Bamidbar/Num 25:10-30:1
The rabbis say Pinchas is
like Eliyahu (Elijah).
Mal 4:4 “Remember the Torah of Mosheh, My servant,
which I commanded him in Ḥorĕv
for all Yisra’ĕl – laws and right-rulings.
Mal 4:5 “See,
I am sending you Ěliyah1 the prophet before the coming of the great
and awesome day of יהוה. Footnote: 1Lk. 1:17.
Mal 4:6 “And he
shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the
children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with utter
destruction1.” Footnote: 1Zech. 14:11.
There is an end time prophetic voice on the earth in our
days urging those who call upon the name of YHVH to turn their hearts back to
the ancient paths of Torah.
Why snake mouth? – Maybe the
Father is speaking of a restoration of a prophetic priesthood in these days,
the kind of restoration that might not go down to well with many of us. Many
believers are going to hear and be exposed to a genuine end -time prophetic
voice that most will find hard to accept and not willing to listen to. They
will accuse such an unpopular “priesthood” of “speaking like the devil” –
“Snake mouth”
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from the heaven
saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you
receive of her plagues.1 Footnote: 1Jer. 51:6 & 45.
Rev 11:3 “And I shall give unto my two witnesses, and
they shall prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clad in
sackcloth.”
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees and the two
lampstands that are standing before the Elohim of the earth.
Rev 11:5 And if anyone wishes to harm them, fire comes
out from their mouth and consumes their enemies. And if anyone wishes to harm
them, he has to be killed in that way.
Rev 11:6 These possess authority to shut the heaven,
so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy. And they possess authority
over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as
often as they wish.
Rev 11:7 And when they have ended their witness, the
beast coming up out of the pit of the deep shall fight against them, and
overcome them, and kill them,
Rev 11:8 and their dead bodies lie in the
street of the great city which spiritually is called Seḏom and Mitsrayim,
where also our Master was impaled,
Rev 11:9 and some of the peoples and tribes and
tongues and nations see their dead bodies for three and a half days, and not
allow their dead bodies to be placed into tombs,
Rev 11:10
and those dwelling on the earth rejoice over them and exult. And they
shall send gifts to each other, because these two prophets tortured those
dwelling on the earth.
Rev 11:11
And after the three and a half days a spirit of life from Elohim entered
into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw
them.
“The true greatness of Pinchas lay in that he
acted in complete opposition to his nature, transcending his inborn instincts
to bring peace between YHVH and Israel.”(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
Pinchas did not enjoy
bringing a harsh judgment but he knew that there was a great redemptive act in
his actions. The plague that came upon
the people was stopped because of his actions. This may once again be the case
in the last days that a “Pinchas” people will save many from the plague and
destruction of the coming great tribulation.
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,
(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. 25:10 – 26:4
2. 26:5-51
3. 26:52 – 27:5
4. 27:6-23
5. 28:1-15
6. 28:16 – 29:11
7. 29:12-34
8. Maftir: 29:35 – 30:1
Haftarah: 1 Kings 18:46 – 19:21
Aliyah Rishon 25:10-26:4
Bemidbar/Num
25:10 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Num 25:11 “Pineḥas, son of El’azar, son of Aharon
the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Yisra’ĕl, because he
was ardent with My ardour in their midst, so that I did not consume the
children of Yisra’ĕl in My ardour
“Pinchas”
means “bronze mouth” or
“serpent’s mouth.” The two mean essentially the same thing. The episode of the
bronze serpent raised up for repentance and healing demonstrates a strong
spiritual link between the metal and the creature. They are both symbols of
judgment. In this incident, Pinchas acted as the teeth of the serpent, carrying
out judgment against the worst perpetrators of rebellion in the camp. By
publicly and violently enforcing YHVH’s standards of sexual purity, by
preventing the corruption of Israel’s children, he brought YHVH’s blessing of
peace on his own children for generations”.
It is possible that Kozbi and Zimri were fornicating in the most set apart
place in the tabernacle.
Num 25:12
“Therefore say, ‘See, I am giving him My covenant of peace,
Num 25:13 and it
shall be to him and to his seed after him a covenant of an everlasting
priesthood, because he was ardent for his Elohim, and made atonement for the
children of Yisra’ĕl.’ ”
Num 25:14 And the
name of the Yisra’ĕlite who was killed, who was killed with the Miḏyanite
woman, was Zimri, son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the
Shim’onites.
Num 25:15 And the
name of the Miḏyanite woman who was killed was Kozbi the daughter of Tsur. He
was head of the people of a father’s house in Miḏyan.
There are two jots or tittles in the opening verses of
this parasha (Mat 5:18.). In verse 11 there is a tittle over the “yud” in
“Pinchas” and there is a broken “vav” in the word “shalom” in verse 12. What do
they mean?
