Sights&Sounds

Last week, the Sabbath readings took us to the beginning of the fifth Book, Deuteronomy, or D'Varim, meaning (Words) in Hebrew. "Deuteronomy" is from the Greek language, and means "a repetition (of the Law)". We will see that Moses does repeat the Law to the Israelites as they camp along the eastern side of the Jordan River before they enter into the Promised Land. However, there is something else going on in this week's reading portion titled Va'etchannan, which means "And I besought". This portion begins in Chapter 3 of Deuteronomy, where Moses begs the LORD to allow him to enter the Land with the Israelites: "Then I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying, "...I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.' But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the LORD said to me: "Enough of that! Speak no more to Me on this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan." (Deut. 3:23-27). And the LORD told Moses that He was giving the leadership of the Israelites to Joshua, and Joshua would go over with the people. (v. 28). From our English translation, we might think that the LORD was strongly and perhaps callously denying the heartfelt request of Moses, who described himself to the LORD as His (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega, see Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13) servant (ebed/abad (servant, bondservant, slave, worshipper, subject, laborer, worship and obey). (Deut. 3:24). However, if we look at the Hebrew meanings of the key words here, we will see that the LORD wants Moses to speak (dabar) no more about it, because his request, as a prophet of the LORD, actually limits God's purpose. In fact, the LORD, in answer to His servant's pleadings above, commands Moses to elevate the vision of his eyes and understanding. The LORD told Moses: "Enough!", or, "Let it suffice!". Unlike the meaning of our English understanding, the word "enough/suffice" in Hebrew is rab/rabab, meaning "great, much, prince, captain, master, multitude, mighty, abounding, exceedingly, increase, great understanding, vast, arrows, archers/multiplied, manifold, ten thousands, become many, expand, spread". Then the LORD told Moses to "go up", or ala in Hebrew, meaning: come up, offering, raised, arose, light, exalted, ascend, extend the boundary, lift oneself, overcome. "The top" is: ros - top, chief, captain, sum, beginning, height of the stars, highest, supreme, prince, first and foremost. "Of "Pisgah/pasag": cleft/contemplate, consider, accurately contemplate. The LORD doesn't want Moses to limit his vision to the land, even though Moses calls the land "good" (tob - of favor, goodness, delightful, joyful, benefits, precious, rich, sweet, upright). The physical land is a foregone conclusion, because it is a promise of God. However, at the pleading of Moses, the LORD does not ignore that pleading, but He commanded Moses, the prophet of God, to see beyond that to the truly awesome, unlimited destination of the LORD's VISION. God tells Moses to "lift up your eyes" (nasa - bare up, lift up, exalt, rise up, accept, marry, magnify, forgive/obtain pardon, raise up, grow, increase, lift up soul in desire (towards God). "Eyes", or ayin in Hebrew, not only means physical eyes and sight, but the understanding, a fountain, knowledge, judgment. Moses is told to look in the four directions from Mt. Pisgah: westward, northward, southward, eastward. These directions also translate from the Hebrew as "the roar of the sea, the nations by the sea and across the sea; that which is dark, hidden, obscure, of heaven; at the right hand; rising, rise up, shine, come forth, like rays of sunlight, appear. From the meanings of these fur directions, Moses was supposed to "see" the plan of salvation, including the resurrection of the Son Who is at the Right Hand of God. The LORD told Moses not to speak small things of a limited, natural understanding, but to lift up his eyes from the greatest height, and see beyond to what God has seen and purposed. Then Moses was to take this revelation knowledge and command (sava - appoint, ordain, lay charge upon, send with, delegate), encourage (hazaq - encourage, prevail, strengthen, press urgently, make firm, make bold, hold up and support, fortify), and strengthen (ames - courage, brave, establish, increase, assure, make alert, stenghten) (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Joshua (yehosua - "Jehovah is Salvation"). Joshua will bring the people into their inheritance, "which you will see (ra'a - look, behold, appear, consider, perceive, foresee)". (v. 28). This is a prophetic journey that requires the prophetic Vision of God given to His prophet, to a prophesied spiritual, as well as a physical destination. The LORD says to Moses, and to all of us, don't limit your vision, and don't speak that limited vision. Lift up your eyes and ra'a see! It is also interesting that the beginning place of this amazing encounter, Pisgah (v. 27), and the ending place of this encounter, Beth-Peor/Ba'al-Peor (see v. 29), were places from which Balaam tried to curse the Israelites for King Balak, but could not (see Num. 23:13-14, Num. 22:41). Man cannot curse what God has blessed, and the plans of God, established before the world was formed, will not be contradicted (see Rev. 13:8, 1 Pet. 1:19-20). In this Sabbath reading portion called Va'etchannan, or "And I besought", Moses repeated portions of the Law to the Israelites so that they would keep it when they entered the Promised Land in order to prosper, and keep their lives (see Deut. 4:1). However, also repeated several times within these three chapters of Deuteronomy, are specific sights and sounds that Moses never wants the Israelites to forget, because these sights and sounds make this nation of Israelites different from among all the nations of the earth: "For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? Only take heed to yourself, lest you forget the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb (horeb/harab - desert/dry up, desolate, laid waste, kill, decay, destroyer), when the LORD said to me, 'Gather the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) people to Me, and I will let them hear My (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) dabar words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children." (Deut. 4:7-10). Moses is about to repeat the sights and sounds that all of the Israelites saw and heard that they were to remember all of their lives, and teach to their children, and he will repeat the telling several times: "Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. So He declared to you His (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) covenant (berit/bara - covenant, alliance, pledge, friendship, banquet, marriage, cutting:passing through pieces of flesh/miracles, create, something new, shape, form, transformation, eat, food, manifest) which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments...". (Deut. 4:11-13). These were amazing and unforgettable sights and sounds, as the LORD made His presence known and His voice heard before His people in a place that can only be described as the devil's own stronghold of death, according to the meaning of Horeb (see above). Again, in another place, Moses said: "Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? Or did God ever try and go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation...according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? (Deut. 4:33-34). Moses explained the reason why God had done this thing before their eyes: "To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him." (v. 35). Again Moses repeats: "Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth, He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire." (v. 36). Moses told the Israelites that the LORD had done this because of His love for their fathers, and those fathers' descendants (v. 37). "Therefore", Moses Said, "know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath; there is no other." (v. 39). Therefore, God's people were to keep the Words that God spoke to them, His statues and commandments to prosper and prolong their days (written "behold" (hey), yamim - days, time, continually, ever, always) in the earth (adama - earth, nations, ground) forever (kol/kalal - all the whole, everything, all, whosoever, whatsoever/made perfect, made complete) (v. 40). This is where the Hebrew words are important, because Moses is revealing what he learned when