Infinite&Innumerable

   

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is B'midbar, meaning "In the wilderness." B'midbar is also the title in Hebrew of the Book of the Bible that we call "Numbers." I think that the Hebrew title, B'midbar, "In the wilderness" is probably a more spiritually accurate description of this fourth Book of scripture. It is true that the Israelites will be numbered in a few different ways, but this Book is also about the depth of teaching that the LORD brings forth for His people in this wilderness setting. The wilderness setting is not an easy place, but the LORD gives His people truths that, if they will listen to Him, will cause His people to thrive even in this challenging place. God's people were meant to just pass through the wilderness on the way to their destination, the inheritance of the land promised by God to their forefathers. However, because of unbelief, pride, and disobedience, they fell victim, in a manner of speaking, to the testing of the wilderness. What could have been an eleven-day journey through and out, turned into a forty-year long period of challenges, and the death of a whole generation. Even Moses' obedience would be tested, and he would end up being forbidden by God from leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. The Book of Numbers, or B'midbar, opens with the LORD organizing His people into armies - both physically and spiritually, because the trials of the wilderness are spiritual. This Book bears important lessons for all of us to learn, and is given to us, like all other scripture is given as Paul wrote: "...by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof (elegchos - that by which a thing is proven or tested, evidence, proof of, to call to account, by conviction to bring to the light, to expose, to show one his fault), for correction (epanorthosis - restoration to an upright or right state, improvement of life or character, straightening up again), for instruction (paideia - whole training and education [as of children], cultivation of mind and morals, instruction aimed at increasing virtue, chastening) in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

     The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is found in the beginning of B'midbar or the Book of Numbers: "Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai (meaning "thorny"), in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: 'Take (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-a-census/sum (ro's - head, chief, top, beginning, company, band, captain, sum, summit, total, height, choicest, best, excellent, first, principal, ruler) of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number (mispar/sapar - number, sum, account, abundance, infinite, innumerable/scribe, tell, number, declare, accounted, count, recount, rehearse, celebrate) of names, every male individually/by their polls (gulgolet/galal - head, skull [also Golgotha, "the skull",]/roll away, remove, to roll as a stone), from twenty years old and above - all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number (paqad - number, visit, appoint, set, muster, pass in review, assign, to seek, to look for, care for) them by their armies." (Num. 1:1-3).

     There is no doubt according to the verses above, that the LORD commanded that His people, the Israelites, be numbered in the wilderness. The purpose of this numbering was to muster the individuals, families, and tribes into armies (the Hebrew meaning also includes the heavenly hosts or armies of angels) for battle. However, the presence of the *aleph-tav, which is found in the written Hebrew of this verse, connected to the census or sum in Num. 1:2 indicates that this "sum" is identified with the Messiah/Christ (see *note at the bottom of this entry). We will see that while the LORD is speaking about the Israelites in the wilderness, He is also prophetically speaking of people directly connected to Messiah/Christ. 

     There are three different Hebrew words used in the above verses for the "numbering" of the Israelites. These three words are different for a reason, I believe. The first is ro's, used for census/sum. This word ro's refers to a ruler who is the highest, and most excellent. He was the Beginning and in the beginning. Jesus fills this description as well as being the Captain (see ro's above) of the heavenly hosts, and the Captain of our salvation. (see Mt. 26:52-53, Heb. 2:10-12).

     The next Hebrew word used in the above verses for "number" is mispar/sapar. While it means the number or sum of something, it includes the meaning of abundance, infinite and innumerable. The number that is to "declare, to tell, account for, rehearse and celebrate", according to the Hebrew word meaning, can also be beyond any number that can be counted. How could Moses count the uncountable? How could he count a number that is beyond numbers? Moses could "number" them by those contained within The Seed (Messiah/Christ). Abraham was promised by God that (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-his-seed/descendants could be numbered if the stars can be numbered or if the grains of sand on the shore can be numbered, or (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-dust of the earth can be numbered, because Abraham had done (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-this-thing: Abraham had not withheld (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-his-son, even (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-his-only son, from the LORD. (see Gen. 13:16, Gen. 15:5-6, Gen. 22:16-17, Heb. 11:11-12). This number is not limited to natural descendants, because it cannot be counted, but extends into eternity and infinity according to its definition. Through faith in Messiah/Christ Jesus, who is the blessed Seed of Abraham, both Jews and Gentiles are included in this infinite and impossible to number faith-descendants of Abraham, as Paul explained, who was a Jew both by flesh and by faith in Messiah/Christ, and a Pharisee trained under Gamaliel. (see Gal. 3:14, Gal. 3:16, Gal. 3:27-29).

     We are given an awesome look at this infinite and innumerable number associated with Messiah/Christ in John's Book of Revelation: "After these things I looked and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the Lamb (Jesus), clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out in a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!" (Rev. 7:9-10).

     We also see that each man is to be counted in the numbering individually, or by "the skull", which is gulgolet/galal in Hebrew. Written in English, gulgolet becomes "Golgotha, the skull", the name of the mount upon which Jesus Messiah/Christ was crucified according to all four Gospels. (Mt. 27:33-35, Mk. 15:22-25, Lk. 23:32-33, Jn. 19:17-18). Each of us was counted individually as we received the crucifixion of Messiah/Christ for our sins. We also died then and there with and in Him. (see Rom. 6:3-8, Gal. 2:20). The song asks, "Were You There?" Through our belief in Christ, we were counted as being there as He died for each one of us, as well as for all of us. The root word of gulgolet is galal, which means "the rolling away of the stone". As we were part of His crucifixion, we are also part of Messiah/Christ Jesus' resurrection (see Rom. 6:5, Eph. 2:4-7, Col. 2:11-12, Col. 3:1-4), when the stone was rolled away three days later, and the tomb of His burial was found to be empty.

