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“And He said, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.'” (Exodus 33:14 NASB)
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NASB)
We can read about how our forefathers in faith in the LORD kept grumbling and rebelling, even as Heaven was blessing them with freedom, purpose and global mission. “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”
In the Torah reading (parashah) שְׁלַח Shelakh (“send,” Numbers 13–15), we read about 12 spies from Israel into the Promised land, and 10 one-star reviews of the LORD’s capability to make it happen.
The first savior of Israel named Jesus
Moses sends 12 representatives, one from each tribe, to spy out the land. As we go through the list, we notice that there was a spy from the tribe of Ephraim named Hoshea (Hosea; Strong’s lexicon No. H3467). Moses changes his name to יְהוֹשֻׁעַ Yehoshua (Joshua; H3091).
Hoshea, also the name of the prophetic book of Hosea, means “salvation or deliverer.” Moses added Yah, a short form of the LORD’s name, to Hoshea’s name to change it to Yehoshua. That means “God saves” or “God delivers.” But God is the One actually delivering the people.
Another name that is common in the TaNaK is יְשׁוּעָה Yeshuah (H3444), which means “welfare, prosperity, deliverance, salvation or victory.”
The name was shortened to יֵשׁוּעַ Yeshua by the time of the New Testament. The Septuagint transliterates this name as Iesous, which came into English as Jesus from Germanic languages that pronounce “J” with a “Y” sound. Yeshua is also considered to be a shortened form of Yehoshua.
“Then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs. That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.” (Numbers 13:23–24 NASB)
We live in wine country and, sometimes, bigger is not seen as better for wine quality. But in this time, this is seen as evidence of abundance and fertility. This became a symbol of the Messianic age.
“On the world to come, a man will bring one grape on a wagon or ship…” (b.Ketubbot 111b)
“In the world ot come, the Holy One, blessed be He, will make a banquet for the righteous in the Garden of Eden. He will give them to drink wine preserved in its grapes since the six days of creation.” (Numbers Rabbah 13:2)
These predictions of the Messianic age were known in the 1st century. Yeshua’s miracle of changing water into wine was a sign of future messianic abundance for those who were watching for the Messiah.
The spies didn’t just bring in samples of the abundance of fruits of the land but they also brought in a bad report about the people of the land.
We know from archaeology that the walls of Jericho were very large and abundance. You can certainly see how a nomadic people living in tents might have seen a land full of walled cities as very fearsome. Joshua and Caleb later took the very cities the others were scared of.
Rahab: Fame-worthy faith
In the parallel reading (haftarah) for Shelach, Joshua 2, there are two spies, rather than 10. They are sent specifically to the area around Yericho (Jericho). They meet a woman named רָחַב Rachab. She is referred to as a זוֹנָה zonah. That is the feminine root of zanah (H2181), which means “to be highly fed” or “promiscuous.” Rachab’s name means “to be expansive” or “roomy,” suggesting she was generous or accommodating.
She was an instrument of deliverance. She was inside a city with strong walls and a good defense. For her to say that they have heard of what Israel’s God has done from the Red Sea crossing to the conquering of the kings of Sihon and Og, shows she had a command of history. She knew who that the real deity was with them, and not with her people. She was willing to betray her people and the deity she was raised worshipping to put herself with Israel and with God.
People cast aspersions on Rachab because she is referred to as a “harlot,” but every mention of her in the TaNaKh and Apostolic scriptures are complementary and exalt her great faith, even comparing her faith with the faith of Abraham.
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.” (Hebrews 11:30–31 NASB)
She changed the course of her own life and world history with this one decision. God cared more about Rahab’s future than about her past. She had a difficult past but she inherited a promising future. Tradition has it that she married Joshua son of Nun and that her descendants included priests and prophets such as Jeremiah and Huldah, but we know from the New Testament that she is also an ancestor of the Messiah (Matt. 1:5).
Imagine what the people of Jericho thought as the children of Israel marched around the city and then went home and repeated that for seven days. Perplexing to say the least but the children of Israel finally learned the lesson that they weren’t taking the land themselves, that God was doing it. No walls are too high, no giant too tall for God to conquer.
Rahab never would have become a faithful person if she had decided that since she was a zonah and that was all she could ever be. Rahab got a new beginning. She didn’t have to be a zonah anymore.
Evangelizing with ‘every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’
Rolling back the clock 40 years from Yericho, when the 10 spies brought back their “evil” report (Numbers 13:32), it wasn’t just reported to Moshe and Aaron but they spread their report around the entire camp.
Are we interceding for our brothers and sisters who are being taught that most of the Bible isn’t worth living by anymore? We used to be like them until God got a hold of us and we should have mercy on them as God has mercy on us.
We are told that those things that God considered rebellious are considered “self-actualized” and enlightened. We have to intercede for those who are blinded by the veil.
