Bemidbar (translated as Numbers) 1:1 – 4:20
“The Message” Version – this version is a paraphrased version which we normally don’t make use of, but I felt to make use of it for these specific verses:
Hos 2:14 "And now, here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to start all over again. I'm taking her back out into the wilderness where we had our first date, and I'll court her.
Hos 2:15 I'll give her bouquets of roses. I'll turn Heartbreak Valley into Acres of Hope. She'll respond like she did as a young girl, those days when she was fresh out of Egypt.
Hos 2:16 "At that time"--this is the LORD's (YHVH’s) Message still-- "you'll address me, 'Dear husband!' Never again will you address me, 'My slave-master!'
Hos 2:17 I'll wash your mouth out with soap, get rid of all the dirty false-god names, not so much as a whisper of those names again. (Like the days of the week named after false mighty ones and some of the month names that are named after false mighty ones)
Hos 2:18 At the same time I'll make a peace treaty between you and wild animals and birds and reptiles, And get rid of all weapons of war. Think of it! Safe from beasts and bullies!
Hos 2:19 And then I'll marry you for good--forever! I'll marry you true and proper, in love and tenderness.
Hos 2:20 Yes, I'll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go. You'll know me, YHVH, for who I really am.
A Good Shepherd always counts His sheep, hear again the words of our Messiah in Yochanan/John:
Joh 10:4 “And when he has brought out his own sheep, he goes before them. And the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.
Joh 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16 “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold – I have to bring them as well, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one flock, one shepherd.1 Footnote: 1Ezek. 34:23, Ezek. 37:24.
Joh 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.1 Footnote: 1Rev. 14:4-5.
Joh 10:28 “And I give them everlasting life, and they shall by no means ever perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.
Joh 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
The book of Bemidbar/Numbers deals in great measure with the laws and history of the Tabernacle during Yisrael’s years in the wilderness (midbar). This serves to show us how these wilderness wanderings were the shadow of YHVH’s Torah of Messiah. Our very existence is defined by our closeness to His Torah, to His Messiah.
Yochanan/Joh 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Joh 10:12 “But the hireling, and not being a shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.
The Good Shepherd teaches the True Torah, the hireling does not, because he has a different agenda to that of our Messiah. This is how we recognize the true Messiah’s voice and follow him.
Quote: “It is customary that on the Shabbat before a wedding, the bridegroom is called to the Torah. Shavuot, the festival which coincides with the anniversary of the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, represents the marriage of YHVH and Israel; this is why the Torah portion of Bamidbar ("in the desert") is usually read on the Shabbat before Shavuot.” (Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch)
Rev 19:9 And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true words of Elohim.” ( Jer 33:13)
“The Torah was given to the people of Israel in the ownerless desert. For if it were given in the Land of Israel, the residents of the Land of Israel would say, "It is ours"; and if it were given in some other place, the residents of that place would say, "It is ours." Therefore it was given in the wilderness, so that anyone who wishes to acquire it may acquire it”. (Mechilta D'Rashbi)
Blessing for the Torah:
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us your Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Torah Readings:
1. 1:1-19
2. 1:20-54
3. 2:1-34
4. 3:1-13
5. 3:14-39
6. 3:40-51
7. 4:1-16
8. Maftir: 4:17-20
Haftarah: Hoshea 1:10 – 2:20 (2:1-22 Hebrew version)
Aliyah Rishon 1:1-19
Bemidbar/Num 1:1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Mitsrayim, saying,
Num 1:2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head,
Num 1:3 from twenty years old and above, everyone going out to the army in Yisra’ĕl. Number them by their divisions, you and Aharon.
This book of the Torah – Bamidbar is about YHVH calling and counting His bride to be. This counting or taking of census is expressed in a rather strange Hebrew idiom viz “to count the skulls” see Num 1:2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head (gulguletam)
The Hebrew word for head here is “skulls” or “gulgoleth” Strongs 1538. This is where we get the word “Golgotha”
The message is unchanging forever “only in Messiah can we be counted”
Yoch/Joh 19:17 And bearing His stake, He went out to the so-called Place of a Skull, which is called in Heḇrew, Golgotha,
Joh 19:18 where they impaled Him, and two others with Him.
