The Two Most Important "If's" in the Bible

"If" Is a Powerful Word

The name "Bechukotai" means "in My statutes" and the first significant word of this Torah portion is "if." This word is small and humble — yet it is one of the most important words in any language. It is a word that demands a decision. It is a word that gives choices. It is a word that forces us to stop being complacent and take charge of our life. It makes some people very uncomfortable, because they prefer not to take their lives into their own hands and make important decisions that might require action and confrontation and challenging work. Some people prefer to keep the status quo and not rock the boat — they like things as they are now in their comfort zone even if their comfort zone is not so comfortable.

In this parasha it is the Lord who gives to all of Israel — then and now, to every disciple and believer in God — the choice. This choice is the only significant and real choice that any human being has in a lifetime:

These words are followed by a list of incredible blessings.

The prosperity theology that is being taught around the world in evangelical churches essentially says: if you give money to the church, to the pastor, to the ministry, then you will prosper. That's not a good translation of the Hebrew or the biblical concept. Here is God's definition of true prosperity from this Torah Portion:

This is my definition of prosperity: your provision for life, and the peace that you need to be happy and secure. The happiest and most complete person in my life and in the life of Netivyah and the Ro'eh Israel Congregation was actually a person who had nothing, and wanted nothing material — a survivor of the Nazi death camps. He had nothing but he was the most completely happy and satisfied person.

This man's name was Joseph Vactor — an Orthodox Jew, survivor of the Nazi death camps, who used to say every year when we read Bechukotai that during World War II, everyone experienced all the horrible things that God warned Israel about.

Which brings us to the other "if" in verse 14:

For Joseph and David, the two brothers who survived the Nazi death camps, the readings from God's Word in Leviticus 26 were real experiences that they lived through. God's Word is not vain words. David Vactor, the younger brother, died at 100 years old. Joseph said every year in the reading of this text:

Notice the statistics: There are 11 verses of blessings for those who walk in obedience to God and do His will. There are 33 verses of curses for those who walk in rebellion and disobedience — three times more. You make your own choice.

The Instruction Book Nobody Reads

Ignoring God's commands is like buying a new washing machine and not reading the instruction book. In fact, when you buy any machine or electronic instrument, you naturally would read the instructions and do your best to follow them to make sure you make optimum use of your new instrument. What is interesting is that our brothers and sisters in the Christian churches in many cases ignore not only the commandments of God's Word in what they call "The Old Testament" — they ignore the commandments of our Lord and His apostles as well, as if the words and teachings of Yeshua and His Apostles have no meaning and no authority.

And Parashat Bechukotai — that constitutes the closing chapters of Leviticus drives home the point: obedience matters. Yeshua said it in His very last words before ascending to Heaven:

Commands That Are Consistently Ignored

Here is a short list of commands Yeshua and the apostles gave that are generally ignored by the vast majority of Christian brothers. From the Sermon on the Mount:

And:

Specifically for Messianic Jews in the West, Yeshua commanded:

I was discipled by American Missionaries in Jerusalem, Israel. The two families that discipled me were about as different from one another as possible. Both of them invested time and much patience in order to disciple me and teach me what it means to be a minister of the Good News of Yeshua. However, they too represented one denomination that claims to be undenominational — in fact, it is one of the most denominational undenominational denominations! They too only taught what they knew, but ignored the second part of the Great Commission. Everything that comes after "Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" — full stop. The command "Teaching them to observe all the things that I have commanded you" was simply not relevant for Christians today.

Yeshua's new commandment also goes far beyond what most churches teach. It is easier to love your neighbor as yourself because your neighbor is not intimately connected to you. "Love one another as I have loved you" is a totally different situation — He fed thousands, He healed their sick, He sacrificed Himself first and foremost for His followers. And the command "Love your neighbor as yourself" appears across the entire New Testament: Matthew 5:43; 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31, 33; Luke 10:27; Romans 13:9-10; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8.

God's Endgame — And Why He Cannot Forget Israel

Going back to Parashat Bechukotai, the most encouraging thing in the whole depressing catalog of curses in Leviticus 26 is what comes after. The Lord's supreme grace pops up and brightens our future and our past. After all the warnings — after the horrible things that Joseph and David Vactor saw fulfilled in the Nazi death camps with their own eyes — comes this:

We see this being fulfilled before our eyes. The disciples of Yeshua are arising from the islands of the Pacific Ocean to the frozen plains of Lapland near the North Pole. Immigrants from more than 103 different countries are still flowing to Israel. You can walk in the streets of Jerusalem and see Jews of every color and race. Many Christians who were very religious in their churches are realizing that so much of what they have been fed is false. God promises that those Gentiles who understand the futility of idolatry and seek to know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, will receive the privilege of knowing His name and enjoying being in His presence. As Jeremiah prophesied:

God's endgame, His plan for us human beings, was and is about staying one. We will know that He is our God and Creator and, more importantly, we the human race will know that we are His children, His people. Hallelujah, Amen.