Beth Elohim Messianic Synagogue
Parashah #37: Shlach L’kha (Send on your behalf) B’midbar (Numbers) 13:1-15:41
Haftarah: Y’hoshua (Joshua) 2:1-24
B’rit Chadashah: Hebrews 3:7-19
A lack of trust and faith in G-d is an unfortunate part of human nature that can only be overcome with G-d’s help which He has already provided through His Torah. The leaders of the tribes chosen to reconnoiter the land which G-d was about to give them focused on the obvious, the “human physical reality” instead of G-d’s ability to overcome any physical obstacle put in the path of His plan for His people. This is incredible in light of the fact that G-d ad so recently brought them from under the Egyptian bonds of slavery and through the Sea of Reeds miraculously parted at just the “right” time, just long enough for the Israelite’s safe passage.
The narrative of the 10 spies highlights the deleterious spiritual and physical effects on societies and nations that mistrust and a lack of faith in G-d of even a few can cause. The only two men who overcame what was an instinctive human response demonstrated by the 10 spies was Y’hoshua the son of Nun, and Kalev the son of Y’funeh who had “had a different Spirit with him and fully followed me” (Num. 20:24).
All the people of Israel disregarded the encouragement of these two men and their admonishment not to rebel against Adonai or be afraid of the physical obstacles reported by the other spies. Speaking against G-d and/or His chosen leaders is a serious matter. In chapter 14:36-38 we become acutely aware of just how important it is that we as true believers live and speak with confidence in our G-d even when human logic/instinct may tempt us to give in to an action or response that is contrary to G-d’s Torah, spiritually or physically. We read “ The men whom Moshe had sent to reconnoiter the land and who, when they returned, made the entire community complain against him by giving an unfavorable report about the land-those men who gave the unfavorable report about the land died by the plague in the presence of Adonai. Of the men who went to reconnoiter the land, only Y’hoshua the son of Nun and Kalev the son of Y’funeh remained alive.”
As maturing true believers, we must start our walk by trusting that YHVH/Yahshua is Who He says He is and continue to open our hearts and minds to His Torah, similar to a butterfly slowly emerging from its chrysalis and spreading its wings to their fullest capacity. This process takes hours; the process of salvation takes a lifetime, however long. Our level of trust in our G-d should continue to expand as G-d leads us through the obstacles/testings in our lives that we may continue to grow on “the vine” and produce good fruit (John 15:5). Y’hoshua and Kalev knew that we can accomplish nothing without G-d, but that anything is possible with G-d (Matt. 19:26).
Even after the incident of the 10 spies, the Israelites decided they could regain G-d’s favor by going to the place Adonai promised, even though G-d had not ordered them to do so. Taking their destiny into their own hands, in effect worshiping G-d their way instead of G-d’s way. Again, G-d means what He says yet the Israelites chose to go to the high parts of the hill country, even though the ark for the covenant of Adonai remained in the camp (Num. 14:44). The enemies of G-d , the Amalekim and the Kena’anim descended from the hill country, struck the Israelites down and beat them back all the way to Hormah. Reflecting back on the narrative of Nadav and Avihu who were immediately killed for presenting unauthorized fire before Adonai, we should realize that G-d’s commands are just that. He never changes, and the fact that He is the Word, by default, never changes.
After reading this narrative, we should ask ourselves why Y’hoshua and Kalev were singled out as the only two spies who possessed such faith and trust in Adonai when the majority of the spies and the people succumbed to human nature to believe only what we physically see and not consider the power of G-d?
Moshe renamed Hoshea the son of Nun before Hoshea went out with the others to reconnoiter the land. His new name was Y’hoshua. We can only understand the significance on these names in the Hebrew. The root of (Yasha) means “salvation” and the root (yaho) referring to G-d. With the Hebrew name change, the spelling is also different which gives the new name a much more significant meaning. Joshua in Hebrew means “G-d is salvation.” This is because of the addition of the “Yud” (See Exodus 3:14). It seems that Moshe was given the insight to know that Y’hoshua knew from where his strength and salvation would come. This narrative teaches us that we must learn to look beyond what is seen with physical sight and know that we can safely entrust our lives to G-d in all situations. The name change was also a blessing to Y’hoshua because he would have known the meaning of his new name. That there were only 2 of 12 spies who trusted G-d even though the physical obstacles would have been insurmountable for the people had G-d not been involved also shows us that not everyone who calls themselves “believers” will make it into the Kingdom of heaven. For parallel scriptures on this subject see Matt. 7:21; Rom.9:27; Is.10:22; Lev.23; Luke 13:24).
