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CHAPTER 8
1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
2. "Speak to Aharon, and tell him, ‘When you cause the lamps to ascend [b'haAlothkha], the seven lamps must give light toward the front of the menorah’s face.'"
The menorah itself is not a lamp, but a place to set lamps so that they would be sufficiently elevated to illuminate more of the room. It exists to bring light to a house; that tells us that there is much more we can learn from it. And the lampstand for YHWH’s House has a very specific design. The menorah as such is really the central "trunk", which then has six branches, and the highest central lamp is called "the servant". This six-plus-one pattern is the same as the creation pattern. But the fruit of this “tree” is light, and that is what we are after. The oil lamps (which looked much like Aladdin’s) could separate from the stand so that they could be more easily cleaned, so when they were replaced, they needed to be put back in the right position to produce the lighting effect YHWH wanted. The priest himself would also "ascend" by steps to be in a place where he could reach the wicks, because the menorah was about 6 feet/2 meters tall. Some think the branches also extended forward in what would look like a "V" if viewed from above, so he was actually "inside" the menorah when trimming the wicks. Trimming the wicks of the lamps is part of setting them in order--a perpetual maintenance required of the lamps which are to be kept burning at all times. This, too, represents our constant need to get rid of the things in our lives which do not support the efficient burning of the fire, which represents YHWH's presence. In Exodus 39:37 and Lev. 24:4, YHWH had told Aharon to set the lamps in order, a phrase which in Hebrew also means “in battle array”. This time, he tells him to actually light them, because an army lined up on the parade field is not making war, but only getting in position to do so. The most beautiful chandelier is useless if it does nothing to dispel the darkness. We can get in position in many ways—studying Torah, taking inventory of each part of our lives and being honest about our shortcomings, and doing something about them. Mere studying will accomplish nothing until we act on it by serving one another. Yeshua warns us to make sure the light within us is not darkness. He said the body’s lamp is the eye, and if our eye is sound, our whole body will be full of light. (Luke 11:33ff) According to the Mishnah, “a sound eye” is a Hebrew idiom for generosity. If our generosity has selfish motivation, it is a “dark light” indeed. If you cannot see clearly in some area, examine whether it is due to a lack of generosity, and hospitality in particular, because when one is lost, seeing a light in the distance gives him great hope. Avraham exuded this kind of light, eager to make others feel comfortable and cared for within his space. He was looking to give something back for what YHWH had done for him. YHWH invites us into His space especially at His appointed times, opening special gates then that are open at no other times. If we are generous, we will see things we have never seen before. Our earthly king said to let our lights shine so that those who enter the house (not just anyone out on the street) may see. (Luke 8:16) The things that separate the sheep from the goats all have to do with being hospitable or failing to do so. (Mat. 25) The Hebrew term for “lamps” means “shining”, and it shares the same root word with “light”. The root meaning of “seven” is “to swear an oath”. What seven lampstands represent we find in Rev. 1:20-2:5. They are gatherings of the lost sheep of the House of Israel while in exile. It tells us us to return to the former ways, or our menorah will be removed. The oath is one our ancestors swore on our behalf: to obey all that YHWH said. (Ex. 19:7-8) Many say this is bondage, when in fact it is our freedom, because it defines our task and our purpose.
3. So Aharon did just that. He made the lamps ascend toward the front of the menorah’s face, just as YHWH had commanded Moshe.
YHWH did not tell Aharon to do this; He told Moshe to tell Aharon. Aharon had to trust him to be telling the truth about what YHWH said. We, too, have to trust the Torah even when it says things that go against our modern sensitivities. The place we make for YHWH in the midst of our camp must be not only full of light, but the light must point in the right direction. All the lamps are to be turned in the same direction so that all of our light is focused on that which is across from the menorah. What is there? The Table of the Bread of the Faces. It held twelve loaves (representing the twelve tribes of Israel) baked with the ends turned inward to approximate the shape of the two kh’ruvim on the Ark of the Covenant--facing each other. They represent the whole community of Israel in its most unified form, and that is something YHWH wants to highlight. Where are they? At the table—another reminder of hospitality. At every Sabbath and festival, we share a table. This table is the only other thing said to be set in battle array, so, like the menorah, consuming food together in unity is another powerful way of making war on YHWH’s enemies. In nomadic culture, a shared meal seals many a contract. Keeping our table conversation there holy can affect things in another realm. YHWH‘s covenant is with Israel--the whole community together, and His promises will not be fulfilled until we are all back together. The light does not face outward, though some light will, of course, “leak” out through the windows, and others will see it and realize there is something inside worth being part of. The emphasis is that those inside the community receive more light, so that they can be well trained to be useful when other people come in seeking light. That makes our light all the brighter rather than diffusing it everywhere so that it amounts to almost nothing.
4. And this workmanship of the menorah was hammered out of one piece of gold [and finely decorated] from its trunk to its blossoms. According to the vision which YHWH had shown Moshe, he fashioned the menorah.
None of this will work if we try to arrange the lamps in a different pattern. And even the lampstand must be made a certain way. The technique for hammering out gold is a lost art, yet still it is a standing command, so we must go as far as we can until the right technique is again discovered. The Temple Institute has made a solid-gold menorah as accurately as they can, but using wax displacement, saying this is a temporary arrangement until the Messiah or anyone who knows can tell them how to do it rightly, in which case it can be melted back down and recast. In the meantime, we need to ask what menorah we are meant to be hammering on. The term “hammered” comes from a root word meaning “hard” or “fierce”, and indeed it is not easy to form unity, but we are usually the ones who stand in the way of our lights shining brightly as the “light to the nations” that He has called us to be.
5. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
6. "Bring the Levites [out] from among the descendants of Israel, and ceremonially cleanse them.
Bring: The word can mean "sever". Even among the holy nation, they were set apart even further. To some extent, other Israelites have a choice of how holy they wished to be; the Levites are "drafted" to a holy task.
7. "Now this is what you will do to them in order to purify them: Sprinkle on them water for purification, and have them pass a razor over all of their flesh and have them launder their garments, and [thus they shall] make themselves ceremonially pure.
Water for purification: Chapter 19 tells us that this was water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer, cedar wood, and hyssop—an antiseptic compound. It deals with the picture of the uncleanness that leads to sin. This does not appear to have been done every time any priest turned 25, but collectively on this one occasion. Pass a razor over: though what is being removed is the hair, it is really the flesh that is being dealt with. This is much like the rules for both the Nazir and the leper, so there is a link between them all. Though they have been cleansed with the water, having even their eyebrows shaved off humbles them completely; it is an equalizing like when one arrives at military boot camp. Their former glory is gone, and they are beginning a new life. Indeed, they look like infants again, possibly because they have been selected instead of the firstborn. They are also putting their past behind them. Everything they did before is no longer their life. They are starting over, being given over completely to servanthood, having no authority of their own anymore. (v. 19) They must therefore put away all their own ideas of who they are and learn to be servants. They can still maintain their own households, but are essentially slaves who will never go free. Yeshua said the greatest are those who serve, and the Levites did indeed come to be held in higher esteem than most in Israel; even when the northern kingdom was turning toward paganism, they wanted to buy Levites for their own private use! White garments picture our righteous acts (Rev. 19:8), and Yeshua also says we need to “buy” them from him. (Rev. 3:18) We have some responsibility, then, just as the Levites had to purify themselves (v. 21); it was not to be done for them by another.
8. "Then have them bring a bull--a son of the herd--along with its grain offering of flour mixed with oil, and for a sin offering, bring a second bull, a son of the herd.
Them: collectively. A bull signifies that they are set apart to an extraordinarily high degree of holiness.
9. "And you shall bring the Levites near in front of the Tent of Appointment, and you shall assemble the whole congregation of the descendants of Israel,
10. "then bring the Levites near before YHWH, and the sons of Israel shall lean their hands on the Levites,
The laying on of hands normally symbolizes the transference of something in identification with another. It was not magic, but a statement, for example, by one who was healthy to another who was ill: “May he be as I am.” In this case, it was the authority of the heads of the houses (chapter 7)—all of them probably firstborn—that was being transferred. It was done by leaning one’s weight on them, for the weightiness of their task must be felt. The whole congregation made the Levites an "offering"--as representatives of all of Israel, they are dedicated as something very precious to them, for they are taking the place of each family’s son. (3:12; Ex. 13:12ff) It is a rite of passage that visibly separates the actual firstborn from their obligation and places the Levites in the same position.
11. "and Aharon shall present the Levites before YHWH as the descendants of Israel's [wave] offering, so that they may [be prepared to] carry out the service of YHWH.
Present: literally, "wave them" or "move them back and forth"as an offering not to be slaughtered, but “a living sacrifice”; the exact dynamics of this are uncertain, though Israeli dance steps may preserve a small fraction of it. It symbolizes dedicating them (inaugurating them) for a special mission. (Hirsch) They had to be seen by the whole congregation so their authority would be recognized by all.
12. "Then the Levites shall lean their hands on the bulls' heads, and you shall prepare one as a sin offering, and the other as an ascending offering to YHWH, to make a covering for the Levites.
Sin offering: to cover their sins so that they could perform holy duties, though they were as human as the rest. Above, the first bull was for an ascending offering, but here the order is reversed, because the sin had to be dealt with first, though ascending is the ultimate purpose.
13. "Then you shall present [stand] the Levites before Aharon and before his sons, and present them as a wave offering to YHWH.
14. "Thus you will differentiate the Levites from [the rest of] the descendants of Israel, and the Levites shall become Mine.
15. "Afterward the Levites may enter in to do the service of the Tent of Appointment, when you have purified them and offered them as a [wave] offering,
16. "because they are the ones given completely to Me from among the descendants of Israel; I have selected them for Myself in place of every one from the descendants of Israel who first opens the womb,
Selected: or accepted, showing that He had been given what He wanted, thus excepting the actual firstborn from the same role from this point on. (These may be the same ones called the “given ones” in Ezra 2:70.)
17. "because every firstborn of the descendants of Israel belongs to Me--both man and animal; I set them apart for Myself on the day that I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt.
18. "So I am taking the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the descendants of Israel,
19. "and I am giving the Levites as gifts to Aharon and his sons from among the descendants of Israel, in order to carry out the service of the sons of Israel in the Tent of Appointment and to form a covering for the descendants of Israel so that no plague will strike down the descendants of Israel when they approach the Sanctuary."
Gifts: Ephesians 4 is highly reminiscent of this; Yeshua is said to have given each of us as gifts to the whole assembly. The Levites were to the priests as dishwashers are to chefs—those who do the mundane tasks so that the latter can be free to focus on their area of specialization. Yeshua’s closest disciples followed the same pattern in Acts chapter 6 by selecting seven men to wait tables for the Hellenistic widows so they would not be left out when charity was given, leaving the Apostles to concentrate on the “ministry of the Word of YHWH”. Those waiters still had to have high qualifications—they must be wise, set apart (to Kingdom priorities), and have a spotless reputation—just to wait tables! Not just anyone could do this seemingly mundane task; these were important tables. The men were called “deacons”—a valid office in the called-out assembly, so they should be held in high esteem, but should not consider themselves of the same authority as the elders. No one may enter in a nonchalant way or in the wrong order. Missing the target may even take the form of trying to obey without understanding the heart of YHWH’s commands, as many of the P’rushim (Pharisees) did. The Levites were to “atone” for the rest of the nation. That is religious jargon for what the simple reading in Hebrew shows was merely a matter of YHWH protecting the nation from being destroyed by a plague, as would result if any of the firstborn were careless about doing their job in the slaughter area. YHWH knew that not all men would train their sons properly, so He recruited a group to be trained as experts, immersed in the task full-time so they knew it so well that no mistakes would be made. But even the Levites did not do this job perfectly, and a plague did break out. One of the priests stopped it through his jealousy (zeal) for YHWH’s honor. (Ch. 25.) As a priest, he should not have had to do so, for this was supposed to have been done by the Levites before the individuals he killed ever got so far. Yeshua, a firstborn son, atoned (made a covering) for us by his blood as the Passover lamb's blood had done in Egypt.
20. So Moshe and Aharon and the whole assembly of Israel did for the Levites according to all that YHWH commanded Moshe in regard to the Levites; the descendants of Israel did so for them.
21. So the Levites were [purified] from sin and washed their clothes, and Aharon presented them as a [wave] offering before YHWH; Aharon [was the one who] formed a covering for them in order to [ceremonially] cleanse them.
They both accepted their responsibility and acknowledged their need of further cleansing.
22. After that the Levites entered in to perform their service in the Tent of Appointment in the presence of Aharon and in the presence of his sons; as YHWH had commanded Moshe concerning the Levites, so they did for them.
23. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
24. "This is what [applies] to the Levites: From 25 years old and up they shall go in to perform their service in the work of the Tent of Appointment.
They did not begin their active duty until age 30. (4:3; 4:30; 4:35) Since the terminology shows that this was the equivalent of military service, they had five years of “boot camp” because it was so important that they not err in their duties; they had to learn them perfectly, because this is what maintained the covering over Israel. (v. 19) They were “special forces”, guards who restrained anyone who was not eligible to come near YHWH’s dwelling. And they had to supervise the slaughterings, since anyone who did this wrongly would have to start over.
25. "And at the age of 50 they shall stop performing its service, and shall no longer labor,
Stopping at fifty parallels the yovel (jubilee) year.
26. "but they shall wait on their brothers in the Tent of Appointment, to oversee the ceremonial functions, instead of doing the servile work. This is how you shall deal with the Levites in regard to their responsibilities."
Wait on: or attend to—that is, train the novices. Oversee: or safeguard: those with 25 years' experience could more easily see potential problem areas.
CHAPTER 9
1. Now YHWH had spoken to Moshe in the desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
Sinai means “thorny place”, and thorns are a direct result of Adam and Chawwah’s sin. (Gen. 3:18) It was in a place with this description that YHWH chose to show us the way back to Eden. The place where YHWH would later have His fixed “dwelling place” means “the driest of places” (Tzion). To our shame, we often have to come to the places that are the very opposite of Eden—where YHWH hedges us in or turns up the heat—before He can get our attention so we will seek the way back. This is a flashback to a month prior to the events in chapter 1, set in the same month the Tabernacle was set up. (Ex. 40:17) While dates are extremely important for setting the context for how to understand each passage, the Torah rarely follows a chronological approach. YHWH’s word is eternal, and thus is not governed by time. But these events were a relatively short time after we had left Egypt. It takes much longer to take Egypt out of the Israelites than it took to bring us out of Egypt, and this chapter is an integral part of doing the former. Month: literally,“renewal”; this renewal had to take place before the renewal described in chapters 1-8 could take place.
