Reflections
Torah Reflections
Torah Reflection 33
Beha’alotcha (continued)
Last week we ended with the Israelites making the first movement of their camp, and they were now in the Wilderness of Paran, to the west of where Eilat is today. Then the complaints began!
We need to keep in mind that there were a lot of people in that company. Six hundred thousand men of military age plus dependants. Close to two million altogether as well as their livestock. They would have been spread out over a sizeable area, and not all proceeding at the same pace. The LORD heard their various complaints, and was displeased. He sent fire around them and some who were at the fringes of the company got burned in the fire. “Moses, where are you? Help!” Can you hear their cries? Moses interceded on behalf of the people. The fire ceased. Does that give you a measure of the stature of this man? And the relationship he had with His God? It does me. But they were a mixed multitude we are told. All kinds of people. And they had different tastes and longings. The LORD was faithfully providing their daily provision of “manna” (a word which literally means ‘what is it?’) So they were not hungry, but they ‘craved’ a more varied diet, including meat and vegetables. The LORD’s anger “was greatly aroused” again. And Moses wasn’t all that happy either.
The exchange of words between the LORD and Moses is remarkable. “Why have You have laid the burden of all these people on me?” Moses asked the LORD. Then in paraphrase, the LORD said “I’ll give you help. Bring seventy men you know to have good standing with the people to the Tent of Meeting and I’ll talk to you there.” Which he did. The LORD continued “tell the people they’ll have their meat. Not for one or two days, but for a whole month. They will have meat until it comes out of their nostrils!” Moses’ response was classic. “Where am I going to get all that meat? Shall I kill all the livestock. Can I produce all the fish in the sea to feed them? There are two million of them!! Then the calm of our LORD. “Has the LORD’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.” What followed was another miracle. First, the LORD came down in the cloud, took the Spirit that was in Moses, and placed the same Spirit upon the seventy elders who were gathered there with him. And they prophesied (I take that to mean they took the message of the LORD to the people with the same authority that Moses had). But it was a one time experience for them. And it was for a particular act of ministry. A lesson right there. We are taught that “receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit’” is a “whole of life, one time” single experience gift. “Have you been ‘Spirit filled’? is the question often asked. It is true that we can live by, and in, the Spirit. That is what God expects of us. But it requires a way of life which is ‘God centred’ to maintain. Selah.
Joshua, Moses’ assistant became alarmed when he saw two of the elders prophesying in the camp. “Moses, my lord, forbid them!” Was his cry. Moses responded “Oh, that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!” Soon the whole area of the camp was filled with quail, brought in by an East wind from the LORD. We are told that he who gathered least collected 10 Homers, enough to fill a small pick-up truck!! And the people GORGED themselves. It’s called gluttony. And for that many of them died! Beware of the sin of gluttony.
Then we learn of the sin of envy and jealousy within the camp. From none other than Moses’ siblings, Miriam and Aaron! The excuse was regarding Moses’ wife, an Ethiopian woman. Evidently not Zippora the Midianite. But the truth is revealed to us in the very next verse of our text. They said “Has the LORD indeed ONLY spoken through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” In my imagination I can see the scene as the LORD hears this. Close your eyes, picture the scene. “YOU THREE, to the tabernacle of meeting, NOW.!!” When they got there, the LORD stood in the door of the tabernacle, in a cloud. WOW!! Aaron and Miriam … step forward. The LORD speaks.
“Hear now My words; if there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak to him face to face, even plainly, not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
The cloud left them. The LORD departed. And in an instant leprosy covered Miriam. “white as snow” we are told. Unclean. Destined to be put outside the camp. Humiliated. Broken. Aaron was dumfounded. Horror stricken. Pouring out his confession of sin and foolishness to Moses. What a scene! Then Moses in his own anguish for his sister, called out to the LORD. “PLEASE heal her, O God, I pray!” (This is the first of only three places in the Scriptures that I can find anyone being ‘prayed for’ to be healed. In every other case of healing, it was the exercise of the GIFT of healing). The LORD in His mercy answered Moses by decreeing that she should be put out of the camp for seven days before being allowed back into the fellowship of the others. We have commented a few times previously “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom”. What a way to learn such a lesson. Can we learn from it too? The whole congregation learned it, because they remained in that place for the whole time Miriam was ‘outside the camp’.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Torah Reflections
Torah Reflection 32
Beha’alotcha (When you light)
After TWELVE consecutive days, on which representatives of each of the tribes of Israel had brought identical offerings for the dedication of the altar. Silver platters filled with fine grain mixed with oil as a grain offering. Gold pans filled with incense, one young bull, one ram, one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering. One kid of the goats as a sin offering. And as the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. Complete equanimity among the tribes.
Then Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting to speak with the LORD. And the voice of the LORD came to him from above the Mercy Seat which was on top of the Ark. I am continually reminded as I ‘reflect’ on these Scriptures of the meticulous detail of the LORD’S instructions in His communication with Moses. The artisans who had made the lampstand which now stood on the south side of the Holy Place had followed the instructions to the letter. But it seems that the LORD was not satisfied with the way the light was projected towards the Altar of Incence and the Table of Showbread on the north side. It needed to be turned 90 deg to be parallel with the side of the chamber! And this provides another lesson for us, if we needed it, to indicate precision in God’s instructions. Nothing sloppy, ambiguous or optional about God’s commands and statutes.