Num 1:4 “And a man from every tribe should be with you, each one the head of his father’s house.
Num 1:5 “And these are the names of the men who stand with you. From Re’uḇĕn: Elitsur, son of Sheḏĕy’ur.
Num 1:6 “From Shim’on: Shelumi’ĕl, son of Tsurishaddai.
Num 1:7 “From Yehuḏah: Naḥshon, son of Amminaḏaḇ.
Num 1:8 “From Yissasḵar: Nethanĕ’l, son of Tsu’ar.
Num 1:9 “From Zeḇulun: Eliyaḇ, son of Ḥĕlon.
Num 1:10 “From the sons of Yosĕph: From Ephrayim: Elishama, son of Ammihuḏ. From Menashsheh: Gamli’ĕl, son of Peḏahtsur.
Num 1:11 “From Binyamin: Aḇiḏan, son of Giḏ’oni.
Num 1:12 “From Dan: Aḥi’ezer, son of Ammishaddai.
Num 1:13 “From Ashĕr: Paḡ’i’ĕl, son of Oḵran.
Num 1:14 “From Gaḏ: Elyasaph, son of Deu’ĕl.
Num 1:15 “From Naphtali: Aḥira, son of Ěnan.”
Num 1:16 These are the ones called from the congregation, leaders of their fathers’ tribes, heads of the thousands of Yisra’ĕl.
Num 1:17 And Mosheh and Aharon took these men who were called by name,
Num 1:18 and they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month. And they declared their ancestry by clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, each one head by head.
Num 1:19 As יהוה commanded Mosheh, so he registered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.
Aliyah Sheni 1:20-54
And now the census results- After giving us the numbers for each tribe, the Torah gives us the grand total: 603,550. This number, however, does not include the Levites. Moshe was commanded by YHVH not to include the Levites in the general census. Instead, the Levites are assigned the following set apart tasks: dismantling, carrying, and re-erecting the Tabernacle whenever Yisrael travelled, and camping around the Set part place, keeping guard over it and its vessels.
Num 1:46 all those that were registered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.
Num 1:52 “And the children of Yisra’ĕl shall pitch their tents, everyone by his own camp, everyone by his own banner, according to their divisions,
Num 1:53 but let the Lĕwites camp around the Dwelling Place of the Witness, so that there be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl. And the Lĕwites shall guard the duty of the Dwelling Place of the Witness.”
Num 1:54 And the children of Yisra’ĕl did according to all that יהוה commanded Mosheh, so they did.
Note that now the mixed multitude who had left Mitsrayim/Egypt with them have now been counted in with the tribes of Yisrael.
Note the profound prophecy of Ezekiel concerning those of us who are grafted into Yisrael.
Eze 47:21 “And you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Yisra’ĕl.
Eze 47:22 “And it shall be that you divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves, and for the strangers who sojourn in your midst and who bear children among you. And they shall be to you as native-born among the children of Yisra’ĕl – with you they have an inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Yisra’ĕl1. Footnote: 1Isa. 14:1, Isa. 56:6-8, Rom. 11:17-26, Eph. 2:19, Eph. 3:6, Rev. 21:12.
Eze 47:23 “And it shall be that in whatever tribe the stranger sojourns, there you give him his inheritance,” declares the Master יהוה.
Aliyah Shlishi 2:1-34
Yisrael is instructed regarding their camping formation. The Tabernacle was at the centre of the encampment, surrounded by the "Flag of Yehudah/Judah" -- which included the Tribes of Yehudah/Judah, Yissachar and Zebulun -- to the east; the "Flag of Reuben" -- Reuven, Shimon, Gad -- to the south; the "Flag of Ephraim" -- Ephrayim, Menashsheh , Benyamin -- to the west; and the "Flag of Dan" -- Dan, Asher, Naftali -- to the north.