2. "[Make sure] the descendants of Israel prepare the Passover at its appointed time.
The Passover is not the feast, but the slaughtered animal of which we must partake (v. 7). It is not a day, but an event that inaugurates the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, for it too must be eaten with matzah. Appointed time: If we show up at a different time when it is convenient for us—such as the weekend closest to the actual date--we will not find YHWH there. While calculations based on science were the best we could do when all of Israel was exiled from the Land, now that one of the Two Houses of Israel has access to the Land again, man is not authorized to appoint the time. It is the readiness of the barley crop for harvest and the precise time of the appearance of the next new moon after it (YHWH’s “faithful witness”, per Psalm 89:37) that actually set the date for Passover. (See Gen. 1:14)
3. "On the fourteenth day of this month, between the evenings, you shall prepare it at its appointed time according to all its prescribed rituals, and you shall carry it out according to all its procedures."
"Between" comes from a word meaning "to perceive" or "distinguish", and “evening" literally means "transition" or "mixture"—so this is between the time the light begins to noticeably dim and when the darkness begins to visibly overtake the light, so that it is distinctly "night"--i.e., from the "mixing (of darkness) with day" until the "mixing (of the remaining light) with night". Rituals and procedures: Each household might carry out some of the details a different way, as long as they are within the parameters YHWH decreed. But there should be unity within each household as to how they are carried out there.
4. So Moshe told the descendants of Israel that they should prepare the Passover.
5. And they did carry out the Passover [offering] on the fourteenth day of the first month in the Sinai desert; the descendants of Israel carried out what YHWH had commanded Moshe in every [respect].
Before delineating the divisions into which Israel will be organized, YHWH emphasizes something that unites us all. It has taken a whole year to give all these instructions and to bring the picture of YHWH’s dwelling place to reality. It’s now time to celebrate the anniversary—the first memorial celebration of what YHWH did. We were now at the same place in the earth’s orbit where we were when YHWH acted.
6. But there were certain men who, having been defiled by a man's [dead] body, could not perform the Passover on that day, so they came before Moshe and before Aharon on the day,
Someone died--someone they highly respected and needed to honor--and these men had no way of avoiding their duty to deal with his body. The rabbis say that burying a friend is the greatest love one can show to him; Yeshua made a slight correction to this, but still it is an act of great kindness. We are told of two men who had to be buried on the eighth day of this very month: Nadav and Avihu. (Lev. 9:1; 10:1) So these are most likely their relatives who carried them out of the Tabernacle court. The earliest the command in verse 2 here could have been given was the eighth or ninth of the month, meaning they had just enough time to select the lamb or young goat on the tenth day. But since it requires eight days to be purified from corpse-uncleanness, there was no way they could be ready on time for the Passover.
7. and those men told him, "We have been defiled by the dead body of a man. Why are we kept back from bringing the offering of YHWH near at its appointed time along with the [rest of the] descendants of Israel?
They were not whining about the fact that they could not participate in the feast; what they were concerned about was bringing YHWH an offering. Others might regard this as an excuse to not "have to" participate, but they were looking for any loophole by which they might be able to. Being ritually impure, they were a picture of selfishness, but these people were not selfish; they had actually done a very selfless thing through no fault of their own. They were concerned lest they defile the rest of the camp, or they might not have admitted to their uncleanness, but just gone ahead and eaten. They came to the proper authorities and the first thing out of their mouths was a confession. They would only be affected by corpse uncleanness for a few more days, but they were not so careless as to think it would not matter if they ate the Passover late, as so many do today for the sake of mere convenience.
8. So Moshe told them, "Wait, so I can hear what YHWH will tell you to do."
Moshe did not speak hastily or guess at an answer. This, he could foresee, would be a precedent for many similar situations in the years to come. So he does the right thing: he goes straight to YHWH with the question. And YHWH knew their question was genuine and sincere:
9. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
10. "Inform the sons of Israel that even if any of you or your generations shall become ceremonially unclean for the sake of a [dead] person or are far away on a journey, he may still perform the Passover unto YHWH.
Moshe did not just say, “Sorry; that’s just how it is.” They had a point. He could see that they truly wanted to draw near. The exception was carried even further by King Hizqiyahu, who prayed for a reprieve for those whose heart was prepared, but could not keep the Passover according to the letter. (2 Chron. 30:17-20) But such exceptions are YHWH's mercy, not an excuse for slackness or a new norm.
11. "In the second month, on the fourteenth day, between the evenings, they must prepare it; they must eat it with unleavened loaves and bitter herbs,
The lamb was slain in the afternoon, but it took time to cook, so it was not eaten until after sundown, by which time it was the 15th. (See Deut. 16) These men were probably Levites, in which case by the same time the next month, they would already have charge over some aspect of the Tent, so it was important that they be able to draw near.
12. "and they may not leave any of it until morning, nor may they break [one] bone of it. They must do it according to all that is prescribed for the [actual] Passover.
Not the next day or the next week, when the moon would already be waning, but the next time the moon was at exactly the same stage—its very fullest—is when it had to be done. No other picture would work. It wasn’t the actual anniversary, but it was the closest possible resemblance to the actual day. But time alone does not heal ritual uncleanness; they had to immerse and have everything back in place and be sure they did not become defiled again, because there was no further extension promised. Yeshua was not left hanging on the tree until the next day, nor was any bone of his body broken. But there was only one sin offering at Passover (and it was a goat), but hundreds of thousands of Passover lambs, so while they do picture Yeshua, it is Yeshua as us, his Body, that they depict, not the “seed that fell into the ground alone”.
13. "But the man who is ritually clean and is not on a journey who has failed to prepare the Passover, that particular person shall be cut off from among his people, because he did not bring near the offering of YHWH in His appointed season; that man shall be responsible for his [own] error.
Failed: neglected his duty. On a journey: It does not say "in a distant city", suggesting not just a poorly-timed trip that lacked the foresight to be sure to get back to Yerushalayim for the feast, but being unavoidably detained while trying their best to get there. If it was in one’s power to get back—even if it was not easy—the one is obliged to do so. And these were the only two exceptions allowed. He requires that one bring the offering, even though only those who are circumcised may eat of it; there had been enough time to get that done. As with jury duty, there is a penalty for not showing up if the exception has not been validated in advance. YHWH is merciful, but He does not accept excuses, because this feast defines who we are as a people. He hears our prayers at any time if our heart is right (Yeshayahu 59:2), but He wants to have special “dates” with His betrothed when there are no other distractions. Cut off: no longer considered part of Israel, just as the whole Northern Kingdom ceased to be the nation of Israel. (Hoshea 1:9) Also, this exception could not be carried over to other festivals. Travel was even more unreliable then than it is today, yet Paul made every effort to return even from the far end of present-day Turkey to Yerushalayim for Shavuoth, even skipping a stopover where he could have brought further teaching to his students. (Acts 20:16) Yarav’am tried to postpone Sukkoth for a month, and offer different places to celebrate it. Not so here. It had to be done in the same place, at a time as identical to the real thing as possible. YHWH was reasonable in acknowledging extenuating circumstances, but He would not let them carry this far. He made one exception, but no others, lest the picture completely dissipate into meaninglessness.
14. "Now if there is a sojourner staying among you who wants to participate in the Passover for YHWH, he must do it according to the prescribed ritual of the Passover, and in its proper manner; you shall have one [and the same] ritual prescribed for [both] the newcomer and the native who was born in the Land."
Prescribed ritual: including being circumcised. Israel is always receiving outsiders to be part of it, but once Israelites, they must behave as Israelites. They share in all privileges, but cannot do anything in their old Gentile ways. This would apparently be the last time Israel would observe this memorial in this journey through the wilderness (Y’hoshua 5:7ff), probably because after hope was gone of the parents entering the Land because of their unbelief, they did not prepare their children to enter the Land or even keep the Passover, because they left them uncircumcised. It would take 40 years to get most of the “Egypt” out of us. Again today, parents who had no inkling of their children returning to being Israelites left us with little knowledge of our heritage until the time approached for another Y’hoshua to lead us back to the Land.
15. Now on the day when the Dwelling-Place was set up, the cloud concealed the Dwelling-Place (the Tent of the Testimony), and in the evening there came upon the Tabernacle [something] like the appearance of fire until morning.
The flashback is now over, and we pick up where chapter 8 left off. (See note on v. 20.) Because of the two “renewals” represented by all that preceded this point in the book, Israel, with its thousands of tents, could now live constantly in YHWH’s presence. The cloud covers those who stay in the camp, providing cooling shade when needed. When they travel at night, it lights their way:
16. And that is how it would always take place: the cloud would conceal it, and [it would have] the appearance of fire by night.
Conceal: so no unauthorized person would see the temple furniture while it was being taken down and set up. (See chapter 4.)
17. It was only after the cloud would lift from over the Dwelling-Place that the descendants of Israel would pull up [stakes], and wherever the cloud settled, that is where the descendants of Israel would set up camp.
The literal Hebrew begins, “And at the mouth of the lifting of the cloud…” I.e., this is what gave them their orders. When the cloud moved, Israel moved. When it stopped, they would wait. Once the cloud was behind them as protection; now it was up ahead. In their immaturity, the cloud had remained over them, but now they had to keep up with it, because as we grow it is less about us and more about pleasing YHWH. They did not build a temple where the cloud had been, because it had moved on. Like the churches built over the sites of important biblical events and thus obscuring their actual context, too often we enshrine what was once a true move of the Spirit, and thus take its life from it. Denominations are the result of people forgetting to move when the cloud did, and remaining camped at a “historical site” where YHWH once was, but no longer is. At the entrance toTemple, there were 32 steps of different sizes and shapes, and this symbolizes YHWH's desire that we continue growing closer and closer to His heart (for “heart” in Hebrew has the numerical value of 32), ever advancing in holiness. He does not want us to be where we were a year ago. They all moved together; none had a head start, and none lagged behind, saying they would catch up later. Neither could predict where the cloud would move. From our standpoint, the movement was erratic and arbitrary, but they stayed for however long it took to learn each lesson. They did not have to be afraid they would be called to move right before a festival, so there was no reason to run ahead at what seemed to be a convenient time to move. When He calls us to do extraordinary things, He equips us. If we use what He gives us, YHWH is with us, and who would dare attack us? The sun would not strike us by day, and even if there is no moonlight, there is still light at night. If you are worried, it may mean you have fallen behind the camp.
18. According to YHWH's word, the descendants of Israel set out [to travel], and at His word they pitched [their tents]. As long as the cloud remained over the Dwelling-Place, they [remained] encamped.
19. Even if the cloud lingered over the Dwelling-Place for many days, the descendants of Israel followed YHWH's directive, and did not set out.
There may have even been some times when it stopped, but YHWH did not give the order to set up camp right away, because He noticed that a little old lady or a small child could not keep up, and He was just giving them a break.
20. It was the same, however many days the cloud was over the Dwelling-Place: at YHWH's word they would pitch their tents, and at YHWH's word they would travel.
At YHWH’s word: only when He said so. He gives no advance notice or even a reason why He moved; that would probably just confuse us anyway. This walk requires trust far beyond logic, but if it is YHWH, we know each step is for the best. This is inconvenient for the modern mindset which wants everything known in advance so we can plan, but it is the way a well-oiled military machine works, and Israel’s camp was set up like a war camp. A soldier does not make plans of his own, or he is serving two masters. But once we make the transition, this infinitely simplifies things, for nothing else needs to be taken into consideration. Adam wanted to be able to tell right from wrong on his own without having to go to YHWH at every fork in the road. But this cost him an incomparable friendship, and created friction between him and his wife and all the animals as well. By returning to Y’shua’s pattern of doing only what YHWH says (Yochanan 5:19, 30), we can be on the way to restoring the simplicity of the Garden of Eden. Israel’s obedience to the cloud’s seemingly-erratic movements (cf. 2 Cor. 4:18) represented the first step back.
21. But when the cloud [remained] settled through the evening and lifted in the morning, they would pull up [stakes]; whether by day or night, when the cloud was taken up, they set out.
Normally the cloud would lift by night and be replaced by the fire-like appearance, but if it remained a cloud all night (carrying something from the daytime all the way through the night), it appears to have been a signal that they would move the next day. A possible alternate reading is, "It was the same even if the cloud [only] set down [the previous] evening; if it lifted the next morning, they pulled up [stakes]."
22. Whether it was for two days, a month, or a year that the cloud stayed above the Dwelling-Place, when it settled the descendants of Israel remained encamped and did not pull up stakes, but when it lifted, they set out.
They had to “go with His flow”—being patient enough to stay put until He told them to move, but ready to move at a moment’s notice when He did.
23. According to YHWH's word, they set out [to travel], and at His word they pitched [their tents]. They followed the injunction of YHWH, from the mouth of YHWH under the direction of Moshe.
Under the direction of Moshe: This is how we can tell when the cloud is moving or standing still today. Does Moshe (the Torah) support it? (Yeshayahu 8:20) We must be under Torah and following our leaders to remain under YHWH’s covering. He has done great things for us, but do not take Him for granted; what we knew last week might not be enough to keep up with the camp. As our understanding increases, the bar is raised, and we are responsible to advance in ways that we were not obligated to at this time last year.
CHAPTER 10
1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
2. "Make for yourself two silver trumpets (make them of hammered work, beaten out of one piece) so you will have them to call together the assembly and to [signal] the breaking of the encampments.