Two weeks ago, we ‘reflected’ on the fact that God had determined, following the last plague which was visited on the Egyptians, that the firstborn males of the Israelites were “consecrated to Himself “(Exodus 13), and that there was a 273 discrepancy in numbers between the firstborn males of the whole camp of Israel (22,273) and the number of Levites (22,000) who were 1 month old and above. In our text today, when the altar was dedicated for purpose, we have the account of the manner in which those Levites, (whom God had accepted in substitution for the firstborn males), were consecrated and prepared for the task of service in their tabernacle duties. They were first “ceremonially cleansed”. They were ‘sprinkled’ with water of purification. They were bodily shaved. They presented a ‘sin offering’ to the LORD, and had the whole congregation lay hands on them, before the High Priest made a ‘wave offering’ of them to the LORD. Finally, another ‘sin offering’, a ‘burnt offering’ and a ‘wave offering’. Only then did the LORD declare to the whole congregation that “They are wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel.” And He declared to the whole assembly “I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the work for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, that there be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near the sanctuary.” FIVE times He mentioned the whole congregation of people in that declaration. But the LORD had one more stipulation. They began their tabernacle duties at 25 years of age and retired from them at 50 years of age. No exceptions.
Exactly one year after the Israelites had left Egypt, in the Wilderness of Sinai, the Tabernacle was set up and functioning. (please note here that the events of Leviticus 9 could not have occurred before the tabernacle was functioning, indicating further that Leviticus is not a “journey” book and cannot be chronologically earlier than Numbers) The LORD instructed Moses that it was time to remember the Passover event in Egypt. It has been an annual remembrance ever since, but provision is made here for anyone who is not able to keep that remembrance on the appointed day, it is permissible not remember it one month later.
Instruction is also given about the function of the cloud that appeared over the Tabernacle when it was first set up. It would be their guide about when to move. By night that cloud had the appearance of fire. “Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the Tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up they would journey.” Two silver trumpets were made in order to warn the assembly about meetings at the Tabernacle, and to announce the setting off times of the tribes encamped on each side of the Tabernacle when the cloud moved. Just over one month after that first Passover remembrance, the cloud was taken up, and the long journey commenced, six tribes ahead of the Tabernacle and six tribes behind it. Everything in order.
Moses’ brother in law, Hobab, who evidently had been with the Israelites in Egypt, and was still with them. was invited to journey with them to the place God had promised them. A most interesting ‘side issue’ that has remained in the record of these times for our enlightenment. This one “alien” family in with a couple of million Israelites. So what? I hear. It speaks to me about the inclusiveness that God extends to those who willingly join in acceptance of, and fellowship with, God’s chosen. Moses was able to give Hobab assurance that “Whatever good the LORD will do to us, we will do to you.” Additionally to solicit from Hobab the benefits of his desert experience. Another provision of God’s grace to His chosen people. I sincerely believe that even, or perhaps especially, today, God is calling gentile believers to join with His chosen, in faith, to benefit from, and contribute to, the welfare, experience, and knowledge of Himself. It is part of His unconditional promise to Abram. “I will bless those that bless you.” There were complaints and grievances on that long journey. Moses bore the burdens and concerns of the people and interceded on their behalf. A mighty and effective leader. And God promised later, that He would raise up another such leader for the people. And He did.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Torah Reflections
Torah Reflection 31
Naso (Take a Census)
The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Their descendants were assigned the important duties of transportation of the Tabernacle and its furnishings. Last week’s ‘reflection’ ended with the 2,750 members of the Kohathite family assigned the task of carrying the contents of the Most Holy Place. They were not allowed inside the Most Holy Place whilst Aaron and his sons were carefully wrapping those items, and even then those items were not to be touched by the carriers, but were borne on the special poles designed for that purpose. They had been given special dispensation from Almighty God Himself to carry out that task, which in normal circumstances would result in their being “cut off”, a death sentence, for approaching those holy things. Look at the detail given to Aaron and his sons in just preparing the items to be transported. Aaron’s son Eleazar was tasked with supervision of that most important work of the Kohathites with regard to the Most Holy Place.
Our reading this week continues with the additional census of the families of Gershon and Merari, which together numbered a further 5,830 men between the ages of 30 and 50. People who could be expected to be reliable and experienced. The total number of men assigned to transport the Tabernacle and its furnishings was 8,580 men. Aaron’s son Ithamar was given the task of supervising the work of the Gershonites, and Merariites. An extremely good lesson in delegated authority.
Moses was then entrusted with the task of instructing the people regarding a number of other issues with which God knew they would be be confronted on their long journey to the land, and certainly after they arrived there to dwell. These instructions have never been revoked, but many of them are no longer observed in society today. However, everyone who experienced the Covid-19 plague, which China introduced to the world in 2020, would be quite familiar with the first instruction mentioned in our text. “Social distancing”. But of the extreme kind. Contagious and infectious conditions were to be removed to a place outside the camp to minimise the spread of those infections. It seems to have been most effective because we have no account of any such epidemic within the ranks of the Israelites during their long journey. We know from our earlier ‘reflections’ in Leviticus that there were means by which those who recovered were able to rejoin the camp on the evidence presented to their priest. It is similar, but different, to the clinical systems which operate today.
