Shabbat shalom beloved. We pray that you, your families, and your fellowships are well and blessed during these perilous times.
Despite these being perilous times, beloved, we who are the redeemed of Yah through Yeshua Messiah, can find refuge and shalom in our Elohim. And we will find illustrated in the reading that is here before us today that Yah will indeed be that refuge—that strong tower-for those who are His.
Welcome beloved to a discussion on this week’s Torah Parashah, which is the 58th reading in our 3-year Torah Reading Cycle.
Today’s reading is contained in Exodus (Shemot) 16:25-17:16, with a Haftarah found in Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 58:13-14.
I would humbly encourage you to take the time to read this rather small portion.
General Outline of Parashah 58-Manna, the Sabbath, Water from a Rock, and Fighting the Enemy
Rules Surrounding the Consumption of Manna
In 16:29 Yah commanded that our ancient cousins stay within the confines of their sukkahs on every Sabbath. Specifically, Abba instructed that no one goes out of his/her place on the seventh day.
Why would Abba enact such a stringent prohibition around the Shabbat so early in our wilderness sojourn?
Well, we learn from last week’s reading that when Yah put forth to the people regulations for gathering the manna for the first six days of the week, which included a double-portion gathering on the 6th day, with the caveat that no manna be left over for the next day and that no one was to go out in search of manna on the 7th-day (I.e., the Shabbat), the people disobeyed these instructions. Not only did they test Yah by holding over and saving the manna they had collected the previous day (which “was full of worms and began to stink”), they foolishly ventured out in search of the heavenly food on that first Sabbath morning (16:20, 27). These blatant transgressions and displays of a lack of trust in Yehovah angered Yehovah, who nonetheless held back His righteous wrath against the offenders.
Interestingly, the first mention by name of the Sabbath Day is found in last week’s Torah Reading (16:23), which may cause one to wonder whether the Sabbath was observed by God’s people as a mandated day of rest and worship prior to its first mention in Reading 57 (Exodus/Shemot 15:19-16:24).
First Mention of the Sabbath
The first mention of the 7th Day being a day of rest is found at the time of the Creation (Gen. 2:2-3). There, the text states that He “ended His work which He had made and He rested on the 7th day from all His work which He had made. And Yah blessed the 7th day and sanctified it: Because that in it He had rested from all His work which Yah created and made.”
We then do not come upon any further mention of the 7th Day until Genesis 8:4. And that mention of the 7th Day has to do with the day of the week in which Noah’s/Noach’s Ark came to rest upon the mountains of Ararat.
And from there we have no further mention of the 7th Day or Sabbath until Exodus 16:26-30 where Yah links the day to His provision of the manna for the people’s sustenance.
God’s People Keeping the Sabbath Even When the Sabbath is not Mentioned
So, does this mean that the patriarchs did not keep the Sabbath?
Well, contrary to the seeming evidence, I believe they most certainly did. Yah affirmed with Isaac/Yitshaq that his father Avraham had “obeyed His voice, and kept His charge, and His commandments, and statutes, and His laws” (Gen. 26:5). And when contemplating whether to reveal His plans to deal with Sodom to Avraham, Yah is recorded to have reasoned that “He knew Avraham and that He would command his children and his household after him to keep Yah’s way” (Gen. 18:19).
Furthermore, I think we can safely conclude that Yah instructed Adam to keep the Sabbath during Adam’s time in Gan Eden. And certainly, it would have fallen to Adam to pass on and teach his children, Cain, Abel, and Seth Yah’s ways, which would have most likely included the keeping of the Shabbat. And we can most assuredly say the same as it relates to Noah/Noach whom Moshe described as “a just man and perfect in his generations, and that Noach walked with Yah” (Gen. 6:9), that he kept the Sabbath and taught his household to do so as well.