he enlarged his Vision - that the LORD is talking about eternal life and perfection for whosoever in the whole earth. This is also the Gospel, our Good News. Again, Moses will repeat to the people: "Hear, O Israel, the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) statutes and judgments... (to learn and observe)...The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb (see above)...with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire...you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain..." (Deut. 5:1-5). Moses repeated again: "These (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) words (the Ten Commandments) the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more..." (Deut. 5:22). And again he repeated: "So it was when you heard the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire..." (v. 23). These awesome sights and sounds that the people witnessed were never to be forgotten, but told to their children and children's children. The Word of God, which brings life (Jn. 1:1-5), was brought forth out of the stronghold of death, and only God can do that. This is the promise and the consolation that God has given to His people. The LORD confirmed and sealed the Word that was delivered on Mt. Horeb (part of the Sinai summits) with the signs and wonders of His fire, darkness, and voice. Jesus assured His disciple that He was the resurrection and the life when she was disconsolate over the death of her family member (Jn. 11:25-26). Jesus also said that the day was here when "...all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth..." (Jn. 5:26-29). As the LORD displayed before Moses and His people His Words of life from a mountain of death, Horeb, Jesus spoke His Words of life from the mountain of death called Calvary (kranion/keras - a skull/a horn), or in Hebrew, Golgotha (golgotha/gulgolet/galal - skull/every man/roll down, remove, roll away). From that place He said: "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do", and told the criminal crucified next to Him, who had besought Him: "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."{Lk. 23:32-34, 42-43). These are also sights and sounds witnessed, recorded, and to be remembered forever. Those who beseech the LORD in their desperation, as Moses did, as one of the criminals who was crucified with Christ did, will not be turned away. This Sabbath is also the Sabbath that follows the sorrowful events that occurred to God's people throughout history on the Ninth of Av, or Tisha B'Av (see previous blog post titled "Words and Vision"). Because of this, this Sabbath's reading portion is also called Nachamu, from the Hebrew word naham, which means "comfort, repent, comforter, moved to pity, compassion, to pant or groan, to lament and grieve". For this portion titled Nachamu, Isaiah 40 is read in the synagogues: "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!' says your God. 'Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD double for all her sins." (Isa. 40:1). Just as Moses besought the LORD and received much more than he asked, God's people receive a double portion of comfort ("Comfort ye, Comfort..."), and not only that, but the pity and compassion of that double portion of comfort from the LORD leads to repentance from which God overcomes sin. Now this double portion of compassion is directed towards Jerusalem. However, the Vision of the LORD in this chapter of Isaiah encompasses the whole earth, as God is described as "...He who sits above the circle of the earth..." (v. 22). While some believed, and maps of old epicted, that the earth was flat well into the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, the Greek, Eratosthenes, had calculated the circumference of a spherical earth in 240 BC. However, Isaiah had seen the Vision of God, and recorded the Vision with earth as a circle long before that, in around 750 BC. The Vision was written to bring to the remembrance of God's people how BIG God is, and the limitlessness of His power. In this same chapter of the double portion of comfort for His people in circumstances of desolation, God gave Isaiah another prophecy connected to the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD...The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (v. 3-5). This is the prophetic promise, as part of a double portion of comfort, of the ministry of John the Baptist that would arrive many hundreds of years later as recorded in all four Gospels (Mt. 3:1-3, Mk. 1:4, Lk. 3:2-6, Jn. 1:19-23). He would be the prophet who called God's people to prepare with repentance of nachamu, and identified Jesus as the promised Messiah, saying, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn. 1:29). He was the prophet who came out of the LORD's provision of the double portion of comfort for His people. The miraculous, unlimited, and all-powerful comfort and consolation of God to Moses, to His people, Israel, to the whole world, extends far beyond what we think: "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power (of Christ) that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Eph. 3:20-21). With these inspired words, it sounds like Paul was preaching from the revelation of this week's Sabbath portion, doesn't it? Finally, of all the sights and sounds that the Israelites, that most special nation in the earth, were reminded of during this Sabbath reading portion of Va'etchannan, "And I besought", and Nachamu, "Comfort", was this sound: "HEAR, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (Deut. 6:4-5). If you would like to learn more about the comfort and consolation of God, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You answered Moses when he besought You with a Vision of consolation that far surpassed his sorrow. You allowed Moses to receive the Vision of Your salvation, resurrection, and eternal life by the One, Your Son, Who sits at Your right hand. I want to remember always the sights and sounds when You revealed Your Son and Yourself to me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I will always remember that moment and tell it to my children, and their children, amd so that I will always walk in the highest Vision of the double portion of the Comfort of the Almighty. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Words&Vision

With this week's Sabbath reading portion, we are beginning the fifth Book of the Torah, which we call Deuteronomy. From the Greek, the word "Deuteronomy" would be translated as "A copy or repetition (of the law)". In Hebrew this fifth Book is called D'varim, or "Words (of Moses)". To review the Books that we have studied in the Torah: B'reshiet ("Beginning") is Genesis, Sh'mot ("Names") is Exodus, Va-yikra ("Called") is Leviticus, B'Midbar ("In the wilderness") is Numbers, and now, D'varim ("Words") is Deuteronomy. D'varim, referring to Moses' words to the Israelites, is also the title of this Sabbath reading portion. However, this week's reading portion is also connected to a special Sabbath. It is the Sabbath before Tisha B'Av, also called the Ninth of Av. The Ninth of Av is a date with important meaning to the Jewish people, because on this date throughout history they suffered many disasters, and the ninth of Av is considered by many to be "the saddest day on the Jewish calendar". Among the events associated with this date, both the Temple of Solomon and the Second Temple in Jerusalem were destroyed by enemy nations on this date. Jewish tradition holds that the ten spies who brought back the frightening report of giants in the Promised Land to the Israelites, and caused them to refuse the enter the land as God had commanded them to do, happened on the ninth of Av. A Jewish revolt against the Romans around the ninth of Av in 135 AD was crushed, and hundreds of thousands of Israelites were killed. Jews were expelled from England on the ninth of Av in 1290, and from France on the ninth of Av in 1306, and from Spain on the same date in 1492. On the ninth of Av, SS Commander Heinrich Himmler received formal approval from the Nazi Party for "the final solution", which resulted in the Holocaust. Jews were deported from the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland by the Nazis, and transported to Treblinka death camp on the nnth of Av, 1942. These are just some of the disasters that are related to Tisha B'Av, the ninth of Av. Many Jewish people fast on this day in prayer and repentance. However, it is a deep thing to consider that this special memorial Sabbath is also called