Then came a string of misdemeanours and their remedy! I note the wording at the commencement of this part of our text “When a man or a woman commits any sin …”. There seems to be no ambiguity does there? Otherwise the word “WHEN” would have been replaced with the word “IF”. God knows the ways of men (and women). “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:” said Jeremiah. “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways. According to the fruit of his doings.” That alone is well worth our pondering. But God is also gracious and loving, and in His instruction to Moses He included the path to forgiveness. And it was NOT “a once for all time” solution. In paraphrase here He said “The person who is the guilty party shall first confess the sin which he has committed. Then make restitution in full plus 20%. Then come to Me with the appropriate offering of sacrifice.” As I note the wording I perceive three important steps to getting right with God here. First to put things right with the one wronged. Second to make appropriate restitution. Third present yourself before a holy God for His forgiveness. EVERY TIME.
This Torah portion is well known for ONE important, oft quoted, section. We know it more commonly as “The Aaronic Blessing”. And a blessing it was, and is still today. In our churches now, it is very often used as a benediction or prayer. Each line being accompanied by the injunction and expectation that the Lord “MAY” do these things. But it is neither a benediction nor a prayer in the original. It is infinitely MORE than that. We remind ourselves of the circumstances in which these words were spoken. Firsly, they were spoken by their revered High Priest. A man they recognised as God’s representative in their midst. A man to whom they took their offerings of penitence. Trusted. At the same time, on a personal level, none of them knew where they were, other than it was a desert place. They did not know where they were going, except that it was a land promised to them by God hundreds of years earlier. And finally, they had no idea when they might arrive at their destination, wherever that might be!
And when Aaron was given these words to speak, he was also given the reason for speaking them. “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I WILL bless them.” The words were positive words of PROMISE. “I WILL bless them.” So that was the spirit in which they were spoken. As they made that long journey to the land of God’s promise, these words went before them.
The LORD will bless you and keep you:
The LORD will make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you:
The LORD will lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you His Shalom.
Consider those words carefully. Ask God what He requires of you that you too may count on them as His promise to you on your journey of faith, as they were to those Israelites on their journey to their land of God’s promise.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Torah Reflections "Shavuot"
Torah Reflections “Shavuot”
Torah portions Exodus 19:1 to 20:23 and Numbers 28 :26 - 31
Haftarah portion Ezekiel 1 : 1-28 and 3 : 12
The Torah of YHWH given to Moses
Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 have the commandments about annual observances of the “mo’edim”. (The Hebrew word for “appointed times”, which in turn is usually translated into English as “feasts”). These are times when God specified He would meet with His chosen ones.
Today, they are most often referred to as “Jewish Feasts”. That correctly describes the fact that they are observances remembered by Jews. But it is an incorrect understanding of the Scriptures.
When God gave these instructions to Moses, He carefully worded these ‘appointed times’ (mo’edim) as MY ‘mo’edim’. They may be characterized as times when God says, in effect, “I will be there to meet with you on these specific occasions”. Those who choose not to attend miss an opportunity of blessing through meeting with Him at His invitation.
This ‘appointed time’ is fixed in relation to Pesach. Seven Sabbaths plus one day later.( In the Christian reckoning, it is called “Whitsun” and is seven weeks after Palm Sunday, but it bears no relationship at all to the ‘mo’ed’ of the Lord specified in Leviticus 23.) Some pretty exciting things happened at Shavuot, and the festival (also known as the Feast of Weeks) figures most significantly in the prophetic calendar as it relates to Yeshua.
Firstly, by Jewish calculation, and there is good evidence for it, this was the time when Moses was on the mountain communing with the Lord and receiving the instructions for righteous living, which we know as Torah. (see Exodus 19:1) That, in my view is cause enough to celebrate. The very Word of God, which is ‘sharper than any two-edged sword’, came to us at this time of the year. An immeasurable blessing. My Bible tells me that Moses spoke “all that the Lord had told him” and wrote it in a book.(Exodus 24: 3 and 7). More importantly, that was the exact time that the first covenant was sealed, when the people voluntarily agreed as they said “all that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient”.
Secondly, according to Acts 1, Yeshau returned to His Father 40 days after his resurrection from the grave. But He told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem. Just 10 days later was the festival of Shavuot. Jerusalem was overflowing with people, there for the festival from all over the known world (as it is today for the three pilgrimage festivals). Then came a sound ‘like a mighty rushing wind’. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God, the One who points to Messiah, was sent to minister His blessing to those who would receive it.
The disciples, already emboldened at meeting the resurrected Lord Yeshua, were imbued with power from on high. No longer the ‘shrinking violets’ who were shattered by the death of Yeshua on that cruel Roman cross. They spoke boldly to the throngs of people in the Temple courtyard, and miracle of miracles, the foreigners present all heard these fishermen from Galilee speaking in their own several languages. It is almost impossible to imagine. But by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, over three thousand were added to the company of believers that very day. Now that surely is another reason to celebrate.
But there’s more!! Both events related above did not stop.
Today, we have the precious Holy Scriptures, written in so many of the world’s languages. The faithful Jews who were entrusted with those Scriptures have carefully preserved them for our blessing and instruction down through the ages. In the early days, meticulously copying by hand every ‘jot and tittle’. Every yod and vav.