Yes, it is odd that the keeping of the Sabbath or the 7th Day by Yah’s chosen ones is absent in the Torah all the way up to our sojourn in the wilderness. But we must remember, Torah is clear that Yah’s elect ones, even the Patriarchs, kept His commandments, statutes, and His laws. And since our Torah is very clear about this fundamental reality, it becomes a foregone conclusion that they kept the Shabbat in some form or another. No doubt they kept the weekly Shabbat close to the way that Abba gave to us at Sinai:
Remember the Sabbath (Exo. 20:8a) …if the people didn’t know anything about the Sabbath Day, how were they to remember (i.e., Zakhar) it? This speaks to the likelihood that during their time in Mitsrayim, they at the very least recalled what they’d been taught about Yah and His laws, including the Shabbat. It’s unlikely, given their slave status in the land that they were able to keep the Sabbath Day as they’d been taught. However, now that they’d been redeemed out of Mitsrayim servitude, Yah is instructing them to remember the Sabbath. The giving of this mitzvah regarding the Sabbath clearly wasn’t something new to our ancient Hebrew cousins at the time of the Exodus. Yah was reintroducing to and reminding the people that the Sabbath was a statute and ordinance that He had brought into existence and that it was a day that they would be required to keep (I.e., shamar) and remember (I.e., Zakhar) and keep sacred; holy; set apart (Exodus/Shemot 20:8; 31:14, 16; Deuteronomy/Devarim 5:12, 15).
Abba goes on to expound on this day. And we find that it is this mitzvah about the weekly Sabbath Day that Abba spends the most time clarifying its relevance and how it is to be treated:
Keep the day holy. And that six days are to be our time of laboring. But the 7th Day, the Sabbath, belonged to Yah. It was a day that we are to honor Yah and not do that which we desire to do. Thus, we are not to do any work in commemoration of Him resting or ceasing from His creation labor on the 7th Day (Exo. 20:11).
The Manna and its Relevance to Yah’s People
In 16:33 we find that Aharon is commanded to place an omer of manna in a jar to be kept as a remembrance unto YHVH and His miraculous sustaining of our nation. It was to be placed before the Testimony for safekeeping, which is a reference to a later instruction that would be given for the jar of manna to be placed in the Ark of the Covenant in perpetuity.
And it is here at this juncture of our history as Yah’s set-apart people that Yah ties our sustenance to our keeping of the weekly Sabbath. In this amazing instruction, Yah clearly sought to show us that it was He and He alone that provided for our sustenance and existence. That it was not through any strength or wherewithal of our own that we exist. And so, in alignment with this reality, Yah requires us to respect, honor, and keep His house rules. And the first official house rule He chose to give us is the keeping of the Sabbath Day and the trusting faith required for us to properly keep His Sabbath.
Yah Responds to our Murmurings for Water by Giving us Water from a Most Unlikely Source
In every incidence of our murmuring against Moshe, which was our murmuring against Yehovah, Yah answered the murmurings by miraculously providing that which we cried out for.
We find in 17:2 of our reading that our murmurings against Moshe were seen by Yah and Moshe as testing the faithfulness, might, provision, and patience of Yehovah. Again, reminiscent of our murmuring on the shores of the Yam Suph/the Red Sea, whereby we believed in both incidents that we were facing extinction, we questioned the competence and goodwill of Yehovah (17:3). In a mockery of Yehovah’s leadership through Moshe, we questioned the wisdom of our being led out of Egypt only to be slaughtered by the Egyptians, starved, and dehydrated to death in the wilderness.
So, in a similar stance to that which He took on the shore of the Yam Suph when He stood in between us and the Egyptian army, in 17:6, Yah stood before the Rock in Horeb. Yah instructed Moshe to strike the rock with his staff. In so doing, water flowed from the rock, and the nation miraculously received the water she cried out for.
Another Enemy to Contend With
Then we come to 17:9-16 where we find Yah’s reaction to the brazen, unforgivable attack on the nation by the Amalekites.
The Amalekites took advantage of our weakened state in the wilderness of Rephidim. And because the Amalekites committed such a heinous act against us, they found themselves on Yah’s “kill list”. Yah aimed to eliminate the Amalekites from generation to generation.
Thus, we went to battle against the Amalekites. Moshe, acting as our intermediary with Yehovah, stood on a hill overlooking the battlefield. And as long as Moshe held up his staff amid the battle, we prevailed against the enemy. However, as Moshe would tire and his staff lowered, we would begin to lose against the enemy. Thus, it fell to Aaron/Aharon and Hur to help prop us Moshe’s hand holding the staff of Yah such that we ultimately prevailed against the enemy.
