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From: Wendy Mcnulty
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Parashas Sh'lach l'Cha

Parashas Sh'lach l'Cha

"Send for Yourself!" (Part 2 of 2)

Bemidbar/Numbers 13:1-15:41
Haftarah Reading: Yehoshua 2:1-24
Brit Chadasha Reading: Ibrim 3:7-19

Written By Rebbetzin Wendy McnultyCngregation Davar Emet
Union Of Two House Messianic Congregations

Too Little, Too Late - Bemidbar 14:39-45

Faced with the consequences of their rebellion and disbelief, Bemidbar 14:39 tells us "the people mourned greatly". The problem with their sorrow is that it was self-pity and not teshuvah/repentance for their actions towards Yahweh. In a knee-jerk reaction designed to try to avert the discipline of Yahweh, the people rallied themselves, made a shallow profession of their sin, and determined to go in and possess the Promised Land after all ... on their own strength (14:40). The results were disastrous and bring to mind Yahushua's advice to His disciples in Yochanan 15:5: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who stays in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit. Because without Me you are able to do naught!"

"But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop, but neither the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, nor Mosheh left the camp." Bemidbar 14:44

Presume: 1) to take for granted, especially without proof; assume; suppose. 2) to venture, especially against someone having authority, superior knowledge, etc.; 3) to act with improper familiarity or unwarranted boldness; take liberties. (The Winston Dictionary of Canadian English)

The children of Yisra'el resisted the discipline of Yahweh and sought to circumvent it. They presumed that they go "turn back the clock", as it were, and enter into Cana'an anyway. They would go, they would take possession, and they presumed that Yahweh would relent ... after all, they would have done as He had asked, just a little late. Wrong. They ventured out against Yahweh's authority, they acted with unwarranted boldness and improper familiarity. Yahweh is "a consuming fire" (Deb. 4:24, Ibrim 12:29) and they walked straight into the flames.

Despite Mosheh's warnings in verses 42 and 43 that they were "transgressing the command of Yahweh" and that "because you have turned away from Yahweh, Yahweh is not in your midst", and further that "you shall fall by the sword", the children set out to enter Cana'an, while Mosheh and the ark remained in the camp. It would be reasonable to assume that those loyal to Yahweh and Mosheh's leadership did likewise.

"At the command of Yahweh they camped, and at the command of Yahweh, they departed. They guarded the Charge of Yahweh, at the command of Yahweh, by the hand of Mosheh." (Bemidbar 9:23)

Yahweh had not commanded. In fact, Yahweh had already decreed their discipline for their rebellion. The children of Yisra'el who presumed to avert Yahweh's discipline perished at the hands of the Amaleqites and the Kena'anites - the fulfillment of the words of their own evil report - because Yahweh was not with them.

We cannot "undo" the righteous decrees of Yahweh. He is merciful in judgment, but He is also just, and He will discipline His children.  If we resist His discipline, Wayyiqra 26:14-28 makes it very clear that Yahweh will enforce disciplinary consequences "seven times more" severe - hence the prolonged periods of captivity of both Houses of Israel, particularly of Ephraim (ref. Yehezekel 4:4-6). One could say that Yahweh is the Author and the Master of "tough love". He will spare nothing in His efforts to bring us to the place where we finally understand and enter into the freedom that He promises if we would only guard His commandments and walk in His Word. Yahweh reinforces this concept to the House of Judah through the Prophet Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah. The prophet has just finished prophesying Judah's coming discipline of seventy years captivity in Babylon, when Yahweh assures His people:

"For I know the plans I am planning for you,' declares Yahweh, `plans of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and an expectancy." (Yirmeyahu 29:11)

Caleb and Yehoshua - Two Men, Two Houses - Bemidbar 13-14

In Bemidbar 13, Mosheh selects the Israelite "spies". Anashim, they are called in Bemidbar 13:2, denoting worthy, capable men, "everyone a leader" from each of the Tribes of Yisra'el. In this account, we find that Caleb was selected to represent Judah and Hoshea was chosen to represent Ephraim. In Bemidbar 13:16, we are told that Mosheh "called Hoshea the son of Nun, Yehoshua." It is these two men who rise above the rabble of the rebellious people and ardently attempt to counteract the evil report brought by their compatriots on the spy mission to Cana'an.

We have seen from previous Parashot that Yehoshua was Mosheh's assistance and that he devoted his life to serving Yahweh at the hand of Mosheh.

Caleb, we are told by Yahweh in Bemidbar 14:24, had "a different spirit in him and has followed Me completely".

