Learning to "SEE"

SHELACH "Send Thou"  

Numbers 13:1-15:41

Within Numbers 13-15 there are several concepts that I believe the Holy Spirit quickened into my being:

• Lashon hara & grumbling (commonly known as evil speech),
• Innocent sin and Rebellion, and
• "Cut off" and His “rest”.

Ultimately, what I discovered, is that these three concepts are not operating independently through this section of reading but there is a common theme that links them all together as one overarching theme.  I believe the common theme is simply God’s plan of salvation and our willingness to let God be God, to trust Him in His plan for our lives, and to walk in harmony not only within the context of the Written Word (His commandments), but in an ever growing walk that grows our trust in Him and teaches us to walk as His children.

Additional scriptures that I felt quickened into my spirit while reading these scriptures are:

Matthew 12:31

"Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.”

Numbers 12

1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses ...…..13 Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "O God, heal her, I pray!" 14 But the LORD said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again." 15 So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again. 16 Afterward, however, the people moved out from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

Jdg 3:1-4

1 Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to test Israel by them ([that is,] all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan; 2 only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly). 3 [These nations are:] the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for testing Israel, to find out if they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers through Moses.

Mat 22:1-14

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. …... 8 "Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 'Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find [there,] invite to the wedding feast.' 10 "Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. 11 "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless. 13 "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14 "For many are called, but few [are] chosen."

Hebrews 4:11

Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.

Let’s recap the general highlights of Numbers 12-15 with these concepts in mind:

• Miriam and Aaron grumble about Moses, Moses intercedes, and Miriam and Aaron are protected,
• The spies are sent out, ten provide a bad report against the land,
• The people listen to the bad report and grumble against Moses,
• Moses intercedes and God does not send pestilence but does kill the ten who gave a bad report with plague immediately,
• The people attempt to step into faith and take the land but God is not with them,
• Those people NEVER enter the promised land,
• God tells Moses to tell the people that there will be one law for the native and for the alien who lives amongst them,
• God lays out the image of His grace for when His commandments are broken unintentionally,
• God lays out the image of His judgement for when His commandments are broken intentionally,
• An example is given with a man collecting fire wood on the Sabbath, and
• God reminds Moses of the commandment that the children of Israel are to wear Tzit-Tzit (tassels) on the corners of our garments reminding us of the commandments.
  

Lets look at Numbers 15:30-31 and Matthew 12:31 side by side:

[Num 15:30-31 NASB] 30 'But the person who does [anything] defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 'Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt [will be] on him.'"

[Mat 12:31 NASB] 31 "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.”

I find it very interesting that in chapter 12 Moses’ intercession for Miriam and Aaron was received by the Lord (when their blasphemy was against a person (Moses)), but in chapter 13 when the spies blasphemed the land the intercession did no good and they were given a plague that led to their instantaneous deaths.  Furthermore, all the people who listened to the bad report and rebelled against Moses ended up in a judgement about half way between full forgiveness and immediate death.  The intercession led to an extension of life, but never overcame the ultimate judgement of those people never being allowed to enter into the promised land.  In fact, their fate ended up being a 40 year walk in the wilderness where many of them became future examples to their children in how not to grumble.  This all supports what Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 12 regarding gossip against others verses gossip against God and even as to why this is so important and will not be forgiven.  The truth is, when we gossip, grumble, and slander God and His commandments we lead others astray and into their own rebellion.  People who are doing this must be cut off from the people.  God simply must do what God must do. As a side not, it is interesting to see that God drew the line at age 20 and above implying that the age of accountability is 20.

Taking this a little deeper I see something very important and it comes from Judges 3:1-4.

What was the real issue of the spies who came back with a bad report and what were the people really grumbling about?  Putting it into my own words, I would say that rebellion is not only going against His written commandments, but also going against the commandment that we embrace the life that He has chosen for us, that we step into the battles that He has destined us for, and that we understand that these battles are BEST.  Wasn’t all the grumbling about not wanting to fight?  Not wanting to risk being killed?  Not wanting to see their women and children taken into captivity?  Isn’t this the same kinds of things we grumble about in our own lives?  Maybe it isn’t war with a sword.  Maybe instead it is war with a pen.  A pen that has written the words divorce, law suit, terminated, foreclosure, terminal, or a multitude of other wars that rage on within the lives we live out every day.  In Judges chapter 3 the Word clearly teaches us that God saves battles for future generations because we must learn war and we must allow war to test us, refine us, and move us into trusting God.  Let us all take a moment and ponder who and what we are grumbling about and consider that maybe, just maybe we are grumbling about the wars He has set before us, to test us, refine us, and lead us back to His commandments.  We must accept that when we grumble about the outcomes of these wars we are grumbling against Him and if this is true, His Word tells us that He will cut us off from His people.  He must.  He has no other choice.