In remembrance of this miraculous deliverance, Moshe built an altar unto Yehovah that he named Yehovah is my Banner (i.e., Yehovah-nissi).
How are we today to hold up the staff/banner/emblem/ensign of Yah? Through steadfast prayer. By declaring Yah’s immutable character and Name to the world. Through our trusting faith in Him. In addition, our Master Yahoshua HaMashiyach, operating out of the Heavenly Mishkan (I.e., the Heavenly Sanctuary), intercedes on our behalf before Yehovah day and night. We have the victory and provision of Yehovah through Yeshua our Master.
The Three Lesson Learning Opportunities of Parashah 58
The Torah Reading that is before us today consists of three relevant, what I would refer to as, “lesson learning” opportunities. Each of the three lesson-learning opportunities reveals a little more to us about the nature and Person of Yehovah, as well as reveals to us more information about the things that Yehovah expects from His set-apart people. And so, if we are careful to “shama” (I.e., hearken to; to hear, listen, and obey) these lessons, our covenant relationship with Yah will most certainly be enhanced.
Let’s examine each of these lesson-learning opportunities and see what Yah has in store for us.
Lesson Learning Opportunity #1: The gift of the weekly Sabbath and what we need to do as God’s set-apart people to properly prepare to receive it and keep it.
Yah gave us manna as our primary survival food source. It was not only unique from the perspective of it being unlike any food ever known to humanity, but it was also unique from the perspective that it served to teach essential spiritual lessons to us as Yah’s set-apart people.
It would teach us the essential element of trusting Faith; the critical realities of the weekly Sabbath; and the faithful, sustaining, and provisional wherewithal of Yehovah.
The manna that came from Yah would always prove to be, not only sufficient in amount to sustain the lives of every person that made up the mixed multitude coming out of Egypt/Mitsrayim, but also sufficient in its nutritional value. Sufficient to sustain us along and throughout our wilderness sojourn of 40 years (16:35).
Yah’s manna-Yah’s bread from heaven-would prove to guarantee our yeshuah-our salvation from the ravages of the hunger and physical deprivation that the harsh wilderness environment sojourned in would induce.
It would also serve to teach us valuable lessons about trusting faith and obedience, both principles being tied to the weekly Sabbath. For it was Father’s reintroduction of the weekly Sabbath to His people that required us to trust that the double portion of manna we’d collect on Preparation Day (I.e., the 6th day) would remain edible on over through the Shabbat, and that first thing on the first day of the week He would be faithful to provide us with a next day’s supply of manna. Our trusting faith in Yah’s provision then would require us to act on that faith. To not test Yah by going out to hunt for manna on the Sabbath or to worry and entertain any doubts that Yah would deliver on His promise to provide for our nutritional needs.
However, as we saw demonstrated by our ancient cousins, their lack of trusting faith in the provision of Yah naturally led to their murmuring against Moshe and Yah. And the sinful act of murmuring, against Yah and Yah’s anointed one, will invariably lead to problems for all concerned in the long run.
Trusting that Yah will do as He has promised exercises the threshold of Faith that leads to our obeying Yah’s instructions regarding the keeping of His Sabbath. For Yah as revealed to us through the pen of the author of the Cepher/Book of Hebrews, that “without faith it is impossible to please” Yehovah. Such that “the one that would draw near unto Yah is required to believe that He exists; that He is who He has said He is; and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (11:6).
Indeed, what Yah was endeavoring to incite within our ancient Hebrew cousins was Faith. A way of life that was built upon a symbiotic relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Such that they would trust Yah to do that which He has promised He would do. And in direct response to that trusting faith, they would engage in heartfelt obedience to His instructions. This translates into what the Apostle Paul called “An Obedience of Faith” (Romans 1:5). And in our trusting and obeying Yah, we become His special possession. We become a kingdom of priests unto Him (Exodus 19:6).
Lesson Learning Opportunity #2: Yehovah is the only Sustainer of Life.