It is interesting to look at the meaning of the respective names of these two men who continued to play a leadership role when Yisra'el did actually enter and take possession of the land of Cana'an. Yehoshua means "Yah/Yahweh saves". Yehoshua is often seen as a Scriptural type of Yahushua haMashiach.

The Hebrew word "calev", in a strict literal context, means "dog"; however, a second look at Caleb's name reveals two Hebrew words forming a compound word: Cha Lev, which means "according to", "as a heart", "according to the heart". Given Yahweh's commendation of Caleb in Bemidbar 14:24, that he had "a different spirit in him and has followed Me completely", it is reasonable to assume that this is the intended meaning of Caleb's name. It actually brings to mind the commendation which Yahweh gave to one of Caleb's fellow Yahudites, King David, that he was "a man after Yahweh's own heart".

When we look at the tribal affiliation of these two leaders of Yisra'el, and the meaning of their names, we can see strong prophetic significance.

Caleb represents the House of Judah, who has always had more of a "heart" for Father Yahweh than has the House of Ephraim, which until the lifting of their "Lo Ammi" discipline in 1996, has always identified more with Yahushua (Yahweh saves - the same name given to Yehoshua) than with the Father - that is, when Ephraim has not been chasing pagan religions and false messiahs. Having this heart for Father Yahweh, Judah has remained a staunch upholder of Torah, where Ephraim, under dispensationalism, distanced himself from Torah and clung to "Grace". In Bemidbar 13:30, it was Caleb who first stepped up to defend the authority of Yahweh as received at the hand of Mosheh.

Yehoshua represents the House of Ephraim/Israel. Yehoshua often is a "type" of the Messiah, and he devoted served Mosheh his master, just as Yahushua completely and absolutely served Yahweh His Father. Mosheh, too, is seen as a "type" of Yahushua in the Scriptures. Yehoshua followed Mosheh, as believers in Yahushua are to follow their Messiah. Yehoshua led the children of Yisra'el into the Promised Land, just as Yahushua will gather His people and triumphantly enter and re-possess the Promised Land in the physical, as well as lead us into our Divine Inheritance in the spiritual. Ephraim is found predominantly within groups of true Christian believers ... the people who have gone forth with the message of Messiah Yahushua. Sometimes their message has been more "Grace" than "Torah", and oft times the message is unbalanced, because Ephraim needs Judah for Israel to be complete. "Grace" and "Torah" go hand in hand. They have since the time of Adam. In this Parashas, Yehoshua came along side of Caleb (14:6) and together they tore their garments in repentance before Yahweh, on behalf of the children of Yisra'el. As Ephraim awakes to his true Israelite identity and comes alongside of his brother Judah by learning how to draw near to Father Yahweh and uphold His Eternal Torah of Truth, then the House of Judah will awaken to the reality of the "Grace" of Messiah Yahushua. This will be witnessed to by a repentant and restored Ephraim who has returned to the Camp of Isra'el and is worshipping Yahweh through Yahushua in accordance with the commandments set forth in Scripture. This type of testimony is one which Judah will not see as an idolatrous and pagan religion. They will be "provoked to jealousy" and want what Ephraim has found in Yahushua - they will recognize Yahushua as the long awaited Messiah from the Tribe of Judah.

Reconciliation and Remembrance - Bemidbar 15

Repentance and Forgiveness

Bemidbar 15 is a wonderful testimony to the grace of Yahweh. Coming at the end of two chapters of rebellion and consequences, Yahweh yet again points the way to reconciliation between Himself and His people. Bemidbar 15:1-16 sets forth sacrificial offerings, burnt offerings, peace offerings, offerings of reconciliation to Yahweh. The portion reminds us that there is only one way to be reconciled to Yahweh - through repentance and the sacrificial offering of Messiah.

"Therefore, having been declared right by belief, we have peace with Elohim through our Master Yahushua Messiah." (Romans 5:1)

"For He is our peace, who has made the both one, and having broken down the partition of the barrier, having abolished in His flesh the enmity - the Torah of the commands in dogma - so as to create in Himself one renewed man from the two, thus making peace, and to completely restore to favour both of them unto Elohim in one body through the stake, having destroyed the enmity by it." (Ephesians 4:14-16)

It should be noted that "both" and "two" in the above verses refers to the Two Houses, gentilized Ephraim and Torah-faithful Yehudah.  Messiah has done away with the dividing wall, the enmity, between Judah and Ephraim by nailing the penalty for breaking Torah and legalistic observance of Torah to the stake, so that in Him, by the Ruach, we can be renewed creatures and be reunited as one Israel, one people of Yahweh in Messiah Yahushua.

