Sh’lach – Send. Rebellion Against God
Bamidbar (Wilderness; the Hebrew name of Numbers) 13:1- 15:41
Haftarah (Conclusion) Yehoshua (The LORD (is a) Help; note: the name Yehoshua is related to the name Yeshua, but has a different meaning) 2:1-21
RCS (Renewed Covenant Scriptures) Connection – Koine Greek text sources list 16 verses cited from this week’s Torah reading. This does not include verses from the Torah that are alluded to. 14 of the 16 verses cited are from Numbers 14. Four are in Hebrews 3 and it should be noted that the author of Hebrews deals with a similar issue found in Numbers 14. In Hebrews – in context – it has to do with Jewish followers of Yeshua, probably former Levites in the Temple, experiencing a weakening of their steadfast trustworthiness in Yeshua. These Jewish followers were increasingly coming under pressure as followers of Yeshua.
Cf. Num. 14:1-35 w/Heb. 3:16-18 and Num. 14:21-23 w/Heb. 3:11, v.18. Cf. Num. 14:29 w/Heb.3:17
CONTEXT
In Numbers 14, we read of the report that the Israelite spies in the land that would become Israel, bring back to the People. The spies looked at things from, if you will, a fleshly point of view. That is, that the people inhabiting the land are too big and powerful for them. My ancestors (meaning the Jewish People) forgot, it seems, the miraculous way the LORD brought them out of Egypt! After hearing the report of the spies, the People want to return to Egypt.
The author of Hebrews draws on this weakening steadfast trustworthiness in his Letter. (My guess is that the author of Hebrews is probably Apollos, based on the style of his argument and the very noticeably more sophisticated Greek than Paul uses). The context of Hebrews Is not how it is incorrectly traditionally taught – ‘Jew/Judaism inferior Christian/Christianity superior’ – but rather, again, of Jewish followers of Yeshua whose steadfast trustworthiness in Yeshua, should not be weakening. There seems to be the question then of these Jewish followers leaving Yeshua and going back to where they were. Just as we see in this week’s Torah reading, the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt!
Sh’lach Send – A Deeper Taste from the Rich Hebrew Text
Sh’lach ‘Send’ in Hebrew comes from the verb ‘progress towards a goal’. Organically related to this in Hebrew by means of shared root letters or similar sound, are the Hebrew words meaning ‘prosperity’ in the sense of overcoming obstacles, and the Hebrew word for forgiveness, which indicates forgiveness at the highest level. It means not just that something is forgiven but still owed; but rather that not only is something forgiven but all claims to what is owed are renounced!
Those Jews in ancient times who were sent were sent with the idea of progressing the Jewish People toward the goal of steadfast trustworthiness in the LORD and in His Torah. That steadfast trustworthiness and the Torah would help in overcoming obstacles and encourage the Israelites that the LORD provided ways that they would be forgiven when necessary. Centuries later Yeshua would personally call first his fellow Jews of the Galil with the same message – ‘filled full’ by Yeshua!
Through those Jews that Yeshua called, this would also be brought to the Nations!
We could speak about the idea of ‘send’ and those who are sent in a whole other teaching. So for here, please note the following:
The first one sent by the LORD is Moshe in Exodus 3.
Yeshua personally calls and sends his fellow Jews. Cf. Lk. 5:1-11; cf. Mt. 10:5. (Yeshua never personally called and sent a single Gentile; Gentiles came in by way of the Jewish Brothers; cf. esp. Yochanon 17:20. Paul reached and sent Titus etc.).
Before it unfortunately became ossified as a title or office, the Greek word for apostle meant one who was sent. It had to do with sending for a special purpose. Those first Jewish Brothers that Yeshua sent out did not think of themselves as ‘Apostles’, but rather as ‘Sent Ones’. The Greek word pempha means send In the way we would ordinarily think of send.
Outline of the Chapters in Sh’lach
Chapter 13 in Hebrew is connected with the end of chapter 12, as the first word in the Hebrew text of chapter 13 is ‘And’. As we point out in our teaching; this is very very common in the Hebrew text, because Hebrew is about connectedness. The Hebrew text is replete with uses of ‘and’. The purpose of the word ‘and’ is to connect two things together. We also repeatedly point out the following in our teaching. The second most used word in the Greek text of the RCS Renewed Covenant Scriptures, a much more Biblically accurate name than ‘New Testament’, is the Koine Greek word for ‘and’ ‘kai‘. Classic Greek (called Attic Greek) is not like this.
