Bar’chu
et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed!
Baruch
ata YHVH Eloheinu melech ha-olam asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim, v’na-tan lanu
eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Bless YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the
blessed One for all eternity. 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.)
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,’
Isa 46:11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man
who executes My counsel, from a distant land. Indeed I have spoken it, I also
bring it to pass. I have planned it, I also do it.
The term ‘’first born’’ used 8 times in chapter 13 of
Shemot – more times than any other single chapter in the scriptures.
Exo 13:1 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Exo 13:2 “Set
apart to Me all the first-born, the one opening the womb among the children of
Yisra’ĕl, among man and among beast, it is Mine.”
The Torah continues to speak about the first born. This
would become the very essence of our redemption and salvation – the sacrifice
of the first born – man and beast.
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.
Col 1:15 (Yahshua) who is the likeness of the invisible Elohim, the
first-born of all creation.[b] Footnote: b Heb_1:6, Rev_3:14.
Col 1:16 Because in Him
(note not ‘’by him’’) were
created all that are in the heavens and that are on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or rulerships or principalities or authorities – all
have been created through Him and for Him.c Footnote: c Joh_1:3.
Col 1:17 And He is before all, and in Him all
hold together.
Col 1:18 And He is the Head of the body, the
assembly, who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that He might
become the One who is first in all.
Col 1:19 Because in Him all the completeness
was well pleased to dwell,
Col 1:20 and through Him to completely
restore to favour all unto Himself, whether on earth or in the heavens, having
made peace through the blood of His stake.
Heb 12:22 But you have drawn near to Mount
Tsiyon and to the city of the living Elohim, to the heavenly Yerushalayim, to
myriads of messengers,
Heb 12:23 to the entire gathering and
assembly of the first-born having been enrolled in heaven, and to Elohim the
Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,
1Co 3:11 For no one is able to lay any other
foundation except that which is laid, which is יהושע Messiah. (First
born before the foundation of the world)
Col 1:24 who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and
fill up in my flesh what is lacking in Messiah’s afflictions, for the sake of
His Body, which is the assembly,
Col 1:25 of which I became a servant according to the
administration of Elohim which was given to me for you, to fill the word of
Elohim,
Col 1:26 the secret which has been hidden from ages
and from generations, but now has been revealed to His set-apart ones,
Col 1:27 to whom Elohim desired to make known what are
the riches of the esteem of this secret among the gentiles: which is Messiah in
you,1 the expectancy of esteem, Footnote: 1See Messiah
in you in the Explanatory Notes.
Before the foundation of the world YHVH chose and called
the assembly of the first born – Eph 1:4 – for the purpose of His redemption of
mankind.
Exo 13:3 And
Mosheh said to the people, “Remember this day in which you went out of
Mitsrayim, out of the house of slavery. For by strength of hand יהוה brought you out of this place, and
whatever is leavened shall not be eaten.
Exo 13:4 “Today
you are going out, in the month Aḇiḇ.
Exo 13:5 “And it
shall be, when יהוה brings you
into the land of the Kenaʽanites, and the Ḥittites,
and the Amorites, and the Ḥiwwites, and the Yeḇusites,
which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey,
that you shall keep this service in this month.
Without this spiritual rebirth – the first born, those
born from above – there is no physical inheritance.
Exo 13:6 “Seven
days you eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day is a festival to יהוה.
Exo 13:7
“Unleavened bread is to be eaten the seven days, and whatever is
leavened is not to be seen with you, and leaven is not to be seen with you
within all your border.
This physical instruction is possibly a parable of the
recognition that for 7000 years the world must face and come to terms with the
significance and destruction of sin, a type of leaven. After the end of this
7000 year redemptive period there will never be sin on the new earth again. We
see this principle illustrated with a woman in her 7 day time of ‘’uncleanness’’
The bride of messiah may be considered to be ‘’unclean’’ for seven days and
then on the eighth day she is pronounced clean.
Exo 13:8 “And you
shall inform your son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of what יהוה did for me when I came up from Mitsrayim.’
Exo 13:9 “And it
shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes,
that the Torah of יהוה is to be in
your mouth, for with a strong hand יהוה has brought
you out of Mitsrayim.
This scripture is included in a mezuzah attached to the
doorposts of Jewish and some Messianic believers homes.
Exo 13:10 “And you
shall guard this law at its appointed time from year to year.
