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. Amein
One of the severest
statements that YHVH can make to His people is found in this Torah portion - vs
34…
14:34 ….. you shall know
My breaking off. (Jer 3:8)
וִידַעְתֶּם, אֶת-תְּנוּאָתִי
The Hebrew word “tenuah” S8569 – implies realizing and fearing the reality of being completely broken off and been separated from YHVH. The
ancient Hebrew Lexicon defines this term as a ‘’pleading of what is desired’’
and the resultant “opposition, alienation, enmity” that comes upon His
people when they continue to refuse His pleadings and His Love.
This has been the history of
His people from the ‘’garden to the grave’’ it is going to change in the last
days – there is going to be a remnant of His people who are going to love and
obey YHVH and receive and reciprocate His love. This loving obedient remnant will play a
significant role in the restoration of all things. YHVH is about to remove
every obstacle and every human being that hinders His love and His esteem from
been fully manifested in the heavens above and on the earth below – His will, will
be done on earth as it is been done in the heavens.
The Great Commandment
Mar 12:28 And one of the scribes coming near,
hearing them reasoning together, knowing that He had answered them well, asked
Him, “Which is the first command of all?”
Mar 12:29 And יהושע answered him, “The first of all the
commands is, ‘Hear, O Yisra’ěl, יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one. Deu_6:4.
Mar 12:30 ‘And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with
all your being, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ Deu_6:5.
This is the first command.
Mar 12:31 “And the second, like it, is this, ‘You
shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ Lev_19:18. There is no other
command greater than these.”
Mar 12:32 And the scribe said to Him, “Well said,
Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one Elohim, and there is no
other besides Him. Deu_4:35.
Mar 12:33 “And to love Him with all the heart, and
with all the understanding, and with all the being, and with all the strength, Deu_6:5
and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is more than all the ascending
offerings and offerings.”
Mar 12:34 And when יהושע saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the reign of Elohim.” And after that no one was bold enough to question Him.
Paul goes on to teach us how such a love is possible - Rom 5:5 … because the love of Elohim has been poured out in our hearts by the Set-apart Spirit which was given to us.
The evidence of this love is
found in Joh 14:15 “If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.[a]
Footnote: aSee also Joh_14:21 and Joh_14:23, Exo_20:6, 1Jn_5:2-3
and 2Jn_1:6.
Joh 14:16 “And I shall ask
the Father, and He shall give you another Helper, to stay with you forever
–
Joh 14:17 the Spirit of the Truth, whom the world is unable to receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. But you know Him, for He stays with you and shall be in you.
Tragically the possibility
that YHVH would even consider separating Himself from His people hardly exists
in the mind set of modern man and his religion. Rom 11:29
Our Haftarah
portion captures the tragedy of this reality:
Eze 20:1 And it came to be in the
seventh year, (end of a shmittah) in the fifth month on the tenth of the
new moon, (day after ‘’tisha b av’’) that certain of the elders of Yisra’ěl came to
inquire of יהוה, and sat before me.
Eze
20:2 And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,
Eze
20:3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Yisra’ěl, and say to them, ‘Thus
said the Master יהוה, “Have you come to inquire of Me? As I
live, I am not being inquired of by you,” declares the Master יהוה.’
Eze
20:4 “Judge them, son of man, judge them! Make known to them the
abominations of their fathers.
Eze 20:5 “And you shall say to
them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “On the day when I chose Yisra’ĕl and lifted My hand in an
oath to the seed of the house of Yaʽaqoḇ, and made Myself known to them in the land of Mitsrayim,
I lifted My hand in an oath to them, saying, ‘I am יהוה your Elohim.’
Eze 20:8 “But
they rebelled against Me, and would not obey Me. All of them did not throw
away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the
idols of Mitsrayim. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them to complete My
displeasure against them in the midst of the land of Mitsrayim. ( only a very
small remnant left Mitsrayim - Ex 13:18
see Hebrew translation ‘’chamusim’’ is one fifth – the majority chose to
assimilate into the ‘’world’’ Rom 12:2)
Eze 20:9 “But I acted for My Name’s
sake, that it should not be profaned before the eyes of the gentiles among whom
they were – before whose eyes I had made Myself known to them, to bring them
out of the land of Mitsrayim.