     The final Hebrew word that is translated as "number" used in the above verses from Numbers 1, is the word paqad. As we see above, the meaning of this Hebrew word includes: to number, visit, appoint, to set, muster (meaning to gather, to summon, to assemble), assign, to seek, to look for, to care for. Not only does this definition apply to the then Israelites under Moses' leadership, but I believe that Moses is also being commanded to appoint, summon, to seek, look for, care for, and assemble an infinite and innumerable group of people who were not physically there with them yet, but were to be prophetically included: the people of the Messiah/Christ, who are to be a part of the *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega census/sum of Numbers 1:2. The LORD does not just see the "now", but He sees the end from the beginning. He is the eternal and He sees the eternal at the same time as He sees the present. Paul wrote that God saw us and foreknew us in Christ: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself..." (Eph. 1:3-5, see also Rom. 8:28-30 and 2 Tim. 1:8-9). God does nothing without revealing it to His servants the prophets (see Amos 3:7-8), so why would He not reveal to His great prophet Moses this hidden assembly of people, both Jew and Gentile, the infinite and innumerable, who belonged before time, belong now, and will belong to Messiah/Christ? 

     Many believers think that "a wilderness experience" is something miserable from which one is to pray to God to escape. However, there are many important and exciting things happening in the wilderness, as we can see. As we also see, these exciting things include the prophetic vision and Word of the LORD that we are to declare, tell, rehearse and recount (see mispar/sapar above). We who are the people of Messiah/Christ Jesus have a special and earth-changing purpose to be completed in the wilderness. The Word given to the prophet Isaiah, and at least partially fulfilled by John the Baptist, speaks comfort to the people of God (Isa. 40:1-2), but also extends even farther than that: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken....O Zion, you who bring forth good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold, your God!' Behold, the LORD shall come with a strong hand, and His arm (zeroa/zara - [stretched out] arm, shoulder [of the sacrifice], force, mighty, help, power, strength/sow seed, scatter seed, yielding seed, conceive, pregnant) shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young." (Isa. 40:3-9, excerpt). 

     If you would like to learn more about being part of the infinite and innumerable assembly in Jesus Messiah/Christ, you can join my prayer: "Heavenly Father of glory! You have called an assembly of people before the beginning of time and You have manifested them in the fruit brought forth through the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus. You gave the vision of this assembly in Messiah/Christ to Your prophets to carry into time. Lord, You have a purpose for this assembly, and I ask You to help me to fulfill this purpose in my own life. Your Son gave His life to bring me and innumerable others forth, and I want to stay true to Your vision whether I am in the wilderness or on the mountain top. Fill me with Your Word and Your Holy Spirit so that I can walk in Your vision for the whole earth. I ask this in the name of Your Son, 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 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. 

Battlefield

      This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled B'midbar, which means "in the wilderness". B'midbar is also the Torah title of the fourth book of the Bible, which we call "Numbers". The title comes from the first verse of the Book of Numbers: "Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt..." 

     The LORD instructed Moses to take (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) a census of the children of Israel to include every male from twenty years old and above, "all who are able to go to war (saba/seba - 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) in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies (saba/seba - same as above)." (Num. 1:3). There can be no doubt, based upon the meaning of the Hebrew word for war or army, that the LORD is mustering His people for warfare.  The LORD had been referring to the Israelites as His armies since the Book of Exodus, before and after He delivered them out of their slavery in Egypt. (see Ex. 7:4-5, 12:17, 12:41-42, 12:51).

     According to verse 1, it has been two years since the Israelites had come out of their Egyptian slavery. This implies a certain maturity of experience in their walk with the LORD. They have seen powerful miracles, and they have suffered losses of life because of rebellions, disobedience and idolatry.  The LORD considers them able to walk as His armies. The battles that they face will not only be physical warfare, but, more importantly, spiritual warfare. Their primary weapon will be their traceable covenant identity in the LORD as they recite their lineages all the way back to their ancestors with whom the LORD made covenant promises. (see Num. 1:18-20). As the Israelite men over twenty years old were counted, the largest group came from the tribe of Judah (yehuda/yada - "praised"/praise, give thanks, confess, to revere or worship with extended hands, shoot arrows, cast down, throw down) at 74,600 men of that age. (v. 26-27). Looking at the meaning in Hebrew of the word "Judah", we can see praise, thanksgiving and earnest worship of God become weapons in warfare. The tribe of Judah will bring forth the Messiah/Christ Jesus many generations later and it is Jesus who defeated the spiritual enemies of man which included sickness, sin, death, hell and the grave, and He did so in an act of glorifying His heavenly Father (see Jn. 12:27-28, Phil. 2:8-11). It will serve us well to remember this great weapon of our spiritual warfare if we learn nothing else from this Sabbath's B'midbar reading portion than this, but there is more to learn.

     All of the tribes of the Israelites were numbered for warfare in the same manner, with captains (nasi - chief, captain, prince, king, ruler, one lifted up) from each tribe appointed over them by the LORD. As the names of the captains are given in Numbers Ch. 2, many remind us of Messiah/Christ Jesus in meaning: "Given, appointed, bestowed of/by God", "Whose Father is God", "The Rock is God", and "Peace and Completeness of God".

     The Levites, or priestly tribe, who served in the tabernacle were not left out of the armies of warfare. The same Hebrew word seba/saba used above for "warfare, armies, soldiers, battle, etc., is used to describe the hosts and service of the Levites, all of those thirty to fifty years old were to be numbered. (see Num. 4:3, 4:23, 4:30, 4:35, 4:39, 4:43). Their service in the tabernacle was actually associated with the warfare of seba/saba. 