The Holy Spirit of God is alive and well in the earth today. His role on earth is to point us to Messiah Yeshua, by any and all means possible. He brings strength to the ‘weary’, comfort to the ‘afflicted’, guidance to those who seek, and blessing to all who ask.
So if any still wonder why we should celebrate Shavuot, I trust that this ‘reflection’ will provide some answers. But there is a much greater and compelling reason. God commanded it. His promise, is included in the introductory remarks of this ‘reflection’. He will be there to meet all who come. It is a special time. It has never been revoked.
You will be blessed as you meet together and thank Him for His unspeakable gift.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Torah Reflection
Torah Reflection 30
Bamidar (In the Wilderness)
A brief word of explanation here. The history of the children of Israel, from God’s promise to Abram in Genesis 12, to their journey to and from Egypt, and the occupation of the land of God’s promise, is contained in just eleven Books in our Bible. Whilst the other 28 Books are instructional, and are written to the Israelites, they do not form part of their ‘journey’ to and in the land. Leviticus and Deuteronomy are not ‘journey’ Books, so the Book of Numbers takes up the story of their ‘journey’ where Exodus leaves off.
God instructed Moses to take a census of all the men from each tribe who were 20 years old and above. The census was obtained by each tribal head reciting the names of those in their extended families who were in that category. These were all men who were judged by God to be capable of “going to war” in defence of the whole gathering. The total number, from which the tribe of Levi was excused, was six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty. Quite an army eh! But it also indicates that whilst the land was a “promise” of God to them, there would be struggles and hard work, even battles to be won, to get there. Is there a lesson here? Our journey of faith today carries with it God’s promise of eternal life. (the proverbial promised land) Yeshua told us in Matthew 10 and 24 and in Mark 13 that “He who endures to the end shall be saved.” There are many trials, temptations, and struggles before us as we journey along salvation’s road. And certainly that was true for the Israelites on their journey.
Then each of the tribes were instructed to set up their camp, under their own banner, some distance from the Tent of Meeting. Each tribe in its allotted place. Three tribes on each side so that the Tent of Meeting was right in the centre. Close by were the tribe of Levi, who were charged with responsibility of caring for, dismantling, carrying, and remounting the Tabernacle and its furniture. Instructions were given for the order in which the tribes would set off when the pillar of cloud moved to a new place. Six tribes in front, Levites carrying the Tabernacle in the centre, and six tribes to the rear. Very orderly. It is noted that the census did not include women, people under 20, or the Levites. It is reasonable therefore to conclude that the body of people involved must have been close to 2 million!!
Moses then instructed Aaron and his two remaining sons regarding their duties as priests before the LORD, and appointed the whole tribe of Levi as servants of Aaron and his sons to do the work of attending to the Tent of Meeting and its furniture. But it was made clear to Moses that God had made the tribe of Levi His own. They were effectively a ransom to God for all the firstborn of the Israelites who survived the Passover plague, the death of the firstborn, on the night the Israelites left Egypt. And now it was time to take a census of the Levites. God was keeping account. But this census included all males one month old and above. And as the census proceeded, each family of the Levites were allotted a camping place near the Tabernacle, and given instructions about their particular responsibilities for movement of specific parts of the tabernacle and its furnishings. Very detailed and orderly.
The census of Levites ordered by God, showed that 22,000 males above 1 month old were counted. These were accepted by God in part substitution for the firstborn males who were saved during the Passover plague in Egypt. They were consecrated to the LORD as a result, (Exodus 13:1,2) Then God told Moses to count the number of the whole assembly of Israelites who were firstborn males. There were 22,273 such, now consecrated to the LORD, who had not perished in the Passover plague in Egypt, Moses was commanded that a monetary amount of five shekels per person was to be given to Aaron as redemption money to make up for that 273 shortfall as compensation for not having the full number of consecrated persons to serve him in the work of the Tabernacle. The total sum (5 x 273) of 1,365 shekels was collected from the firstborn of the tribes and given to Aaron. There is a lesson here too. God gave what was His, all those consecrated to Himself, for the work in the Tabernacle. Many of us would have said “Oh! 22,000, that’s close enough.” Wouldn’t we? But God gives full measure every time. And it is quite reasonable to assume that that is what He expects of us too.
It is interesting that within Judaism still, as baby boys are circumcised on the eighth day according to God’s commandment, parents consider that these baby boys are rightfully God’s own. So they ceremonially give a five shekel coin to the Rabbi in order to ‘redeem’ that child back from God. And they are treasured as a result!
Now our reading this week concludes with another example of the meticulous way in which the Israelites were commanded to carry out their duties. The Kohath families, were assigned an important task. They were to carry the contents of the Most Holy Place as they moved from location to location following the pillar of cloud. Firstly, they were told to select only those between the ages of 30 and 50. People who could be expected to be reliable and experienced. Look at the detail given to Aaron and his sons in just preparing the items to be transported. Those assigned to this part of the transportation totalled 2,750 men. They were not allowed inside the Most Holy Place whilst Aaron and his sons were packing those items, and even then those items were not to be touched by them, but were carried on poles.