Eze 20:10 “So I took them out of the
land of Mitsrayim, and I brought them into the wilderness.
Eze 20:11 “And I gave them My laws
and showed them My right-rulings, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by
them.’
Eze 20:12 “And I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a
sign1 between them and Me, to know that I am יהוה who sets them apart. Footnote: 1See
Ex. 31:13-17.
Eze 20:13 “But the house of Yisra’ĕl
rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My laws, and
they rejected My right-rulings, which, if a man does, he shall live by them. And they greatly profaned My Sabbaths.
Then I said I would pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to consume
them.
Eze 20:14 “But I acted for My Name’s
sake, not to profane it before the gentiles, before whose eyes I had brought
them out.
Eze 20:15 “And I Myself also lifted My hand in an oath
to them in the wilderness, not to bring them into the land which I had given
them, flowing with milk and honey, the splendour of all lands,
Eze 20:16
because they rejected My right-rulings and did not walk in My laws, and
they profaned My Sabbaths. For their heart went after their idols.
Eze 20:17
“And My eye pardoned them, from destroying them. And I did not make an
end of them in the wilderness.
Eze 20:18
“And I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the
laws of your fathers, nor observe their rulings, nor defile yourselves with
their idols.
Eze 20:19
‘I am יהוה your Elohim. Walk in My laws, and guard My right-rulings, and
do them.
Eze 20:20 ‘And set apart My Sabbaths, and they shall be
a sign between Me and you, to know that I am יהוה your Elohim.’
Eze 20:21 “But the
children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My laws, and My right-rulings they
did not guard to do them, which, if a man does, he shall live by them. They
profaned My Sabbaths, so I resolved to pour out My wrath on them to complete My
displeasure against them in the wilderness.
Eze 20:22 “But I held back My hand
and acted for My Name’s sake, not to profane it before the eyes of the
gentiles, before whose eyes I had brought them out. (Rev 16 – no more
withholding His Hand from wrath)
Eze 20:23 “Also, I Myself lifted My
hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, to scatter them among the gentiles
and disperse them throughout the lands,
Eze 20:24 because they had not done
My right-rulings, and they rejected My laws, and they profaned My Sabbaths, and
their eyes were on their fathers’ idols.
Eze
20:25 “And I also gave them up to laws
that were not good, and right-rulings by which they would not live1.
Eze 20:33 “As I
live,” declares the Master יהוה, “do not I, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and
with wrath poured out, reign over you?
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,(of chastisement) and shall
bring you into the bond of the covenant, (in the last days)
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’ĕl. And you shall know
that I am יהוה.
Paul
sternly warns the Messianic believers of his day:
Rom 11:19
You shall say then, “The branches were broken off that I might be grafted
in.”
Rom 11:20
Good! By unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by belief. Do not be arrogant,
but fear.
Rom 11:21
For if Elohim did not spare the natural branches, He might not spare you
either.
Rom 11:22
See then the kindness and sharpness of Elohim: on those who fell sharpness, but
toward you kindness, if you continue in His kindness, otherwise you also
shall be ‘’cut off’’ – Hebrew ‘’carat’’ to be amputated to be lost, to be wiped out, to be destroyed.
And so, we begin this week’s
Torah portion:
עד אנה ינאצני – until when will these people hate
Me? (Treat Me with contempt)
Num 14:11 And יהוה said to
Mosheh, “How long shall I be scorned by these people? And how long shall I not
be trusted by them, with all the signs which I have done in their midst?
Num 14:12 “Let Me smite them with the pestilence and
disinherit them, and make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”
Num 14:13 And Mosheh said to יהוה, “Then the
Mitsrites shall hear it, for by Your power You brought these people up from
their midst,
Num 14:14 and they shall say to the inhabitants of this
land they have heard that You, יהוה, are in the midst of these people, that You, יהוה, are seen eye
to eye and that Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a
column of cloud by day and in a column of fire by night.
Num 14:15 “Now if You shall kill these people as one
man, then the nations which have heard of Your report shall speak, saying,
Num 14:16 ‘Because יהוה was not able
to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He
killed them in the wilderness.’
