Chukat-Balak- Statutes חֻקַּת־בָּלָק- Audio Podcast July 1, 2023
Notes
Transcript
Numbers 19:1-25:9
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TORAH GPS
We continue to use the Torah as our guide to do our portions
Study Numbers, and God has been at work
We started talking about Bamidbar - in the wilderness / Numbers
So far we can summarize what we have studied by this Summary
Count all who can serve Adonai b’Midbar Sinai. Arrange their tents in the camp.
Naso the clans to serve, assigning each a special task. But all tribes bring identical gifts to dedicate the altar. Then God speaks!
b’Ha’alot’cha, in your making go up the lamps, Aharon is told to focus them to shine brightly. Levites dedicated, Passover kept, trumpets blown, the camp moves! But soon the kvetching starts.
Though spies Sh’lach l’Cha, beware of fearing giants instead of trusting God. And don’t sink into Korach’s rebellion! Accept the bald truth of your lot.
The red cow purifies, if we follow the statute of instruction—Chukat haTorah!
We spoke about the concept of order:
EVERY MAN IN HIS PLACE.
The meaning of al yado (in his place) is, in his corner and place.
Menorah
Designed in Heaven, Manufactured with minimal effort, as they forged it in one piece.
Picture of Messiah Golden Menorah as taught in Gen ch 1:1
The Torah reading told us the tragic story of how the spies returned with a bad report about the Land of Promise and influenced the congregation of Israel to rebel against the LORD
The concept of choice exists on two levels.
We spoke about:
Keeping the Torah requires the HS and knowing the Torah, which is also knowing the kingdom of God
Holy Spirit who strengthens us
Tassels in the Tallit with blue thread- Law
Traditionally Korach is about the rebellion of Korach against Moses and Aaron.
Korah means “little bald-head”
Meaning of Names
A Summary of last Torah Portion Korach
Rebellion of Korach, Datan Aviram and the Reuvenites against leadership (rebellion of leadership against leadership)
Lashon Harah against the Land of Israel (last portion Vershalach - evil report). The minority seems to be the one who sees. Often the majority is the one on the wrong path
Tabernacle - Door
Korach’s tents
Fire and firepans- censers -250
Aaron’s Budding Rod
Restatement of Levitical obligations- Bearing of Iniquity
Covenant of Salt: The inheritance of tithes, holies, and service
24 Gifts
The main issue with Korach
The essential argument - we are all equal, all betrothed, all in marriage= equalizer.
Three levels of Arrogance and Characteristics:
1- Individual Arrogance: Lower Level
Distorted Information/ thinking
Limitations in abilities
Overestimation of one’s information and abilities
Resistance to new information about one’s limits
2- Comparative Arrogance: Mid-level
In addition to the ones below:
Failure to consider the perspectives of others
Belief or assumption of superiority
3- Antagonistic Arrogance
In addition to the levels below
Denigration of Others
Rebellion is not a good thing
Distortion is the base of that arrogance
Distorted Thinking
Today very predominant
The way out - Humility
Arrogance:
Looked at the DOOR of David
ד
David’s name starts with the letter Dalet ( ד )
Dalet means door
Introduction
Introduction
Numbers 19:1-25:9
In this Torah Portion is a double Torah Portion
we are going speak about the types of law found in the Torah and a prophecy contained in Balak
We are going to narrow the discussion to one specific law, which is not easily identifiable - Chukkat
How many of you disappointed when things do not go as planned?
Have you been mad at God for any delay, change of plans, or change in the way we do things?
We will discuss how we get disappointed when we see something negative happening- for example death, loss, delay or when we do not understand what is happening
Or when things do not go the way we planned or wished, and feel out of control
The roadmap
We will identify the types of Law in the Torah
We are going to define some terms found in this Torah portion in two different ways:
Academically - scholars see it -language form
As the sages see it - define by scriptures and culture - language in context
We will develop the first Torah Portion Chukkat- statutes- language in function- using both
And add the second Torah Portion - Balak
To end with the Brit Hadashah
PRESENTATION
4 different kinds of law
4 Types for the beginning of the discussion - Torah is instruction/no law
Commandments - Mitzvah- Mitzvot
Judgement (Ordinance) - Mishpat - Mishpatim
Statute - chukah/chuk - chukkot/Chukim
Law - instruction/ Torah - Torot
Typically in the West we say it is one or the other
Or even confuse the terms, and using them sparingly
Our Torah Portion is about
Statute - chukah/chuk - chukkot/Chukim
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
2 “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.
