Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, You have set us apart by Your commandments and have commanded us to actively study Your Torah. Please YHVH, our Elohim, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May You open our eyes to see marvellous truths from Your Torah. Thank You for calling us who were once gentiles excluded from the citizenship of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise having no expectation and without Elohim- but now through the blood of Messiah we have gained access into the covenants and have obtained citizenship into the commonwealth of Israel. Blessed are You, YHVH, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah.
“ Nasso” –to lift up or Make an Accounting
General Overview: This week's Torah portion, Nasso, is the longest single portion in the Torah, containing 176 verses, the same number of verses found in Psalm 119. The reading starts with a continuation of the Levite census and a discussion regarding their Tabernacle duties, and the preserving of purity in the camp. The laws of the “sotah” jealous husband suspecting his wife of infidelity and the Nazirite follow. The portion concludes with the Priestly Blessing and the offerings which the Tribal leaders brought in honour of the Tabernacle inauguration.
The Levitical
ministry will be restored when Messiah returns, and the Temple is rebuilt in
Jerusalem.
What about Messiah’s Melchizedek ministry? It is most definitely superior but does not replace the Levitical ministry. The future ministry of the Levites and the regathered tribes of Israel when Messiah returns is found in chapters 40 to 48 in the book of Ezekiel.
This Torah portion also points us to the temporary restricting and removing from the camp those who bring defilement into the camp. The purpose is for protection and restoration of Yisrael-
Finally this Torah portion brings to our attention to the responsibility of the on- going material support required by the Levitical ministry.
‘’Nasso’’ Strongs 5357 is related to one of the titles of Messiah ‘’nassi’’ Strongs 5387 – means a ‘’Prince’’ or one who is lifted up. This reference is found several times in Messianic prophecies in Ezekiel and Daniel- eg Ezekiel 34:24 and others.
Joh 12:32 ואני בהנשאי מעל־הארץ אמשך כלם אלי׃
אל תכריתו
Num 4:18 “Do not cut off the tribe of the clans of
the Qehathites from among the Lěwites,
Num 4:19 but do this to them, and they shall live and not die when
they approach the most set-apart objects: Aharon and his sons shall go
in and appoint each of them to his service and his burden.
Num 4:20 “They are not, however, to go in to watch while the
set-apart objects are being covered, lest they die.”
Num 4:21
And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 4:22 “Take a census(nasso) also
of the sons of Gĕreshon, by their fathers’ house, by their clans.
Heb ‘’Gershon’’’- to drive out from a possession – to divorce Strongs 1644
‘’garash’’
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(“avodah” or burden) of the clans(“mishpachah” or families) of the
Gĕreshonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:
Rabbi’s invited people
to learn to keep the scriptures/commandments. This was called taking the “yoke
of Torah” or the “yoke of the kingdom of heaven”.
Mat 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labour and are burdened, and
I shall give you rest.
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.”
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 burden and
all their service. And you shall appoint
to them all the duty of all their burden.
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.
Gershon and Merari’s Levitical duties centered around the protection of His
Presence.
Today, while there is no Temple – YHVH’s Presence dwells within His Set
Apart ones and is protected by the calling and ministry of His Body – His
Ekklessia – 1 Cor 12 & Is 8:20 – this ministry will be fully restored and
functional during the great tribulation by an escaped remnant of believers –
Joe 2:28 “And after this it shall be that I pour out My Spirit on all
flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men dream
dreams, your young men see visions.
Joe 2:29 “And also on the male servants and on the female servants I
shall pour out My Spirit in those days.
Joe 2:30 “And I shall give signs in the heavens and upon the earth:
blood and fire and columns of smoke,
Joe 2:31 the sun is turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
before the coming of the great and awesome day of יהוה.
Joe 2:32 “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the Name of יהוה shall be delivered.b For on Mount Tsiyon
and in Yerushalayim there shall be an escapec as יהוה has said, and among the survivors whom יהוה calls.
The verb “muster or
register”(tiphkod in Hebrew) is used and implies being “called up” for duty –
note the Hebrew verb “nasso” is not used.
Num 4:30 “Register(tiphkod) 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,(Heb “massa” connected to
“nassah” – to lift a 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
During the last days the Torah will serve as a training manual to prepare the restored 12 tribes of Israel for the millennial rule of Messiah. Messiah Himself will make sure that all YHVH’s instructions will be carried out during His rule.
Before Messiah’s second coming there will be a thorough cleansing of the camp –
Eze 20:34 “And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you
out of the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an
outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out.
Eze 20:35 “And I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples,
and shall enter into judgment with you face to face there.
Eze 20:36 “As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the
wilderness of the land of Mitsrayim, so I shall enter into judgment with you,”
declares the Master יהוה.
Eze 20:37 “And I shall make you pass under the rod, and shall bring
you into the bond of the covenant,
Eze 20:38 and purge the rebels from among you, and those who
transgress against Me. From the land where they sojourn I bring them out, but
they shall not come into the land of Yisra’ěl. And you shall know that I am יהוה.
Eze 20:39 “As for you, O house of Yisra’ěl,” thus said the Master יהוה, “Go, serve each of you his idols, and
afterwards, if you are not listening to Me. But do not profane My set-apart
Name any more with your gifts and your idols.