Silver: the price of blood, and thus redemption, but also of our souls, which reside in the blood (Lev. 17:11). In the Tabernacle, silver was in a transitional position between bronze things which bespoke our sin-prone earthliness and those of gold that depicted the eternal. The trumpets were given to prepare our souls to participate in the “golden” things. Assembly: The Hebrew term (edah) stems from the word for witness, which is in turn rooted in a term meaning to duplicate, repeat, or restore. It is related to the word for “appointment”. Israel is indeed called to bear witness to the fact that YHWH is restoring His Kingdom through the repetition of His appointed times year by year until the fellowship Adam had with Him is duplicated. This, in contrast with the “congregation” (qahal) of v. 7, was a judicial, voting, and decision-making body made up of land-owning men who had served in the army—lower than the nasi (rulers or leaders, the “captains” of v. 4) but more exclusive than the congregation, and not including the Levites, who had separate and special responsibilities. If one disobeyed certain commands, one could be “cut off” from being part of this assembly, which had influence in national affairs, but not removed from the congregation, therefore having the right to go to the sanctuary but not have a voice when important decisions affecting the whole nation had to be made. (Onstott, per Numbers 1:16; 7:2; 16:2, Isaiah 55-56, et al) Hammered work: like the menorah and the kh’ruvim atop the Ark of the Covenant. The technique has been lost, but all three items made in this way are symbols of the unification of more than one individual. Silver is pliable and thus can be hammered without breaking. Like trumpets, YHWH wants to make us as those who are to be the conductors of His spirit (the same as wind in Hebrew). The experiences that “hammer at us” will determine our ability to sound the right notes when it comes time to move Israel.
3. "And when they shall sound a blast with them [both], the whole congregation shall assemble themselves to you at the entry to the Tent of Appointment.
They: as opposed to "you" in v. 2. Moshe himself gave the word to sound (v. 13), then the designated priests gave the individual blasts that signaled the component groups to start marching. Blast: long and often with two or three tones, rising to a higher note at the end of each blast. But the term really means a “slap” or “clap”. In other words, it is “hard-hitting”; a “blow” in both senses, that gets our attention. The entry to the Tent of Appointment is where war is waged (Ex. 38:8), since sin crouches at the door. (Gen. 4:7) What attacks any Israelite affects all of Israel. The shofar, therefore, calls Israel to physical warfare, and the silver trumpets to spiritual warfare to rout the forces that drive our enemies. In a camp of several million, it was crucial to be able to communicate instructions clearly across wide stretches. It is estimated that the camp was about twelve miles across! So YHWH picked an instrument known for its clarity—the trumpet, which is hard to miss or ignore. Each type of blast would call for a different response:
4. "But if they give a blast with [only] one [of them], then the captains who are heads of thousands in Israel shall gather themselves to you.
5. "Now if you sound an alarm, then the camps that are pitched eastward shall pull up [their tent pegs and move forward].
Alarm: a series of at least nine short, staccato blasts. Pull up: The cloud must have lifted first (v. 34), but no one was to move until Moshe gave the signal. The cloud only gave a general instruction. But we also need to know how to proceed once we are packed, and for that we must learn to hear as well as to see. Sometimes it is important that we see things with our own eyes before we act, but we also need to know how to respond to a reliable witness, especially from an authority. We have seen YHWH prove Himself; if we are waiting for Him to do so again when He has given the order, we will end up as stragglers and be picked off by Amaleq. Listening is an art, and if we approach it with pre-existing assumptions, we may end up breaking camp when it is merely time to assemble. If we jump to a conclusion too quickly, even if we prove right, we will miss the nuances and details, and that is where the Kingdom lies. The way of Avraham’s descendants is to, like him, leave the familiar place when YHWH calls us to, and find out where we are going when He tells us to stop again. We do not need to know every detail in advance, or we would make plans to do things our own way.
6. "And if you blow an alarm [of short, two-toned blasts] the second time, then the camps pitched on the south side shall set out.
The next group of camps had to wait until the next signal so they would not run over one another.
7. "But when the congregation is to be gathered together, you shall blow [long] blasts, but not [sound] an alarm.
Congregation: all the citizens of Israel, including women, children, and converts/immigrants (Y’hoshua 8:35), who could participate in the ceremonial aspects of society and worship, as contrasted with the property-owning and decision-making“assembly” of vv. 2-3 and its more particular “captains” of v. 4, which were progressively narrower groups, and from which more categories of people might be excluded (e.g., Deut. 23). So these trumpet-signals would indicate different types of gatherings. (Onstott) One had to listen carefully once the first blast was sounded, to see whether anything else would follow to determine which type of call was being given. He did not want them “alarmed” if there was no cause for alarm. The things we say to one another must also not bring confusion or fear, but order.
8. "And the sons of Aharon, [who are] the priests, shall [be the ones to] sound the trumpets, and these [things] shall be prescribed for you throughout your generations.
It was important that there be no confusion resulting from someone else in the camp having the same type of trumpet and sounding it at the wrong time—or at the right time in the wrong way or for the wrong reason. So YHWH specified exactly who was to blow the trumpets.
9. "And when you go to war in your Land against the adversary who is troubling you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the face of YHWH your Elohim, and you shall be delivered from your enemies.
He does not say to conquer outside the Land He was allotting to Israel; when it is time for Y’shua to rule the world, all nations will be assembled at Yerushalayim, where He has every right to defeat them. Stepping across this border is forfeiting one’s immunity, as occurred in the 6-Day War. The situation described there—that of being troubled by an adversary within our Land—is one that, according to Lev. 26:6, should never even come about. There we are told that if we are walking in His ways, a foreign sword will not even come into our Land. So either someone here is rebelling from within, or Israel is not living like it should, and YHWH has sent an enemy to remind us of Him. If we remember this detail, it is a sign to Him that we are willing to obey again; it indicates to Him that we were just forgetful and went astray rather than dismissing Him with malice or contempt, because when we were jarred awake again, we reverted quickly to His protocol. When our kings started calling on our former slavemasters in Egypt instead of calling on Him as He said to, it was all the proof He needed of where their hearts were. Could it really be this simple? Just blow a trumpet and be spared? Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to submit to; just ask Naaman. (2 Kings 5:10-14) Little more than trumpeting (when done at YHWH’s word) brought down the walls of Y’rikho. If an instruction is very complicated, human hands have probably been put into the mix. When all Israel unites, He Himself will blow the trumpet and accompany us. (Z’kharyah 9:14-17)
10. "Also, in the days when you are rejoicing, and at your appointed times, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow a long blast with the trumpets over your ascending offerings and your slaughters of peace [offerings], and they shall serve as a reminder before your Elohim for you[r sake]; I am YHWH your Elohim."
At the beginnings of your months: i.e., at each new moon. Note that He says we may do this at any time we have cause to rejoice together, not just times He has prescribed. Elohim is the term that emphasizes judgment; the name YHWH emphasizes His mercy, so these sounds are a plea to Him for mercy.
11. Now it turned out that on the twentieth day of the second month in the second year, the cloud lifted from over the Dwelling Place of the Testimony,
This is only nineteen days after the preceding events, so YHWH tested them immediately with an actual move rather than just a drill. He usually tests us soon after we learn something, because our maturity is not measured by what we know but by how well we respond when tested. They did well on their test:
12. so the descendants of Israel set out on their journeyings from the Sinai desert, and the cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Pa'aran.
Pa'aran means "beautiful caverns". This is a mountainous desert region (Deut. 33:2) bordering on the Reed Sea and the Aravah (Deut. 1:1). They are heading northward from Midyan and the area of Eylath toward the Promised Land now that all the foundational commands have been given.
13. Thus they set out for the first time according to the word of YHWH, under the direction of Moshe,
Word: literally, “mouth”. Direction: literally, "hand". This was the first time they packed up the Tabernacle to move. They had been at Mt. Sinai for over a year, and knew YHWH had been there. It was a leap of faith to trust Moshe’s judgment when he said it was time to move on. But they did.
14. with the standard of the camp of Yehudah in front, by their companies, and Nachshon the son of Amminadav was over its army.
Exodus 6:23 tells us that Aharon took Elisheva, daughter of Amminadav, as his wife. She was thus Nachshon's sister, and therefore born Jewish, not Levite, but this widened the influence of Aharon’s family even further. Yeshua’s mother also appears to have been from both the tribe of Yehudah and the tribe of Lewi. It seems that the war maneuvers followed the same pattern by which we broke camp: When there were still Kanaanites to conquer after Y’hoshua’s death, YHWH told Yehudah to go up first. (Judges 1:1-2) When the tribe of Binyamin was at odds with the rest of the nation over the grisly incident involving the death of a Levite’s concubine amd Israel asked Him who should start the campaign, again YHWH told Yehudah to go up first. (Judges 20:18) And in the final battle for Yerushalayim as the Kingdom begins, YHWH says He will rescue the tents of Yehudah first, indicating that others come afterward. (Zkh. 12:7) We even see it taking place today in the Land: Yehudah arrived first. If the rest of us get in order, we can get there too.
15. And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Issachar was Nethan'el the son of Tzuar.
Those over the “armies” of the tribes turn out to be the same as the “heads of the fathers’ [households]” of chapter 7. YHWH is the master psychologist. Today in Israel the soldiers are well-motivated in the same way, since those they are directly fighting to protect are all close relatives, not strangers.
16. Over the army of the tribe of the sons of Z'vulun was Eliav the son of Helon.
17. Then the Dwelling-Place was taken down, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari traveled forward carrying the Dwelling-Place.
The Tabernacle's moving second (after the three tribes headed by Yehudah on the east provided an open pathway) gave space for the southern, western, and finally northern divisions to move into formation. It would be a very smooth operation when this order was followed. In Hebrew, “eastward” also means “forward”.
18. Then the standard of the camp of Re’uven set out by their companies, and over its army was Elitzur the son of Sh'dey-Ur.
19. And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Shim'on was Sh'lumiel the son of Tzurishaddai.
20. Then over the army of the tribe of the sons of Gad was Elyasaf the son of De'u-El.
21. Then the Q'hathites moved forward, carrying the Sanctuary, so that the Dwelling-place might be set up prior to their arrival.
The entire congregation would string out for miles when they were traveling, so there was time for those only fourth and fifth in the order (the Gershonites and Merarites) to set up before the Q’hathites (ninth in line-up) arrived. Note that what the first two carried constituted the Dwelling Place (v. 17), while what the latter carried—the furnishings (4:5ff)—were called the Sanctuary. These could not be unloaded until the tent that housed and protected them was set up.
22. Then the standard of the camp of the descendants of Efrayim set out according to their companies, with Elishama the son of Ammihud over its army.
23. Over the army of the tribe of the sons of M’nasheh was Gamli'El the son of Pedah-tzur.
24. And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Binyamin was Avidan the son of Gid'oni.
25. Then the standard of the camp of the descendants of Dan, who were the rear guard of all the camps, departed by their companies. And over his army was Achiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
Rear guard: literally, "gatherer". We know that Amaleq attacked the weak who straggled at the back. Was this because Dan neglected their duty to protect them?
26. Then over the army of the tribe of the sons of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran.
27. And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Nafthali was Achira the son of Eynan.
28. This was the marching order of the descendants of Israel by their companies when they set out [to travel].
29. Then Moshe said to Hovav the son of Re'u-El the Midyanite (Moshe's in-law), "We are traveling to the place of which YHWH said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do right to you, because YHWH has promised beneficial [things] concerning Israel."
Hovav means "beloved". Re’u-El is the same as Yithro, whom Moshe had already given a sendoff, so Hovav was Moshe’s brother-in-law. He must have been too young to protect his seven sisters at the time Moshe met them at the well.
30. But he told him, "I will not go, because I am going to my [own] land and offspring instead."
31. So he said, "Please don't abandon us, because since you know how we camp in the desert, you can be like a pair of eyes for us.
Be like eyes for us: It appears that Hovav had stayed with the Israelites long enough to see them break camp and set up again, and he knew how much space they needed for the whole camp and how it needed to be arranged. Being a desert-dweller himself and familiar with the region, he could be a scout for them. Though Moshe was a prophet, he still recognized the “profit” in having someone with experience and organizational skills around him. Hovav knew how to keep a flock together, how far to let them stray before reining them back in again. His father was the “administrator of strife”. Moshe also needed someone to speak to who knew more than he and who could understand what he was talking about.
32. "So it will be, if you go along with us, what will take place is that whatever YHWH does to benefit us, we will do the same to benefit you."
It does not say whether he agreed to or not, but he is promised a share in Israel’s blessing if he does, and it seems that this is the end of the conversation.
33. Then they traveled on from the mountain of YHWH three days' journey, and the Ark of YHWH's Covenant went three days' journey ahead of them in order to seek out a resting place for them,
The Ark, as the counterpart of the Sabbath (both being a sign of the covenant), goes ahead to find a resting place--just as Yeshua said he would do for us (Yochanan 14:6), as the firstfruits of the resurrection. It almost sounds as if it traveled on its own, but there were probably Levites carrying it as usual. It may have been three days ahead of the very back of the camp, indicating that it took three days for the entire camp to move onward. We do not know how long He wants us to “camp” at a certain place, focusing on something. He decides when we are ready to move on from it. Where we go next in our return to the Promised Land is to be determined only by where YHWH’s presence is. Once YHWH left Mt. Sinai, it was little more than a historical site, for it was not the final goal; to stay there would be of no benefit, and would only leave any who remained an easy target for enemies. While YHWH blessed the places the ark rested, even when they did not belong to Israel; the man who hosted it had no claim once David came back to retrieve it. His name was Oved-Edom—“the servant of Edom (Esau)”. Rabbinic scholars say Edom’s scepter passed to Rome (the seat of the Church). Today YHWH is calling Israel to reclaim from the Church the things that belong to Israel. This is not accomplished by demanding them from the Vatican, for the Church is not obeying them. Those who do obey are those who have a right to the accompanying blessings.
34. and the cloud of YHWH was over them by day when they traveled on from the camp.
It may have concealed their movement and activities from their enemies’ spies:
35. And what Moshe would say when the Ark set out was, "Rise up, O YHWH, and let Your enemies be dispersed, and let those who hate You be put to flight before You[r face]!"
This signal also meant, “Rise up, O people of YHWH! It’s time to go!” It may have been linked with the blowing of trumpets as in v. 9.
36. And when it would rest, he would say, "Return, O YHWH, to the multiplied thousands of Israel!"
If we do order our lives by what YHWH is doing, then we too may have a right to echo Moshe by asking YHWH to return to us. (v. 36) Stopping when He stops—on the Sabbath—gives us some practice with getting into this pattern. This sounds so perfect—being visibly in His presence, with constant provision, protection, unity--no doubt at all that YHWH was with us. Except for not yet being in the Land, this seems as idyllic as it can get--which is why the next verse seems so out of place and downright wrong:
CHAPTER 11
1. But the people became like complainers, and it was displeasing in the ears of YHWH; when YHWH heard it, His nostrils became hot, and the fire of YHWH was kindled among them, and consumed [those that were] in the outer fringes of the camp.
