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I’m Tom Nicholas — a pastor, teacher, and community builder living in Billings, Montana. My life and ministry flow from one heartbeat: to see the Church alive — Spirit-filled, rooted in Scripture, and moving with Jesus into the world. I serve as a pastor, chaplain, and mentor, helping people grow in faith, leadership, and everyday discipleship. Whether around a campfire, in a coffee shop, or through digital spaces, I believe the gospel belongs where life happens — in the field, among the people, and around the table. Through The Church Alive, I write about biblical leadership, spiritual formation, and building vibrant, missional communities that reflect the love and courage of Christ.

📖 Week 19 — Ki Tavo: Covenant Identity & Blessing

Main Reading: Deuteronomy 26–29
Theme: Identity, Blessing, Covenant Loyalty, and Community Responsibility
Messianic Focus: Yeshua as the Mediator of the New Covenant and the Source of True Blessing

🌿 Overview

The portion Ki Tavo (“When you come in”) marks a powerful transition. Israel is about to enter the land promised to their fathers, and God establishes rituals of remembrance, covenant identity, and communal responsibility.

This portion includes:

  • Bringing firstfruits
  • Confessing God’s faithfulness
  • Caring for the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow
  • Public covenant ceremony at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal
  • The blessings for obedience
  • The curses for disobedience
  • A covenant renewal emphasizing identity

Everything in Ki Tavo is about recognizing that God has made Israel His treasured people, and that their life must reflect His holiness, justice, and mercy.

🌿 Key Scriptures

TopicPassage
Firstfruits offering & declarationDeut. 26:1–11
Tithing, justice, caring for the vulnerableDeut. 26:12–15
Israel declared God’s peopleDeut. 26:16–19
Ceremony on two mountainsDeut. 27
Blessings & cursesDeut. 28
Covenant renewalDeut. 29:1–9

🌿 Supporting Readings

  • Prophets/Writings: Psalm 103; Jeremiah 11; Hosea 14
  • Messianic Writings: Galatians 3; Ephesians 1; Hebrews 8–10

🌿 Hebrew Notes (Integrated)

1. Ki Tavo — כִּי תָבוֹא — “When you enter”

Signals arrival into promise and responsibility.

2. Bekhor — בְּכוֹר — “Firstfruits / firstborn”

Represents gratitude, priority, and dedication to God.

3. Brit — בְּרִית — “Covenant”

An unbreakable relational bond initiated by God.

4. Am Segulah — עַם סְגֻלָּה — “Treasured people”

Identity language: Israel belongs to God.

5. Gerizim / Ebal — גְּרִזִים / עֵיבָל

The mountains of blessing and cursing — symbolizing choice, consequence, and covenant responsibility.

🌿 Messianic Connection

Ki Tavo contains some of the most vivid covenant imagery in Scripture — imagery that points directly to Messiah.

1. Firstfruits and Messiah

Yeshua is called the “Firstfruits of the resurrection” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
Just as Israel brings firstfruits to declare God’s goodness, Messiah Himself is the guarantee of the final harvest of redemption.

2. Blessing and Curse

Deut. 28 lays out a stark contrast:

  • blessing for obedience
  • curse for disobedience

Galatians 3 teaches:

“Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the law
by becoming a curse for us.”

He bears the covenant curses — not to eliminate the Torah, but to break sin’s power so we can walk in covenant faithfulness.

3. New Covenant Renewal

The covenant renewal in Deut. 29 anticipates the promise in Jeremiah 31:

  • God will write His Torah on our hearts
  • He will forgive sins
  • He will form a renewed covenant people

Yeshua is the mediator of this new covenant (Hebrews 8–10).

4. Community Responsibility Fulfilled in Messiah

He embodies the heart of Torah by:

  • defending the vulnerable
  • caring for the poor
  • lifting the oppressed
  • feeding the hungry
  • restoring dignity to the broken

He shows us how to live out covenant faithfulness in the kingdom of God.

🌿 Moral and Spiritual Application

1. Remember what God has done.

Ki Tavo commands Israel to recite their story —
a discipline we also need.

2. Live as God’s treasured people.

Identity shapes behavior.
We obey because we belong.

3. Honor God with your firstfruits.

Give God the first and best
— of your time, energy, resources, and devotion.

4. Care for the vulnerable.

True covenant faithfulness includes:

  • the stranger
  • the orphan
  • the widow
  • the Levite (ministers)
  • anyone without protection

5. Take blessings and curses seriously.

Choices have consequences — this is a principle woven into creation.

6. Renew your covenant regularly.

Just as Israel renews the covenant, believers must return to Messiah often for:

  • cleansing
  • direction
  • strength
  • renewed commitment

🕎 7-Day Devotional

DayReadingFocusHebrew NoteMessianic Insight
Day 1Deut. 26:1–11FirstfruitsBekhor — firstfruitsMessiah is the firstfruits of resurrection.
Day 2Deut. 26:12–15Care for vulnerableRachamim — compassionMessiah defends the oppressed.
Day 3Deut. 26:16–19Treasured peopleAm Segulah — treasured peopleMessiah makes us His treasured bride.
Day 4Deut. 27Covenant ceremony—Messiah renews our covenant identity.
Day 5Deut. 28:1–14BlessingsBerachah — blessingMessiah pours out spiritual blessing (Eph. 1).
Day 6Deut. 28:15–68Curses—Messiah bears the curse for us.
Day 7Deut. 29:1–9RenewalBrit — covenantMessiah mediates the new covenant.

🌿 Discussion Questions

  1. What does it mean to bring “firstfruits” to God today?
  2. How does covenant identity shape personal and community life?
  3. Why is caring for the vulnerable central to God’s commands?
  4. How do the blessings and curses point to Messiah?
  5. What would it look like to regularly “renew the covenant” in your life?

🌿 Prayer Focus

Pray that God would renew your sense of covenant identity.
Ask Him to help you live as His treasured person, caring for others and walking in faithfulness.
Thank Messiah for bearing the curse, giving blessing, and mediating the new covenant.

🌿 Memory Verse

Deuteronomy 26:18 —
“The LORD has declared today that you are His treasured people.”

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