Since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses … in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34:10-12)
Today, a final thought as we close out the Torah. In these final verses, God saw fit to mention the great and marvelous works that were performed on Israel’s behalf which, in my estimation, at the very least hint of the great and marvelous works revealed from the beginning — the Creation of heaven and earth. In other words, what is revealed at the end of the Torah mirrors what is revealed in the beginning of the Torah. Much like the fact that He caused light to emerge from darkness, by His great and powerful Hand, He caused a nation called Israel to emerge from the darkness of slavery. And so, where God’s Word is concerned, we see a connection between the end and the beginning.
This idea is actually celebrated in Judaism at the end of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) on a day known as Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah). After a year of reading through the Torah week after week, upon reaching the end of the Torah scroll with the closing words of Deuteronomy, the scroll is rolled back to the beginning — Genesis 1. This practice is to reiterate the belief that the end is not final but merely the mark of a fresh beginning — a renewal one might say.
In fact, the end is connected to the beginning just as the beginning and end represent the same point in a circle. Drawing a circle requires a definite starting place, but as the circle closes at the end of the circuit, you are right back where you started. The ending point is also the beginning point — they are one and the same. So, we’ll put it this way — the end is the beginning and the beginning is the end; the first and the last are one and the same.
If everything in the Torah is intended to point us to the Messiah, then I would argue that this principle does as well. John revealed that Messiah, who is the Word made flesh, was in the beginning. In his revelation, he quotes Yeshua as saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Revelation 22:13). He is not someone who came along in the middle of the story; He is the One who wrote the story from beginning to end because He is the beginning and the end.
This fact should give us confidence, on a personal level, that what He started in us, He will complete. By that I mean, because He is the beginning and the end, what He started in our life through His marvelous works, He is well able to complete. Furthermore, when we come to the end of this part of our story, it will only mark a new beginning and that is cause to rejoice!
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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