There is much speculation as to the meaning of these marked
words. Obviously Moshe was attempting to draw our attention to some important
hidden truth in the text.
I believe these tittles always have some reference to the
Messiah. Pinchas and his actions were a type of Messianic restoration. I believe this could be referring to an
end time group of believers who have embraced a Torah observant Jewish Messiah
that will bring a prophetic message of warning against many who have been
proclaiming a false or broken peace (broken vav). This small remnant has always existed.
1Th 5:1 Now, brothers, as to the times and the
seasons, you do not need to be written to.
1Th 5:2 For you yourselves know very well that the
day of יהוה comes as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3 For when
they say, “Peace and safety!” then suddenly destruction comes upon them, as
labour pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But you,
brothers, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
Num 25:16 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 25:17
“Distress the Miḏyanites! And you shall smite them,
Num 25:18 for they
distressed you with their tricks with which they deceived you in the matter of
Pe’or and in the matter of Kozbi, the daughter of a leader of Miḏyan, their
sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Pe’or.”
Note there are two commandments is vs 17 – to “distress”
or strongly oppose and “smite” or conquer and subjugate the enemy. How do we do
this? We have been given the sword of the Ruach which is the word of YHVH.
Heb 4:12 For the Word of Elohim is living, and
working, and sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting through even to the
dividing of being and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and able to judge the
thoughts and intentions of the heart.
We take such strong action because Midyan which means
“strife” causes strife between YHVH and His people when His people turn away
from His Torah.
Rom 8:1 There is, then, now no condemnation to those
who are in Messiah יהושע, who do not walk according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the
Torah of the Spirit of the life in Messiah יהושע has set me free from the law of sin and of death.
Rom 8:3 For the Torah
being powerless, in that it was weak through the flesh, Elohim, having His own
Son in the likeness of flesh of sin, and concerning sin, condemned sin in the
flesh,
(That is why the Torah and the Ruach were both given on
the day of Shavuot also knows as Pentecost, you cannot have one without the
other)
Rom 8:4 so that
the righteousness of the Torah should be completed in us who do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Rom 8:5 For those
who live according to the flesh set their minds on the matters of the
flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the matters of
the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For the
mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because
the mind of the flesh is enmity (strife) towards Elohim, for it does not
subject itself1 to the Torah of Elohim2, neither indeed
is it able, Footnotes: 1Or does not obey. 2John
15:5, 1 John 4:4, 1 John 3:9, 1 John 5:18.
Rom 8:8 and those
who are in the flesh are unable to please Elohim.
Rom 8:9 But you
are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim dwells
in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, this one is not His.
Num 26:1 And it came
to be, after the plague, that יהוה spoke to Mosheh and El’azar, son of
Aharon the priest, saying,
Num 26:2 “Take a
census of all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl from twenty years
old and above, by their fathers’ houses, everyone going out to the army in
Yisra’ĕl.”
Num 26:3 So Mosheh
and El’azar the priest spoke with them in the desert plains of Mo’aḇ by the
Yardĕn of Yeriḥo, saying,
Num 26:4 “Take
a census of the people from twenty years old and above, as יהוה commanded Mosheh and the children
of Yisra’ĕl who came out of the land of Mitsrayim.”
Why did
YHVH command a census at this time? (v. 1ff.)
Rashi: This could be compared to a
shepherd whose flock was attacked by wolves and some sheep were killed, so he
counted them to know how many were left. Earlier, at the end of Parshat Balak,
we read how the Jewish people were punished for the sin of Ba'al Pe'or in two ways: i.) There was a plague which killed 24,000 people (25:9).
ii.) "Moshe said to the judges of Israel, 'Each of you should kill men who
became attached to Ba'al Pe'or'" (v. 5 ibid.). Rashi explains: "Each
one of the Jewish judges executed two men, and there were 88,000 Jewish
judges." From this it follows that 166,000 people were executed by the
judges, a much greater loss than that which occurred through the plague.”
The term
used for the first counting (census) that took place was “gulgoleth” or skull,
the same word we use for “Golgotha” This second counting the word “adat” which
means congregation is used. Could this possibly refer to the possibility that
not all those who are “saved” or “born again” will be included in the final
count of the Assembly of YHVH (the bride of Messiah) that are to enter into the
promised land? (see vs 26:63-65)
Num 26:63 These are the ones registered by Mosheh and
El’azar the priest, who
registered the sons of Yisra’ĕl in the desert plains of Mo’aḇ by the Yardĕn of
Yeriḥo.
Num 26:64
But among these there was not a man of those registered by Mosheh and
Aharon the priest when they registered the sons of Yisra’ĕl in the Wilderness
of Sinai.
Num 26:65 For
יהוה had said of them, “They shall
certainly die in the wilderness.” And not a man was left of them, except Kalĕḇ
son of Yephunneh, and Yehoshua son of Nun.
