35Parsha
Naso – Life, Bear up, Carry
Badmidbar
4:21- 7:89
Shoftim
13:2-25, Acts 21:17-26
Daniel ben Ya’acov Israel
The “Parasha Naso” follow “parasha badmidbar” with the service of
the priest and with sacrifices. I remember years ago, when I read this part of
Torah, it was so boring, my understanding was limited to what the literal text
said concerning the Levites and their service.
Today, I
have seen many brethren around the world who gave up this reading, not having
understood what is behind the letter.
If you look
the “orthodox “Yehudin” you will see also that their explanation is based on the
literal text.
My question
is: Why then יהוה want is Children to learn Torah?
Sha’ul says:
1Co 2:14 But the
natural man does not receive the matters
of the Spirit of Elohim, for they are foolishness to him, and he is unable to know them, because
they are spiritually discerned (to be judge spiritually).
1Co 2:15 But he
who is spiritual discerns (judge) indeed all matters, but he himself is discerned (judged) by no one.
1Co 2:16 For “Who
has known the mind of יהוה? Who shall instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Messiah.
Let me
quote what Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
give in their explanation:
.natural man — literally, “a
man of animal soul.” As contrasted with the spiritual man, he is
governed by the animal soul, which overbears his spirit, which latter is without the Spirit of God (Jud_1:19 These are the ones
who cause divisions, not having the
Spirit.). So the animal (English Version, “natural”) body, or body led by the lower animal nature (including both the mere human
fallen reason and heart),
is contrasted with the Spirit-quickened body (1Co_15:44-46
44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised
a spiritual body; there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45 and so it has been written, “The first man Aḏam became a living
being,” the last Aḏam a life-giving Spirit.46 The spiritual, however,
was not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. ). The carnal man (the man led by bodily
appetites, and also by a self-exalting spirit, estranged from the divine life)
is closely akin; so too the “earthly.”
“Devilish,” or “demon-like”; “led by an evil
spirit,” is the awful character of such a one, in its worst type (Jam_3:15 This is not the wisdom coming down from above, but it is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.).
receiveth not — though they are offered to him, and are “worthy of
being received by all men” (1Ti_1:15).
….they are foolishness unto him — whereas he seeks
“wisdom” (1Co_1:22).
….neither can he — Not only does he
not, but he cannot know them,
and therefore has no wish to “receive” them (Rom_8:7).
Rom 8:7 BecauseG1360 theG3588
carnalG4561 mindG5427 is enmityG2189
againstG1519 God:G2316 forG1063
it is not subjectG5293 G3756 to theG3588 lawG3551(TORAH) of God,G2316
neitherG3761 indeedG1063 canG1410
be.
Carnal: Strong’s #G4561 sarx sarx
Probably from the
base of G4563; flesh (as stripped
of the skin), that is, (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or
(by extension) the body (as
opposed to the soul (or spirit), or as the
symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred, or (by implication)
human nature (with its
frailties (physically or morally) and passions), or (specifically) a human
being (as such): - carnal (-ly, + -ly minded), flesh ([-ly]).
The
Carnal mind as we see Shaul saying in
Romans 8:7 is in opposition to the “Mind of Messiah
Sha’ul says in 1st Corint 2:16!
Which
mind do you have, do you have the mind of Messiah,
or are you still working after the old nature? You may say that I am wrong well
do you know the conditions to receive the Ruach
(Spirit) of Elohim?
Act 5:32 “And we are His witnesses to these matters, and so also is the Set-apart Spirit whom Elohim has given to those who obey Him.”1 Footnote: 1See
1 John 3:24.
I found
this explanation very interesting, if we read the quoted verses to support the
explanation we will see that the “animal soul” of the unregenerate man is
unable to understand the way of the Ruach
(Spirit). Do you have the mind of Messiah? We should ask ourselves if we really
have the mind of Messiah or if we walk after the flesh! Be honest and take some
few minutes to discuss this point.
What does Sh’lomo write concerning the spirit of
animal?
Ecc 3:21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the beast, which goes down to
the earth?
We can see
that the spirit (ruach) of beast do
not follow the same way as the spirit of man (ruach).
We still
have a long way to walk until we put off the old nature to the stake and been
impaled (crucified) with Messiah יהושע.
Do not
understand “to have the mind of Messiah” as to be without fault, this is not
what Shaul is saying.
If we say
that we cannot understand it is because we give heed on our own carnal ability,
but if we trust יהוה to help us in our weakness and decide to follow
the ruach (Spirit) through Messiah יהושע,
we will see a real change in our life. Prayer is a powerful way for change.
Now let us
go back to the today’s “parasha”.
We will
once again deal with the priestly service and with sacrifices. The Levites were
chosen to serve before Elohim
Levi one of the sons of Ya’acov, son of Leah:
Gen 29:34 and she conceivedH2029 again,H5750
and bareH3205 a son;H1121 and said,H559
NowH6258 this timeH6471 will my husbandH376 be joinedH3867
untoH413 me, becauseH3588 I have bornH3205
him threeH7969 sons:H1121 thereforeH5921
H3651 was his nameH8034
calledH7121 Levi.H3878
Levi:
Strong’s #G3978 לוי lêvîy lay-vee'
From H3867; attached; Levi, a son of Jacob: - Levi. See also H3879, H3881.
H3867 lâvâh law-vaw'
A primitive root;
properly to twine, that is, (by implication) to unite, to remain;
also to borrow (as a form of obligation)
or (causatively) to lend: - abide with, borrow (-er), cleave, join (self), lend (-er).
Does יהוה
“borrow” the sons of Levi, or wanted them to be “joined” to
him, like Leah wanted Ya’acov to be joined to her when bearing
Levi?
In another “midrash” I explain whose type is Leah.
The Levites were chosen to serve before יהוה:
Num 3:9 “And you
shall give the Lĕwites to Aharon and his sons. They are the given ones, given
to him from among the children of Yisra’ĕl.
The Levites
were to be “Qadosh”, Set apart. This
word has been translated in many “bibles” with “saints” (D’varim 33:2,3, Job
5:1, 15:15, Psalm 16:3, 89:5,7; Hosea 11:12, Zech.14:5, as “Qadish”( Holy one)
in Dan.7:18, 21, 22, 25, 27. The other translation was with the Hebrew word
“chaciyd”: kind, pious (as a saint), godly man, holy (one); saint as in 1st
Sh’mu’el 2:9, 2nd Chron.6:41,
Psalm 30:4, 31:23, 37:28, 50:5, 52:9, 79:2, 85:8, 97:10, 116:15, 132:9, 132:16,
145:10, 148:14, 149:1,5,9, Prov.2:8.
In English
there is no such a difference, all has been classified under “saints”. In the “Brit Chadasha (new testament) we find
one Greek word “hagios” which is:
Strong’s #G40 hagios hag'-ee-os
From ἅγος hagos (an awful thing)
compare G53, [H2282]; sacred
(physically pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially consecrated): - (most) holy (one, thing), saint.
“Hagios” correspond to the Hebrew word “Qadosh”.
With that
in mind, we can understand better the process of sanctification. The Levites
were to be set apart (Qadosh), to be
example for all children of Israel.
This was also pointing to a Future time when some of the “remnant” would be
call in Messiah יהושע to serve after the order of Melchitzedek. The priesthood was and
still remains as it was planed by יהוה:
1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a set-apart (Heb. Qadosh) nation, a people for a
possession, that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light,
1Pe 1:13 Therefore, having girded up the loins of your mind, being sober, set
your expectation perfectly upon the favour that is to be brought to you at the
revelation of יהושע Messiah,
1Pe 1:14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts in
your ignorance,
1Pe 1:15 instead,
as the One who called you is set-apart (Qadosh), so you also
should become set-apart (Qadosh) in all behavior,
Kefa was quoting Vayiqra 11:44:
Lev 11:44 ‘For I am יהוה your
Elohim, and you shall set yourselves apart. And you shall be set-apart (Qadosh),
for I am set-apart (Qadosh). And do not defile yourselves with any
creeping creature that creeps on the earth.
It seems in the two verses above that "behavior" and "creeping creature" are
directly connected!
It is
amazing that “Christianity” today find other ways to explain “holiness”, ways
which are in opposition with the Torah.
Remember the word used here in 1st Kefa is the Greek word “hagios” parallel the Hebrew word “Qadosh”. Many people have a
misconception concerning “saints” today. The RMCC (Roman Catholic Church) has
built a doctrine whereby the “church” decides who is “saint”. This doctrine is
so deep incrusted in the mind of people, that they believe that one must die
first, in order to “become a saint”, and also that the “work” must be like the
“martyr” from the first centuries.
This is in
opposition of what the Torah teaches. Qadosh,
Set Apart (saints) are those set apart from the world, by accepting and following
the Torah, thus been separate from the world and its doctrines, those following
יהוה in the Ruach (Spirit) and True
(The Torah) (Yochanan 4:24);
Exo 31:13 SpeakH1696 thouH859
also untoH413 the childrenH1121 of Israel,H3478
saying,H559 VerilyH389 (H853) my sabbathsH7676 ye shall keep:H8104 forH3588
itH1931 is a signH226
betweenH996 me and you throughout
your generations;H1755 that ye may knowH3045 thatH3588
IH589 am YehovahH3068
that doth sanctify (m'qadashqem*)H6942
you.
* Set you
apart or make you qadosh.
The Levites
were the sons, descendants of Levi one of Ya’acov
sons. The Levites were “set apart”, “Qadosh”
in everything, they possessed the land surrounding the cities as an everlasting
possession (Vayiqra 25:34).
Who are
this “saints” today?
Those who
were in Rome:
Rom 1:7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of Elohim, called,
set-apart ones (Qadosh):
Favour to you and peace from Elohim our Father and the Master יהושע Messiah.
What is “Rome” today is not the western world called “Rome” today?
According
to the will of Elohim:
Rom 8:27 And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is,
because He makes intercession for the set-apart ones (saints) according to
Elohim.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all matters work together for good to those who love Elohim, to those who are called according to His
purpose.
Rom 8:29 Because those whom He knew beforehand, He also ordained beforehand to be conformed to the
likeness of His Son, for Him to
be the first-born among many brothers.
Rom 8:30 and whom He ordained beforehand, these He also
called, and whom He called, these He also declared right. And whom He declared
right, these He also esteemed (glorify).
Saints, Qadosh one, Set apart, people are alive:
Rom 16:2 that you
receive her (Phebe in Cenchrea) in יהוה, worthy of the set-apart ones (saints),
and assist her in whatever matter she has need of you. For she has been a great
help to many, including me.