Kai is used over 9,000 times and is reflective of the Hebrew heart of Yeshua, whose teaching and conversations are recorded for us. It is reflective of the Hebrew heart of the writers of the RCS. (Even if Luke is Gentile, his Gospel especially is much more Hebraic than traditionally taught)!
The LORD says to Moshe to send out men, who would passively receive, being the ones who spy or explore the land. These are literally ‘heads of the children of Israel’, meaning men of distinction.
Note: those sons of Israel that Yeshua later personally sends out were not men seen as having any particular distinction. In fact they would be known in Hebrew as ‘ people of the land’ i.e. those without much education or distinction. (Paul, called later on, was of course a different story).
Moshe calls to Hoshea, who now will be called Yehoshua.
The spies bring back their report – telling the Israelites that the inhabitants In the land they are about to enter are too much for them
Caleb strongly disagrees with the majority of the spies. The LORD will reward him accordingly.
Chapter 14
Chapter 14 in Hebrew begins with ‘and’ and so as noted above, chapter 14 is connected with the end of chapter 13.
The Israelites are in a panic over the report of the spies, and weep at night after hearing it. NOTE: It must be remembered as we point out in our teaching – the Middle East then as now is a place of tremendous tremendous emotion!
The People could not be calm despite Yehoshua and Caleb saying that the LORD could bring them to the land; and, not to rebel against the LORD!
In Hebrew, the weightiness of the glory of the LORD appears in the Appointed Tent. The LORD threatens to annihilate the Israelites with a plague and make a greater nation out of Moshe.
Moshe appeals to the LORD. The Hebrew says literally that the LORD appeared eye to eye, regarding the LORD being in the midst of the Israelites
The LORD says He has forgiven, like your word (that of Moshe).
A Deeper Taste from the Hebrew – The Hebrew word forgiven used here means not only that the LORD forgave. It is the highest level of forgiveness. It means He also renounced any claim to anything owed to Him from what happened. This is exactly exactly exactly what the LORD does in forgiving those who place their steadfast trustworthiness in His Son Yeshua. Surely, and beyond what we can fathom, this must have been the forgiveness Yeshua said on the Cross, for those who did not know what they were doing to him
40 years are decreed in the wilderness for the Israelites. NOTE – it is not punishment but a generation like that would not be suitable to inhabit what would become the Land of Israel. In ancient times 40 years was the lifespan of a generation.
God lays out what His Decree entails
Though the Israelites realize what they had done – and even admitted they had sinned ‘ miss the mark, fallen short, pulled away from the fire of God; literally a ‘diminution’ – they could not undo their lack of steadfast trustworthiness. Some rabbinic commentators think they were more motivated by regret at not being able to enter the Land, rather than about the lack of steadfastness in the LORD
Chapter 15
The LORD gives the Israelites additional ways of concretely symbolically demonstrating that they have subsumed their will to His, or that they desire to draw closer to Him
A Deeper Taste from The Hebrew
As we point out in our teaching; one of the great rabbinic commentators is very correct when he says that Hebrew actually has no words for offering or sacrifice. What is translated ‘offering’ in English, in Hebrew is a word meaning ‘to draw near’; as we find in the opening of Leviticus 1. Here in Numbers 15 as well as a number of other places in the Torah, it’s something that symbolically represents that an individual or the Community desires to ascend up to be spiritually closer to the LORD.
What is translated ‘sacrifice’, in Hebrew comes from a verb which means ‘to nourish’, and more deeply, ‘to act for a higher spiritual purpose’.
The sojourner who wants to symbolically demonstrate that he or she wishes to be pleasing and draw near to the LORD is to do exactly what the native-born Israelite does. There is no two-tier system; the sojourner, one who casts their lot with the Jewish People, has the same obligations as the native-born and is to be treated accordingly! The LORD is particularly protective and concerned for the sojourner in the Torah. It is incorrect to think this is something ‘new’ in the ‘New Testament’!
Setting aside a portion of bread that is eaten. This pertain to the five main grains used for bread. It is also to remind the Israelites of the ‘man‘ (‘mahn’) ‘ manna’, that the LORD graciously provided for them in the wilderness after leaving Egypt.
Atonement for unintentional public idol worship.
Atonement for unintentional idol worship by an individual.
The individual who acts with a high hand regarding idol worship – this applies to both the native-born and the sojourner; that individual is cut off from the People. In Hebrew, the form of ‘cut off’ Indicates either something in response (here, to high-handed idol worship) or something that individual receives.
