Va'etchanan: Nachamu - The Petition of Grace
Summary
I sometimes find myself pondering some of the heartbreaking cries in Scripture. Think of Cain, “My punishment is more than I can bear!” (Gen. 4:13). Or Esau, crying out to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” The heart breaks at the pathos and felt agony.
Moshe’s (Moses’) prayer, however, is different and provides a model for us. His prayer is a genuine plea on behalf of God’s character and covenant promises. “I petition for Grace. Please!” Likewise, the opening verses of Eicha (Lamentations) provides us with an image of a deep heartfelt petition to God to “remember his covenant and rescue!” And we get it. We’ve been there; the deep cry, the silence, the sense of exile, where hope remains hidden and lost in a swirl of darkness. But as Rabbi pointed out, into this darkness God speaks, “Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord” (Lamentations 2:19).
In Parasha Va’etchanan Moshe and B’nei Israel stand on the threshold of Promise after 40 years of wandering. “Everything in the Torah has been moving to this moment.” And we see, not just the final words of Moshe, but a renewal of covenant. Rabbi emphasized that in Moshe’s cry is a plea for grace—grace not because of who I am, but because of who God is. And who is He? He is the God of Comfort that we see in Isaiah 40. “Comfort, comfort my (ami) people.” This is profound. After exile and decades of rebellion, God claims his people as his own. Rabbi said, “The besorah (good news) isn't "behold forgiveness" or "behold your reward" — it's "Behold your God." God is faithful to His Word and to His promises.
Consider the empty tomb. Messiah is returned to life! The tomb is empty! He is the firstfruits, the promise of the true inheritance for which we wait in expectant hope. Exile and death are not the final word. This is the promise. This is the hope.
The same God who received Moshe's plea, heard Jerusalem's cry, and spoke comfort to the exiles is the God who keeps His word, there is hope, comfort, and besorah. Pour out your heart to the God who was and is and ever shall be. Alone, we have no merit, —as Isaiah says, we are as “grass.” May my prayers for mercy and grace be based on his character, not my own merit.
- Pour out your heart in honest prayer, but anchor that plea in God's covenant faithfulness rather than you need alone. What shifts when your prayer moves from "please, because I'm hurting" to "please, because of who You are?"
- Rabbi traces a single thread from Lamentations' cry, through Moshe's plea, to Isaiah's comfort, and finally to the empty tomb — each moment answering the ache of the one before it. Have you experienced this pattern: a season of silence or exile followed, sometimes much later, by a "behold" moment where God's faithfulness became unmistakably clear? How does remembering that God kept His word in the past shape the confidence you can bring today's apparent silence?
Transcript(from the video captions)
All right, let's pray. Avinu Shebashamayim, we bless and sanctify you in the heights of heaven and right here on earth. We thank you so much for this Shabbat, this special Shabbat of comfort, Nachamu Nachamu. We thank you that you declare and you bring us near to you as your people. Such a privilege to be the people of God. Thank you for that. Thank you that you loved us long before we could reciprocate that love. And today I just pray that your word would speak to us where we're at individually and communally to come together unified as one people today here at Sha'arei Shalom. We give you all the praise and glory in Yeshua's name. Well, Shabbat Shalom everybody. How many of you have ever lifted up a prayer to God that seemed to have failed? Yeah. Yeah. Well, what is the definition of a failed prayer? What is that? When you don't get what you want. Didn't somebody Didn't the Stones write a song about that? Yeah. Yeah. Can't always get what you want. That's a good one. Right. How about when heaven pivoted away from your petition? That could be one. Heaven remained silent. Is that a failed prayer?
Well, I have news. Prayer is not magic. Magic. It's not magic. And heaven's silence is not a prohibition. But as we came together this week, for those of us that read Eicha, and for those that didn't, we read it on your behalf, we sat in the midst of exile. In the emptiness. Under the siege of the enemy. Light turned to darkness. Salvation was exchanged for shame. The city of delight had become a city of disgrace. Even the desire to pray was stripped away. Hope was hiding. A broken generation was left unconsoled. And then, out of the darkness, the word of God spoke to us through that book. Shifchi chamayim. Let the bat noah panai Adonai. Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord. That was the word. That was the word Eicha spoke into our hearts. And today, Eicha shows us what that pouring out looks like as we look at Mosha. Today, we go from Eicha to the Eicha naan. Israel now stands on the eastern side of the Yarden. Preparing to enter west into the promised land. And everything stands before us today. Everything in the Torah has been moving towards this very moment.
Devarim becomes the access by which we turn towards the promised land. Egypt, the sea, Har Sinai, the wilderness, 40 years through the wilderness. The inheritance that we have and the life of the covenant now stands before us. And before they cross over and Mosha renews the covenant. We have a renewal. So, Devarim, Deuteronomy, is not merely a speech of a leader who is dying. Rather, it's the renewal of life of a covenant given to the next generation between Hashem and the people of Israel for the blessing of the nations. It is history and hope, memory and mission, warning and promise coming together, a covenant renewed today as you stand before God. Nothing happens outside of God's covenant when we are receiving from him. Everything is on the inside of that. Sometimes we are not aware of that, especially in our world. It's not really understand the Brits. But today God says I want you to understand the Brits. The strong and gracious God of Israel binds himself to a weak and vulnerable people linking his identity to their name, to our name. And appointing them and us as witnesses before the nations.