1Co 1:2 to the assembly of Elohim which is at Corinth, to those who are set-apart (Qadosh)
in Messiah יהושע, called
set-apart ones (saints), with all those calling on the Name of יהושע Messiah our
Master in every place, theirs and ours:
Not only in
Rome:
Eph 1:1 Sha’ul, an emissary of יהושע Messiah by the desire of Elohim, to the
set-apart ones (saints) who are in Ephesos, and true to Messiah יהושע:
Php 1:1 Sha’ul and Timothy, servants of יהושע Messiah, to all the set-apart ones (saints) in Messiah יהושע who are in Philippi, with the overseers and attendants:
Today since
the destruction of the Temple in 70C.E.the
priesthood service of the Qadosh One,
Set Apart One (saints) in Messiah has been transformed into the Melchitzedek priesthood in Messiah יהושע. Shaul (Paul) in the book to the Hebrew
(7:11-25) explain this change:
Heb 7:14 for it is perfectly clear that our Master arose from Yehuḏah, a tribe
about which Mosheh never spoke of concerning priesthood,
Heb 7:15 and this is clearer still, if another priest arises in the likeness of Malkitseḏeq,
Heb 7:16 who has become, not according to the Torah of fleshly command, but according to the power of an endless life,
The role of
the Levites beside the divine service was to teach Torah to the Children of
Israel (carnal man):
Neh 8:9 And Neḥemyah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest, the scribe,
and the Lĕwites who taught the people said to all the people………
Deu 24:8 “Take heed, in an outbreak of leprosy, to diligently guard and do
according to all that the priests, the Lĕwites, teach you. As I have commanded them, so you
shall guard to do.
Lev 10:11 and to teach the children of Yisra’ĕl all
the laws which יהוה has spoken
to them by the hand of Mosheh.”
Badmidbar 4:22.take also the sum of Gershon……..
Sum:
Strong’s #H7218 ראשׁ rosh written
resh, aleph, shin, meaning, rô'sh roshe
From an unused root
apparently meaning to shake; the head
(as most easily shaken), whether literally or figuratively (in many
applications, of place, time, rank, etc.): - band, beginning, captain, chapiter, chief (-est place,
man, things), company, end, X every [man], excellent, first, forefront, ([be-])
head, height, (on) high (-est part,
[priest]), X lead, X poor, principal, ruler, sum, top.
The word is
also used for the “new moon” or “head of the month” “rosh chodesh”.
Gershon, one of the Levites, descendant from Levi, son
of Ya’acov. Like all name in Hebrew, Gershon
has a meaning:
Gershon: Strong’s #H1647, from #1648
gêreshôn gêreshôm gay-resh-one', gay-resh-ome'
From H1644; a refugee; Gereshon or Gereshom, an Israelite: -
Gershon, Gershom
H1644 gârash gaw-rash'
A primitive root; to drive out from a possession;
especially to expatriate or divorce: - cast up (out),
divorced (woman), drive away (forth,
out), expel, X surely put away,
trouble, thrust out.
Merari (verse 29): Merari son of Levi (B’reshit
46:11)
Merari: Strong’s #H4847 מררי written mem, resh, resh, yod, meaning, merârîy
mer-aw-ree'
From H4843; bitter; Merari, an
Israelite: - Merari. See also H4848.
H4843 mârar maw-rar'
A primitive root;
properly to trickle (see H4752); but used only as a denominative from H4751; to
be (causatively make) bitter (literally or
figuratively): - (be, be in, deal, have, make) bitter (-ly, -ness), be moved
with choler, (be, have sorely, it) grieved
(-eth), provoke, vex.
The other
group was Koath who were to bear the
tabernacle (4:15).
Koath:
Strong’s #H6955 קהת qaf, he, tav,
meaning, qehâth keh-hawth'
From an unused root
meaning to ally oneself; allied;
Kehath, an Israelite: - Kohath.
The
tabernacle was to be carried only and solely by the Levites, unless they die by
touching part of the Tabernacle or anything consecrated to the Tabernacle.
It is
amazing how today, believers even in יהושע
Messiah, take the
service, lightly we see congregation accepting drunkard, even more some
tolerate those drunkard to “worship”, more to “preach” or “teach” !
1Co 5:11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone
called ‘a brother,’ if he
is one who whores, or greedy of gain, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler – not
even to eat with such a one.
“Anyone called a brother” (not those outside
our faith), not even to eat with such a one! This is a strong declaration,
unfortunately today the Greek mind of many “feel” pity for those!
The Torah
teaches to leave by “faith”, trusting Elohim,
not to live by “feeling”, inner emotion which bring confusion to the inner man.
The reason
to do so is that the one who is a drunkard, whore, greedy, idolater, revilers
or a swindler, may repent and turn back to the right way.
If we
tolerate such a brother in our fellowship we join ourselves to him and walk in
darkness, as he is in darkness.
1Co 5:10 And I certainly did not mean with those of this world who
whore, or with the greedy of gain, or swindlers, or idolaters, since then you
would need to go out of the world.
1Co 5:12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders (unbelievers)? Do you not
judge those who are inside (the Assembly)?
1Co 5:13 But Elohim judges those who are outside. And
put away the wicked one from among you!
1Co 6:9 Do you not know
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the reign of
Elohim?
Do not be deceived. Neither those who whore, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
effeminate, nor homosexuals,
1Co 6:10 nor thieves, nor greedy of gain, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers shall
inherit the reign of Elohim.1 Footnote:
1Gal. 5:19-21, Eph. 5:3-5.
The work of
the flesh:
Gal 5:19 And the works of the flesh
are well-known, which are these:
adultery,1 whoring, uncleanness,
indecency, Footnote: 1Only Textus Receptus
contains adultery.
Gal 5:20 idolatry, drug sorcery, hatred, quarrels, jealousies,
fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions,
factions,
Gal 5:21 envy, murders, drunkenness,
wild parties, and the like – of which I forewarn you, even as I also said
before, that those
who practise such as these shall not inherit the reign of Elohim.1
Footnote: 11 Cor. 6:10.
Eph 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words,1
for because of these the wrath (anger) of Elohim comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Brothers
and sisters, it is well known among us that some teach that we should “love one
another” and reject correction, I tell you, as I taught you before when I was
among you that this men are following the doctrine of demons, don’t you know
that you put yourselves in jeopardy by accepting to go against the word of the
apostles chosen by our Master personally. When it is written to be “Qadosh” do
not think of yourself to be “Qadosh “, when ignoring this teaching, you are
carnal and not spiritual. You have been called to the higher standard of life,
therefore pray that יהוה give you the strength to stand for the truth
and not be moved by carnal emotion.
Mat 10:34 “Do not think that I
have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword,1 Footnote: 1In Lk. 12:51 the word “division” is
used, while “sword” has the same meaning here.
Mat
10:35 for I have come to bring
division, a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law –
Mat
10:36 and a man’s enemies are those of
his own household.1 Footnote: 1Lk.
12:53, Mic. 7:6.
Luk
12:52 “For from now on five in one
house shall be divided, three against two, and two against three –
Luk 12:53 father shall be divided against son, and son
against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law.”
It is
Messiah who say that he came to bring the “sword” or “division”, who are we to
dare to think that it is not so?
Mat 16:24 Then יהושע said to His taught ones, “If anyone wishes to come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his stake, and follow Me.
Mat 16:25 “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, and whoever
loses his life for My sake shall find it.
Are we taking
our stake (cross), walking after him or are we looking to escape the burdens of
life, trying to save our life?
The Torah
teaches us that “wicked” person will perish:
Psa 1:6 For יהוה knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wrong
(wicked) comes to naught.
Psa 119:155 Deliverance is far from the wrong (wicked) ones, For they have not
sought Your laws.
Psa 145:20 יהוה preserves all those loving Him, But all the wrong
(wicked) ones He destroys.
The wicked
cannot understand:
Dan 12:10 “Many shall be cleansed and made white, and
refined. But the wrong (wicked) shall do wrong (wickedly) – and none of the
wrong (wicked) shall understand, but those who have insight shall understand.
Mat 13:49 “Thus shall it be at the end of the age: the messengers shall come
forth, and separate the wicked out of the midst of the righteous,
When do you
think it will be, it is now, brothers and sisters when Messiah shall appear at
his second coming.
We shall
always have in mind that the Torah points to the carnal man, the lowly nature
of man walking after the flesh, looking for the spiritual.
The
Tabernacle is a picture of Messiah and the “called out”, the “Assembly” in all
its details. To the Levites were given the responsibility to carry the
Tabernacle and no one else; this must point to something, יהוה
want us to understand!
At this
time יהוה’s presence was among his
people in one place: The wilderness where all the children of Israel (carnal
man) where following Moshe, their saviour.
Today יהוה’s
people are scattered in the four corners of the world and are the “spiritual
parts”, the living stones of the body of Messiah, the Assembly (Ekklesia)
(Eph.2:20-22), a Holy Temple ( 1st Kefa 2:5, and Maschiach dwells in us by the Ruach
HaQodesh, the Set Apart Spirit of Elohim
(Rom. 8:9,11).
The service
of the Levites was to length 20 years, from thirty to fifty (Badmidbar 4:3, 23,
30, 35. Twenty is the number for (2x10). Two is the number for division and
ten, the number demonstrating the sum of all number.
Look at
this concept:
Since 2000
years the time of Messiah’s first coming, the house of Yehuda is in exile and have been expatriated, “drive away (Gershon)”, “having allied (koath)” themselves against Ephraim, and therefore have they “vex (harass) (Merari)” Ephraim.
Isa 11:13 The
envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex (harass) Ephraim.
On the
other side is Ephraim boasting to have the better place in יהושע
.All this must be
changed as we see some from Yehuda
coming together with The House of Israel to follow Messiah יהושע! Halleluyah!
Num 4:21 and יהוה
spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num
4:22 “Take a census also of
the sons of Gĕreshon, by their fathers’ house, by their clans.
Num
4:23 “Register them, from thirty years old and above, even
to fifty years old, all who enter to perform the service, to do the service in
the Tent of Meeting.
Num
4:24 “This is the service of
the clans of the Gĕreshonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:
Num
4:25 “And they shall bear the curtains of the Dwelling Place and the Tent of
Meeting with its covering, the covering of fine leather that is on it, the
covering for the door of the Tent of Meeting,
Num
4:26 and the screens of the
courtyard and the covering for the door of the gate of the courtyard, which is
around the Dwelling Place and altar, and their cords, all the equipment for
their service and all that is made for them – so shall they serve.
Num
4:27 “Aharon and his sons are
to command all the service of the sons of the Gĕreshonites, all their burdens
and all their service. And you shall appoint to them all the duty of all their
burdens.
Num
4:28 “This is the service of
the clans of the sons of Gĕreshon in the Tent of Meeting. And let their duties
be under the hand of Ithamar, son of Aharon the priest.
Num
4:29 “As for the sons of
Merari, register them by their clans and by their fathers’ house.
Num
4:30 “Register them, from thirty years old and above, even to
fifty years old, all who enter the
service to do the work of the Tent of Meeting.
Num
4:31 “And this is the duty of
their burden, according to all their service for the Tent of Meeting: the
boards of the Dwelling Place,
and its bars, and its columns, and its sockets,
Num
4:32 and the columns around
the courtyard with their sockets, and their pegs, and their cords, with all
their equipment and all their service. And assign
to each by name the
equipment of the duty of their burden.
Num
4:33 “This is the service of
the clans of the sons of Merari, as all their service for the Tent of Meeting,
under the hand of Ithamar, son of Aharon the priest.”