Keeping with the consistency of G-d’s Torah, comparing the fact that only Y’hoshua and Kalev embodied trust over fear when facing a seemingly impossible situation, and the fact that, concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out: “Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved” (Rom. 9:27), we are given more evidence of the Jew/Gentile connection and G-d’s consistent standards/regulation for anyone who wants to be considered one of G-d’s people in Romans chapters 9-16. Those who argue that G-d’s Torah states that ‘‘All Israel will be saved,”(Rom. 11:26) as it does indeed, do not understand that “all Israel” in this context means all true believers, Jew and Gentile as true believers are defined in the Seven-fold Witness in the Book of Revelation, John 14, and Romans 1-3.
There is an additional significant point in connection with Y’hoshua and Kalev. Kelev represented the tribe of Judah (13:6), and Hoshea (Y’hoshua) represented Ephraim. Although Hoshea, which literally means “help” was the name on the official register, Joshua (from Jehoshua “Yahovah” [YHVH] help, was the name Moshe bestowed upon him (13:16). It is amazing that this far back in the history of mankind and Israel specifically, we see Judah and Ephraim working in tandem! That is Ephraim representing the 10 lost tribes of Israel, and Judah representing the southern tribes Levi, Benjamen, and Judah. For more on the subject of the connection between Ephraim and Judah, two “sticks becoming one in G-d’s hand, see Ezekiel 37:15-28.
“Defocusing” our thoughts for a moment from the immediate situation involving a possible assault depending on the reconnaissance report, we can hopefully see how G-d used this situation as a terminal test of faith. He knew that from a human standpoint, the report would be overwhelmingly negative. The Anakim were living there. Amalek lived in the area of the Negev. The spies saw the N’filim; hybrid descendants of the fallen angels who were giants compared to the average sized man. G-d orchestrated an ultimate test of faith before the spies and the nation Israel. Would their fears dissipate considering Y’hoshua and Kalev’s strong admonishment and encouragement not to fear the people living in the land even though they were the Nephilim?
It is human nature to fear the unknown, and situations whereby victory seems impossible. But G-d has shown us throughout His Torah that victory in the spiritual context and sometimes the physical, under any circumstances can be ours if we put our trust in Him just as David did when faced with what seemed like certain death. Recall that Goliath was also a descendant of the N’filim(fallen angels), also identified as a Philistine. Exactly how tall Goliath was depends on where we obtain our information. The Masoretic Text, written in Hebrew indicates he was six cubits and a span. That would be about nine and one-half feet. The Septuagint, which is the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament has Goliath’s height at four cubits and a span, which is about six- and one-half feet. The Hebrew text found in the Dead Sea Scrolls indicates Goliath was four cubits tall, about six feet. Regardless of which is correct, Goliath was physically taller and stronger than David and there were no other takers when it came to who might go up against Goliath. Also remember that the Israelites failed to wipe out the Anakites-a subset of the N’philim- in their conquest of the Promised Land. As a result, the Anakites survived in Gath and its surrounding cities, eventually becoming Philistines. The details about David and Goliath are discussed in this lesson to call our attention to the enormity of what the 10 spies must have seen.
The fact that we can fall from G-d’s grace and lose our position as believers on the way to salvation (2 Pet. 3:17) is reflected in the narrative found in Num. 10:14-24. The sad result of the peoples’ rebellion is that G-d can and does provide provisional forgiveness that does not equate to salvation. The sages identify the ten times the Israelites tested G-d as the following in Avot 5:4; Num 14:22:
1. At the sea (Ex.14:11
2. At Marah (Ex. 15:24
3. Without food (Ex.16:3)
4. Gathering manna ((Ex. 16:20)
5. Manna on Shabbat (Ex. 16:27)
6. At R’fidim (Ex. 17:2)
7. Golden calf ((Ex. 32;4)
8. Murmuring (Num. 11:1)
9. Manna not tasty (Num. 11:4)
10. Believing the spies evil report against the land (no trust) (Num. 14, Arachin 15a).
More on this subject in the B’rit Chadashah reading to follow.
