Skin in the Game
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Parashat Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8
Ira Brawer, Shalom Boca, Boca Raton, Florida
There’s an ancient story that the Romans required bridge builders to stand underneath their completed bridges when the supporting scaffolding was removed. The reason is obvious—it was an incentive for them to show that they had done the job correctly, that they had “skin in the game.” Otherwise there would be some consequences for them.
It is clear that God has a lot of skin in the game in the story of our people. Follow the story from Abraham, through the slavery in Egypt, to the exodus, to the rebellion and wandering in the desert, to the moment Moses is recounting the covenant to the next generation in Parashat Ki Tavo. God’s design to restore mankind is taking a major step forward, and Israel is the key player in the “game” as this new generation is getting ready to enter the land. Over and over, starting with Exodus 1, we read of God’s desire for Israel, from recognizing their identity as his “firstborn son,” “treasured possession,” and their calling as a “light to the nations” and “kingdom of priests.”
In this week’s parasha, we read about a re-affirmation of the covenant, which was first given by Hashem to the previous generation at Sinai, and is now restated by Moses to this next generation getting ready to enter the Land. The idea of covenant was familiar to the ancient world, where two parties entered into an agreement to do certain things for mutual benefit, not just in words, but in actions. Both sides would have skin in the game. The parasha starts off with specific instructions and actions for Israel to take when they come into the land,
Now when you enter the land that Adonai your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, you are to take some of the first of all the produce of the soil, which you gather from your land that Adonai your God is giving you, put it in a basket and go to the place Adonai your God chooses to make his Name dwell. (Deuteronomy 26:1-2)
Possessing the Land is key in these verses; it is their inheritance, or nachalah, tied to the covenant. Yet, they will have to possess it, virishta, and dwell in it, v’yashavta. Israel fulfilling her identity and calling is clearly tied to the Land, and of course still is.
Clearly here God is calling Israel to have skin in the game. They demonstrate that with the tithes of their produce “to give to the Levites, the outsider, to the orphan and to the widow, so that they may eat within your town gates and be satisfied” (Deuteronomy 26:12). This act of giving is a demonstration of gratitude and acknowledgment that it all comes from Adonai. It is also a reflection of his heart of compassion to care for the needy. Of course the same principle is still at work in our lives, as we are called to give generously and care for those in need.
God’s skin in the game has been demonstrated all along and the Israelites are reminded of it again in this parasha. They were to remember (as we do every Pesach, reading from the Haggadah),
My father was a wandering Aramean. . . . Adonai brought us out from Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land—a land flowing with milk and honey. (Deuteronomy 26:5–9)
Moses goes on to acknowledge that Israel had that day affirmed the covenant, acknowledging their obligation to obey his mitzvot. This is to be their skin in the game beyond bringing their tithes and offerings.
Deuteronomy 26:17–19 is perhaps the key passage in the whole parasha, which again expresses God’s heart for Israel, his “treasured people,” or am segulah, and what he expects their part to be in the relationship.
Today you have affirmed Adonai as your God, that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, mitzvot and ordinances, and listen to his voice. Now today Adonai has affirmed you as his treasured people, as He promised you; that you are to keep all his mitzvot; that he will set you high above all the nations he has made, for praise, fame and honor; and that you are to be a holy people to Adonai your God, as he has promised.
And also 27:9–10,
Then Moses and the Levitical kohanim spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be silent and listen, O Israel—this day you have become a people for Adonai your God. Therefore listen to the voice of Adonai your God, and do his mitzvot and statutes that I am commanding you today.
This is all covenant language, in which Moses lays out God’s part in the covenant and what he expects Israel to do in response to fulfill their calling to be a light to the nations.
Chapters 27 and 28 lay out the blessings of obedience and the curses for disobedience. Another word for curses is consequences. It reminds me of what we used to tell our children when they were little: “Obedience brings blessing, disobedience brings consequences.” When our children disobeyed and received consequences, it did not diminish our unconditional love for them.
In the same way the Lord is laying out the choice for his people Israel. But disobedience and even rebellion, while bringing harsh consequences, do not negate his love for them. The purpose of covenant consequences is ultimately restoration, not destruction. That was always his desire for Israel and is for us today as well.
God’s ultimate skin in the game is the death of the Messiah himself.
For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame; and he has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:2–3)
He gave for us that which was most precious to him. And what does he expect from us? Yeshua was clear, “Anyone who wants to come after me must lay his life down, pick up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Ouch, that’s a lot of skin in the game! But we need to keep in mind that obedience to God is not about a list of dos and don’ts, or walking straight or else, or obeying so that he will accept us. Rather, we are to be obedient because we belong to him, and are to live accordingly.
The final verse of our parasha is a powerful summary for Israel, and for us: “So keep the words of this covenant and do them, so that you may prosper in all that you do” (Deuteronomy 29:8).
For us, the challenge of Ki Tavo is to ask what it looks like to put our faith fully into action. Do we have skin in the game? Are we walking in the blessings of obedience or suffering the consequences of wrong choices or behavior? During this time of forty days of teshuvah, I encourage all of us to seek the Lord’s face and have him help answer those questions.