     We also can't forget the women! In Ex. 38:8, the LORD included them in His army of seba/saba warfare: "He (Moses) made the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) laver of bronze and its base of bronze from the bronze mirrors (mar'a/mar'e - visions [sent by God], mode of revelation, mirror/sight, vision of form, appearance, visage, pattern or countenance) of the serving (seba/saba - see above) women who assembled (seba/saba - see above) at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."  Revelations and visions from God, particularly pertaining to a certain form, visage, countenance and pattern which, I believe, pertains to the visage and form of Jesus Messiah/Christ (see Isa. 52:13-15), are part of the spiritual warfare the Israelites were called to, especially through the women, as mentioned here.

This is a good place to look more closely at the Hebrew word for "wilderness", which is midbar. Midbar means, "wilderness, desert, uninhabited land, a sterile, sandy country." We would expect this desolate meaning. However, midbar also contains the meaning, "pasture as an open field where cattle are driven, plain country fit for the feeding of flocks." Two opposite conditions are contained within the meaning of midbar, as we can see. There is also a secret within the meaning of midbar that can help us understand the key that relates to these two opposite meanings.

Midbar also contains the meaning, "speech, mouth as an organ of speech." The Hebrew root word of midbar is the Hebrew word dabar, which means "speak, say, promise, tell, command, pronounce, warn, put to flight, sing."

On the battlefield of the wilderness, it is what we speak, pronounce and sing that determines whether a sterile desert or a pasture fit for feeding flocks and cattle is established. What are the armies of the LORD speaking in the wilderness? The LORD can take a spiritually desolate and uninhabited wilderness and turn it into a lush spiritual garden, or He can take a fruitful green pasture of food for His flocks and make it desolate, and it seems to depend largely on what His army speaks according to the meaning of midbar.

     The Israelites of the Book of Numbers were in their second year after their deliverance from slavery. As we mature in our walk with the Lord, we can expect that the Lord will begin to lead us into spiritual warfare, not only in our own circumstances, but in warfare that will lead to the spiritual salvation and liberation of other people and even nations. Often we regard people as being foes, however, the apostle Paul wanted us to have this revelation about our warfare: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal 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. 10:3-5). This spiritual warfare isn't against other people, it is against our own minds! So many of us feel overwhelmed by problems that will pass away with all other temporal things, or we become discouraged by life's challenges and continued struggles against sins and weaknesses in our own souls and flesh until we tempted to wave the white flag of surrender. Never! Fight that battle with thanksgiving and praise out of our mouths, with hands lifted up and outstretched in reverence and worship, shouting the victory of the Lord as promised in His Word. As we continue to fight the spiritual battle, we need to understand that we are also winning the warfare on behalf of others as well.

     We can see that our warfare is directly connected to our relationship and covenant inheritance with and in Messiah/Christ Jesus, just as the Israelites' warfare was based upon their covenant heritage in God.

     In another place, Paul wrote: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Eph. 6:12-13).

     As the Israelites were, we are also called to be a spiritual army fighting spiritual warfare. We do not go to battle in our own strength, nor with weapons that have been made by men for use against men. but we are armed with the truth of the Word of God, which was embodied in Jesus (Jn. 1:14), and with the victory of Jesus:

     "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. 16:33, the Words of Jesus).

     "Death is swallowed up in victory...The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory though our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 15:56-57/Isa. 25:8-9).

     "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:37-39).

     Scripture tells us that Jesus sent out seventy disciples in His name to bring the Gospel to cities where He intended to go. They were to heal the sick and bring the message: "The kingdom of God has come near to you." (Lk. 10:1-9, excerpt). The seventy returned to Jesus with joy because even the demons were subject to them in Jesus' name. Jesus had known of their victory as He said to them: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall be any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (Lk. 10:17-20).

     As Jesus explained above, the serpents and scorpions He referred to were not physical creatures, but spirits or demons. Both of the creatures mentioned have the meaning in Greek of being sharp in vision, able to look into the distance in order to spy, being skeptical and having malicious intent especially associated with Satan, for the purpose of piercing and stinging.

     The disciples' obedience to the commands of Jesus, in His name healing the sick and declaring the Kingdom of God, sent Satan falling from his position in the heavens!  The warfare victory was not because of themselves, but it was because of the Yesua (Jesus' name in Hebrew) salvation of God is their lives. This is also the Great Commission that Jesus gave to His disciples. (see Mt. 28:18-20, Mk. 16:15-18).

     It is very important to know that this B'midbar Sabbath reading portion must be read on the Sabbath before the Feast of Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, which in Greek is called Pentecost. Previous weeks' Sabbath reading portions were doubled together so that this B'midbar portion would fall on this specific appointed Sabbath. This year, Pentecost falls on this coming Monday-Tuesday. The Book of Acts tells us how the LORD fulfilled the Feast of Pentecost by sending the Holy Spirit in flames of fire to the believers in Messiah/Christ Jesus who obediently waited for "the power from on high" (Lk. 24:49 , Acts 1:8) in Jerusalem. The effect of the Holy Ghost fire was to change the believers' tongues (glossa - the tongue, an organ of speech, a distinct language).

     What were the changed tongues of the believers saying by the power from heaven? Foreign pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem for the feast were amazed, "because everyone heard them speak in his own language...Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs - we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." (Acts 2:1-11, excerpt).

     The tongues of the Holy Spirit gave praise for the wonderful works of God. We are brought right back to midbar (see meaning above regarding mouth and speech) and the largest tribe in the LORD's armies in the wilderness - the tribe of Judah, meaning "Praise". As we observe this Shavuot, Feast of Pentecost of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which continues with us, let us join in the fiery tongues of praise.

     If you would like to know more about being in the Lord's army of believers, you can join me in my prayer: "LORD of hosts, You have called Your people to be part of Your armies of warfare and transformation. What a privilege to be called by You and included in Your mighty works! My heritage in You and in Your Son, Jesus, includes Your victories on our behalf. All creation is waiting for this manifestation of Your sons in the earth. Teach me to speak in the way that transforms the spiritually dry wildernesses into green pastures. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit who gives me a tongue to proclaim the wonderful works of God to all people and nations. Fill my mouth with praises because You have written my name in heaven. I ask this in the name of my Savior, 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 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.