Num 14:17 “And
now, I pray, let the power of יהוה be great, as You have spoken, saying,
Num 14:18 ‘יהוה is patient and
of great kindness, forgiving crookedness and transgression, but by no means
leaving unpunished1; visiting the crookedness of the fathers on the
children to the third and fourth generation.’ Footnote: 1This is
confirmed in Ex. 34:7 and in Jer. 30:11 – Hebrew ‘’pakad’’ can mean visit with
judgment but it can also mean to visit with concern and persuade a people not
to walk as their ancestors walked.
Eze 18:20 “The being who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the
crookedness of the father, nor the father bear the crookedness of the son. The
righteousness of the righteous is upon himself, and the wrongness of the wrong
is upon himself.
Num 14:19 “Please
forgive the crookedness of this people, according to the greatness of Your
kindness, as You have forgiven this people, from Mitsrayim even until now.”
Num14:20 And יהוה said, “I shall
forgive, according to your word,
Num 14:21 but truly, as I live and all the earth is
filled with the esteem of יהוה,
Num 14:22 for none
of these men who have seen My esteem and the signs which I did in Mitsrayim and
in the wilderness, and have tried Me now these ten times, and have disobeyed My
voice,
Num 14:23 shall
see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor any of those who scorned Me
see it. (Ezek 20:38)
In the last days YHVH will pour out His Spirit on all flesh in order for
prayer and intercession to be made for all the remaining inhabitants of the
earth – Joel 2:28-32
Num 14:24 “But My servant Kalev, because he has a
different spirit in him and has followed Me completely, I shall bring into the
land where he went, and his seed shall inherit it.
Num 14:25 “Since
the Amalĕqites and the Kenaʽanites are dwelling in the valley, turn back
tomorrow and set out into the wilderness by the Way of the Sea of Reeds.”
It’s almost like YHVH
was saying: “let us go back where we started our wilderness journey and do it
again.”
This reminds us of the
last days where this pattern will be repeated.
YHVH's Mercy on Yisrael
Hos 2:14
“Therefore, see, I am alluring her, and shall lead her into the wilderness, and
shall speak to her heart, (tenderly)
Hos 2:15 and give
to her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Aḵor (Heb – disturbance and affliction- ‘’Achan’’ or
‘’troubler’’ – Josh 7 and 1Chron 2:6 – Achan – great great grandfather of
Zimri- Num 25:14)) as a door of
expectation. And there she shall respond as in the days of her youth, as in the
day when she came up from the land of Mitsrayim.
Hos 2:16 “And it
shall be, in that day,” declares יהוה, “that you call Me ‘My Husband,’ (Heb
‘’ishi’’)and no longer call Me ‘My Ba‛al.’
Hos 2:17 “And I
shall remove the names of the Ba‛als from her mouth, and they shall no more be
remembered by their name.
Hos 2:18 “And in
that day I shall make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and
with the birds of the heavens, and with the creeping creatures of the ground,
when bow, and sword, and battle I break from the earth. And I shall make them
lie down in safety.
Hos 2:19 “And I
shall take you as a bride unto Me forever, and take you as a bride unto Me in
righteousness, and in right-ruling, and loving-commitment and compassion.
Hos 2:20 “And I
shall take you as a bride unto Me in trustworthiness, and you shall know יהוה.
Vs 19 and 20 are
recited when we fasten the ‘’tefillim’’ to our arms and hands.
כא וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ לִי, לְעוֹלָם; וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ
לִי בְּצֶדֶק וּבְמִשְׁפָּט, וּבְחֶסֶד וּבְרַחֲמִים. 21 And I will betroth thee unto Me for ever;
yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in justice, and in
lovingkindness, and in compassion.
כב וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ לִי, בֶּאֱמוּנָה; וְיָדַעַתְּ,
אֶת-יְהוָה. {פ} 22 And I will betroth thee unto Me in
faithfulness; and thou shalt know the LORD. {P}
Hos 2:21 “And it
shall be in that day that I answer,” declares יהוה, “that I answer the heavens, and they answer the earth, (harmony
between heaven and earth)
Hos 2:22 and the
earth answer the grain and the new wine and the oil, and they answer
Yizre‛ěl.
