The Verdict of YHVH
-- T O R A H P O R T I O N --
Introduction:
When you think about the word verdict, what would God’s verdict say about the way you are living today—would it reveal obedience, compromise, or growing faith?
What is the meaning of the word verdict? According to vocabulary.com, a verdict is a decision made after a lot of consideration, usually made by the jury in a courtroom. Although verdicts are usually announced in a courtroom, any time someone makes a judgment about something, it’s a verdict. The truth lies in the root of this word: ver comes from the Latin verus, meaning “true.” Ver shows up in other words—to verify something is to prove that it’s true, and veracious is an adjective meaning “truthful.” And the truth is exactly what the judge needs when he’s trying to decide the verdict of a case.
Last week, before the release of the final plague, God gave regulations to the children of Israel on how to celebrate the Pesach and Unleavened Bread. They were commanded to put the blood of a Pesach lamb on the doorpost of their respective houses so they wouldn't experience the last plague. And they bowed their heads and worshiped.
This week, our Torah portion deals with the comparison of God's verdict to Pharaoh and his people after they disobeyed Him by refusing to let His people go, and His verdict to the Israelites after they obeyed His instruction of putting the lamb's blood on their doorposts.
God's verdict for Pharaoh and his people:
All the firstborn in the land of Egypt died. This is the fulfillment of God's word to Moshe in Exodus 4:22–23, where He said, "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go so that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.’” Of all the plagues, this is the most painful, especially for Pharaoh, because his firstborn was his successor. Verses 29–30 say, "And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead."
The problem with Pharaoh is that he did not take it seriously. He only thought about himself. He had nine plagues to repent and humble himself before God, but he didn't. This is a great reminder to us that God is true and serious about His words. He always does what He says He will do, so we should never doubt His words. Proverbs 30:5 says, "Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." At the start of the book of Exodus, the Pharaoh wanted to kill all the male children of the Israelites. Now, God killed all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians.
Pharaoh and his people were humbled.
In verse 31, Pharaoh called for Moshe and Aaron by night and said, "Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said." Here, God humbled the most powerful man in Egypt. His firstborn was gone, and even his and the Egyptians’ possessions as well, such as jewelry. Verses 35–36 say, "Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moshe, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians." Because of the disobedience and pride of Pharaoh and his people, they lost everything by losing sight of the only thing that mattered: their humility before the one true King of Israel.
They were freed from slavery.
If God fulfilled His word to kill all the firstborn of Egypt, this time He fulfilled what He promised to the children of Israel in Exodus 6:6–7: "I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments (verdict). I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." Verses 37–42 give us a glimpse of their escape from the land of Egypt and how God also fulfilled His words to Abraham in Genesis 15:13–14.
They were given a festival to remember God’s faithfulness.
As they departed from Egypt, God gave the Israelites additional instructions on how to celebrate the Pesach. First, the bones of the lamb should not be broken. This is a foreshadowing of Yeshua, as John 19:33, 36 says, “But when they came to Yeshua and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken.’”
Second, a foreigner who wants to keep the Pesach should be circumcised so that he shall be as a native of the land. Here, it is very clear that Gentiles can’t reason out to observe the Pesach or the Torah because one law shall be for the native-born (Israel) and for the foreigner (Gentile). Also, in verse 38, a mixed multitude (other races, and for all we know, some native Egyptians too) went up with the Israelites when they left Egypt.
Let us always remember that Yeshua became our Pesach Lamb. He delivers us from the bondage of sin through His righteous blood. Revelation 5:9 says, “And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals; for You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.’”
Now the children of Israel are free—not only from slavery but free to follow God through the desert (“Let My people go so they could worship Me”), which provides an opportunity for them to learn to trust the God who brought them out of Egypt for their necessities. In the uncertain desert, the first thing they will experience, of course, is thirst and hunger. But God provided food from heaven and water from a rock. As God leads His chosen nation through this tremendous experience, He wanted to transform them, so faith must be needed.
When God frees us from slavery, sin, or anything else and calls us to serve Him, there are changes that will happen in our lives. The Israelites in Egypt ate melons, cucumbers, and so on. But in the desert, they ate manna and quail every day. I remember when I was not Messianic yet—whatever I asked God for, He easily gave it to me. But when I started following the Torah, it seemed like there were more trials, like what Israel experienced in the desert. This is the change I am talking about. When God calls us to serve and worship Him, He develops and strengthens our faith and shapes our character. This is true freedom. God is the One who orchestrates our lives.
Our Torah portion is a reminder to us that God will show His favor to those who obey Him, but His judgment awaits the opposite side.
The same blood that marks deliverance for the obedient becomes the mark of judgment for the defiant.
When God gives you instructions that seem difficult or illogical, do you obey immediately, or wait until the “plagues” of life force you to?
