Greetings Saint of the Most High. Coming at you on this cold Sabbath morning in the DFW, on the first day of the 11th biblical calendar month, trusting and hoping that these Thoughts and Reflections on Torah Reading 115 find you, your family, and your fellowship is well and blessed.
This is “Nobody Told Me That the Road Would Be Easy, but He Didn’t Bring Me This Far to Leave Me.” This is the 115th reading of the 3-year Torah Reading cycle. It is found in Numbers 20.14-22.1; Obadiah 1.1-21; and John 3:1-21.
Setting the Scene for This Week’s Reading
(20.14-21) At this point in our readings, we were temporarily dwelling in Kadesh. Kadesh is where Moshe dishonored Yehovah by striking the rock of Meribah in response to our incessant complaints and threats. Because Moshe dishonored Yah—whereby Yah had instructed Moshe to speak to the rock and water would come from the rock which would bring honor to Yehovah, but Moshe striking the rock took attention from Yehovah and onto himself—Yah would not permit Moshe to enter the Land of Promise. Also, Miriam, Moshe’s sister, died in Kadesh.
The JPS Torah Commentary assigns Moshe’s dishonoring of Yehovah as one of three rebellions, the other two being an overall rebellion by the nation as recorded in chapter 14, and the Levites and Reubenites as recorded in chapter 16. The penalty, according to the commentary, is, of course, dying in the wilderness and never receiving the promised land.
How many of us persist in rebelliousness against the Almighty in one form or another? If we take this Torah Reading as a learning lesson, it should be clear to us that Yehovah does not take kindly to rebellion. And the penalty for uncorrected and unrepented rebellion is to be refused the Kingdom of Elohim.
Esau and Yisra’el
Nevertheless, Moshe still had a job to do. Our time at Kadesh had ended, and it was time to move on towards Canaan. The most direct route to Canaan from Kadesh was to go through Edom. Edom was a southern region, southeast of the Dead Sea. A vast wilderness region where the descendants of Esau dwelt
We should recall who Edom is. They are descendants of Esau. Esau was one of Yitschaq’s/Isaac’s two sons (Gen 25:19-28). He was Israel’s/Jacob’s/Ya’achov’s twin-brother. And ever since Jacob [wittingly] received the birthright from Isaac, their father, Esau, has sought to destroy Yisrael.
Esau from birth possessed an evil, rebellious, and rebellious spirit. He was not Yehovah’s pick to receive his father’s birthright, despite him having been born before his brother Ya’achov/Yisra’el. This week’s haftarah, contained in Obadiah, describes Esau’s arrogance, his ever-present threat to Ya’achov’s existence, and his ultimate demise. Sadly, Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, carried their father’s negative character traits. Regrettably, Edomites were never eliminated. Descendants of Esau and the spirit of Esau remain, even to this day, a thorn in Yisra’el’s side.
History Repeats Itself
Moshe entreats Edom’s king to permit us to traverse their land to save distance and time. It should have been a simple decision to the Edomite king to allow us to traverse Edom. We were, by the way, brothers. Taking the king’s highway through Edom would save us many days and miles on our journey to Canaan. We promised not to consume any of Edom’s resources in our transit through their land. However, Edom’s king denied our request with threats of war if we attempted to enter their territory.
After repeated entreaties ensuring Edom’s king that we would not consume their resources without fair recompense, the king assembled his armies at Edom’s borders to ensure we did not enter his realm.
Here we see history repeat itself. We find in Genesis 32 Ya’achov returning to his father’s home after many years working for Laban, an uncle dwelling in Haran (Mesopotamia in Padan-aram at the foot of Mount Masius between the Khabour and Euphrates-Gen 29:1-4), brings with him his expanded family and wealth, realizes he has to transit his brother’s land. Similar to Moshe’s first interaction with the Edomites as recorded in our reading here today, Ya’achov/Jacob sends entreaties and gifts to his brother Esau, hoping to appease and avoid a confrontation with him (Gen 32:4-33:1).
Nobody Told us that the Road Would be an Easy One
One has to ask: Why didn’t Yah soften the heart of the Edomite king to permit us to traverse his country? As biological relatives, it should have seemed to him the proper thing to do. But this is where the spirit of Esau dominates. Throughout their journey to the Kingdom, Yah’s people encounter Esau, who disregards acts of kindness and consideration. And as frustrating and inconvenient as it may seem, we are all forced to endure their opposition as part of the journey. Thus, during those times, we have no choice but to trust and believe in Yehovah.
