Netzarim, Original followers of Yeshua & His 12

Parashah 37: Shlach L'kha

Parashah 37: Shlach L'kha (Send on your behalf) Numbers 13:1 - 15:41; Haftarah reading: Joshua 2:1-24. B'rit Hadasha suggested reading: Hebrews 3:7-19.

Today's lesson: Before we begin our weekly Torah studies, my husband Bill always says a prayer that ends with "Blessed are you YHWH, King of the universe, who chose us from all nations and gave us the Torah." Today, Bill noted that nowhere will we find a prayer that ends with, "Blessed are you YHWH, King of the universe, who chose us from all nations and took the Torah back after giving us His Messiah...." So many people simply cannot grasp that Torah is YHWH's permanent Divine Instructions to mankind, without which we would have NO blueprint for moral, holy living! How we pray more Christians will come to know the beauty of Torah!

In today's Torah portion we get to find out why the Israelites ended up in the desert for 40 years!

Beginning in Numbers 13:1, we see that YHWH, recognizing that Moshe couldn't possibly do everything himself, ordered Moshe to "send men on your behalf to reconnoiter the land of Kena'an,which I am giving to the people of Isra'el. From each ancestral Tribe send someone who is the leader of his tribe."

These leaders then went to check out the land, knowing full well that YHWH had already promised it to them! But rather than trusting that YHWH was going to keep His promise and help them conquer the land, they came back full of fear about the huge, fierce Nephillim (please see http://www.therefinersfire.org/nephilim.htm) who lived there. All but Kalev/Caleb and Y'Hoshua/Joshua voiced their fear and reported their opinions (sounds much like today's politicians who operate completely without God) thus sending the entire community of Isra'el into dismay.

Numbers 13: 25 Forty days later, they returned from reconnoitering the land 26 and went to Moshe, Aharon and the entire community of the people of Isra'el at Kadesh in the Pa'ran Desert, where they brought back word to them and to the entire community and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 What they told him was this: "We entered the land where you sent us, and indeed it does flow with milk and honey - here is its fruit! 28 However the people living in the land are fierce, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the 'Anakim there. 29 'Amalek lives in the area of the Negev; the Hitti, the Y'vusi and the Emori live in the hills; and the Kena'ani live by the sea and alongside the Yarden."

30 Kalev silenced the people around Moshe and said, "We ought to go up immediately and take possession of it; there is no question that we can conquer it." 31 But the men who had gone with him said, "We can't attack those people, because they are stronger than we are"; 32 and they spread a negative report about the land they had reconnoitered for the people of Isra'el by saying, "The land we passed through in order to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw there were giant! 33 We saw the N'filim, the descendants of 'Anak, who was from the N'filim; to ourselves we looked like grasshoppers by comparison, and we looked that way to them too!"

Numbers 14: 1 At this all the people of Isra'el cried out in dismay and wept all night long. 2 Moreover, all the people of Isra'el began grumbling against Moshe and Aharon; the whole community told them, "We wish we had died in the land of Egypt! or that we had died here in the desert! 3 Why is ADONAI bringing us to this land, where we will die by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be taken as booty! Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?" 4 And they said to each other, "Let's appoint a leader and return to Egypt!"

And so, naturally, YHWH once again becomes angry with his people:

Numbers 14: 10 But just as the whole community were saying they should be stoned to death, the glory of ADONAI appeared in the tent of meeting to all the people of Isra'el. 11 ADONAI said to Moshe, "How much longer is this people going to treat me with contempt? How much longer will they not trust me, especially considering all the signs I have performed among them? 12 I am going to strike them with sickness, destroy them and make from you a nation greater and stronger than they are!"

And, as usual, Moshe interceded on their behalf (see Numbers 14: 13-19)....

Today Yeshua is our Intercessor! Back in pre-Yeshua times, YHWH provided intercessors on behalf of men. Millions of innocent animals were slaughtered as sin sacrifices. Then Yeshua came and martyred Himself on our behalf, asking forgiveness for ALL mankind (Luke 23:34, Galatians 1:4, 1 John 2:2), thus making it easy for everyone to obtain eternal life. Halleluyah! Thank You, YHWH, for sending us your Divine SON!