חֻקַּת - Chukkat- Statute
Defined academically it can be very confusing- as presented by scholars themselves
They seem to confuse the meaning of the 4 types of law into one - law
Take a look at the Etimology
I. Etymology; West Semitic
The root ḥqq (which has the by-form ḥqy/ḥāqâ in Hebrew and gives rise to certain forms that appear to come from ḥwq) appears in Middle Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic with the meaning “hollow out,” “engrave.”
In Mandaic it means “be in order.”
In West Semitic epigraphy, occurrences are few and ambiguous.
In the Hadad inscription from Zinçirli, we find at the end the clause tḥq ʿlyh, which may be rendered as “You should write to him accordingly”;
the context does not provide any firm grounds for interpretation.
In a Phoenician funerary inscription we find the word mḥq designating a profession;
it may be translated as “sculptor” or “lawgiver.”
In addition, a Neo-punic inscription contains the words [ʾr]ṣʾt hmḥqt, which may mean “the delimited properties.”
II. The Verb ḥāqaq/ḥāqâ
The OT occurrences of the verb ḥqq/ḥāqâ can be assigned to three semantic groups:
(1) “carve out, engrave”
1 “You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem.
Boundaries of a city
27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
Boundaries of the face of the deep
(2) In 3 passages, ḥqq stands in parallelism with kāṯaḇ, “write,” as on a tablet
23 “Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
inscribed
8 Now go, write it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, That it may be for time to come, Forever and ever:
(3) We also find the meaning “fix, determine.”
35 Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name):
As with concrete meanings
A- ordinances or legal precepts
In a few cases, however, there appears a more concrete meaning, which is probably more original. It can mean a limit or boundary, as when at creation God assigns the sea a limit
10 When I fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors;
29 When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth,
B- A bounded Area: limited
lehem chuqui = allotment of bread
8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me;
C- A ḥōq can also be a fixed statute
10 And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
The sages do a better job presenting the meaning of Chukkat from a Jewish cultural understanding, with Hebrew thought and with the backing of Judaism
Am I promoting Judaism - Absolutely NO
I am promoting proper interpretation of the Hebrew language by those who understand the use of the language in context
2 “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.
Chukat
Talmud
“This is the statute of the law of the Torah;” The “statute” referred to here are the laws of ritual defilement and subsequent rites of purification.
They were communicated to the people on the first day of Nissan, on the day the Tabernacle was erected ready for service. (Talmud, tractate Gittin folio 60).
It had to be communicated on that day, as on the following day the red heifer, the instrument without which purification could not take place, was burned.
Without knowledge of these procedures, the Passover, which would be offered on the fourteenth day of that month could not have been offered.
The Torah had stipulated in verse 4 of our chapter that the location for the sprinkling of the waters containing the ash of that red heifer was opposite, i.e. facing the Tabernacle.
It had to be inserted here as there were people, who as a result of the rebellion of Korach had become ritually contaminated.
Rashi
This is the statute of the Torah. Rashi’s explanation is that a statute connotes commandments for which one does not need to know the reason for doing them.
In these cases the commandment depends on doing and not on study.
The language of ‘statute’ is not appropriate in conjunction with Torah, though, because study is a part of the Torah.
Here, however, Moshe was told that even concerning Torah there would be a statute — the statute of the Torah — and he should not question the Torah of the red heifer.
Regarding the instructions about the vessels taken in the war on Midyan it also says, “the statute of the Torah,” because there was no need to provide a reason in that situation.
Furthermore, in that case it was Elozor speaking, and he did not need to provide a reason, but here it was the Holy One speaking.
When Rashi writes that this commandment is a decree, he does not mean a decree without any reason, as the view of the Rambam.
Rashi only means that we should not say the commandments are due to Hashem’s mercy on His creatures, and this is because the entire Torah is the Attribute of Judgment.
All the commandments are for the benefit of the people who keep them, and not, for example, for the benefit of the poor.
Hashem commanded us to go in His ways, which are merciful, and that is because of His decrees on mankind and not out of His mercy on creation.
This is why I prefer to consult with both, scholars and sages to get a more descriptive picture of what we read.
To determine what Chukkat means in our Torah portion, we will look at the context and examine, using both sources: language form, context. This way we can get to the function
Chukat
Statutes in function
Let me start with Miracles
Salvation is a miracle
Miracles are not repeated exactly as the first time.
