Israelite because he could not pay his debt. After seven years
he was set free, but if he decided to stay in the House of his Master, and serve
him out of free will, he was declared as a Bondservant.

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The Bondservant was seen as a son in the house of his master, and it was as
if he was adopted as a child into his masters household. Yshua, our
Master, explained what His family looks like.
Mark 3:31-35 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing
outside they sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting
around Him; and they said to Him, Look, Your mother and Your
brothers are outside seeking You. 33 But He answered them,
saying, Who is My mother, or My brothers? 34 And He looked around in
a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, Here are My mother and
My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of Elohim is My brother and
My sister and mother.
This explains the duties of a Bondservant; to do the will of YHVH, obeying His
house rules, confirming that you are a brother, sister or mother.
If we are brothers and sisters of Yshua in the Household of YHVH, then we
should follow the example of our older Brother, Yshua, and do the will of the
Father as He did. Yshua obeyed His Fathers will (rules, wishes,
commandments), even unto death. He did not comply to somebody elses
understanding of His Fathers will (man-made traditions) because He was in a
relationship with His Father and knew what was expected of Him as a Son.

The Wedding Feast and the Guests

Another point to note is that Yshua is the One Who
identified His brothers and sisters. It is like
friendship; you can try to be someones friend, but
that is not a real friendship unless the other person
sees you as a friend as well. It is one thing to think
you are part of His Household but it is crucial to
seek and do the will of the Father so you can be
sure that you are part of His Family. This is when
there exists a two-way relationship between you and Him, and you will learn to
know Him on a deeper level than believers who have a one-sided relationship
from outside the Household of YHVH, not knowing the will of the Father.
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you
to go and bear fruit.
Matt 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Q - This raises the question, are we chosen or did we choose Him?

In John 15, Yshua told His Twelve Disciples that they were chosen as the first
leaders who would spread the Gospel message.

This is not the concept of being chosen, in relation to salvation and the
Kingdom. No, everybody is chosen to be restored so that they can enter the
Kingdom of YHVH, but only a few are chosen to be leaders, who will facilitate
this process. Matt 22 tells the Parable of the King who prepared a Wedding
Feast for His Son, but none of the guests turned up. The King sent out servants
to remind the guests of the wedding, but they still refused to come, and some
invited guests killed the messengers.

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The King was furious and sent His armies to kill the murderers and destroy their
cities and gave an open invitation for anyone to come and attend the Wedding
Feast. On the day, the King approached the Guests and found one without a
wedding garment. The King ordered to remove this person and cast him outside
with those who had refused to respond His invitation.
Spiritual Insight: The King is YHVH and the Son getting married is Yshua
the Messiah. The guests on the first invitation list are the Sons of Israel, and
the servants they killed were YHVHs Prophets. The messengers are sent to
all the nations, good and bad, to respond to the invitation of the King. The
time will come when the King will send out His Armies to destroy those who
killed His messengers and also destroy their kingdoms (religions, sects,
denominations). Those who responded to the Invitation are welcome to
celebrate the Wedding Feast with YHVH; the only requirement is that they
have to be clothed in a wedding garment. Those who attend the Wedding
without an appropriate garment will not be welcome but will be cast into the
darkness outside with the rest of the guests who did not bother answering
the call of YHVH.
We need to find out what the Wedding Garment represents because that is a
prerequisite for attending the Wedding Feast.
Rev 19:6-9 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great
multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals
of thunder, crying out, Hallelujah! For YHVH our Elohim the Almighty
reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the Marriage
of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was
granted Her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and purefor the
fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me,
Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of
the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true words of Elohim.
The wedding garment is made from fine linen that represents the righteous
deeds of the saints or sanctified ones.
Heb 2:10-12 For it was fitting for Him, for
whom are all things and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of
their salvation perfect through sufferings.11 For both
He who sanctifies and those who are being
sanctified are all of One, for which reason He is not
ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying: I will
declare Your Name to My brethren;
Yshua is not ashamed to call those brethren, who sanctified themselves,
because they are the ones with the fine linen garments, cleansed by the
washing of the water of His Word (Eph 5:26). They will join the King as the
Bride and will celebrate the Wedding with Yshua the Bridegroom.

Q Is the concept of being the Bride supported by the TaNaK (OT) or is it

something Paul and John (Author of Revelation) came up with?

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YHVH explicitly declares Himself to be Israels Husband in several places in the
Prophets:

For your Maker is your husband YHVH Tsevaot (Almighty) is His

Name the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the Elohim
of all the earth. (Isa 54:5)

Husband is the word ba-al meaning husband, wife, to rule over, to marry
and to be married.
Redeemer is the word ga-al meaning Kingsman Redeemer, linking it to
the marriage between Boaz and Ruth.

"Return, faithless people," declares YHVH, "for I am your husband...

(Jer 3:14)
As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a
bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your Elohim rejoice over you.
(Isa 62:5)
"'I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown. (Jer 2:2)

Israel were accused of committing adultery, this is only possible if they were
bethrowed or married to YHVH.

They committed adultery with their idols. (Ezek 23:37)

I have seen your adulteries, and your neighings (impatience to lust), the
lewdness of your whoredom. (Jer 13:27)
The land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from YHVH.
(Hos 1:2)
But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful
to me, O house of Israel," declares YHVH. (Jer 3:20)

These witnesses prove the concept of the Bride and why the Berit Chadashah
did not come up with something that is not founded in the TaNaK (OT).

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