Eqev – On the heels of, Because of
D’varim (Deuteronomy) 7:12 – 11:25;
YeshaYahu (Isaiah) 49:14 – 51:3;
Mattityahu (Matthew) 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13;
Ya’aqov (Jacob/James) 5:7-11; Romans 8:31–39
More than anything else, what motivates me to study the meanings of ancient Hebrew words and letters is that they reveal our Messiah in original ways. It’s like drinking from the pure headwaters of a mountain stream on a hot summer day. And, the plan of salvation for fallen man is pictured from the very beginning. On the heels of this Torah portion, the seeker of the God of our Salvation – Adonai Yeshua, need not be disappointed, but will surely be rewarded for the study. Let’s begin.
First Impressions:
And it shall come to pass, because you hear judgments, and keep and do them… Deuteronomy 7:12
Sounds like something a ‘Torah terrorist’ might start a message with – hear the judgments of the Torah and then keep and do them. Sounds a little legalistic, does it not? Is that your first impression?
And it shall come to pass, (eqev, on the heels of, as a result of, because) you …
Now these expounded words build an expectation for blessings to come immediately afterward – to be on your heels, chase you down, and overtake you. Doesn’t sound like burdensome do-it-or-else judgments to me. But the blessings will come on the heels of – because you do what?
And it shall come to pass because you shema (hear, believe and obey) Et mishpatim (judgments) …
Hear, believe, and obey judgments or ordinances? Still sounds a bit legalistic. But look deeper into the Hebrew and you will find the central and chief figure of the Torah – Yeshua the Messiah.
The Little Big Word - Et:
There’s a word standing alone and missing in the English translations after the Shema – the Aleph Tav pronounced `Et.’
William Sanford calls this ‘The Holy Grail of the Scriptures.’ See Bill’s Messianic Aleph Tav Scriptures (MATS) translation for a treasure trove of revelations from these two letters. The Aleph Tav, hidden from sight in other languages, occurs all over the Hebrew Scriptures with many Messianic messages. Let’s grow in the grace and knowledge of Yeshua.
In the Hebrew for the opening verse of Ekev, we are to hear, believe, and obey what? The Aleph Tav.
How does a child of YHWH obey the Aleph Tav? What does the Aleph Tav mean for my life in Him?
The earliest Hebrew pictographs of the letters Aleph Tav are a powerful ox head with horns, and a cross, an X mark, a sign of a covenant. Together these simply mean, ‘the power of the cross.’ The two-letter word is a simple, but powerful picture of the Gospel of Yeshua our Messiah.
There is no word of YHWH that is just a filler, or in this case, merely ‘the sign of the direct object,’ as many Hebrew scholars would say. This concealed and neglected word is full of power and meaning. Those who know the power of the cross in their lives understand what I mean.
In other words, we can’t hear, believe, and obey any judgments of YHWH and keep and do them, unless we first hear, believe, and obey the Gospel message of the power of the cross in our lives. Immediately on the heels of denying ourselves and picking up the cross to follow the Messiah, the blessings of the abundant life come that Moshe described. We do His will, only because we are saved from the sins of breaking Torah.
Sin is defined by the Scriptures as missing the mark of the Torah (1 John 3:4). The passions, pride, and lusts of the flesh must be put to death, as we offer ourselves as living sacrifices in Him, in His sacrifice. Keeping the ordinances of YHWH merely by the intellect and by man’s sheer willpower will always find the observant soul missing Yah’s standard of righteousness. The power of the cross sets us free from the sinful old Adam nature that is bent on missing the mark that YHWH has set for mankind.
The message of Ekev tells us that the only way to a righteous life of keeping and doing His judgments is through the finished work of the cross of the Messiah. The power of the cross then releases the blessings to the believer of the abundant life in Yeshua by the Spirit. From the beginning to the end of history and of each one of our lives, the Aleph Tav is the only way to a truly blessed life.
