Netzarim, Original followers of Yeshua & His 12

The Parsha this week!

TODAY'S SHABBAT LESSON:

Parashah 36: B'ha'alotkha (When you set up) Numbers 8:1 - 12:16; Haftarah reading: Zecheriah 2:14 - 4:7. B'rit Hadasha suggested reading: John 19:31-37; Hebrews 3:1-6; Hebrews 4:1-16.

Today's lesson was twofold: It was a lesson about the repercussions of gossip; and what it means to "be chosen": We begin in Numbers 8 where we discover that the Levi'im (Levites) were to be a "wave offering" before YHWH. The "wave offering" is an act of consecration. What is "waved" is a representative of the consecrated. Typically we see a wave offing being given for a priest or the people for acceptance by YHWH. (See Exodus 29:22-28, Lev 7:29-35, and Leviticus 23:10-12 for examples.)

In all cases we find that in the wave offering, that which was being offered was typically lifted and moved left and right or swung or "waved" first to YHWH and then to the priest. Using Exodus 29:24-27 as an example, that which is to be waved is placed in the hands of the offerer; Moshe, as priest, does the waving by guiding the hands of the offerer. Then the wave offering is received back by Moshe to be burnt on the altar. Then the second wave offering, that of the sacrifice, is also received back by Moshe for "his portion"- that is, for his food. This is the commonality regarding the wave offering: It is lifted up and presented to YHWH, but then waved back toward the priests and given back to them for their use in doing YHWH's work.

So in Numbers 8:10-22, the Levites are presented as a "wave offering" and encompass the same underlying meaning: 1) The Levites represent the first fruits (first born) or the sacrifice for the people; 2) The people "lay hands" on the Levites - in effect "lifting them up" to YHWH; 3) YHWH explains in verses 14-19 that He has chosen the Levites for Himself; 4) Then the "wave offering", i.e., the Levites, are "given back" to Aharon and the people to do the work of the people and make atonement for them (verse 19).

Of course, the Levites weren't literally "waved" as would have been a grain or sacrifice wave offering, but they were "waved" in the full intent and purpose of the wave offering to be presented to YHWH, and then returned to the consecrated for their "portion."

In 9:12, YHWH we learn the importance of YHWH's Pesach (Passover). It's so important to Him that He commands ALL who have chosen Him as their God to keep the Pesach, including the foreigner (anyone who did not belong to the House of Israel or Judah)!

Numbers 9: If a foreigner is staying with you and wants to observe Pesach for ADONAI, he is to do it according to the regulations and rules of Pesach - you are to have the same law for the foreigner as for the citizen of the land.'"

Christianity teaches the commanded Biblical Feasts were abolished at the cross. BIG MISTAKE! There was no time limit on our "dates" with YHWH as certain laws have "forever" or "this is a permanent regulation" attached to them; the Seventh Day Sabbath and all the Feasts do! Please see http://therefinersfire.org/feasts3.htm and http://therefinersfire.org/jewish_holidays1.htm

An example of one such Christian is a Pentecost pastor from N. Carolina with whom I used to communicate for a couple of years who used to love to talk about the fact that he had a Jewish heritage. I witnessed constantly during that time, yet he never once bothered to keep the Seventh Sabbath or any of the Feasts in his own home. Part of his explanation follows:

In regards, to Passover, if I told them that would have to rid their homes of all the loaves of bread and bags of flour and meal they had for 8 days, they would think I was crazy. In spite of the fact that I would explain to them that the leaven in these represents sin and we should do all that is in our power to rid our lives of sin. I would lose them and that is the last thing I would want to do. My wife and son, at this point, would not understand it.

In other words, "I don't consider the Word of God important enough to act like a REAL servant of YHWH and lead my family and my congregation out of their comfort zones so that we may ALL begin to obey the Word...." Unfortunately, many Christians who discover that Torah was never abolished also make excuses for NOT obeying it, which is a real shame because - as revealed throughout the entire Torah - YHWH is very adamant about obedience! If we do NOT obey Him, whom are we really serving? Why are we even bothering? Take a look at the following passage that reveals that YHWH, not man, was always in charge:

Numbers 9: 15 On the day the tabernacle was put up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, that is, the tent of the testimony; and in the evening, over the tabernacle was what appeared to be fire, which remained until morning. 16 So the cloud always covered it, and it looked like fire at night. 17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tent, the people of Isra'el continued their travels; and they camped wherever the cloud stopped.

