Zion's Voice

Torah Reflections   44    

Torah portion           Deuteronomy 3:23 to 7:11

Haftarah portion   Isaiah 40:1-26

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

The Torah portion this week begins with Moses re-telling one of the most heartrending plea’s any one could make. Moses had been witness to the mighty hand of God in His dealings with this fledgling nation of Israel. He had the privilege of leading these folk through an amazing journey, out of Egypt to the very ‘gate’ of the Promised Land. He can ‘feel’ the presence of God about to display His might and power again in the conquest of the Land, and he wanted to be part of it.

Moses had come to terms with the decision God had made. He knew that the mantle was to pass to Joshua. But he was concerned that these Israelites, people he knew very well, had the capacity to be stubborn, or stiff-necked, or rebellious, or disobedient, or indifferent, or all of the above.

Deuteronomy 4:2 has a warning for this people, which could well apply to every one of us. How did Moses know what we would be like today?  Read it for yourself please. Then move to verse 6. A plain message. If you wish to be seen as wise in the eyes of those around you, be careful to observe, diligently, all that the Lord has taught you.

Most of us have formed a view of the God we serve. There are MANY adjectives used to describe the nature and attributes of our God. It is extremely comforting to remember the attributes of love, mercy and grace (which I often do). He extends His love to us when we least deserve it. He even sent His Only Son to bear the punishment of our sin. But now look at Deuteronomy 4:24. Moses does not ‘gild the lily’ with his stern warning, an attribute of God which we rarely consider. “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God”.  Wow!!  If you are like me that is not one of God’s attributes which brings much comfort, does it?

In chapter 5 of our portion, we find a repeat of the “Ten Words” which God gave to Moses on the mountain. Then in chapter 6 of our text we find the most oft repeated passage of Scripture. The SHEMA. Spoken twice each day by every Orthodox Jew. It is the constant reminder of the central role of God in their everyday living. It is the commandment of God to teach their children, to wear the Scriptures (as in Tefilin), to decorate their homes (or at least the doorposts of their houses). It is the Scripture passage which distinguishes the Jewish people from all other nations on the Earth.

Some time ago I became aware of the writings of Lord Sacks. He is a former Chief Rabbi of England, now a peer in the House of Lords in London. A scholarly thought provoking writer and one for whom I have gained great respect. I commend to you his exposition of “The Shema” which you can access by following this link:- 

http://www.rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation-5770-vaetchanan-the-mean...

I conclude this week’s ‘reflection’ by quoting from Rabbi Sacks’ insights (which you can read in full by following the link).

“The ancient Greeks were “the people of sight, of the spatial and plastic sense . . . as if they thought to transpose the flowing, fleeting, ever related elements of life into rest, space, limitation . . . The Jew did not see so much as he heard . . . His organ was the ear . . . When Elijah perceived G-d, he heard only a still, small voice. For that reason the Jew never made an image of his G-d.”

That is why the keyword of Judaism is Shema. G-d is not something we see, but a voice we hear. This is how Moses put it elsewhere in this week’s sedra, describing the supreme revelation at Mount Sinai:

Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. (Deut. 4: 12)”

“Shema Yisrael does not mean “Hear, O Israel”. It means something like:

Listen. Concentrate. Give the word of G-d your most focused attention. Strive to understand. Engage all your faculties, intellectual and emotional. Make His will your own. For what He commands you to do is not irrational or arbitrary but for your welfare, the welfare of your people, and ultimately for the benefit of all humanity.”

Please read again, (and again!), the words we know as “The Shema” in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.  This time with the benefit of the insight provided by Rabbi Lord Sacks echoing in your consciousness as you read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest … and you will be blessed.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections   43  

Torah portion                    Deuteronomy 1:1 to 3:22

Haftarah portion             Isaiah 1: 1-27  

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

“Devarim”, Deuteronomy in English, consists of a number of discourses by Moses, preparing the Israelites for life, as a nation, in their new land after his days. They are, in effect, farewell messages, reminding the people of the instructions God had provided them for living righteously with each other and with Himself. Just as Leviticus contains a lot of legal detail concerning the Levites, (the Priesthood) so Deuteronomy contains much legal detail for the laity.

