Walk With God – Congregation Bat-Tzion

Tim Johnson Aug. 22, 2026

This week’s portion is Ki Teitzei. It involves, and speaks of purity and holiness in many things: Wives, husbands, neighbors, houses… all kinds of stuff. One thing I have always appreciated about the Bible, is that God is very frank about things. If there’s an issue he is instructing us about, he does not beat around the bush. He states clearly about issues that we may find uncomfortable; and this includes men and women issues, and sex issues. I guess God invented all these things, so he’s not embarrassed about them. And there are a lot of those kinds of things in this portion. But there’s only a small section from our Torah portion that I am going to quote today, and that is where God talks about excrement in the camp.

Scripture quotations are from the NJV Bible (New Jerusalem Version).

Deuteronomy 23

13 You shall have a place also outside of the camp where you go relieve yourself. 14 You shall have a trowel among your weapons. And it shall be, when you relieve yourself, that you shall dig with it, and shall turn back and cover your excrement; 15 for YHVH your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you, and to give up your enemies before you. Therefore your camp shall be holy, that he may not see an unclean thing in you, and turn away from you.

I’m sorry for going there right now, but there is a good reason. The Hebrew of verse fifteen is lovely. It begins: Ki YHVH eloheikha mit’khalekh b’kerev makhanekha… Because YHVH your God walks to and fro in the midst of your camp…

That verse contains one of the words that I want to speak about today. And today, is somewhat of a continuation of the d’rash I gave last month when I spoke about “Fellowship with God”. Today we will talk about walking, “hit’halekh”. with God as well as the “pnei”, or face, or presence of God. These themes are seen throughout the Bible, and we will look at several places where they occur in order to try to see God’s perspective on this.

This word, hit’halekh is a reflexive form of the verb halakh, which means to walk. But I looked up this verb form, and it is generally accepted that hit’halekh means walking to and fro. The reflexive form means that the person is “walking himself”. That’s how reflexive verbs are; you are doing the action to yourself. But in this context, it means that God is not really trying to “walk TO somewhere”. He’s not trying to get to some place. No, he’s walking among you. He is lingering. Walking to and fro, back and forth. The purpose is not to arrive at some distant place. The purpose is closeness.

The next Hebrew word in the verse is b’kerev, the root is “karov”. It is translated “in the midst”, but it literally means “with closeness” with his people. God is walking to and fro, lingering in the camp for closeness with his people. By the way, one of the Hebrew words for “offering” is this word “karov”, closeness.

So, back to Deuteronomy; the camp is to be clean. We are not supposed to have filth, or unsightly things there. That’s why there is a designated area outside the camp for the bathroom. And not only that, we’re supposed to cover up the mess. God said so. And the purpose for this is that God is “walking to and fro” in the midst of us, in our camp.

God wants to be close to us, and that’s partly why he is expecting holiness from us; because he’s here. Also, as the verse says, we live in a clean way because God is delivering us, and giving up our enemies before us. This a big deal for us to live cleanly, not just a minor detail.

We see this word “hit’halekh”, walking to and fro, for the first time in Genesis. This takes place immediately after Adam and Eve have sinned:

Genesis 3

7 Then their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

8 And they heard the voice of YHVH, God, walking (mit’halekh) in the garden in the wind of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence (pnei) of YHVH, God, among the trees of the garden. 9 Then YHVH, God, called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

The main verse we are looking at here contains both the word mit’khalekh (very similar to hit’halekh, but is reflexive and intensive) and pnei, or face, or presence. Here’s the verse in Hebrew:

Va’yishm’u et kol YHVH eloheikha mitkhalekh bagan…

And they heard the sound of YHVH their God walking in the garden…

l’ruach hayom… in the breeze of the day, or in the evening, (or in the spirit of the day- ruach)…

va’yit’khabeh… and hid themselves…

ha’adam… the man… v’yishto… and his wife…

mi’pnei… from the face of, or from the presence of… YHVH Elohim.

