Vayikra (Leviticus) 26:3-27:34 | Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah)
16:19-17:14
In the Haftarah for Bechukotai, the prophet Jeremiah draws on
imagery from several other biblical sources. For example, Psalm one
and the tree planted by streams of water lies behind the imagery
of Jeremiah 16:7-8. Other allusions to the Psalms and Proverbs can
be detected. It is the covenant curses and blessings of Leviticus
26, however, which seem to exert the greatest influence over the
passage.
The book of Leviticus ends with a section of blessings for
obedience to the covenant and curses for disobedience. Therein the
Lord warns His people that if they turn away from Him and do not
repent, I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense
altars, and heap your remains on the remains of your idols; for My
soul shall abhor you.
I will lay waste your cities as well, and will make your
sanctuaries desolate; and I will not smell your soothing aromas.
And I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle
in it shall be appalled over it. You, however, I will scatter among
the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land
becomes desolate and your cities become waste. (Leviticus
26:30-33).
The prophet Jeremiah in the Haftarah reading echoes this passage.
He exclaims, O mountain of Mine in the countryside, I will give
over your wealth and all your treasures for booty, Your high places
for sin throughout your borders. And you will, even of yourself,
let go of your inheritance That I gave you; And I will make you
serve your enemies in the land which you do not know.
(Jeremiah
17:2-4). The synonymy between the warning in the Torah and the
prophecy of Jeremiah made this passage a suitable candidate for the
Haftarah reading.
But neither Jeremiah nor Moses are just prophets of doom. Along
with the bitter message of exile and destruction comes a message of
hope and restoration. The curses of the covenant are not
irrevocable. In Leviticus 26, the frightening litany of curses
comes to an end in verse 40 where the Lord promises that He will
restore His people if they will return to him, confessing their sin
and forsaking their wickedness. The call to repentance is echoed in
the Haftarah. Jeremiah refers to the Lord as mikvah of Israel (v.
13), a term that means hope, but can also be translated as pool of
water used for immersion in purification rituals. Those who place
their trust in the Lord will be like a tree planted by streams of
water (vv. 7-8 ). After describing the fate of those who reject the
Lord, Jeremiah exclaims, Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved, For You are my praise.
The prescription in Jeremiah is the same as in Leviticus. There is
a definite pattern of repentance, forgiveness, redemption, and
restoration that God offers to His people. The same pattern of
repentance, forgiveness, redemption, and restoration can be
followed in the daily prayer of the Shemoneh Esrei (the 18
benedictions). The blessing for repentance (Bring us back, our
Father, to Your Torah
cause us to return in perfect repentance
)
is followed by the blessing for forgiveness of sin (Forgive us,
our Father, for we have erred; pardon us, our King, for we have
willfully sinned
) which is in turn followed by the blessing for
redemption (
You are a powerful redeemer. Blessed are You, Lord,
redeemer of Israel.). Significantly, the blessing for redemption
is followed by the blessing for healing and salvation which begins
with the very words which end this weeks Haftarah portion, Heal
us, O Lord, and We will be healed; Save us and we will be saved,
for You are our praise.
The pattern laid out in the Torah, in the prophet Jeremiah, and in
the daily liturgy is the very plan of salvation taught in the
Gospels and the Apostolic Scriptures. Just as Israels sins would
bring the curses of the covenant upon her, driving her from her
land, we learn that our sins have separated us from God and placed
us under the curse of the Torah. The remedy is laid out in the
Torah and Haftarah and even in the Amidah. We must (1) repent and
return to Him (2) confess our sins and receive His forgiveness (3)
and experience His (Messianic) redemption, part of which is the (4)
healing of our brokenness in body and soul.
Jeremiah and the authors of the Amidah probably never read a
salvation tract, nor did they ever attend an evangelism class.
Instead they found the message of the Gospel in the book of
Leviticus