Neither Leviticus nor Deuteronomy involve journeying’s. They are purely instructive, and in many cases repetitious of instructions given to Moses ‘on the mountain’.

In this first portion from Deuteronomy, Moses recites the progress which has been made over the past 40 years, from the captivity in Egypt to the banks of the River Jordan on the plains of Moab. They are reminded of God’s faithfulness in all their travels, as a prelude to His promised care for them as they enter the Promised Land.

Moses must have been sad when he confessed before the congregation of Israel in Chapter 1: 37,38 that he would not be with them as they went into the Land, but he graciously instructed them to encourage Joshua in the task that lay before him. He also reminded them, that because of lack of trust in the promises of God, all those who had wavered at Kadesh Barnea were now dead.

So this is a sort of series of ‘sermons’ before they ENTER the land.

Now let us move forward approximately 900 years. The HAFTARAH portion, from Isaiah 1, contains the first ‘sermon’ to them as Isaiah prophesies that unless they change their ways, it will not be long before they are EXPELLED from the land. (which they were a few short years later in 586 b.c.e.)

The Land gift to Abraham’s descendants is certainly unconditional, it is theirs by God given right, but the occupation of the land given in the Mosaic covenant has always been conditional. Moses carefully reminds the people of that condition. It is all about OBEDIENCE to the instructions for righteous living (Torah) which God prepared for those He calls “His special treasure”. People who live differently to those around them.

I was brought up as a young Christian to believe “once saved, always saved”. The land is ours, no-one can throw us out, live as we like, a loving God will forgive us!!  It is a most comforting state of mind. But that is not what my Bible says. What?  There are conditions? Yes there are conditions. Or at least a condition, and that condition is willing OBEDIENCE.

Read what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 11: 11-22. Then read what Samuel said in 1 Samuel 15:22.

To finish our ‘reflection’ today, we must look at the really good news. It is found in the HAFTARAH. Isaiah was tasked with giving the people a sharp reminder of their shortcomings. It is evident that they had become most neglectful in their obedience (or lack of it) to God’s instructions for righteous living. Then God in His amazing mercy, love and grace provides a way. To this saved, but neglectfully disobedient people, these words :-

 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are  red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; … Isaiah 1: 18,19

Those words are just as true for us today as they were for the Israelites of Isaiah’s day. Trust me, when you see the word IF in a sentence, as in the Scripture quotation above, it means that “there are conditions”.

Do you remember what Yeshua said in John 14:15 ? The more accurate Nestle-Aland Greek and United Bible Societies text (NU text) reads “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments”. So yes, there are conditions through which we show our love for Him.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    42

Torah Portion                   Numbers  30 : 1  to  36 : 13

Haftarah Portion           Jeremiah   2 : 4 –  28, and 3 : 4

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

This week there are TWO Torah portions, which are combined and read as one in ‘ordinary’ years, and read separately in leap years. The Hebrew calendar has 7 leap years in every 19 years. The reason for this is that the Hebrew calendar has a LUNAR cycle, whereas the Gregorian calendar has a SOLAR cycle.

The Lord continued to give Moses instructions regarding the occupation and division of the Land of Promise amongst the TWELVE  “ tribes” .. but they still do not “go in and possess the land”. (The actual borders of that Land of Promise is specified in Numbers chapter 34, it is far larger than the present day Land of Israel).  The taking of the Land would eventually come under Joshua’s leadership, after the death of Moses, but first it was necessary to ‘prepare the way’.

Numbers Chapter 33 is the historical account of the “stages” of the journey the Israelites have already made since their departure from Egypt almost 40 years earlier.

That explains the names given to these particular Torah portions.

