Netzarim, Original followers of Yeshua & His 12

Parasha 40: Balak

Parasha 40: Balak - Numbers 22:1 - 22:2 – 25:9; Haftarah reading: Micah 5:6 – 6:8. B'rit Hadasha suggested reading: 2 Peter 2:1-22; Jude: 11; Revelation 2:14-15.

Today's lesson: IT’S LONG BUT IT’S WORTH IT! Today's parashah was awesome because it showed that YHWH is in charge at ALL times, and how often mankind has allowed himself to be deceived by the enemy – even when they knew better….

Numbers 22 begins with the Israelites being in approximately their 38^th or 39^th year into the Exodus, with the people of Israel camping in the plains of Mo’av after taking over/destroying many cities in their paths whose leaders had forbidden them to pass through. The people of Mo’av including their king, Balak, were very afraid of the Israelites because YHWH had caused the Israelites to take over/destroy many pagan cities in order to be able to camp on their land. Therefore, King Balak (attempting to take matters into his own hands) sent messengers to Bil’am, a sorcerer/ false “prophet for hire” (Jude:11) to put a curse on the Israelites.

In brief, this Torah portions revealed the following: Bil'am, the sorcerer discovered the hard way that the people of YHWH could not be cursed from without; but the fact is, they definitely could bring a curse upon themselves by allowing themselves to be seduced by the carnal and/or sensual temptations of the culture that surrounded them.

The same thing holds true for us today. Just think how many enticing things are thrown into our paths on a daily basis: Sex, drugs, alcohol, gambling, credit cards with endless credit limits...the list goes on and on. But YHWH's people are told that, in order to belong to Him, they must be "set apart" - holy. And how can one be holy? By obeying His Torah!

Let's find out what happened when King Balak sought revenge on YHWH's people:

Numbers 22: 6 Therefore, please come, and curse this people for me, because they are stronger than I am. Maybe I will be able to strike them down and drive them out of the land, for I know that whomever you bless is in fact blessed, and whomever you curse is in fact cursed." 7 The leaders of Mo'av and Midyan left, taking with them the payment for divining, came to Bil'am and spoke to him the words of Balak.

YHWH intervened, however, by coming to Bil’am:

Numbers 22: 9 God came to Bil'am and said, "Who are these men with you?" 10 Bil'am said to God, "Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo'av, has sent me this message: 11 'The people who came out of Egypt have spread over the land; now, come and curse them for me; maybe I will be able to fight against them and drive them out.'" 12 God answered Bil'am, "You are not to go with them; you are not to curse the people, because they are blessed."

Neither Balak nor Bil’am were “good people” and it is interesting to see how YHWH turned their original plans against them:

True to his human nature, however, Balak refuses to back down, and insists that Bil’am do his bidding:

Numbers 22: 14 The princes of Mo'av got up, returned to Balak and said, "Bil'am refuses to come with us." 15 Balak again sent princes, more of them and of higher status than the first group. 16 They went to Bil'am and said to him, "Here is what Balak the son of Tzippor says: 'Please don't let anything keep you from coming to me. 17 I will reward you very well, and whatever you say to me I will do. So please come, and curse this people for me.'"

But the pagan Bil’am, having personally been granted the ability to hear YHWH’s Voice, refuses to give in to Balak’s demands:

Numbers 22: 18 Bil'am answered the servants of Balak, "Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of ADONAI my God to do anything, great or small. 19 Now, please, you too, stay here tonight; so that I may find out what else ADONAI will say to me." 20 God came to Bil'am during the night and said to him, "If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell you." 21 So Bil'am got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Mo'av. 22 But God's anger flared up because he went, and the angel of ADONAI stationed himself on the path to bar his way.

While it is confusing as to why YHWH’s anger flared up when Bil’am clearly obeyed His command to go with the princes of Mo’av, reading “between the lines” it seems that YHWH was actually angry over the entire situation and the idea that He was basically being forced to intervene in the scheme to curse His People (because he knew Bil’am’s heart and knew that Bil’am, left to his own devices, would oppose him in a heartbeat; YHWH was only using for His own purposes). Now watch what happens next when YHWH enables a donkey to teach Bil’am a lesson:

Numbers 22: 22 He (Bil’am) was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 The donkey saw the angel of ADONAI standing on the road, drawn sword in hand; so the donkey turned off the road into the field; and Bil'am had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road. 24 Then the angel of ADONAI stood on the road where it became narrow as it passed among the vineyards and had stone walls on both sides. 25 The donkey saw the angel of ADONAI and pushed up against the wall, crushing Bil'am's foot against the wall. So he beat it again.