Chazon, or "Vision". What sort of "Vision" is the Lord telling His people to have? Many Jewish people meditate during this time upon the prophesied Third Temple, yet to be built, from a "vision" given to the prophet Ezekiel. Will this week's D'Varim words of Moses give us any insight into God's call for "Vision"? Yes- the direction for the "Vision" is revealed immediately in the first chapter of Deuteronomy. The D'Varim of Moses were spoken before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, on the eastern side of the Jordan River, in the plain (araba - desert wilderness, sterile region, darkened, to wander/heaven, pledge, give as security for a debt, be liable for another) opposite Suph (referring to the Red Sea). The place from which the D'Varim, or words of Moses, began was, to the natural eye, a darkened wilderness, a sterile environment, but, according to the Hebrew meaning of the word used, it can also mean "heaven" and the concept of a substitute given for a debt as assurance of payment, which is what Jesus did for us as He made atonement for us, and redeemed us. So which "Vision" should we have in this place of the D'Varim? We can choose the natural Vision of darkness and lifelessness, or we can choose the spiritual Vision of heaven and redemption, which is God's Vision. The specific places within this area mentioned in this first chapter, from Paran Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, to Dizahab, also direct us to the chazon Vision. Their meanings are, on one hand, "caverns, white as diseased skin, whitewash, foolish, insipid, false, false prophet or false prophecies", or, on the other hand, they can mean "beautify, glorify, gleam, adorn, bestow aid, make white, purify, cleanse, purge, the sounding of the trumpets, protected enclosure, abounding with gold, brilliance, splendor, fair weather". Which chazon Vision shall we see, believe and exalt into manifestation? Here is a timely reminder of scripture's definition of "faith": "Now faith (pistis/peitho - strong conviction of the truth of something/induce by words to believe, obey, trust) is the substance (hypostasis - the cause, the underlying foundation, the substantial quality of, the essence, the assurance) of things hoped for, the evidence (elegchos/elegcho - proof, evidence, proved or tested/ to bring to light) of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." (Heb. 11:1-3). Look at the power of a chazon Vision of faith! All things are established by it. According to the verse above, God even used it to create the worlds. Upon the foundation of faith, all things are built. It is so necessary and required of the people of God that without it, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). We can find more information from the D'Varim words regarding the chazon Vision in this portion from Deuteronomy: "Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him..." (Deut. 1:3). Now, besides the meanings found in the places of their current location, time is used to expand on the chazon Vision. The meanings of "eleven" and "forty" in Hebrew are revealed in rabbinical teaching. This is a quote: "Eleven refers to the conveyance of the Divine Light which transcends the limits of the world within the limits of the world. The world was created with ten utternances. Eleven, thus refers to a level above the limits of that set. Nevertheless, since it is also a number which follows in sequence to ten, we can understand that it refers to the fusion between the transcendant Divine Light and the framework of limited worldy existence." So even though in the world, this number creates the Vision for us of the power that transcends the limits of the world. While this teaching is not found as such in scripture, the idea of it is definitely found in the D'Varim Words of Christ: "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life'...'These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (Jn. 8:12, Jn. 16:33). From the same rabbinical sources, we also have commentary on the significance of the number forty/fortieth: "The number forty in Torah is the ascent from one level to the next higher one. We get a new mission at forty. But the attainment of the higher level can come only after first fulfilling all aspects of the previous level...and allowing for the emergence of something entirely new." It is mentioned that the basis for these thoughts was the nature of the many events in scripture that revolved around the number forty. So the number forty used here is bringing God's people to a higher level, a new level in God's chazon Vision for His people. In this case, the Israelites were coming to the end of the forty year period when God commanded them to wander in the wilderness because of their disobedience. He kept His Word to them that within this forty year period, the disobedient generation would pass away (see Num. 32:13, Josh. 5:4-7), leaving the new generation to take up the chazon Vision of God, and enter into the Promised Land. A trip that should have taken eleven days took forty years because the people of God, including Moses at one point, failed to see and follow the "Vision" of God. Here is another indication of the chazon Vision that can be seen again in the D'Varim words from Deuteronomy Ch. 1: "On this side of the Jordan...Moses began to explain this law, saying, 'The LORD our God spoke (d'var/dabar) to us in Horeb (horeb/harab - desert, dry/waste, desolate, decay, destroyer, dry up [parch], slay, smite down, kill), saying: 'You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Turn (pana - turn oneself, look, regard, prepare, appear, behold, turn towards the face, direct one's course), and take your journey (nasa - journey, go forth, forward, depart, break up camp, cut out quarry stones, bend a bow), and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land (eres - earth, nations, land of the living, Sheol: the land without return) of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates. See (ra'a - see, look, consider, respect, regard, enjoy, foresee, have vision, discern, gaze at, look intently at,to be caused to see, experience, meet, visions), I have set the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega:see Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13) land before you; go in and possess the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) land which the LORD swore to your fathers - to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - to give to them and their descendants after them." (Deut. 1:5-8). These words relate that while in one of the (spiritually) worst places, Horeb, God spoke His D'Varim Words on the Mount to Moses, giving him the Law. Then they were to take the Words of the Vision of God, and go forward. Jesus gave the same D'Varim Words to His disciples, which we call the Great Commission: "Go, therefore, into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ...make disciples of all the nations teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you..." (Mk. 16:15, Mt. 28:19-20). While the Israelites were still on this side of the Jordan River, waiting to cross into the Promised Land, Moses was repeating the chazon Vision to this new generation so that they might be established in it. An elderly Joshua would do the same at a later time, reinforcing the Vision of God before the Israelites, after they had settled in the Promised Land, and the Vision was renewed among the people again at that time. (see Josh. 24). When the LORD commanded the Israelites to SEE the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) land, it was in the sense of seeing with the same Vision as the LORD sees, according to the meaning of the word. This foundational idea, or "beginning" principle, was established in Gen. 16:13: "Then she (Hagar) called the name of the LORD who spoke (D'var/dabar) to her, You-Are-The-God-Who-Sees; for she said, 'Have I also here seen (ra'a - see above) Him who sees (ra'a - see above) me?' Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ("Well of the Living One seeing me" or "Well of the Life of Vision"); observe (hinne/hen - see, behold!