Exo 13:11 “And it
shall be, when יהוה brings you
into the land of the Kenaʽanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it
to you,
Exo 13:12 that you
shall pass over to יהוה every one
opening the womb, and every first-born that comes from your livestock, the
males belong to יהוה.
Exo 13:13 “But
every first-born of a donkey you are to ransom with a lamb. And if you do not
ransom it, then you shall break its neck. And every first-born of man among
your sons you are to ransom.
Why single out a donkey and the first born son for ransom?
Donkeys were ‘’burden bearers’’ as was the first born
sons were meant to bear the burden of the Torah.
Yahshua sets the example for us when he says in 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.[d]
Footnote: d Jer_6:16.
Mat 11:30 “For My yoke is gentle and My
burden is light.”
Taking upon yourself the
‘’yoke of the Torah’’ was generally accepted in the rabbinic community as
hearing, guarding and doing the Torah.
‘’Pidyon ha ben’ or redemption of the first born: According to the traditional
rabbinic interpretation, in the early part of the Bible,
as recorded in the Book
of Genesis, the duties of a priest fell upon the eldest son of each
family. The first-born was to be dedicated to God in order to perform this
task.
Following the Israelite Exodus
from Egypt, after the nation had sinned with the Golden
Calf,
the priesthood was taken away from the first-borns, and given to the tribe of
Levi specifically to the Kohanim (Priets), that is: High
Priest Aharon,
his children, and their descendants. At the same time it was instituted that
the first born of each family should be redeemed; i.e. they would
be 'bought back' from the dedication to God that would previously have been
required of them. Levites were substituted for the first-born and wholly given
to Divine service:
And thou shalt give the Levites
unto Aharon and to his sons; they are wholly given unto him from the children
of Yisrael.
And I behold, I have taken the
Levites from among the children of Yisrael instead of every first-born that
opens the womb among the children of Yisrael; and the Levites shall be Mine.
For all the first-born are Mine: on the day that I smote all the first-born in
the land of Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the first-born in Yisrael, both man
and beast, Mine they shall be: I am YHVH.' (Numbers 3:9,
12–13)
The first-born male of every
clean animal was to be given up to the priest for sacrifice.[22] The
first-born donkey, if not redeemed, was to be put to death.[23] There
is no need for redemption by any other non-kosher animal, for the firstborn
status only applies to kosher animals.
The redemption price for the
first born given to the priest was 5 pieces of silver.
Exo 13:14 “And it
shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then
you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand יהוה brought us out
of Mitsrayim, out of the house of bondage.
Exo 13:15 ‘And it
came to be, when Pharaoh was too hardened to let us go, that יהוה killed every first-born in the land of
Mitsrayim, both the first-born of man and the first-born of beast. Therefore I
am slaughtering to יהוה every male
that open the womb, but every first-born of my sons I ransom.’
Exo 13:16 “And it
shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by
strength of hand יהוה brought us out
of Mitsrayim.”
Exo 13:17 And it
came to be, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that Elohim did not lead them
by way of the land of the Philistines, though that was nearer, for Elohim said,
“Lest the people regret when they see fighting, and return to Mitsrayim.”
Out of Parashat 16 - “Beshalach” “When he set free or when he cast out”
Shemot/Exodus13:17 –
17:16
We can ask: are we today still under Phaorah’s power?
Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast. And they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to fight with him?”
Rev 13:5 And he was given a mouth speaking great matters and blasphemies, and he was given authority to do so forty-two months.
Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against Elohim, to blaspheme His Name, and His Tent, and those dwelling in the heaven.
Rev 13:7 And to it was given to do battle with the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given to it over every tribe and people and language and nation.
8 And all who are dwelling on the earth will be worshiping it, everyone whose name is not written in the scroll of life of the Lambkin slain from the disruption of the world.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear – CLV.
When the time comes for us to return to the land, we are not going to just
pack our bags and walk out of Egypt or this present world system.
As believers we don’t like to admit that we are in bondage to anything,
but if we honestly consider our present position in this world, we realize that
we need to be set free from the hold that this world has over each one of us,
whether we admit it or not.
Once again herein lies a very important truth for us to understand this
Torah portion as well as end time events. Note that Pharoah had a legal right
over the people of his country. YHVH was not going to steal His people. Pharoah
eventually set them free because they had become too much trouble for him. It
was Pharoahs stubborn foolishness that got him killed and he no longer had any
right of ownership over the people of YHVH.