KingdomProvision

      We have heard of the Kingdom of God. This week's Sabbath reading portion also caused me to consider the fact that there is an economic system attached to this Kingdom.  We see a glimpse of the place of Kingdom provision in the account of Abraham and his obedience to the voice of God to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, on the Mount in the land of Moriah (root meaning: chosen, seen, foreseen, caused to be shown by the LORD). Abraham had assured his son at the time, "...God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." The Angel of the LORD stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son at the last moment, and miraculously, Abraham lifted his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) eyes and saw that a (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) ram appeared caught (ahaz - grasp, take hold, take possession, enclose, seize with the hand, to be joined, adhere, cover, shut) by its horns (qeren/qaran - strength, rays of light, horns of the altar, power, mountain peak/to shine, send out rays, shoot out horns, to radiate, emit beams) in a thicket (sebak/sabak - branches interwoven/interweave, entwine, plait). The ram became the sacrifice instead of his son: "And Abraham called the name of the place (root word qum - to be raised up, to rise, arise, become powerful, be fulfilled, come on the scene, be proven), The-LORD (YHWH - Hebrew letters meaning "Behold the hand, behold the nail")-Will-Provide (ra'a - see, appear, show, provide, regard, visions, foresee, have vision, look at, give attention to, look one on another); as it is said to this day, 'In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided (ra'a - see above)." (Gen. 22:1-14). Those who know the Messiah/Christ Jesus will recognize His image in the picture formed by the Hebrew meaning of the words in these verses. This provision came from the LORD, rather than man, and from the place of being "raised up".

     Our Sabbath reading portion for this week is titled B'midbar, which is also the Hebrew title of the Book of Numbers and means "in the wilderness".  The title comes from the first verse of the Book of Numbers: "Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai ("thorny"), in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month (also called ziv:  see 1 Kings 6:1, taking place in April/May, meaning "brightness, splendor [of the face], prominent), in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt..." The children of Israel had been released from their bondage in Egypt but had not yet come into the Promised Land. This also reflects our situation as those who know Messiah/Christ. We have been saved and released from the bondage of sin and death but have not yet been called to our heavenly home to be with the LORD. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, we are also travelers or sojourners in the earth, which is not our permanent home (Heb. 13:14, 1 Pet. 2:11-12). We also know from scripture that the Israelites, while in the wilderness, were totally supplied by God. He provided water, food, including manna from heaven, and even their clothes and shoes did not wear out (Ps. 78:16-18, Deut. 29:5). Let's look more deeply into the LORD's economy in this week's Sabbath reading portion.

     The first thing that the LORD did was to appoint leaders of the tribes of Israel. These men were described as men of renown (qari - called one, chosen, selected) and princes (nasi/nasa - prince, ruler, king, chief, one lifted up, captain, cloud/to lift, exalt, forgive). (Num. 1:16). These were men whom God had expressed (naqab - to pierce, perforate with violence, bore, pierce through, holes, strike through, to separate, distinguish and specify by name) by their names (v. 17). The Hebrew roots of the names of these princes who were to lead groups of thousands reflect the governing kingdom and economy of God: "My God is a Rock (sur - strength, refuge/to form, lay siege, assault, to bind, to press upon, to cut, to divide)"; another name meant "prosperity, reward, restitution, pay, recompense of God"; another name: "given, granted, pay wages, recompense, lend, yield produce, be provided, be bestowed by God"; another meant: "God is patron of benevolence and protection"; still another name: "benefit, reward, dealt bountifully, bestow, recompense, repay, given by God"; another meant: "Father is judge, Lord, King, husband, prophet, ruler, governor, prince"; another name: "God has added, more, increase, exceed, add to, give more, plentifully, be joined to" (v. 5-15). These names reflect God's government and provision.

     God would be the source of the wealth of the Israelites from His place in brightness, splendorous glory. The apostle Paul wrote of the same thing as the believers in Messiah/Christ gave an acceptable, sweet-smelling sacrifice to the Lord: "And my God shall supply (pleroo - make full, cause to abound, furnish, fill to the top) all your need according to His riches in glory (doxa/dokeo - judgment, splendor, brightness, kingly majesty, majesty reflecting the absolute perfection of deity/opinion, judge) by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen." (Phil. 4:19-20). 

     Where and from whom are we looking for our governance and provision to come? Where has our confidence been placed? Jesus described a world system built upon reliance in wealth as being called "Mammon", a word meaning a Babylonian/Chaldee god, who was wealth personified, and avarice deified, and having the confidence of men. Jesus said that God and Mammon are so opposed in nature that we cannot serve both. Mammon is not the origin of genuine wealth, but of counterfeit wealth. Genuine wealth comes from the lifted-up place of God. The wealth of this false system is gained by the love of money, false scales and weights (see Lev. 19:35-36, Prov. 11:1, Prov. 16:11, Prov. 20:10 and 23, Deut. 25:13-16, Ezek. 45:9-10, Amos 8:4-6) and theft (see Lk. 16:11, 13). The devil claimed to Jesus that all of the authority and glory (doxa - glory, honor, praise, worship, opinion, judgment) of the kingdoms of the world had been delivered to him, and he said that he would give them to Jesus if Jesus would worship him. Jesus rebuked Satan with the Word of God and told him "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve." (Lk. 4:5-8). Who delivered all of the kingdoms of the world and their "glory" to Satan? We, the people of God, did when we placed our confidence in those kingdoms instead of in the LORD. We cannot serve both God and Mammon.

