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Category: Vayikra

The Upright One

Vayikra (Leviticus) 1:1-5:19 | Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 43:21-44:23

At the center of this week’s Haftarah portion is a beautiful poem (Isaiah 44:15), one of the servant songs of Isaiah. In it the prophet speaks of Israel’s spiritual regeneration through which the people walk according to their high calling. In the song, Israel is called Yeshurun, “the upright one” (44:2). This strange word is used three other times in the Tanach—all in Deuteronomy (32:15; 33:5; 33:26). It seems that Yeshurun is derived from the root, yashar, “to be upright” or “straight.” It is therefore a title of honor and endearment. It is a promise that God will make them righteous; it will be His doing.

In the Yeshurun servant song, we learn that the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon the people (44:3-4). In addition, foreigners and Gentiles will be added to the nation: “One will say; I am the Lord’s, another will call himself by the name of Jacob. And yet another will write on his hand: to the Lord, and will surname himself by the name of Israel.” (44:5-6).

In keeping with the Yeshurun imagery of the servant song, the Lord also declares, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins” (43:25) and “I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud, And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you” (44:22).

These descriptions speak of the ideal Israel: a forgiven and redeemed nation walking in upright obedience to the covenants, satiated with God’s Spirit and incorporating people from all nations. They also seem to speak of the New Covenant. But how can that be? Isaiah lived more than 800 years before Yeshua!

We learn here that the New Covenant did not begin in the “New Testament”. Rather the forgiveness of sins, the outpouring of the Spirit, and the inclusion of Gentiles in Israel were all elements well understood in Isaiah...

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