Here is the cool thing….each of us is on our own journey and at different points in our relationship with Him.  No one can look into the life of another and determine what they are doing from a place of ignorance and lack of understanding or where the Holy Spirit has revealed truth and they are acting in rebellion.  These chapters truly reveal the heart of God in the Old Covenant and where we see Yeshua and know that He has always been and will forever be.  Interestingly though, God wraps up this chapter on forgiveness -vs- judgement surrounding innocent error -vs- blatant rebellion with the commandment of wearing the Tzit-tzit.  I have to ask the question, is it possible to “forget” the law, our identity, and the foundation of who we are in Him if we are putting the Tzit-tzit on the corners of our garments every morning?  Doesn’t this process unto itself to some level or another move us from a position of excuse to a place of accountability?

And then comes the wedding feast where everything gets tied together.  Notice how everyone from the streets are invited into the feast?  Did you also notice that at the time of the banquet only those who are “dressed” appropriately are allowed to remain?  Jesus says this is what Heaven will be like.  Doesn’t this remind you of the entire generation that died in the wilderness who Moses interceded for?  Moses interceded for the rebellious house of Israel and they were allowed to live, enter into the wilderness, become a teaching tool for their children, but never allowed to enter into the promised land.  During this time of the Gentiles we have Jesus interceding or a rebellious people, those people will be allowed to remain with all those who have come before them and who are also waiting to enter into His rest (Hebrews 4:11) but for those who are not dressed properly, the rest will never come.

What is it to be dressed properly in that day?  Do I see God strolling through the heavenly realms looking to see if people have the Tzit-tzit on the corners of their garments?  No, this is not the imagery I foresee.  But what I do see is a father that is looking to see if the spiritual covers that we have placed over us are bound and tied at the corners with a commitment to His Word, a faith that embraces the way of life that He has set before us, and a willingness to walk out the journey that He has prepared so that we will know that He is God, that we are not, and that everything in life has been provided by Him so that we may become all that He has chosen us to be.  It is a cloak of righteousness that can only be discovered when we allow the commandments to be at the four corners and the foundation that holds everything together.  For it is the fear of knowing the relationship between honoring His commandments and the victors alongside the rebellion and the losses that becomes the fabric of our covers, the covers we provide to our children, and the understands that are required to move this world from the pain and suffering we endure into the perfect rest that will come in the end of days.  These spiritual covers are the transformation of our souls as we allow God to be God and put our trust in the revelation of the blessing and the curse and how His commandments ARE at the center of these two extremes of the human condition.

Our Sabbath rest will come when all the all the wars have been fought, and the enemy has been removed.  Our cloaks will be tightly knit through our experiences of the blessings and the curses and the understanding that all of life circumstances hinge on our willingness to faithfully trust.  No more will the threat of war have a purpose.  The curse will be removed.  The work will be done.  Our Sabbath will have arrived.  

Will we be properly dressed?  Or will we still be wearing a cloak knit of rebellion, grumbling, and a lack of belief that the blessings and curses are real?  Will we attempt to enter that rest unmoved by His laws?  His Holiness?  And His ways?  Will we still be holding onto unforgiveness of the people that He has attempted to use to refine us?  Will we still be trying to avoid the work that He has put before us?  I wonder how overwhelming the world will look before He sends us into it?  There will be lions, cobras, and wolves right?  Who will know that their natures have changed?  That we can reside with them in no fear?  Who will send back a bad report in that day?  Who will see with their physical eyes and see unclean and evil?  Who will see with their spiritual eyes and see that everything has come into the knowledge of the Lord and no more evil will exist?  What will it take to even see with those eyes?

Just Maybe

A few weeks ago I wrote this up on Leviticus 16-24.  I shared with my small group that the previous several days had been incredibly emotional for me and at the same time, incredibly enlightening.  I shared that I believed that Torah had the answers and had given me a source of continuity that I wanted to share.  I have decided to post this here in an effort to share with those who may find it helpful.



Last week we are introduced to the term Kafar.  This word is used in connection with what we think of as atonement.  But what it really means is “cleaning away that which keeps us from being in the presence of God”.



This week’s Torah portion brings some nuances that go against traditional thought relative to how we are traditionally taught about the Old Covenant ways.  In this week’s Torah portions we are told that God understands, and even accepts under certain conditions, that even the High Priest (let alone the people) will become defiled (by exposure to uncleanliness).  This accepted, and even encouraged behavior is simply understood as a part of life.  At the same time, the priest is to understand that he cannot approach God in this unclean or defiled state.  It is understood that the priest must go through “Kafar” prior to approaching God.  There is no condemnation.  There is no shame.  It simply is.



This same understanding is applicable to all the children of Israel and arguably all the children of God.  Simply put, we are to understand that association with those things that He defines as unholy and unclean will leave us in a state that breaks our ability to approach and spend time with Him.  But this is not the end of the world.  Included within the context of His directions (Torah) He has told us what we need to do to cleans ourselves (or should I say, let Him cleans us) of these defilements so that we can return to that intimacy that we all so deeply crave.



This is an amazing thing that helped me to understand what I believe God is attempting to communicate to us through this physical pandemic and why plague is such a vital part of gaining a rhema word from God.  I am going to go in three directions with this but first I want to go back to the laws of leprosy discussed two weeks back.