Num
4:34 So Mosheh and Aharon and
the leaders of the congregation registered the sons of the Qehathites by their
clans and by their fathers’ house,
Num
4:35 from thirty years old and
above, even to fifty years old, all who entered the service for work in the
Tent of Meeting.
Num
4:36 And their registered
ones, by their clans, were two thousand seven
hundred and fifty (2750).
Num
4:37 These were the registered
ones of the clans of the Qehathites, all those serving in the Tent of Meeting, whom
Mosheh and Aharon registered according to the command of יהוה
by the hand of Mosheh.
Num
4:38 And those registered ones
of the sons of Gĕreshon, by their clans and by their fathers’ house,
Num
4:39 from thirty years old and
above, even to fifty years old, all who entered the service for work in the
Tent of Meeting,
Num
4:40 the registered ones, by
their clans, by their fathers’ house, were two
thousand six hundred and thirty (2630).
Num
4:41 These were the registered
ones of the clans of the sons of
Gĕreshon, of all who serve in the
Tent of Meeting, whom Mosheh and Aharon registered according to the command of יהוה.
Num
4:42 And those of the clans of
the sons of Merari who were registered, by their clans, by their fathers’
house,
Num
4:43 from thirty years old and
above, even to fifty years old, all who entered the service for work in the
Tent of Meeting,
Num
4:44 the registered ones, by
their clans were three thousand two hundred
(3200).
Num
4:45 These were the registered
ones of the clans of the sons of
Merari, whom Mosheh and Aharon
registered according to the command of יהוה by
the hand of Mosheh.
Num
4:46 All the registered ones
of the Lĕwites, whom Mosheh and Aharon and the leaders of Yisra’ĕl registered,
by their clans and by their fathers’ houses,
Num
4:47 from thirty years old and
above, even to fifty years old, all who came to do the work of service and the
work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting,
Num
4:48 their registered ones
were eight thousand five hundred and eighty (8580).
Num
4:49 According to the command
of יהוה they were registered by the
hand of Mosheh, each according to his service and according to his burden, thus
were they registered by him, as יהוה
commanded Mosheh.
Chapter 5.
1-10: The sin of “leprosy”,
the Hebrew word is “tsara” which is
not to be understood as we know under “leprosy” today. It was a divine
punishment from Elohim and could be
cleansed (number 12:10, 2nd chronicle 26:16-20, Matt.8:23, Mark
1:40, 10:8). Bodily discharge in
Leper in Hebrew equal tsara, equal psiorasis!
Hebrew is
the word:
Strong’s #H2100 זוּב
zub: tzade, vav, beth, meaning
zûb zoob
A primitive root; to flow freely (as water), that
is, (specifically) to have a (sexual) flux; figuratively to waste
away; also to overflow: - flow, gush out, have a (running) issue, pine
away, run.
And is
understood as “wasted words”,
a free flowing tongue as we see with Myriam
in Badmidbar 12:10)
Psa 10:7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under
his tongue is trouble and
wickedness.
Psa 12:3 יהוה does cut off all flattering lips, a tongue that speaks swelling words,
Psa 64:8 and they cause one to stumble their own tongue is against them; All who
see them flee away.
Pro 10:31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the
tongue of perverseness is cut
out.
Pro 17:4 An evil-doer gives heed to wicked lips; a liar gives ear to a tongue of desire.
Mic 6:12 “For her rich men are filled with cruel unrighteousness, and her
inhabitants have spoken falsehood, and their tongue is deceit in their mouth.
Jas 3:6 and the tongue is a fire,
the world of unrighteousness. Among our members the tongue is set, the one
defiling the entire body, and setting on fire the wheel of life, and it is set
on fire by Gehenna.
We see that
the first verse speak of two cause and effect of the evil tongue.
The Camp,
an image for the coming body of Messiah was to be “Qadosh”, every member acting wickedly brought havoc to the all
assembly
Once again
we hear today many things concerning the “evil tongue” and unfortunately it
doesn’t seem to disturb many. People like to “gossip” and tell story true or
not. In so doing they bring evil against themselves and hurt those who have
been under their evil tongue.
At the end of this “parasha” I have copy a text, I found when studying on “lashon Hara”, the evil tongue, I encourage you to read it and not
only to read it but to study it for he/she who wrote it, did it in order that
this evil tongue stop among believers.
Verse 6-7……when a man or woman shall commit sin to do a transgress against יהוה
……
Num 5:7 Then
they shall confess their sin which they have done:
Read:
1Jn 1:9 If
we confess our sins, He is
trustworthy and righteous to forgive us the sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Ya’acov goes one step further:
Jas 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one
another, and pray for one another, so that you are healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous one
accomplishes much.
The result
is healing!
Verses 8-10. this part has been fulfilled by יהושע
who paid for us with
his own life
Verses 11-31. The law of Jealousy.
Jealousy is
still present today and many times we see in TV dramas happening, a man has
killed his wife, even the children, mostly because the wife left the husband
for another and the husband did self justice, killing the lover. Today the man
will be punished for murder. How will it be when Messiah comes back?
Num 5:15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest.
And he shall bring the offering for her, one-tenth of an ĕphah of barley flour......
Today I want to add that this is the only place
in the Tanak where we can see an offering made of barley (Heb. s'horah),
which is a picture of our animal nature, as explain in the beginning of this
parasha. Please take note of this point, it will help you to understand that minchah offering for
the starting of counting the omer cannot be made of barley.
Verse 15……..he
shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense, for it is an offering of
jealousy, an offering of memorial bringing iniquity to remembrance.
The oil
represents the anointing, the divine presence of the Ruach HaQodesh (Set Apart Spirit), the frankincense, representing
the sweetness of the prayer.
In this
case we deal with the second aspect of the commandments: “You shall love your
neighbour as yourselves”. Man toward man!
17. It is said that dust represents the descendants of Abraham according
to B’reshit 13:16. This dust is taken
from the floor of the Tabernacle, and represents the part of Israel that has remained Qadosh, Set Apart.
This could
have a sense reading what Yehoshua tells his talmidim:
Mat 10:14 And whoever will not
receive you, nor will hear your words, having gone out of that house or city, shake
off the dust from your feet.
If the wife
was not unfaithful, she didn’t had to fear. It is also told that the process
was in step to let time to the wife to confess her sin if she had sinned,
otherwise she would undergo the law of jealousy and bear the curse. The Torah
tells us that if the wife was not defiled she was free and could conceive seed
(5:28).
Num 5:1 and יהוה
spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num
5:2 “Command the children of
Yisra’ĕl to send out of the camp every
leper (tzara), and everyone who has
a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled1 for a being. Footnote: 1Defilement can be imparted from one to
another.
Num
5:3 “Send out both male and
female, send them outside the camp, so that
they do not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell.”
Num
5:4 And the children of
Yisra’ĕl did so, to send them outside the camp. As יהוה
had spoken to Mosheh, so the children of Yisra’ĕl did.
Num
5:5 And יהוה
spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num
5:6 “Speak to the children of
Yisra’ĕl, ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in trespass
against יהוה, and that being is guilty,
Num
5:7 then they shall confess their
sin which they have done. And
he shall restore his guilt in its principal, plus one-fifth of it, and give it
to whom he has been guilty.
Num
5:8 ‘But if the man has no
relative to restore the guilt to, the guilt which is restored goes to יהוה,
for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is
made for him.
Num
5:9 ‘And every contribution
of all the set-apart gifts of
the children of Yisra’ĕl, which they bring to the priest, becomes his.
Num
5:10 ‘And every man’s
set-apart gifts becomes his,
whatever any man gives the priest becomes his.’ ”
Num
5:11 and יהוה
spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num
5:12 “Speak to the children of
Yisra’ĕl, and say to them, ‘When any man’s wife turns aside and has committed a
trespass against him,
Num
5:13 and a man has intercourse
with her, and it is hidden from
the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and
there was no witness against her, nor was she caught,
Num
5:14 and a spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his
wife who has defiled herself, or a spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he
becomes jealous of his wife although she has not defiled herself,
Num
5:15 then the man shall bring
his wife to the priest. And he shall bring the offering for her, one-tenth of
an ĕphah of barley flour. He is not to pour oil on it or put frankincense on
it, because it
is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering
for remembering, for bringing crookedness to remembrance.
Num
5:16 ‘And the priest shall
bring her near, and shall make her stand before יהוה.
Num
5:17 ‘And the priest shall
take set-apart water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on
the floor of the Dwelling Place
and put it into the water.
Num
5:18 ‘And the priest shall
make the woman stand before יהוה, and
shall uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her
hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy, while the priest holds in his
hand the bitter water that brings a curse.
Num
5:19 ‘And the priest shall
make her swear, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you
have not turned aside to uncleanness under your husband’s authority, be free from this bitter water that
brings a curse.
Num
5:20 “But if you have turned
aside under your husband’s authority,
and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain
with you” –
Num
5:21 then the priest shall
make the woman swear with the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman
– “יהוה make you a curse and an oath
among your people, when יהוה
makes your thigh waste away and your belly swell,
Num
5:22 and this water that
causes the curse shall go into your inward parts, and make your belly swell and
your thigh waste away.” And the woman shall say, “Amĕn, amĕn.”
Num
5:23 ‘And the priest shall
write these curses in a book, and shall wipe them off into the bitter water,
Num
5:24 and shall make the woman
drink the bitter water that brings the curse, and the water that brings the
curse shall enter her to become bitter.
Num
5:25 ‘And the priest shall
take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and shall wave the
offering before יהוה, and bring it to the altar.
Num
5:26 ‘And the priest shall
take a hand filled with the offering, as its remembrance offering, and burn it
on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water.
Num
5:27 ‘And when he has made her
drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and has committed
a trespass against her husband, that the water that brings the curse shall
enter her and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall
waste away, and the woman shall become a curse among her people.
Num
5:28 ‘But if the woman has not
defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be clear and shall conceive
children.
Num
5:29 ‘This is the Torah of
jealousy, when a wife turns aside under her husband’s authority and defiles herself,
Num
5:30 or when a spirit of
jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife. Then he shall
make the woman stand before יהוה, and
the priest shall do to her all this Torah.
Num
5:31 ‘And the man shall be
clear from crookedness, but the woman bear her crookedness.’ ”
Chapter 6: The Nazarite vow.
5:2….. When a man or woman does separate, by making a vow
of a Nazirite, to be
separate to יהוה
The vow is unto יהוה.
Vow: Strong’s #H5087 נדר nâdar naw-dar'
Vow: Strong’s #H5087 נדר nâdar naw-dar'
A primitive root; to promise (positively, to do or give something to God): -
(make a) vow.
So if
somebody promised something to Elohim,
he should separate himself from wine, vinegar, strong drink, nor was allowed to
drink any liquor of grapes or eat moist grapes or dried.
A Nazarite had to put away with anything
from the wine!
Nazarite:
Strong’s #H5139 נזיר nâzir, naw-zeer'
From H5144; separate, that is, consecrated (as prince, a Nazirite);
hence (figuratively from the latter) an unpruned
vine (like an unshorn Nazirite).
