ArmyofLight

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is B'ha'alot'cha, meaning "When you step up" or "When you go up." Last week's Sabbath portion, Naso, also dealt with lifting up and elevating. The beginning verses of this week's reading are: "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 'Speak to Aaron, and say to him, 'When you arrange (ala - come up, ascend, light, offerings, burn, raised, arose, exalted) the lamps, the seven (seba/saba - to swear an oath seven times) lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand." (Num. 8:1-2). The Hebrew word ala used in these verses also gives us the B'ha'alot'cha title for this week's Sabbath reading portion.

     Further instruction given to Moses from the LORD regarding the lampstand: "Now this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold (zahab - gold, to shimmer, the golden splendor of the heavens); from its shaft to its flowers it was hammered work. According to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) lampstand." (v. 4).

     The rabbis have written that the lampstand of the Holy Place in the tabernacle was quite tall. In order to reach the wicks to light the lamp, the high priest or his sons would have to climb up three steps placed in front of the lampstand. These also were made of gold. Aaron would have to "step up" or "go up" (see our Sabbath reading title B'ha'alot'cha and its translation above) in order to light the seven lamps daily. The lighting of the lamps of the lampstand is a spiritual work of ascendency. 

      Previously, we also learned that the Hebrew words saba/seba used here to mean "seven," also have the meaning, "warfare, battle, war, appointed time, soldiers, company, go out to war, a mass of persons organized for warfare, army/go forth as soldiers to war, as a soldier against an enemy, wage war, fight, serve, mustered, assemble, wait upon." There is always a battle for the ascended position. It is recorded that Satan desires to ascend to God's heavenly place: "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!...For you said in your heart: I will ascend (ala - see above) into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God...I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High!" (Isa. 14:12-14, excerpt). Satan's attempts will always fail, and the LORD promised that Lucifer would be brought down (yarad - go down, descend, sink down, sent down, fall) to the lowest depths of the Pit. (v. 15). Lucifer is named for light, and he covets light, but because of his prideful desire for the position of God, his appointed destiny is the eternal darkness of the Pit.

     There is a struggle or warfare between darkness and light, although we are assured that the darkness will never overcome/comprehend (katalambano - lay hold of to make one's own, attain to, take possession of, to seize upon, of evil overtaking something, perceive) the light. (Jn. 1:5). The Greek meaning definitely alludes to a power struggle between the light and the darkness, although it is a futile one. The darkness can never hope to overcome the light because Jesus IS the Light (Jn. 1:6-9). Every person coming into this world is given light by The Light, Jesus. That light became life in every man, yet there continues to be a challenge from the darkness for the souls of men. David also wrote of the connection between light and life that we read of in John 1: "For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light." (Ps. 36:9).

     David also wrote about the warfare struggle between darkness and light: "The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked come against me to eat up (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident...And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me..." (Ps. 27:1-6, excerpt).

     Let us look more deeply into the divine quality of the golden lampstand constructed for the tabernacle in Numbers Ch. 8, as mentioned above. The lampstand was to have seven (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) lights/lamps (nir - lamp, to glisten, a light, progeny that continues forever, a family line that remains on the throne, the guidance of God's Word [ref. Prov. 6:23, Ps. 119:105], to shine or gleam like a freshly plowed furrow of soil).

     The lamps of the lampstand were to give light in front of the lampstand. The Hebrew word for the phrase "in front of" is mul/mol, meaning "circumcise, let oneself be circumcised, cut in pieces, cut off, destroy, to purge/forefront, before it, in the presence of."

     Circumcision is not just meaningful in the flesh, but it is spiritually meaningful. We have seen that the LORD connects His lampstand of light with ascendency. In this verse above, He also connects His light with not only an outward circumcision, but more importantly, with an inward circumcision. Moses wrote about this inward circumcision: "Indeed, heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it...Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart (lebab - heart, mind, will, soul, understanding, thinking, inner man, inclination, conscience), and be stiff-necked (qasa - hard, severe, fierce, harsh, make difficulty, make burdensome, make grievous, dense, stubbornness) no longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe." (Deut. 10:14-17, excerpt).

     Jeremiah, the prophet, wrote the word of the LORD: "Circumcise (mul, see above) yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart (lebab, see above), you men of Judah and Jerusalem, lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." (Jer. 4:4).

     Paul, a Jew, a Pharisee, trained under the great teacher, Gamaliel (Acts 22:1-3, Phil. 3:3-8), understood the truth of these scriptures and wrote: "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God." (Rom. 2:28-29, see also Col. 2:11-12). What was commanded by God to be observed in the flesh was a foreshadow, that separated and designated one flesh in covenant from all of the other flesh on the earth, so that an even deeper spiritual understanding could later be revealed.