     The LORD records this in another portion of this Sabbath's reading. The LORD said of His unfaithful people: "For she did not know that I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold - which they prepared for Baal (supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians, Canaanites and Babylonians)...And I will destroy her vines and fig trees, of which she has said, 'These are my wages (etna/tana - hire, price of a harlot, reward/to hire a prostitute, to present a mercenary inducement, to give presents, to distribute gifts) that my lovers have given me...I will punish her for the days of the Baals to which she burned incense...But Me she forgot,' says the LORD." (Hosea 2:8,12-13). The LORD prophesied that He would destroy all of the false rewards in which His people had placed their confidence.  Revelation shows us the prophetic vision of the world system of wealth and governments, upon which man relies, being destroyed in an hour (Rev. 18:1-20, see also Isa. 21:9, Jer. 51:6-8, Ezek. 27, Dan. 2:31-35, 44-45). Hosea prophesied that after God destroyed the fruits of the Baals from among His people, He would bring His people back into the wilderness in order to revive their relationship with Him, and the LORD would speak comfort to them there. They had previously called God by the name of the Baals, which was "Master", but they would learn to call God "Husband" (ishi - husband, champion, good, great and mighty Man). (v. 14-17). In the wilderness, they would learn once again to place their confidence in God. Most precious to God are His people, and His economy is based upon the redemption of His precious people as we will see. We cannot serve both God and Mammon.

    All kingdoms have their own currency usually carrying the faces of their kings and heroes. The Kingdom of God also has a currency, but it does not carry the picture of an earthly king, but of the King of Kings, and we will see His image below. In this Sabbath portion, B'midbar, or "in the wilderness", God's currency is based upon the redemption of His people. This currency of redemption is referred to as "the shekel of the sanctuary". It is by this shekel that the LORD allowed the first-born sons of Israel to be redeemed. The Levites were to replace the first-born in their obligation of service to the LORD. However, the first-born of Israel were more than the number of Levites. Therefore the LORD allowed the excess number of first-born to be redeemed instead with His currency: "...you shall take five shekels (seqel/saqal- chief unit of weight or measure of gold, silver or copper/to weigh, pay out, weigh out a price, to suspend a balance of a scale, to suspend as on a cross) for each one individually/by the poll (gulgolet/galal - skull [see also Golgotha: Jn. 19:17]/roll away [a large round stone], remove, roll away reproach); you shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, the shekel of twenty (esrim/asar - twenty/a unit of the  tithe or tenth, to become rich or wealthy, enrich, make rich, gain riches, to prosper) gerahs (a weight based on a specific number of barley grains or carob beans). And you shall give the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) money, with which the excess number of them is redeemed (peduy/pada - ransom, the preserved, the price of redemption/redeem, ransom, rescue, deliver, to release, preserve, to loose, to set free, to let go, to deliver life from danger), to Aaron and his sons." So Moses took the redemption money...and Moses gave their redemption (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) money to Aaron and his sons..." (Num. 3:46-51). Again, we can see in the meaning of the Hebrew words used in this passage the Person of the Messiah/Christ Jesus, and His role as Redeemer, in the "exchange" currency of the Kingdom of God. This value is eternal and never fluctuates or ends. We can understand more of what Paul was revealing in the verse above from Phil. 4:19-20 in connecting the redemptive work of Messiah/Christ to the foundation of God's riches from which He provides for us. Paul also wrote of our inheritance (kieronomia/kieronomos - inheritance, heirship, possession/one who receives his allotted possession by right of sonship) in glory through Jesus Christ in Eph. 1:7-14, 18-23. If we are looking to Mammon for our provision, we are looking to the wrong place. We cannot serve both God and Mammon.

     In my nation, our currency is no longer attached to any specific value, making it different from the shekel of the God's sanctuary. This fact also makes our currency worthless. The coins that used to be minted by a portioned weight of fine gold and fine silver, are now minted by a press of layers of base metals of manganese brass, copper, nickel and zinc called "clad coins". The paper currency, once backed by a set measure of gold, is no longer backed by anything with a tangible value. Soon the plan is to switch to digital currency, which again, will be backed by nothing. One's labor therefore is given in exchange for a currency of no real value. Therefore, this is a system in which vast wealth is held in such a manner that it is never equitably distributed, even for labor performed. This is the system of Mammon that Jesus described. This system accumulates even more of its hoarded wealth through exorbitant interest charged to those who have sold the fruits of their future labor and wealth into debt to this system for credit now. It is indeed a system of "master" and "servant". This is the currency and economics of temporary earthly kingdoms rather than the economics of provision of God's Kingdom. In whom have we placed our confidence?  We need to seek revelation understanding of God's provision because all signs point to the possibility that the time of earthly kingdoms and their systems of wealth is growing short. We cannot serve both God and Mammon.

     In another portion from this Sabbath, Psalm 28, David calls upon the economic system of the LORD for spiritual justice. Of the wicked, David wrote: "Give (natan - give, bestow, pay wages, yield produce, be provided, sell, exchange, lend) them according to their deeds (po'al/pa'al - work, deeds, labor, wages of work, acquisition of treasure, getting/work, workers), and according to the wickedness of their endeavors (ma'alal/alal - endeavor, invention, work/deal ruthlessly, deal wantonly, abuse); Give them according to the work of their hands; render (sub - return, turn back, pay as recompense) to them what they deserve (gemul/gamal - dealing, recompense, reward, retribution/deal fully with, recompense)." As one who trusted in the LORD's Kingdom and economy, David also prayed: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. The LORD is their strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed (masiah/masa - anointed one, of the Messiah Prince/to smear, anoint, spread a liquid, rub with oil). Save Your (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) people and bless Your (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) inheritance; Shepherd them also and bear them up forever." 