(The translation, Nazarite, is by a false alliteration with Nazareth.):
- Nazarite [by a false alliteration with Nazareth],
separate (-d), vine undressed.
We read in
the today’s “parasha” about Samson whose mother was
commanded not to drink any strong drink:
Jdg 13:4 “And now, please guard, and do not drink wine or strong
drink, and do not
eat any unclean food.
Jdg 13:5 “For look, you are conceiving and bearing a son. And let no
razor come upon his head, for the youth is a Nazirite to Elohim from the womb on. And he
shall begin to save Yisra’ĕl out of the hand of the Philistines.”
The reason of the nazirite vow was that Samson was to deliver Israel from the Philistines. The purpose of consecration
was to make him a Nazirite from the
womb for Elohim purpose. We have
another example with Yochanan the Immerser:
Luk 1:15 “For he shall be great before יהוה, and shall drink no wine and strong drink at all. And he shall be filled with the
Set-apart Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
Luk 1:16 “And he shall turn many (NOT ALL) of the children of
Yisra’ĕl to יהוה their Elohim. (emphasis
mine)
Luk 1:17 “And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of
Ěliyahu, ‘to turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the insight of the righteous,
to make ready a people prepared for יהוה.”
Here the
vow to make him turn many of the Children of Israel (carnal man) to יהוה.
The wine is
a picture of Israel:
Isa 5:1 Please let me sing to the One I love, a song for my loved One regarding
His vineyard: my loved One has a vineyard on a fertile
hill.
Isa 5:2 And He dug it up and cleared it of stones, and
planted it with the choicest vine, and built a
watchtower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it. And He waited for the
yielding of grapes, but it yielded rotten ones.
Isa 5:7 For the vineyard of יהוה of hosts is the house of Yisra’ĕl, and the man of
Yehuḏah is His pleasant plant. He looked for right-ruling, but see, oppression;
for righteousness, but see, weeping.
Compare
with what יהושע says:
Joh 15:5 “I am the vine, you
are the branches. He who stays
in Me (in the Vine), and I in him, he bears much fruit. Because
without Me you are able to do naught!
With Samson it was in order to deliver the
children of Israel
(carnal man) from the Philistines
(Palestinians), with Yochanan it was
to turn some from the Children of Israel (carnal man) to יהוה Elohim.
It was also
for Shaul to give proof of his
faithfulness to the Torah (Acts 21:21-24).
- To shave
the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice
of the peace offering (verse 18). The hair meaning is not explained, and only
in a deeper meaning we may see something.
I tell you what I learned more than forty years ago, man has around 600 000 hairs on his head! This become very interesting when we read Sh’mot 12:37: and the children of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succoth about 600 000 man on foot…….
I tell you what I learned more than forty years ago, man has around 600 000 hairs on his head! This become very interesting when we read Sh’mot 12:37: and the children of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succoth about 600 000 man on foot…….
What can we
say, is there any relation between the number of the hair and the Children of
Israel? Read what יהושע says:
Mat 10:30 “And even the hairs of your head are all numbered!!!
Luk 12:7 “But even the hairs of your head have
all been numbered. Do not
fear, you are worth more than many sparrows.
Verse 25. To compare read:
Psa 34:16 The face of יהוה is against evil-doers, To cut off their remembrance from the
earth.
Jer 44:11 “Therefore thus said יהוה of hosts, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, ‘See, I am setting My face
against you for evil and for cutting off all Yehuḏah.
Until today
this threefold blessing is part of blessing in Yehudin’s prayer.
Num 6:1 and יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 6:2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and say to them, ‘When a man or woman
does separate, by making a vow of a Nazirite, to be separate to יהוה,
Num 6:3 he separates himself from
wine and strong drink – he drinks neither vinegar of wine nor vinegar of strong drink, neither does he drink any grape juice, nor eat grapes or raisins.
Num 6:4 ‘All
the days of his separation he does not eat whatever is made of the grapevine, from seed to skin.
Num 6:5 ‘All the days of the vow of his separation a razor does not come upon his
head. Until the days are completed for which he does separate himself to יהוה, he is
set-apart. He shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long.
Num 6:6 ‘All the days of his separation to יהוה he does not
go near a dead body.
Num 6:7 ‘He does not make
himself unclean for his father, or
for his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his
separation to Elohim is on his head.
Num 6:8 ‘All the days of his separation he is set-apart to יהוה.
Num 6:9 ‘And when anyone dies beside him in an instant, suddenly, and he has
defiled the head of his separation, then he shall shave his head on the day of
his cleansing – on the seventh day he shaves it.
Num 6:10 ‘And on the eighth day he brings two turtledoves or two young pigeons to
the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting,
Num 6:11 and the priest shall prepare one as a sin offering and the other as a
burnt offering, and shall make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason
of the dead body. And he shall set apart his head on that day,
Num 6:12 and shall separate to יהוה the days of his separation, and shall bring a male lamb a year
old, as a guilt offering. But the former days are not counted, because his
separation was defiled.
Num 6:13 ‘and this is the Torah of the Nazirite: When the days of his separation
are completed, he is brought to the door of the Tent of Meeting,
Num 6:14 and he shall bring his offering to יהוה: one male
lamb a year old, a perfect one, as a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year
old, a perfect one, as a sin offering, and one ram, a perfect one, as a peace
offering,
Num 6:15 and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened thin cakes anointed with
oil, and their grain offering with their drink offerings.
Num 6:16 ‘And the priest shall bring them before יהוה and prepare
his sin offering and his burnt offering.
Num 6:17 ‘And he shall prepare the ram as a peace offering to יהוה, together
with the basket of unleavened bread. And the priest shall prepare its grain
offering and its drink offering.
Num 6:18 ‘And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of
the Tent of Meeting, and shall take the hair from the head of his
separation and shall put it on the fire which is under the slaughtering of the peace offering.
Num 6:19 ‘And the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one
unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened thin cake, and put them
upon the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his hair of separation.
Num 6:20 ‘Then the priest shall wave them, a wave offering before יהוה. It is
set-apart for the priest, besides the breast of the wave offering and besides
the thigh of the contribution. And afterwards the Nazirite shall drink wine.’
Num 6:21 “This is the Torah of the Nazirite who vows to יהוה the
offering for his separation, and besides that, whatever else his hand is able
to provide. According to the vow which he takes, so he shall do according to
the Torah of his separation.”
Num 6:22 and יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 6:23 “Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying, ‘This is how you bless the children
of Yisra’ĕl. Say to them:
Num 6:24 “יהוה bless you and guard you;
Num 6:25 יהוה make His face shine upon you, and show favour to you;
Num 6:26 יהוה lift up His face upon you, and give you peace.” ’ Footnote: Verses 24 to 26 is the Priestly Blessing.
Num 6:27 “Thus they shall put My Name on the children of Yisra’ĕl, and I Myself
shall bless them.”
Chapter 7: The
sacrifices according to the head of the Tribes.
The
tabernacle has been set up (verse 1) and the princes, head (rosh) of the House
of their fathers brought their offerings.
When we go
through we will see that the offerings repeat themselves for each tribes:
- One silver charger of the weight of 130
Shekels,
- A silver bowl of seventy shekels both of them
full of Fine flour mingled with oil for grain offering
- One golden spoon of ten shekels full of
incense
- One young bullock
- One ram
- One Lamb of the first year for
burnt offering
- One kid of the goat for a sin
offering
For the sacrifice of peace offering:
-
Two oxen
-
Five rams
-
Five He goats
-
Five Lambs of the first year
The full
amount was (verses 85-88),
-
Charger of Silver 130 Shekels
-
Each bowl seventy: All the silver vessel 2400
Shekels
-
The Golden spoon full of incenses 120 Shekels
-
Oxen 12
-
Ram 12
-
Lambs 12
-
All the oxen for the sacrifice of peace
offering
-
Bullocks: 24
-
Rams: 60
-
He Goats: 60
-
The Lamb of the first year: 60
89. Num 7:89 And when Mosheh went into the Tent of
Meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from above
the lid of atonement that was on the ark of the Witness, from between the two
keruḇim. Thus He spoke to him.
Here to
understand beside the natural we will go to the “sod” meaning, the mystery
(mystical) without approaching it from this side, we can only see a ritual, and
boring repetition of a sacrifice. We are going to try to see how to connect
natural and spiritual. First of all we see that through repetition that the
twelve tribes were involved in the same and equal way. Only unity bring
perfection
There are a
lot of symbols in this verses, and we need to put apart each of them in order
to understand.
One
question may be asked: Why does יהוה want us to study the Torah (Psalm
1)? There are two principal reasons:
-
The one is that we may grow in a way to be Qadosh as Shaul write in Roman 12:2, to renew our mind by putting the Torah
in our mind.
-
The second reason no lesser important is to be
able to stand when the day will come that many will leave the faith because of
the trouble coming, the great tribulation:
Mat 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does them, shall
be like a wise man who built his house on the rock,
Mat 7:25 and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the
winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock (YHWH
the Torah).
Mat 7:26 “And everyone who hears
these words of Mine, and does not do them,1 shall be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, Footnote: 1John
3:36.
Mat 7:27 and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.”
Yehowah is
the rock on which we build our faith following יהושע’s
example (D'varim 32:3-4).
יהוה has done it for different reason. First of all
that no man can boast before Him (Yrmeyahu
10:23-24).
יהוה spoke the end from the beginning (B’reshit) so
that all flesh that He alone rule:
Isa 46:9 “Remember the former events
of old, for I am Ěl, and there is no one else – Elohim, and there is no one
like Me,
Isa
46:10 declaring the end from the
beginning, and from
of old that which has not yet been done,
saying, ‘My counsel does stand, and all My delight I do,’
The Torah
gives us the undeniable proof of Messiah’s coming and that יהושע
(not Jesus the
“anti-messiah”) is the one promised in the Torah,
who was before the creation of the world (not physically)
Col 1:15 Who
is the image of the invisible Elohim (b'reshit 1:26), the firstborn of every creature:
Col
1:16 For by him (YHWH) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by him (YHWH), and for him (YHWH):
Created and
not existing equally with the Father:
Rev 3:14 and unto the messenger of the assembly of
the Laodiceans write; These things saith the amein, the faithful and true
witness, the beginning of the creation of YHWH;
To go back
to the sacrifice, we need to look at everything in order to found out what יהוה
want us to see.
Verse 67: His offering was one silver charger the weight
was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, both of them full of fine
flour mingled with oil.
Silver is a
picture of the payment יהושע did for us. Silver represent money
payment:
Gen 13:2 And Aḇram was very rich in livestock, in silver,
and in gold.
Gen 23:15 “My master, listen to me! The land is worth four hundred sheqels of
silver. What is that between
you and me? So bury your dead.”
Gen 37:28 And men, Miḏyanite traders passed by, so they pulled Yosĕph up and
lifted him out of the pit, and sold
him to the Yishmaʽĕlites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Yosĕph to Mitsrayim.