The mark that Abba sets before us to aim for in life is nothing less than the powerful one – the Aleph Tav. The message of the Aleph Tav is to be crucified with Messiah, dead to self, and freed from sin. The power of the cross is how we can walk in a covenant relationship with our Elohim and enjoy His promises and provisions.
The Meaning of Mishpatim
The word ‘judgments’ also sounds like a legalistic term. So what does ‘mishpatim’ mean in paleo Hebrew?
The root word, mishpat, is spelled ‘mem, sheen, pey, tet’. In its context mishpat can mean – what’s birthed out of chewing on the matter, consuming and internalizing it. Then opening the mouth and pronouncing it as a judgment, like a legal sentence pronounced in court. This will mark and affect the whole sphere of one’s life.
Therefore, Moshe addresses those who shema, hear, believe, and obey, the Aleph Tav mishpatim. Let’s put it all together. We meditate upon and speak about the power of the cross, for it is what marks our entire lives.
The letter ‘tet’ is like a brand that marks the believer as belonging to our Adonai in the courtroom of Heaven.
You can also see that the Aleph Tav, the powerful cross, is a picture of the gift of the Son that the Father gave the world out of His great love for us. Out of that gift, come the blessings promised to the believer.
Truly He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up on behalf of us all, how will He not freely give all things to us with Him? Romans 8:32
The true blessings of life come from the Father’s gift of His Son, arising from a restored covenant relationship. What He freely gives us because of the Messiah is the fulfillment of what Moshe said that YHWH would do for all believers in the Gospel,
“And He will love you and bless you…” Deuteronomy 7:13a
There’s just nothing better than to live a life in His Love, blessed from above. There is no greater blessing than for His love to fill our hearts and lives to overflowing! The power of the cross is the power of God’s love. Living by the principles of the cross out of selfless love for others marks the believer as a child of God.
Klug's Doing it Again
Why do I keep writing about the Gospel message in the Torah?
The Aleph Tav, the power of the cross, doesn’t just get you saved, it keeps you saved! Blessed be the Lamb!
How do I know the Gospel is in the Torah? The writer of Hebrews tells us that the children of Israel coming out of Egypt had not entered into His rest because of unbelief and disobedience. What did they disobey?
So then it remains for some to enter into it, yet those who formerly had Good News proclaimed to them did not enter because of disobedience. Hebrews 4:6
They did not shema Aleph Tav. They didn’t hear, believe, and obey the power of the cross by what was foreshadowed and pictured by the Aleph Tav, the sacrifices, the brazen serpent lifted up, the red heifer ceremony, and in so many other ways. Showing us our sin, the Torah is a schoolmaster that leads us to the Messiah, Who saves us from the curses of breaking the Torah, and Who heals us (Galatians 3:24-25).
They had forgotten ‘Et-Yeshuat YHWH’ that Moshe said to stand still and see at the Red Sea crossing (Exo 14:13). When YHWH saves, that’s Yeshua. His Name means ‘Yah saves,’ starting with Et, the power of the cross. I believe we need to remember the Gospel with every last Torah portion. Aleph Tavs are always there!
You shall not be afraid of them: you shall remember, remember Et what YHWH your God did to Pharaoh and to all Mitsrayim (Egypt, double straits). Deuteronomy 7:18
When we face problems in life, giants of opposition, and distresses of these end times, our Elohim commands us emphatically that we shall surely remember the Aleph Tav. The Aleph Tav is a picture of victory in Yeshua, giving us power through the work of the cross, releasing the Spirit to overcome our adversaries in life.
May we Hebrews go, send, and share the Aleph Tav message of the power of the cross of Adonai Yeshua!
Go to where the Gospel is proclaimed, whereby we can enter into His rest together – free from the striving, enmity, and contention of the flesh, free from the sin that brings unrest in our congregations, freed by the power of the cross to enter into His rest. May we learn and apply the principles of the cross and the Aleph Tav!
BaShem Yeshua HaMashiyach,
David Klug