Tag: Numbers

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How Messiah makes the best-laid plans of snake and men go oft awry (Numbers 19–24)

How Messiah makes the best-laid plans of snake and men go oft awry (Numbers 19-24). Photorealistic image of a copper snake slithering across a leather surface.

In the Torah readings of חֻקַּת‎ Chukat (“statute of,” Numbers 19:1–22:1) and בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9), we see the mysterious instructions for the red heifer, Israel’s apostasy; judgment by “fiery” snakes then the brass serpent; and also a talking donkey. One may wonder why all of these are coming together.

One thread through it all is the downhill slide of the first generation of Israel post-Exodus as they are dying off and the second generation are ascending into leadership. Chukat and Balak cover nearly 40 years of time in the history of Israel between the Exodus from Mitzraim (Egypt) and her entry into the Promised Land.

How the snake relates to the donkey and the savior finds its fullness in the arrival of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ).

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Discussions Torah

When these men tried to tell God who was in charge, it didn’t go well (Numbers 16–18)

When these men tried to tell God who was in charge, it didn't go well (Numbers 16-18). Bearded man in a blue dress shirt wears a crown and looks up to the right quizzically.

The Torah reading קֹרַח Korakh/Korach (“Korah,” Numbers 16–18) presents us a difficult lesson in the dangers of democracy. As Americans, we pride ourselves on living in a country where all citizens who are age 18-plus are granted a vote in how our school boards, cities, counties, states and the nation itself are governed. 

Korach and those following him wanted to rule God’s house itself in a similar manner. Ambassadors and disciples of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) should carefully and humbly take to heart how God’s judgment utterly humiliated and destroyed Korach and his rebels.

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Discussions Torah

Num. 25:10–30:1: Zeal for God’s house consumed Pinchas, Eliyahu and Messiah Yeshua

Yeshua/Jesus cleanses the Temple of money changers and merchants. (Photo by LUMO project via Freebibleimages.org.)

I used to find Yeshua’s actions in clearing the Temple of commerce very odd and seemingly out of character compared to the common teaching that Yeshua was always “meek and mild.” But the Yeshua (Jesus) in Scripture often shows His zealous side, which matches very well with the zealousness of Pinchas and Eliyahu (Elijah) and even His cousin Yokhanan (John the Baptist). 

As we’ll see in this study of Torah reading פינחס Pinchas (“Phinehas,” Numbers 25:10–30:1), sages of Israel saw a thread of connection between Melchizedek, Pinchas and Eliyahu. And the author of Hebrews connected the same thread to Messiah Yeshua Himself.

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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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Numbers 19–21; 1Corinthians 15: Death is the enemy, so choose life!

The word calls us to choose death but God pleads with us to choose life. (Graphic created with wordclouds.com)

Death is out of place in the order God created. The biblical offering of the red heifer and the purification water made from its ashes are poured into were designed by God to be a physical cleanser and a spiritual cleanser. In the Torah reading חֻקַּת Chukat (Numbers 19-21), instructions are given for its use to remove any physical remnants of death that clings to a person who helped take care of the final rest for the dead, but it was also a spiritual cleanser used to clear away the spiritual stench of death.

Death cannot inhabit the realm of life. Even thought death is all around us, we don’t have to wallow in it. God gives us a message of life in a culture of death. A life that the Creator is looking to restore. That is the consistent message from Genesis to Revelation. 

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 30-36: We want Messiah to give us rest from our dumb oaths and vows

A picture postcard from 1908 with a humorous theme of women capturing prospective husbands during the leap year.

Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) emphasized that vows and oaths are not to be taken lightly (Matthew 5:33-37). Why then did the Holy One of Israel give instructions about vows and oaths? Part of it is our distance from the original language and meanings of these words. Another part is we aren’t seeing the lessons from Heaven in these instructions, namely, that just as the LORD promises to give a land of rest to Israel, so too, should those who make promises be as faithful to them.

The dual Torah reading מטות Matot (“tribes,” Numbers 30-32) and מסעי Massei/Mase’y (“journeys of,” Numbers 33-36) take us to the end of the 40 years of wandering judgment against the rebellious first generation post-Mitzraim (Egypt).

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 25:10-29:40: A ‘snake’ again becomes an icon of salvation

Snakes are cautious creatures but will strike with veracity if they feel threatened. Photo by Krys Squires/Freeimages.com under Creative Commons License

Serpents are quiet, cunning, quick to act when a threat is imminent. A serpent bought a curse on mankind (Genesis 3) and we now meet a “serpent” who boldly and decisively saved his people from those who would deceive them to destruction. Later, Eliyahu (Elijah) also learned that God’s preferred way to communicate with His people is not through thunder and lightning but a “still small voice.”

The Torah reading פינחס Pinchas (“Phinehas,” Numbers 25:10–29:40) starts with the culmination of the events in the prior portion (parashah). The culmination of Israel “playing the harlot” with idolatry ended when Pinchas (Phineas), Aaron’s grandson, speared a Shimonite chieftain and a Midianite chieftain’s daughter through with a spear. Both of them were mentioned by name so they were both people of reputation.

This event was so significant, it’s even spoken about in the book of Revelation (Jude 1:11; Revelation 2:14). We can miss the why if we don’t understand the why of the original event.