/they which see), it is between Kadesh and Bered (two very dangerous places in meaning)." That verse from Genesis brings a powerful moment of revelation that made the difference between life and death for those involved. With the same Vision that God used to see her, Hagar saw the life-giving well that appeared before her to save her son, and herself in a sterile, desolate wilderness. Anyone and everyone can see with the natural eyes of men, but only the people of God are called to carry the chazon Vision of God, rather than the vision of the world. There is a beautiful prayer-song with this thought titled, "Be Thou My Vision". The vision of the world has always been, to me, a faith-killer, rather than a faith-builder. Before Tisha B'Av, the ninth of Av, and the remembrance of its tragedies, the LORD has ordained through His Sabbath reading portion for this week that His people renew their Vision to be the same as God's saving and providing chazon Vision. While we live in the world and its vision, we are not to be of the world and its vision. (Jn. 17:11; 14-16). From another portion of this Sabbath's D'Varim reading, Isaiah was called into His prophetic office by a Vision: "The vision (CHAZON/haza - vision, oracle, revelation/see, behold, look, prophecy, to have a vision of, to see God) of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah." (Isa. 1:1). Isaiah begins by exposing the rebellion and iniquity of God's people: "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints." (v. 5). The body of God's people is without soundness. The land and cities of His people are desolate and burned. Except for a small remnant left, they would be wiped out completely like Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 6-9). Their feasts, prayers, and sacrifices are without value before the LORD because they have fallen backwards into evil, and their hands are full of blood (v. 11-16). Their cities have become full of murder, injustice, corruption and thievery (v. 21-23). Isaiah saw the spiritual condition of God's people. They had turned aside from the Vision of the LORD. They were no longer seeing as God sees. Because of it, destruction was heading their way. However, the LORD begins to speak (D'Var/dabar), and the people will now be told the Vision of the LORD for His people: "Therefore the Lord says...I will turn My hand against you, and thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her penitents with righteousness. The destruction of transgressors and sinners shall be together..." (v. 24-28). The LORD continues His remarkable chazon Vision in Isaiah Ch. 2. The LORD gives the word (D'Var/dabar) that will create His awesome Vision before the eyes of the people: "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word (D'Var/dabar) of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Isa. 2:1-3). As we read further into Chapter 2, we can see that all of the nations are changed, because of the Words of the Vision that the LORD has spoken to His prophet. The LORD does not leave His people without His chazon Vision. One of the LORD's prophets wrote: "I will stand my watch and set myself apart on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the LORD answered me and said: 'Write the vision (chazon - see above) and make it plain on tablets, that he may run (rus - run, guard, hurry, bring hastily, to cause to hasten) who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak (puah - breathe, blow in order to excite, or kindle [a fire]), and it will not lie. Though it tarries (mahah/ma - is reluctant/because it is questioned such as "to what purpose?", "how long?", "by what means?", "because of what?"), wait (haka/haqa - be adhered or tied to it [as piercing]/entrenched, carved into it); Because it will surely come, it will not tarry (ahar - delay, slack, defer, be hindered, be late, stay behind)." (Hab. 2:1-3). As Jesus brought the prophetic Word regarding the tribulation to come in all of its terrors and troubles, He concludes with a Vision for us. He told us to "watch", and He said: "Now when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." (Lk. 21:28). Peter tells us that when we see the destruction of the Day of the Lord, faith tells us: "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." ( 2 Peter 3:12-13). The chazon Vision of God is waiting there for us to discover. It is a Vision that will bring us to the next, new level, and will overcome the conditions of the world, rather than be overcome by them. I believe that if we will see as God sees, we will be part of the Vision that will change the world. If you would like to know more about the D'Varim Words, and the chazon Vision of God, you can pray with me: "Dear Father, I ask You to give me eyes to see as You see, and a heart to receive and understand the chazon Vision that You have given in Your D'Var Word, which is Jesus. Your Vision leads me to repentance, and causes me to seek Your face and Your path. Your Vision provides for me before I even have need. Your Vision keeps me from being overcome by the world. Your Vision, created in Your D'Varim Words, directs my faith, so that it is no longer my faith, but the faith of the Son of God. Let my eyes be full of Your Divine Light, Your Son, Who is the saving Light of the world. I also pray in agreement with the prayer of the Jewish people, who pray in part, '...let our eyes gaze upon Your compassionate return to Zion. Blessed are You, LORD, who restores Your presence to Zion.' I pray all of these things in the name of Your Son, my Savior, Jesus. AMEN."

Replaced

This Sabbath's reading portion has a double title, Mattot-Mass'ei, which means "Tribes-Journeys of", and continues in the Book of Numbers, or B'Midbar, in Hebrew, which means "In the wilderness". Most of us think of being in the wilderness, spiritually speaking, as being a type of punishment, or persecution. However, throughout this journey in the wilderness for the Israelites, God pulled down strongholds of spiritual darkness and harm, represented by earthly kings and nations, and replaced them with His kingdom, through His Word, and the obedience of His people to that Word. We have read that the tribes of the Israelites were referred to as armies. These "armies" did not cross the wilderness aggressively, but miraculously defeated enemies who attacked them. We have seen so far in Numbers that the human kings and nations that sought to destroy Israel had names that provided a picture of spiritul wickedness, including demonic worship. In a way, the tribes on their journeys were spiritual bait by which the enemy was drawn into their own destruction. We can see this in another portion from this Sabbath in which the LORD said of His people in the wilderness: "I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal(s) (kelulot/kalla/kalal - betrothal, bridehood/a bride as perfect, young wife, crowned/made perfect and complete, to put a crown upon), when you went after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holiness to the LORD, the firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him will offend; Disaster will come upon them,' says the LORD." (Jer. 2:2-3). As His people kept this covenant relationship of being joined to the LORD, they saw victory over their enemies. When they broke this relationship, they suffered tragic losses in the wilderness. Paul wrote about this kind of spiritual warfare this way: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (sarkikos/sarx/saroo/syro - nature of the flesh, human/of natural or physical origin) but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Cor. 10:4-6). Paul said that the weapons or tools used in this type of warfare are not natural or human. He also wrote in another place that the enemy is not natural or human: "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (methodeia/metahodeuo/hodos - cunning arts, deceit, craft, trickery, lie in wait/with, among, against, travel, journey/way, highway, road, property, a mode or means) of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6:11-12). So this warfare is not against humans, but against angelic royalty of wickedness and darkness, including the devil. We can notice here from the Hebrew meanings of the words that one of the methods that the devil and these angelic princes of spiritual wickedness uses is to travel or journey with/against the people of God, and to usurp property for their rule. We will also see that not only are these spiritual princes, or strongholds, pulled down or dispossessed, but they are replaced by the knowledge of the kingdom of God, which is established through our obedience to Christ, as Paul wrote above. This is true with the Israelites in the wilderness, as well as the believers in Christ. We will see how the journey of the Israelite tribes established the kingdom of God, and even the Gospel of salvation! No wonder the spiritual enemies of God came against them all along this