Amo 2:6 Thus said יהוה, “For three transgressions of Yisra’ĕl, and for four, I do not
turn it back, because they sell the righteous for silver (shekels), and the poor for a pair of sandals,
Zec 11:12 and I said to them, “If it is good in your eyes, give me my wages. And
if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
Zec
11:13 And יהוה said to me, “Throw it to the potter,” the splendid price at which I was valued by them. And I took the thirty pieces of
silver and
threw them into the House of יהוה for the potter.
Mat 26:15 and said, “What would you give me to deliver Him (Yehoshua)) to you?”
And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.
The number
130 is equal to: 13 x 10.
Thirteen is the number for rebellion
Thirteen is the number for rebellion
Gen 14:4 Twelve years they served Keḏorlaʽomer, and in the thirteenth year they
rebelled.
Ten is the
number representing the sum of all numbers.
Ø
Full of fine flour. The flour represent the body
of Messiah who was crushed, the white colour is for purity. The flour is made
of crushed wheat’s grain. יהושע was crushed for our transgression
Fine flour: H5560 סוֹלֶת coleth (so'-leth) n-f.
1. flour (as chipped off)
Ø Coleth or
solet, is always
from wheat and not barley (s'horah) see the midrash on counting the
Omer.(Vayiqra 2:1,14,23:10,14, Shemot/Ex.34:22, 2nd Kgs 7:1)
Isa 53:3 despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and knowing sickness. And
as one from whom the face is hidden, being despised, and we did not consider
Him.
Isa 53:4 Truly, He has borne our sicknesses and carried our
pains. Yet we reckoned Him stricken, smitten by Elohim, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was
crushed for our crookednesses. The chastisement
for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Ø
Mingled with oil. The oil is a picture of the
anointing on the believer’s life.
Ø
One golden spoon of Ten shekels, full of incense.
Gold represent purity and everlasting life, it is only to be found in the Qadosh place (Set Apart place) in the
Tabernacle. Gold is not found in the soil as it is in the Tabernacle, it must
be removed from all his impurity. The process of refining in through fire, by
heating the gold to bring it to the melt level in order to remove all impurity.
We need to go through the fire of purification, how far are you in the process?
Zec 13:9 “And I shall bring the third
into fire, and refine them as silver
is refined, and try them as gold is tried. They shall call on My
Name1, and I shall answer them. I shall say, ‘This is My
people,’ while they say, ‘יהוה is my Elohim.’ ” Footnote: 1Zeph. 3:9.
Ø
The incense represent the prayer of the Set
Apart one:
Rev 8:3 And another messenger came and stood at the altar, holding a golden
censer, and much incense was given to him, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the set-apart ones
upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rev 8:4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the set-apart ones, went up before
Elohim from the hand of the
messenger.
Ø
One young Bullock, one
Ram, One Lamb, One kid of the Goat. All these animals are clean animals and point to the work of Messiah יהושע.
It has been a mystery to understand why so many sacrifices were done before
Messiah came. Even today if you ask people, they will tell for most of them
that they don’t understand why so many animals were killed. These animals
represent the nature of Messiah יהושע, they were all
innocent! No animals had sinned; like יהושע,
the innocent paid for the guilty like יהושע
who paid for us. When
sacrificed the animals like יהושע didn’t open their mouth.
Verse 71: and for a sacrifice of peace offering, two oxen,
five rams……
Here again
something very interesting. The two oxen: Two is the number for division
(B’reshit 1:4). Two oxen were yoked
together to pull the wagon (verse 3):
One day the
House of Yehuda and the House of Israel
(the Two oxen) will come back under the same yoke (Torah) and they will be no more divided
Mat 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble
in heart, and you shall find rest for your beings.1 Footnote: 1Jer.
6:16.
The purpose of the yoke
was to put a young Bull and a older and experienced one together in order
for the young bull to learn how to walk. With this in mind we can understand Yehoshua's words.
Isa 11:12 And He shall raise a banner for the nations, and gather the outcasts of
Yisra’ĕl, and assemble the dispersed of Yehuḏah from the four corners of the
earth.
Isa
11:13 and the envy of Ephrayim
shall turn aside, and the adversaries of Yehuḏah be cut off. Ephrayim shall not envy
Yehuḏah, and Yehuḏah not trouble Ephrayim.
Jer 33:24 “Have
you not observed what these people have spoken, saying, ‘The
two clans (family, nations) which יהוה has chosen have been rejected by Him’? So
they have despised My people1, no more to be a nation before
them. Footnote: 1Ps.
83:3-4, Ezek. 28:24-26, Ezek. 36:2-6.
Eze 37:22 “And I shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of
Yisra’ĕl. And one sovereign shall be sovereign over them all, and let
them no longer be two nations, and let them no longer be divided into two
reigns.
Joh 7:35 The Yehuḏim, therefore, said to themselves, “Where is He about to go
that we shall not find Him? Is He
about to go to the Dispersion among
the Greeks (Helen), and to teach the Greeks (nations)?
Five is the
number for the Torah, the five books Moshe. We can see how יהוה in
His wisdom has embedded deep meaning for those who seek Him. Only in Messiah
can we found the secret / sod or mystery of the Torah.
2Co 3:15 But to this day, when Mosheh is being read, a veil lies on their heart.
2Co 3:16 and when
one turns to the Master, the veil is taken away.
Revelation
doesn’t come by man’s wisdom, but by the wisdom which is from above and comes
from the giver of life, יהוה Sebaoth, the Father.
Verses 84-88………twelve charger of silver, twelve silver bowls,
twelve spoon of gold.
Twelve is the number for divine governance on
earth: Twelve tribes, twelve apostle
Rev 21:12 and having a great and high wall, having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve messengers, and names written on them, which are those
of the twelve tribes of the children of Yisra’ĕl:1 Footnote: 1See
Eze. 47:22-23, Eze. 48:31-34.
Rev
21:14 and the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve emissaries (apostles)
of the Lamb.
85. each charger of silver…..hundred and thirty
shekels (13x10), the number of rebellion multiplied with the number for the sum
of all numbers. Rebellion will lest until the coming of Messiah. Only a small
remnant will be faithful.
86.The golden spoon (gold equal divine and
everlasting, without change).
Twelve and
all the gold of the spoons was 120 Shekels.
Consider
this: 50 is the
number for Yovel (Jubilee), 50 x 120
(Yovel) is equal to 6000. The time we
will spend on earth before the millennium reign of Messiah.
88:…….twenty four bullocks, the Ram sixty,
the Goats, sixty, the Lambs sixty.
Look at
this: 24 is equal to 12 x 2, so below as above for complete perfection!
60 is 6 x10.
Six: the number of man and ten the sum of all number, or 12 x 5: 12 as the
perfect government on earth and 5 the number for Torah.
Andrew
Harris writes “the symbolism of ten ordinals perfection is the only perfection
that the natural man human can even approach (Ten Commandments). While man’s
perfection falls far short of Elohim’s
perfection, we can strive and achieve some measure of success with ordinal
perfection. Ordinal perfection, as symbolized
by the number Ten stands out as
linked with the natural, the carnal (flesh, as our ten fingers literally
are) and the world and yet still perfect:
-
Ten commandments : Sh’mot 20
-
Ten righteous: B’reshit 18:32
Six is the
number of the day in which man was created.
More on the Law of Jealousy:
I would
like to share this concept which brings again natural to spiritual and compare
with the work of יהושע.
The Law of Jealousy:
Jealous:
Strong’s # H7065 קנא qânâ' kaw-naw'
A primitive root;
to be (causatively make) zealous, that is, (in a bad
sense) jealous or envious:
- (be) envy (-ious), be (move to, provoke to) jealous (-y), X very,
(be) zeal (-ous).
In the
Torah we find the law for the wife who go aside from her Husband, and commit
trespass against him.
This will
cause her to be brought before the priest (יהוה’s representing
on earth) and undergo the test. If she be found guilty she will suffer the
curse pronounced by the priest, if not she will be proclaimed guiltless.
Now
consider this:
In Sh’mot
20:5 we read;
Exo 20:5 you do not bow down to them nor serve them (gods, graven images, idols).
For I, יהוה your Elohim am a jealous Ěl, visiting the crookedness of the fathers on the children
to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
The Hebrew word for "jealous" as a far greater meaning than the abstract
western concept of jealousy!
Qanah carry
the concept of a bird building a nest and watching over the chicks to protect
them from predators.
We read
further that the House of Israel, Ephraim committed adultery:
Jer 3:6 And יהוה said to me in the days of Yoshiyahu the sovereign, “Have you seen
what backsliding Yisra’ĕl has done? She has gone up on
every high mountain and under every green tree, and there
committed whoring (idolatry)…………
Jer 3:8 “And I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Yisra’ĕl
had committed adultery (with idols), I had put her away and given her a
certificate of divorce (sefer keritut); yet her treacherous sister Yehuḏah did not fear, but went and
committed whoring too.
Ephraim
became unfruitful
Hos 13:1 When Ephrayim spoke there was trembling, he was lifted up in Yisra’ĕl. But through Baʽal he became guilty, and he
died.
Hos 13:2 And now they sin more and more, and
make for themselves moulded images from their silver, idols according to their skill, all of them the
work of craftsmen. They say of them, “Let the men who slaughter kiss the calves
Hos 13:12 “The
crookedness of Ephrayim is bound up, his sin is hidden.
Hos 12:1 Ephrayim is feeding on wind, and pursuing an east wind. All the day he increases falsehood and ruin. And they make a covenant
with Ashshur, and oil is sent to Mitsrayim.
Messiah
came to remove us from this curse (not from the Torah). In the book of Acts, as
it is well explained by Eddie Chumney,
(Hebraic roots of Christianity) we can see the reversing of the curse in
Messiah:
Act 15:29 that you abstain from what is offered to idols, and blood, and what is strangled, and whoring.1
If you keep yourselves from these, you shall do well. Be strong! Footnote: 1See v. 20.
These four
things brought curse on Ephraim, the House of Israel, you and me, falsely
called “gentiles”!
First of all
in Hebrew mind, we should understand that idolatry is considered as adultery.
The reverse
of the curse we find in Hosea and Yechezk’el:
Hos 4:13 “They (Ephraim) slaughter on the mountaintops, and burn incense on the hills,
under oak and poplars (trees) and terebinth (bushes), because its shade is
good. Therefore your daughters
commit whoring (Acts 15:29), and your
brides commit adultery.
Hos 4:17 “Ephrayim is joined to idols, let him alone.
Hos 9:3 They shall not dwell in the land of יהוה, but Ephrayim shall return to Mitsrayim, and eat unclean food (Acts 15:29) in Ashshur.
Eze 18:5 “But if a man is righteous and shall do right-ruling and righteousness,
Eze 18:6 if he has not eaten on the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols (Acts 15:29) of
the house of Yisra’ĕl, nor defiled his
neighbour’s wife, nor comes near a
woman during her uncleanness (blood
Acts 15:29),
Conform to
the Torah
Lev 20:1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Lev 20:2 “Say to the children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘Any man of the children of Yisra’ĕl, or
of the strangers who sojourn in Yisra’ĕl, who gives any of his offspring to Moleḵ (spiritual
adultery), shall
certainly be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.