Before we continue, I'd like to point out that at the beginning of today's Parasha, YHWH's people were camped in the Paran Desert (see Numbers 13:3 and 26), a place that was first mentioned in Genesis 21:20-21...that barren area between Be'er-Sheva and Egypt where Hagar and her son Ishmael settled after being cast out of Avraham's camp! Ishmael, if you'll remember is Isaac's half-brother; the guy who is the forefather of the Arabs, most of whom are Muslim today....

Ishmael was described as "a great donkey of a man", someone who was/would be constantly at war with everyone, living in hostility towards all his brothers (Genesis 16:12). Doesn't this sound like the entire world today, those without Torah? Isn't it ironic that YHWH would send His people to camp in the Paran area, a place that contains the "spirit of Ishmael"; someone who was an angry "hot-head" and harbored self-righteousness and entitlement? Someone who was argumentative, irreverent and combative? Someone who chose a foreign land and foreign ways over those of YHWH?

Moving on, we now discover why the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years:

Numbers 14: 20 ADONAI answered, "I have forgiven, as you have asked. 21 But as sure as I live, and that the whole earth is filled with the glory of ADONAI, 22 none of the people who saw my glory and the signs I did in Egypt and in the desert, yet tested me these ten times and did not listen to my voice, 23 will see the land I swore to their ancestors! None of those who treated me with contempt will see it. 24 But my servant Kalev, because he had a different Spirit with him and has fully followed me - him I will bring into the land he entered, and it will belong to his descendants.

Numbers 14: 26 ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon, 27 "How long am I to put up with this evil community who keep grumbling about me? I have heard the complaints of the people of Isra'el, which they continue to raise against me. 28 Tell them this: 'As surely as I live, ADONAI swears, as surely as you have spoken in my ears, I will do this to you: 29 your carcasses will fall in this desert! Every single one of you who were included in the census over the age of twenty, you who have complained against me, 30 will certainly not enter the land about which I raised my hand to swear that I would have you live in it - except for Kalev the son of Y'funeh and Y'hoshua the son of Nun.

31 But your little ones, who you said would be taken as booty - them I will bring in. They will know the land you have rejected. 32 But you, your carcasses will fall in this desert; 33 and your children will wander about in the desert for forty years bearing the consequences of your prostitutions until the desert eats up your carcasses. 34 It will be a year for every day you spent reconnoitering the land that you will bear the consequences of your offenses - forty days, forty years. Then you will know what it means to oppose me! 35 I, ADONAI, have spoken.' I will certainly do this to this whole evil community who have assembled together against me - they will be destroyed in this desert and die there."

Please re-read verses 32-34 again because here we see that YHWH does NOT play around when it comes to His Word! Had YHWH's people simply OBEYED instead of sitting around grumbling, they would NOT have had to spend 40 years in the desert waiting around for the "grumblers" to die off!

So many people today have decided they have the right to interpret the Word any which way they choose, to the point where some have downright twisted it into oblivion. Not long ago someone wrote to argue with me that "we all worship the same God." How anybody can decide that is beyond me, because the god of the Muslims doesn't have a Son who came to offer Himself as our Final Sin Sacrifice so that mankind could have "easy access" to heaven! And, how can "Jesus and satan be brothers" as the Mormons insist? And where in the Scriptures do we ever see that Mary is to be basically idolized and "prayed to"? I could go on, but you get the drift....

Let's veer from our study for just a moment to figure out exactly what those "ten times" (Numbers 14:22) were that the Israelites "tested" YHWH. (You probably overlooked that, didn't you? But this is a very interesting tidbit to know):

1. Lacking trust when at the Red Sea.

Exodus 14: 10 As Pharaoh approached, the people of Isra'el looked up and saw the Egyptians right there, coming after them. In great fear the people of Isra'el cried out to ADONAI 11 and said to Moshe, "Was it because there weren't enough graves in Egypt that you brought us out to die in the desert? Why have you done this to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we tell you in Egypt to let us alone, we'll just go on being slaves for the Egyptians? It would be better for us to be the Egyptians' slaves than to die in the desert!" 13 Moshe answered the people, "Stop being so fearful! Remain steady, and you will see how ADONAI is going to save you. He will do it today - today you have seen the Egyptians, but you will never see them again!