journey in many different "wiles". In Numbers 33, part of this Sabbath's reading portion, Moses makes a record of the starting points of the journey of the Israelites after they left Egypt. Their beginning point came on the day after Passover: "...the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of the Egyptians. For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had killed among them. Also on their gods the LORD had executed judgments." (Num. 33:1-4). The LORD was judging these gods of wickedness as well. As Moses listed the stops along the journey in this chapter, many of the places are familiar, because we read of them in Exodus, and earlier in Numbers. However, as a student of scripture pointed out to me, there are many places on this list that are appearing for the first time, not mentioned previously, in the journey of the Israelites. Why did the LORD command Moses to make this record of the journey at this point in Numbers, and why are there new stations of encampment added? The meanings and root meanings of the names of many of these never before mentioned places bring to mind our journey in Christ: "to be yoked to, attached", "lifted up, ealted, to rise up", "make white, purify, cleanse from filthiness", "dripping in pieces, to moisten, sprinkle, drops of dew", "assembly, assemble together", "beauty, elegance, goodness, pleasing, to be bright, glisten", "quaking terror that drives out enemies, or the reverential fear of God", "place of assembly, to praise God in choirs", "burdened, oppressed, in exchange for, in place of", "lowly, humble", "sweetness, sweet fountain", "wealthy princes, ambassadors", "bind as a prisoner, chastisement", "sons of twisting, torturous", "cavern, cave, hole, of the slashing place", "to please, accepted, rejoice, make a thing good or right", "passage, servile, pass over, cross over, cease to exist, vanish", "the back(bone) of an exceedingly great man". This was a spiritual journey for the tribes as much as it was a physical journey with a promised and prepared destination at its end. This is also our spiritual journey in Christ. For the Israelites, there were challenges by their enemies all along the way, as there are for us in our journey. However, as they were obedient to the voice of the LORD, those enemies were defeated, and the Israelites replaced the might of an enemy with the kingdom of God and His righteousness (see also Mt. 6:33). We can also see this spiritual dispossession and replacement process again in one of this sabbath's reading portions from Jeremiah 1: "Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me (Jeremiah): "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms (see also Mt. 24:6-7), to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build (bana- build up, repair, restore, have children, establish [a house, a temple, a family], build a foundation [see also Eph. 2:19-22]) and to plant (nata - plant, fastened, fix in place, establish, set upright)." (Jer. 1:9-10). The prophet, by the Word of God, was not only given the calling to destroy, but to build up at the same time. Many are familiar with the aspect of spiritual warfare that pulls down strongholds, but God's plan also requires us to build and plant His kingdom by our obedience to Christ (see above) in replacement. We tend to forget that second half of the formula! If we fail to do that, we just leave a void that can be refilled again by evil. Jesus told a parable about the return of unclean spirits after a house has been swept clean until the latter evil condition ends up being worse than the former evil condition (Mt. 12:43-45). The first of the tribes to be settled were Reuben, Gad, and one half of the half-tribe of Manasseh. These tribes settled on the eastern side of the Jordan River in the territory of Gilead ( (Num. 32:26, 29). Although these tribes settled on the eastern side of the Jordan River, the men were still expected to cross over the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega [Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13]) Jordan (yarden/yarad - descender, flowing down/go down, subdue, bring down, cast down, take down) with the rest of the Israelites to help them subdue the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) land of Canaan (Kena'an/kana - merchants, traffickers, the depressed, low/bring low, bring down, into subjection). As the Israelites cross over the Jordan to take possession (ahuzza/ahaz - possess by inheritance, something seized/hold, take, fastened, to be joined, to adhere, to cover) of Canaan, the territory is transformed from a place ruled by the coins of merchants who traffick (including human trafficking), and bring low, into the aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega land that it was ordained by God to be. Taking possession of this aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega land also means becoming fastened or joined to the Aleph-Tav Himself, Jesus. The tribes who settled Gilead, took the land that had belonged to the enemy kingdom of Og (meaning "long-necked" because he was a Rephaim giant), king of Bashan (fruitful), and the enemy kingdom of Sihon (warrior, tempestuous, sweeping away, carrying every thing before him), king of the Amorites, both of whom had been defeated and killed when they previously attacked the Israelites (Num. 32:33, see also Num. 21). The two kingdoms mentioned above were to be aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega kingdoms as written in Hebrew, and therefore they were taken back from these two royal, oppressive rulers who had ascended to the thrones in kingdoms that were ordained to belong to the Messiah and His people. As the Israelites took possession of these aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega kingdoms, they built villages (haua/hava - life-giving, living place/to breathe, declare, show), and changed the names of other cities (Num. 32:34-38). The prophet Isaiah also wrote about this building and planting that is done by the obedient people of God who understand His purpose for them: "Those from among you shall build the old waste places (harba/horeb/hereb/harab - decayed, desolate, dry/parching heat/sword, knife, dagger, axes, destructive cutting instrument, acrid/absence of water); you shall raise up the foundations (mosada/yasad - foundation of a building, of heaven, of earth/establish, appoint, ordain) of many generations; and you shall be called The Repairer of the Breach (peres/paras - gap, breaking, rupture/break down, use violence), The Restorers of Streets (paths) to Dwell In...That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. And they shall rebuild the old (olam/alam - ancient, everlasting, hidden time/secret thing) ruins, they shall raise up the former (rison/risa - first, former, before old time/beginning time) desolations (samen - astonishment, amazed, waste, ravage, horror, desolate, put to silence), and they shall repair (hadas - renew, repair, make anew, produce something new) the ruined cities (ir/ur - city, town, excitement, terror, anguish, anger, fortified/stir up, incite, hot, ardent, arouse a serpent from its hiding place, excite to a brawl, raise up a spear, exposed, make naked), the desolations of many generations." (Isa. 58:12, 61:4). It is very interesting to see the difference between the Hebrew word for "city" used here in Isaiah, and the names of some of the towns and cities that the Israelites built after dispossessing the Amorites in Gilead. Some of the names of the towns and cities mean: "crown", "crown of hidden treasure", "helped by Jehovah", "high, exalted", "house of wholesome, calm water", and "God is raised/ascending". If you would like to know more about how the LORD works in us to dispossess the enemy kingdoms in order to replace them with His kingdom, you can join me in my prayer: Our Father, in Christ, You have made me salt and light. Even as I have been changed into a new creation, I want to bring that same renewal in Jesus' name to my family, my nation, and to all of creation, as it groans for the manifestation of the sons of God. You have placed me on a journey where my steps, in obedience to You, cause spiritual wickedness to be dispossessed, and to be replaced with Your Kingdom of Light. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can be, as Isaiah prophesied, a Repairer of the Breach, and a Restorer of the Paths to Dwell In. Your Word says that "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever." Let this be done in Jesus' name, AMEN."