It was at Meribah that Abba miraculously caused water to flow from a rock. And the ancients’ mediator at the time, Moshe (I.e., a type of Mashiyach) petitioned Elohim to provide them with lifesaving and preserving water, even in the midst of their murmuring against him and Yehovah.
Lesson Learning Opportunity #3: Yehovah, Through Yeshua’s Intercession, is key to us overcoming our enemies.
Whereas Yah once stood between our ancient cousins and their former taskmaster, the Egyptians and their demigods near the shores of the Yam Suph/the Red Sea and the Migdol of Ba’al Zephon, ultimately drowning the Egyptian/Mitsri forces in the waters of the Red Sea, in our reading today, Yah employed His people to physically confront and war against their Amalekites enemy as He concurrently assured their victory through the intercession of their mediator Moshe. For as long as Moshe was able to keep the hand bearing his staff raised up towards Yah, the nation prevailed against the Amalekites. But when Moshe’s hands lowered due to fatigue, their enemy prevailed against them. Moshe did not physically participate in the battle, but instead, interceded on behalf of the nation.
We see here in this Lesson Learning Opportunity a transition from Yah unilaterally destroying our enemy (I.e., without our doing anything but following His lead such as was seen when Yah alone drowned the Egyptian/Mitsri forces in the Yam Suph/the Red Sea), now here, to that of us being directly and personally participatory in a battle that would ultimately lead to victory over our enemies through the intercessory work of Moshe and the Mighty Arm of Yehovah-Nissi.
Indeed, in this latest model of Yah fighting on our behalf, there are three involved parties: (1) Yehovah our Elohim. (2) Moshe, our intercessor before Yah. And (3), we who engaged in physical fighting against the Amalekites.
And so, as long as our intercessor was able to stand for us and intercede on our behalf, Yehovah aided us in physically overcoming the enemy.
This, my friends, is a clear foreshadowing of the spiritual warfare that we, the redeemed of Mashiyach, are having to face throughout our day-to-day life-wilderness journey. The enemy pops up from time to time and threatens us; hurts and harms us; seeks to deter us from the path that Yah has us on. And so, we are forced to deal with the wiles of the enemy through steadfast prayer and petitions to Yehovah through the intercessions of Yeshua our Master (Hebrews 7:25).
It is Yeshua’s ongoing intercessory work in the Heavenly Mishkan/Heavenly Tabernacle that prompts Yehovah to fight on our behalf and provide us the wherewithal to overcome the enemy. When there is no intercession, we are left to battle the enemy on our own. And one can rationalize that when we’re dealing with an enemy that is flesh and blood, we might physically and personally stand a chance of overcoming and prevailing against them. But the Apostle Paul, Shaul, enlightened us to the reality that, generally speaking, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens” (Ephesians 6:12).
Yes, we’re talking spiritual warfare. Not a popular topic in our Faith Community, is it?
But the truth of the matter is beloved (and we’re learning this from our Torah Reading here today), that we must deal with the enemy throughout our wilderness journey (I.e., our life’s journey in this faith of ours). And we must realize that we cannot defeat and overcome the true enemy on our own. We can only prevail against him through the intercession of our Master and the power and might of Yehovah our Heavenly Father. Thus, it is Yah who wins the battle that all too often befalls us. And He helps us overcome the enemy through our trusting reliance on the Person and Ministry of Yeshua Messiah, the author and finisher of our Faith (Hebrews 12:2).
But overcoming the enemy requires trusting faith that Yah can and will deliver us. And that faith is made evident through the force of our prayers and the strength of our faith and our unwavering obedience of Faith.
It must become evident to each of us, however, that Yehovah may not always unilaterally destroy the enemy on our behalf. He may, for reasons that only He will know, require our direct participation in the warfare. This means that we’re going to have to grow some calluses on our knees and learn to engage the enemy in spiritual warfare. We must learn to treat the hostile environment that we find ourselves in from time to time as though we are Yehovah’s trained and fearless soldiers and face the enemy head-on through faithful prayer and supplication; fasting when warranted; disciplined obedience to Yah’s instructions. And if our hearts are in the right place, Yeshua will petition the Father to fight on our behalf and we will inevitably overcome and prevail against the enemy.