"And I shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Yisra'el. And one sovereign shall be sovereign over them, and let them no longer be two nations, and let them no longer be divided into two reigns." (Yehezekel 37:22)

Again, in this verse from Yehezekel's prophecy on the reuniting of the two sticks of Ephraim and Yehudah, we have Yahweh's assurances that the Two Houses shall be reunited into one Israel under Messiah, and that they will no longer be divided into the two religious "reigns" of Rabbinical Judaism and Chr-stianity. True Yahweh worship shall be restored by Yahushua, our Great High Priest.

No Foreign Israelites

To close this section of Parashas commentary, it should be noted that Bemidbar 15:15-16 and 29 reiterate Yahweh's assertion that "goyim", true gentiles, have always been accepted into Israel, as Israelites, with no restrictions, as long as they observed the One Torah of the Elohim of Yisrael:

"One law is for you of the assembly and for the stranger who sojourns with you - a law forever throughout your generations. As you are, so is the stranger before Yahweh. One Torah and one right-ruling is for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you." (Bemidbar 15:15-16)

This "One Torah" is the very Torah which Yahushua told the Pharisees in Yochanan 5:45-47 spoke of Him:

"Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Mosheh, in whom you have set your expectation. For is you believed Mosheh, you would have believed Me, since he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how shall you believe My words?"

Challah and Tzit-Tzit

Yahweh continually provides visible reminders for His children to take advantage of and observe so as to REMEMBER to do His commandments!  The Feast Days of Yahweh, when observed, are full of visible and tangible, physical reminders of the sacrificial, redemptive work of Yahweh through Yahushua.

Challah: In Bemidbar 15:17-21, we have the institution of the challah offering, which has formed the basis for the weekly Shabbat challah as part of observing Shabbat. The actual Hebrew word challah is used in Bemidbar 15:20-21:

"Present a cake (challah) of the first of your dough as a contribution - as a contribution of the threshing floor you present it. Of the first of your dough you are to give to Yahweh a contribution throughout your generations."

In ancient times, bread, the staple of their diet, was made on a daily basis. Each day, before any other loaves were formed, a challah loaf was to be formed and set-aside to be presented to Yahweh. This portion was used by the Levitical priests. The contribution of the challah "throughout your generations" was to remind Yahweh's people to give Him their firstfruits, their best, the tithe belongs to Yahweh, it is not ours to use, it is His. This challah offering would serve to remind Israel of Yahweh Yireh, Yahweh Who Provides for their every need, and would remind them to give thanks. As the Temple no longer stands, the challah is not given to the kohanim/priests today, although some observant Jews do burn their challah loaves as an offering to Yahweh. Today, each Erev Shabbat, one or two braided challah loaves adorn the Shabbat table. Before the challah is eaten, a blessing is spoken and Yahweh's provision is acknowledged, reminding us that He is the True Provider.

Tzit-Tzit: Yahweh has provided another means by which His children can daily remember to observe His commandments: Tzit-tzit or fringes. Bemidbar 15:37-41 sets forth the "throughout your generations" commandment for the children of Israel to make tzitziyot (fringes) on the corners of their garments and to place a blue cord in these fringes.

"And it shall be to you for a tzitzit, and you shall see it, and shall remember all the commands of Yahweh and shall do them and not search after your own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring." (Bemidbar 15:49)

We can see from the above verse that Yahweh says that the tzitzit shall be visible reminders to observe His commandments so as not to pursue the lusts of the flesh and the whoring/idolatry/the imaginations of the mind by going "our way" and not Yahweh's way, as did the children of Yisra'el in the accounts of Parasha Sh'lach l'Cha. The commandment to wear fringes is also repeated in Debarim 22:12.

The cord of blue on the fringes is called a techelet. Blue is the colour of the High Priest's robe. The tzitzit are tied with a combination of knots and the spiralling of the techelet (also called shammash, same as the servant light at Chanukkah). The spiralling of the techelet combinations represent the equivalent numerical values of the Name of Yahweh, and the word Echad from the Shema. The numerical value of the word tzitzit totals 600. Tzitzits consist of 8 strands and 5 knots. 600 + 8 + 5 = 613 - the number of the Torah commandments.

While the numerical combinations for tzitzit are not specified in Scripture, it is interesting to see how they have developed and been passed down through the generations. In the tzitzit, we see Yahushua as our High Priest, represented by the blue cord, spiralling around the white cords, encasing them with the numerical values of Yahweh Echad. Yahweh was/is in Yahushua reconciling the world to favour to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). Yahushua is the living Torah; the 613 commandments find their fulfillment in Him.