This first part looks like Abba was in the habit of lingering with Adam and Eve in the garden in the evening. This is where they would have fellowship together. All God was doing was just showing up like normal, in the cool of the evening. And he was walking to and fro, lingering in the Garden.

But Adam and Eve had just sinned. They had just recognized their nakedness. Now YHVH their God shows up, walking around in the Garden of Eden, looking for them. And for the first time, they are not warmed, or thrilled, or happy about this. Instead they are ashamed, afraid, and freaked out. And instead of running to him with joy to be in his presence, they hide themselves in the trees from the “face” or presence of God.

This is what sin does to us. This is why it’s important for us to recognize our sin, and confess it to him. When we know we have forgiveness, then we can face him again.

Since we are here, in this verse however, let’s also begin with a look at that word “pnei”. It literally means “face”. But in this case, and elsewhere in the Bible, it’s obvious by the context that it means much more than just face, it means the presence of Almighty God.

So, again, we are on the subject of having fellowship with God. Letting the light of his “face” truly shine on us. When God is walking, or strolling with us, that is what life is truly all about. God walks with us, and we walk with him. Hit’halekh.

We see the way God was all the way back in the Garden of Eden, and he has not changed. He still wants to walk, or stroll among his people. The Bible says we are his people when we have chosen to believe in his redemption in Messiah Yeshua, his son. Like I said last time, God wants fellowship with you.

But we must also have fellowship with him. On the opposite side of this fellowship with God, we see an example in Cain. We see first his countenance, his pnei; his face had fallen. God asked him, “Why has your face, (your pnei) fallen? And finally, after Cain kills his brother Abel,

Genesis 4

16 Cain left the presence (pnei) of YHVH and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Also, remember Jonah:

Jonah 1

3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence (pnei-face) of YHVH.

And skipping down to verse 9 we read:

9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear YHVH, the God of the heavens, who has made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “What have you done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence (pnei-face) of YHVH, because he had told them.

Let’s go to Exodus:

Exodus 33

1 Then YHVH spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people that you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ 2 I will send an angel before you ; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 3 Go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you on the way.” 4 When the people heard this evil word, they mourned; and no one put on his jewelry. 5 For YHVH had said to Moses, “Tell the sons of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go up among you for one moment, I would consume you. Now therefore, take off your jewelry from you that I may know what to do to you.’” 6 So the sons of Israel stripped themselves of their jewelry from Mount Horeb onward.

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it “The Tent of Meeting.” And everyone who sought YHVH went out to the Tent of Meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out to the Tent, that all the people rose up, and stood, everyone at their tent door, and watched Moses, until he had gone into the Tent. 9 Whenever Moses entered into the Tent, the pillar of cloud descended, stood at the door of the Tent, and YHVH spoke with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the door of the Tent, and all the people rose up and worshiped, everyone at their tent door. 11 Thus YHVH spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. He turned again into the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tent.

12 Moses said to YHVH, “Behold, you tell me, ‘Bring up this people;’ and you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me your way, now, that I may know you, so that I may find favor in your sight; and consider that this nation is your people.” 14 He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here. 16 For how would people know that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not that you go with us, so that we are separated, I and your people, from all the people who are on the surface of the earth?

17 And YHVH said to Moses, “I will do this thing also that you have spoken; for you have found favor (chein- grace, favor) in my sight, and I know you by name.”

Verse eleven says God spoke to Moses panim al panim, or face to face as a man speaks to his friend. I believe that is still possible today, even though you and I are not Moses. But in order for this to happen, we must pursue God with all our heart. We must also submit ourselves to his ways.

We will never, ever be perfect in the flesh. In Yeshua, in the spirit we are perfect; but in our flesh we are not. Therefore, we must continue to pursue holiness and righteousness before God in our lives. Show me your way, that I may know you is what Moses said. Wow!