Lev 20:3 ‘And I, I shall set My face against that man, and shall cut him off from
the midst of his people, because he has given of his offspring to Moleḵ, so as
to defile My set-apart place and to profane My set-apart Name.
Lev 20:4 ‘And if the people of the land at all hide their eyes from the man, as he
gives any of his offspring to Moleḵ, and they do not kill him,
Lev 20:5 then I shall set My face against that man and against his clan, and shall
cut him off – and all who go whoring after him, even go whoring after Moleḵ –
from the midst of their people.
Idolatry =
Jealousy of יהוה = Cut off, Exile!
Deu 4:23 “Guard yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of יהוה your Elohim
which He made with you, and shall make for yourselves a carved image in the
form of whatever יהוה your Elohim has forbidden you.
Deu 4:24 “For יהוה your Elohim is a consuming fire, a jealous Ěl.
Messiah
came to pay the price and redeem us. All who will follow him will be called
brothers and sisters (Matt 12:50).
Another
explanation on the threefold blessing in Number 6:24-26, from Tobia (Yashanet).
There is a
triune aspect to Elohim, which has nothing to do with the “Christian trinity”.
That is
-
Judgment side (i.e. the left hand)
-
Mercy (i.e. the right hand)
-
And compassion in the center (middle) which
reconciles the two.
There are
also three parts in the creation:
The physical realm we live in.
The realm of the souls and angels, called yetzirah or world of formation
The realm of the heavenly throne: (Beriah).
This
threefold prayer reflects both, the “nature” of Elohim, as well as the “level of existence” in His creation.
We are
safeguarded with the left side of judgment, given grace (favour) from the right side of mercy, and find shalom in the
harmony of their balance. We are blessed in the physical world, our soul
receive countenance in the next realm, and the “shalom” that passes all
understanding comes from His throne in the heavens (Beriah). This prayer is thus a representation of Messiah who
unites, left and right, as well as below and above, and is also model for us navigating the narrow “middle
path” of Torah (read Matt. 7:13-14, Yoch.14:17, Phil.4:6-7).
Going
deeper in the word's meaning help to understand how Elohim interact with his Children:
Num 6:23
Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the
children of Israel, saying unto them,
Num 6:24 YHVH bless (barak) thee, and keep (Shamar)
thee:
Num 6:25 YHVH make his face (panyim) shine upon thee, and be
gracious unto thee:
Num 6:26 YHVH lift up his countenance (panyim) upon thee, and give peace
(shalom).
Hebrew use
repetition in a poetic way: make his face
shine upon thee and lift up His
countenance upon thee.
The word Barak (bless) means to kneel down a strange concept in western mind, that Elohim will kneel down to somebody.
We have
seen the word shamar : to hedge
around with thorn, as it was with the shepherd making a hedge of thorn around
the flock in the night to keep them from predators.
Num 7:1 And it came to
be, when Mosheh finished setting up the Dwelling Place, that he anointed it and
set it apart and all its furnishings, as well as the altar and all its
utensils. Thus he anointed them and set them apart.
Num 7:2 And the leaders of Yisra’ĕl, heads of their fathers’
houses who were the leaders of the tribes and over the ones registered, drew
near,
Num 7:3 and they brought their offering before יהוה: six covered wagons and twelve cattle, a wagon for
every two of the leaders, and for each one a bull. And they brought them near
before the Dwelling Place.
Num 7:4 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 7:5 “Accept these from them,
and they shall be used in doing the service of the Tent of Meeting. And you
shall give them to the Lĕwites, each one according to his service.”
Num 7:6 And Mosheh took the wagons and the cattle, and gave them to the Lĕwites.
Num 7:7 He gave two wagons and four cattle to the sons of Gĕreshon, according to
their service.
Num 7:8 And he gave four wagons and eight cattle to the sons of Merari, according
to their service, under the hand of Ithamar, son of Aharon the priest.
Num 7:9 But to the sons of Qehath he gave none, because theirs was the service of
the set-apart objects, which
they bore on their shoulders.
Num 7:10 And the leaders brought the dedication offering of the altar in the day it was anointed. So the leaders
brought their offering before the altar.
Num 7:11 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Let them bring their offering, one leader each
day, for the dedication of the altar.”
Num 7:12 and the one who brought his offering on the first day was Naḥshon, son of
Amminaḏaḇ, from the tribe of Yehuḏah.
Num 7:13 And his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was one hundred
and thirty sheqels, one silver
bowl of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place, both
of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:14 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:15 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:16 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:17 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Naḥshon, son of Amminaḏaḇ.
Num 7:18 On the second day Nethanĕ’l, son of Tsuʽar, leader of Yissasḵar, brought
near.
Num 7:19 He brought his offering, one silver dish, the weight of which was one
hundred and thirty sheqels, one
silver bowl of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place,
both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:20 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:21 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:22 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:23 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nethanĕ’l, son of Tsuʽar.
Num 7:24 On the third day Eliyaḇ, son of Ḥĕlon, leader of the children of
Zeḇulun:
Num 7:25 his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was one hundred and
thirty sheqels, one silver bowl
of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place, both of
them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:26 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:27 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:28 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:29 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliyaḇ, son of Ḥĕlon.
Num 7:30 On the fourth day Elitsur, son of Sheḏĕy’ur, leader of the children of Re’uḇĕn:
Num 7:31 his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was one hundred and
thirty sheqels, one silver bowl
of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place, both of
them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:32 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:33 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:34 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:35 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elitsur, son of Sheḏĕy’ur.
Num 7:36 On the fifth day Shelumi’ĕl, son of Tsurishaddai, leader of the children
of Shimʽon:
Num 7:37 his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was one hundred and
thirty sheqels, one silver bowl
of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place, both of
them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:38 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:39 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:40 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:41 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Shelumi’ĕl, son of Tsurishaddai.
Num 7:42 On the sixth day Elyasaph, son of Deu’ĕl, leader of the children of Gaḏ:
Num 7:43 his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was one hundred and
thirty sheqels, one silver bowl
of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place, both of
them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:44 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:45 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:46 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:47 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elyasaph, son of Deu’ĕl.
Num 7:48 On the seventh day Elishama, son of Ammihuḏ, leader of the children of
Ephrayim:
Num 7:49 his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was one hundred and
thirty sheqels, one silver bowl
of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place, both of
them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:50 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:51 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:52 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:53 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elishama, son of Ammihuḏ.
Num 7:54 On the eighth day Gamli’ĕl, son of Peḏahtsur, leader of the children of
Menashsheh:
Num 7:55 his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was one hundred and
thirty sheqels, one silver bowl
of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place, both of
them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:56 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:57 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:58 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:59 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Gamli’ĕl, son of Peḏahtsur.
Num 7:60 On the ninth day Aḇiḏan, son of Giḏʽoni, leader of the children of
Binyamin:
Num 7:61 his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was one hundred and
thirty sheqels, one silver bowl
of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place, both of
them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:62 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:63 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:64 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:65 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Aḇiḏan, son of Giḏʽoni.
Num 7:66 On the tenth day Aḥiʽezer, son of Ammishaddai, leader of the children of
Dan:
Num 7:67 his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was one hundred and
thirty sheqels, one silver bowl
of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place, both of
them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:68 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:69 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:70 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:71 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Aḥiʽezer, son of Ammishaddai.
Num 7:72 On the eleventh day Paḡʽi’ĕl, son of Oḵran, leader of the children of
Ashĕr:
Num 7:73 his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was one hundred and
thirty sheqels, one silver bowl
of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place, both of
them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:74 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:75 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:76 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:77 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Paḡʽi’ĕl, son of Oḵran.
Num 7:78 On the twelfth day Aḥira, son of Ěnan, leader of the children of
Naphtali:
Num 7:79 his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was one hundred and
thirty sheqels, one silver bowl
of seventy sheqels, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place, both of
them filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
Num 7:80 one gold ladle of ten sheqels,
filled with incense;
Num 7:81 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt offering;
Num 7:82 one male goat as a sin offering;
Num 7:83 and as a peace offering: two cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male
lambs a year old. This was the offering of Aḥira, son of Ěnan.
Num 7:84 This was the dedication of the altar from the leaders of Yisra’ĕl, when it
was anointed: twelve silver dishes, twelve silver bowls, twelve gold ladles.
Num 7:85 Each silver dish was one hundred and thirty sheqels and each bowl seventy sheqels. All the silver of the vessels was two thousand four
hundred sheqels, according to
the sheqel of the set-apart place.
Num 7:86 The twelve gold ladles filled with incense was ten sheqels each, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place.
All the gold of the ladles was one hundred and twenty sheqels.
Num 7:87 All the cattle for the burnt offering were twelve young bulls, the rams
twelve, the male lambs a year old twelve, with their grain offering, and the
male goats as a sin offering twelve.
Num 7:88 And all the cattle for the peace offerings were twenty-four bulls, the
rams sixty, the male goats sixty, the lambs a year old sixty. This was the
dedication of the altar after it was anointed.
Num 7:89 And when Mosheh went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he heard
the voice of One speaking to him from above the lid of atonement that was on
the ark of the Witness, from between the two keruḇim. Thus He spoke to him.
HAFTORAH
Jdg
13:2 And there was a certain man
from Tsorʽah, of the clan of the Danites, whose name was Manowaḥ. And his wife
was barren and had not borne.
Jdg 13:3 And a Messenger of יהוה appeared to the woman and said to her, “See now, you are barren
and have not borne, but you shall conceive, and you shall bear a son.
Jdg 13:4 “And now, please guard, and do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not
eat any unclean food.
Jdg 13:5 “For look, you are conceiving and bearing a son. And let no razor come
upon his head, for the youth is a Nazirite to Elohim from the womb on. And he
shall begin to save Yisra’ĕl out of the hand of the Philistines.”
Jdg 13:6 and the woman came and spoke to her husband, saying, “A Man of Elohim came
to me, and His appearance was like the appearance of a Messenger of Elohim,
very awesome. But I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not declare
to me His name.
Jdg 13:7 “And He said to me, ‘See, you are conceiving and bearing a son. And now,
drink no wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean food, for the youth is a Nazirite to Elohim from the womb to the
day of his death.’ ”
Jdg 13:8 And Manowaḥ prayed to יהוה, and said, “O יהוה, please let
the Man of Elohim whom You sent come to us again and teach us what to do for
the youth who is to be born.”
Jdg 13:9 And Elohim listened to the voice of Manowaḥ, and the Messenger of Elohim
came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field, but Manowaḥ her
husband was not with her.
Jdg 13:10 And the woman ran hurriedly and informed her husband, and said to him,
“See, He has appeared to me, the Man who came to me the other day!”
Jdg 13:11 And Manowaḥ arose and went after his wife, and came to the Man, and he
said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.”
Jdg 13:12 And Manowaḥ said, “Now let Your words come true! What is to be the rule
for the youth’s life and his work?”
Jdg 13:13 And the Messenger of יהוה said to Manowaḥ, “Let the woman guard all that I said to her.
Jdg 13:14 “Let her not eat any food
that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat
any unclean food. Let her guard
all that which I have commanded her.”