Now another obstacle arises, the Midianites. The Midianites were a nomadic people descended from the fourth son born to Abraham by Keturah. Before Abraham died, and his inheritance was bequeathed to Isaac, he called his other sons together, settled a portion (called ‘gifts’ in the text) of his estate on them and sent them away. (Genesis  25:6) Just like Ishmael before him, Midian and his descendants became a problem for the Israelites thereafter. (Remember, Joseph’s brothers sold him to Midianite traders, who had formed an association with the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar.) Genesis 37:28. After the incident when Balaam was unable to pronounce a curse on the Israelites, it was the Midianite women who enticed the Israelite men to worship idols and foreign gods. (Numbers 25)

The children of Israel, probably over 2 million of them, together with their substantial herds of livestock were camped on ‘the plains of Moab’, present day Jordan, looking across the Jordan River to the land of Canaan. The Moabites had been subdued by the Amorites, and they in turn had been conquered by the Israelites.  TWO of the tribes, REUBEN and GAD liked the look of the place where they were camped and requested that they be allowed to make permanent settlement there. Moses agreed to this on condition that the Reubenites and the Gadites stood side by side with the other tribes in the conquest of the land occupied by the Canaanites. But first, they sent 12,000 men to remove the Midianites from the land, in fact to ‘prepare the way’.

They, the Midianites, were, “the little foxes that spoil the vine”. (Song of Solomon 2:15)

Here is the message for us in this part of the story. In typology, our journey to the Promised Land, follows our salvation. God has provided well defined instructions for righteous living (commandments and precepts) regarding our conduct if we are to remain in that “land”.

It is quite fashionable for those who totally misunderstand the teaching of the Apostle Paul to say, ‘you are not under law but under grace’. An eight word phrase at the end of a sentence, which very few people who quote it can tell you how that sentence begins.. or even the context of where appears in the scriptures. Furthermore, Yeshua taught very differently (Matthew 5 to 7) to the conventional church teaching on this phrase.

In our lives there are “midianites”, little foxes that spoil the vine, that need to chased out and put to death if we are to fully enjoy all that the Lord has prepared for us in His Land of Promise. In this context we could call it ‘preparing the way’. He seeks to bless us abundantly, but we have a part to play in making ourselves ready to receive that blessing.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections   41

Torah portion                     Numbers 25:10 to 30:1

Haftarah portion             Jeremiah 1: 1 to 2: 3

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

Phinehas, was a grandson of Aaron. He was zealous for God. He had been trained as a child to know and love His precepts and commandments. He had a strong sense of what was right and what was wrong. Then in a time of deep crisis for the Israelites, he ‘stepped up to the plate’ and was counted for God.

The Book of Numbers (Bamidbar) is well named isn’t it? Here in our portion today we have another census. This time it is of men of arms- bearing age, those deemed ready for war. Doesn’t it strike you as a bit strange that God, in His wisdom, having brought these Israelites to the place where they could actually see the land He had promised to give them, that He then tells them that they are going to have to fight to possess it. It is a gift to them, YES, but it has to be taken by their own efforts. There is a ‘messianic’ message here I think. Our salvation certainly is a free gift of God through Messiah Yeshua, YES, but there are choices we have to make for ourselves in order to ‘live in the land’. It is the choice of being counted for God, not imagining we can go on with our lives in the same manner we were before He called us to Himself.

There are many preachers of ‘a prosperity gospel’ in churches today. It is an “easy” gospel. “Come to Jesus and have all your problems solved” is the message. I do not find that in my Bible. It is costly to be counted for God. Look only at the thousands of men and women who are martyred for their faith in Islamic countries today  .. and pray for them.  (Read Luke 24: 25 – 35 and see if you have a Bible like mine.)

Numbers 26  : 64,65 gives us a glimpse of the justice of the God of Israel. He had declared that those who had voted against the ‘short route’ conquest of the Promised Land would not enter it. In our passage today, we are told that they had all died in the wilderness travels (Numbers 14:23)

Using the same justice, God then acts to replace Moses for the journey into the Land. I am really sad. I feel so sorry for Moses, a faithful, humble man. To the Israelites, even to this very day, a GIANT of a man. But we need to take note that God uses all of His dealings with the Israelites for our instruction and understanding of Himself. One does  not need the intelligence of an Einstein to see that the lesson here is that we trifle with God at our peril. Remember Hebrews 10:31 again!

We cannot leave this portion, as it ends, without a mention of the ‘mo’edim’. The appointed times of the Lord. The children of Israel were about to enter the Land of Promise under the leadership of Joshua. During the past 38 years, they had been melded into a disciplined people, an army no less. They had seen the Shekinah of God over the Tabernacle, they understood that God required them to worship Him in the way, and at the times, He had declared. Sure there had been times when they grumbled and grizzled about their lot. But they had a genuine “fear of the Lord”.