26 The angel of ADONAI moved ahead and stood in a place so tight that there was no room to turn either right or left. 27 Again the donkey saw the angel of ADONAI and lay down under Bil'am, which made him so angry that he hit the donkey with his stick. 28 But ADONAI enabled the donkey to speak, and it said to Bil'am, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" 29 Bil'am said to the donkey, "It's because you've been making a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand; I would kill you on the spot!" 30 The donkey said to Bil'am, "I'm your donkey, right? You've ridden me all your life, right? Have I ever treated you like this before?""No," he admitted.

31 Then ADONAI opened Bil'am's eyes, so that he could see the angel of ADONAI standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed his head and fell on his face. 32 The angel of ADONAI said to him, "Why did you hit your donkey three times like that? I have come out here to bar your way, because you are rushing to oppose me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside these three times; and indeed, if she hadn't turned away from me, I would have killed you by now and saved it alive!" 34 Bil'am said to the angel of ADONAI, "I have sinned. I didn't know that you were standing on the road to block me. Now, therefore, if what I am doing displeases you, I will go back."

35 But the angel of ADONAI said to Bil'am, "No, go on with the men; but you are to say only what I tell you to say." So Bil'am went along with the princes of Balak. 36 When Balak heard that Bil'am had come, he went out to meet him in the city of Mo'av at the Arnon border, in the farthest reaches of the territory. 37 Balak said to Bil'am, "I sent more than once to summon you! Why didn't you come to me? Did you think I couldn't pay you enough?" 38 Bil'am replied to Balak, "Here, I've come to you! But I have no power of my own to say anything. The word that God puts in my mouth is what I will say."

If you read Numbers 23 you can see the awesome Power of YHWH at work as He forces into the opposite direction the whole scheme to curse Israel! This chapter shows that, as a nation, the Israelites are of YHWH, for YHWH and obedient to YHWH – regardless of their occasional carnality and human natures. They are blessed, yet the world – then and today – was and is completely blind to how blessed they actually are and what it truly means to “be blessed” by YHWH! Instead of realizing how special the Israelites are to YHWH (and specifically, "the Jews" who were commissioned to bring Torah to the world - Genesis 49:10, Micah 4:2), “the world” despises them to this day….

Please note that in Numbers 24, YHWH has given the pagan Bil’am a prophecy about Yeshua!

Numbers 24: 17 "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not soon -a star will step forth from Ya'akov, a scepter will arise from Isra'el, to crush the corners of Mo'av and destroy all descendants of Shet. 18 His enemies will be his possessions -Edom and Se'ir, possessions. Isra'el will do valiantly, 19 From Ya'akov will come someone who will rule, and he will destroy what is left of the city."

Numbers 24: 25 Then Bil’am got up, left and returned to his home; and Balak too went his way.

Now watch what happens at the end of this parasha with the “next generation” of the Israelites during the final days of the Exodus toward the Promised Land:

Numbers 25: 1 Isra'el stayed at Sheetim, and there the people began whoring with the women of Mo'av. 2 These women invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, where the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 With Isra'el thus joined to Ba'al-P'or, the anger of ADONAI blazed up against Isra'el. 4 ADONAI said to Moshe, "Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them facing the sun before ADONAI, so that the raging fury of ADONAI will turn away from Isra'el." 5 Moshe said to the judges of Isra'el, "Each of you is to put to death those in his tribe who have joined themselves to Ba'al-P'or."

6 Just then, in the sight of Moshe and the whole community of Isra'el, as they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting, a man from Isra'el came by, bringing to his family a woman from Midyan. 7 When Pinchas the son of El'azar, the son of Aharon the cohen, saw it, he got up from the middle of the crowd, took a spear in his hand, 8 and pursued the man from Isra'el right into the inner part of the tent, where he thrust his spear through both of them -the man from Isra'el and the woman through her stomach. Thus was the plague among the people of Isra'el stopped; 9 nevertheless, 24,000 died in the plague.

After being guided and supernaturally fed and clothed for almost 40 years by YHWH Himself, many people of this new generation began rebelling by “whoring” with pagan women! (Similar to what's happening among God's people today!) And once again YHWH showed them exactly who was in charge….

I took the liberty of reading part of next week’s parasha which revealed that the man and woman who were killed in Numbers 25:8 were children of the leaders of Midiyan clans:

Numbers 25: 14 The name of the man from Isra'el who was killed, put to death with the woman from Midyan, was Zimri the son of Salu, leader of one of the clans from the tribe of Shim'on. 15 The name of the woman from Midyan who was killed was Kozbi the daughter of Tzur, and he was head of the people in one of the clans of Midyan. 16 ADONAI said to Moshe, 17 "Treat the Midyanim as enemies and attack them; 18 because they are treating you as enemies by the trickery they used to deceive you in the P'or incident and in the affair of their sister Kozbi, the daughter of the leader from Midyan, the woman who was killed on the day of the plague in the P'or incident."