When God said “My presence will go with you”, the word is pnei. My face will go with you. It is so obviously not literally just his face, but his presence that will go. The word for go in here is halakh. Walk with us. If your pnei doesn’t halakh with us, I don’t want to go. That’s what Moses said.

And that’s also what we should say as individuals, and as Bat Tzion: If your presence doesn’t go with us, I don’t want to go.

God’s response at the end is inspiring as well. “I will do this thing also that you have spoken; for you have found favor (chein- grace, favor) in my sight, and I know you by name.”

God knows us all by name. He has chein, or favor towards us in Messiah. He is interested in every detail of our lives, not just the big scary stuff that we pray about. He is there to vanquish our enemy, and to help give us victory as we walk with him. This section in Exodus shows us how God is. Now, we are going back to:

Genesis 5

21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, then became the father of Methuselah. 22 After Methuselah’s birth, Enoch walked with God for three hundred years, and became the father of more sons and daughters. 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and was not found, for God took him.

Enoch va’yit’halekh, walked to and fro with God. Enoch was obviously in God’s presence so much that God didn’t even let him die, it seems. God took him.

Genesis 6

9 This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. (Hebrew: in his generations) Noah walked with God.

Et ha elohim hit’halekh noach. Noah walked with God. We don’t have to go into the whole story to remember just how significant Noah was. Noah walked in the presence of God.

Genesis 13 Now for Abram:

14 YHVH said to Abram after Lot was separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for I will give all the land which you see to you and to your seed forever. 16 I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your seed may also be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the land in its length, and in its width; for I will give it to you.” 18 Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to YHVH.

Arise, walk through the land: kum, hit’halekh ba’aretz. Abram was not told by God to go to a destination, but to have a “walk about” in the land of promise. I’m suspecting that the presence of God would be with him in that, don’t you think?

Genesis 17.

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, YHVH appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. God talked with him saying, 4 “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, I will be a God to you and to your seed after you. 8 I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God.”

God said: I am El Shaddai, God Almighty. Walk before me…

the Hebrew says it like this: ani el shaddai hit’halekh l’phanai…

Walk to and fro in my presence, in my face. That’s what God is saying to Abram. Abraham is the father of us all by way of Messiah Yeshua. We are supposed to look to Abraham as an example of how to live our lives. And one of the first things we should do, like God said to Abraham, is to walk, or linger in the presence of God, and be blameless. That is still the calling of God on all of us.

Just to show that this was a way of life with Abraham, we see this again when Abraham instructed his servant to go to find a wife for Isaac:

Genesis 24

39 And I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not follow me?’ 40 But he said to me, ‘YHVH, before whom I walk (hit’halakhti), will send his angel with you, and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my father’s house;

This was Abraham’s way of life. Walking with God.

In Leviticus 26, God promises:

12 I will walk (hit’halekh) among you, and will be your God, and you will be my people.

In 2 Samuel 7, when David wants to build a house for Yah…

II Samuel 7

4 And it came to pass that same night, that the word of YHVH came to Nathan, saying, 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what YHVH says, “Should you build me a house for me to dwell in? 6 For I have not lived in a house since the day that I brought the sons of Israel up out of Egypt, even to this day, but have moved around (mit’halekh) in a tent and in a tabernacle. 7 In all the places in which I have walked (hit’halakhti) with all the sons of Israel, did I say a word to any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?