This is the model that Yehovah has revealed to us and expects us to follow.
This is Yeshua-focused Torah Living at its greatest level.
Learning to Lean
It is through these lesson-learning opportunities that we learn the role that faith plays in our covenant relationship with Yehovah through the experiences of our ancient Hebrew cousins. And despite Moshe not mentioning faith whatsoever in his narrative here, when we read between the lines of the text, faith subtly emerges as an irresistible staple and element in the lives of Yah’s set-apart people. For we cannot escape the obvious reality that it is impossible to please Yah without faith (Hebrews 11:6). And we see nestled within the storyline of our reading here today that Yah was invariably showing our ancient Hebrew cousins that faith in Him was required for their very survival. Faith was essential for their yeshuah/salvation.
Within the paradigm of Yah’s manna provision, it became clearly apparent that Yah is no respecter of person (Deuteronomy 10:17; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; 1 Peter 1:17). Every Hebrew soul would receive enough manna to satisfy his or her nutritional needs, regardless his or her station in life. All would have to learn to trust in Yah’s provision and that He would indeed be faithful to His promises.
The Apostle Paul/Shaul taught: first the natural then the spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:46). Thus, as our text clearly reveals, the manna that Yah provided us amid our lack and dire need as we wandered about in the Sinai Wilderness (I.e., the natural), the life-sustaining bread that Abba provides us today consists of His Son Yahoshua Messiah (I.e., the spiritual). He is all we need to spiritually nourish and sustain us as we sojourn and wander about this barren wilderness, we call 21st-century western life.
Our Master boldly described and proclaimed Himself to be the source of His disciple’s nourishment:
Our father did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ (32) Then Yahoshua said unto them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moshe gave you not that bread from heaven; but My father giveth you the true bread from heaven. (33) For the bread of Yah is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world’ (John 6:31-33; KJV).
In other words, just as Yehovah, our Creator, and our Elohim, provided for and sustained our ancient Hebrew cousins with manna for 40 years through His unfathomable power and wisdom, so too He has provided us the substance for our natural and eternal existence. Yahoshua Messiah. Indeed, our Torah Reading that is here before us today is “a shadow [picture] of good things [that were] to come” (Hebrews 10:1). For it foreshadowed the life-giving and life-sustaining Person and Ministry of Yahoshua Messiah (Learning Lesson #2).
Knowing and living and walking in the Faith of our Master Yahoshua HaMashiyach leads us to a place of eternal rest which is illustrated in the weekly Sabbath (Learning Lesson #1).
Father wants us, His beloved, to dwell in peace. A peace that only He can provide. And the weekly day of rest we refer to as the Sabbath or the Shabbat serves to teach us a lesson regarding living a faithful, wholesome, and peaceful life. And as we can see illustrated in our reading, that place of faithful, wholesome, and peaceful rest comes through trusting faith and obedience. We trust Yah to protect, provide, and sustain us and then act on our trusting faith by obeying His instructions in righteousness, He grants us His rest. His shalom translates into rest and peace of soul, mind, body, and spirit.
Our Master beckoned unto those who would be His to:
Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me (I.e., hearken-shama unto and obey My voice and My instructions; feast on my life-giving and life-saving teachings; receive My love and provisions); for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30; KJV).
However, the peace that Yah and His Son Yahoshua promise us does not come without dedicated, trusting effort on our part.
As we see illustrated in our reading here today, for us to truly receive and appreciate and enjoy the Sabbath rest He gifted us, we had to prepare for it. And one of the great “Learning Lessons” that one can draw from this miraculous moment in time is that of unwavering obedience to Yah’s instructions that must be inextricably linked/tied to our trusting Faith in Yah. He instructed us to gather twice as much manna on the 6th day. And upon gathering the double portion of manna on the 6th day, He instructed us to prepare the manna before sundown. For once sundown came upon us, we were to cease all manner of work, just as our Creator ceased all His creative work on the 7th day. All the while we were to rest assured that Yah would replenish our manna allotment first thing in the morning on the first day of the week, and then repeat the daily cycle without fail.