It seems that the complaining was what kindled the fire. What was there to complain about? The only problem in this idyllic setting was that there were human beings in the camp! Maybe they resented having to move at a moment’s notice (10:33-36), never being able to plan, having to leave just after they had settled in, or in the middle of the night. We could speculate that although there was now finally a framework to build their nation on, they did not like the order that had just been set up. (10:1-28) But it does not actually tell us what they complained about, so this warns us to stay away from every sort of grumbling. The Hebrew term for complaining has no other word as its root; complaining is groundless! It is the way of our flesh, but there is no excuse for it. Once one takes up the practice of complaining, any reason seems enough. But the word has the nuance of mourning, suggesting that they were complaining about what they had in the former campsite but now lacked. He was in the process of taking them to the Promised Land, and to complain about that means they were looking at nothing but their own discomfort. But if this account was read aloud, something else would be suggested. The root word for “complainers” (anan) sounds nearly identical to the word for cloud (‘anan). Isralmore Aviyar from Ghana said, “Complaints are like the clouds that give no rain, no matter how much they gather.” Like a fog which makes things less clear-cut, it “clouds” the issue, so emotions will run high and others may not be able to see that in reality there was nothing there to complain about. But being under YHWH’s cloud was a major emphasis in chapter 9. This pun suggests that they were trying to create their own covering rather than relying on the covering YHWH gave them. But we cannot get to our home under our own covering; Israel goes home as an entire people. When the honeymoon wears off and the intimacy fades, a relationship—even with YHWH--starts to break down. That is a condition we should be afraid to be in. That is the “fear of YHWH”. It is very telling that it started at the fringes or outskirts, the extremities of the camp--closer to the areas designated for relieving oneself, and some may have chosen to be there because it was more convenient, but it put them farther from the heart of the camp, the place of greatest holiness, where the highest authorities lived, so they may have thought they could get away undetected. Those on the edge—the hem of the garment, which becomes frayed most easily-- picture the uncommitted--the loners who hold back from being a real part of the camp. Having our own agenda, doing things our own way, is still rebellion, and puts us on the outskirts of the camp. Those who feel sorry for themselves cannot draw near, because they are, even if subconsciously, blaming YHWH for the way things are, feeling that He is part of the problem. Sometimes people tend to complain the most when things are going the best. If everything is working well in the camp, they have to invent reasons that they cannot fully commit to being a part of it: “Why do only the Levites get to camp so close? Some of them are so young, and I am old and have such a long way to walk! My ancestor was older; why do we have to be under the banner of his younger brother’s tribe?” But there are not equal rights in the Kingdom. In this camp, if you complain, you feel the flaring of His nostrils, like a bull that is ready to charge. The cloud we thought we had made for ourselves is just the smoke that indicates we are starting to burn up! You cannot say you trust YHWH, but not trust the leader He has put in place over you. So these people conclude that that cloud must not really be YHWH’s. The problem is not in what they lack, but their inability to make the best of what they do have. YHWH’s principle is to be faithful with a little, and then He will give you more. We can complain even with a sigh, a scowl, cough, or simply shaking our head. But without a covering, we are naked and alone. Your own cloud is a mere wisp that produces no rain. If we get out from under YHWH’s, there is no guarantee that we will be allowed back in. So we have to appreciate it while we are under it, because complaining is something He will just not put up with. If the squeaky wheel gets the oil, it is all the easier to burn up! All we are doing is insinuating that He does not know what He is doing. There is no medicine to fix this. We have to discipline ourselves and decide to be content and trust Him.
2. So the people cried out to Moshe for help, and when Moshe interceded [in prayer] to YHWH, the fire subsided.
Cried out: high-pitched shrieking as if in mortal pain. But only when the heat was literally turned up and they knew they were in trouble did they turn back to Moshe. They had memorized what to do in order to escape such a crisis, but had not really learned the attitudes behind the right things to do.
3. And he called the name of the place "Tav'erah" [burning] because the fire of YHWH had burnt among them.
“The fire of YHWH” is usually a positive term, but as with any fire, you do not want to be on the wrong side of it. If you are not serious about YHWH, it is a scary thing, but it is scarier to be without His fire on the altar. But as soon as the fire died down, a new problem arose:
4. Then the rabble in their midst began to wish with greedy desire, and the descendants of Israel also started crying again, saying, "Who will give us meat to eat?
The influence of those who did not "get" what YHWH was doing spread like the fire to those in the heart of the camp as well. Once the people saw that Moshe could stop the plague, they were no longer afraid to do the very same thing again. Give us meat: Emphasis on the “us”; they are complaining about the fact that the priesthood gets free meat. “Though our clothing did not wear out, the priests’ clothes are nicer! Why does Aharon get treated better than we do? It’s not fair!” Never mind that Aharon is not allowed to make even one false move, never gets a break, and does work that is quite dirty. It is not that they do not have meat; some tribes have “much cattle”! They want a handout. They would not think of slaughtering their own flocks and herds; they want someone else to do everything for them. Their flocks are their wealth; they want to both be on Welfare and have money in the bank! But no matter what we think we are entitled to, some things are simply not allotted to us, no matter how righteous we are. We are not all built to be priests. If we are not in Aharon’s line, we simply do not qualify. Empires are destroyed when everyone wants to be on top and no one wants to do the work. They have nothing to look forward to but the same thing every day (v. 6), but they have everything they need, so they have to come up with something new to want! They've had no excitement for a while--none of the former miracles, and are bored with YHWH's generous provision. Psalm 78:17-22 tells us specifically the “who” they had in mind. They willfully put YHWH to the test, asking if He really could come through for them. They focused more on what they did not have, forgetting that they were living in the midst of a miracle. Didn’t they find enough wonder in what YHWH was teaching them? Today, a great move of YHWH has begun again, and going along with it may mean giving up earthly securities, family, friends, and amusements. We no longer have all the programs the Church had, but we do have a fuller revelation of the truth and knowledge of who we are. We could kvetch about how community cramps our style, mutter that the prodding hurts, and grumble that we could have a savings account if we didn’t have to tithe—or we can say, “So what!?! We’re on the road to the Kingdom! Not even Bill Gates and Donald Trump have that!” [Note: This was written long before he was president!] The cure for boredom is to serve others. The repair for complaining is to give thanks, and as with other forms of stealing, we should give back substantially more than we robbed YHWH of.
5. "We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt [and] the cucumbers, melons, herbs, onions, and garlic!
Freely: As if slavery was not a price to pay! What do freed slaves have to complain about? The particular things they lusted for were not evil, but they disregarded the better things YHWH was giving and thought they knew better than He what they needed. These were the things of Egypt—the place they had left behind, and that is why their longing for them angered Him so much. The Wilderness of Pa’aran is the first place Yishma’el settled (Gen. 21:21), and he, too, had a longing for things Egyptian while staying there—in his case, an Egyptian woman in particular. YHWH even had to take the people out of this area for a while before bringing them back to it (12:16), possibly to get them away from this remaining influence of Yishma’el. But the second time they came back, when the spies brought the report, they again expressed a desire to have stayed in Egypt! Even Prime Minister Menachem Begin must have thought that fitting, because he gave most of the area of Pa’aran back to Egypt after Israel had captured it, despite all the oilfields that Israel had gained by possessing it. Nothing that grows high in trees is listed here; they preferred things that grow close to the ground—earthly things. The particular things they lusted for were not evil, but they disregarded the better things YHWH was giving and thought they knew better than He what they needed. These were the things of Egypt—the place they had left behind, and that is why their longing for them angered Him so much.
6. "But now our soul is withered dry, and there is nothing at all [before] our eyes except this ‘manna’."
Soul: or appetite. Here was food available every morning. (There was at least a free breakfast, if not a free lunch!) They just had no taste for the manna. There was no “pizazz” to it. (By the way, that is a Hebrew word.) But when we criticize them, we must also look in the mirror. When everything else is in place, we tend to complain about the smallest things. Since they had stopped celebrating His festivals except when specifically reminded to do so, of course the nomadic life lost its shine.
7. Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance was like the appearance [color] of bdellium,
Coriander: cilantro. Bdellium (bedolakh in Hebrew) is an aromatic gum like myrrh (often a less expensive substitute for it) that is derived from a tree. Some identify it with the species Commiphora wightii, used as a binder to fix the scent in perfumes. According to Pliny (Historia Naturalis, xii. 35), it is a transparent, fragrant resin. When it hardens its color varies from golden brown to nearly black, and is usually a mixture of both, though while still oozing from the tree it appears like small white pearls. Exodus 16:31 specifies that it was indeed white.
8. and the people would go to and fro gathering it, and would grind it with millstones or beat it in a mortar, and boil it in pans, then make it into cakes, and its taste was like the taste of fresh [cakes baked with] oil.
To and fro: The term has the sense of a leisurely stroll—without any effort or exertion, the exact opposite of Esau’s stressful, fruitless hunting for meat. It tasted like honey (Ex. 16:31) According to Velikovsky, other cultures at this time derived the idea of “ambrosia” from this substance, because they, too, did not know what it was, and considered it the food of the gods. All of this seems to emphasize how delicious it was, to show how foolish their complaining was--as if they were "forced" to eat doughnuts every day! They were lacking nothing but the taste they preferred. Were they upset about having to go pick it up or having to cook it?
9. And whenever the dew descended upon the camp at night, the manna condensed upon it.
In Jewish tradition, dew is associated with the resurrection from the dead. Velikovsky, a Jewish scientist of the 1940s, found evidence of similar events all around the world at this time. He theorized that the whole earth went through the tail of a comet and that the gases, dust, and meteorites it thus encountered, along with the gravitational pull of the comet’s head, was what YHWH used to physically bring about a lot of the special effects seen throughout the time of the Exodus. One of the side effects of this was to set off a prolonged and simultaneous eruption of thousands of volcanoes. Just one eruption has been known to change the appearance of the atmosphere for a whole year. Psalms 44 and 107 say Israel experienced darkness and gloomy conditions at this time. Writings from Mexico, India, Egypt, and Scandinavia reflect the idea that there was a great darkening—some of them say for 25 years! (Scripture would suggest 40, since the Midrash says the sun was not even seen again until near the end of the wandering.) The direction of the sunrise could be seen, so it was not pitch black, but if one volcanic eruption on the scale of Mt. St. Helens can add more carbon to the atmosphere than all the human emissions for many years, this was an environmental crisis much worse than “global warming”, and people complained that the crops could not grow. But the other major element volcanoes send into the atmosphere is water vapor. Under normal circumstances we get dew when water condenses in the morning; in these circumstances, we would have a very different type of condensation. What do you get when carbon and hydrogen condense? Carbohydrates! And that’s exactly what was needed to keep this mass of people nourished in a place and time where they could not grow crops. It essentially rained grain—the staple food of Israel even when they were nomads. So it was quite nutritious. And it was “instant”—they didn’t have to wait a whole growing season.
10. When Moshe heard the people complaining in their families, every man at the door of his tent, YHWH's nostrils became very hot--and it was also displeasing in Moshe's eyes!
This is the first time he does not take their part and defend them from YHWH's wrath, though he is the only one YHWH will listen to anymore and thus the only one who can keep Him from killing them. Before they had made honest mistakes, and he had readily given them the benefit of the doubt, but now they are complaining about YHWH's provision. It is becoming ridiculously melodramatic, and he has had all that he can take. They no longer have a point. This time he really feels that they deserve their punishment.
11. Then Moshe said to YHWH, "Why have You treated Your servant so badly, and why haven't I found favor in Your eyes, that You lay the burden of this whole nation on me?
12. "Did I beget this whole people? Did I labor to give birth to them, that You tell me, ‘Carry them on your lap like a foster father carries a nursing child' to the Land which You swore unto their fathers?
I.e., “Why are You holding me accountable for their stupidity this time? They’re not my children! Why did You put me in this position?” All of this complaining has affected even Moshe. He does not hide his complaining like the cowards above, but is very open about his frustration. YHWH accepted his point and resolved this problem (see below), but complaining is a very contagious thing—a germ very difficult to eradicate. Its seed lingers. If we teach our children to be overly sensitive about every little ache or pain or snub, we are setting them up to be complainers, and this brings shame to us as well. So what is the remedy? “Count your blessings”—the things you can be thankful for, focusing not on what we cannot do but what we can, and finding the positive in every situation. We can complain because the rosebushes have thorns, or be thankful that the thornbushes have roses. The poetess Maya Angelou said, “What you are supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you look at it.” Gratefulness is extremely powerful medicine. Remember what YHWH is doing for you and for those you know. Thank Him and tell others what He is doing. And try not to expose yourself to the virus to start with. If you hear someone starting to complain, remind them to be thankful, and refuse to go under the black cloud with them. Finally, go back to the source. Move away from the edge of the camp and into its heart. Don’t keep your distance, but look for YHWH’s cloud. What is He covering? Where can His presence be seen? Where is His blessing resting today? And most importantly, what has He said He wants? That is available to us all in the Torah. So come under it. This is the only real covering; others will eventually fail.
13. "From where will I get meat to feed all these people? Because they're complaining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’
14. "I'm not able to bear this whole people alone, because it's too burdensome for me!
15. "If You [are going to] treat me this way, then [just go ahead and] kill me, if I have found favor in Your sight, and don't let me see my misery."
Misery: with the connotation of a worsening condition or calamity. Moshe asked why all of these people should be his responsibility, when he never asked to be their leader. But he wanted what was right for them, even if he could no longer be the one to lead them, and did not want to see the final failure of the venture he was told to carry out. At least he vents his complaint against YHWH openly, rather than covertly to someone else, and YHWH respected the point he made:
16. So YHWH told Moshe, "Assemble for Me seventy of the mature men in Israel--whom you have recognized to be the most mature in the nation, and [able to] rule over them, and bring them to the entry of the Tent of Appointment that they may present themselves there with you,
What is different this time? YHWH does not let the people recommend the leaders to Moshe, because then they would pick people who look out for the interests of their own families and tribes; Moshe must choose people he knows to have the interests of the whole nation at heart—true elders, not those who will kowtow to their constituents. Mature: literally, elders. When the Torah is widely available and taught, there should be a one-to-one correspondence between age and wisdom or the ability to rule, but when all else is not equal, it is those who prove themselves most committed and experienced in the Torah who should act as elders in Israel, whether grey-headed or not. This is not the rulers of 10, 50, 100, or 1,000; they continued to rule concurrently over their jurisdictions. This is the original Sanhedrin. We again need people who can shepherd Israelites, not Americans or Mexicans. The only place to learn this skill is from Jews, who have been doing so to a much greater extent for centuries, or the first forerunners among the other tribes.