2. Complaining about the bitter water at Marah.

Exodus 15: 23 They arrived at Marah but couldn't drink the water there, because it was bitter. This is why they called it Marah [bitterness]. 24 The people grumbled against Moshe and asked, "What are we to drink?"

3. Complaining of the lack of food in the Desert of Seen.

Exodus 16: 1 They traveled on from Eilim, and the whole community of the people of Isra'el arrived at the Seen Desert, between Eilim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving the land of Egypt. 2 There in the desert the whole community of the people of Isra'el grumbled against Moshe and Aharon. 3 The people of Isra'el said to them, "We wish ADONAI had used his own hand to kill us off in Egypt! There we used to sit around the pots with the meat boiling, and we had as much food as we wanted. But you have taken us out into this desert to let this whole assembly starve to death!"

4. Failing to trust that the next-day's manna would be there and keeping leftovers overnight.

Exodus 16: 19 Moshe told them, "No one is to leave any of it till morning." 20 But they didn't pay attention to Moshe, and some kept the leftovers until morning. It bred worms and rotted, which made Moshe angry at them. 21 So they gathered it morning after morning, each person according to his appetite; but as the sun grew hot, it melted.

5. Collecting Manna on the Sabbath.

Exodus 16: 26 Gather it six days, but the seventh day is the Shabbat - on that day there won't be any." 27 However, on the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather and found none. 28 ADONAI said to Moshe, "How long will you refuse to observe my mitzvot and teachings?

6. Complaining over lack of water at Rephidim.

Exodus 17: 1 The whole community of the people of Isra'el left the Seen Desert, traveling in stages, as ADONAI had ordered, and camped at Refidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people quarreled with Moshe, demanding, "Give us water to drink!" But Moshe replied, "Why pick a fight with me? Why are you testing ADONAI?" 3 However, the people were thirsty for water there and grumbled against Moshe, "For what did you bring us up from Egypt? To kill us, our children and our livestock with thirst?"

7. Building the Golden Calf to worship.

Exodus 32: 7 ADONAI said to Moshe, "Go down! Hurry! Your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have become corrupt! 8 So quickly they have turned aside from the way I ordered them to follow! They have cast a metal statue of a calf, worshipped it, sacrificed to it and said, 'Isra'el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'" 9 ADONAI continued speaking to Moshe: "I have been watching these people; and you can see how stiffnecked they are. 10 Now leave me alone, so that my anger can blaze against them, and I can put an end to them! I will make a great nation out of you instead."

8. Complaining at Tav'erah.

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.

9. Complaining of no meat.

Numbers 11: 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."

10. Failing to trust YHWH's promise to enter the promised land after the bad report from the spies.

I wonder today how many times YHWH has looked to us saying: "How long will you refuse to observe my mitzvot and teachings?

Today I'm going to close with one of my favorite Bible verses: Numbers 15:13-16, wherein YHWH reiterates FOUR TIMES that ALL who choose Him are to obey Torah:

Numbers 15: 13 "'Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when he brings an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 14 For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, he must do exactly as you do. 15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the LORD: 16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.'"

This was reiterated in Matthew 5 where Yeshua Himself tells us He came NOT to abolish but to fulfill (which did NOT mean "put an end to"....)

Matthew 5: 17 Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah - not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot (words/commands) and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Has everything happened that must happen? Have heaven and Earth passed away yet? Since when does the word "complete" (or "fulfill) mean "abolished"? Why would God abolish His own original divine teachings which He said were to last forever? Did Jesus come to make a liar out of YHWH, God the Father?

No, as YHWH amply shows, time and time again: He is ONE GOD (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) who never changes (Hebrews 13:8), and anyone who chooses Him MUST do exactly as His "chosen" do, which is to OBEY Him! Same God, same rules, same laws:

Numbers 15: 29`You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them. 30`But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31`Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.' "

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....