Num 2:1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, saying,
Num 2:2 “The children of Yisra’ĕl are to camp, each one by his own banner, beside the sign of his father’s house. Let them camp around the Tent of Meeting at a distance.”
Each tribe had its own prince and its flag whose colour corresponded to the colour of its stone [in Aaron's breastplate--see Exodus 28:15-21]. It was from the tribes of Yisrael that kingdoms learned to provide themselves with flags of various colours.
Artistic impression of the 12 banners by Jenny Bredenkamp
Out of Midrash Rabbah- (italics added) we see that their opinion of what the banners looked like was like this (different opinions on what it looked like, like we can see in the picture above):
Reuben's stone was a ruby; the colour of his flag was red and embroidered thereon were mandrakes [cf. Genesis 30:14].”
“Reuven” means “see a son” - [we see from his life he was not recognized as the first born son as we see too in the life of Messiah that he was not recognized by many as YHVH’s first born.]
Simeon's stone was a topaz; his flag was of a green colour, and the town of Shechem was embroidered thereon [cf. Genesis 34:25].
“Shimeon” comes from the Hebrew word “shema” to hear. We know that our Messiah heard and obeyed every word that came from his Father.
Levi's stone was a smaragd; the colour of his flag was one-third white, one third black, and one third red, and embroidered thereon was [Aaron's breastplate with] the Urim and Tummim.
“Levi” in Hebrew means “my heart.” The urim and tummim were in Aaron’s breastplate close to his heart. Those who live close to the heart of the Father are able to “join” others who also desire to draw closer to the Fathers heart. Yahshua was the supreme example of a Levite who reconciled man to his Maker.
Yehudah’s/Judah's stone was a carbuncle; the colour of his flag was like the colour of the heavens and embroidered on it was a lion [cf. Genesis 49:9].
Like Yahudah our Messiah has a kingly role of rulership in the kingdom of YHVH.
Issachar's stone was a sapphire; the colour of his flag was black like stibnite, and embroidered thereon was the sun and moon, in allusion to the verse, "And of the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times" (I Chronicles 12:33).
Zebulun's stone was an emerald; the colour of his flag was white, with a ship embroidered thereon, in allusion to the verse, "Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea" (Gen. 49:13).
Dan's stone was a jacinth; the colour of his flag was similar to sapphire, and embroidered on it was a serpent, in allusion to the verse, "Dan shall be a serpent in the way" (ibid. v. 17).
Gad's stone was an agate; the colour of his flag was neither white nor black but a blend of black and white, and on it was embroidered a military camp, in allusion to the verse, "Gad, a troop shall troop upon him" (ibid. v. 19).
Naphtali's stone was an amethyst; the colour of his flag was like clarified wine of a light red, and on it was embroidered a deer, in allusion to the verse, "Naphtali is a deer let loose" (ibid. v. 21).
Asher's stone was a beryl; the colour of his flag was like the precious stone with which women adorn themselves, and embroidered thereon was an olive-tree, in allusion to the verse, "As for Asher, his bread shall be fat with oil" (ibid. v. 20).
Yoseph's stone was an onyx and the colour of his flags were jet black; the embroidered design thereon for the two tribes descending from Yoseph, Ephrayim and Menashsheh, was Mitsrayim/Egypt, because they were born in Mitsrayim/Egypt. On the flag of Ephrayim was embroidered a bullock, in allusion to the verse, "His firstling bullock" (Deuteronomy 33:17), which refers to Yehoshua who came from the tribe of Ephrayim. On the flag of the tribe of Menashsheh was embroidered a unicorn, in allusion to the verse, "And his horns are the horns of the re'em" (ibid.), which alludes to Gideon son of Yoash who came from the tribe of Menashsheh.