     This is the difference between God's Kingdom provision and the inequitable hoarding of wealth within Mammon. It is important for us to understand and place our confidence in the lifted-up place of God's provision and the redemption foundation of His economy, because before the LORD destroys the system of worldly wealth, the world will be forced to serve this system according to scripture (see Rev. 13:15-18, Rev. 14:9-12). The spiritual powers of wickedness (see Eph. 6:12-13) know this same truth: man cannot serve both God and Mammon, so man will be forced to choose Mammon for his provision instead of God. God's *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega people are not meant for this bondage, as we read above, and we have been given the knowledge of the truth that makes us free if we will seek it.

     If you would like to know more about the Kingdom of God and His provision economy, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You have made provision for me and You have already supplied all of my needs from Your riches in glory, through Your Son Jesus, my Redeemer. You told Your people to come out from beneath Babylon because her fall would be great. Please give me the wisdom, knowledge and understanding that I need from Your living Word by Your Spirit to place all of my confidence in You, so that I do not rely on my own strength, nor put my confidence in the kingdoms and systems of this world for provision and prosperity. Separate and redeem me from these things by Your glory through Messiah/Christ. Let this become revelation to me so that I will walk in it and be able to show it to others. I ask this 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.

     

     

Army

This week's Sabbath reading portion takes us to the beginning of the fourth Book of the Bible. We call this the Book of Numbers, but the Hebrew title of this Book is B'midbar, meaning "in the wilderness", which is taken from the first verse of Chapter 1. So the first four books of the Torah in Hebrew are: B'reshiet, meaning "In the beginning", or Genesis, Sh'mot, meaning "Names", or Exodus, Va'yikra, meaning "And He called", or Leviticus, and now B'midbar, "in the wilderness", or Numbers. From the beginning of Numbers, the LORD ordered Moses, while the Israelites were in the Sinai wilderness, to take a census of every male twenty years old and over: "...all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies (saba - host, war, army, battle, appointed time, soldiers, go out to war, organized for war)." (Num. 1:3). The Israelites, who had been slaves in Egypt for over four hundred years, and certainly without having been trained to be warriors during their slavery, had faced enemy kings, and the trained armies of those kings, both before, and after they would enter the Promised Land of Canaan. The name and character of the LORD is as the Leader of warfare, Jehovah Sabaoth, the LORD of hosts, the LORD who commands armies as Scripture says: "The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is His name...Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces. And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You." (Ex. 15:3, 6-7). The LORD revealed Himself to Joshua, who would lead the Israelites after the death of Moses, as "a Man...with His sword drawn in His hand", saying, "...as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.'...Then the Commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, 'Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." (Josh. 5:13-15). When Jesus returns, He doesn't come alone: "...His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean (see Rev. 19:7-8), followed Him on white horses...He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." (Rev. 19:11-16). Did you think that we, as believers in Christ, are not called to war? Paul wrote: "...Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us..." (Rom. 8:36-39). However, our warfare, as well as our armor and weapons, are not physical, but spiritual, and not against flesh, but against spiritual powers (2 Cor. 10:3-6). However, the LORD's armies in the Book of Numbers have much to teach us, even as the LORD taught them. Each tribe, or division (Num. 1:16), had its own leader specifically appointed by the LORD, and each tribe was to camp under its own identifying standard and emblems (Num. 2:1-2), yet it was to be a unified army under the LORD as its Commander. As the divisions of the armies encamped, they were assigned placement to the north, south, east, and west, with the tabernacle of meeting at the center. The Levites were to encamp nearest to and surrounding the tabernacle (Num. 2:17). From above, the configuration of the camp would be in the shape of a cross, and they would move out from camp in this same configuration. Even the furnishings within the tabernacle were placed in a cross formation, so it became a cross within a cross. The LORD positioned Himself right in the middle of His armies. The greatest challenge to these armies, was not any physical enemy, but the knowledge of, and obedience to, the LORD as their Commander and their only source of victory. The same is true for us today, I think. In another reading from this Sabbath, David, who was a great warrior himself, prayed to the LORD to be saved from the wicked and the workers of iniquity (Ps. 28:3). David declared in his spiritual warfare: "Blessed be the LORD because He has heard the voice of my supplications! The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped...and with my song I will praise Him. The LORD is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people...shepherd them also, and bear them up forever." (v. 6-9). David was a soldier/king who understood that it is the LORD who delivers the offense and defense in warfare. In another portion from this week's sabbath reading, the LORD prophetically calls upon a new kind of army. Can you guess who they are? The reading is found in the prophet Hosea, whose name means "salvation". Hosea ministered prophetically in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, also called Ephraim, when the nation was divided into two kingdoms. At the beginning of his prophetic ministry, the LORD told Hosea to take a harlot for a wife, which would prophetically reflect Israel's harlotry in her marriage relationship with God. Hosea took (aleph-tav) Gomer for his wife. Her name means "complete, finish, to end either in completion or failure". Her father was named Diblaim, which means "two cakes, press together a cake of figs, conjoined with, dwell with, dwell together". We can see that the prophet is marrying a harlot, but from her name, and the name of her father, we can also see that something is being established here. Two things are being joined or pressed together to make something complete. Ezekiel prophesied of two sticks being joined together into one also (Ezek. 37:15-20). Then Hosea, "salvation", had three children with his harlot wife, Gomer, meaning "completion" as mentioned above. The "completion" meant here may, on one hand, signify the fullness of the judgment that God was ready to bring to the northern kingdom of Israel because of its faithlessness to Him. In another way, the meaning of the "completeness" of Gomer's name may point to the special work that God was planning to bring a restoration and completeness to Israel, as the LORD prophesied later in Hosea, as we will see. One child was to be named (aleph-tav) Jezreel, which means "God will sow/scatter". Jezreel refers to the place where Jehu had King Ahab's seventy sons killed in Samaria (2 Kings 10:11). When Jehu became king in Ahab's stead, he was as wicked as Ahab had been, and here in Hosea, God promises to end his family's reign in Israel, which was fulfilled when the northern kingdom of Israel went into captive exile to the Assyrian conquerors. Their sins, violence and idolatry caused them to lose the battle with the enemy. They forgot that the LORD is the center of their victory. As the meaning of Jezreel is "God will scatter", the LORD would scatter the inhabitants of northern Israel from off of their land. The LORD said of Jezreel: "I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel....I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel." (Hos. 1:4-5). As the LORD promised to break their bow, He was removing their own military power from them, and leaving them defenseless before their enemy. Jezreel and the valley it occupies played a role in many battles throughout Israel's history, and is believed to be the valley in which Armageddon, the prophesied end-time war, will occur. Both battle, bloodshed and judgment are associated with this place. Next, an (aleph-tav) daughter was born to Hosea and Gomer. The LORD told the prophet to name her Lo-Ruhamah, meaning "not having obtained mercy". The aleph-tavs connected to some of the words in these verses are, as the first and last Hebrew letters, a form of The Alpha and Omega in Greek, by which Jesus identified Himself in the Book of Revelation. Whenever we see the aleph-tav combination of Hebrew letters associated with a written word, it brings a special significance. Finally, a third child, a son, is born who was to be named Lo-Ammi, meaning "not a people". As the LORD judged northern Israel to Hosea, He then prophesied its great restoration. Instead of "Not a people", and "not having obtained mercy", the LORD said: "Say to your brethren, 'My people', and to your sisters, 'Mercy is shown'. Plead (rib - plead a cause, strive, contend, grapple, to pull) with your mother, plead;...Let her put away her harlotries from her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts." (Hos. 2:1-2). The meanings of the children's names are changed, and they are to plead and contend with their mother, Israel, represented by Hosea's wife, Gomer, pulling on her to turn from her harlot ways, and go back to her first husband, the LORD her Salvation. (Hosea 2:7). Because of this, the LORD will "allure" His harlot wife into the wilderness (midbar: see above) to remove her from those things that draw her away from Him. The LORD planned to get His wife, Israel, alone. The LORD prophesied to Hosea that He would restore Israel to one who is His faithful betrothed (Hos. 2:14, 20). The LORD will answer the heavens, and cause the heavens to answer the earth. "The earth will answer with aleph-tav grain, with aleph-tav new wine, and with aleph-tav oil (yishar/sahar - oil, anointed, fresh new oil, to shine/press oil, glisten). They shall answer Jezreel ("God will sow/scatter"). Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!" (Hos. 2:21-23). The three things mentioned in the verses above: the grain, the new wine, and the oil, not only represent the LORD's renewed blessing and favor upon the land, but the spiritual blessing of restoration and communion, salvation and the glory of the anointing, and the Anointed One of God, the Messiah, or Christ in Greek. There was a prophetic warfare (pleading, contending, pulling) entered into through the naming of the three children of Hosea, but their names also represented another hidden participant in this spiritual warfare for the restoration of Israel. As we look at the names of these children, we are reminded of a scripture from Peter regarding those who have received salvation in Christ: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who one were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10). Paul referred directly to the verse above from Hos. 2:23 when he wrote: "...that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy...even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As He says also in Hosea: 'I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved. And it shall come to pass where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there they shall be called sons of the living God." (Rom. 9:23-26, Hos. 2:23, Hos. 1:10). We have a warfare role to play, as Hosea's children did, in the restoration of their mother, Gomer, who represented the wife of God gone astray, Israel. As believers in Christ, we do not replace Israel or the Jewish people, but we are spiritually joined with them as brethren, which completes both of us. One is incomplete without the other. As God promised, "All Israel shall be saved...that through the mercy shown you (meaning the Gentiles) they also may obtain mercy." (Rom. 11:26-31, Isa. 59:20-21). Paul makes a direct connection here between our salvation through Christ, and Israel's. This also is the spiritual warfare to which we have been called. The joining of Jews and Gentiles together in salvation will be nothing short of "...life from the dead...remember that you do not support the root (the Jews), but the root supports you." (Rom. 11:15,18). Although Jesus stated clearly: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," He then also ministered to a Gentile woman who cried out to Him in desperate need of a healing miracle for her daughter (see Mt. 15:21-28). From the double presence of the Cross within, and encamped around, the tabernacle "in the wilderness" that was set in the middle of the "armies" of Israel, to the prophetic warfare children of Hosea, to the spiritual warfare written of by the apostles, to the armies that accompany the return of Christ, the scarlet thread of salvation joins Jews and Gentiles together, as is the will of God through Christ. If you would like to learn more about this very special purpose in the "army" of God, you can pray with me: "Father, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God of Israel, lead us in the restoration and salvation work that You have established through Your Son, Jesus, for Jews and Gentiles alike to be joined together into one new man (Eph. 2:12-18). Bring this completeness to Your Body, Your army in the earth, as it is written in Your Word. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, because as always, You are our victory, You are our strength, and we praise You. We ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Changed