“He again fixes a certain day, ‘Today,’ saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, ‘TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:7–16 NASB)
We should not shrink back from our walk with God. We will miss out on God’s rest if we can’t trust in God.
The people weren’t being asked to deliver themselves, but the 10 spies missed that point completely. God knows what it’s like to face huge obstacles. He knows what obstacles we have face. He knows they look scary but He knows how we can get around them.
But we also need to understand that when God says “no” we need to listen. When the 10 spies said they could not conquer the land, they were right. Without God on their side, conquering the land was too great of a challenge for them.
Y’all going all-in?
The drink offering mentioned in Numbers 15:1-31 is a theme that Messiah Yeshua and the Apostle Paul compared their sacrificial lives as being “poured out.”
“And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’” (Luke 22:20 NASB)
“And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’” (Mark 14:24–25 NASB)
“… for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28 NASB)
“But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.” (Philippians 2:17–18 NASB)
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.” (2 Timothy 4:6 NASB)
Going forward with God means going all in, 100%, holding nothing back. Ananias and Sapphira said they were going all in but they held something back. They said they were giving all but they weren’t and they were judged for that.
We have to move forward or be left behind. We need to look up from our navels and look over the horizon and look to see where God is moving us. Our Heavenly commander has everything in view. When He tells us to march forward, we need to obey.
Sabbath to die for?
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.’ So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.”
Numbers 15:35–36 NASB
Why is the Shabbat so important that it carries a death sentence? (More on that below.) The Shabbat is a sign that God is the Creator (Gen. 2:2–3; Ex. 20:8–11), Deliverer (Deut. 5:13–15), Healer (Mark 3:1–6; Luke 6:6–10; 13:11–17; 14:1–6), and Sanctifier (Ex. 31:13; Ezek. 20:12, 20).
We are not set apart because of the Shabbat. We keep the Shabbat because God has set us apart.
God says in Revelation that when Yeshua returns, most people will be willfully ignorant of the fact that God is the Creator (Rev. 14:6–7). Shabbat is weekly memorial of where everything comes from. It reminds us where we come from and where we are going.
God has a lot of grace in the unintentional, a lot of mercy for those who makes mistakes, who might be sloppy or do something wrong unintentionally (Num. 15:22–29). Yet this is the instruction for what to do with someone who acts intentionally against the LORD’s directions, the verse that immediately proceeds the story about the man collecting sticks on the Shabbat:
“‘But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. ‘Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.’”
Numbers 15:30–31 NASB
The issue is acting with a “high hand” against Heaven, causing the reputation of the Holy One to be stained (i.e., blasphemed) in Israel and among all those who watch the behavior of the nation. Critics would say that execution for a ceremonial infraction is more sullying on the LORD’s reputation, yet this reveals what happens when one disregards the reality that the Creator exists and the core message of “the word of the LORD”: God is trying to turn humanity around from a path toward our own destruction.
Perhaps, this Shabbat firewood incident even came just after the rebellion and defeat described in Numbers 10, and this man was bitter against the LORD for sentencing this generation to die in the wilderness. This man in Numbers 15 appears to be very defiant, giving God “the finger.”
When we think about the Shabbat, we see that God is telling us to stop. There are people who pay lots of money to go on retreats to meditate and recite mantras, but God gives us a time to rest for free. We are to stop what we are doing, to reflect and get some perspective on where we have been and where we are going.
Shabbat is not meditation, but it is a time to stop the flow of where our lives are going.
Whether this man is at fault for preparing to set a fire, gathering sticks, or carrying the sticks is not relevant. What is relevant is that this man’s actions were so beyond the pale that they actually put him into a holding cell to try to figure out what to do with him.
The Shabbat is a special memorial, something unique in the world and is something precious to be protected for future generations. We have the Scriptures because our ancestors have guarded them and treated them as precious. If these things had not been considered essential, we would have lost them a long time ago.
We live in an age where people don’t really care about retaining the history of their own family or the history of their nation. Unless you are an amateur genealogist, do you know who your grandparents beyond your great grandparents are?
God gives us six days to take care of things, which is plenty of time. If we “run out of time,” it’s because our priorities have gotten skewed. We need to participate in the real world, where the Creator is working to restore us (and the world too) to our full potential.
Isn’t it better to get to know God than to become empty and seeking nothing? Think this is a false dilemma? If the legacy we think we’re building without God will endure, consider the word of the LORD that this messed-up world “red in tooth and claw” will be remade by God (Revelation 21–22; Isaiah 66). The only legacies that endure will be those aligned with the caring Creator.
We can always choose to reject that future and live for the now. But the Creator doesn’t want us to drag other people down with us, especially if we’re part of the lifeline Heaven has thrown humanity. That’s what being “cut off” is all about.
Summary: Tammy.
Banner Art: From Freeimages.com/elementa1 available via Creative Commons License.