Eze 20:40 “For on My set-apart mountain, on the mountain height of
Yisra’ěl,” declares the Master יהוה, “there
all the house of Yisra’ěl, all of them in the land, shall serve Me. There I
shall accept them, and there I shall require your offerings and the
first-fruits of your offerings, together with all your set-apart gifts.
Eze 20:41 “As a sweet fragrance I shall accept you when I bring you
out from the peoples. And I shall gather you out of the lands where you have
been scattered. And I shall be set-apart in you before the nations.
Eze 20:42 “And you shall know that I am יהוה, when I bring you into the land of
Yisra’ěl, into the land for which I lifted My hand in an oath to give to your
fathers.
Eze 20:43 “And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds
with which you were defiled. And you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight
because of all the evils that you did.
Eze 20:44 “And you shall know that I am יהוה, when I have dealt with you for My Name’s
sake, not according to your evil ways nor according to your corrupt deeds, O
house of Yisra’ěl,” declares the Master יהוה.’ ”
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, 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.
We must assume that all
physical ailments are a manifestation of a spiritual condition that needs to be
healed – Disobedience to the Torah will always bring defilement in the camp.
Deu 28:15 “And it shall be, if you do not obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard to do all His
commands and His laws which I command you today, that all these curses shall
come upon you and overtake you:
Deu 28:22 “יהוה strikes
you with wasting disease, and with inflammation, and with burning, and with
extreme heat, and with the sword, and with blight, and with mildew. And they
shall pursue you until you perish.
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.
Vs 8 has possibly been poorly interpreted.
The Hebrew word for relative of kinsman is usually ‘’kerov mishpacha’’ but
here in our text the word “goel” is used which is more accurately translated as
“redeemer” the Hebrew structure is difficult to translate into English. Perhaps
this is where bond servants and laying down your life for others becomes a
reality. However, even these acts of favour have limits. If there is someone in
the camp causing others to continually stumble or become defiled, they may have
to be forced out the camp temporary or even permanently.
Mat 18:15 “And if your brother sins against you, go and convict him,
between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
Mat 18:16 “But if he does not hear, take with you one or two more,
that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word might be
established.’a Deu_19:15. Footnote: a Joh_8:17, 2Co_13:1,
1Ti_5:19, Heb_10:28.
Mat 18:17 “And if he refuses to hear them, say it to the assembly.
And if he refuses even to hear the assembly, let him be to you like the nations
and a tax collector.
Mat 18:18 “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be
having been bound in heaven, and whatever you loosen on earth shall be having
been loosened in heaven.[b] Footnote: bSee footnote Mat_16:19.
Mat 18:19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth
concerning any matter that they ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in
the heavens.
Mat 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in My Name,
there I am in their midst.”
Joh 20:22 And having said this, He breathed
on them, and said to them, “Receive the Set-apart Spirit.
Joh 20:23 “If you forgive the sins of any,
they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been
retained.”
During the last days preparation before the
return of Messiah there will be much confession and restitution of sin. During
the final three and a half years of the tribulation there will be no rain on
earth – Rev 11:6 – and global destruction such as the world has ever seen – Matt
24:15-28.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing all these are to be
destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be in set-apart
behaviour and reverence….
2Co 5:11
Knowing, therefore, the fear/terror of יהוה, we
persuade men …
Finally, let us once again consider the mercy and
forbearance of our Creator. The idolatrous religious spirit within mankind that
feeds off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, has only two options for
mankind’s destiny – either heaven or hell. What if YHVH doesn’t think this way?
Let us be clear we do not fully understand YHVH’s
ways regarding what happens to man in the afterlife - Rom 11:34 “For who has known the mind of יהוה? Or who has become His counsellor?” Isa_40:13.
One thing we know for sure is that every knee
shall bow and every tongue confess that YHVH alone is YHVH and Yahshua alone is
His only brought forth Son – No exceptions? - Joh 17:3 “And this is
everlasting life, that they should know You, the only true Elohim, and יהושע Messiah whom You have sent.
Maybe the eternal burning lake of fire was only
meant for Satan, the anti-Christ and the
false prophet - Rev 20:10 And the devil, who led them astray, was thrown
into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet are.
And they shall be tortured day and night forever and ever.
For mankind there will be two resurrections, one
at the second appearing of Messiah and the second resurrection at the great
white throne of judgment –
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne
and Him who was sitting on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
away, and no place was found for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and
great, standing before the throne, and books were opened. And another book was
opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged from what
was written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead who
were in it, and Death and She’ol gave up the dead who were in them. And they
were judged, each one according to his works.
Rev 20:14 And Death and She’ol were thrown
into the lake of fire. This is the second death.[a] Footnote: aSee Rev_2:11,
Rev_20:6, Rev_21:8.
Rev 20:15 And if anyone was not found
written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
It is very difficult to believe that any human
being will refuse to bend the knee and call upon the name of YHVH and repent
and beg for mercy when faced with the prospect of spending an eternity in the
lake of fire.
It is also very difficult to believe that it is
possible and even probable that any human being can sell his soul to the devil.
In such a matter it may be impossible for such a one to come to repentance.
Heb 10:38 “But the righteous shall live
by belief, but if anyone draws back, my being has no pleasure in him.” Hab_2:3-4.
Heb 10:39 But we are not of those who draw
back to destruction, but of belief to the preservation of life.
Blessed are you YHVH, 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 – Amein.