Now the time was near when God had put all the pieces into place.

Chapter 29 of Numbers is worthy of our ‘reflection’, and I commend it to you for private study. It details the observation of the festivals of the seventh month of their year. It is highly significant in understanding the prophetic significance of the final three festivals of the Lord. They are prophetic of the return to this Earth of Yeshua Ha’maschiach.

Trumpets .. which herald the return of the Lord/

Day of Atonement .. which heralds the final judgement.

Tabernacles .. which is the great ingathering, and speaks of the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Hands up all those who want to be there for this marriage supper.

Those who will be at this last feast will, I believe, be those who have been “counted for God”. It is never too late to begin the journey.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections   40

Torah portion                     Numbers 22:2 to 25:9

Haftarah portion             Micah 5:6 to 6:8

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

The journey of the Israelites had brought them to the land occupied by the Moabites. It is quite interesting to follow the route by which they had come, and you can read it in Numbers 21.

The Amorites, who shared a border with the Moabites, had refused the Israelites safe passage through their land, and lost it in the battle that ensued. Balak, king of the Moabites (Genesis 19:37.) at that time, was petrified that he would suffer the same fate as the Amorites. He looked down to the plain where the Israelites were camped and all he could see was ‘wall to wall’ Israelites. (We tried to visualize this scene in an earlier ‘reflection’ didn’t we? Even today, looking down on that area from Mt Nebo is quite a scene).  So Balak decided to enlist some help.

The story which follows is most interesting. It involves a ‘celebrity’ seer, a prophet with a successful history apparently (Numbers 22:6), called Balaam.

As the story unfolds, we have an incident in which the donkey on which Balaam is riding sees an Angel of the Lord blocking the road, and refuses to proceed, Balaam does not see the Angel and begins to hit the donkey. Then amazingly, the donkey speaks!! It asks Balaam why the beating? MORE AMAZINGLY, to me, Balaam enters into conversation with the donkey!!!!!

The main thrust of our reading today, however, is to focus on the message contained therein, rather than the interesting detail of the events.

Balak had the clear intention to frustrate, if he could, the passage of these Israelites on their journey to the Land of Promise. To that extent, he may be viewed as an enemy of the Lord, an agent of Satan. Balaam, seems at first to be on Israel’s side, and to his credit declares that he will only speak that which God shows him.  Later it appears that he might be persuaded to speak a curse on Israel for the right price, even though he is prevented from so doing. The evidence for this is in the fact that he persisted FOUR times to accompany Balak in the pursuit of trying to utter a curse on Israel. In spite of that, of course, God was, and is, intent on BLESSING ISRAEL.

(Note here that there are TWO different words used for “curse” in Hebrew, both are used in the same sentence in Genesis 12:3, … ‘I will curse those who curse you’ … the first curse in that phrase is ‘a’rar’, meaning to ‘bitterly curse’, and the second is ‘qalal’, meaning to ‘treat lightly’, or ‘to treat with contempt’. This is not a statement of wanton punishment, but a solemn conditional promise of God, and we should always be mindful of that).

The curse that Balak was seeking for the Israelites is the ‘a’rar.’ He wanted Balaam to ‘bitterly curse’ those Israelites. ( Note:- Jeremiah 48:1-46 prophesies a ‘bitter curse” of destruction for Moab in the end times, but not quite the total uninhabitable destruction which is the case with Edom and Babylon).

This is not the end of our association with Balaam. We will meet him again later in our “reflections”.

There is an ominous lesson in this story for those willing to learn. Within our churches today, there are many “balak’s” who, regardless of God’s clear declaration that these people are His  ‘special treasure’, deliberately  ‘qalal’ (treat with contempt) Israel, some even go as far as to “a’rar” (bitterly curse) Israel. It is a dangerous course to chart. God will keep ALL His promises, even the ones we don’t much care for.

Surely those of us who are ‘christian’ believers seek the blessing of Almighty God, don’t we?  Well, trust God on this. Find a way to BLESS ISRAEL, then He will fulfil the promise He made to Abraham, in you.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections   39

Torah portion                     Numbers 19:1 to 22:1

Haftarah portion             Judges 11:1-3

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

What a feast of teaching there is in this week’s Torah portion.