Within the context of a culture that is obedient to God’s ways, that understands the difference between the clean and the unclean, and within the context of a society that lives by His standards, dealing with “plague like disease” is as simple as putting the “sick” person into quarantine.  This is even possible with something that is as infectious as leprosy.  Looking at this on the three levels we have:  A person who physically has leprosy, a person who is living an immoral life based on the standards of the secular world, and a person who is living an unholy life based on the standards of God.



Regardless as to which form of “sickness” this person is living, putting this person into quarantine resolves the situation and protects society from the “death” they are carrying AND the influence their behavior may have on others.  In a perfect world, or in a culture living in perfect harmony with God’s ways, quarantine of the “sick” works.



But, how does all of this shift when the society itself is “sick” with all three forms of disease?  What are we to do when society is filled with those who are carrying physical plague, immoral toward secular morality, and immoral towards God’s Holy standards (even within the church)?



Sadly we live in a culture where every day we are bombarded with “unclean” and if we do not recognize what we have allowed to defile us (physically through germs, morally through actions, or at a deeper level through misguided theology) we end up in a state of defilement that does not carry with it condemnation but does 1) keep us separated from God, 2) make us dangerous to others, and 3) hinders us in our ability to remain healthy.  Believing that God will protect us, our homes, and our children while not acknowledging the uncleanliness we have allowed ourselves to interact with simply will not work.  The entire foundation of our relationship with Jesus and the protection He provides starts with acknowledgment of what we need to be cleansed from so that we can then let His blood do that cleaning through confession.  Trusting that God will keep porn out of our homes while not acknowledging how the outside world has influenced our behaviors and doing our part in removing those things that tempt us from our lives won’t work.  Trusting that God will keep germs out of our homes while not acknowledging that we put ourselves into a germ filled environment without taking any precautions won’t work either.  I believe that both of these are examples of tempting Christ and I believe that many churches and many Christians will be humbled in this regard.



Throughout time God has used Plague to lead His people back to His ways.  Understanding what I have just shared leads to an understanding of how this should work and how this just might play out. 



We have to realize that the church had its greatest power during those early years when it was still deeply connected to its Hebraic life.  Once the Hebraic foundation was washed away in Rome around 350AD the church lost its power and it has yet to return.  Through plague and an understanding of the fact that we cannot avoid it, we can make a parallel to God’s ways and our inability to avoid unclean things, being defiled, and needing “kafar” to have the greatest unity with Him.  As we walk out life in the environment of plague we use face masks, antiseptic wipes/gels, etc… as a form of “kafar” with our families, friends, and even strangers.  This teaches us that living in a plague filled world takes responsibility, acknowledgement, and demands “kafar”.  We discover that there is no shame in acknowledging that we may be “sick” and “contagious” while not even knowing it.  In an effort to protect those we love and to be responsible to society we take every precaution reasonable without acting in fear.  For me this looks like wearing a mask around those that would be offended if I didn’t.  It means not wearing a mask around those that would be offended if I did.  It means spraying down the gas pump with antiseptic spray before using it and cleaning my hands with antiseptic gel if I accidently shake someone’s hand instead of substituting a fist bump.  It means saving eating out for special occasions and not going to the store every time I think I “need” something when in reality I just “want” it.



In other words, all of this is leading me to becoming a more responsible person, someone who is less wasteful, and someone who is more aware of what and how to make others feel acceptable and loved.  All this is leading me to understanding how far I still have to go before I meet that righteousness that will allow me to walk in the full power of the Acts church.  This is the pivotal understanding.  To acknowledge that God is using all that is going on to drive me into that place where I can spend more time with Him and where I can walk in that full power and full authority of one of His children.  If you disagree with this and think that we don’t need to walk in that righteousness and holiness to have that authority I would ask for scriptural support of that.  Personally I take God at His word and everything I see leads me back to the Holiness of the Hebraic ways and the 6,000 year journey of Him attempting to get His people to embrace that level of holiness as a life standard. 



What if what God says is really true?  What if He really will send plague when we refuse to honor His laws and statutes?  Would He really act that aggressively when we do those little things that make us unclean?  Maybe so and here might be why.



Let’s say that over the next year we allow God to really work on our hearts and we start applying what we have learned about acknowledging our physical potential to spread a physical pandemic and embrace “kafar” in our interactions with other human beings.  In and through this we discover a new way of life that enhances our love relationships, our economic state, and teaches us a few things about ourselves that we really need to know.  We take what we learn about “kafar” on a human perspective and start embracing what God has defined as clean and unclean and look to the blood of Christ to be our “kafar” for those things that we have never before acknowledged as needing to be cleansed of.  Maybe in and through this process God will honor the promises that He has made and we truly will feel closer to Him, maybe we will grow in our relationship with Him, and maybe we will gain a power that we have always known is possible but have never been able to tap into.  If all this is true, then isn’t this what needs to happen for the Church to step back into the power that it had in the first few hundred years of its existence?  I say all this with the notion of “maybe” but isn’t this exactly what God says?  And isn’t this exactly what we have observed?  If there is even a chance that all this is true, how many of us are willing to give it a try?  To trust Him at His Word?  To do it His way for once and see what actually happens?

God bless,
Jeff