When repeated they always contain recognizable elements in order to connect the two miracles, but they are always somehow different.
For example: the crossing of the Red Sea and the crossing of the Jordan
Similarities and Differences exist in the miracles.
No need to have an expectation that God will work the same.
No identical miracle will happen. We should find similarities, similar patterns.
There are points of comparison but there is also contrast.
When a miracle happens, it helps you establish a foundation the first time as your locator (how to look for the hand of God), and it gives you the pattern for a paradigm shift (to see things from God’s perspective).
Later when a miracle happens again you can see the pattern and you can examine the contexts.
This way no miracle or incident is more important than the other.
But you find the points of congruence in both miracles, then you have found something that as though have been highlighter (in yellow) which you can use in the future next time for you to pay attention.
For example in the prophetic realm, for Israel, the Golden Calf, was a kosher animal.
The four beast kingdoms of the nations are wild animals: lion, bear, leopard.
These are the seed of the dragon/ serpent which is not a kosher animal.
Both have a beast that need to be concerned with as they are not called to conformed to the image of the beast.
The two types of beasts are different: golden calf and beasts of the kingdoms, but knowing the difference will help you understand the the books of Daniel, Ezekiel, Revelation.
It will clarify what you are reading.
Context is crucial when defining words
We know that the children of Israel complained all their way to mount Sinai
We know that they would have preferred to go back to Egypt
Little did they know about the sanctification process
It is taught that this whole thing is about us- our sanctification
That our sanctification is in our lives
Is it our sanctification?
Let’s talk about Chukkat
In Chukkat, there are three examples of the Sanctification of the Name” to witnesses through the death of a righteous person:
1- The death of Miriam
1 Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.
5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.”
The death decrees of Aaron and Moses:
Decrees because they do not die right away
We will include the verses for reference that this actually happened
2-Aaron
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor;
26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.”
38 Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the Lord, and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.
3-Moses
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan,
2 all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea,
3 the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.
4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”
5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.
6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day.
7 Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.
8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.
9 Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,
We have read from the book of Revelation that there are souls under the altar.
We know that through their death they have sanctified the name for believers to bring reverence to Adonai.
This seems to be the goal.
To bring reverence to Adonai.
When the souls refuse to bring reverence to Adonai there is a clear separation.
When a righteous person dies, although it may seem unfair, we have to admit that for most people, at least people like us, when we have seen the dead of a righteous person it increases our sense of reverence or awe, of the Holy One.
It makes us realize how little power we bring or how little we bring to bear in terms of bargaining for our lives.
Sometimes death brings a negative response.
In some cases the death brings a positive response - for example Miriam.
But we also see the level of degrees for Moses and Aaron, and knowing the high level of sanctity they lived in,
we must also question if these little mistakes we commit now are staying outside the promised land as some allude to
But we also must understand with those people who live that level of sanctity, as seen by the sages, we think these people are needed and cannot be put out.
The Holy One can put out anyone He wants to.
In fact, the more mature brother/ sister is expected to know better as they have more responsibility over the less mature.
In fact it is expected that the older would guard the younger.
In Mariam being put outside the camp, seems to indicate she had greater responsibility - a very tacit acknowledgment of her leadership.
Although it seems negative, this shines on her life.
The Torah does not record that the assembly wept at her death, as they did after the death of Moses and Aaron.
Indeed, because they did not shed tears over the loss of Miriam, the source of their water dried up (Alshich), for it was as if her merit did not matter to them.
1 Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.
2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron.
Then people protested for lack of water.
Moses is commanded to get water later on.
As we have read, in the other two decrees of death: Moses and Aaron, they do not die instantly.
We know Mariam crosses over in this Torah portion, but Moses and Arron are told they will not cross the Jordan.
Still, it gives the impression something negative is happening.
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
13 This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.
hallow me - sanctify Me
They are the waters of strife (Meribah*), where the children of Israel contended with the Lord and He was sanctified through them.
This is to show that the death of a righteous persons sanctifies the name of Adonai
Another translation says:
But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Since you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore, you will not bring this congregation to the land which I have given them.”
Is it our sanctification or the sanctification of the name of Adonai?
YES
Let us go back to
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
13 This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.
the water of Meribah
I thought they did not have water
2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron.
What is He speaking about?
13 This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.
Meribah (mer’-i-bah) = Water of strife; chiding; contention. Strife
Lev. 18 (H) contains several laws prohibiting certain sexual offenses.