• The death of both Miriam and Aaron.
• Water from the rock.
• Moses actions cause God to deny him access to the Land of Promise.
• The Edomites seal their eternal destiny by denying Israel rite of passage.
• The bronze serpent of Moses.
• The Amorites king, Sihon, also prevents Israel passing through their land. (I had the privilege to visit there late last year, which causes me to marvel at the fact that these millions of people were able to walk in such hostile hilly terrain)

But of all the teaching prospect in many of those incidents, there is another which I find quite irresistible. I refer to the place the Red Heifer has in their ordinances.

In our modern world view, it seems quite bizarre that the ashes of a dead cow, mixed with water, could do anything, let alone absolve someone of ritual uncleanness. BUT, God is God, His ways are not our ways .. are they ??

The very words “Red Heifer” speak of purity. Purity of breeding and purity of self. Unblemished and unused. Then this unblemished animal is taken OUTSIDE the camp and slaughtered. Some of its blood is sprinkled at the door of the Tabernacle and then it is burned to ashes, ALL of it. The one doing the slaughter become unclean. The ashes are placed in a ‘clean’ place and the one touching the ashes becomes unclean.

Miraculously, God ordained that those ashes when mixed with water and sprinkled onto an unclean person makes that person clean. Now there is more to this ritual, which you can read in Numbers 19, but effectively, that is how God chose to have these people act to become ritually clean.

Did you know that the Rabbi’s have determined that since those instructions were given to Moses, there have only EVER been NINE such pure ‘Red Heifers’ found in all of Israel? They did not all appear at the same time, but sequentially and precisely when they were needed!! Breeders in America have now declared that they have managed to breed the TENTH. (Ultra Orthodox Jews see this as the ‘missing link’ in being able to get on with the construction of the next Temple!!)  The importance of this is that the whole system of Temple worship is “Red Heifer” dependent. What a mighty God we serve. As long as the Tabernacle and the Temple stood in Israel, in a PERFECTLY timely manner, exactly when they were needed, God provided those NINE ‘Red Heifers’ as the necessary means of ‘cleanliness’ for these Israelites, without which, the priests could not function.

For our teaching this week there is an even more important lesson. That is to be found in the ‘typology’ of the ‘Red Heifer’ to Messiah Yeshua.

In His PERFECT timing, with no Temple in Jerusalem, and no ‘Red Heifer’ required for Temple service, God provided the means of priestly ‘cleanliness’ before Himself. Yeshua Ha’mashiach.

• He was pure and unblemished.
• He was taken outside the camp and slaughtered.
• He was (metaphorically) reduced to ashes by being buried in the tomb.
• Through Him, is the only means of ‘cleanliness’ acceptable to a Holy God.
• The Temple as a vehicle of worship, is dependent on His sacrifice. Our body is today “the Temple” of the Holy Spirit. Unless we are cleansed by Him, our sacrifice is unacceptable to God.
• Our worship of God is “Yeshua” dependent.

As we said earlier, God is God, isn’t He?  “As for God, His way is perfect” Psalm 18:30 and 2 Sam 22:31

Be blessed as you read the Torah portion this week. You will see other lessons which arise from this unusual ritual of the slaughter of the exceptionally rare “Red Heifer”. Then you may care to share those insights with friends you seek to bless.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections   38

Torah portion             Numbers 16:1 to 18:32

Haftarah portion     1 Samuel 11:14 to12:22

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

Two weeks ago, we saw the anger God displayed against Miriam and Aaron because of their challenge to the authority of Moses.

Last week, we saw that God instructed Moses to tell the people to sew tassels on the corners of their garment in order to remind themselves of God’s statutes and commandments. Well, it appears that this was just a bit too much for some of them. Korah (name means ‘boldness’ in Hebrew), a descendant of Levi, together with a crowd of 250 that three men from the tribe of Reuben had pulled together, took it upon themselves to again challenge the authority of Moses !!

Moses was not pleased! He reminded Korah of the privilege the Levites enjoyed in serving in the Tabernacle of the Lord. “Are you seeking the priesthood as well?” he challenged. (Perhaps a gentle reminder to us today to be content in the role God, in His wisdom, has given us, and not be too ambitious (or envious), to do that in which we see others being successful)

Moses instructed all of them to appear at the entrance to the Tabernacle the next day, each with a censer of hot coals. “Let the Lord decide who has authority here” he said.