17. "and I will come down and talk with you there. Then I will withdraw some of the spirit that is upon you, and place it on them, and they will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you don't [have to] bear it by yourself.
He got some relief, but at a price: he would not personally be as unique as before. But he took this in stride (see v. 29). Considering 12:6-8, there was apparently enough to go around. What spirit was upon him? The spirit of a shepherd, which had been developed over forty years once he accepted his lot and committed himself to doing his assigned task well. Like Moshe, they needed to be re-trained to look out for the flock, not their own interests. He was also to choose men who were already proven leaders, having made themselves into the right kind of containers for the additional responsibility YHWH wanted to pour into them.
18. "Then tell the people, ‘Set yourselves apart [to be ready] for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, because you have complained in YHWH's ears, saying, ‘Who will give us meat to eat? Because it was better for us in Egypt!' So YHWH will give you meat, and you will eat [it]!
Set yourselves apart: addressed to those who were complaining. YHWH used this technique of separating the guilty from the rest of the camp again in chapter 16. They seem predisposed to find the glass half-empty no matter what. We all know people like that—and like Shlomo said, they’re like constantly-dripping faucets (yet they don’t fill the cup!). And when they finally come out and say what they were thinking—that it was better in Egypt—it’s now a pure insult, after all YHWH and even Moshe have done for them. But we will not find what we are looking for if we go back to what had enslaved us to find it.
19. "You won't just eat it for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days,
The letters with the numeric value of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 spell out avaheycha or avahayich (it works either in masculine or feminine)—a form of the same word for “been greedy” in v. 35, meaning “your lusting”.
20. "but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and nauseates you, because you have despised YHWH who was among you, and have complained in His face, saying, ‘Why did we [ever even] leave Egypt?'"
Nostrils: a word play on the Hebrew way to describe YHWH's anger (e.g., vv. 1, 10) so they would remember how it made Him feel when they complained. They were not equipped to handle this, so they should not have asked for it. Nauseates: or is disgusting, abominable. He threatened to give them what they asked for, hinting that it would really end up being a punishment. They did not like the wonderful provision He had made for them, so He would “stick them with the bill” for what they wanted instead. They essentially rejected His offer of a wedding ring, and reminded Him of the gifts their “former boyfriend” used to give them—forgetting that the grass had not been greener there at all, since “he” had beaten them and stolen from them. If He offered to give us all the financial security we wished for at the expense of having the time to serve Him and the need to trust Him directly, would we take Him up on it?
21. Then Moshe said, "The people in the midst of whom I am are 600,000 footsoldiers [alone], and You say, ‘I'll give them meat to eat for a whole month'?!
22. "Shall the flocks and herds be slaughtered to satisfy them? Or shall the fish of the sea all be gathered together for them, in order to be enough for them?"
Flocks and herds: This raises the question, why didn't they slaughter the ones they had? They would certainly want to save enough to start larger flocks and herds once they arrived in the Land, but there was already a great deal of livestock. (Ex. 12:38) They could have eaten meat, but it would not have been “free”. (v. 5) They would have to slaughter their own animals, and this would cost them something. In Egypt they may have been given already-prepared meat while working, so they were not used to preparing it for themselves from the point of slaughter—a situation most of us today can identify with as well. But the main point is probably that they envied the priests and Levites who DID get to eat meat “without cost”, even though they did put their lives on the line for YHWH every day. They thought it was just not “fair” that someone rightfully had free meat, but they did not, though they were . The free provision of manna was just not enough; they wanted something other than what it rained when YHWH’s presence was there. They were near the tip of the eastern branch of the Reed Sea, so some fish would have been available. (But see notes on Matthew 14:20,21.)
23. But YHWH asked Moshe, "Has YHWH's arm gotten shorter? You'll see whether what I've promised will indeed come upon you or not!"
A shepherd must learn that at some point his own resources run out, and YHWH’s abilities need to kick in.
24. So Moshe went out and told the people all that YHWH had said, and gathered seventy of the most mature men in the nation, and had them stand all around the Tent.
Now that they had been counted he knew exactly what he was up against, and honestly did not know how YHWH could do this, but had enough confidence in Him to go ahead and do what He said.
25. Then YHWH descended in a cloud and spoke to him, and withdrew some of the spirit that was upon him and gave it to the seventy elders. And when the spirit rested [settled] upon them, they began to prophesy, but not excessively.
26. However, two [of the] men remained in the camp when the spirit rested on them. The name of one was Eldad [Elohim has loved] and the other's name was Medad [loving]. Now they were among those who had been enrolled [among the seventy], but they did not go out to the Tent; rather, they prophesied inside the camp.
27. And a young man ran and reported to Moshe, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!"
28. Then Y'hoshua the son of Nun, who had waited on Moshe since his youth, responded and said, "Moshe, my master, restrain them!"
It seemed to him that they were carrying out a holy activity in a common place.
29. But Moshe asked him, "Are you jealous for me? I'd rather [that it were possible] for all the people to be prophets, so YHWH would put His spirit on them!"
He is glad for any help he can get. A prophet is someone who can hear the voice of YHWH, just as a shepherd knows the will of the owner of the flock. This sounds very much like an occasion when Yeshua’s disciples wanted to stop people they did not know who were casting out demons in his name. His response? “He who is not against us is for us.” (Luke 9:50) It’s not about exclusiveness or power, but order. He wants knowledge to spread, but while they both wished their fellows well, YHWH did not choose to make everyone prophesy. Only 73 out of 600,000 did. Not everyone is given the same rights, but each is given some gift to share with the whole congregation. There is a lot more demand for “grunts” than prophets. It’s the manna rather than the fancy melons again. The latter adds some variety, but you can walk a lot further on carbohydrates than on melons, and walking was supposed to be the order of the day.
30. And Moshe withdrew himself into the camp--he and the elders that were with him.
This would be the pattern of the Levites in the Land, who would come up to the Temple to learn the ways of YHWH, then go back out into all Israel to teach them. Being set-apart is not an end in itself, but for the purpose of concentrating the leaders’ efforts to prepare themselves to serve the people in the fullest way.
31. Then a great wind came out from YHWH and brought quails across from the west and let them swoop down around the camp, about a day's journey here [on this side] and a day's journey there [on that side], all around, about a two cubits above the earth's surface.
They were easy to catch; the Hebrew word for quail itself comes from a word meaning "sluggish", and they were only about one yard or one meter above the ground, and thus easy even for children to catch. The strong wind apparently weakened or dazed them. It also means “tranquil” in the sense of secure and successful, and indeed they were looking to this stockpile rather than YHWH’s continuing presence for their security.
32. And the people stayed up all that day, all that night, and the next day to harvest the quails, and the one who gathered the least gathered ten homers, and they spread them out for themselves around the camp.
They indeed had enough for a month. Since one omer is how much manna each was supposed to gather, and a homer is ten omers, they really had to be greedy and obsessive to gather ten homers--a hundred times as much as they should eat in a day! And how were they to preserve them for a whole month? Of course it would go bad before that, so while YHWH gave them what they asked for, it ended up being bad for them. “Be careful what you ask for; you just might get it.” Spread them out: possibly to dry in the sun, but the dew could not fall where they were, and there could thus be no manna there either. They precluded the provision YHWH wanted to make for them.
33. But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was cut off [or chewed], YHWH's nostrils grew hot [He became angry] against the people, and He struck the people with a very great plague.
He had given them time to weigh out the logical results of upholding their own desires rather than what He said was best for them, and admit they asked for something foolish, but instead they were still excited about the prospect of having something they’d had in Egypt again. Had they just caught enough for that day—like the manna—they might have been all right, but they were more concerned to have a long-term supply and be secure, so by the time they finally got around to eating it, the meat had spoiled. They thought it could not really be that bad, and strengthened their inclination toward evil instead of their inclination toward what was right, as they could have after He warned them of the consequences.
34. And He called the name of that place "Qibroth ha-Tha'awah" [the graves of greed], because they buried there the people who had been greedy.
The outcome here is very different from the first time YHWH brought quails to feed the people just after the Exodus. (Ex. 16) At that time they were immature and had not received the Torah. But now that they had been trained, they should have recognized the open door YHWH had given them to repent and admit that the manna was enough. (v. 20) He had given them enough rope to hang themselves, and like a child begging for more ice cream after he has had enough, they still beg for more prosperity than they have capacity for. They were like Adam who had free food, yet wanted something more than fellowship with YHWH. Yeshayahu comes right out and answers YHWH’s question in verse 23. “YHWH’s hand is not shortened, so that it cannot rescue.But your sins are what have made a barrier between you and Him.” (Yesh. 59:1-2 paraphrased) And that’s why YHWH’s very provision ended up killing some of them—probably only the ones who had actually done the complaining, because they had separated themselves from the rest of the camp. (v. 18) The quails were around the camp, not in it. (v. 32) Those who remained within the camp (e.g., v. 30), seeking YHWH’s face (presence) more than His hand, were spared.
35. Then the people traveled on from Qibroth ha-Tha'awah to Hatzeroth, and they stayed at Hatzeroth.
Hatzeroth means “enclosures”, suggesting a sheepfold where they could find rest after such ordeals. They would rather be there than out in the world among these graves that reminded them of Egypt yet again. After a long struggle, they were in a beautiful place.
CHAPTER 12
1. But Miryam spoke with Aharon against Moshe on account of the kushite woman that he had married (because he had taken a black woman).
Miryam spoke: Though Aharon seems to be implicated as well, the verb is feminine, so if he was involved, it was in a secondary sense; Miryam at least spoke first. There are many traditions that say Moshe married an Ethiopian (e.g., Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, II:X:1-2), and there is no reason he could not have had a second wife. But although Ethiopians are Kushites, they are not the only Kushites. They initially settled in Saudi Arabia, from there diverging in two directions toward India and toward what is now Ethiopia. Midyan is in Arabia, but there is a problem with this. Kushites are descendants of Kham; Midyanites are descendants of Avraham through Q’turah. (Gen. 25) The word Kushi also came to mean “black” or “dark-skinned” in general, but it has been difficult to trace this etymologically to any other Hebrew word. There is another possibility. In Havaqquq 3:7, a place or people called Kushan is paralleled with a similar statement about Midyan. It is thought that Kushan may either be a region of Midyan or one of its tribes, and the term “Kushite” may have been used for its people as well. It may therefore refer simply to his Midyanite wife Tzipporah, and judging by how Moshe treated Hovav in chapter 10, they may have thought he was treating his wife’s family better than his own. After all, Aharon would know nothing about priestly duties if it had not been for Tzipporah’s father teaching him. Or, now that Levites were forbidden to marry non-Israelites, they might have thought he should divorce her. It appears he did not, so though Moshe permitted people whose hearts were hardened to divorce their wives for even petty reasons (Mat. 19:3), it was not meant to be that way.
2. And they said, "Has YHWH really spoken only through Moshe? Hasn't He also indeed spoken through us?" And YHWH took notice [of this].
They: The events that unfold suggest that only Miryam did the talking, but Aharon had a tendency to stand by when other sinned instead of acting to put a stop to it (Ex. 32; Num. 25:10ff), and passivity about the sin of those connected to us makes us participants in it. He let the people pressure him into the golden calf. He would not stand up and tell anyone that what they were doing was wrong. He was someone greatly honored by YHWH, but this was his weak spot. He did not stop Moshe from striking the rock the second time, and for this he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land either. Do we fear confrontation with other people more than we fear YHWH? Israelites cannot allow ourselves to be bothered by whether or not we offend others (e.g., Matt. 15:12ff), because being a chosen people who do not do things the way the other nations do will inherently offend someone, especially in today’s political climate. This marriage may have been a choice he made 40 years earlier! But the Kushite wife turns out to not have been the real issue, but a pretext to let this deeper sentiment about Moshe come out—envy of his position. Moshe is secure in who he is, but Miryam and Aharon apparently are not, despite the fact that they were already a priest and a prophet. Instead of embracing the great honor they had been afforded, they chose to think of themselves as his equals when they were not.
3. (Now the man Moshe was much more afflicted than any [other] men on the face of the ground.)
Afflicted: or oppressed, and as a result, depressed. He had just been opposed by a rabble, everyone seemed to complain about his decisions, and now even his very own brother and sister, who should have supported him during such difficult times, are attacking him as well! Psalm 27:10 says, “If my father and mother forsake me, YHWH will take me up.” So that is exactly what occurs here:
4. And immediately YHWH told Moshe, Aharon, and Miryam, "You three come out to the Tent of Appointment." So all three of them came out.
With no delay at all, YHWH sticks up for Moshe and says, “There will be no such talk in My household!” Sometimes He waited until later to deal with a sin, for it is best to deal with it in the right season, but if one is not wise enough to know how to do that, it is best to deal with it before it can spread any further. You three: This implies that Moshe was present when Miryam criticized him to Aharon. So she could not use the excuse that since the criticism was not behind his back, it was a less serious offense. The Torah, priesthood, and prophets were meant to be a threefold cord, but YHWH honors the Torah above the other two positions, because prophecy and ritual that are not based on the Torah carry no weight. (Yeshayahu 8:20)
5. Then YHWH came down in the cloudy column and [it] stood [still] at the entry of the Tent, and summoned Aharon and Miryam. So they both came forward,
Theirs was just another form of complaining, which YHWH had just showed He would not tolerate. He “called them on the carpet” in a way in which there would be no mistaking who the Interrogator was.
6. and He said, "Pay attention to My words: If your prophet is to be of YHWH, I will make Myself known to him in a [mirrored] vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
7. "Not so [with] My servant Moshe, who is established in all of My household.
Established: or supported, confirmed, counted trustworthy. The word translated "foster father" in 11:12 comes from the same root—one who upholds, carries, or nourishes. Thus YHWH confirms that this man who had apparently learned such loyalty to the house even when he was serving the wrong house (Pharaoh's dynasty) is doing well at the work he found himself inadequate to do. He caused no trouble in the house like Miryam was doing; he was dependable. He was no ordinary prophet. Other prophets didn’t necessarily even know what they were speaking about. They delivered the messages they were given, but did not always understand even the time frame which they were addressing (1 Kefa/Peter 1:10-12), because it was not for their own immediate benefit, but for the sake of those who would come much later.