Indeed, not doing some form of work for an entire 24-hour period takes a great amount of discipline for many of us. If it’s not working a paid job on the Sabbath, it’s tinkering with stuff in the garage; mowing the grass; planting a garden; doing laundry; cleaning the house, or running errands. All of these are undeniable forms of “work”. But Yah has unequivocally commanded us to not engage in any form of work. For the Sabbath is reserved exclusively for our Creator. It’s a day we are to devote entirely to Him. In fact, it’s a day that we are not to do our own pleasure as beautifully worded in this week’s Haftarah reading:
Isaiah/Yesha’Yahu 58:13-14. You must observe the Sabbath rather than doing anything you please on My holy day. You must look forward to the Sabbath and treat Yehovah’s holy day with respect. You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities, and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. (14) Then you will find joy in your relationship to Yehovah, and I will give you great prosperity, and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Ya’achov.” Know for certain that Yehovah has spoken (NET).
The Beauty of the Weekly Sabbath (All too Often Unappreciated by Humanity)
Isn’t it ironic that Yah must insist that we not engage in any form of labor or work on the Shabbat? Wouldn’t it seem intuitive that humanity would appreciate a day of not having to do anything but sit at our Master’s feet and learn of Him and His Ways and the ways of the Kingdom? But truth be told, keeping the Sabbath as Yah originally intended for us to do, is often one of the hardest things that even we His people are obliged/obligated to do.
But we’re not supposed to look upon keeping the Sabbath as an obligation. But rather, look upon the Sabbath as a delight (Isaiah 58:13).
Do we truly live for each week’s Sabbath and all that it entails? Or do we despise the Sabbath as many of our ancient Hebrew cousins have done throughout their nation’s history?
Nevertheless, the preparation day, although not a biblically stipulated or ordained, set-apart day as such, is critical for our properly entering into Abba’s Sabbath Day Rest.
And the preparation day also has tremendous spiritual applications attached to it. One that readily comes to mind is the need for us to put in the faithful, obedient work along our Faith walk journey so that we may enter Yah’s eternal rest when our Master returns, so that we may enter Yah’s eternal Kingdom His rest.
Mashiyach is the Rock that Provides us Life-giving Water (Learning Lesson #2)
It was from the rock at Meribah that we were given water to sustain us and satisfy our thirst. In response to Moshe’s petition, Yah instructed him to strike the rock. And water issued from the rock, satisfying our thirst.
Yeshua boldly proclaimed that He was indeed “the Bread of Yah that had come down from heaven and that gives life unto the world. For he that comes to Him shall never hunger nor thirst again” (John 6:33-35, 47-51).
It was during one Sukkot (I.e., a Feast of Tabernacles) that occurred during our Master’s earthly ministry that He disrupted the festivities of the Water Libation Ceremony by declaring to the throngs in attendance:
“…If any man or woman thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. For He that believes on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his or her belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).
Master promised those disciples who sat at His feet during His delivering of the Beatitudes that “happy are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
Indeed beloved, our Master is all we need to sustain us along our spiritual journey through this 21st-century wilderness we call modern life. That is if we are willing to learn of Him and obey His teachings and instructions in righteousness. And His instructions and teachings came exclusively from His Father, who happens to also be our Father (John 5:19,30). Praise Yah!
Shaul, by inspiration of the Ruach HaQodesh, viewed this historic miracle as yet another Yahoshua HaMashiyach life lesson.
He wrote to the Messianic Assembly in Corinth:
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, (recall that we looked at this amazing passage in Part 1 of our True Biblical Baptism series) 3 and all ate the same spiritual food (Yeshua being our bread—the Word made flesh—that leads to abundant life that is eternal), 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. (1Co 10:1-4 NET)
Clearly, the miracle that took place at Meribah was a Messianic shadow picture of Yeshua Messiah who would bring us His Father’s Words and His atoning sacrifice, followed by the indwelling of His Father’s Ruach HaQodesh.