When we observe the care God takes with such instructions, we know that He wants us to take care too.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Torah Reflection
Torah Reflection 29
Behar/Behukotai (On the Mount/My statutes)
We come to the end of the commandments and judgments contained in this Book of Leviticus. Thus far they have been concerned with the daily activities and relationships within the camp of the Israelites as they prepare to journey through the wilderness towards the Land of God’s Promise to them. But now the LORD has a word for Moses about a time when that journey would come to an end and the Israelites would be dwelling in the land. They were not to know then that the journey would take another 39 years and that Moses would not actually be with them at that time.
Surprise, surprise! The first announcement regards the observance of the Sabbath! Not the weekly Sabbath this time, but a Sabbath rest for the land itself. The whole concept of land management, wherein they would be able to feed themselves and those who were the poor among them, is contained in these Torah commands (instructions for righteous living) of God. And they were quite different, even revolutionarily enlightening, compared to the practises of the nations around them at that time. (and we might note to land management practises the world over today) We already saw, in our passage last week, with the commandments of God regarding the observance of the “mo’edim” of the LORD, the directive about not harvesting the corners of the fields or gathering the gleaning from the harvest each year. These were left for the poor and the stranger among them to gather. But now God commands them, each seventh year, neither to plant crops nor to prune vineyards. But recognising that there would be produce which would grow of its own accord, none of that was to be harvested either. That was to be a part of God’s provision, without the need for anyone to work, for themselves, for the servants, for the poor, for the stranger, and for the field workers. God’s gift freely available to them for some food without any labour required to produce it. And it provided a year of rest from intensive working of the land itself. A year of recovery for the land. In Hebrew it is called a “shmitah” year.
BUT, there was another “Sabbath” to be observed too! This time it was to be a “Sabbath” of the “shmitah” years. After seven such “shmitah” years, on the “mo’ed” of Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement, at the beginning of the fiftieth year, a trumpet of Jubilee was to be sounded throughout the land. It was to be a year consecrated to the LORD, and a year of proclamation of liberty to all the inhabitants of the land. No sowing or reaping of crops and vineyards (note that this Jubilee year would be the second year in a row with no harvest). Land and possessions were to be returned to the original owner in the Jubilee year. Selling price of ‘land use’ was regulated according to the number of productive years left until the next Jubilee. But the seller could also redeem the ‘land use’ by repurchasing it at a price determined by the same formula, according to the number of productive years remaining to the next Jubilee. No opportunity for extortion or ‘market forces’ in God’s economy. No interest or usury at all. “The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.”
So how did they manage to survive? “So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.” But what about those two years that the land is neither sown nor reaped? “Then I will command MY blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for THREE years. And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.” Plus, of course, what grows of its own accord. The lesson for us here is to note the options available to these people. In principle they are options available to us today, albeit in a different environment. God told them that if they did it His way, they would receive blessing. The blessing of protection and food. But, by inference, if they did it their own way, things would be more ‘difficult’. God expects, and requires, obedience from those who belong to Him. And there are consequences which accrue for disobedience. No surprises. Clearly spelled out for their attention. And OURS. God is a promise keeper, even promises we don’t like.
The list is long and graphic. But one which we observe to this very day, should be like a beacon demanding our attention. God promised to expel them from the land as a punishment if they wantonly disobeyed Him. It happened in 587 B.C.E., the Babylonian exile. And it happened again in 133 C.E after the Bar Kochba revolution, when the Romans expelled the Jews from the land. But those promises of expulsion came with yet another promise. It’s generational. First read in full, Leviticus 26. You’ll be surprised. “Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God; I am the LORD.”
The details of the return from Babylon is recorded in the Scriptures. The return from “all the countries to which they were dispersed” is happening before our very eyes today. It is prophecy, from this passage today, confirmed by many of the prophetic Scriptures later, which we are privileged to witness at first hand. If that does not speak to your heart about the faithfulness, the mercy, the grace, the wonder, of God, and the efficacy of the Scriptures, then I wonder what will.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Torah Reflection
Torah Reflection 28
Emor (Speak)
The instructions God gave to Moses are specific and detailed. One cannot read Leviticus without being impressed by the detail. And this portion of Scripture begins with clear instructions to be given to the priests about potential ritual defilement through contact with the dead. It continues by describing the nature and characteristics of women who may be considered appropriate as potential wives for those of the priesthood. Then God spells out clearly why He has so commanded. “They (the priests) shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings made by fire, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. Therefore you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy.” Most people are aware that the word “holy” simply means “set apart”, even different, or special, in modern day language. It is also notable that, although politically incorrect today, the people who are to be anointed as priests in Scripture are invariably male!! At the same time we take note that the priest “shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes”.
In slight digression, it is worth remembering that at the time the Israelites made their covenant with God, specifically in Exodus 19:5-8 God said “If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all the people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” I have often wondered why observant Jews wear a Yarmulka (kippah). Could this be the answer? And as for ‘tearing his clothes’, we touched on that in our ‘reflection’ just a few weeks ago (Torah Reflection 24)
One more observation here is that this whole passage relates to a priesthood for whom marriage is the ‘norm’. Our beloved Rabbi Sha’ul was unmarried, and, presumably, in response to some issues in the “ekklesia’ at Corinth chose to explain his position to them (1 Cor 7). It is indeed “taking a long bow” to make an inviolate doctrine out of that, especially in the light of some most unsavoury outcomes. But there is no command about priestly celibacy given in the Scriptures. Neither, as far as I know, is it expressly forbidden.
