Torah reading Shelach (שלח): Numbers 13–15

Readings

Numbers 13–15
Joshua 2
Hebrews 3–4
Matthew 10:1–14
Isaiah 6
Zechariah 8:18–23

Shelach discussions

Promised land and promised rest: Do we have enough faith to follow God to freedom? (Based on Numbers 13 and 14; Hebrews 3 and 4.) Adobe Firefly AI image of a group of weary people walking up a hill from a dark, scary forest to a bright, restful place.

Promised Land and promised ‘rest’: Do we have enough faith to allow God to free us? (Numbers 13–14; Hebrews 3–4)

Jeff June 29, 2024

This study of the Torah reading שְׁלַח Shelach/Shelakh (“send,” Numbers 13–15) reports of the 12 spies in Numbers 13–14 foreshadow the sending by Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) of the 12 and 70 apostles in the Gospels. Just as the spies were sent to scout the Promised Land, the apostles were sent to proclaim the coming Kingdom. However, the Israelites’ lack of faith prevented them from entering God’s “rest,” a spiritual reality that believers in Yeshua the Messiah can now access. This “rest” is not a replacement of Israel’s role, but a fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham. The Promised…

How you can rise above giant-sized fear (Numbers 13–15)

Daniel June 17, 2023

How do we see the troubles and difficulties we face each day? From our perspective, limited in knowledge and power, or from the perspective of the One Who made and sustains all things? That can make the difference between living a life paralyzed by fear or moving on courageously, no matter the outcome. This is a key undercurrent of the Torah reading שְׁלַח Shelakh (“send,” Numbers 13–15) and the teachings on faith by Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus).

Confirmation bias: Only a strong faith in God can cut through fear and bias (Numbers 13-14; Joshua 2)

How the 10 spies of the Promised Land reveal the dangers of confirmation bias (Numbers 13–14; Joshua 2; Matthew 10)

Daniel June 25, 2022

It is human nature to engage in confirmation bias. We have certain closely cherished beliefs, and we will give more weight to facts that confirm those beliefs versus facts that contradict those beliefs. The Torah reading שלח Shelakh (“send,” Numbers 13–15) recounts how 10 “spies” of ancient Israel returned from the Promised Land with an “evil report.” They brought back the same basic facts about the geography, agriculture and social structure of the people currently living there. The only difference was their interpretation of those facts. They looked at land through the bias of the world, while Joshua and Caleb looked at…

Get a grip on God: Finding the why of the tassels (Numbers 15)

Jeff June 5, 2021

The Holy One of Israel associated the צִיצִתות tzitzitot (tassles, fringes) with locks of hair or flower blooms: sources of identification, things that draw our attention and harbingers of messianic hope. The tzitzitot that Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ) wore as the quintessential Son of David brought hope and encouragement to those who followed Him, to hear His words and seek His healing through faith. In the Day of the LORD (i.e., the “latter days”), the tzitzit will continue to be a sign of faith, hope and healing for those who are looking for God. Let’s explore from the Bible why…

How to walk by faith into God's Promised Land (Numbers 13-15)

How we learn to walk by faith into God’s Promised Land (Numbers 13)

Jeff June 20, 2020

Was the LORD setting up ancient Israel to fail by bringing the people to the border of the Promised Land, telling them to send in 12 spies then condemning that generation from being too scared of the opposition to go in? The Torah reading שְׁלַח Shelakh (“send,” Numbers 13–15) underscores the teaching of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) that God’s salvation must be faith-based. We’ll find out that what was true at the time of the Exodus is true for each of us today when we leave our “house of bondage” and go to God’s kingdom of “rest,” i.e., freedom.

Numbers 13–15: 12 Israelites, 2 opinions, 1 very bad decision

Jarrod July 6, 2019

This week’s Torah reading שְׁלַח Shelakh (“send,” Numbers 13–15) is a lesson in hope and human imagination. It is also a difficult lesson about how God often gives us a brief window of opportunity to take possession of what He wants for us. If we shirk away in unbelief (Heb. 10:26–31; Hab. 2:3–4), the opportunity and the blessing that goes with it are lost. God will give that blessing to someone who has the faith to receive them.

Title 'Lessons from D-Day and the giants of the Promised Land' with several photos of Normandy Beach

Numbers 13–15: Lessons from D-Day and the giants of the Promised Land

Jeff June 9, 2018

Go where the Creator sends us. That’s a lesson from the Torah reading שְׁלַח Shelakh (“send,” Numbers 13–15). Our faith forefathers in Yisrael had to learn trust after the LORD freed them from Mitsraim (Egypt) then told them to conquer seemingly unvanquishable foes in the Promised Land. And that’s the kind of faith Yeshua the Mashiakh’s sent ones (apostles or shelakhim) had to learn during His earthly ministry and after He returned to Heaven.

Aaron and Miriam ‘speak evil’ against Moses; spies ‘speak evil’ against the Land

Numbers 12 shows us the consequences of Miriam and Aaron’s jealously of God’s special relationship with Moses. Since they could not openly complained about God’s special treatment of Moses, they struck out against Moses’s by attacking his Cushite wife.

Numbers 13 shows us the story of the first spies who went out into the land of Israel to scout out the land. God told Moses to call out one leader from each tribe to be the spies of the land.

A bad report, a promise delayed

Instead of facing their fears about the “giants” in the Land, the spies ancient Israel sent into Canaan after the long journey from captivity in Mitsraim (Egypt) cowered and backed away and encouraged most of the people to do likewise. They lost their prize when they refused to walk forward where God told them to walk.

The same is true today: We will lose out on many blessings if we don’t move forward when God tells us to. When the Israelites doubted God’s word and refused to enter the Land, He took the blessing away from the majority of that generation of forever. They never entered into the promise. But for Caleb and Joshua, the promise was delayed to them for 40 years. Joshua and Caleb paid a price for the cowardice and unbelief of their peers.

Trusting in God and His apostles

The shockwave of Israel’s shrinking back from entering Canaan under the LORD’s protection reverberated for the next 40 years of wandering and throughout time. It’s all about trusting God when the task seems too big and the means so meager. This faith in God’s apostles — shelakhim, or “sent ones” — is crucial to entering God’s rest.

Numbers 14: 12 spies ‘bad’ and ‘faithful’ reports on the Land

Numbers 14: Bad report about Promised Land sparks rebellion

Numbers 15

Of tassels of blue, Sabbath reverence and offerings

After the accounts of rebellion and fear in trusting God’s leading into Canaan (Numbers 13–14), there’s this passage talking about types of offerings, tying blue-corded fringes on clothes and setting aside a memorial portion of each loaf, called challah. These may seem like grab-bag topics, but they all are connecting to a life of faith.

One law for Israelite and foreigner

There is a difference between sins done in ignorance vs. those done willfully. But there is no substantial difference between how the native Israelite and the sojourner are judged under God’s instructions and called to repent.

Tzitzitot a sign against rebellion; rebellions of ‘stick man,’ Korah and Reubenites

This section could be titled, “The Three Stories of Rebellion”: of a man collecting firewood on Shabbat, of Korah, of two families of the tribe of Reuben. God dealt with each rebellion in a different way. All imprinted in the minds of the people over and again God was the one in charge, and it was God’s prerogative to choose Moses and Aaron.