We need to relook at our eschatological understanding of the end times
in the light of these truths. We are not going to return to the land of Israel
until the Pharoah of this present world system is destroyed – “when he sets us
free” or “Be shalach”
NOTE WHO IS LEADING
YISRAEL! YHVH LEADS THEM OUT OF MITZRAIM.
The Midrash Rabba states that
“The tribe of Ephraim had erred and departed from Egypt 30 years before the
destined time, with the result that three hundred thousand of them were slain
by the Philistines... and their bones lay in heaps on the road... YHVH
therefore said: If Israel behold the bones of the sons of Ephraim strewn in the
road, they will return to Egypt...”
“Lest the people regret when they see
fighting, and return to Mitsrayim.” The
Hebrew word for regret comes from a root word meaning to have compassion. This
verb appears in the text as a “niphal” verb and therefore conveys a passive
meaning. In other words the people would feel sorry or have feelings of
compassion when they saw war. Why? I believe it is possible if they took the
short route, they would have seen the bodies of the Ephramites strewn across
the desert and would have felt very sorry for them.
The moral behind this is that
when a people fight the enemy in their own strength according to their own
wisdom they are bound to come to grief. Perhaps the Father will save a remnant
by protecting them from witnessing the destruction that comes upon a people who
seek to do warfare in their own strength and power.
Exo 13:18 So
Elohim led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Sea of Reeds. And
the children of Yisra’ĕl went up armed from the land of Mitsrayim.
Maybe their “arms”
were not carnal weapons of warfare, but the promises of YHVH and His Torah.
“armed” 2571 “Chamushim” this is the only place this word is used in the
Tenach and its meaning is uncertain.
Chamushim can mean
"armed"... Another interpretation: one in five (chamesh) among
the children of Israel came out of Egypt; four-fifths died during the three
days of darkness [because they did not want to leave Egypt].(Rashi)
Rabbi Joshua interpreted it thus: fivefold they came out of Egypt, for
five times their number in converts were gathered into the people of Israel
upon their departure from Egypt.(Midrash Tanchuma)
Midrash
Rabbah – “This is comparable to a king who had a son to whom he wished to
bequeath an inheritance, but he argued: "If I give it to him now that he
is small, he will not know how to take care of it. I will therefore wait until
my son studies the writings and comprehends the value [of the property], then I
will bequeath it unto him." This is what YHVH said: I shall first give
them the Torah, and then bring them into the Promised Land.”
Exo 13:19 And
Mosheh took the bones of Yosĕph with him, for he certainly made the children of
Yisra’ĕl swear, saying, “Elohim shall certainly visit you, and you shall bring
my bones from here with you.”
The Hebrew word for "bone" (etzem)
also means "essence." This verse can therefore be understood to mean
that Moses took Joseph's very essence with him, and this served as
inspirational guidance for them as they crossed the desert. Yosef represents so
much of who and what the Messiah is and so in these last days we too can expect
a Messianic essence in all our preparation in returning to the land.
Exo 13:20 And they
departed from Sukkoth and camped in Ětham at the edge of the wilderness.
Note they leave out detail recorded in Numbers chapter 33. Num 33:5 Then the children of Yisra’ĕl
departed from Raʽmeses and camped at Sukkoth.
I
believe that the Torah wants us to focus more on the events that took place at
the various locations. They carry a certain prophetic significance for an end
time generation that will follow a similar pattern of redemption and return. Later on in Bamidbar 33 we will consider more
detail of the 42 places or stages of the wilderness journey.
Ramases – “child of the sun” We will leave Mitzraim because we no longer
desire to submit ourselves to any form of sun worship what so ever .
First stop – Sukkot.
- Sukkot or temporary shelters
– Tells us that for 42 months(Book of Revelation) we are going to be
pilgrims and sojourners in the truest sense of the word wandering through
the wilderness waiting for our Messiah to return and establish his kingdom
on earth and in Yerushalyaim -
looking for a city with
foundations, whose builder and maker is Elohim. - Heb 11:10 - a time of great uncertainty.
- The second stop was “Etham” which means
contemplation or plowshare.
Luk
9:62 But יהושע said to him, “No one, having put his hand
to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the reign of Elohim.
Baruch atah
YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan lanu Toraht-emet, v’chay-yeh o’lam
nata-b’tochenu. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are
you Yahweh, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of
truth, and have planted everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you,
YHVH giver of the Torah – Ameyn.)