If Moses was angry, it is reasonable to think, from His reaction that the Lord was livid!!  The resulting events were staggering. Please read the account in Numbers 16:4-40.

I sometimes ponder if the writer to the Hebrews 10:31, had this incident in mind when he penned those famous, chilling words … “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”

It is so easy today, for each of us, reading that account of the judgment of God, to take the high ground and scoff that we would never have fallen for such a circumstance. It is a ‘natural’ response, because we have the advantage of seeing the end as well as the beginning.

Did you know that the word “torah” in Hebrew comes from an archery term meaning to ‘hit the mark’? Did you also know that the word translated “sin” in our Bibles comes for another archery term in Hebrew, “chata” which means to miss the mark (and it does not specify by how much the mark is missed!)?

It is surely possible to list areas of our walk with a Holy God where we could do better, where we have “missed the mark”.  The prophet Isaiah saw, very clearly, these issues with his generation, and warned them of it. Jeremiah put it best perhaps

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the  river, And will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be  anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?  I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.

When I was a very young man (almost 70 years ago) I was privileged to be taken by my Sunday School teacher to hear a very young Billy Graham speaking in Pontypridd South Wales. The text of his talk is burned into my memory today, as it seemed he was speaking ONLY to me. It changed my life.

“Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting”      Daniel 5:27 

Korah and his companions were found wanting, and paid a terrible price for it. May God grant each one of us a desire to search our own hearts and minds  … and approach a loving God for His forgiveness, before He approaches us!!

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    37

Torah Portion                   Numbers  13 : 1  to  15 : 41

Haftarah Portion           Joshua  2 : 1 – 24

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

It was time for the Israelites to prepare to enter the Land God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, fulfilling the unconditional promise God had made to them.  But it was inhabited by the Canaanites in the low lying areas, and by Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites in other parts.

In our day, much is made about ‘original ownership’ rights. There are two places in our Bible (Exodus 19:5 and Leviticus 25:23) where God puts ‘ownership’ in perspective. On both occasions He reminds the Israelites that the earth is His. That the occupation of any land is by His grace and favour. In this case, He had chosen to give that right of occupancy to the Israelites, but on the condition that they would order their lifestyle in accord with His instructions. A lifestyle that was to be a beacon of light to those nations around them.

Twelve tribal leaders were chosen to spy out the land. Trustworthy men of their respective communities. The two names that stand-out, (because we know the end of the story) Joshua and Caleb, were from the tribes of Ephraim and Judah respectively.

This story is well known. There would not be a person who ever attended a Sunday School class that could not repeat it. But I always think it was a big ask of these erstwhile bunch of recently freed slaves, expecting them to face an unknown foe, who were in their own familiar territory, ready to defend themselves to the bitter end. Especially when some were of giant stature. I ALWAYS ask myself how I might have behaved in like circumstances. And I ALWAYS find myself having sympathy for these Israelites. Such is my frailty.

Well, as the story unfolds, they decide that it is all too hard for them, and we see the result. Not one of those Israelites aged above 20 years (except the aforementioned Joshua and Caleb) survived the rest of their 38 year journey. So, apart from Joshua and Caleb, ALL the Israelites who did eventually enter the Land, were less than 59 years old. Imagine that, a whole nation of people under 60 years old! Everyone active. No-one on the age pension!! And God had another 38 years to meld them into a people He could work with and use as an example to other nations.

I never cease to be amazed by the dialogue, recorded in this passage, between God and Moses. The story is told in a manner which elevates Moses to a position of an elder statesman. He appears calm and rational in his argument, seeing the quite disastrous consequences which would most likely follow if these fearful Israelites were to be punished for their fear, and consequent lack of faith in Almighty God. But returning to Egypt was never a viable option, even though they contemplated it. Then they tried another option, to ‘go it alone’ as it were, against the very strong word of advice from Moses. “The Lord is not with you” he said, “don’t even think about it”.

But that did not stop them, or their complaints. But it did move Almighty God to develop another course of action, “plan B”. The long route.

Does it ever occur to you that it could well be that we too may be experiencing God’s “plan B”?