These prohibitions are set in a framework of 2 passages (vv. 1–5 and 24–30) in which the forbidden sexual practices are branded as Egyptian and Canaanite (v. 3) and the reader is admonished to keep the statutes of Yahweh (vv. 4, 24–30).
The prohibitions are impressed upon the people on the grounds that the prohibited sexual practices defile the land;
this is the reason the earlier inhabitants were driven out (vv. 24f., 27).
The land itself takes vengeance and vomits its inhabitants out.
The framework passages term these practices abominations (tôʿēbhôth), which stand in contrast to the commandments of Yahweh (v. 26)
Who are the waters of strife?
Obviously the children of Israel, but their problem was they did not have water.
They were striving over the water but they were part of those waters of strive.
But the greatest responsibility is being placed on Moses and Aaron, as if they were the waters of strife - being part of the this contention.
So God says, since YOU did not sanctify me,
I will sanctify myself through YOU - Moses and Aaron.
People will see that what seems to be a light offense, compared to other offenses committed in the wilderness,
You are not going to go onto the land.
When the children of Israel saw that, the awe, the reverence, the sense of mourning fell over them and they realized how high the bar was.
This will sober anybody up!!
That’s what the sages say the death of the righteous accomplishes.
When people see how rigid the judgement can be even against a righteous person who in the natural world you would expect that person to be given a break, since they have done so much good.
It seems this is just the opposite of what happens in scripture
It is those who who have lived a life of service to the Kingdom who seem to have a death sentence on them
Sometimes this death comes unexpectedly and quickly, but Adonai says they sanctified My Name.
It is very difficult to see or even imagine HOW the death of a righteous person sanctifies the name of Adonai in a mistake (as contrary to Messiah who never made a mistake or sinned).
But it is easy to see the purpose of it in Chukkat.
There is another account we have taught on which refers to this same principle: where Nadav and Abihu died before the Lord because they offered strange fire. Remember?
3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ” So Aaron held his peace.
Remember this explanation was not that the two men were so separated from God and that needed to be judged and burned up because of their sins. This was not what was said.
A more proper translation will be:
But Moses said to Aaron, the Lord spoke: “I will be sanctified by those who are close to Me, and before all people I will be honoured.”
Aaron kept silent:
Obviously as a father he would not be satisfied with the outcome, but there would be a certain peace that would come with this message from Adonai.
Because He is not saying I am punishing these two boys for acting out, and I want to discipline them, or I am angry with them, or that they will forever burn in hell.
That is not the message that God gave to Moses- by their death Adonai is honoured: “I will be sanctified by those who are close to Me, and before all the people I will be honoured.”
This means Nadab and Abihu were close to Adonai.
Their death was used so that people would be in awe, with reverence and would not deal with the Lord casually.
This brings me a lot of comfort.
Chukkat is about boundaries, order and limits.
The end of a righteous person’s life means his service to the Lord has come to that limit - sometimes we do not understand like the reason with our human and natural mind and name for our Torah portion:
2 “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.
How can a red heifer ceremony bring sanctification.
We do not understand this w/o Yeshua.
We taught in the significance of the Red Heifer two years ago. See the Podcast
Aaron understood this about Adonai and kept silent.
That was probably the best answer Moses could have brought to him:
3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ” So Aaron held his peace.
It is still difficult to understand the things of God.
It is very difficult how the Name of Adonai is sanctified by the death of a righteous person who made a mistake.
picture of the 4 types of law
But it is very easy to see why it is brought up in the Torah Portion: Chukkat.
Because the Chukkim are the commandents/ statutes that do not really have a rational explanation to the logical human mind.
Let me explain
If you have not heard me talk about Messiah bar Yosef, I suggest to sort through our Torah portion where I give an explanation of this.
Messiah bar Yosef is also known as Messiah bar Ephraim
There is an expectation of the coming of two Messiahs in Judaism.
There is also the expectation of Messiah ben David.
I am not saying I agree with this. Nor am I promoting Judaism.
But it is important to understand how a Jewish mind would see this.
These two Messiahs are based on the examples of Joshua and Caleb. But if we applied this in a much greater scale:
If the death of Nadab, Abihu, Mariam, Moses and Aaron in some particular way sanctified the Name of Adonai, through their death there was sanctification.
Typically these two things are mutually exclusive.