8. "With him I speak directly, and plainly, not in [enigmatic] proverbs, and he will behold the image of YHWH. Why were you not afraid to speak against my bondservant Moshe?"
I.e., “If I wanted him to divorce his wife, I would have told him to!” They did not even answer, which was wiser than making excuses. Directly: literally, mouth to mouth. Yeshua told his students, similarly, that while he spoke in parables to the crowds, he spoke plainly to them. (Mat. 13) But he only explained the significance to them when they asked for it. The truth is mysterious to those who are not learned, but simple to those who draw near. Behold the image of YHWH: This is the same terminology used of Adam (Gen. 1:27) What is it that made Adam like Elohim? Adam was made to need company, and YHWH created Adam because He wanted to share Himself with another. We could paraphrase this as saying, “Moshe sees My essence; He understands Me, while no one else seems to.” Avraham, David, and Yeshua were others about whom He could say the same—they were His friends, but were also called His servants, because they went beyond casual relationships and actually tended to YHWH’s “needs”. They were all like Eliezer, Avraham’s servant, in this respect. Someone who could be trusted to do a job even when it would cost him the inheritance was worthy indeed. Moshe may have had to be pushed into his job, but he proved trustworthy—the greatest compliment YHWH could give him. The idea that YHWH loves everyone equally is clearly thus unscriptural. Even among these three of the greatest prophets who ever lived, YHWH had His favorite (compare 1 Shmuel 13:14). Moshe would not have made the golden calf. If Miryam had been the one chosen to lead, Moshe would not have complained. Those whom He equips and yet fail too many times will simply not be given the job again. He calls whom He chooses to call. If we are not content with where YHWH puts us, and cannot stop thinking, “Why does so-and-so get more than I do?”, we will never know joy. Instead, we should aim to be among His favorites.
9. Then the anger of YHWH was kindled against them, so He left,
Anger: literally, nose. Either He considered this a stench, or He was “snorting like a bull” or “breathing fire”, and left out of mercy so He would not consume them. In Hebrew, it actually says, “He walked away.” That is a frightening prospect. He spoke to them face to face for once, just as He did with Moshe, giving them a taste of what he experienced regularly, then essentially said, “Stay here and think about it!”
10. and the cloud was removed from above the Tent, and here, Miryam [was] as leprous as snow; and Aharon turned [to look] toward Miryam, lo and behold, [she was] leprous!
Beware: they committed no action; their sin was only with their mouth. Yet look at the consequences. He “turned His back” on them, expressing His displeasure. Anyone would have turned pale under such circumstances, but as if in response to her hostility toward a black woman (v. 1), her punishment was to become as white as a ghost! Aharon may have been spared the same only because of the holiness he represented. No one else could fulfill his role, and the covenant required that the lights he lit be lit. In His mercy, YHWH keeps the dignity of his position intact, so that people will continue to respect him. But this does not mean he was not punished. He suffered something far worse than leprosy: a personal rebuke from YHWH (though it means He loved him enough to correct him rather than abandoning him), for he was responsible for her condition because he did not stop Miryam from gossiping.
11. Then Aharon said to Moshe, "Oh, please, my master, I beg you, don't count against us the sin by which we have acted [so] foolishly and incurred this penalty!
The dreaded tzara’ath has shown up at last. We have no record of anyone ever having been plagued with this before, only laws about what to do when it does take place. Now the very first case is none other than the highly-esteemed elder sister of Mosheh! What a quandary. She saved the life of the one who was now leading them. She made sure he had a Hebrew upbringing. How could anyone leave her behind? But clearly now everyone could see that no one was exempt from the penalty for not loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Now Moshe is suddenly called "master"! He recognizes that if Moshe does not forgive them, neither will YHWH, for the sin was really against Moshe; only he could release them from it. Going anywhere but to the one wronged will not repair the breach. (Mat. 18:15) He could do nothing about the leprosy; it had to be remediedon the spiritual level. Foolishly: literally, in our slackness. Ironically, Israel is a people both stiff-necked and slack. It was Aharon’s failure to tighten the reins on the people once before that had resulted in their lack of restraint (Ex. 32:25). They no longer had Pharaoh’s whips to keep them doing the right thing; they must now uphold the standard themselves. No one can hit the target with a loose bowstring, and missing the target is the precise meaning of the word “sin”. Many are looking for an excuse to be slack; our actions must not make them think they have received permission. Yeshua would not put up with anyone loosening the true Torah standard (Mat. 5:18-19). Teaching is done through both the teacher’s example and by holding the learners accountable.
12. "Please don't let her become like a dead [person] whose flesh is half-consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb!"
This may be what this type of skin affliction looked like. She looked dead, reminding her of what she had been spared from, and while she was in this state of uncleanness, if anyone were to touch her, the effect would be the same as if they had touched a dead body. But it could be that some myths or legends had already grown up around the disease which sounds only like it is as bad as psoriasis. The way stories grow, it has already metamorphosed into a skin-devouring disease! Maybe no one knew because quite possibly no one had seen it before. Hansen’s leprosy has a two-to-ten-year incubation period; this disease had a very sudden onset,. Mother’s womb: Moshe and Aharon had come from the same womb, so what applied to her would make them lose face as well. He also did not want the nation that was just being born to be a miscarriage. (v. 16.)
13. So Moshe cried out in distress to YHWH, and said, "Please, Elohim, heal her, I beg You!"
14. But YHWH told Moshe, "If her father had merely spit in her face, wouldn't she bear the shame for seven days? Let her be shut out from the camp for seven days, and after that, let her be brought back into association."
Spit in her face: We do not know whether this was an actual custom, but what is clear in Torah is that if one does not build up his brother’s house, he deserves this indignity. (Deut. 25:7ff) And this is exactly what Miryam was guilty of. YHWH had said Moshe could be trusted to uphold His house, but Miryam could not be trusted to uphold Moshe’s. YHWH still had someone He could trust, but Moshe no longer did, and this angered YHWH. Even the high priest could not mediate in this case, because he was in on the guilt this time. So Mosheh steps in and apparently asks YHWH to relent. He had mercy and did not require her to wait 14 days, as was required in some cases involving leprosy, but He does not let her go scot-free. He wants her to learn her lesson. She wanted to distinguish herself above the rest of the people, so YHWH makes her distinct from His people in a different way. For a whole week she is not under YHWH’s protection or Israel’s. She is fair game for Amaleq. Only after this very scary time of great risk can she be “brought back into association”. One hopes everyone else would see and learn too, for these two are too important to not have an effect; though they repented, they had already sown seeds that will come back to haunt all Israel.
15. So Miryam was shut out from the camp for seven days, and the people did not travel again until Miryam was brought back in.
This suggests that on other occasions, the camp may have indeed moved on while some lepers remained outside the camp--one motivator to avoid doing what Miryam did. Verse 10 even suggests that He was threatening to do so to her as well. Coveting someone else's position is the only overt reason in Scripture that we see people deliberately struck with "leprosy" (tzara'ath; compare the cases of Gehazi and Uzziyah in 2 Chron. 26:17-19; 2 Kings 5:20ff). Outside the camp was where people had to go to defecate (Deut. 23:13), and even they would not want want her around. If she uses her time there wisely, she will return to the camp better grounded, and ready to build up her brother’s house. But one woman’s arrogance held up the entire nation. YHWH had mercy, but Deut. 24:9 reminds us to never forget what He did to Miryam.
16. And afterward the people pulled up stakes from Hatzeroth, and set up camp again in the Wilderness of Pa'aran.
They could not stay at the place called “the enclosure”, because YHWH realized it was not the sheepfold it had promised to be, because the people would not yield to their shepherd, and therefore were not really “sheep”. He wants to change venues, and it seems He even would prefer to leave Miryam behind, but the people respected her enough to wait for her. Did they express solidarity with her despite the cloud moving, or did it stop too? Did they have to catch up after getting a whole week behind it? That would be frightening, especially if it got out of range. Would a scout run ahead and relay signals back about which direction to go? This may be why YHWH took them back to the Wilderness of Pa’aran—the same place they had just come from (10:12)--but they had not yet learned their lesson about complaining; even the leaders were now beginning to complain, so YHWH sent them back to a former stage of their journey. The last time someone in the midst of the camp complained, Moshe needed help, but where were Miryam and Aharon? If they had been there for him, they might not have had time to complain as they did here. Since they were not, they were susceptible to the same sin. It is one thing for a baby to complain; it is the only way he can get the attention he needs. But the mature should know YHWH well enough to know this is not necessary with Him. (Mat. 6:8) The disease spread even to Moshe’s own “trusted” family. So we see that there is no profit in complaining; it got them nowhere, and in fact it was two steps forward, one step back, and they take all of Israel with them. Those who do not ride the crest of the wave get pulled backward by the undertow. Just two out of several million did not learn, but they were so important that it set us all back. If we do not all make the grade, none of us can move on, because Israel is one entity. If we are going to move on toward the Land, we must stop complaining and take responsibility for one another.
TORAH PORTION
B'haAlothkha
(Numbers 8:1 - 12:16)
INTRODUCTION: This section begins by telling us which direction the lights in YHWH’s Dwelling-place must focus—what is in front of or across from the lampstand. The nuances and tiny distinctions in the text are easy to gloss over, especially in translations, but we need to pay attention to the details and where they point us. We may have to go digging elsewhere to find out what the hint is referring to, and that is how we begin to become, like the builders of these timeless vessels, “workmen who are not ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15)
The rest of chapter 8 describes YHWH’s selection of His “full-time workers” and what this both constituted and required, and even when they could “retire” from active duty. Yeshayahu/Isaiah 66:21 tells us that when He causes the Gentiles to bring all Israel from the far reaches to which we have been scattered, YHWH will select “priests and Levites” from among those brought back. Does this mean only that He will identify which are the descendants of those who filled this role in the past, or might it mean that those from any tribe who wish to be in His full-time service may be able to “join up”, just as in the past He allowed any Levite to leave his hometown behind and come serve at the Temple itself? (Deut. 18:6)
There are many restrictions on just who can keep some of YHWH’s appointments and how. Much of the Torah deals with His severity in this regard, and some of it even comes into play here, but Chapter 9 shows His kindness toward those whose heart is in the right place, but whose body has been affected by the environment in which he has no choice but to operate.
Yeshua said he can only do what he sees the Father doing. (Yochanan 5:19, 30) In the latter part of chapter 9, we see YHWH giving all of Israel the opening to operate in the same way, which is a big step in the reversal of the effect of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, where the ancestors of us all thought it would be nicer to be “free moral agents”, putting things in the category of “right or wrong” and thus leading many to judge one another by outward actions rather than looking on the heart. YHWH intended us to come directly to Him at each fork in the road and see how He wanted each of us to respond, drawing from our arsenal of all good things based on what He knew to be the most urgent need of the moment. As we get to know Him better, we can begin to sense again when His presence is settling somewhere or when He is moving on and wants us to do the same.
But though He has different paths for each of us in the details of life, YHWH wants us all on the same page for the big matters, so He defined the signals that would mean the same thing for everyone in the camp and thus help us all work as one unit when there is either a celebration to share with Him or a crisis, so that the “trumpet would not give an indistinct sound”. (1 Corinthians 14:8) And there is a very comforting promise in regard to “reminding” Him to come to our aid at the time we are met with such threats.
When a camp several million strong needed to move, what was needed most was crowd control without compromising the holiness of both the camp and what it guarded at its heart. The rest of chapter 10 shows YHWH’s and Moshe’s mastery of this fine balance. Part of this order where otherwise there would be chaos was accomplished through strong leadership and one man’s expertise in particular.
In chapter 11 we see a precedent for Yeshua telling us he could share the spirit that had been allotted to him with those he was commissioning to continue his work. (Yochanan 20:21-22) Yeshua also echoed Moshe’s attitude of being glad to share the glory. (11:29; Yochanan 14:12) But what precipitated this was not a whim or a doctrine, but a desperate need for help on Moshe’s part when he had had as much as he could take of Israel’s griping and complaining. They were responding to a spiritual environment according to the flesh, and thus demanded flesh. YHWH shows that He can answer a fool according to his folly (Prov. 26:5) just as well as He can avoid dignifying our foolish comments with any attention at all. (Prov. 26:4) His justice is poetic, giving rise to the warning to be careful what we ask for, since He just might give it to us until we are literally sick of it—because that is how our ungratefulness makes Him feel. As we see in chapter 12, not even those in the highest positions were immune to His disgust at this odious practice, and He gives us a sobering and unforgettable example of what those deserve who think they could have chosen better than He. But it also gave the nation an occasion to show their loyalty to one of His servants at a time when she had fallen from grace, having just been reminded of their own fallibility. (Compare Galatians 6:1.)
What’s in Your Mouth?
Once again in this Torah portion, we meet people bent on complaining. It seems to be an innate tendency of Israelites, even if it may sometimes only consists of repeating a gripe someone else came up with. (Numbers 11:4) It is repeated several times in our history book, so we must take special care to counterbalance this inclination our ancestors passed down to us, because today it has only gotten worse, though we have it better than probably any generation that came before us.
And that is part of Moshe’s point in this portion. Here was a group of people who had been freed from slavery, yet all they could think about was how much better the food had been in the house of bondage! After a whole year of reasons to rejoice (9:1) and no more threats from outside, maybe we were getting a little spoiled. Look! They are more concerned with how their food looks (11:6) than with whether it fills their stomachs. There wasn’t even anything wrong with how it tasted. (11:8) And they forgot that they did not have to pay for it with anything more than a bit of prep work. When we don’t have any real problems, we seem to feel a compulsion to invent them! So since they found His gift dull and unappetizing, He decided to show them how nauseating the food they thought they wanted could be.
Complaining made these people marginal to their community (11:1) and got them on YHWH’s bad side (11:1-3), and no sooner did they dodge that bullet than they started right over again! (11:4) Since they were claiming they did not deserve such treatment, thus setting themselves in a higher category than others, YHWH’s solution was to tell them to overtly set themselves apart. (11:18) I think that is so He could deal with them separately from those who were not guilty, without harming the latter.
Later we encounter what may be a worse instance of complaint, because it came from people who should have known better: Moshe’s own illustrious family. (12:1) They used a minor problem (which was not even really a problem) as an occasion to lodge the complaint that was really the issue to them: that their younger sibling, who had only survived because of them, was put in a higher position than they. Without regard for the fact that Aharon had been given an enduring position, and Moshe had not, he went along with his sister’s ill-conceived words.