The Shema as the culmination of that prayer as we are witnesses to who God is. And in the middle of this great covenant renewal we hear a deeply personal petition of one righteous man. And if there was a righteous man that deserved the first right of passage into the promised land, it was Mosha.
On that day, Mosha impressed with his resume. Very impressive. >> [snorts] >> The one who raised his mate, his staff, and watched the sea retreat. The one who stood before our enemies, for Paro, the one who besieged God to pardon us when we had sinned. The one who shepherded the people faithfully. And yet, as Mosha that day stood before the Dayan HaEmet, the judge of heaven and earth, he never presented his resume. He never said, "Look at what I have done. I stood before kings. I endured 40 years in the wilderness. I carried a stubborn people. I defended your name. I taught your Torah." It was on his resume though. He had every right to do that. But not one appeal to merit on the day of his entry. The Etz Chanan, "And I pleaded." is what we hear. The Etz Chanan. The rabbis notice this word. Not merely a prayer, rather a petition for grace. The root of the Etz Chanan is Chanan. The same root that comes to us the word chein, [snorts] grace. Grace freely given. Favor before God. The et Hanan et Adonai the eight hahev lemor, I pleaded for grace with Hashem at that time saying, At what time? Exactly.
Oh, the time of the signs and the wonders and everything God did to those two kings, Sihon and Og. God was giving us a sign of what was to come. These victories were not yet inheritance. They were signs. Evidence that Hashem did not bring Israel this far to leave them on the east side, nor to abandon his covenant. And so Mosheh prayed, Adonai Hashem, Adonai, Lord God, you have begun to show your servant greatness and your strong hand. For what God is there in heaven and earth who can do mighty deeds and mighty acts like yours? After Egypt, after the sea, after Sinai, after the manna from heaven, after 40 years of God preserving our people, Mosheh says, You have only begun. Huh? You've only begun. And what if right now, right here in your life, and at Sha'arei Shalom, Hashem has only begun.
The worship, the posture, the grace, the humility, the petitioning, all coming together. Past grace had given Mosha the courage to petition future grace. As we stand before God, and by the way, this is not cheap grace. This is the good stuff, right here. Eberanah, please let me the eretz ha'aretz hatovah, please let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Yardane and the good hill country. Notice it's good, good, good, and the Lebanon, but then came God's answer that if we're not careful, we may read that as negative. But ye to bear Adonai be l'ma'anchem v'lo shama elai, but Adonai was angry with me because of you back in that day, and he would not listen to me. Enough. Do not speak to me anymore on this matter. God said to him. As we look at this petition, what do we see? It appears at first glance, a prayer petition ends up in disgrace. Was his prayer rejected? Well, Midrash Tanchuma takes us back to the moment when Mosha first asked that question. And what does Mosha do? He saw the glory of God. See, he had already seen the glory, the past grace that brought him to that point.
It was in that place that Hashem had already revealed his character to him on the mountain. Adonai Adonai El Rachum v'chanun v'chanun The word chein, grace. Hashem Hashem, the God of compassion and grace. The rabbis envision and imagine Mosha remembering that revelation like this. Master of the universe, you once revealed yourself as the God who gives grace to those who seek and love you. I appeal now not to who I have been, but to who you are. That's the prayer. Because they taught that even the most righteous do not stand before the Holy One of Israel on their own personal merit to say, "Look what I have done." God forbid. Rather, they say, "Oh God, look at what you have done. Great is your faithfulness among us. Great and worthy to be praised our God." They asked for matnat chinam, a freely given gift, grace. Mosha knew something that we are sometimes prone to forget. The longer the we walk with God, the easier it becomes really natural to keep score. I've served. I've sacrificed. I've been there. Surely I have earned something here. But grace stops keeping score. Grace never says, "Look what I have
done." but rather says, "Look what God has done. Look how God has empowered me." Because the grass withers and the flower fades away, but the word of the Lord stands forever. God has to breathe his life force into us and then we move as an army in him. Motion doesn't appeal to personal record, but rather to God's character. Who God is. What God has promised he will do. And it was once taught that Torah and grace stand in competition. But when we read the Etz Chaim, we discover that grace is at the very heart of the covenant. The grace that heals your shame. The grace that comforts those who mourn is the Torah. The grace who relieves and restores those who had formerly become objects of scorn. This is the grace of our God. The grace that assures us that our sin and exile has ended. Our bondage has ended. And now we can move freely in him in the freedom of our God by the grace of God. And Eicha Lamentations this week taught us to pour out our hearts to God. Meanwhile, the Atnan teaches us to appeal only to grace. And Isaiah answers the question we've all been asking, "How do we know that
sin and exile have really ended?" Nachamu Nachamu Ami, "Comfort, comfort my people." Isaiah says. Yomar Eloheichem, "Says your God." Notice it's not former people. It's not the people that I have abandoned, but Ami Ami, "My people." "My people." God's people are Jews and Gentiles. "My people." Even after the judgment, even after the exile, he still calls us my people, Ami. Comfort is not God pretending that the exile didn't happen. We observed and entered into Eicha. Comfort is not God making individuals merely feel better about themselves, although it does comfort. That's a good thing. But rather, comfort is God saying to us, "My covenant it stands. My Brit is active in your life. Enter into it." The covenant nation was disciplined, not dissolved. Proclaim that. Isaiah says, "Proclaim that." Grace is not standing outside of God's covenant. Proclaim to the nations, "My covenant stands. My people are in it." Build a highway because our God is coming to Zion. And grace is understanding that despite discipline God still stands at the center within the breach. And then Isaiah says this to us.