Fathers

Jesus made this shocking statement to a group of people who believed in Him: "You are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar, and the father of it." (Jn. 8:44). Jesus discerned that these "believers" had been deeply angered to the point that they wanted to kill Him (v. 37) because of what He had told them earlier when He said: "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (eleutheroo/eleutheros - make free (from dominion of sin), to liberate, deliver/cease to be a slave, exempt from liability)." (v. 31-32). These believers in Christ took great pride and assurance in the fact that their forefather was Abraham, and, because of that, they were already "free". The words of Jesus had offended what they considered to be their spiritual identity and inheritance. However, Jesus pointed out to them that Abraham, whom they claimed as a father, prophetically saw the Day of Christ, and rejoiced in it (v. 56-58). Therefore, they were not of their father, Abraham. As Jesus had correctly discerned their hearts, these "believers", when they heard His words, took up stones to stone Him to death, but He passed through them unharmed (v. 59). In another portion of scripture, Jesus had to rebuke His disciples, and say to them: "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of..." (Lk. 9:51-56). To Peter, Jesus had to issue this rebuke: "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." (Mk. 8:31-33). The father of pride is not Abraham, nor is it God (Prov. 11:2, Prov. 16:5, 18-19), and it's a problem to all people, including believers. Pride is the self-exaltation of the (deceitful) heart (Jer. 17:9-10). In last week's Sabbath study, the father of the evil spirit of devastation and annihilation was revealed. The "father" of this evil was named after a little twittering sparrow, small when compared to the awesome power that God exercised to protect His people's salvation. God continues to reveal the "father" behind an enemy in an account from this week's Sabbath reading portion titled "Pinchas" (also known as Phinehas, and means "mouth of brass, serpent, mouth of the image of a serpent") from Numbers chapters 25 through 27. The Israelites in the wilderness (B'midbar) were about to learn another devastating, but necessary lesson about a powerful spiritual father, who was not God. Balaam, the soothsayer, had been hired by King Balak of Moab, to curse the people of God in order to make them vulnerable for defeat. However, Balaam could not speak the words of cursing, because God prevented him, and placed the Word of blessing in his mouth instead. However, Balaam advised the enemy king that the people of God could be ruined by the seduction of Moabite women, who would lead them away from God, and into the worship of the Canaanite demon god, Ba'al. Our reading portion begins with the success of this strategy: "Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove/Shittim (ebony bark with black thorns that exude gum Arabic/pierce, scourge, to flog, whip), and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined (samad - bind, join, fasten, attach oneself to, combine) to Ba'al Pe'or ("lord of the gap"/open wide, gaping), and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel." (Num. 25:1-3). In the worship of this Moabite god, the women worshippers would prostitute themselves. This results in that perverse "joining" that is created to the false god referred to in the above verses. Many of these Canaanite gods demanded worship in the form of both male or female prostitutes, and sexual perversion. In contrast, God honorably, lovingly, faithfully and sacredly married Israel to Himself, and in the same manner, Christ honorably, lovingly, faithfully, and sacredly married Himself to His Bride, the believers. The spirits of darkness try to twist and profane the holiest things of God, including the concept of joining by holy marriage. The fact that the Israelites were encamped in the Acacia Grove, with its Hebrew meaning, is significant. We are reminded of the prophecy of the scourging of Jesus the Messiah from Isaiah 53: "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities,; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are (were) healed." (see also 1 Peter 2:24). We can see the connection between the piercing, scourging stripes of Jesus and our healing. The "scourge" meaning is associated with the Acacia Tree of thorns, as well as the production of gum Arabia, a water-soluble fiber that is found to prevent and treat dietary tract cancers, as well as other cancers. This black thorny tree produces a healing substance. Gum Arabic also has preservative properties, so the ancient Egyptians used it in the embalming of mummies. While in this healing place of thorns, as the people engaged in this terrible "joining" with the women of Moab in the worship of Ba'al, the only way to break that joining was death. Moses ordered the deaths of all of those who were joined in this manner to Ba'al Peor (v. 5). The congregation of Israel were weeping at the door of the tabernacle in sorrow, when one of the Israelite men presented, in the middle of the congregation, a Midianite woman to whom he was joined: "Now when Phinehas (Pinchas) the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin (lance, spear) in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both (sana - meaning includes change, alter, pervert, disguise) of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body/belly (qoba/qabab - abdomen, private parts/curse, execrate [meaning revile, condemn, loathe, regard with disgust, revulsion], pierce, perforate). So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. And those who died in the plague (magepa/nagap - plague, slaughter/beaten, stumble, stricken, smitten) were twenty-four thousand." (v. 6-9). The LORD said of Phinehas that he showed the zealousness of God for His people. The LORD then bestowed upon Phinehas His promise of a covenant of peace, and an everlasting priesthood for the descendants of Phinehas, because, through the zealousness of God, Phinehas made atonement for the children of Israel and prevented their total destruction. (v. 10-13). We can see the atonement work of Christ here also in the Hebrew meaning of the word "plague". Christ was beaten, stricken, and smitten for our sakes to atone for the plague we deserved (Isa. 53:4,6, Jn. 19:3, Lk. 22:63-64). This sounds like a merciless, violent action, but the breakout of the zeal of God, through Phinehas, was for His people, not against them. Twenty-four thousand, at least, had joined themselves to Ba'al, a hideous, perverse god, a spirit who still exists today, luxuriating in human perversion, idolatry, and the blood of human sacrifices, especially the blood of children, born and unborn. These Israelites were the people of God from whom the Messiah would come, Whose seed and presence they already carried, the Savior Who would provide salvation to the world, breaking the curse of death, atoning for sins, and giving the eternal life of His Father, God, to all who would receive it. The plans of the enemy to pervert and destroy Israel could not be allowed to succeed. God had made a covenant promise to their forefathers, and He would not break it. So who were these two individuals, the Israelite and the Moabite-Midianite woman, who defied God and Moses in front of the whole congregation, and continued in their perverse worship of a demon god? The man's name was Zimri (Zimri/zamar - "my music", celebrated in song/make music, praise, psalms/to trim a vine). His father was Salu (elevation, lifted up, weighed in the balance scale) who was a prince (nasi/nasa - lifted up, vapors which ascend/carry, bear, exalt, rise up, forgive, lift up) of a father's house of the tribe of Simeon (Simeon/sama - hearing with acceptance/hear, obey, understand, perceive, obedient, declare, cause