18 At the order of ADONAI, the people of Isra'el traveled; at the order of ADONAI, they camped; and as long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they stayed in camp. 19 Even when the cloud remained on the tabernacle for a long time, the people of Isra'el did what ADONAI had charged them to do and did not travel. 20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle; according to ADONAI's order, they remained in camp; and according to ADONAI's order, they traveled.

21 Sometimes the cloud was there only from evening until morning; so that when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they traveled. Or even if it continued up both day and night, when the cloud was up, they traveled. 22 Whether it was two days, a month or a year that the cloud remained over the tabernacle, staying on it, the people of Isra'el remained in camp and did not travel; but as soon as it was taken up, they traveled. 23 At ADONAI's order, they camped; and at ADONAI's order, they traveled -they did what ADONAI had charged them to do through Moshe.

They traveled when HE SAID to travel; and they camped when HE SAID to camp. It wasn't "their" choice to make! And just think what a HUGE ordeal it was for these huge numbers to move "by company"!

In Numbers 10:8, we discover there were myriad priestly rules and regulations. Note that it was a permanent regulation for the sons of Aaron to sound the trumpets. Not everything YHWH ever said was a "permanent regulation." Some rules for only a one-time thing, others were for a particular point in time; and some had "forever" or "permanent regulation" attached to them.

In Numbers 11, we begin to see YHWH's people whine and complain (how very human!) over their hardships (note how "the mixed crowd" - the Gentiles - influenced YHWH's people...and they're still doing it TODAY!):

Numbers 11: 1 But the people began complaining about their hardships to ADONAI. When ADONAI heard it, his anger flared up, so that fire from ADONAI broke out against them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried to Moshe, Moshe prayed to ADONAI, and the fire abated. 3 That place was called Tav'erah [burning] because ADONAI's fire broke out against them. 4 Next, the mixed crowd that was with them grew greedy for an easier life; while the people of Isra'el, for their part, also renewed their weeping and said, "If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt - it cost us nothing! -and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, the garlic! 6 But now we're withering away, we have nothing to look at but this man." 7 The man (manna), by the way, was like coriander seed and white like gum resin. 8 The people would go around gathering it and would grind it up in mills or pound it to paste with mortar and pestle. Then they would cook it in pots and make it into loaves that tasted like cakes baked with olive oil. 9 When the dew settled on the camp during the night, the man came with it.

In 11:18-21 Moshe cries out to YHWH because of the heavy burden upon his own shoulders:

Numbers 11: 10 Moshe heard the people crying, family after family, each person at the entrance to his tent; the anger of ADONAI flared up violently; and Moshe too was displeased. 11 Moshe asked ADONAI, "Why are you treating your servant so badly? Why haven't I found favor in your sight, so that you put the burden of this entire people on me? 12 Did I conceive this people? Was I their father, so that you tell me, 'Carry them in your arms, like a nurse carrying a baby, to the land you swore to their ancestors?' 13 Where am I going to get meat to give to this entire people? - because they keep bothering me with their crying and saying, 'Give us meat to eat!' 14 I can't carry this entire people by myself alone - it's too much for me! 15 If you are going to treat me this way, then just kill me outright! - please, if you have any mercy toward me! -and don't let me go on being this miserable!"

YHWH recognizes the burden on Moshe and suggests the following - but does not hide His anger towards the people:

Numbers 11: 16 ADONAI said to Moshe, "Bring me seventy of the leaders of Isra'el, people you recognize as leaders of the people and officers of theirs. Bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit which rests on you and put it on them. Then they will carry the burden of the people along with you, so that you won't carry it yourself alone.

This tells me a couple of things: (1) Moshe must have known by name the entire community of Israel in order to pick out 70 people who trusted to be leaders. (2) YHWH recognized that one person couldn't possibly handle the huge throngs of people by himself anymore, and so he instituted a hierarchy of leaders.

YHWH was also very angry about the constant whining of His people:

Numbers 11: 18 "Tell the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat; because you cried in the ears of ADONAI, "If only we had meat to eat! We had the good life in Egypt!" All right, ADONAI is going to give you meat, and you will eat it. 19 You won't eat it just one day, or two days, or five, or ten, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month! -until it comes out of your nose and you hate it! -because you have rejected ADONAI, who is here with you, and distressed him with your crying and asking, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"'"

Isn't that just like a parent? "You wanna bug me about candy morning, noon and night? Fine! I'll give you candy until you throw up!"