And YHWH noticed! (12:2) Oh, boy; that is not the kind of attention we want to get from Him, because it was really His judgment that they were questioning. Was Moshe flaunting his position? No! (12:3) And he would rather not even have had it, it seems. (11:11-12) If he had been mistreating or taking advantage of the people, there might have been a legitimate complaint. (See Num. 16:15.) Aharon, on the other hand, had made a grave error when left in charge (Ex. 24:14; 32:25), so what right did he have to claim the same honor as his brother, whom YHWH considered trustworthy? (12:7) His fruit was evidence of his worthiness. (12:6-8)
So while there was mercy when Moshe intervened (12:13), there were still consequences. (12:9-10) Why did they not regret their actions until it got to the point of having to ask YHWH to relent? Shouldn’t we instead place guards on our lips beforehand, so the words in our mouths never do escape and we don’t have anything to repent for? He specifically warns us to learn from this incident. (Deut. 24:9)
Now there were two complaints in this Torah portion that YHWH did think were legitimate. If anyone had a reason to complain, it was Moshe, who had to handle all of these grumblers, and YHWH admitted that that did make sense, and gave him “comforters” in the etymological sense—people to be strong along with him and share the load. (11:10-17)
The other valid objection was that of the men who had been faithful to give a dignified burial to a friend or relative’s dead body (9:6-7), but too short a time before Passover to be ritually clean for the feast: why must they be excluded for no fault of their own? Moshe was unsure what to do about this dilemma, so he did the right thing: suspended the ruling until he could hear directly from YHWH, because there was no precedent for such a problem. YHWH both upholds the prohibition and provides inclusion through allowing them to participate, not just at any alternative time but at the nearest time that was as analogous as possible to the commanded time. (9:8) But not everyone got such an exception; no one who was not exempt is permitted to miss the initial appointment.
Behold the balance of justice and mercy in the perfect law of liberty. When we appreciate what a privilege it is to have such an instruction book and such a Giver behind it, our mouths will be so full of praise that we will have no room for the negativity that so easily besets us.
Study questions:
1. What was across from the menorah that needed to be highlighted? (B’Midbar/Numbers 8:2-3)
2. How did Moshe know what these one-of-a-kind items were meant to look like? (Num. 8:4)
3. What are the three physical ways the Levites were made clean before beginning their duties? (8:7)
4. What does laying one’s hands on someone or something symbolize? (8:10, 12; clues in 8:16-18)
5. What was the purpose of having only one tribe permitted near the sanctuary most of the time? (8:19)
6. What is one way in which YHWH expresses His desire that elderly people be respected? (8:25-26; compare Lev. 19:32)
7. How does YHWH treat legitimate questions that are asked in the right attitude? (9:6-11)
8. Does His mercy on some mean others can get slack about His commands? (9:13)
9. How is 9:14 analogous with Deuteronomy 15:25?
10. What are some reasons the pattern of YHWH’ leading would change from one day to another? (9:22)
11. What different forms of signal with the trumpets can you identify? (10:2-10) What unique promises does YHWH give Israel in regard to their use and His response? How does this make you feel about Him?
12. Why is the order of how things are done important in such logistical matters as the camp moving? (10:12-28)
13. What modern equivalent to 10:14 have we seen in regard to the migration of the people of Israel? What does it tell you about the rest of the tribes that have not yet moved? What might the position of verse 21 in the order tell us about when an event that many anticipate based on other prophecies (such as Y’hezq’El/Ezekiel 37:26-28) will take place?
14. What equivalent of such guidance as seen in 10:33 do we have today? (Compare Romans 8:14.)
15. Based on 11:6-9, was there any legitimate reason for the people to complain? What were they conveniently forgetting about when they romanticized their time in Egypt? (11:5) How do we do similar things today? Do you think YHWH’s attitude toward complaining (11:1, 10) is any different today than it was then?
16. Since the people showed no signs of changing their ways, how did YHWH compensate Moshe for this trouble? (11:16-17) What principle in regard to organization and leadership can we learn from this? (Compare Exodus 18:13-23.)
17. What literary or rhetorical method was YHWH using in 11:18 to set these rebellious people up to expect a different outcome from their “lobbying” than the punishment they really deserved (11:33)? (Compare the methodology He used in Exodus 19:11.) How does the familiar idiom “Be careful what you ask for” relate to the kind of response their complaining elicited from YHWH (11:19-20)? Should we expect Him to act any differently today? (Mal’akhi 3:6)
18. What YHWH promised Moshe in 11:21-23 seemed unlikely, but was it actually impossible, using unnatural or unscientific methods? (11:31-32) What should this tell us about our expectations in regard to the scale of other promises He has made to us that do not appear probable according to our usual patterns of experience?
19. Does one’s status or YHWH’s previous choice of leadership exempt anyone from the consequences for grumbling? (12:1-10) What aspects of both justice and mercy can you see in YHWH’s response to the appeal from the one who was complained against? (12:13-16) Is there therefore a price to pay even when YHWH forgives sin?
Companion Passage:
The Sidewalk
for Kids
What would you think of someone who said, “I wish I didn’t have to eat doughnuts every day”? That would be pretty hard to understand, wouldn’t it?
Well, in this Torah portion, we actually have the same thing going on. Our ancestors got so bored with having everything that they needed that they had to dream up something else to want. Every day YHWH gave them food that all they had to do was collect and cook—if they wanted to. But they said they wished they were back in Egypt where they had more variety in what they got to eat.
Both Moshe and even YHWH pretty much threw their hands in the air and said, “I just don’t get it!” Because not only did they forget that they were slaves back there; just look at the description of what the “manna” they were eating was like:
“The manna was like coriander seed, [golden brown]… and its taste was like the taste of fresh [cakes baked with] oil.” (11:7-8) It was sweet, it was light, it was tasty, but not such a strong flavor. What’s not to like about it?
If we complain, we are saying YHWH chose the wrong thing for us. They would rather be slaves than have to eat the same thing every day? That’s really what they were saying! Sometimes we don’t really think about what we are saying when we complain. YHWH said He would give them what they were demanding, but they would have so much of it that it would come out their noses and they’d pretty quickly get as sick of that as they were of the manna. Maybe this is where the old adage came from: “Be careful what you ask for; you just might get it!”
YHWH asks Moshe, “Has My hand gotten shorter?” In other words, “You saw Me persuade even Pharaoh to let you go. You saw Me split the sea and let you all walk through. You saw Me destroy the Egyptians while every one of you survived. Do you think I can’t find enough food for this many people? Pfff—yeah, right! Just watch Me!”
So if you are in a situation where there doesn’t seem to be enough of something to go around, well, first of all ask yourself, “Is that really something I NEED? Or just something I think I want?” If it’s the second thing—you asked (yes, that is an important step!) and YHWH just didn’t give it to you—then trust me; He knows better than you what you need. You might not be asking for the right reasons. (Yeshua’s brother wrote about this in Yaaqov/James 4:1-3.)
But if it really is something you just can’t live without, then no matter what things look like now, He will provide. But if we complain, we’re saying we really don’t think He can. And why should He do something for somebody who thinks so badly of Him—that He wouldn’t provide for His children? (Look at Yaaqov/James 1:1-8.) Are you sure that is really what you want to say—about Him, the One who not only made you but loved you enough to bring you out of slavery to not only other people but yourself and your own bad habits?
Think again before you open your mouth. Even somebody as important as Miryam had to answer to YHWH when she said something without thinking carefully about whether it was the right thing to say about somebody YHWH had said was important to Him, even if he was once her baby brother.
Our ancestors were no longer amazed by the cloud and fire that had kept the Egyptians from catching them and had led them this far, because the cloud was over them every day and the fire appeared every night. They forgot how unusual it was for people to be led and provided directly for by the One who really knew what He was doing. But this Torah portion also shows us just how smooth and beautiful life can be if we are thankful and we let the people YHWH has picked lead us. When it was time for millions of people to move, when they did it in the order He said to do it, it wasn’t hard at all.
Maybe you, like the children here, didn’t choose to be where you are; you’re there because your parents are Israelites and they have brought you along. But think about what amazing things YHWH has done and realize that other people, even if they seem to have more of something, are really slaves in other ways to either those things or the wish for attention that made them want them. Like them, you don’t realize how good you really have it. Do you really want to go back to Egypt?
“The manna was like coriander seed, [golden brown]… and its taste was like the taste of fresh [cakes baked with] oil.” (11:7-8) It was sweet, it was light, it was tasty, but not such a strong flavor. What’s not to like about it?
Click the link above to watch an animation of the order in which the camp moved.
(Requires PowerPoint to support.
Click on "animations" and "preview".)
The Renewal of B'HAALOTH'KHA
Moshe was to make the menorah and other implements of the Tabernacle “according unto the pattern which YHWH had shown” him. (Numbers 8:4, etc.)
As usual, the Renewed Covenant teaches more directly what the pictures YHWH ordered Moshe to make symbolize:
“For this reason I was shown mercy, in order that through me, the front-runner, Yeshua the Messiah might display the full measure of endurance as a template-pattern for those who would later put their confidence in him.” (1 Timothy 1:16)
“In… all things, present yourself as a pattern of good works in teaching, integrity, dignity, [and] wholesome speech…” (Titus 2:6-8)
That’s right. It’s really about people, because, even here in this portion, we see as clear as day that, even more than the bread or other offerings, it is the Levites—especially Aharon and his sons, but all of them nonetheless—who are the real wave offering to YHWH. (Num. 8:10-15)
That’s not to say that the pictures aren’t real and important enough in themselves, but also “…whatever things were written beforehand were written for us to learn from, in order that through patient endurance and the consolation of the Scriptures, we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
“Indeed, in the Torah of Moshe it has been written, ‘Do not muzzle an ox [while it is] treading out grain.’ YHWH isn’t concerned about oxen, is He?” (1 Corinthians 9:9, referring to Devarim/Deut. 25:4)
The answer to his question is, “Yes, even a sparrow’s death does not escape His notice, but if that is the case, how much more is He concerned for human beings in the same way?” For he continues: “Or is He speaking at all about us? About us, indeed, it was written, since the one who plows ought to plow in hope, and the one threshing, in hope of partaking [in a share].” (9:10)
The Levites had a hard job, but one that YHWH had hand-picked for them, and for what was probably the first official time in history, they even got to retire from the hardest work—and even during the hardest-working days they got to partake in what they helped others bring to YHWH. And after their bodies began to wind down, they still got to serve at the innermost sanctuary, and logically also to train the younger “recruits” with the wisdom and know-how they’d gained. (Num. 8:24-26)
The fact that it’s about humans and not just about laws shows up again in the next chapter of Numbers: an exception was made to the time of the Passover for those who weren’t eligible, through no fault of their own, to partake of it. (9:4-12) That didn’t give anyone else license to change it or skip it for any reason of their own (9:13), for consistency is the great equalizer that prevents some from gaining unfair privilege over others and upsetting the balance YHWH created. (9:14)
Indeed, Yeshua explained the underlying principle: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) Yes, the Sabbath cannot be altered (that’s one side of the coin), but it’s not about what we don’t do; that is burdensome. It’s about enjoying what we’ve worked for, and also frees us to have time to enjoy the One who worked to make us, and get to know Him better. The Sabbath is also a great equalizer, per Exodus 20:10—everybody gets one, not just the rich.
YHWH made some rules, but left other things open-ended so we would not think of them as laws: For example, sometimes the pillar of fire stayed encamped in one place for only a day, other times for months on end (Numbers 9:18-23), lest we become rigid where YHWH wants flexibility. The rule was YHWH Himself.
Just as He said He Himself was Avraham’s reward (Gen. 15:1) and the Levites’ inheritance (Ezekiel 44:28), so they would keep their eyes on the real thing, not the shadows, in the Renewed Covenant we also see this principle at work:
“Be content with such things as you have, because He has said, ‘I will never leave You nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) If you have the source with you all the time, you can travel light, because you don’t need all the baggage. He set limits on us because we are mixed good and evil, but He is only good, and needs no limits, and if we stick close to Him, the exceptions—not to the Torah but to the laws men make and maybe sometimes even the natural laws—can extend to us as well:
“A law is not enacted for a righteous [person], but for the lawless and insubordinate, the disrespectful and sinful…” (1 Timothy 1:9) Those who are good from within—a gift that results from “sticking to YHWH” (Deut. 4:4; 10:20, etc.), “staying attached to the vine” (Yochanan 15:1-7)—don’t need so many rules imposed from outside. They get to travel light, which is good, because the way is tight and difficult.
