Ki Teitzei, the next Torah Portion under review, includes Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19 and means, “When You Go Out.” This Scripture describes the death penalty prescribed for a rebellious and stubborn child. This child is brought to the judges and stoned by the community, then hung on a tree until dark. It serves as an intense reminder of the consequences of rebellion, an enemy prevalent in society that we should avoid at all costs, as it leads to a separation from the Holy One. Again, the death penalty is an ancient judicial tradition not practiced today.
Deuteronomy 21:18-20: “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.
The rebellious son described in this chapter is determined to break boundaries and cause harm to himself and others, despite his parents’ correction and the encouragement of the community leaders. Two terms describe this child: a gluttonous drunkard.
Deut 31:27: For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death?
Israel is called God’s firstborn son, and the scriptures describe them as rebellious and stubborn on several occasions. Rebellion is connected to an evil human and also to witchcraft (Pr 17.11). According to 1 Samuel 15:23, rebellion is likened to witchcraft, and stubbornness is considered a form of idolatry. In fact, in Job 23:2, the Hebrew word for rebellion, meri, is translated as bitterness. What do you think rebellion, stubbornness, and bitterness have to do with each other? The Google dictionary defines rebellion as a violent or defiant resistance to authority. Stubbornness is a resistance to change, and I may add repentance or teshuvah, which includes taking accountability for or forgiving a wrong. Bitterness is a hard heart stemming from an unhealed offense or wound created when one feels wronged. Bitterness can lead to stubbornness, and stubbornness can lead to rebellion. These emotions create a vicious cycle that we can only bring to a halt through humility—submitting to life’s challenges with the knowledge that God is good and just. He will handle wrongs against you if you don’t get in the way. If you release and forgive, whether the person has rectified the injustice or not, then you will guard your heart from bitterness. Being stubborn keeps us from growing, changing, adapting, and healing. It is a resistance to change, whether good or bad. Rebellion is pushing against any law, spiritual or natural, and always ends in confusion.
1 Samuel 15:23: For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.
Although Deuteronomy 21 is the first mention of the word rebellion, I would say that when Scripture describes Nimrod in Genesis 10:8 as a mighty hunter “against” the face of the Holy One, I interpret this as defiance or rebellion. It is Nimrod who is credited with leading the construction of the Tower of Babel, meaning “confusion.” The term “Babel” is the root word of Babylon. So, I see any proud boundary-breaking as an invitation to fill your Tabernacle, your heart, your mind, whatever you want to call the vessel that is you, with confusion. The Holy One created you to align with the Divine Breath or Holy Spirit He placed inside of you, and when you fight it, you won’t have a sound mind. It is the Divine Breath that flows through us, creating healing, fluidity, renewal of mind and body, and capacity for growth. Repentance is the result of the Holy Spirit inside of you doing its thing.
Yeshua is the only human accused of being a glutton and a drunk in the Scriptures. This accusation is unfounded, but we should understand that these particular elites were referring to Him as a rebellious and stubborn human. Guess what, He hung on a tree and was “cursed” by God, the consequence of rebellion.
Deuteronomy 21:23: his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.
Galatians 3:13: Messiah liberated us from Torah’s curse, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—).
Acts 5:30 NKJV: The God of our fathers raised up [Yeshua], whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.
A Redeemer is someone who pays a debt or takes our place in punishment. Yeshua was not rebellious or stubborn, and He never lacked self-control or transgressed a boundary; yet He took the curse reserved for a defiant and stubborn child upon Himself. Because of His love, He inherits the opportunity to eat from the Tree of Life, which is access to the Holy Spirit (Rev 2.7). He shares this gift with us, which enables us to experience peace, a sound mind, power, and love. He teaches us how to be humble with others and the Holy One, how to forgive, and how not to carry the burden of offenses that lead to bitterness and a stubborn mindset.
2 Timothy 1:7: For God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power and love and self-discipline.
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