Although this seems humorous, the reality was, it was VERY serious because the primary problem YHWH was addressing was that the people were guilty of Lashon Hara or L’shon HaRa (evil tongue), which includes but is not limited to:

· Speaking words of gossip.

· Making accusations concerning another (outside the context of Torah-ordained proceedings designed to bring about justice in the community).

· Moralizing about someone else’s behavior or appearance.

· Ridiculing another.

· Sarcastic criticism of another.

· Name calling.

· Character assassination.

· Complaining about (or coveting out loud) another person’s wealth.

· Complaining about one’s own circumstances or relationships.

· Judging others.

· Making unfavorable comparisons (i.e., concerning children, or leaders, etc).

· Blasphemy.

Moving on:

Numbers 11: 21 But Moshe said, "Here I am with six hundred thousand men on foot, and yet you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!' 22 If whole flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would it be enough? If all the fish in the sea were collected for them, would even that be enough?" 23 ADONAI answered Moshe, "Has ADONAI's arm grown short? Now you will see whether what I said will happen or not!"

24 Moshe went out and told the people what ADONAI had said. Then he collected seventy of the leaders of the people and placed them all around the tent. 25 ADONAI came down in the cloud, spoke to him, took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy leaders. When the Spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied -then but not afterwards. 26 There were two men who stayed in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad, and the Spirit came to rest on them. They were among those listed to go out to the tent, but they hadn't done so, and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moshe, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!" 28 Y'hoshua, the son of Nun, who from his youth up had been Moshe's assistant, answered, "My lord, Moshe, stop them!"

29 But Moshe replied, "Are you so zealous to protect me? I wish all of ADONAI's people were prophets! I wish ADONAI would put his Spirit on all of them!" 30 Moshe and the leaders of Isra'el went back into the camp; 31 and ADONAI sent out a wind which brought quails from across the sea and let them fall near the camp, about a day's trip away on each side of the camp and all around it, covering the ground to a depth of three feet. 32 The people stayed up all that day, all night and all the next day gathering the quails - the person gathering the least collected ten heaps; then they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still in their mouth, before they had chewed it up, the anger of ADONAI flared up against the people, and ADONAI struck the people with a terrible plague.

Here we see that YHWH chooses whom He will to carry His Spirit! In other words, we can't just declare, "I believe in God and therefore I have the Spirit." The church (and many Messianic synagogues) contains hypocrites who know ABOUT God and the Bible but their heads and their hearts have never connected, and so they move from church to church until they find some ear-tickling preacher, and there they sit every Sunday, warming the pews without ever growing or getting any real biblical "meat", and then they go home and don't crack their Bibles again until next Sunday when the pastor (or rabbi) tells them to turn to a certain passage.

These people might appear to be "religious" or "pious" but their hearts are far from Him! They are the ones who will be very surprised when the "rapture" happens and they weren't included! Why should Yeshua (who said He would spit/vomit the "lukewarm out of His mouth" - Rev. 3:16) want them to help Him "rule and reign" in the Millennium? Do they deserve to teach and help rule and reign those who are alive in the Millennium (Rev. 20:4)?

In Numbers 12, we begin to see how dangerous it is to speak against YHWH's "Chosen" or to commit what was discussed above, Lashon Hara! Just watch what happened to Moshe's sister Miryam after she committed "evil tongue" - In the following passages Aharon and Miryam started badmouthing YHWH's relationship with Moshe, it seems, mainly out of jealousy. At that point, YHWH Himself came down in a cloud to reprimand them, and then He gave Miryam leprosy:

Numbers 12: 1 Miryam and Aharon began criticizing Moshe on account of the Ethiopian woman he had married, for he had in fact married an Ethiopian woman. 2 They said, "Is it true that ADONAI has spoken only with Moshe? Hasn't he spoken with us too?" ADONAI heard them. 3 Now this man Moshe was very humble, more so than anyone on earth. 4 Suddenly ADONAI told Moshe, Aharon and Miryam, "Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting." The three of them went out. 5 ADONAI came down in a column of cloud and stood at the entrance to the tent. He summoned Aharon and Miryam, and they both went forward.