(Of course that is hypothetical. We will probably never know (or we know it already). I recall hearing a well-known missionary, speaking at a church, of which I was once a member, declare that he was quite sure that because of an earlier rejection, by him, of God’s first missionary call, that he was now experiencing God’s second best!)

The lesson for us is all too clear. The Israelites, in our parashah today, were clearly experiencing God’s leading in their lives. They were in a place they could never have been without God’s active leadership. How many of us can identify with that experience today, in our relationships, in our employment, in our friendships, in our church, in our personal circumstances? How much of that is due to our own carefully orchestrated planning, and how much because we have been led by Almighty God? Do not underestimate God’s ability.

There is so much more, as always, on which we could ‘reflect’ in this reading, but the lesson for me is this. When I recognise the call of God on my life, when I receive that “rhema” from His word, when I know, because I know, that He is speaking to me on some matter, then I have a choice to make. I can choose the short route, or suffer the long route. God’s way is perfect and His plan for me is written before the foundation of the world. As it was for Israel.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    36 

Torah Portion                   Numbers  8 : 1  to  12 : 16

Haftarah Portion           Zechariah  2 : 10 – 4 :7

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

The Tabernacle of the Lord was in the middle of the Israelite camp. It was absolutely central to their life.  It had a special place, it was holy, the dwelling place of YWHW Elohim. I imagine that there might have been talk amongst them as to what it looked like inside, but no-one dare approach. None of them was allowed inside the Tabernacle. Except the Kohenim and the Levites, and they had to be specially prepared in bodily cleanliness and dress, in order to do their work there.

There are two replica Tabernacles that I have visited in Israel. Both claim to be identical to the Biblical dimensions, and even though they differ from each other, they are both immensely impressive. One is a in a desert setting in the Timna region of Israel near Eilat, and the other is in Samaria, in a Biblical garden setting in a hotel near Ariel. One just needs to close ones eyes, use ones  imagination, and wonder at the spectacle these structures presented to the people at the time of our parashah.

There are no windows in the Tabernacle. The Holy place is covered in thick drapes and Badger skins. The only light comes from the Menora, the lampstand, made of pure gold and which was to burn continuously.

Last week, we reflected on the special role of the Levites, as substitutes for the firstborn. They belonged to the Lord. In our parashah this week we read that God gave these Levites as a gift (Leviticus 8:19) to Aaron and his sons (the Kohenim) to do the work of service in the Tabernacle. There were more that 8,000 of them of the designated age.

Our reading takes place just one year after the exodus from Egypt. The Lord had already told them that this was to be a time of perpetual remembrance of their release from slavery in Egypt. Now, just to be sure Moses did not forget. God gave him a reminder. Moses must have been a very busy man with his many responsibilities towards this huge crowd of people in the desert. But God made sure they started their new life of freedom in the right way. Giving thanks to Him for His work of salvation. Then an interesting instruction (Numbers 9:10-13) about the observance of Passover for those unable (or unwilling) to keep it at the appointed time.

(It was a misunderstanding of this instruction which, in part, caused the Council of Nicaea to make such sweeping changes to the non-Jewish observance of Passover, substituting the Easter Rule by which that date is calculated today)

We then come to the first big movement of these people. They had been at this resting place for a little over one month after remembering Passover when the ‘cloud’ was taken up from above the Tabernacle. The first big test of their organisational skills. There had never been a ‘trial run’. The Tabernacle had to be taken down, as previously instructed, packed properly, carried by the right people, and transported for however long the ‘cloud’ moved. An amazing spectacle I should think. First the members of six tribes, several hundred thousand people, then the Levites carrying the Tabernacle component parts, followed by the remaining six tribes of another several hundred thousand folk. Plus their livestock.

It was not long before the complaints began, We are told that God was Himself so angered by these complaints that His fire (we may assume it was the pillar of fire meant to guide them) was so intense that some folk at the edges of the assembly were consumed by it. They complained about not having meat in their diet. It is not difficult to empathise with Moses as he enters dialogue with God on this issue. (read it in Numbers  11:10-32)    The relationship God had with Moses was very close.

