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Discussions Torah

All cultures are not equal (Numbers 30–36)

Are we thankful that Heaven’s faithfulness isn’t like our faithlessness, making promises we can’t keep (out of hopefulness) and won’t keep (out of deception)? In the double-header Torah reading of מטות Matot (“tribes,” Numbers 30–32) and מסעי Massei (or Mase’y, “journeys of,” Numbers 33–36), we learn why Yeshua (Jesus) taught that vows and oaths were no flippant matter, why Heaven’s “new covenant” promise is dependable to remember our iniquities no more (Jeremiah 31:31–34) and how being “grafted in” to the people of God has been the plan (Romans 11).

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Discussions Torah

Moses’ first 80 years (Exodus 1–3)

The first 80 years of Moses’ life are summarized in Exodus 1-3. It starts with his birth in Egypt and the end of chapter 3 tells us about his call to return to Egypt. The rest of the book focuses on the last 40 years of his life.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 31: Israel battles Midian after prurient sneak attack

The call for Israel to attack Midian, located on the southwestern coast of modern-day Saudi Arabia, comes after Midian’s plot to send in women to lure Israel away from the LORD. That, in turn, came because the LORD wouldn’t allow Bilam (Balaam) to curse Israel.