Hos 2:23 “And I
shall sow her for Myself in the earth, and I shall have compassion on her who
had not obtained compassion. And I shall say to those who were not My people,
‘You are My people,’ while they say, ‘My Elohim!’
Aliyah Reviee 14:26- 15:7
Num 14:26 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, and to Aharon, saying,
Num 14:27 “How long shall this evil congregation have
this grumbling against Me? I have heard the grumblings which the children of
Yisra’ĕl are grumbling against Me.
Num 14:28 “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ declares יהוה, ‘as you have
spoken in My hearing, so I do to you:
Num 14:29 ‘The carcasses of you who have grumbled
against Me are going to fall in this wilderness, all of you who were
registered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.
Num 14:30 ‘None of
you except Kalĕv son of Yephunneh, and Yehoshua son of Nun, shall enter the
land which I swore I would make you dwell in.
Num 14:31 ‘But your little ones, whom you said would
become a prey, I shall bring in, and they shall know the land which you have
rejected.
Num 14:32 ‘But as for you, your carcasses are going to
fall in this wilderness.
Num 14:33 ‘And your sons shall be wanderers in the
wilderness forty years, and shall bear your whorings, until your carcasses are
consumed in the wilderness.
Num 14:34 ‘According to the number of the days in which
you spied out the land, forty days – a day for a year, a day for a year – you
are to bear your crookednesses forty years, and you shall know My breaking off.
Num 14:35 ‘I am יהוה, I have
spoken, I shall do this to all this evil congregation who are meeting against
Me: In this wilderness they are consumed, and there they die.’ ”
Num 14:36 And the men whom Mosheh sent to spy out the
land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by
bringing an evil report of the land, (evil leaders)
Num 14:37 even those men who brought the evil report
about the land, died by the plague before יהוה.
Num 14:38 Of those men who went to spy out the land,
only Yehoshua son of Nun, and Kalĕv son of Yephunneh remained alive.
Num 14:39 And when Mosheh spoke these words to all the
children of Yisra’ĕl, the people mourned greatly.
Num 14:40 And they rose up early in the morning and
went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “See, we have indeed sinned, but we
shall go up to the place which יהוה had spoken of!”
Num 14:41 But Mosheh said, “Why do you now transgress
the command of יהוה, since it does
not prosper?
Num 14:42 “Do not go up, lest you be smitten by your
enemies, for יהוה is not in your
midst.
Num 14:43 “Because the Amalĕqites and the Kenaʽanites
are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned
away from יהוה, יהוה is not with
you.”
Num 14:44 But they
presumed to go up to the mountaintop, but neither the ark of the covenant of יהוה nor Mosheh
left the camp.
Num 14:45 So the
Amalĕqites and the Kenaʽanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and smote
them, and beat them down, even to Ḥormah.
Hormah means and speaks of a total destruction.
For most people YHVH’s most misunderstood
attribute is His Love for His people – It would take a Mediator greater than
Moshe to bring about a reconciliation between YHVH and His people Yisrael- the
son of man the Messiah – Yahshua.
How do we respond to such an overwhelming body of evidence?
Rom 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, and
tolerance, and patience,a not knowing that the kindness of Elohim leads you to
repentance? Footnote: a 2Pe_3:9.
Pro 28:13 He who
hides his transgressions does not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes
them finds compassion.
2Co 7:10 For sadness
according to Elohim works repentance to deliverance, not to be regretted, but
the sadness of the world works death.
2Ti 2:25 in meekness
instructing those who are in opposition, lest somehow Elohim gives them
repentance unto a thorough knowledge of the truth,
2Ti 2:26 and they
come to their senses, out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive
by him to do his desire
Act 5:30 “The
Elohim of our fathers Exo_3:15 raised up יהושע whom you laid hands on, hanging
Him on a timber. Deu_21:22-23.
Act 5:31 “Him, a
Prince[b] and a Saviour, Elohim has exalted to His right hand, Psa_110:1
to give repentance to Yisra’ěl and forgiveness of sins. Footnote: bSee Act_3:15.
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.