This Scripture passage is primarily known for its detailed account of the “mo’edim” of the LORD, which appear in Chapter 23. I invite you first and foremost to take careful note of how these ‘appointed times’ are unequivocally described. “The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.” Did you know that ‘convocation’ is described in the dictionary as “a large formal gathering of people”? And that in this context, ‘feast’ is described as an “annual religious celebration”? But in Hebrew, the word translated as ‘feast’ is ‘mo’ed’ (plural mo’edim) which means ‘appointed time’. So a more correct understanding would be “God’s own appointed times of meeting.” It begs the question, how many of us would miss an appointment with our monarch, Queen Elizabeth? Not many I suggest. But these holy weekly and annual appointments with Almighty God are largely ignored by christians all over the world!
In this passage there are EIGHT ‘feasts’ proclaimed. The first is a weekly holy convocation. The Sabbath. The other seven are annual convocations. It is regrettable that the significance of these “mo’edim” is largely lost to most of us in the christian church today, because they are each, in turn, prophetic of events in the life, death, burial, resurrection, and future return, of Yeshua, our Saviour.
Passover, is a festival of eight days duration. It starts on the fourteenth day, the time of the full moon, of the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Just as the blood of the slain lamb, put on the doorposts and lintels of the Israelites of the Egyptian captivity, became the sign of salvation for them, so the blood of our Saviour, shed for us at this precise “appointed time”, metaphorically appearing on the doorposts and lintels of our being, became the means of our salvation from the captivity of sin.
The festival of Unleavened Bread, the symbol of the sinless One, eaten for the next seven days, signifies the burial of Yeshua, taking our sin with Him. It is celebrated with a special Sabbath on the first and last days. It was during this period that our Messiah rose from that grave, having conquered sin and death.
Fifty days later, the Festival of Weeks is celebrated by bringing the grain offering before the LORD. It represents the presentation of the Firstfruits of the harvest, and is preceded (ten days earlier) by the bodily ascension of Yeshua to be with the Father, and coincides with the gift of the Comforter, The Holy Spirit, to men. It is also the ‘traditional’ time of the giving of Torah to Moses on the mountain.
There is an interesting commandment tucked in between this festival and the next three. “When you reap the harvest of your land you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.” There is a long interval between the festivals already mentioned and the next three.. Some have noted that this interval provides a timely gap for the reaping of believers, not of the Jewish faith, to be brought into the fold, before Yeshua returns.
The final three festivals, Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and Tabernacles are , in turn, prophetically symbolic of the return of Yeshua, The Great White Throne Judgement, and the Ingathering as in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Be blessed as you study, ponder, and observe these events.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Torah Reflection
Torah Reflection 27
Acherai Mot/Kodishim (After death/Holy)
The reading this week continues with the theme of “cleanliness” before the LORD. Two weeks ago, we read about the way in which God instilled a very strong sense of “reverential fear” in the people as He consumed the offerings on the altar with His own fire, and followed that by consuming the two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, who stepped out of line by attempting to share the glory. Our reading this week picks up after that event. God was, and is, intent on instilling, in His people, the understanding of His holiness. Nothing ‘unclean’, no hint of sin, no person, however sincere, is to approach Him unless made ‘clean’ in His appointed manner. That fact is ‘blindingly obvious’ as we read this portion of Scripture.
(Ah! I hear. But that was the “old testament”, Jesus did away with all that. Did He? Well, actually, Jesus did tell us when all that will end. And it will end. You can read it for yourself in Matthew 5:18. It will be “when heaven and earth pass away”. So as long as you and I are still living here, nothing of ‘God’s instructions for righteous living’ have yet passed away, have they? Or are the words of Jesus unreliable. Of course not.)
But the events, about which God now instructs Aaron, apply to a ONCE a year observance, known in Hebrew, as “Yom Kippur”. An annual ‘day of atonement’. We will reflect on this in a bit more detail next week. It is most solemnly observed universally by Jews, but completely ignored by christians! (as indeed are all the “Feasts (appointed times) of the LORD”. That is in spite of the command of God that this ‘appointed time’, be a statute FOREVER. It is also clear from this passage of Scripture that the instructions applied equally to the Israelites AND the “strangers who dwell among you.” So Aaron, the only person allowed to enter the Holiest Place in the Tabernacle, the place where God said He ‘would dwell among the people’, was instructed about the manner of his approach to God. First he was to present the blood of a bull as a sin offering, and the blood of a ram as a burnt offering. He was also to completely wash his body and change his clothes to put on special linen garments. That required a physical cleansing in addition to his spiritual cleansing. Complete cleanliness. At the same time, he was to accept from the people offerings of TWO goats. One would be chosen, by lot, ‘for the LORD’, and the other as a “scapegoat” to ‘ritually’ take away the sin of the people The detailed instructions are better read than told.
The lesson here for us however is clear, since we do not have the same procedures today, and the prophet Malachi informed us that ‘God does NOT change’, (Malachi 3:6) that God is particular about the manner of our approach to Him. Now it is true, that confessed sin is covered by the atoning blood of our Messiah, Yeshua. For that reason, it is my conclusion, that in the same way that God required both a sin offering and a burnt offering from the people then, so He requires that we too come penitently before Him, cleansed from sin (both known and unknown) each time we come to Him with our offerings of worship, praise and intercessory prayer. No exceptions.