6 He said, "Listen to what I say: when there is a prophet among you, I, ADONAI, make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. 7 But it isn't that way with my servant Moshe. He is the only one who is faithful in my entire household. 8 With him I speak face to face and clearly, not in riddles; he sees the image of ADONAI. So why weren't you afraid to criticize my servant Moshe?" 9 The anger of ADONAI flared up against them, and he left. 10 But when the cloud was removed from above the tent, Miryam had tzara'at, as white as snow. Aharon looked at Miryam, and she was as white as snow.

11 Aharon said to Moshe, "Oh, my lord, please don't punish us for this sin we committed so foolishly. 12 Please don't let her be like a stillborn baby, with its body half eaten away when it comes out of its mother's womb!" 13 Moshe cried to ADONAI, "Oh God, I beg you, please, heal her!" 14 ADONAI answered Moshe, "If her father had merely spit in her face, wouldn't she hide herself in shame for seven days? So let her be shut out of the camp for seven days; after that, she can be brought back in." 15 Miryam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not travel until she was brought back in.

My goodness - Did you feel how serious Lashon Hara is? The effect was both debilitating and humiliating to Myriam - the woman who had led worship at the Sea of Reeds now couldn’t even hold a tambourine, much less even think of beating one against her shriveled hand, hip or leg. She couldn't dance or sing or prophesy.... One by one, her gifts and anointings were all disabled. All because she had opened her mouth to speak against Moshe!

The good thing was, YHWH is merciful and Torah is not about judgment – it is about restoration and redemption. And so, while we need to understand and remember what YHWH did to Miryam, we are neither to judge, or ridicule, or pity her for it, or take up an offence against her or for her. We are to take the lesson she learned to heart, as if it had happened to us!

Through these passages, we are to realize the seriousness of gossip of any kind!

These lessons are echoed in both Hebrews 3 and 4:

Hebrews 3: 1. Wherefore, my Set Apart Brothers who are called with a calling that is from heaven, consider this Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Y’shua the Mashiyach: 2. who was faithful to him that made him, as was Moshe in all his house. 3. For much greater is the glory of this man, than that of Moshe; just as the glory of the builder of a house, is greater than that of the structure. 4. For every house is built by some man; but he who builds all things is Elohim. 5. And Moshe, as a servant, was faithful in all the house, for an attestation to those things that were to be spoken by him: 6. but the Mashiyach as the Son, (is) over his own house; and we are his house, if we retain to the end confidence, and the victory of hope in him.

7. Because the Ruach haKodesh has said: Today, if you will hear his voice, 8. and do not harden your hearts to bring him to wrath, like those who provoke, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness, 9. when your fathers tried my patience, and proved, (and) saw my works forty years. 10. Therefore I was disgusted with that generation, and said: This is a people, whose heart has strayed, and they have not known my ways: 11. so that I swore in my anger, that they should not enter into my rest. 12. Beware, therefore, my Brothers, so that there will not be in any of you an evil heart that does not believe, and you depart from the living Elohim. 13. But look deeply into yourselves all the days, during the day which is called today; and let none of you be hardened, through the deceitfulness of sin.

14. For we have part with the Mashiyach, if we endure in this firm confidence, from the beginning to the end: 15 as it is said, Today, if you will hear his voice, and do not harden your hearts, to anger him. 16. But who were they that heard, and angered him? It was not all they, who came out of Egypt under Moshe. 17. And with whom was he disgusted forty years, but with those who sinned, and whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18. and of whom swore he, that they should not enter into his rest, but of those who did not believe? 19. So we see that they could not enter, because they did not believe. (AENT)

Hebrews 4: 1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' " And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world.

4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." 5 And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest." 6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

I'm going to end today's lesson with something the Ruach recently reminded me of, which is that very few people are truly interested enough in YHWH and His Word to learn and grow. This was echoed in today's Haftarah portion:

Zecheriah 4: Then he answered me, "This is the word of ADONAI to Z'rubavel: 'Not by force, and not by power, but by my Spirit,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.

In other words, you cannot FORCE the Word of YHWH on anyone (see Matthew 7:13). All you can do is to present it and let Him do the rest!

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.

There is so much more that could be said about today's study, and I wholeheartedly urge you to read the cited scriptures through, if you haven't already done so. If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to write! Thank you for reading my 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. And, as always, please let me know if you ever see anything in my newsletters that sounds "off the mark"! Nobody has the market cornered on absolute Truth; we are all learning and obeying to the best of our abilities....