And Moses commanded them, saying: “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.” (Deuteronomy 31:10-11)
When Moses delivered the written Torah unto the Levites it was accompanied with the instruction that, from that point forward, they were to read all of the Torah to the nation in the sh’mittah (sabbatical year) during sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles). In the ensuing generations, the reading was performed by the King while the entire nation was assembled for this festival. According to Josephus, in the era when there were no kings, it was read by the priests. The point was, to make certain that everyone — man, woman and child — heard the words of “this law.” No one was exempted from the assembly; the small children weren’t sent to “children’ s church” and the stranger was expected to participate as well.
According to Moses, the purpose for the public reading was so that the people “may hear, learn and fear the LORD.‟ Hearing the Word was a first step to learning the Word which led to a fear of the LORD which, of course, is the “beginning of wisdom.” In turn, Godly wisdom helps us in our spiritual walk. Stated plainly, Moses intended that the people should be consistently provoked to hear and study God’s Word so that they might internalize it. This would benefit them as well as having an impact on future generations who would hear, learn and fear.
Hearing the truth is the first step in propagating truth throughout the generations and throughout the world. It is critical that we embrace the concept presented to us through Moses’ command to Israel. We must be equipped with the Word for ourselves and for the sake of others in the world and for future generations, This is the primary point Paul was making to the Romans in chapter 10 and seems to be an appropriate way to conclude our thoughts for today:
“For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? … So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:13-15, 17)
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
Recent Comments