     The Light represented by the lampstand of the tabernacle pre-dated the Patriarchs and also the Law, having been the first work of creation, and as a result, God declared the separation warfare between darkness (hosek - darkness, obscurity, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness, Hades, underground prison, adversity, sadness) and light (or - light, shine, give, glorious, kindle, light of lamp, light of life, light of prosperity, light of instruction, bright, illumination in every sense.) (see Gen. 1:1-5). That Light is the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians: "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor. 4:6, and see Prov. 16:15).

     Evil plans, intentions and acts that are hidden in darkness, even the evil in the hearts and lives of His own people, are exposed in the light of God. (Ps. 90:8, Eph. 5:13-14). Paul wrote of our former spiritual condition: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." (Eph. 5:8).

     So great is the power of the light of God that it is the power of resurrection: "Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, the darkness (hosek, see above) shall cover the earth, and deep darkness (arapel - heavy thick cloud of darkness or gloom drooping down) the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles/nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising." (Isa. 60:1-3).

     We can see in the above verses that darkness continues to try to overstep the bounds that the LORD set for it. However, it cannot overtake, overpower, or overset the light of God, and in fact, shrinks away before it. That same light is within us as Isaiah wrote above, and as Jesus commanded, saying, "You are the light of the world..." (Mt. 5:14-16). Jesus said of Himself: "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life (see meaning of or above)."

     Also in this Sabbath's reading portion, the LORD commanded the construction of two silver trumpets. (Num. 10:1-2). The purpose of these trumpets, which were different from shofars made from rams' horns, was for the calling of the congregation of Israel together, and for the directing of the movement of the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) camps of Israel. The silver trumpets were also to be used "...when you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you..." and "in the day of your gladness..."(v. 9-10). Rabbis have written that the silver trumpets are symbols of God's guidance as a light illuminating the path in the journey of faith.

     Even the shofar ram's horn trumpets, the rabbis write, are compared to the light of God's presence, influence and holiness, and the light associated with divine revelation as occurred from Mount Sinai, when the Torah Word of God, also described as light, was delivered to His people.

     One event told in scripture involved a strange army of three hundred Israelites assembled to go into battle against the unjust oppression of the Midianites (midyan - strife, contention, brawling, discord, quarrel). These three hundred men were armed with a trumpet in one hand and a lamp (lapid - lamp, firebrand, flame, torch, lightning, burning, to shine) in the other hand. Considering what we read above about the trumpets, they were then, in effect, an army of light. The enemy destroyed itself by killing each other with swords as they panicked and fled. (Judges 7:19-23). Darkness must flee before light.

      We also have been called into God's army of light: "Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God's holy people) in the Light. [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins." Col. 1:12-14 AMPC, and also see 1 Pet. 2:9)

     If you would like to know more about God's army of Light, you can join me in prayer: "Lord, You are Light and You are the Father of Lights. You sent Your Son as the Light of the world, and He called me to join Him in being the same kind of Light. It is the Light of Christ that overcomes darkness. It is that Light of Christ that draws men out of darkness. As darkness tries once again to flood the earth and its people, help me to "arise and shine" and be the Light that You have called me to be. Your Word is the Lamp that lights my path, and Your Spirit is the Light of Truth with which You have baptized me. I give You all praise and glory because You did not leave me in the darkness. In the name of Jesus I pray. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

     

Light

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is B'ha'alot'cha, which means "When you step up/go up" or "In your making go up". Last week we learned about ascension through the Hebrew word Naso/nasa, but this week, we will see another type of "going up", and it is amazing. The titles of the Sabbath portions are taken from the beginning of the reading for the week. Our reading begins in Numbers 8: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron (aharon - "Light Bringer"), and say unto him, When thou lightest the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) lamps, the seven (seba/saba - seven, seven-fold, seventy, sacred fulness/to swear, adjure, oath, swear seven times, to swear of Jehovah by Himself) lamps (nir/nur - lamp, candle, light, break up soil, gleam or glisten of broken up soil/fire, to shine) shall give light over against (mol/mul + panim/pana - before, God-ward/circumcised, cut off, cut down + the face, presence, person countenance/regard, look at) the candlestick. And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick (menora/manor - lamp stand/beam, yoke, carrying the heddles (looped cords) of a loom, the frame of a weaving loom), as the LORD commanded (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Moses." (Num. 8:1-3 KJV). In these verses, we don't see an immediate connection to this Sabbath's title B'ha'alot'cha, or "When you step up/go up"/"In your making go up", but it is there hidden by our English translation. Let's see where it is. 