In the Brit Khadashah, or New Testament, the word “walk” is used 105 times. It is a wonderful word to explore, but is too big for today. But since we’re talking about hit’halekh, and walking with God, I do want to just remind us of some of the ways it is used there:

Walk-

In all the commandments, and ordinances of the Lord, blameless

Men shall not walk in darkness

If anyone walks in the day, he shall not stumble

In the fear of the Lord, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit

Walk orderly, and keep the law

Walk in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham

Walk in newness of life

Do not walk in the flesh, but in the spirit

Walk properly, as in the day

Walk in love

Not walking in craftiness

We walk by faith, not by sight

Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh

Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Walk as children of light

Walk worthy of the Lord

Therefore, as you received Messiah Yeshua, the Lord, walk in him

Walk in wisdom

Walk worthy of God

Walk properly toward those who are outside,

Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not tell the truth.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Yeshua the Messiah, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

At this time, I would like to read some Psalms

Psalm 26

BY DAVID

1 Judge me, YHVH,

for I have walked in my integrity,

and I have trusted in YHVH;

I shall not falter.

2 Examine me, YHVH, and prove me;

try my heart and my mind.

3 For your chesed is before my eyes;

I have walked (hit’halekh) in your truth.

4 I have not sat with deceitful men,

neither will I go in with hypocrites.

5 I hate the assembly of evildoers,

and will not sit with the wicked.

6 I will wash my hands in innocence,

so I will go about your altar, YHVH.

7 that I may make the voice of

thanksgiving to be heard

and tell of all your wondrous deeds.

8 YHVH, I love the habitation of your house,

the place where your glory dwells.

9 Do not gather my soul with sinners,

nor my life with bloodthirsty men;

10 In whose hands is wickedness,

their right hand is full of bribes.

11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;

redeem me, and be merciful to me.

12 My foot stands in an even place;

in the congregations I will bless YHVH.

Psalm 139

7 Where could I go from your Ruach?

Or where could I flee from your presence? (pnei)

8 If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there.

Psalm 101

A PSALM OF DAVID

1 I will sing of chesed and justice;

to you, YHVH, I will sing praises.

2 I will be careful to live a blameless life.

When will you come to me?

I will walk (hit’halekh) within my house

with a blameless heart.

3 I will set no vile thing before my eyes;

I hate the deeds of faithless men;

They will not cling to me.

4 A perverse heart will be far from me;

I will have nothing to do with evil.

Psalm 56

FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIAN,

TO THE TUNE OF “SILENT DOVE IN DISTANT LANDS”

A MIKTAM OF DAVID

WHEN THE PHILISTINES SEIZED HIM IN GATH

2 Be merciful to me, God;

for man wants to swallow me up;

all day long, he attacks and oppresses me.

3 My enemies want to swallow me up all day long,

but they are many who fight proudly against me.

4 When I am afraid,

I will put my trust in you.

5 In God, I praise his word, in God, I put my trust;

I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

6 All day long they twist my words;

all their thoughts are against me for evil.

7 They conspire and lurk, watching my steps,

they are eager to take my life.

8 Shall they escape by iniquity?

In anger cast down the peoples, God.

9 You count my wanderings;

you put my tears into your container.

Are they not in your book?

10 Then my enemies shall turn back in the day that I call;

I know this; that God is for me.

11 In God, I will praise his word,

in YHVH I will praise his word.

12 I will put my trust in God;

I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

13 Your vows are on me, God;

I will give thank offerings to you.

14 For you have delivered my soul from death,

and prevented my feet from falling,

that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Psalm 32

8 I will instruct you and teach you

in the way which you shall go;

I will counsel you with my eye on you.

9 Do not be like the horse, or like the mule,

which have no understanding,

who are controlled by bit and bridle,

or else they will not come near to you.

God walks with us. We walk with God. God is there, his face shines on us, he is willing… I would dare to say yearning to walk with us. All we have to do is respond. The work of reconciliation between God and man has already been accomplished in Messiah Yeshua. But we have to be willing to respond to him. God is willing to linger with you. Are you willing to linger with him? We must all, at times, quit hiding in the trees like Adam and Eve. We must turn back to our Father, acknowledge him, and commune with him. I believe this is what he wants, and the Bible bears this out by what we have seen. But our flesh, our human nature does not go there easily. We must allow the word of God to instruct our mind in the ways we should go, and then go there. God is waiting.

God Bless you, Shabbat Shalom