Dabru al Yerushalayim. Speak tenderly to the heart of Yerushalayim. I want you to hear this today. God's saying to the prophet, "Speak to their heart." In Eicha the word instructed Jerusalem to implore to pour out your heart like water before the Lord. But now the Lord says, "Speak to her heart. Speak to her heart." He's reciprocating that prayer. When you pour out your heart before him he hears and he speaks to your heart. And this is how we hear from God. The highway in the wilderness comes. In the ancient world highways were always prepared for the arrival of a king. Israel is not making her way back to God by merit, but rather God is coming to his people.
And then the glory of Adonai will be revealed and all flesh, not just Israel, not just Jerusalem, but all flesh verachu kol basar yachdav. All flesh will see it together. That is the promise of the prophet. All will see. And this is Isaiah's Mesaveret Besorah. Mesaveret is the herald of good news. It's not behold forgiveness, although that's there. It's not behold heaven, although that's there. Rather, it is Hinei Elohechem. Behold your God. Your God is coming to you. Why does God restore Israel? Not because Israel needs saving, although that is true. It's because she has a calling. She has a witness. Because the strong and gracious God bound himself to us. And he cannot abandon his purposes. The next generation must arise up in him to receive that and to enter into that. And that's how we cross over. Our calling is restorative. It is missional in God's sight. It exists because the cities of Yehuda and ultimately the nations must see, know, and respond to this. Hinei Elohechem, behold your God is in your midst. Let all the nations see it, proclaim it. Grace is discovering that God's covenant
was always there to bless us and the nations. And Isaiah reminds us that Moshe's resume like grass Israel's strength grass Babylon's glory grass our striving grass >> [laughter] >> Only the word of God stands forever. That's Isaiah's word to us. And Isaiah lands on this and it boy, does it land. Lift up your eyes high and see who created these. Who brings out their host by number calling them by name, by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power not one is missing. And Isaiah is not giving an astronomy lesson there. He's talking about the children of Israel that not one of them will fall to the ground. God has all of them. God has all of us numbered. He numbers the people of God because they are and we are his people. God knows them all by name just like he knows the stars by name. Hope Hope is spoken to the exiles through this word that the exiles not forgotten. And not one covenant promise is forgotten. So if Ekha taught us to pour out our hearts before God and the Etkanan teaches us to petition for grace trusting that God will not abandon his brits, his covenant.
And then Isaiah comes along and proclaims comfort because God's covenant stands and behold your God is coming to Zion. And then now the story pivots to Mattityahu, Matthew. What happens when God's covenant promises appear to have failed? What happens when our petitions appear to have failed? See, that's the world that Mattityahu invites us into. Heaven was apparently silent.
Miriam of Magdala and the other Miriam come to the tomb. The tomb was already sealed, double sealed by the leaders. The Messiah was allegedly dead. Hope was hiding. The city of delight had once again again become a city of disgrace for those that were waiting on the coming of the Lord to Zion. Petitions unanswered. And then we hear this. V'hinei, behold, there was a great earthquake. And an angel of Adonai descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. There are some stones that we cannot lift in our lives. That we must rely on the chein, the grace of God to come alongside of us that we might see the salvation of our God in action. And then came the words "Don't be afraid." See, there's the word of comfort. "He is not here. He has risen just as he said. The word the arising of our God to Zion. Sichon and Og, the story we heard was never the inheritance. They were God's declaration of what he was going to do that the inheritance was coming. And likewise now, Messiah's resurrection is the sign of the inheritance of what is coming and what is here even now in our midst for those of us who take hold of
it. To step onto the highway of our God that is moving towards us >> [clears throat] >> when we pour out our hearts like water. The empty tomb is not the completion of the redemption. It's God's declaration that the redemption has begun. And we are standing in that. Death is not the final word. Exile is not the end because the God who received Moshe's plea who heard Yerushalayim who comforts his people does exactly what he says he would do. Messiah lives in us. And therefore there is hope. There is comfort and there is the besorah, the good news of our God. Let's pray. Avinu Shebashamayim, we bless and sanctify you. In the heights of heaven and right here on on earth, we thank you for our readings today who that remind us and empower us to step deep into this covenant in today's context, right here, right now, to literally surrender to you in every area of our life. Father, please soften the hearts of your people, even us, right now, I pray, and guide us forward in Yeshua's name, I pray. Amen. Shabbat Shalom. >> Shabbat Shalom.