     When the LORD commanded Aaron to "light" the lamps of the candlestick, the Hebrew word used is ala, meaning "come up, go up, ascend, exalted, offering, light, burn, to be taken up into, be inserted in, in going from a lower place to a higher, to be high and lifted up, come up before God, climb." Ala is also a root part of the title of this Sabbath reading portion from which it gets its meaning. The word ala is most often used to mean a "going up" rather than "to light." Considering the position that Aaron must place the lamps and himself according to the Hebrew words used, Aaron must "go up" "before/in front of" the lamp in order to "look at/regard" the Face/Countenance/Presence/Person of the "cut off"/covenant God. It is also interesting that the Hebrew root meaning of the menora lamp stand is associated with the parts of a weaving loom. The purpose of a loom is to knit together or join many different strands. The meaning of "Levite" is also "to be joined to". 

     What is the nature of the light as used here and associated with the menora candlestick? It is the Hebrew word or, meaning: "light, shine, enlighten, fire, glorious, kindle, break of day, to be or become light, to become lighted up, to make shine of the face, to enlighten the eyes of understanding regarding the law, to lighten that which was in darkness (see also Eph. 5:8-10, 1 Pet. 2:9)."

     For those who know Messiah/Christ, this brings to mind the fact that Jesus said that He is the Light of the world (Jn. 8:12), and His purpose is to join us or reconcile us back to God by redeeming us from our debt of sin and its penalty of death. He "wove" us back into God. Jesus called us to this same ministry in His name (Mt. 5:14-16, 2 Cor. 5:18-21), even as we are changed by facing and regarding His glory (light) in the same way that Aaron went up and positioned himself before the light of the Face of God (see 2 Cor. 3:17-18). Proverbs 16:15 says: "In the light of the king's face is life, and his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain." Are we looking into the face of glory? Have we been woven together with God through Jesus Messiah/Christ? In the seba/saba seven lamps of the candle stick, we also see the beautiful seven-fold oath that the LORD made by and on Himself. Within the meanings above, this oath is regarding the sacred fulness/perfection/stature of Himself provided in our salvation (see Eph. 4:12-13). At the same time, we are "joined and knit together" as a whole body in Him (see Eph. 4:11-16).

     Leviticus 24:2 says this about the golden lamp in the tabernacle: "Command the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) children of Israel that they bring (laqah - take, receive, fetch, bring, carry away, married, buy, take hold of, seize, acquire, procure, be taken in marriage -see also Mt. 25:1-10) to you pure (zak/zakak/zaka - clean, pure, righteous/be clean, be pure, be bright/justified) oil of pressed/beaten (katat - to beat, crush, break in pieces, bruise, violently strike, a sacrificial victim) olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually." Like the olive oil of the Lamp, the Levites will also be made pure and clean for their service to the LORD.

     After Aaron has been commanded by the LORD through Moses regarding the lighting (ala - see above) of the lamps on the lampstand, the LORD then begins to command Moses regarding the cleansing (see zak/zakak/zaka above) of the Levites who will serve in the tabernacle: "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Take the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. Thus you shall do to them to cleanse (taher - to make clean, pure, purge, to shine, be bright) them: Sprinkle water of purification (see Ezek. 36:25-27) on them and let them... so make themselves clean...And you shall bring the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall gather together the whole (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) congregation of the children of Israel. So you shall bring the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Levites before the LORD, and the children of Israel shall lay their (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) hands (yad - hand, power, consecrate, sign, monument, wrists, the hand of God, communicate the Spirit of God through the hand) on the Levites; and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD like a wave offering (tenupa/nup - offering, wave offering/move to and fro, lift up, shake, sprinkle, swing in a sieve, to scatter or shake forth as rain or seed) from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the LORD....And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron ("Light Bringer") and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the LORD. Thus you shall separate the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine...So you shall cleanse them and offer them like a wave offering. For they are wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myself instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel." (Num. 8:5-16).

    The beaten olive oil used for the Lamp must be pure, as Aaron ascended before the Lamp to light it. The Levites set apart for the service of the LORD in the tabernacle must be cleansed and purified also so that they may shine and be bright (see taher above). They are to be offered before the LORD as a wave offering, which is an offering lifted up and waved back and forth. Light is also placed in a lifted up position in order to spread its illumination further. Jesus also told us, as light, to show our light lifted up and placed on a lampstand (Mt. 5:14-16).

