Ki Tetze - כי תצא - "When you go forth"
Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife, 12 and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails. 13 And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her. (Deuteronomy 21:10-14)
In last week’s Torah portion we addressed the topic of justice, in this week’s Torah portion we see more of that topic addressed along with various other topics. If you are not taking the time to study out the Torah portions on a weekly basis, I strongly encourage you to do so. The Torah portions are the best ways for us to get a better understanding of who God is. As we read this week’s portion we run into subjects that are easy to grasp, some that are difficult and some that will leave you thinking for awhile. One of the benefits of studying Torah is how it sometimes completes pictures that we read about in the Brit’ Hadasha/New Testament part of the Bible. Let us examine one of these examples.
Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, 4 they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” 6 They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7 But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. 10 Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” (John 8:2-11)
The above verse is often used to prove that Yeshua removed the requirements of Torah in our lives. People who quote John 8:2-11 will say something like, “Jesus ignored the law because we are no longer under law but under grace and this verse proves it.” These individuals do not consider chapters such as Isaiah 42 which paints a picture of Yeshua bringing Honor to Torah, Deuteronomy 13 which makes it clear that Torah will always be the standard we live by or Psalms 119 which was written by David; the man after God’s own heart.
Yeshua cannot bring honor to Torah if He is telling people to ignore it. Yeshua cannot be our Messiah if He is drawing us away from the practical observance of Torah. If Yeshua is indeed encouraging us to ignore the importance of Torah in our lives, then His heart would be far from Psalms 119. Yeshua would not be our perfect Lamb sacrifice if He truly removed the importance of daily Torah observance in our lives. In fact, that is the work of the Anti-Christ. According to the scriptures, such doctrines are blasphemy against God.
Biblical truth does not contradict Torah. In order to properly test a spirit, you must pin it against Torah, this is an example that Yeshua shows us in Matthew 4:1-11. There are no scriptures in the Bible that diminishes the importance of Torah in our lives scriptures that are used as such are grossly misinterpreted and makes the entire Bible inconsistent. It is only by examining Torah that we can separate Biblical doctrine from false doctrine. The command talked about in John 8:2-11 can be found in this week’s Torah portion and in Leviticus.
If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel. (Deuteronomy 22:22)
If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. (Leviticus 20:10)
Yeshua is often wrongly accused of breaking Torah in John 8:2-11, but what most people do not realize is that He was not only honoring Torah but also preserving its perfection. When examining Deuteronomy 22:22 and Leviticus 20:10 you should notice that something is missing in John 8:2-11: Where is the man? If these people were truly concerned with upholding Torah the woman would not have been alone, and to be honest, if they were truly concerned with Torah, why would they bring them to Yeshua? The Sanhedrin did not officially recognize Yeshua as a leader of the people anyway.
John 8:6 says, “They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him...” This whole thing was a setup from the very beginning to trick Yeshua into sinning. If Yeshua had said to free her, He would have been guilty of ignoring Torah. On the other hand, had Yeshua said that she must be stoned; He would have been guilty of not honoring Torah because according to Torah both the adulterer and the adulteress were suppose to be put to death. Another thing to consider is that if Yeshua did choose one or the other they simply could have accuse Him of wrongfully taking leadership. This was not true justice; it was a perversion of the instructions of God, designed by sinful men with sinful motivations. Yeshua knowing this says, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
None of them could do it because they knew that they were in sin and everyone else there was not a witness to the sin.
But wait! It’s not over yet because she was caught in the act of sinning. After her accusers leave Yeshua addresses her sin by saying, “Go. From now on sin no more.” The ending of this scene is in perfect harmony with the teachings of God as well.
On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. 7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. (Deuteronomy 17:6-7)
Once her accusers left, she had no witnesses against her. Once again, this was a plot to get Yeshua in trouble; they did this so that they might have something of which to accuse Him. Yeshua’s walk was so blameless that they had to resort to deception in hopes of getting Him into sin. They tried to get Yeshua to transgress against Torah and they failed. At the end all of her accusers left leaving just her and Yeshua who followed Torah perfectly in this entire situation.
I cannot stress enough the importance of studying Torah. By studying Torah it becomes easier for us to spot the false doctrines that are all around us. By studying Torah we gain a better understanding of all scriptures. Satan has mastered the art of manipulating God’s Word; we see this in the Genesis and in Matthew.
Understanding Torah is the best defense against Satan’s deceptions. Take the time to study Torah every day, this way you will be properly equipped to defend God’s truths against the lies of the enemy.
Tune into the Daily Torah Podcast everyday to be properly equipped to defend God's truths against the list of the enemy.