-- H A F T A R A H P O R T I O N --
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Our Haftarah covers Isaiah 21:11–17 and 22:1–4, where God, through His prophet Isaiah, gave warning and comfort to His people Israel. The question is, why does God use some nations like Babylon, Edom, and Dumah (Arabia in other translations) to warn and comfort His people? To understand this, let us go back to verse 10, which says, “My people, who have been threshed, grain trodden down on my threshing floor: I am telling you what I have heard from ADONAI-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel” (CJB). Here, we can see that God is speaking to His people Israel, who during this time were exiled by a Gentile nation, Babylon. Because of this, Israel relied on her salvation from this nation. So through Isaiah, God gave warning and comfort to His people.
First, from verses 1–9, we can see that Babylon will be judged by God. All their carved images will be broken to show Israel that the gods of this nation can’t do anything to save them from exile. Also, in verse 2, Babylon was betrayed by her two allies, Elam and Media, who were part of the Persian army. Second, God’s proclamation against Edom and Arabia. Notice in verse 11 there’s a watchman whose task is to give information if there’s a sign of danger or upcoming trouble. Surely, this watchman will say to Israel, “Babylon has fallen,” and that’s the reason why in verse 12, this watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you inquire, inquire; return! Come back!” Here, we can see that there’s an invitation for repentance. The people of Israel should repent and return to God. The warning is that Israel should not put her trust in these wicked nations, for they are all under the verdict of God. The comfort is that Israel has God—the God of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—their Salvation (Yeshua).
Isaiah 25:9
“And it will be said on that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His Salvation.’”
Every warning from Heaven carries both the sound of judgment and the whisper of mercy.
In times of fear or uncertainty, where do you tend to place your trust and how can you return your confidence fully to Adonai?
-- APOSTOLIC P O R T I O N --
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In the Apostolic portion, Apostle Paul sent a message to the Messianic community in Thessalonica that there is hope after death by using three encouraging words:
RESTORATION of Life (v.14) – Perhaps some of the believers in Thessalonica thought that those who had already died would not witness the second coming of Yeshua. For Paul, the key to hope is to believe that Yeshua defeated even death. Although He died, He rose again. 1 Corinthians 15:55–57 says, “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach.”
REPETITION (vv.15–16) – The second hope that Paul gave to his brethren is the repetition of Yeshua’s return. During His first coming, He was the Messiah Ben Yosef, the Lamb of God who suffered and died for the sin of the world. But He will return as Messiah Ben David, a reigning King and Lion from the tribe of Judah, not only to judge the wicked but also to gather His people. Yeshua will fulfill His words in Revelation 22:20: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amein. Even so, come, Lord Yeshua!”
REASSEMBLE (vv.17–18) – Not only will Yeshua repeat His comeback, but He will also reassemble them. To support this, I want to use Luke 9:28–30:
“About eight days after Yeshua said this, He took Peter, John, and James with Him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moshe and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Yeshua.”
My understanding of the appearance of these two men is this: Elijah, who didn’t experience death, is a type of the believers in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 who are alive and remain when Yeshua comes. Moshe is a type of the believers who died in Yeshua in verse 16b, as they will rise first. These two kinds of genuine believers will meet Yeshua in the air, and they will be with Him forever. Therefore, encouraging one another with these words is how Paul ended his message (v.18), which means there is hope.
The trumpet of Heaven will not announce wrath for the redeemed, but the final verdict of victory for those sealed in the Lamb’s blood.
If Yeshua returned today, would His verdict over your life be “well done, good and faithful servant”?
The connection of our parasha is about the verdict of God for the wicked and the righteous. In the Torah, God killed all the firstborn in Egypt as His verdict because of their disobedience led by Pharaoh. In the Haftarah, through the prophet Isaiah, God proclaimed His verdict against Babylon as a warning for the Israelites that even they could be punished if they wouldn’t repent after trusting their salvation to the Babylonians. In the Apostolic portion, the dead in Messiah Yeshua and those who are alive and remain when He comes will be gathered together to meet Him in the air and to be with Him forever as His righteous verdict for His saints.
Back to my introduction… According to John 5:28–29, the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear God's voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. The question is, where do you belong?
The same God who rendered judgment in Egypt and spoke warnings through Isaiah will one day pronounce His eternal verdict through Yeshua.
When that day comes, will His judgment find you resisting His will or resting under His mercy?
2 Corinthians 5:10
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Yeshua, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
Revelation 22:12, 14
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city.”
Shabbat Shalom,
Topher
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Sources:
vocabulary.com outorah.org wordsoflife.co.uk scenichillsblvd.wordpress.com jewsforjesus.org cornerstonewestford.com bibleoutlines.com preaching.com oncedelivered.net twojourneys.org insight.org blueletterbible.org TheMacArthurStudyBible
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