     Paul also wrote of the connection between being sanctified, cleansed and washed, and the lifted up light of God: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify (hagiazo/agios - purify internally by renewing of the soul, separate from profane things, purify by expiation (blood) in order to free from the guilt of sin, to make holy/ and cleanse (katharizo - make clean, purge, purify, free from guilt of sin, to pronounce clean in a Levitical sense) her with the washing (loutron/louo - bathing, bath, baptism/to bathe the whole person rather than a part) of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious (endoxos/doxa - glory, splendor, brightness, magnificence, kingly majesty of the Messiah, exterior brightness (of angels), exalted state) church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish." Eph. 5:25-27). Paul described marriage as a prophetic picture as well as the spiritual actuality of Christ's relationship with us as His church. It is a relationship that creates purity, glorious brightness and light. Are we, who claim to know Messiah/Christ, proclaiming/prophesying through our marriages this revelation about Him and His saving relationship with us?

     To me, the nature of a wave offering, with which the Levites were set apart for the LORD, has a prophetic significance imbedded in the Hebrew meaning of its word tenupa/nup. Part of that meaning includes "to scatter or shake forth as rain or seed". I believe that something prophetic is being scattered or dispersed as the wave offering is lifted overhead and moved from side to side. Let us look at the prophetic importance of being the lifted light associated with the golden lampstand, and the wave offering of the Levites to the LORD. In another portion from this Sabbath's reading in Zech. chapters two through 4, we see the golden lampstand again. However, first, Zechariah relates the vision that the LORD gave him. (Zech. 3:1-5). As (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Joshua stood before (panim - the face, countenance, presence of) the Angel of the LORD, he was clothed in filthy garments with Satan standing there to oppose him. The LORD rebuked Satan and affirmed His covenant oath to Jerusalem. The Angel of the LORD commanded regarding Joshua: "Take away the filthy garments from him." And to Joshua He said, "See I have removed your iniquity from you and I will clothe you in rich robes...Let them put a clean (taor/taher -see above also) - pure, clean, clear/to be clean, pure, to be bright, to shine) turban on his head." Then the LORD prophesies to Joshua: "For behold, I am bringing forth My (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) servant the BRANCH (semah/samah -shoot, sprout, also referring to the Messiah as a shoot of David)....and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." (v. 8-9). The cleansing of Joshua also brings the prophetic/revelation light to Joshua and to us.

     After this vision, an angel woke Zechariah with another vision of "a lampstand of solid gold...Two olive trees are by it" that stood by the bowl at the top of the lamp and supplied its oil. Zechariah asked the angel for the meaning of the vision. (Zech. 4:1-4). The prophetic vision had an immediate application regarding the removal of seemingly unmovable obstacles and the finishing of the building of the temple by Zerubbabel by the grace of Spirit of the LORD. (v. 6-7, 9). Then Zechariah asked what the two olive trees/branches of the vision represented "that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?" The angel answered: "These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the LORD of the whole earth." (v. 11-14). We read of a very similar prophetic occurrence in the Book of Revelation.

     In Rev. 11, the Lord will give power to His two witnesses (martys - one who avers, or can aver, what he himself has seen or heard or knows by any other means) before the return of the Messiah/Christ. They will prophesy clothed in sackcloth. If any try to harm them, fire goes out from their mouths and destroys them. They have miraculous power to bring plagues and drought. When their prophetic witness is finished, they will be killed and the world will rejoice in their deaths. After three days, they will be raised from the dead and ascend into heaven. Their prophetic witness will be one of the last warnings before the return of Christ who will come with judgment against the enemies of God. These witnesses are described as "the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before (enopion - before, in the presence of, in the sight of, in the face of, to look at (see also panim/pana above) the God of the earth." (Rev. 11:3-13).

     If we want to fulfill our calling to shine, to be light, then we will have to "ala" in the Spirit, and go up before the face of God, which we have in Jesus, as He said: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?..." (Jn. 8-10).

     If you would like to learn more about going up before the face of God, you can join me in my prayer:

"Heavenly Father, Father of Lights, You sent Your Son, Jesus, to be the Light of the World. You sent Him to cleanse me of my sins, and to wash me and clothe me in the shining glory of His righteousness. You have called me to be light as He is light, in His sacred fulness, and in His stature. Fill me with the pure oil of Your Holy Spirit and enlighten my understanding by Your Word so that I also can be the light of Your Face in the darkness. I ask these things in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as Α Ω , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.