Jdg 13:15 And Manowaḥ said to the Messenger of יהוה, “Please
let us detain You, and prepare a young goat for You.”
Jdg 13:16 And the Messenger of יהוה said to Manowaḥ, “Though you detain Me, I do not eat your
food. But if you offer a burnt offering, offer it to יהוה.” For
Manowaḥ did not know He was a Messenger of יהוה.
Jdg 13:17 Then Manowaḥ said to the Messenger of יהוה, “What is
Your name? When Your words come true, then we shall esteem You.”
Jdg 13:18 And the Messenger of יהוה said to him, “Why do you ask My name, since it is wondrous?”
Jdg 13:19 And Manowaḥ took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it
upon the rock to יהוה. And He did wondrously while Manowaḥ and his wife looked on.
Jdg 13:20 And it came to be, as the flame went up toward the heavens from the altar,
that the Messenger of יהוה went up in the flame of the altar. And Manowaḥ and his wife
were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.
Jdg 13:21 And the Messenger of יהוה did not appear any more to Manowaḥ and his wife. Then Manowaḥ
knew that He was a Messenger of יהוה.
Jdg 13:22 And Manowaḥ said to his wife, “We shall certainly die, because we have
seen Elohim!”
Jdg 13:23 But his wife said to him, “If יהוה had been
pleased to put us to death, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a
grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all this, nor would
He have let us hear the like of this!”
Jdg 13:24 So the woman bore a son and called his name Shimshon. And the child grew,
and יהוה blessed him.
Jdg 13:25 and the Spirit of יהוה began to move him at Maḥanĕh Dan, between Tsorʽah and
Eshta’ol.
Act
21:17 And when we had arrived in
Yerushalayim, the brothers received us gladly.
Act
21:18 and on the following day
Sha’ul went in with us to Yaʽaqoḇ, and all the elders came.
Act
21:19 and having greeted them, he
was relating one by one what Elohim had done among the gentiles through his
service.
Act
21:20 and when they heard it, they
praised the Master. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of
Yehuḏim there are who have believed, and
all are ardent for the Torah.
Act
21:21 “And they have been informed
about you that you teach all the Yehuḏim who are among the gentiles to forsake
Mosheh, saying not to circumcise the children nor to walk according to the
practices.
Act
21:22 “What then is it? They shall
certainly hear that you have come.
Act
21:23 “So do this, what we say to
you: We have four men who have taken a vow.
Act
21:24 “Take them and be cleansed with them, and pay their expenses so that
they shave their heads. And all shall know that what they have been informed
about you is not so, but that you
yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Torah.
Act
21:25 “But concerning the gentiles
who believe, we have written and decided that they should keep themselves from what
is offered to idols, and blood,
and what is strangled, and whoring.”1 Footnote: 1See 15:20.
Act
21:26 Then Sha’ul took the men on
the next day, and having been cleansed with them, went into the Set-apart Place
to announce the completion of the days of separation – until the offering
should be presented for each one of them.
Lashon HaRa – The evil
tongue
Traditional
Judaism teaches a doctrine against Lashon Hara (“La-shone Ha-rah”), or the
‘Evil Tongue.’ As we will see, if this doctrine is applied in a spirit of love,
it can be very good. However, if it is not applied in a spirit of love, it can
be extremely destructive. What was originally intended as a..Lashon Hara decree
against gossip. It is based on Leviticus 19:15,16, which tells us not to ‘bear
tales,’ or to take a stand against the life of our neighbour.
Vayiqra
(Leviticus) 19:15-16 16 “You shall not go about as a talebearer among your
people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbour: I am
YHWH.” Additionally, the Ninth Commandment tells us not to bear false witness
against our neighbours.
Shemote
(Exodus) 20:16
16
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.”
That the
commandment not to give false witness is the Ninth Commandment tells us how
strongly YHWH feels about it. However, the Jewish doctrine against Lashon Hara
goes even further: it also tells us we should not even speak disparagingly
against our neighbours. This idea is derived from how Miriam was punished for
speaking disparagingly against Moshe.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 12:1-2
1 Then
Miriam and Aharon spoke against Moshe because of the Cushite woman whom he had
married; for he had married an Cushite woman.
2 So they
said, "Has YHWH indeed spoken only through Moshe? Has He not spoken
through us also?" And
YHWH heard
it. What Miriam said was essentially true: YHWH had not only spoken through
Moshe, but had also spoken through others in the congregation of Israel.
However, since Miriam’s speech was not really constructive, but disparaging and
divisive, YHWH considered it ‘evil.’
While both
Miriam and Aharon were present, Miriam is mentioned first in the narrative.
Since Miriam was the one was punished, some scholars believe it was also
logically Miriam who initiated the slander. Whatever the case, Miriam’s
punishment for speaking against the earthly leader of the Nation of Israel was
to be afflicted with tzaraas (‘leprosy’) for seven days.
Bemidbar
(Numbers) 12:9-11
10 And when
the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous,
as white as snow. Then Aharon turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper.
Judaism
teaches that any communication, whether in speech, writing, or other forms
(such as electronic) is considered ‘evil’ if it meets all of the following four
criteria:
12 1. It says something negative about a
person;
2. Is something not previously known to the public;
3. Is not seriously intended to correct or improve a negative situation;
and
4. It is true.
All four of
these have to be true in order for speech to qualify as Lashon Hara. However, there is also a fifth qualification, which
really speaks to the third, which is that Lashon
Hara may even be compulsory if one is aware of the possibility of future
harm coming to another person, and is seeking to warn them, to keep them from
coming to harm. As we will see, this is the key to understanding how the
doctrine of Lashon Hara applies to
the Renewed Covenant.
Judaism considers Lashon Hara to be one of the
most serious of all sins. It also tells us not to confuse
Lashon Hara with Motzei
Shem Ra (pure slander), which is speaking things derisively which are not true.
As the
rabbis reason, if speaking that which is true (but is negative, divisive and/or
derisive) is one of the worst of all possible sins, then how much more severe
is the sin of fabricating a complete and total lie against another?
Some
believing scholars question whether the doctrine of Lashon Hara is accurate, or
whether it applies in a Renewed Covenant context. These point out that if these
four (or five) guidelines were applied in their strictest sense, that the
Apostle Shaul, Yehoshua and perhaps even YHWH could be condemned of ‘Evil Speech.’
However, while none of the apostles were perfect, we know that Yehoshua and YHWH are perfect, so let
look at these cases in more details.
Timoteus
Bet (2nd Timothy) 4:14-16
14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May YHWH repay him according to his works.
15 You also must beware of him, for he has
greatly resisted our words.
16 At my first defence no one stood with me,
but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.
In his
writings, the Apostle Shaul names.
Some commentators suggest that the only way Shaul
could have spoken legitimately against Alexander would be if a Beit Din (court)
had ruled against Alexander, in Shaul’s favour. These tell us that then
(and only then) would the Apostle Shaul
be justified in speaking such a true statement that was negative towards
Alexander.
While the
context of this passage does seem to allow for a court hearing, a court hearing
is not proven. It also seems unreasonable that the only reason Shaul could be allowed to communicate
the truth to Timothy was that a court had previously ruled in Shaul’s favour.
Shaul’s purpose in writing Timothy was to warn him
(and those he shepherded) in order to keep them from coming to harm as well.
This is clearly in keeping with the fifth stipulation: that the speaker must
ethically pass along information he believes might save others from coming to
harm.
The rabbis
might consider this statement by Yehoshua
to be Lashon Hara:
Mattithyahu (Matthew) 15:13-14
13 But He
answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted
will be uprooted.
14 Let them
alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind,
both will fall into a ditch.”
According
to the strict rules of interpretation, Yehoshua’s
remarks could be considered Lashon Hara, because:
1. He says something negative about a person or party;
2. He is saying something not previously known to the public;
3. He is not directing His attempt to correct the rabbi’s behaviour to
them; and
4. His statements are (by definition) true. However, this is a situation
where the fifth stipulation comes into play. Yehoshua is attempting to warn His disciples not to be like the
scribes or the Pharisees, in order to keep them from future judgment (i.e., in
order to keep them from harm). The reason Yehoshua
speaks in such a pungent manner may be in order to drive the point home in a
way that will stick: Therefore, Yehoshua’s
remarks do not qualify as Lashon Hara.
Here is
another statement by Yehoshua that
the rabbis would likely classify as Lashon
Hara:
45 But
because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.
46 Which of
you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?
47 He who
is of Elohim hears Elohim’s words; therefore you do not
hear, because you are not of Elohim.
Notice:
1. Yehoshua is saying something
negative about a person or party;
2. He is saying something not previously known to the public (i.e., not
common knowledge);
3. His statements are (by definition) true; but
4. He is directing His attempt to correct or improve the rabbi’s behaviour
to them.
Rather then
hold secret grudges, Judaism expects people to speak up for what is right. This
national ethic of ‘clearing the air’ may derive from Leviticus 19:17-18, which
commands us to ‘surely’ rebuke our neighbours, so that we bear no sin (i.e.,
hold no grudges) because of them.
Yochanan
(John) 8:44-47
44 You are
of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was
a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the
Leviticus
19:17-18
17 You
shall not hate your brother in your heart. You. shall surely rebuke your
..................:neighbour, and not bear sin because of him. ).. 18 You shall
not take. vengeance, nor bear any . grudge against the children of your
people,. truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he
speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
56 but you
shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am YHWH.
This
passage is especially revealing for Westerners, because the King James Version
historically gave us a faulty rendering of this passage, and this legacy lives
on in Western thought and codes of ethics.
Leviticus
19:17-18 (KJV)
17 Thou
shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy
neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
18 Thou
shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but
thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am [YHWH].
The
rendering in the King James Version seems to suggest that we should never
rebuke our neighbour, for that would be to ‘suffer sin upon him.’ However, this
reading is just about the opposite of what the Hebrew really says. In Hebrew,
the commandment is to ‘surely’ rebuke our neighbour, based on the doubling of
the root love our neighbour as we love ourselves, we must ‘surely’ reprove our
neighbours, so that they can learn, and improve. If we do not reprove them,
then how can they learn what is wrong; and if they do not know that anything is
wrong, then how can they improve? Also, whether or not the other party hears
us, once we have ‘gotten things off of our chest’ and have ‘cleared the air’ we
do not have to ‘bear sin.’
Block Logic
seems to imply that if we love someone, we will do what we can to help them
improve; and this seems to be exactly what Yehoshua
was doing in John
8:44-47
(above). By ‘surely’ reproving the Pharisees, Yehoshua had witnessed to them, and had therefore done His part in
giving them the option to change.
YHWH speaks
of the importance of this same kind of witnessing through His prophet Ezekiel.
By speaking the truth in love, we deliver our own souls.
Yehezqel
(Ezekiel) 3:17-19
17
"Son of man, I have made you watchman for the House of Israel; therefore
hear a word from My mouth, and give them
warning from Me:
18 When I
say to the wicked, 'You shall word ‘yakach’ (................). Whenever a root
word is surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked
doubled or repeated, it becomes an imperative. from his wicked way, to save his
life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will
require at you.