We often wonder why Yehovah would permit the Esaus along our path to the Kingdom to behave towards us as they do. Why does Yah not eliminate them? It would make our journey to the kingdom so much easier. This, however, is part of the mystery in our traveling to the kingdom with Yehovah as our lead. Yah promised He would take care of all our needs if we would walk in covenant with Him. The mystery that alludes many of us, however, is that Yah never promised that our journey to the kingdom would be an easy one. In fact, beloved, Yah intentionally makes our journey challenging for us. And He does this, as with us having to turn from Edom and endure more hardships on our journey, “to mold our character for His purposes” (Hegg, T., Studies in the Torah, Numbers; Torah Resources; p. 149).
Loss of Familiar Leadership Invites Uncertainty into Our Journey
(20:22-29)–To not incite war with Edom, we went took another route. Edom’s denial of our request to transit their territory would prove even more challenging to us as we journeyed on. We would face one tough challenge after the next, on top of having to go dozens of arduous miles and add months to our trek to the Promised Land.
The first shoe to drop was Aharon’s/Aaron’s death. Recall that Aharon was our Cohen HaGadol. He was second in command. His death followed his role in rebelling against Yehovah:
(24) Aaron shall be gathered unto his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Yisra’el, because ye rebelled against My word at the waters of Meribah. (Reference section “Setting the Scene” above.)
It’s interesting that the very title rebel that Moshe called us in his frustrated striking of the Rock of Meribah is the same word Yah used to describe Aharon’s sin.
Aharon’s son, Eleazer/Elezar took over as our Cohen Gadol and we mourned for 30 days.
Aharon is beloved by Yisra’el, even to this day. To this day, he is considered the ultimate peacemaker. According to Rabbinic tradition,
“When Aaron died the angels lamented in the words: ‘The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and did turn many away from iniquity’ (Malachi 2:6) (J.H.Hertz; Torah-Haftarah; p. 659).
The angst we experienced over Aharon’s death invited uncertainty into our journey. Like our disappointment over being denied transit privileges through Edom, Yehovah intended Aharon’s death to cause us to learn to set our eyes upon Him as our true leader and guide.
War
(21:1-3)–Next, the Canaanites forced us into war. The King of Arad, Arad being a “royal city of the Canaanites as recorded in Joshua/Yahoshua 12:14, situated on a hill now known as Tel Arad, 17 miles south of Hebron and 50 miles northeast of Kadesh,” in the Negeb or wilderness, thought to take advantage of us and attacked us. (J.H. Hertz; Torah-Haftarah; p. 659). In response to the attack, we vowed to “devote” (i.e. “Hormah;” from the same root as a ban, a devoted thing, i.e. a thing ‘doomed’ to destruction) our attackers to destruction. And this would be just the start of Yah using us to cleanse evil and filth from Canaan. (Reference Hertz; p. 659)
Well, Yah honored our vow by awarding us victory over our Canaanite enemy.
This challenge to our journey teaches us that sometimes war is inevitable; that sometimes we must go to war and trust Yehovah to deliver us. Oh, not in the sense of fist-to-cuffs, more so, from the perspective of spiritual warfare and walking unwavering in righteousness, despite the war that may wage around us. We cannot help but be reminded of the Apostle’s teaching on the “Whole Armor of Yah” (Eph 6:10-20).
The Brazen Serpent—A Foreshadow of Yeshua’s Atoning Sacrifice
(21:4-9)–We moved on from our successful scuffle with the Canaanites, and circumvented Edom. In the process, we became “impatient because of the way” (21:4b). Yet again, we complained against both Yah and Yehovah:
Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness (a recurring theme throughout our journey)? For there is no bread, and there is no water, and our soul loatheth this light bread (21:5).
A key element of our complaint was that we loatheth this light bread. The term “loathe,” also known as “qutz” (mentioned four other times in the Tanach), relates to the concept of a “thorn” in our flesh. This is a key element of our complaint. Not only were we implying that Yah brought us on our journey to destroy us by not keeping His promises to provide for all our needs, but we thumbed our noses at “the miraculous provision of food and water given to sustain our lives” (Hegg, T., Studies in the Torah-Numbers; p. 152).
Let this sink in, beloved. How often have we complained (either out loud or to ourselves) about how tough things are for us and that Yehovah has not kept his promises to provide exceedingly for all our needs? And amid our complaining, we snub the blessings that Yah has indeed provided us, often through miraculous means. I’m certainly guilty of such spiritual crimes.
It was through the Prophet Jeremiah that Yehovah assured captured Judah:
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. (Jer 29:11 KJV)
We travel down a dangerous path when we see Yah’s blessings as a thorn in our sides. To think so about Yah’s provisions is to sin. Sin brings death. And this was dramatically illustrated in the next challenge we faced: deadly fiery serpents.
