Parashah Eikev - “come to pass” Devarim/Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25

What will “come to pass”?  Why will it “come to pass”?  When will it "come to

pass"?


Va’etchanan, last week’s parashah ended with the following statement from

Moses to the people of Israel, “‘You shall therefore keep the commandments,

and the statutes, and the judgements which I command you this day, to do

them.’”


Eikev continues with ‘“Wherefore it shall come to pass, if you hearken to

these judgements, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep

unto you the covenant and the mercy which He sware unto your fathers;...’”


It seems apparent to me that it is the covenants, already entered into with

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that are going to be kept.  Let us not forget that

the covenant that was cut with Abraham back in Genesis 15 only had one of

the two parties “walk” between the pieces.  Additionally, His mercy will

continue to be shown upon His chosen people.


These thoughts notwithstanding, I believe that an earlier covenant with

Abraham, if it may be called that, is what we see coming to fruition in the

statements of Moses.  Some would identify it as the call of Abram, but it is an

agreement, and a one-sided agreement at that.  The terms are given by the

Lord.  Yes, Abram must do something, but the result of his obedience is strictly

inherent upon HaShem to perform.


“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, ‘Get you out of your country, and from

your kindred, and from your father’s house, unto a land that I will show you:

and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name

great; and you shall be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless you, and

curse him that curses you: and in you shall all the families of the earth be

blessed.’”  (Genesis 12:1 - 3)


Look at the blessings mentioned in Deuteronomy 12:13 - 16.  What blessing is

missing from the ones referred to in the previous paragraph?  Look hard, for

you will not find one.  The fulfillment of the covenant or command will “come

to pass”, in fact, it is about to “come to pass”, if only they will be obedient to

what they have just been told.


In James 2:23 Abraham is identified as the “friend of God.”  Our Lord and

Savior states in John 15:14 - 16 the following: “You are my friends if you do

whatsoever I command you.  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the

servant knows not what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all

things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you.  You have

not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go

and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you

shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you.”


Compare the above Scripture with the parashah.  Is HaShem, through Moses,

speaking to servants or friends?  Moses informs them over and over of what

the Lord has told him is ahead, good and bad depending upon their actions.

That sounds like The Messiah speaking only what He has heard to His friends.

As an aside, notice that in both cases, those that are now called the friends did

not do the choosing, but were the chosen.


Of what are they informed here in Deuteronomy?

7:17 - 26 - conquering their enemies and what not to do

8:1 - 20 - a teaching on the food given in the wilderness, what will be in the

land, and a warning against forgetting HaShem when they are in a satisfied state

9:1 - 10:11 - to realize that their blessing is not due to their own righteousness

(9:4), to remember the lessons of the Wilderness (go back to 8:2)

10:12 - 22 - again a call to what God asks of them

11:1 - 7 -  a reminder again of the call and of the fact that they had seen all

that the Lord had done (11:7)

11:8 - 21 - a summary call to observe all the commands and the purpose for

doing so (11:8-9)

11:22 - 25 - the totality of the land that can be possessed (it is larger than the

little Israel we think of today), for He will go before them.


Does this information sound like a master speaking to his slaves or One in

authority speaking to his friends who have less authority?  I submit that it is

the latter.  They, His friends, were made aware of the consequences good

and bad.  The rest will be up to them for the time is ripe for it to "come to

pass".