As chapter 18 of our text opens, there is a change of subject. Moses is told to remind the people of what they had left behind in Egypt, and to look forward to where they were going, Canaan. Both countries had similar idolatrous, and immoral, ways of life. “Do not walk in their ordinances”. Full stop. God is intent on teaching His people a new, a better, a more caring way to conduct themselves. We SHOULD be able to pick up a lesson here too. When we commit ourselves to God’s way, He expects that we turn our back on the ‘ordinances’ of the life we have been saved from. But since we are NOT physically going to another land, our charter is to live in accord with His ordinances, which are made clear as we continue our study of His word. “Do not defile yourselves with their perversions”, God says. And we know very well how grossly perverse nations and institutions have become in our modern world today as rebellion against the Creator of this Universe is quite blatant, even to being taught in our schools. “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgements, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you.” Can it be any more clearly expressed?
“You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” This whole Scripture passage is repetitious regarding holiness, being separate, being different, standing out, from those around us who are NOT of the kingdom of God. And there is much detail of practices to be avoided. The land of God’s promise is a land “flowing with milk and honey”. Good pasture to provide grain and food for the cattle. Good wild vegetation to provide for birds and insects. A good land. And then God returns to a familiar theme. Their own diet. “You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird , or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. And you shall be holy to Me, for I. The LORD an holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.”
A number of times God returns to this theme of diet in the Scriptures. Is it possible that it might be important to Him? And yet, in our day, amongst believers, it seems to be such a contentious issue doesn’t it?. May God give us grace to understand.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Torah Reflection
Torah Reflection 26
Tazria/Metzora (Conceived/Leprosy)
Ritual cleanliness after childbirth is a Biblical commandment. Forty days for birth of a boy, eighty days for a girl. Why? There has been much speculation as commentators have attempted to rationalise this. The truth is much simpler! Because God said so. And you will ‘scratch your head’ for a very long time before you get a better answer. And after the time God specified, whether for a boy or a girl, the resumption of attendance to her normal life of faith and obedience involved her presentation before the Priest with a burnt offering and a sin offering. The lesson. God would not permit ANY uncleanness to come before Him THEN, and He won’t permit it NOW. (even though the sacrificial system is no longer operative). It is good practice to seek God’s gracious forgiveness every time we approach Him for any reason.
The prevention of the spread of disease is extremely important for community health. (As I write this the world is grappling with Covid-19). Well, wouldn’t you know it, here in our Torah portion today, God assigned to the Priesthood the duty of disease control! And by extension, the skill and knowledge to be able to discern the difference between harmless malady, and dangerous signs of infection. The Bible defines the differences as between ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’. It is an example of ‘social distancing’ in the fact that the ‘unclean’ were not allowed to participate in the gatherings around the Tent of Meeting until the Priest was satisfied that infection was eliminated.
The whole portion this week concerns various ways in which ‘uncleanness’ is found within the community. It covers personal matters of disease, as well as the incidences of mould and deteriorating penetration of decay in clothing as well as housing. I was gratified to learn that losing ones hair (baldness) was not a reason for exclusion! And even more pleased to be in such good company as the prophet Elisha, no less!! But many things are included, with clear instructions how to proceed to a position of “Cleanness”. Our Bible uses the word ‘leprosy’ many times in this passage, but a more inclusive word to use is probably ‘infectous sores’ which cover a wide range of conditions.
But the fact that these people were being instructed about matters which would also be applicable to the time when they would eventually arrive in that land of God’s promise, (they were not living in houses constructed of mortar and plaster in the desert wilderness) was in itself an indication that when God provides such instruction, those instructions have application to all generations. This may well be the major lesson that we can receive out of this specific passage of Scripture.
There are two problems for us to come to terms with. The first is that in our ‘christianity’, we have, in large measure, been conditioned to see the Torah of God as obsolete. We have been taught that it has no relevance to us today. We are told that we are “under the new covenant” (which hasn’t actually been instituted on earth yet). I have even heard it preached from a pulpit that “Jesus kept the Torah so that we don’t have to”. Well some of these instructions are of an extremely practical nature. Housing mould, for example, if you have experienced it, is very difficult to remove. It cannot just be ‘washed off’. It is described in this passage as a plague. The prescriptive treatment is carefully specified here. It is practical and it is effective, even to the extreme of tearing the building down and starting again!! It is equally effective today. The second problem is in the fact that we have been completely cut off from our Hebraic roots. As a result we seem to no longer give heed to the instructions God gave to the people for correct and righteous living, We have disregarded particularly those instructions of God which our culture finds ‘inconvenient’. These are God’s instructions. They are not suggestions which we may or may not choose to follow.
It is clear from our reading of the Scriptures, that on more than one occasion, people suffering ‘leprosy’ were healed. They were changed from being ‘unclean’, and isolated from community, to becoming ‘clean’ again and re-entering society. And there is a notable difference between, for example, the healing of Naaman, the Syrian army commander, (2 Kings 5) and the healing of the faith filled ‘leper’ who presented himself to Yeshua.(Matthew 8) In the first example Naaman presented himself to Elisha the prophet with a gift of money (which Elisha quickly rejected). He was told to wash in the Jordan River seven times. But Elisha was careful not to touch Naaman, in compliance with the laws we read in this passage. And as we know, Naaman was healed. But he was not an Israelite, and he was not required to show himself to a priest for confirmation of his new “cleanness”. In contrast, Yeshua reached out to the leper and touched him (an act which would immediately render Yeshua ‘unclean’). He then instructed the cleansed leper to ‘show yourself to the Priest’ in order to verify his new state of ‘cleanness’.