I’m posting today’s Haftarah and B’rit Chadashah portions because their messages are excruciatingly powerful and provide a warning to all to “get right with God or else!” I’m not going to highlight any portions because the entire message is important and I ask that you would read and study them all the way through:

Micah 5: 7 Then the remnant of Ya'akov, surrounded by many peoples, will be like dew from ADONAI, like showers on the grass, which doesn't wait for a man or expect anything from mortals. 8 The remnant of Ya'akov among the nations, surrounded by many peoples, will be like a lion among forest animals, like a young lion among flocks of sheep - if it passes through, tramples and tears to pieces, there is no one to rescue them. 9 Your hand will be raised over your enemies; all your adversaries will be destroyed.

Micah 6: 6 "With what can I come before ADONAI to bow down before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings? with calves in their first year? 7 Would ADONAI take delight in thousands of rams with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Could I give my firstborn to pay for my crimes, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" 8 Human being, you have already been told what is good, what ADONAI demands of you - no more than to act justly, love grace and walk in purity with your God.

We all need to continuously ask ourselves: "With what can I come before YHWH to bow down before God on high?" Christians take this to mean Torah is useless, but that is not the case because, as verse 8 shows, we have already been told what is good and what YHWH demands of us! And what is that? "...No more than to act justly, love grace and walk in purity with your God."

This begs the question: How does one “walk in purity with God” unless they are obeying Torah? Without Torah we would have NO blueprint for moral, holy living (1 John 3:4)!

Moving on, we see what happens to those who ignore God - back then and right now, today:

2 Peter 2: 1 But among the people there were also false prophets, just as there will be false teachers among you. Under false pretenses they will introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and thus bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 Many will follow their debaucheries; and because of them, the true Way will be maligned. 3 In their greed they will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their punishment, decreed long ago, is not idle; their destruction is not asleep!

4 For God did not spare the angels who sinned; on the contrary, he put them in gloomy dungeons lower than Sh'ol to be held for judgment. 5 And he did not spare the ancient world; on the contrary, he preserved Noach, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, and brought the Flood upon a world of ungodly people. 6 And he condemned the cities of S'dom and 'Amora, reducing them to ashes and ruin, as a warning to those in the future who would live ungodly lives; 7 but he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was distressed by the debauchery of those unprincipled people; 8 for the wicked deeds which that righteous man saw and heard, as he lived among them, tormented his righteous heart day after day.

9 So the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and how to hold the wicked until the Day of Judgment while continuing to punish them, 10 especially those who follow their old natures in lust for filth and who despise authority. Presumptuous and self-willed, these false teachers do not tremble at insulting angelic beings; 11 whereas angels, though stronger and more powerful, do not bring before the Lord an insulting charge against them.

12 But these people, acting without thinking, like animals without reason, born to be captured and destroyed, insult things about which they have no knowledge. When they are destroyed, their destruction will be total - 13 they will be paid back harm as wages for the harm they are doing. Their idea of pleasure is carousing in broad daylight; they are spots and defects reveling in their deceptions as they share meals with you - 14 for they have eyes always on the lookout for a woman who will commit adultery, eyes that never stop sinning; and they have a heart that has exercised itself in greed; so that they seduce unstable people. What a cursed brood!

15 These people have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Bil'am Ben-B'or, who loved the wages of doing harm 16 but was rebuked for his sin - a dumb beast of burden spoke out with a human voice and restrained the prophet's insanity! 17 Waterless springs they are, mists driven by a gust of wind; for them has been reserved the blackest darkness. 18 Mouthing grandiosities of nothingness, they play on the desires of the old nature, in order to seduce with debaucheries people who have just begun to escape from those whose way of life is wrong.

19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for a person is slave to whatever has defeated him. 20 Indeed, if they have once escaped the pollutions of the world through knowing our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah, and then have again become entangled and defeated by them, their latter condition has become worse than their former.

21 It would have been better for them not to have known the Way of righteousness than, fully knowing, to turn from the holy command delivered to them. 22 What has happened to them accords with the true proverb, "A dog returns to its own vomit." Yes, "The pig washed itself, only to wallow in the mud!"

The message in the passages above could not be any clearer: Our sin natures will always win out if we don't take care to keep our eyes on YHWH! Torah teaches us how to be holy. The choice, however, is up to us....

As you could clearly tell, today’s Torah portion revealed that YHWH has a definite plan for His People, and He will allow NOTHING to get in the way of that. It’s too bad the world doesn’t yet realize this.

But they soon will….

Thank you for reading our Torah study notes for this week, and I pray for you a blessed week ahead, that may you ever grow in your knowledge of YHWH.

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