to be heard). This Israelite, Zimri, who was gifted in sacred music including psalms, was born a prince's son. His father was a prince of exaltation, forgiveness and rising. Zimri's father's house was the chief house of the tribe of Simeon, who carried an appointed purpose of hearing (God), obeying and preaching or declaring. No wonder the spiritual enemy was determined to destroy the son of this father's house. The Midianite (meaning "strife. contention"/rule, subjugate, contend, brawling discord/lord, master, ruler, controller) woman was named Cozbi/kazab (meaning "my lie", liar/proven to be a liar). Her father represented a very powerful spiritual enemy. Her father's name was Zur/sauar/sur (meaning "rock"/strength, beauty, mighty one, strong rock of heathen gods/besiege, distress, adversary, assault, shut in, foe). He was "head (ab - father, founder) of the people (em - like father) of a father's house in Midian." (Num. 25:14). This father was not like the "little tweeting, hopping sparrow father" that we saw in the previous Sabbath reading. This father, Zur, the adversary, represented a rock of strength and assault. As the father of Cozbi, the Midianite woman here, and considering the Hebrew meaning of her name, Zur was "the father of proven lies". Jesus told us who this "father of lies" was, above. This father represented Satan, himself (see 1 Peter 5:8-11). As we saw in the account with Jesus above, this father had the ability to lie to even believers in Christ through their weaknesses, in that case murderous pride, of their sinful nature. Peter wrote that we were to take this threat of the devil seriously, be vigilant, and resist the devil, and the God of all grace, glory and dominion would perfect, establish, strengthen and settle us (build us up on His foundation). In the wilderness, the Israelites learned a hard lesson about this father of lies, but as we saw with the little twittering and hopping sparrow father of last week, the plans and purpose of our heavenly Father for His people will not be defeated. After this Ba'al debacle was resolved, the Israelites were numbered again in Numbers Ch. 26. The (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega - see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, 22:13)) sum of the males old enough to go to war, was to be done "by their father's houses". (Num. 26:2). By this second numbering, the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) land would be divided and "...they shall inherit according to the names of the tribes of their fathers." (v. 55). Here are some of the meanings of the names of those in this second census who were heads of households within their tribes: Nemuel: "Day of God", Jachin: "the right hand", Shaul: "Dawning and rising of light", Areli: "the lion of God, the son of a hero", Jashub: "He will return", Jahleel: "hoping, expectant of God", Asriel: "Vow/Prince of God". These were just some of the heads of households among the tribes of the fathers of Israel. These heads of households reflected the heavenly Father and His Son in their names. This is the prophetic purpose of the godly names that travelled through the wilderness and inherited the Promised Land. Some time later, the father of Cozbi/lies, Zur, the prince of those like him, would lose his life, along with the soothsayer Balaam and four other princes of Midian. The Israelites, by the command of Moses, and with the presence of Phinehas, "with the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand", killed them with the sword (Num. 31:6-8). Sadly, but perhaps not too unexpectedly, the Israelites took the Midianite women alive as captives from this victory. Moses, however, dealt with that situation very quickly! That is a study for another day. If you would like to learn more about our Father, Who is God, you can pray with me: "Our dear heavenly Father of all creation, Your Word does not return to You void, but accomplishes all that You have set it out to do, without exception, especially regarding Your people. There is none other like You. I love You as my good Father, and I love Your Son, Jesus. Keep me, and Your people, in Your Father's heart by the Holy Spirit, and by Your Word of truth that You are teaching me. Let my ears hear, and my heart obey, what You, my Father, are instructing me so that I never stray from my Father's house. You have made me a "son/daughter of God" through Your blessed Son, Jesus, so that I can dwell forever with my heavenly Father. I praise and thank You in Jesus' name for all of these marvelous things. AMEN."

Enemies

This week's Sabbath reading portion is named after one of the enemies that came against the Israelites as they journeyed through the wilderness after their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The title of this reading portion is "Balak". Balak was the king of Moab, a nation that bordered the land that the LORD had promised to give to the Israelites, the covenant descendants (from whom the Messiah would come) of Abraham. Balak's name means "devastator, annihilate, make empty, void". This brings to mind the condition of the earth before God spoke miraculously in Genesis: "The earth was without form and void." (Gen. 1:2). From his name we can see that this enemy, Balak, represented a spiritual enemy as well as a natural enemy. Up to this point in the Book of Numbers, or B'Midbar in Hebrew, we read how God had numbered His people, whom He called "armies" (Num. 1:2-3). The males of the Israelites, except for the Levites, who were of fighting age, "able to go to war", numbered 603,550 (Num. 2:32-33). If we add the Levites, the women and the children, the total number of Israelites in the wilderness was well over one million, and many believe the number could have been over two million. By the time we come to the account of Balak, king of Moab, in chapters 22-24, the Israelites, by the favor and might of the LORD, had already defeated other kings who had attacked them. For this reason, as the Israelites approached the territory of Moab, those people became afraid: "Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread (qus - sickening dread, grieved, abhor, loathing, cut, cut up, cut off) because of the children of Israel. So Moab said to the elders of Midian, 'Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field." (Num. 22:2-4). Here's something for the people of God to know about their spiritual enemies: while the Israelites were totally unaware of the ideas of Balak and the Moabites, the Moabites were sick with dread over the Israelites. The enemy's dread was so intense, that it caused them to loathe the people of God, according to the Hebrew meaning. The fear and loathing was so intense that the enemy sought to destroy, or cut off, the people of God in any way possible. Here's something else to know about the spiritual enemy: Balak, this devastator and annihilator, had a father named Zippor. Zippor means "sparrow, small bird, twittering, hopping little bird, skip around in a circle". I'm not saying that this spiritual enemy is not strong enough to "devastate" and "annihilate", but compared to the Father of the people of God, Who carried those millions of Israelites on His great eagles' wings, there's no comparison. We see this description when the LORD told Moses to say to the children of Israel: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega - see Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13) covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Ex. 19:3-6). In this week's Sabbath reading portion, we will see the awesome and terrifying might of the LORD against the enemies of His people. Can God not save His covenant people from little sparrows, no matter how evil? (see also Isa. 14:12-17). We will also see later what drives God to pour out all of His tremendous power