Our parashah ends with another dispute. This time both Aaron and his sister Miriam decided to challenge Moses authority as a leader of the people. They obviously objected to Moses marrying an Ethiopian lady, but carried it further by suggesting that Moses was not the only messenger God had in their camp. To say that God was furious would be an understatement.

“Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!" So the three came out.  Then the LORD came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward.  Then He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.   Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house.  I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?" So the anger of the LORD was aroused against them, and He departed.”    Numbers 12 : 4 – 9

Miriam ended up with leprosy. Moses plea before the Lord restored her.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    35 

Torah Portion                   Numbers  4 : 21  to  7 : 89

Haftarah Portion           Judges  13 : 2 – 25

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

The counting continues. This week, we have an insight into the family of Levi. He had three sons, Gershon, Merari, and Kohath (the grandfather of Moses and Aaron). Between them, they had 8,580 male descendants between the ages of 30 and 50, who were assigned tasks of serving in the Tabernacle and carrying various parts of it whenever it relocated from one place to another.

Once again, we have confirmation of the meticulous attention to detail which God instructed Moses to convey to the Israelites. Nothing left to chance, good order, no-one in doubt about the tasks they were assigned.

There follows, some instruction about keeping the camp healthy, by segregating those with signs of disease. And also a charge to the priests about making judgements relating to accusations of marriage infidelity. The core of this section of our parashah is the recognition of jealousy and how to deal with it. These instructions are formative in the life of the new community as they change from being mere ‘neighbours’ as slaves in Egypt, to becoming an exemplary nation before the rest of the nations around them. That is what the word “Torah” means. It is ‘teaching’ or ‘instructions for righteous living’. It is instructive of a lifestyle which is honourable and caring. It is ‘being holy, as God Himself is holy’.

The section about the vow of a “Nazarite” is most enlightening. In the Scriptures we are told of three men who were Nazarites for life, a vow taken on their behalf by their grateful parents. They are Samson, Samuel and John the Baptiser. Only Samson is actually referred to as a Nazarite. But there were many others who took this vow for a specific period or purpose. The outward signs related to hair growth and wine abstention. There is speculation, based on Acts 18, that the Apostle Paul might have taken a Nazarite vow whilst in Corinth, but this cannot be confirmed from the little we are told about it in the text.

The most well-known section of our reading today is found at the end of Numbers 6. Words that are burned into the memory of most preachers of the gospel, and frequently used as a benediction. Words that are usually spoken as a plea, or a wish, for the benefit of the hearer when quoted today from our English Bible translations. But in Hebrew, just fifteen words, full of meaning, spoken as a powerful promise.

We need to put this into context. The Israelites were at the beginning of what was to be a very long journey in trying conditions of the desert wilderness. They had no idea where they were, and even less idea of where they were going. Being led by a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. They had left behind everything that was familiar to them. Going back was not an option.

Then, at God’s command, Aaron stood before them, hands raised in blessing, his voice loud and very clear.

“Yivarechecha Adonai viyishmirecha, Ya’er Adonai panav elecha veechunera, Yeesa Adonai panav elecha viyasem lecha shalom.” (phonetic Hebrew)

“The LORD will bless you, and He will keep you, The LORD will make His face shine upon you, and He will be gracious to you. The LORD will lift up His countenance to you, and He will establish your Shalom.” (One New Man Bible translation)

The strong emphasis in the Hebrew is on what God WILL do. It was not a prayer, it was a promise. A promise spoken by a man of high integrity among the people. A man in whom they had trust and respect.

The Ancient Hebrew Research Centre translates this ancient Hebrew text as follows:-

“YHWH will kneel before you presenting gifts and will guard you with a hedge of protection. YHWH will illuminate the wholeness of His being to you, bringing order, and He will beautify you. YHWH will lift up the wholeness of His being and look upon you, and He will set in place all you need to be whole and complete.”

What a promise.

We know that God kept His word. They enjoyed the provision of food and water. Their shoes did not wear out, their livestock produced food. But they also had the blessing of both Moses and Aaron to intercede, guide, instruct and encourage them all the years of their travels. They were observant of all the commandments of God, and they prospered in their travels safely to the Land of Promise.

Let us ponder this Aaronic blessing, and ask God what He requires of us to pronounce such a blessing on us today.      

Shabbat Shalom

RS