Aliyah Sheni 26:5-51
The Israelites are counted, and the totals are
given for each of the twelve tribes. The grand total of all the tribes combined
is 601,730. The tribe of Levi is not included
in this census. The census total given in vs 51 is almost identical to the
census taken shortly after the exodus (Num 1:46) Here it is 1820 fewer which is
surprising given the amazing fertility of the nation in Mirstrayim/Egypt.
Statisticians claim from the number of families given by the number of first
borns, it is evident that most men must have had more than one wife (do the
maths, if there are approximately 22 000 families and the census yields
more than 600 000 men over 20 years old, the only conclusion is that the
families must have been very large)
Aliyah Shlishi 26:52-27:5
Num 26:52 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Num 26:53 “The
land is to be divided to these as an inheritance, according to the number of
names.
Num 26:54 “To the
large one you give a larger inheritance, and to the small one you give a
smaller inheritance. Each shall be given its inheritance according to their
registered ones.
Num 26:55 “But the
land is divided by lot, they inherit according to the names of the tribes of
their fathers.
Num 26:56
“According to the lot their inheritance is divided between the larger
and the smaller.”
Num 26:57 And
these are the registered ones of the Lĕwites according to their clans: of
Gĕreshon, the clan of the Gĕreshonites; of Qehath, the clan of the Qehathites;
of Merari, the clan of the Merarites.
Num 26:58 These
are the clans of the Lĕwites: the clan of the Liḇnites, the clan of the
Ḥeḇronites, the clan of the Maḥlites, the clan of the Mushites, and the clan
of the Qorḥites. And Qehath brought forth Amram.
Num 26:59 And the
name of Amram’s wife was Yoḵeḇeḏ the daughter of Lĕwi, who was born to Lĕwi
in Mitsrayim. And to Amram she bore Aharon and Mosheh and their sister Miryam.
Num 26:60 And to
Aharon were born Naḏaḇ and Aḇihu, El’azar and Ithamar.
Num 26:61 And
Naḏaḇ and Aḇihu died when they brought strange fire before יהוה.
Num 26:62 And
their registered ones were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old
and above. For they were not registered among the other children of Yisra’ĕl,
because there was no inheritance given to them among the children of Yisra’ĕl. (Redeemed the first born of Yisrael)
Num 26:63 These
are the ones registered by Mosheh and Elʽazar the priest, who registered the
sons of Yisra’ĕl in the desert plains of Mo’aḇ by the Yardĕn of Yeriḥo.
Num 26:64 But
among these there was not a man of those registered by Mosheh and Aharon the
priest when they registered the sons of Yisra’ĕl in the Wilderness of Sinai.
Num 26:65 For יהוה had said of them, “They shall
certainly die in the wilderness.” And not a man was left of them, except Kalĕḇ
son of Yephunneh, and Yehoshua son of Nun.
Num 27:1 Then came the daughters of Tselophḥaḏ,
son of Ḥĕpher, son of Gil’aḏ, son of Maḵir, son of Menashsheh, from the
clans of Menashsheh, son of Yosĕph. And these were the names of his daughters:
Maḥlah, Noʽah, and Ḥoḡlah, and Milkah, and Tirtsah.
Num 27:2 And
they stood before Mosheh, and before El’azar the priest, and before the leaders
and all the congregation, by the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, saying,
Num 27:3
“Our father died in the wilderness, yet he was not in the company of
those who were met together against יהוה, in
company with Qoraḥ, but he died in his own sin. And he had no sons.
Num 27:4 “Why
should the name of our father be removed from among his clan because he had no
son? Give us a possession among the brothers of our father.”
Num 27:5 Mosheh
then brought their case before יהוה.
We see in the book of Ezekiel that those of us who have
been grafted into the Olive tree as “wild olive branches”, also receive an
inheritance.
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.
The daughters of Zelophehad:
“Machla” means afflicted, “Noah” means "wandering", Milcah means "queen", Tirzah
means "pleasing", Hoglah means "dancing" (though for
this reason it is also the word for partridge).
This could be a prophetic pointing to the five
wise virgins. (Mat 25) The afflicted
bride weary from her wonderings will rejoice and dance before her Messiah and
he will find her exceedingly pleasing in His eyes.
“The
five daughters of Zelophehad were mentioned six times in the Tenach (Numbers
26:33; Numbers 27:1; Numbers 36:6; Numbers 36:10; Numbers 36:11, and
Yehoshua/Joshua 17:6). YHVH instructed that these women were to be given their
portion of the land in Canaan, with the proviso they marry men from the same
tribe. Thus the inheritance was complete for all rightful heirs of the tribe of
Manasseh.
The women of the
wilderness generation repaired the breaches committed by the men. Thus, when
the men