Yah introduced deadly fiery serpents into our midst as punishment. And as our brethren began dropping dead like flies, we recognized the extent to which we’ve sinned against the Almighty. Thus, we confessed our sins and begged Moshe (i.e. playing the intercessory role that our Master Yeshua currently plays in the heavenly Mishkan/Temple) to intercede with Yehovah on our behalf. And true to form, Yah’s merciful character hearkened to Moshe’s pleas on our behalf and instructed Moshe to construct a “fiery serpent” (i.e. constructed of brass like that of the brazen altar of sacrifice), suspend it from a pole, and erect the implement amid the encampment. Yah commanded us that if we were bitten by the fiery serpents, we would escape death by looking up at the suspended, brazen serpent in the midst of the camp (21:8). As hard as it was for us to obey Yah, we knew that this act of obedience was the only thing that would save our lives if we were bitten. Here we see obedience leading to life.
This part of our Torah Reading foreshadows the atoning sacrifice of Yahoshua. The apostolic reading for this week directly alludes to the story of the deadly bite of the fiery serpents being effectively healed by a simple act of obedient faith!
As to His amazing atonement mission, Yeshua said to Nicodemus,
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
(Joh 3:14-16 KJV)
We, amid our sin and eternally condemned state, have just one option to escape eternal death and separation from Yehovah: and that is to obediently look to Yeshua, the author and finisher of our faith, who died on Calvary’s execution stake on our behalf. His sacrifice brings an end to death and an end to sin (Hegg; p. 153). In every sense, Yah’s Word rings ever so true:
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
(Deu 8:3 KJV)
Defeating Giants Along Our Journey
(20:10-21:1)–After the fiery serpent crisis, we entered a season of conquests. We arrived at Beer and Yah provided us with much-needed water. Our spirits uplifted, and we sang (21:16-20).
Desiring to cut distance and time from our journey, we petitioned Sihon, the Amorite King, to permit us to traverse his country. Sihon not only denied us permission to cut across his land, he assembled his army against us. Yah was on our side and we defeated Sihon and his army in the Jahaz desert (21:23-26). We took possession of all the Amorite cities. It is believed that Sihon was a giant.
From the conquered Amorite cities, we traveled to and arrived in Bashan. Bashan’s king was Og, another giant. We met Og and his armies in battle in Edrei (21:31-33). Yah gave Og, his armies, and their land into our hands. These we devoted to destruction as we did the Amorites. Why were we so ruthless? These kings and their people were about abominable things. Yah, being holy and righteous, devoted them to utter destruction. He used us to destroy them and cleanse the land of their abominations.
Yehovah Never Meant for Our Journey to the Kingdom to be an Easy One
Our spiritual journey to the Kingdom parallels that of our ancient wandering cousins. Our road is narrow and our way is often arduous. We stumble and fall from time to time, yet when we call to Yah for forgiveness and salvation, He, through His Son, provides us the needed relief and life. Furthermore, war often confronts us and forces us to stand, to put on the whole armor of Yah to resist the enemy’s stratagems. Indeed, as the apostle wrote, the warfare we’re required to endure is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, world rulers of this present darkness, spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places (Eph 6:10-13). When we walk in righteousness, we become an invisible force against the kingdom of darkness. Sometimes we must fight because the enemy gives us no other recourse. Other times, we fight because Yah has called us to serve the kingdom, and certain things are dedicated to destruction.
I’m reminded of an old gospel song I grew up singing in the Baptist Church of my youth. The song is entitled “I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired,” written and performed by James Cleveland. To me, it captures the practical nuances and mandates of our reading today. The lyrics are as such:
I don’t feel no ways tired. I’ve come too far from where I started from. Nobody told me that the road would be easy. I don’t believe He brought me this far to leave me.
Beloved, can we apply the tremendous spiritual truths associated with our reading this weekend and with the lyrics of this old gospel song, know that our faithful God has ordered our path in every way—both conceivably and inconceivably. Know that He has a beautiful purpose and will for our lives and has put into place everything we need to achieve that purpose. Indeed, the journey is arduous and fraught with a great deal of heartbreaks, disappointments, struggles, hardship, slip-ups on our part, losses, victories, and such. But it is our obedient, trusting faith, through the Person and Ministries of our Master Yahoshua, that will see us successfully make it into the glorious Malchut Elohim.
Shabbat Shalom; Shavu’atov; until next time beloved, take care.