This is the Sabbath before the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost. This feast, as interpreted by Jewish teaching, is about the wedding of God to Israel in the giving of the Torah, or the Word of God, on Mt. Sinai (sinay - "thorny"). Shavuot occurs fifty days after Passover. The time in between Passover and Shavuot then, is considered a time of preparation for this marriage to God according to rabbinical teaching. All of the feasts of the LORD can be connected in meaning to a marriage, at least partially. For the church, Pentecost was fulfilled by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as we read in Acts Ch. 2. Jesus referred to the promise of this outpouring of power (see Lk. 24:49), which was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room. He told His disciples to tarry or wait in Jerusalem until this occurred after His death and resurrection. The title of this Sabbath's reading is B'midbar, meaning "in the wilderness". "Wilderness" sometimes has a negative meaning to us, but it can also mean "pasture". As the Sabbath reading begins in Numbers Ch. 1, the LORD gives us a hint that something special is about to occur. The scripture says: "Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt..." (Num. 1:1). The word meaning "second" in Hebrew is the word seni/sana. It means with its root "to do again, to change, altar, transmute, to be other". There is to be a change or transmutation accomplished in God's people. The mention that it is "the first day", or echad in Hebrew, means "joined in one, united, as one man; go one way or the other, to become unified". This changing work that will occur will join something together in one. Moses is commanded by God to count all in Israel over the age of twenty "by their families, by their fathers' houses... every male individually, from twenty years old and above - all who are able to go to war in Israel. God is establishing an army here, and this army will be identified by their fathers' names. The head of each named household was called to stand with Moses and Aaron while this is accomplished (Num. 1:4-16). The children of Israel spent over four hundred years in slavery in Egypt. During that time, they seemed to have lost the knowledge of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and knew only Egyptian gods. Not only did the LORD have to identify Himself to Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3:6), but Moses asked the LORD His name so he could tell the children of Israel, who didn't know Him (Ex. 3:13-16). However, during the beginning of the second year after deliverance from Egypt, the men whom God specifically called to stand with Moses and Aaron during the census had names that gave the revelation of God. Some of their names, and their fathers' names, translated into English were: "My God is a Rock", My Rock is Almighty God", "My God is Father", "My Kinsman is Majesty", My Kinsman is Almighty", "The Rock has ransomed/redeemed", "My Father is Judge/Contender". Interestingly, there is one among these, the last one named, whose name means "My brother is evil, malignant". Could this last named person, Ahira in Hebrew, be a prophecy of Judas Iscariot? He represented the tribe, Naphtali, whose name means "wrestling, froward, unsavory, to be twisted". After these men came forth, who were to be heads of their tribes, the LORD had the people do something unusual: "...and they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they recited their ancestry by families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, each one individually." (Num. 1:18-44). This naming of genealogies is also mentioned as one of the traditions in the ancient Jewish marriage ritual. Even in more modern Jewish marriages, a short genealogy is recited. According to one source (not from scripture): "The souls of ancestors from three generations back descend from the world of truth and attend (the marriage). Even further removed generations are present." The Gospels open with the genealogy of Jesus. Not just back to David, as would be necessary for the identity of the Messiah, but back to Abraham (Mt. 1:1-17), and to "...Adam, the son of God" (Lk. 3:23-38). Was Jesus, the Word of God, reciting His genealogy not just to justify His identity as Messiah, but to fulfill the custom established by God at Mt. Sinai in the wilderness regarding the marriage of the Son? After all, Jesus told us that He only did what He saw His Father doing. Hebrews 12:1 also points out that we are surrounded (have around one) by a great cloud of witnesses, these witnesses are not of our flesh genealogy, but of fathers of faith according to Hebrews 11. Could this also be a part of our marriage relationship with Christ, as it follows the Jewish traditions? Let me add here another interesting "wedding fact": The Jewish wedding ritual can also include the groom's washing of his bride's feet. In scripture, on the night of the Last Supper with Christ and His disciples, which was a Passover Seder, Peter tried to stop Jesus from washing his feet after supper. Jesus said to Peter in part, "If I do not wash you, you have no part (meros - share, allotment, portion) of Me." (see Jn. 13:3-10). In another part of this Sabbath's reading from Hosea 2, the LORD describes how, as a result of Israel's spiritual adulteries, He will say to her, "...she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband!" (Hos. 2:1-2). An interesting way to look at this statement by God that we may not have considered is the possibility that this statement is not an utter rejection of Israel as it might sound, but a mercy against the death sentence of adultery. The Jewish divorce, or "get", similarly declares that the wife is free from the marriage, free to marry another, and the laws of adultery no loner apply. In this same chapter of Hosea, the LORD assured us that He was NOT done with Israel, but would get Israel back in marriage: "Therefore behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort (leb - heart, soul, understanding, wisdom, memory, kindly) to her. I will give her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor (trouble; a place of stoning) as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. And it shall be in that day, says the LORD, that you will call Me 'my Husband', and no longer call Me 'my Master',...I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in loving-kindness and mercy...in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD." (Hos. 2:14-20). As we read in Numbers 1, although Jewish tradition teaches that God married Israel at Mt. Sinai, and the scripture language bears that out, the people were numbered in order to form armies. When Hebrews 12 spoke about the great cloud of witnesses around us, it was for the purpose of laying aside sin, and "running the race (agon - contest, battle) set before us". Whether we speak of Israel's marriage to God, or the Church's marriage to Christ, warfare and battles will be involved, just as there is great warfare against marriage here on earth in the natural. God's marriage with His people in the second month, in the second year, and our marriage with our Bridegroom, Jesus, initiates a great change and transformation in our lives. The timing of the Feasts, with Shavuot or Pentecost approaching, allows us a time of preparation, as a betrothed prepares (hetoimazo - prepare, level the roads for a coming king, prepare minds of men to give the Messiah a fit reception, to receive one who is coming) for the upcoming wedding (Rev. 19:7-9). The great spiritual outpouring of Pentecost also endues us with power from on high to be the army of God. If you would like to know more about, and be prepared for, the soon marriage of the Lamb to His wife, you can pray with me: "Lord Jesus, I believe that You died and rose from the dead for me. I believe You sacrificed Yourself to cover my sins. Forgive me and keep me in Your Word and Spirit. Pour out Your Spirit upon Your people and teach me to prepare for Your soon return, and the marriage of the Lamb and His Bride. Teach me to walk with You, the Father and the Holy Spirit with faithfulness, in faith, and the righteousness of the saints. You are the faithful Husband returning for His spotless Bride. I thank You and ask these things in Your name. AMEN."