These days, people are all about standing up for and making choices about what they believe. If you take a stand or make a choice, however, that is unpopular with the majority, you may well be ostracized, bullied, shunned, or, as in former president Trump’s case, attempts may be taken on your life. It’s ironic that those who stand up for the right to choose life are threatened with death. Despite laws to the contrary, people are getting away with doing what is right in their own eyes, even if it is evil. You likely have seen the signs “Hate doesn’t live here.” They are posted in front of the houses where people hate you if you disagree with them. But we all are standing before God and the wise consider their choices.
Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20 is the Torah portion called Nitzavim, meaning standing. Nitzavim is read on the sabbath before Rosh Hashanah, which is October 2nd this year. There is an allusion to Rosh Hashanah in the first verse of Nitzavim: “Today you are standing, all of you before ADONAI your God…” Rosh Hashanah is when the shofar is blown in a call all to repentance, known as Yom Teruah (Lev.23:24). It is a time of self-examination before Yom Kippur when 10 days after Rosh Hashanah “all will stand before the LORD God.” According to tradition, beginning on Rosh Hashanah the people have 10 days to repent before their destiny is sealed on Yom Kippur. The destiny of the righteous is written in the Book of Life, and the destiny of the wicked is written in the Book of Death.
The key is turning, “shuv” in Hebrew, the root of the noun teshuva (turning as in repentance). In Deuteronomy 30, Moses tells the people that if they turn and follow the commandments of the LORD, He will bless them and rejoice in them. Moses tells them in Deuteronomy 30:10-14: “…if you turn to ADONAI your God with all your heart and all your being…For it is not too hard for you…on the contrary, the word is very close to you—in your mouth and in your heart; therefore you can do it!” The repetition of the forms of the word teshuva emphasizes its importance. The turning of the heart to God is crucial to our lives. But turning is not just saying, it’s standing on the Word of God and choosing to do so.
Moses set it straight in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call on heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have presented you with the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, so that you will live, you and your descendants”. This implies that we have free will to choose. Jesus proclaimed the Good News from God in Mark 1:15, “The time has come, the Kingdom is near! Return (shuv) to God from your sins and believe in the Good News!” We are always choosing something. One of my favorite pictures is the huge crowd in Revelation 7:9, “too large to count from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb…” Emphasis on “standing,” because they chose life. Therefore, stand, turn, and choose.