The Hebrew
of this passage is also interesting to analyze in the context of Hebrew Block
Logic. ‘Block your hand. Logic’ tells us that when YHWH places what seem like
19 Yet, if
you warn the wicked, and he disparate thoughts together (as in Leviticus
19:17-18), does not turn from his wickedness, these thoughts are related to
each other, even if the nor from his wicked way, he shall die connection is not
easy for the casual reader to identify. in his iniquity; but you have delivered
When we apply Block Logic to Leviticus 19:17-18, it your soul.”seems that
YHWH’s meaning is that in order to truly
78
The key
here, however, is to speak the truth in true and unfeigned love, rather than
anger, condemnation, judgment or whatever other emotion. While YHWH asks us to
stand up and speak out for what is right, we must always remember that the goal
is not to criticize, castigate or ‘judge’ anyone else. Rather, we must keep
firmly in mind that the goal is for the Body of Messiah to learn how to edify
itself in love.
Ephesim
(Ephesians) 4:11-16
11 And He
Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some
pastors and teachers,
12 for the
equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the Body
of Messiah,
13 till we
all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim,
to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Messiah;
14 that we
should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by he trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful
plotting,
15 but,
speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head
— Messiah —
16 from
whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies,
according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes
growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Lest we
underestimate the importance of helping the Body learn how to edify itself in
love, let us consider Yehoshua’s
instructions at Matthew 5:21-26, where He tells us that if we have done
something to offend our brothers, or if we are unforgiving and are not
reconciled with them, YHWH does not accept our offerings.
Mattithyahu
(Matthew) 5:21-26
21
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder,
and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'
22 But I
say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in
danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca (I spit on
you)!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall
be in danger of hell fire.
23
Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your
brother has something against you,
24 leave
your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your
brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Agree
with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your
adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and
you be thrown into prison.
26
Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have
paid the last coin.”
9 10
Anger,
hostility or ‘hot emotions’ in delivering a rebuke is the exact opposite of the
gentle and peacefully self-controlled character that YHWH wants us to develop.
In order to
please YHWH, our rebukes need to take the form of lovingly helping a brother
solve his problems.
Galatim
(Galatians) 6:1-5
1 Brethren,
if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual
restore
such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be
tempted.
2 Bear one
another's burdens, and so fulfil the Torah of Messiah.
3 For if
anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4 But let
each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself
alone, and not in another.
5 For each
one shall bear his own load. If we love our brothers in truth unfeigned, and if
we hope to help them as we would like to be helped, then our rebuke must be
delivered in kindness, and without wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce
the kind of brotherly affection that YHWH Elohim desires.
Yaakov
(James) 1:19-20
19 So then,
my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to
wrath;
20 for the
wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of Elohim.
Can we
imagine Yehoshua speaking these words
in love and in hurt, painedly trying to warn the brothers whom He so loved that
they needed to change their ways, so that they would not face future judgment
for believing in their own righteousness?
Mattithyahu
(Matthew) 23:13-14
13
"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you
allow those who are entering to go in.
14 Woe to
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for
a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.”
When we are
called to deliver a rebuke, generally one of the reasons we are called to
deliver it is because we see the other party doing something wrong. In these
times, how easy is it for us to feel superior in our flesh? How easy is it for
us to feel self righteous?
Luqa (Luke)
18:9-14
9 Also He
spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous,
and despised others:
10
"Two men went up to the Temple
to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The
Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'Elohim, I thank You that I am not
like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax
collector.
11 12
12 I fast
twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'
13 And the
tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to
heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'Elohim, be merciful to me a sinner !'
14 I tell
you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for
everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be
exalted.”
Shaul tells
us that if we want the peace of Elohim to be with us, then without foolishness
of any kind, we need to make a conscious effort to focus on the positive, and
avoid focusing on the negative.
Philipim
(Philippians) 4:8-9
8 Finally,
brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things
are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things
are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy — meditate on these things.
9 The
things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and
the Elohim of peace will be with you.
To focus on
the good is to choose life, and this will help us in every aspect of life; but
particularly when applied to our communications with others. Yaakov beautifully
underscores the importance of speaking gently, and peacefully, and focusing on
speaking only the good.
Yaakov
(James) 3:1-13
1 My
brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a
stricter judgment.
2 For we
all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect
man, able also to bridle the whole body.
3 Indeed,
we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole
body.
4 Look also
at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are
turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.
5 Even so
the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a
little fire kindles!
6 And the
tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members
that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it
is set on fire by hell.
7 For every
kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has
been tamed by mankind.
8 But no
man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it
we bless our Elohim and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in
the similitude of
Elohim. 10
Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things
ought not to be so.
13 14
11 Does a
spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
12 Can a
fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring
yields both salt water and fresh.
13 Who is
wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works
are done in the meekness of wisdom.
Wisdom is
known by her meekness. Therefore, if a man’s speech is not meek, is he filled
with the Spirit of Wisdom at that moment?
Lest we
think that Yaakov’s call for meek,
humble and positive speech at all times is too much, let us consider Yehoshua’s words:
Mattithyahu
(Matthew) 12:35-37
35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and
an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
36 But I
say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it
in the day of judgment.
37 For by
your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The things
that come out of our mouths indicate what is in our hearts. Therefore, if the
things that come out of our mouths are constructive, and positive, and help to
edify the Body in love, then they are not evil speech.
Again, YHWH
shows us a flaw in someone else’s walk that ‘surely’ needs to be corrected, in
the ‘heat’ of the moment it can be difficult to remember that in order to
genuinely love our brother and help him improve, we need to put our emotions
aside and speak to him in love, just as we would hope to be spoken to.
Mattithyahu
(Matthew) 7:12
12
Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the
Torah and the Prophets.
Another
level of difficulty comes in when the
person we are speaking to does not hear our words. Particularly if this
issue is a ‘hot’ one for us, or if it is an issue that has caused either us or
those we love to stumble in the past, or if it is actively hurting those we
love, it can be a real patience-builder to remember that it is not us who is
able to convict, but only YHWH. Once we have done our best job of delivering
the message in love, we have
done our
job, and we must let go of the outcome, and place the results on YHWH’s altar.
Romim
(Romans) 14:4
4 Who are
you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed,
he will be made to stand, for Elohim is able to make him stand. Indeed, we must
be extremely cautious and careful whenever something ‘pushes our hot buttons’,
for this indicates that we may have a similar or related flaw.
Romim
(Romans) 2:1
1 Therefore
you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for
15 16 in whatever you judge another
you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
Yehoshua tells us that we are to judge with righteous
judgment, so we know that it is possible for us to judge, if only another man’s
fruits. However, when we find ourselves getting angry, or otherwise emotionally
upset we need to stop, and remember that we are no more than messengers for
YHWH’s message. Our message must be delivered in all meekness and kindness, if
it is to have the maximum effect. It is not ours to convict or to judge, but
only to deliver the message in love. If the other party does not hear, or if
YHWH is not ready for him to hear the message, then so long as we have done our
job of delivering the message in a friendly and kind way, we must leave the
outcome to Elohim, and not needlessly speak ill of our brother.
Yaakov
(James) 4:11-12
11 Do not
speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges
his brother, speaks evil of the Torah and judges the Torah. But if
you judge the Torah, you are not a doer of the Torah, but a judge.
12 There is
one Torah giver who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge
another?
As the
proverb of our fathers says, a man convinced against his will is a man of the
same opinion still; and a woman all the more so. One of the greatest of all
sins is to think we have none, and so if our brother does not hear our rebuke,
rather than get into judgment we just need to get on our face, and pray for our
brother, whom we love.
17
Consider
the righteousness of David.
Tehillim
(Psalms) 35:11-14
11 Fierce
witnesses rise up. They ask me things that I do not know.
12 They
reward me evil for good, to the sorrow of my soul.
13 But as
for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with
fasting, and my prayer would return to my own heart.
14 I paced
about as though he were my friend or brother. I bowed down heavily, as one who
mourns for his mother.
David also modelled
self-restraint, keeping his tongue
from saying
anything at all, so long as his emotions
were still
hot inside of him.
Tehillim
(Psalms) 39:1-3
1 I said,
"I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth
with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me.”
2 I was
mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; and my sorrow was stirred
up.
3 My heart
was hot within me. While I was musing, the fire burned. Then (afterwards) I
spoke with my tongue.
It can be a
real challenge to hold our tongues while we are in the face of provocation. Yet
YHWH refines His people in the crucible, and asking us to hold our tongues is
one of His means of doing so.
18
Consider
also the righteousness of Abigail, who only spoke negatively about her husband
Nabal in order to keep David from avenging himself (thereby saving Nabal’s
life).
Shemuel
Aleph (1st Samuel) 25:32-33
32 Then
David said to Abigail:"Blessed is YHWH Elohim of Israel, who sent you this
day to meet me!
33 And
blessed is your advice and
blessed are
you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from
avenging myself with my own hand.”
One of the
keys to holding one’s tongue is to know what our responsibilities are, and
where they end, so that once we have witnessed to our brothers in love we
can turn to
prayer, trusting that YHWH can control all things within His universe. This
makes it easier to remember that apart from loving and serving Him, our job is
to love our brothers at all times.
Luqa (Luke)
6:27-38
27
"But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate
you,
28 bless
those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
29 To him
who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes
away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.
30 Give to
everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask
them back.
19 31 And
just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32
"But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even
sinners love those who love them.
33 And if
you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even
sinners do the same.
34 And if
you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to
you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.
35 But love
your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward
will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the
unthankful and evil.
36
Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
37
"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be
condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 Give,
and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and
running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you
use, it will be
measured
back to you."
Consider
YHWH’s unlimited power over the Universe: Whatever measure we use when forming
our opinions of others, this is the measure that YHWH will use when He judges
us. Thus, without being foolish, if we are merciful and charitable when forming
our opinions of
others,
then YHWH will be merciful and charitable when forming His opinion of us.
20
Yaakov
(James) 2:12-13
12 So speak
and so do as those who will be judged by the Torah of liberty.
13 For
judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. (Yet) Mercy
triumphs over judgment. In what way does mercy triumph over judgment?
If we can
spot the flaws in others, do we believe that we are completely without sin? Do
we believe that our day to day actions are entirely righteous? Or are we
willing to admit that perhaps we might have flaws we are blind to? And if so,
then is it possible that others are blind to some of their flaws as well; and
that it is only YHWH who has the power to convict?
If YHWH
wills, we will deal with exceptions to the royal law of mercy in a future
article on the Matthew Chapter Eighteen Process. However, what the doctrine of
Lashon Hara does is to give us specific guidelines that help us to follow guidelines that might seem
obvious to us in our more lucid moments: that we are not perfect, and that we
since need YHWH’s unmerited mercy and charity in order to escape destruction,
we also need to model it for our brothers, and even in the heat of the moment
work out our own salvation in fear, and in trembling.
Mattithyahu
(Matthew) 5:48
48
Therefore be perfect (mature), just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
May YHWH
keep you and bless you as you walk the way following our Adon Yehoshua
HaMoschiach!