And Shaul explained his Midrashic treatment of the miracles of the manna and the Rock at Meribah as being “examples for us so that we will not crave evil things” as our ancient Hebrew cousins did (10:6). Which means that we “not be idolaters” and not be “immoral”. That we did not put Mashiyach to the test. Not complain or murmur (10:7-11).
The apostle further warned that we learn from the ancients’ mistakes and foolish ways. And in so doing, we resist the temptation to think that we’ve somehow “arrived in Messiah”. That it is below us to falter and repeat, in one form or another, the same mistakes and missteps that our ancient cousins had (10:12). And know that Yah is faithful to continue and bring to completion the work that He has begun in each of us (Philippians 1:6). Know that every testing and trial is a means to our being perfected for the Father’s special purpose. He will be faithful to take us successfully through every trial and test. And neither trial nor test will overtake us. For Yah will make a pathway for each of us out of every trial and testing (10:13).
Faith and Submission to Yah are Key to our Salvation
Let us never overlook or forget the goal and purpose that we are in pursuit of. That goal is to make it into the Kingdom and to glorify our Heavenly Father in the process (Matthew 6:33). And for us to make it into the Kingdom and glorify Yah by imaging Him in the world, we must learn the lessons that Yah has laid out before us in His Torah. In the case of today’s reading, it is incumbent upon us to submit ourselves in every way to Yah’s leadership and guidance. Such an act—the act of submitting that is—requires that we trust Yehovah implicitly.
We must resist the urge, tendency, or habit to murmur. Murmuring is simply another form of complaining or grumbling. So, when things don’t go the way we think they should and we utter out into the ether our displeasure or frustrations, we are displaying a terrible lack of trusting faith in the Person and Promises of Yehovah our Elohim.
How so? When we fully submit to Yah and His Ways and His guidance and leading, we trust that He knows what He’s doing and that He has only our best interest at heart.
Our ancient Hebrew cousins never took trials and tests from Yah very well. They would invariably murmur against Moshe, which was them murmuring against the very one they were called to trust: Yehovah Elohayka.
But contrary to the foolish, ungrateful, unfaithful, and sinful thoughts of our ancient cousins amid their Babylonian Captivity that Yah declared through the Prophet Isaiah/Yermi’Yahu:
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jer 29:11-13 KJV)
If there is any lesson to be learned from our Torah Reading here today beloved, it is the necessity for us to trust Yah and to submit to His leading, guidance, provision, testing, chastening, protection, salvation, all of which is delivered in accordance with His holy and righteous Plan, Will, and Sovereignty. In other words, all that we expect of and from Yah may not come about in accordance with our perceptions and personal preferences. Yah is going to do things His way or He’s going to do things His way. For our way is irrelevant to Yah. In fact, when we faithfully submit to Yah, our way simply does not exist.
We Have a Secret Weapon That is Effective Against the Enemy
The good thing in all this is that like our ancient Hebrew cousins, we have an intercessor Who can identify with our human issues.
It was the writer of the Book/Cepher of Hebrews who affirmed this foundational understanding of our Faith:
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:15-16 KJV)
In other words, beloved, when we are feeling less than victorious in our walk with Mashiyach such that we begin to have doubts as to whether we can weather the storms of testing and trials that come our way, like our ancient cousins, we do have an effective and sanctioned intercessor and mediator, who will intercede on our behalf before our Father. Yahoshua knows what it’s like to be human. He knows all of that which goes along with being human. So, when we start to lose it and we start to doubt, we have it at our disposal Yahoshua. This means that we take our concerns and fears and doubts to Yehovah in fervent prayer. And Yeshua is the One, in His capacity as our High Priest operating out of the heavenly Mishkan, who will intercede on our behalf.
Again, it was the writer of the Book/Cepher of Hebrews who penned the following:
24 but he holds his priesthood permanently since he lives forever. 25 So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 26 For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need to do every day what those priests do, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once for all. (Heb 7:24-27 NET)
Yeshua thus serves as our relief valve. His intercession, along with the overcoming capacity of the Ruach HaQodesh to aid us in steadfast obedience to Yah’s instructions in righteousness, through our trusting faith, will take us through any trial that we may find ourselves subjected to.