against these enemies. Balak, king of Moab, sent his men to hire a certain sorcerer-soothsayer named Balaam (meaning "not of the people, foreigner"), son of Beor ("burning, stupid, dull-hearted, unreceptive, brutish, feed upon, consume"), from Pethor ("soothsayer"). (Num. 22:5-6). King Balak of Moab wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites, so that Balak might then be able to defeat them. However, God would not allow Balaam to curse whom He had blessed, and Balaam could only speak bountiful blessings over the children of Israel. (Num. 23:8, 11-12). Not only did Balaam bless Israel, but the Word of the LORD which Balaam received, revealed the shout of a King among the Israelites (Num. 23:21, 21, 24:7, 9). He compared the Israelites to a lion, which is the identity of the Messiah: the Lion of the tribe of Judah (see also Gen. 49:8-12). In Balaam's fourth prophecy, as he again blesses the people of God, he also again prophesies the Messiah (Num. 24:17, 19). When Balaam looked upon the Israelites, he prophetically saw the Messiah Who was to be born many centuries later. Balaam was not able to curse Israel, but we see that Israel immediately thereafter begins to "commit harlotry with the women of Moab". The Moabite women invited the people (of Israel) to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined to (samad - fasten, bind, join, attach oneself to, combine) Ba'al of Peor, this Moabite god, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel. (Num. 25:1-3). Those who had joined themselves to the false god, Ba'al, were killed. Phinehas stopped this wholesale destruction of the Israelites by killing one man who refused to put aside his idolatrous foreign wife. Twenty-four thousand Israelites died in this plague from the LORD. (v. 7-9). It turned out, that this idolatry of God's people with the gods of the Moabite women resulted from Balaam advising King Balak to use this strategy to lead the Israelites away from God, leaving them vulnerable (see Num. 31:15-16). This is still a strategy used by spirits of darkness against God's people (see. Rev. 2:14). Although the LORD intervened powerfully to prevent the curse that the enemy tried to bring on His people, which was the devastation and annihilation that King Balak desired against the Israelites, the Israelites opened the door, invited it in, and brought a plague of destruction upon themselves. From another "Balak" reading portion of this Sabbath, a generation later, Joshua gathered the Israelites and demanded that they decide and commit to either the God who delivered them out of Egypt, or the false gods of the other nations. He demanded: "Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served...Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Josh. 24:14-15). The Israelites agreed, saying, "We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God." (v. 18). As Joshua and the Israelites spoke of "the LORD", it is written in Hebrew as (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Yehova, or LORD. In another reading portion, titled Balak, for this Sabbath, the prophet Micah (meaning "Who is like YHWH Jehovah") brings forth the Word of the LORD concerning His great victory over His enemies. In Micah 5, the prophet brought a beautiful description of the coming of the Messiah-Savior, whose origin is from eternity: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrahthah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Iarael, whose goings forth (mosa'a/mosa/yasa - origin, family descent/rising, place of departure/begotten, break out, germinate, come out of, water flowing and gushing forth from a fountain) are from of old (qedem/qadam - ancient time, eternal, before-time/hasten to meet, receive, anticipate), fromn everlasting (olam/alam - perpetual time, always, continuous existence, eternity, hidden time/hidden, secret thing).' ...He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; and they shall abide, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth; and this One shall be peace." (Mic. 5:2-5a). This prophecy is emphatic that the Ruler who was to come had His origins in eternity and was eternity. Jesus (Yeshua- "Salvation of God") was continually existent before the beginning, although His natural birth was to be in Bethlehem. Even many Christians erroneously believe that Jesus' "beginnings" were at His birth in Bethlehem, but this is not correct. He was before time itself. He was, and is, and will be "always". From this amazing revelation in Micah 5, the prophet wrote of the LORD's complete victory over the enemies of His people, concluding: "And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury on the (aleph-tav) nations (goyim/geva - nations, people, heathen, Gentiles/body) that have not heard (sama - hear, perceive, obedient, discern, give heed, agree, yield to). We may think that this sounds unjust, but when we look at the Hebrew meanings, those who did not "hear" were those who refused to receive and obey what they knew. They knew because they were aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega nations, people, a body, that belonged to the LORD. These people would not be ignorant of the Lord, Jesus Christ. They would know, but refuse to receive and obey the King of Kings. Man is responsible for what God has faithfully and mercifully revealed to them. These aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega nations, divinely destined to belong to Christ, cannot make war against God's people, and then say, "Lord, I didn't know." In another reading portion from this Sabbath, the prophet Habakkuk (meaning "embrace,clasp") also wrote about this: "He (the LORD) stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled (natar - drive asunder, undo, shake (off), unfasten) the nations. And the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills bowed. His ways are everlasting...The sun and moon stood still in their habitation...You marched through the land in indignation; You teampled the nations in anger. You went forth for the salvation of Your people, for salvation with Your (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Anointed (masiah - Messiah, anointed [same as "Christ"], anointed prince or priest). You struck the head from the house of the wicked, by laying bare from foundation to neck. Selah...When I heard, my body trembled; my lips quivered at the voice; rottenness entered my bones; and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble..." (Hab. 3:6, 11-13, 16). The prophet was terrified by what he saw and heard in the Spirit, as the LORD went forth for the salvation of His people through His (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Messiah, or Christ in Greek. The LORD shook all of creation, stopping the sun and the moon, on behalf of the salvation He had provided for His people with the Messiah. A Balak-type enemy, the son of a "tweet-tweet, hop-hop" sparrow, cannot compare with our God marching forth on behalf of the salvation of His people. As for me and my house, we will fear and serve the LORD of awesome power and might. If you would like to know more about the LORD who shakes the heavens and the earth, and all of the nations on behalf of the salvation of His people by His Messiah, Jesus, you can pray with me: "LORD God, You are mighty and great on behalf of my salvation. You shake all of creation in order to bring me to, and keep me in, Your salvation, Jesus. You sent Your Son to die, to descend into Hell, and to be raised from the dead, to defeat all of the enemies of darkness that, like Balak, would try to destroy me, and all of Your people. Keep me from evil by Your Word, and by Your Holy Spirit, so that I remain steadfast in You, Aleph-Tav/Alpha and Omega Yehova, where my salvation dwells. I ask, as always, in the name of Your Son, Jesus, who saved me. AMEN."