We see exactly what G-d says about this limited forgiveness: B’midbar (Numbers) 20-24; “Adonai answered, ‘I have forgiven as you have asked. But as sure as I live, and that the whole earth is filled with the glory of Adonai, none of the people who saw my glory and the signs I did in Egypt and in the desert, yet tested me these ten times and did not listen to my voice, will see the land I swore to their ancestors! None of those who treated me with contempt will see it. But my servant Kalev, because he had a different Spirit with him and has fully followed me- him I will bring into the land he entered, and it will belong to his descendants.” Note the word “Spirit” in the above scripture is capitalized. G-d knew Kalev had the Spirit of G-d in him and he was blessed.
Salvation is not a “given. “It is not granted for those who profess the L-rd/Yahshua yet continue to rebel against His Laws/instructions including traditions of men, manmade laws,” celebrating pagan holidays, celebrating Shabbat on Sunday rather than G-d’s Shabbat, eating forbidden foods, and keeping G-d’s designated festivals. (See G-d’s wrath yet to come for those who choose to rebel against G-d and his instructions/Torah/Law (Rom. 1:18-32) G-d’s Torah. By the way, the Bible defines “sin” very clearly in 1 John 3:4 “ Sin is the transgression of the law.” The only way one can attempt to ignore this scripture is to say that “the law was nailed to the cross.” This statement and belief is more than erroneous and not supported in G-d’s Word. It jeopardizes the final disposition of ones’ soul Revelation 22:18-19; Deut. 4:2;Deut. 12:32; Prov. 30:5-6; Gal. 1:6-9;2 Tim.3:16-17.
Haftarah: Y’hoshua 2:1-24
This week’s haftarah reflects the narrative of the spies sent by Joshua to scout out Jericho, prior to the invasion of the Holy Land by the Israelites. This event is similar to the one in our parashah. Joshua sent two spies to Jericho, where they stayed at an inn within the city walls, run by Rahab. The king discovered their presence and he sent for Rahab and asked her to report the two men. Rahab covered for the men telling the king they had already left. She hid them on her rooftop and told the men that the people in the city were afraid of the Israelites impending attack because they knew G-d was with them. She told them she knew G-d was going to give them the land. She asked to be remembered and spared with her family when the Israelites attacked. She was told to tie a scarlet thread and hang it from her window, that this would be a symbol that her home was a safe haven. She helped the men escape via a rope out her window and she told them how to hide if needed. The spies returned, and Rahab and her family were spared.
We can see the similarity of the red thread in the window and the blood on the lentils of the doors during Pesach (Passover). Rahab was obedient as were the Israelites. Her home was symbolically covered by the blood of a Messiah that was yet to physically appear but was already present.
B’rit Chadashah: Hebrews 3:7-19
This passage gives confirmation through the B’rit Chadashah (Refreshed, Renewed covenant) of what G-d said and did in the parashah. There is little need for detailed explanation beyond the literal word. There is a point of no return. The Ruach confirms this fact. “Watch out brothers, so that there will not be in any one of you an evil heart lacking trust, which could lead you to apostatize (fall away) from the living G-d. Instead, keep exhorting each other every day, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you will become hardened by the deceit of sin. For we have become sharers in the Messiah, provided however, that we hold firmly to the conviction we began with, right through until the goal is reached” (Heb. 3:12-14). John 14:12 reads “Yes, indeed! I tell you that whosoever trusts in me will also do the works I do! John 14:15 reads “If you love me, you will keep my commands.” In John 15:9 Yahshua tells us that “If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love.” John 14:21 reads “Whoever has my commands and keeps them (7-fold witness in Revelation), is the one who loves me, and the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him. “John 14:24 reads “Someone who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words.”
Moving to Heb. 3:18-19: And to whom was it that he swore that they would not enter his rest? those who were disobedient.” So, we see that they were unable to enter because of lack of trust. To define the concepts of trust and validate the term as an action verb, Hebrews chapter 11 provides 18 examples I encourage you to read and contemplate.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Tamah Davis-Hart