There are two observations to make here. Firstly, the prophet Elisha was not a priest himself and was subject to the laws of Tazria. Which he observed. In the second case, Yeshua, whilst not functioning as a priest at that time, (later to take on Himself the title of our Great High Priest) presents a tangible example of fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53. Bearing our iniquity, ‘uncleanness’ , in His own body. Then to ensure that all that iniquity had indeed been removed, instructed the man to ‘show yourself to the priest’, in verification.
His shed blood is available to make ‘clean’ anyone who seeks it. Just like the leper in Matthew 8.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Torah Reflection
Torah Reflection 25
Shimini (Eighth day)
After their consecration, Aaron and his sons had remained in the Tabernacle for seven days. Then, on the EIGHTH day (for interested Bible students, the topic of the ‘eighth day’ provides a most instructive and informative study) Moses announced to Aaron that the “glory of the LORD will appear to you’. But before that appearance, there would need to be a cleansing. A complete cleansing. There were sin offerings for Aaron, and sin offerings for the people. There were burnt offerings for Aaron, and burnt offerings for the people. Grain offerings for Aaron, and grain offerings for the people. A wave offering and a sacrifice of a peace offering. The only offering not made that day was a trespass offering.
There was a point during this major offering of sacrifice, that Aaron lifted his hand toward the people and blessed them. A kind on new beginning for them all. Then suddenly “the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people”. Just as Moses had told them. It must have been a terrifying experience. Try, if you can, to imagine it. Standing there, at the door of the Tabernacle, being blessed by the High Priest, and then “fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar’. Those offerings Aaron had prepared as a sacrifice to the LORD, He TOOK, in the fire. An act of acceptance by Him. We can read that account now and see it in “ho hum” fashion, and as “just another of God’s miracles”. But it is NOT. This is God instilling in His people a “reverential fear” of Himself. The reverential fear of which, people, even today, should take very careful note. The awesome might and majesty of our God. The reverential fear which Solomon would later say is the “beginning of wisdom”. And of which the writer to Hebrews would comment “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”. The reverential fear which, regrettably, is nowhere, or perhaps rarely, to be found in our society today. And we are the losers.
That should have been the end of it. But it wasn’t. Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, were so awestruck, that they took some incense, put it in a censer, set it alight and offered that as an offering before the LORD. That was NOT part of God’s command. This demonstration of awe and might by God was His alone. The people all around were on their faces in “reverential fear”. Nadab and Abihu wanted to share in the glory of the spectacle before them. And they did. The fire which had consumed the offerings on the altar, suddenly consumed them too! I can only try to imagine Aaron, witnessing this event, mouth open, looking at the spot where moments earlier his two sons had stood. But Moses knew. He turned to Aaron and said “This is what the LORD spoke, saying. ‘by those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy (set apart); And before all the people, I (and only I) must be glorified,’”. We would do well to let that sink in. It is a lesson we must all learn if we are to be in right relationship with Almighty God. Reverential fear.
God then spoke directly to Aaron regarding his own appearances before Him when he entered the tabernacle of meeting to perform his Priestly duties. He was to be completely sober, and in clarity of mind be able to “distinguish between the holy and the unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses”. Remember, these were things they had already heard from Moses and had willingly agreed to in covenant with God. And shortly after God had spoken to Aaron, Moses had cause to address Aaron and his two remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar about the fact that they had not followed the correct procedure in dealing with the sin offering of the people. It was to be eaten by them in the tabernacle, which was symbolic of them literally taking the sin of the people. Instead they had burnt it all on the altar. But Aaron concluded that the sin offering was actually for the priests themselves, so that the correct procedure had been followed. These were early days for them, and they were all learning “on the job”. Such was the care they took to carefully observe all that God had, through Moses instructed them. Another lesson.
My final ‘reflection’ on this passage notes the long list of animals, fish, and birds which were “kosher” (a word which simply means ‘proper’) food for them. These foods are mentioned again in Deuteronomy 14, And we have mention of clean and unclean animals in the story of the flood (Genesis 7). Now this is a huge issue for many christians. Often exacerbated by people who mis-quote the Scriptures of Matthew 15 and Mark 7. In these gospel accounts the issue was about eating without washing hands, and hygienic as it is, that is not a biblical commandment. Christians also generally fail to grasp that these gospel accounts were written by Jews to Jews and for Jews. The customs and practises of the Jews ensured that the clear command regarding the dietary laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy were part of their culture. Built in to them over many centuries. So when the word “food” is used in Scripture it means just that. “Food” meant animals fish and birds which were ‘clean’. As well as grain crops of course. Full stop.
Even though I have a strong personal conviction that these commandments have never been abrogated, and am very comfortable with what the LORD has spoken to me in regard to that, I have also been an advocate, for a number of years, that we avoid divisive argument about this issue. If you have a personal concern about this matter, my strong recommendation is that you go before the LORD, with an open mind, and an open Bible, and ask Him to show you what you should do. If you are sincere, He WILL tell you.
Shabbat Shalom
RS