Our garments today are, obviously, much different than those of the time of Mosheh. Today, tzitzit are worn on the corners of tallits (prayer shawls) and on tallit katans (small four cornered undergarments worn under exterior clothing). Traditionally, it has been men who have worn the tzitzit, but the Hebrew word used in the commandment is "Speak to bnai Yisra'el ..." Speak to the children of Yisra'el. Children come in both genders, young and old. While care should always be taken, in love, not to use our freedom in Yahushua to cause another to stumble, the wearing of tzitzit by women and children desiring to obey this commandment, and take advantage of Yahweh's practice of visual reminders, is increasing. Many of these individuals simply tuck their tzitzit inside their garments so as not to cause offence or confusion to others who might take a more traditional view of the wearing of tzitzit.

Intentional vs. Unintentional Sin - Bemidbar 15 :22-31

This passage in Bemidbar 15 deals with intentional vs. unintentional sin. We have all fallen prey to sinning unintentionally and by mistake, to "slipping up" as it were. Oft times we have transgressed a commandment in ignorance because we had not been taught the true application and interpretation of the commandment in the past. This is a frequent discovery for Ephraimites as they receive renewed revelation from the Ruach on matters concerning Torah, the paganized nature of the religious system, and many "Latter Days" doctrines and teachings, such as the "rapture" doctrine. We find ourselves repenting for sins committed in the past in ignorance, and repenting for having falsely taught erroneous doctrines. Yahweh makes it very clear in this passage that such sins can be atoned for by the priest, when the repentant sinner brought the appropriate sacrifice. With Messiah as our High Priest, we come to Yahweh with the covering of His sacrificial offering on our behalf, and we receive forgiveness of our sins committed by mistake, unintentionally, in ignorance, or when we "slip up" and give in to a temptation. In Yahshua, we can be forgiven and restored, as we, likewise, are faithful to forgive others who have sinned against us (Mattiyahu 6:14-15, 18:22). However, Yahweh gives a stern warning against intentional sin in this Parashas portion:

"But the being who does whatever defiantly, whether he is native or a stranger, he reviles Yahweh, and that being shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of Yahweh, and has broken His command, that being shall be certainly be cut off, his crookedness is upon him." (Bemidbar 15:30-31)

To defiantly sin, knowing full well that you are transgressing a command of Yahweh, is to rebel against the Word of Yahweh.

"Then Shemu'el said, `Does Yahweh delight in burnt offerings and slaughterings, as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? Look, to obey is better than an offering, to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and stubbornness is as wickedness and idolatry." (1 Shemu'el 15:22-23)

"For if we sin purposely after we have received knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a slaughter offering for sins, but some fearsome anticipation of judgment, and a fierce fire which is about to consume the opponents. Anyone who has disregarded the Torah of Mosheh dies without compassion on the witness of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think shall he deserve who has trampled the Son of Elohim underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was set-apart as common, and insulted the Spirit of favour?"  (Ibrim/Hebrews 10:26-29)

The writer of Hebrews is speaking to "born again believers" in the above verses. This is a hard teaching, not often taught in doctrines of the dispensation of grace.

"For we know Him who has said, `Vengeance is Mine, I shall repay, says Yahweh.' And again, `Yahweh shall judge His people.' It is a fearsome thing to fall into the hands of the living Elohim." (Ibrim 10:30-31)

Our redemption, the blood of the covenant by which we have been set-apart, free from the penalty of sin and death, cannot, must not be taken flippantly or lightly.

"For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy." (1 Yochanan 5:3)

It is interesting to note that this teaching on intentional and unintentional sin is followed by the account of the man who broke the Shabbat. Given the revelations received by the children of Israel in the giving of the Torah and at the hand of Mosheh, it would have been impossible for the man not to have known about keeping the Sabbath. Even the manna would have reminded him, for Yahweh provided a double portion on the sixth day of the week, and none on the Sabbath. The breaking of the Sabbath by the man in this account was a conscious choice. The result of his defiance of the Shabbat commandment was his death. Given the eternal covenant nature of Shabbat (Shemoth/Exodus 31:13-18), and now that awareness of Shabbat as an eternal covenant is growing, the church would do well to learn from the example of the Sabbath breaker in Bemidbar 15:21-36.

"Take heed not to refuse the One speaking. For if those did not escape who refused the warning on earth, much less we who turn away from Him from heaven." (Ibrim 12:25)

Yahushua faithfully observed Shabbat and taught His disciples to do likewise. Why do His followers today not heed His example?

(End Part 2 of 2)

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