Desecration of the Sabbath by an individual while in the wilderness; and what the LORD tells Moshe to have the Israelites do, to help prevent this in the future
It’s Not a ‘Prayer Shawl’; It’s All About the ‘Sprouts, Fringes’
This is a whole separate teaching in itself. For here, let us try to just summarize some key points. The idea and use by Christians of the tallis, covering, is one of the most misunderstood and incorrectly taught things about the Hebrew & Jewish basis of following Yeshua!
This is why we teach from the original languages – not English! Tallis is an Aramaic word that means covering; not ‘prayer shawl’. It’s not about the ‘shawl’; it’s all about the fringes. Nowhere in the entire Bible – in the entire Bible (!) – do we find any teaching – whatsoever – about Gentiles putting these on – period – period!
The Torah gives us a tremendous lesson in the following regarding this – the idea of whole. The LORD gave the making and the wearing of the fringes – exclusively – to the Israelites. The purpose of looking at the fringes is to more deeply in Hebrew, ‘call to mind with affection leading to action’, the ‘ whole’, i.e., all of what the LORD instructs the Israelites. The KG word olo whole is used almost 110 times in the RCS.
One can’t just pick and choose or do the commandments that they like. They are given ‘whole’. They have to be done In their wholeness.
This excludes the Gentiles for two key reasons: the covenant of circumcision is prohibited from being performed upon Gentiles, by Paul in 1 Cor. 7:17-21. Cf. esp. Galatians regarding circumcision of Gentiles. In Exodus12, the LORD makes it very clear that someone uncircumcised cannot partake of the Passover! The context of what Paul brings up in 1 Corinthians 5 we deal with in another teaching. Please be sure to see the section What Does Scripture Actually Emphasize, on our Home page, if you haven’t already.
The other key reason found at the end of Numbers 15 – the LORD says He delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. Gentiles in America 2,000 years later, are not descendants of the Israelites who were brought out of Egypt!
That – in and of itself(!) – excludes Gentiles from the tallis, the covering, more specifically from the ‘tzizis‘ fringes/ sprouts.
Gentiles are free to eat whatever they like as long as it’s not meat that was sacrificed to idols. Cf. 1 Cor. 8. In the Torah, Jews cannot eat whatever they like.
While Gentiles probably should worship on the Sabbath rather than Sunday, they are not compelled to ‘cease’ on the Sabbath, i.e., to cease from work on the Sabbath. (Nine of what are known in Hebrew as Ten of the Words, what the world calls the Ten Commandments, are repeated in the RCS. The one that isn’t, pertains to the Sabbath). Gentiles are not called to ‘cease’, which is the meaning of Sabbath, from their work on the Sabbath. Jews very very clearly are.
The fact that Yeshua wore the tzizis, fringes, is not a reason for Gentiles to do so. Yeshua was clearly part of the whole of the Jewish People. Cf. Rev. 5:5, 22:16 etc. Thus, Yeshua wears them. Yeshua’s Torah observant parents had Yeshua circumcised, as the LORD instructed Abraham in Genesis 17; cf. Lk. 2.
In short: If my dear Christian brethren want something from the Torah to do, why not follow the most cited commandment of the Torah cited in the RCS. It is Lev. 19:18 ‘ love your neighbor as yourself’, cited 10 times. It is cited by Yeshua as part of what’s the most important, meaning in part, ‘fulfilling of which leads to fullness of life’. As we point out in our teaching, this is part of the deeper meaning of what’s translated commandment.
Just imagine the tremendous positive possibilities, if those Christians who run around with Judaica that the Bible doesn’t proscribe for them, instead loved and supported their Jewish Brothers – the way the Bible does speaks of for Gentiles! Speaking of following the Torah; why not Genesis 12:3 when it comes to your Jewish Brothers? Cf. esp Rom. 15:27!
A Little Strengthening/Encouragement
Though the Torah reading Sh’lach Send in context is about the spies who were sent out, one should be strengthened and encouraged, that if the LORD is calling you – and we need to make sure it’s Him not ourselves – or a brother or sister asks us to help them in something they’ve been called to do, have the steadfastness that the LORD – if it is truly of him – will work things out – even if they don’t look ‘ humanly’ possible!
That was the big mistake the spies made. They looked at the situation through fleshly not spiritual eyes! On a personal note if I may. When I was called to serve almost 30 years ago and after others had affirmed it, I said LORD I don’t know what to do or how to do; but if you open the door for me and walk me through it, I’ll go! To say it was very difficult is a huge understatement – but over the years the LORD has worked out the circumstances! He will do the same for you too!