We don’t need all the human advantages if all we need to do is call on Him when in trouble: “When you go to war in your Land against the adversary who is troubling you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the face of YHWH your Elohim, and you shall be delivered from your enemies.” (Num. 10:9) That’s why Gid’on could go to war with just trumpets, pitchers, and torches; YHWH set his army up to look larger than it was because normally there would only be one of each of these per hundred men. But the sword was YHWH’s—for He got the enemy to do the dirty work among one another and YHWH’s army, that time, didn’t even have to. (Judges 7)
That is also why Paul could be told, “My empowering kindness is enough to ward it off from you, for [its] power is brought to completion through weakness.” So he could respond, “I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with hardships [that press in on me], with persecutions and confinements on Messiah’s behalf, because whenever I am weak, that is when I am [most] capable.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) Those who lack the advantages usually appreciate it more when YHWH still gets the job done for them. (Compare Luke 7:47)
That is why it is so heinous a crime to fear and to complain when He is with us. (Numbers 11) Yet YHWH was understanding toward Moshe, the brunt of the complaints, and, to spread out the load, took some of his spirit and put it on others (11:17)—a precedent for what Yeshua said he would do for his followers. (Yochanan 14:26; 20:22)
YHWH had a special place for Moshe, which was not fair from a human perspective (Num. 12), but He created us each for a niche and a job, so what we do have is enough, because He equips us with what is really necessary for our specific task:
“If the whole body [were] an eye, where [would] the hearing be? … Elohim has set the parts—each one of them—in the body right where He wants [them]… so the eye can’t say to the hand, “I have no need of you”, or again the head to the feet, “I don’t need you!”…Elohim has composed the body in such a way that those that are deficient are given more honor, in order that there should be no dividing in the body, but [rather], [all] the members should have the same concern for one another.” (1 Cor. 12:17-25)
Responding to His Amazing Mercy
When a question of policy came up, Moshe referred the question to YHWH (Numbers 9:8) rather than just trying to reason it out for himself. That’s a habit we would all do well to emulate. His successor Y’hoshua made a big blunder when he failed to do so. (Joshua 9:14)
YHWH was also the one Who decided when the camp would move. (9:15-23) Sometimes that s just when they were getting settled in, about to check out what the surrounding countryside held of interest, the cloud would pick up and move again that quickly. It must have seemed inconvenient to some to stop at a given place for only one night, with all that it takes to set up and take down camp. But does a nation that should have only had an 11-day journey (Deut. 1:2) have a right to complain about the inconvenience that resulted from YHWH’s having to extend our journey by 40 years because we thought we knew more about what is possible than He does? (Deut. 1:3)
But notice how understanding YHWH was of the fact that there can be mitigating circumstances. (Num. 9:10-12) He is not as harsh as some portray Him to be. Of course, He does not leave room for just making excuses. (9:13) How far did He carry the alternative option? He did not say anything about transferring the 7 days of eating unleavened bread to the second month. The camp even moved from Mt. Sinai on the second-last day of what would have been the second-month Hag haMatzah if this too was indeed carried over. They might still be traveling on the alternate high day (seventh day after the second Passover). That would not necessarily be wrong, but it appears that He only gave an alternate for the Passover meal, because the rest of the festival would not necessarily have to involve those who had been ineligible to eat the slaughtered lamb entering the holy precincts. (9:6-7)
Clear communication is one of YHWH’s values. (10:2-8) And it goes both ways. We only need “remind” YHWH that He is our protector, and He will deliver us from any enemy threat! What a promise! (10:9)
The order in which they moved from camp to camp was the most conducive to not being in each other’s way, and giving the Tabernacle crew adequate space to take down and set up. (10:12-28) He thought of everything. They even had constant shade when they traveled! (10:34) Who could ask for more?
Yet still our ancestors did complain! YHWH used this as another occasion to show that “His arm was not too short” (11:23) to fulfill such a surprising promise. Yet still, why did they have to push Him to it? For that, they paid the price (11:33), even up to the second-highest in command. (ch. 12) And don’t forget, we have their genes, so we have to watch out lest this latent tendency boil up in our hearts too.
What, instead, should our response be to all these blessings? To share them with still more people.
Though some have still tried to find reasons to do so, YHWH allows for no double standard for even the foreigners or interested guests among us. (9:14) As Moshe said to his in-law, “If you go with us, whatever good YHWH does for us, we will do for you.” (10:32) Moshe didn’t even begrudge anyone even the gift of being a prophet. He didn’t try to have a corner on the market or a monopoly for the sake of maintaining his power, even over such a whiny nation as ours. He would rather that they have their higher potential unlocked. (11:29)
And in that he shares YHWH’s own sentiment: “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked one turn from his ways and live!” (Ezekiel 33:11) “Turn, turn from your evil ways, for why should you die…” Oh! It’s us He’s talking to! “…O House of Israel?” I guess we’d better listen!
When YHWH Makes Exceptions—or Not
All through history the firstborn son had been the family’s priest. But now YHWH transfers the position of firstborn from each household to the Levites (Numbers 8:14-18), probably so they can more expertly and efficiently specialize in this task by all working together instead of having to train one from each family.
By laying their hands on the burnt offering (8:12) they symbolize the transfer of their soul-life to an animal offered up completely to YHWH, since their lives and decisions are no longer their own. YHWH decided what they would be.
His rules are precise and strict, not because He is mean, but because they have deeper significance and the pictures must remain intact—and to protect people from what He knows can quickly get out of hand. He does understand circumstances over which we have no control (9:2--12), but for those over which we do have control, He does not grant the same latitude (9:13).
But He did not do things the same way every time (9:19-22) If the pattern is always the same, we get in a rut and don’t notice what He wants us to see. The first long stop (at Sinai) lasted over a year (10:11; Ex. 16:1) But each stop was of a different length. He alters His methodology so we won’t (like pagans) view the instrument as powerful, but the Actor alone as the Deliverer. Only He is the constant.
But when communicating orders, we do need to be consistent (10:3-7). Each sequence or style of the horn’s blast meant the same thing each time. “If the trumpet gives an indistinct sound, who will prepare for battle?” (1 Cor. 14:8)
And what a promise: if we do something as simple as blow a trumpet, YHWH will deliver us in battle or “remember” to join us for His appointment! (10:9-10)
His cloud that was over them (10:34) does not seem to be the “pillar”, but another to shade them from heat and conceal them from enemies. Will it do the same in the second, greater Exodus (Jer. 16:14-15)? Heavy cloud-cover is said to disrupt GPS signals, in case anyone is trying to track our journey for the sake of ambushing us.
The complainers only remembered the free food in Egypt (11:4-5), not the fact that it was provided so they could get more work done for their slave-masters! They had “nothing” but this manna (11:6), though the manna was nothing to complain about, but was actually rather pleasant. (11:7-8) No wonder YHWH was so angry. (11:10) He gave the complainers poetic justice because they forgot that they just might get what they asked for. (11:19-20) Don’t ever demand that He prove He can fulfill our whims; you may not enjoy the outcome. (11:33)
No exceptions; even Moshe’s sister was punished for questioning YHWH’s choice of leader. (12:1-10) YHWH made her an example, but the people still showed her due respect. (12:14-15) But their griping was too much for Moshe, who till this time was willing to do anything they needed, proving the wisdom of YHWH’s choice. Now he loses heart (11:10-15), so YHWH encourages him by giving him plenty of helpers to delegate some duties to. (11:16-17)
Again, there was some flexibility (11:29), but YHWH had told them to do this in a certain way. Y’hoshua was the stickler; it was Moshe who gave them leeway. Should he have? Moshe’s not being jealous was generous, but had YHWH really granted the exception? We are told that the same spirit was on Eldad and Meydad, and their names have a good meaning (“YHWH has loved” and “beloved person”). We don’t know why they stayed in the camp, but the next thing we hear, all the other elders stop prophesying and come back into the camp, along with them. Were they a bad influence? It is hard to say for sure, but this may be one reason Y’hoshua was allowed to lead Israel farther than Moshe could.
What we can surmise from the overall picture here is that YHWH makes exceptions to the rules if there are legitimate concerns which we truly can’t avoid, but never when we just want our own way.
“Men of Symbol”,
Two Trees, and a Stump
This Torah portion begins with a menorah, and from there the haftarah in Z’kharyah (Zechariah) jumps off. It is set in the time of return from the Babylonian captivity. Here, only Yehudah is said to be the share YHWH inherits in the Land. (2:16) Indeed, since that time till the present day, the only tribe that has again been given the Land of Israel is Yehudah. Already in the wilderness the order was for Yehudah to travel first. (Num. 10:13-14) This is the constant pattern. (Gen. 46:28; Judges 20:18; Zech. 12:7) Let the rest of us not grumble as our ancestors did (Num. 11), for YHWH has the prerogative to favor and promote one above others, no matter how unpopular His choice.
But Zech. 2:15 also speaks of many Gentiles also coming to serve as a people for YHWH. Ephraim had become Gentiles by choice. (Hos. 7:8) But one day, we are told, all the tribes will return to inherit the Land. (Ezek. 48; Jer. 50:4-5, etc.) Yehudah is always said to come first, but “first” means there are others coming after. But the other tribes were estranged (Hos. 8:12) and became joined to idols (Hos. 4:17); how can they come back?
Like Moshe (Num. 12:6-8), Y’hoshua, the high priest in Zechariah’s time, was chosen despite his shortcomings in men’s eyes. (Zech. 3:3-5) He is a key to the dilemma, for he is called a man “symbolic [of YHWH’s] servant the Offshoot” (Zech. 3:8)—a scion, a new branch that grows out of a stump thought to be dead. In fact, of Y’hoshua it was said, “Behold the man whose name is the ‘Offshoot’. And he will sprout up from what is beneath him, and YHWH’s Temple [will be] rebuilt.” (Zech. 6:12)
His name is the clue. Why? In Ezra 3-5, the same man is called by the shortened Aramaic version—his nickname, may we say? It is “Yeshua”. That tells us plainly what the name of the “Offshoot” whom he symbolized would be. Through the latter Yeshua, YHWH did “remove the perversion of the Land in one day” (Zech. 3:9)—a day when, amazingly, one who unwittingly sentenced him to what accomplished this echoed Z’kharyah’s words here: “Behold the man!” (Yoch. 19:5) That had to trigger a reminder in some hearers’ minds so they’d put two and two together, since he also said he would “rebuild the Temple”. (Mat. 26:61) He too was raised, not only from the dead, but high above other men, by YHWH. (Ps. 45:7; Phil. 2:9)
Zerubbavel, too, was a prototype. He was in line to be king of Israel--had there been a throne. The curse on Y’khonyahu (Jer. 22:30) prevented him from sitting on David’s. (Later the Hasmoneans co-opted both the throne and the rightful priesthood.) But Zerubbavel was righteous, so YHWH gave him the closest thing He could to a throne by making him governor of the then-Persian province of Judea. (Zech. 4:7-10; Ezra 5:2; Haggai 1:1; 2:23)
He also continued the genetic line that would lead to Yeshua the Messiah—who again fits the pattern: being unfit in some men’s eyes (Yoch. 8:41) but plucked from what seemed certain extinction (Zech. 3:2; Isa. 53:2, 8, 10). He too is thus far without a throne, but YHWH circumvented the curse, because Yeshua is not of Y’khonyahu’s physical seed, but, by a levirate marriage so the holy seed actually came through another (as Dr. Arthur Custance details in Hidden Things of God's Revelation), he still can inherit the throne promised to David’s son forever. This is how he was the “offshoot” from David’s seemingly-dead stump.
We know the timing from Daniel. It is based on the very context being described here in Zechariah. He tells exactly how many years there would be “from when the command goes out to restore and rebuild Yerushalayim until Messiah the prince…Then Messiah the prince will be cut off [like a tree?], but not for himself.” (Dan. 9:25-26)
The two olive trees we see here (Zech. 4:2-5, and again in 4:11-14) remain cryptic even when Z’kharyah asks for more information about them; the answers he gets seem elusive. But they show up again in Revelation 11:4 (an interesting reversal of the numbers from Zech. 4:11), proving they have a later point of reference. Only there each is called a menorah as well. Paul speaks of a cultivated olive tree and a wild one (Rom. 11:17, 24). In Jer. 16:11, Yehudah is called an olive tree, but Israel (Ephraim, the northern kingdom) also has an olive tree’s beauty (Hos. 14:6). So these two olive trees, who seem to be two men, may, in a broader sense, also be the two houses of Israel who, after a long separation, again feed into the single menorah in YHWH’s twice-rebuilt Temple (Num. 8:2-3).
How can two candlesticks become one?
“Not by military might and not by brute force, but by My spirit, says YHWH.” (Zech. 4:6) In His economy, the later-comers will not have any less than the early pioneers (Mat. 20:6ff). It is in His hand that the two sticks (equally translatable as “two trees”) become one. (Ezek. 37:19)
How do we Follow
If There’s No “Cloud”?
Guidance in the wilderness was pretty straightforward: Trumpet-blasts of different types told us exactly what to do in various situations (Num. 10:2-7), and “when the lifting of the cloud ‘spoke’, … Israel would pull up [stakes]; wherever the cloud set down, … Israel would set up camp. According to the word of YHWH, … Israel set out, and at His word they pitched their tents.” (Num. 9:17-18)
That is one of the foundational pillars of how to live—how to “walk”, in Hebrew metaphor, which fits this analogy very well: Only act at YHWH’s command or based on what He says or allows.
But how do we today recognize when the “cloud lifts or settles down”? No, I don’t mean “the cloud” we hear so much about these days, as in iCloud and the like! There is a clue in verse 23: “They followed the injunction of YHWH, from the mouth of YHWH under the direction of Moshe.”
Yeshua used “Moshe” as shorthand for the whole Torah which came to us through him. (Luke 16:29-31; 24:27; Yochanan 5:45) So familiarity with Moshe (YHWH’s foundational word) is the first step to discerning His “ways”—how He typically “moves”, His patterns that give us clues to what we should “camp on”.
Moshe himself pointed us to another guide to whom YHWH would hold us accountable to listen and heed. (Deut. 18:15-18) In case we might misidentify that “prophet like Moshe”, YHWH Himself specifically pointed out who he was: “This is My beloved Son…; He is the one to listen to!” (Mat. 17:5)
Both Torah and the Messiah gave general principles for all of us to follow, so we can “test every spirit” (1 Yochn. 4:1) to see if it lines up with what He has already given us as our guide for all time. But what about specifics—where should I go today? Where should you “camp” right now?
Yeshua said He only did what He saw the Father doing, and only spoke what He heard from the Father. (Yoch. 5:19) So how do we “see” the One no one can survive literally seeing, and what He’s doing now?
Paul enjoins us to “walk by the spirit”—that “wind” He sends to push us in the right direction—saying that “the just requirement of the Torah” can be “fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit”. (Rom. 8:4) After all, no one person can carry out all of the Torah all of the time; we have to do one thing at a time. Which should it be today, or at this particular moment today? If we follow His spirit’s leading, he says we’ll be doing the “Torah kind of things” and fulfilling YHWH’s word.
So how do we “walk by the spirit”? Paul sometimes felt it direct him to one place and away from another. (Acts 16:7-9) Sometimes dreams, sometimes circumstances, sometimes wise advice may provide YHWH’s direction. Sometimes it comes from those He has given us as helpers (Gen. 21:12; Ps. 118:7)—but not always. (Gen. 3:17) Very rarely, an actual audible voice—usually if we are about to step into an unrecognized danger.
But Yeshua said YHWH’s spirit would “bring to remembrance” whatever he had said (Yochn. 14:26), and he only spoke what he heard from the Father. (Yoch. 5:30; 8:28; 12:50; 14:10) To remember something, we have to have it in our minds first. So that seems the best place to start: hide His word in your heart, so you will not sin against Him. (Ps. 119:11)
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” (Prov. 3:6) I.e, consider Him first in each decision. Prayerfully submit your plans to Him, and He will let you know what His “cloud” is doing today. Don’t expect to know in advance what you should do tomorrow; as when the cloud moved, the direction may be given at the last minute (Mark 13:11), but will not come too late. (Hab. 2:3)