But if you consider the following verse which speaks of the suffering servant - Messiah bar Ephraim, who was supposed to suffer and die at the gates of Jerusalem,
and He was supposed to gather the tribes who were lost
so that Messiach ben David could unite the Kingdom again,
this particular verse was used as an example of the atoning blood of Bar Ephraim
10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
In the blessings, if you remember Joseph was treated like a first born.
He received a double portion.
If we kept on reading to the end of Zech chapter 12 to Zech chapter 13:1, we will find what they use as an example of blood of the death of Bar Ephraim will atone for Israel:
1 “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
2 “It shall be in that day,” says the Lord of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.
If you ever wonder why the Torah talks about unclean things, the answer is right here in Zech.
But in the gospels talks about unclean spirits. This could be the missing link if you will. He is talking about removing the defilement. Defilement makes you tamai - ritually impure.
But this fountain of water is going to drive the spirits away.
Somehow this mountain which will be opened to generate purification which are mentioned as unclean spirits in the NT, especially in Yeshua’s ministry
1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.
Man of the Gaderenes:
2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”
Yeshua used this example right in the middle of His appeal to the lack of faith, with the storm:
40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
Chukat in Paul:
6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
The hidden wisdom -v7- Chukkat
When we fall in a state of impurity the HS will help us search the deepest part of our souls to find out the root of that impurity.
The whole idea is to maintain the “boundaries” - Chukkat - of family purity.
Habitual defilement can lead to problems with unclean spirits.
I hope this adds an element to Messiah Bar Ephraim,
as the fountain is being opened for the atonement of sin, this makes emphasis on the sin in the land,
and the unclean spirits in the land.
This adds a lot of context for what Yeshua did in His first appearance.
Chukkat does not make sense to the eye of the carnal man.
We end up seeing the scriptures as illogical and irrational.
Only by revelation of Holy Spirit can we comprehend.
But you are not supposed to understand it.
You are supposed to just believe it.
In other words, God did not write a bad, incoherent, non- sensical, paragraph in the Bible. NO
Human logic is contrary to Biblical logic - chukkat.
This is why we struggle with these passages.
We have been trained to believe that when we speak about righteousness, and a righteous life, we are to believe we are earning our salvation. Salvation by works
This has nothing to do with Salvation.
It has everything to do with sanctification - to be a blessing to our neighbours.
The sanctification of the Name of Yeshua
Yeshua spoke of living waters in the book of Zech chapter 13, verse 1 in:
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
The first century mind of Jewish brethren would have been more in tune with the hidden messages of chukkat as they would have been more in touch with both the Torah and rabbinical explanations.
Three Types of Mitzvot - Commandments, according to the sages - The Torah is instruction
1- Testimony = Ediyot = עדיות
If a mitzvah testifies to a HISTORICAL EVENT or to some ASPECT of OUR FAITH, it is an edut ( Testimony)
34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
Strongs H5715
Examples of EDUT:
A- The mitavah to observe Shabbat, which is remembrance of the Creation. It attests to our belief that the Almighty created the world in six days
B- To observe the moedim (feasts) because they commemorate the deliverance of Egypt - not just Passover but also Sukkot
C- The mitzvot of tzitzit (tallit) and telillin (pair of leather stripes for head and arm), which demonstrates belief in Adonai’s rulership- mount Sinai- receiving of Torah
2- Mishpatim = Civil Law = משפטתים
Mishpatim are divine laws that provide for the SAFETY and SURVIVAL of human society. These are the most practical and easy to understand, logical, such as prohibitions against theft, murder, adultery, etc. Singular = mishpat
1 “Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them:
Strongs HB 4941
This is the reason a lot of people identify with the 10 commandments, but cannot identify with everything else, because these are pertaining human life and are logical.
3- CHUKKIM = Divine Ordinances (Statutes) - חקים
A chok (singular) falls into the mitzvot whose purposes or meaning are not necessarily understood by human intelligence.
There are many Chukkim, but the Torah explicitly states “It is a chok” four times.
Since they contain apparent contradictory elements, they are liable to be ridiculed by the rational thinker.
THE FOUR ARE:
A- YIBBUM - to marry the widow of one’s deceased brother - Find this in Deut chapter 25 verses 5-10
B- SHAATNEZ - Not to wear garments of mixed wool and linen
Leviticus chapter 19 verse 19
Deuteronomy chapter 22 verses 9-11
C- Sa’ir LaAzazel - the he-goat sent to death as part of the Yom Kippur service. It purified the nation, yet defiled the agent who led it away
Leviticus chapter 16, 6-8
Leviticus chapter 16, 22
D- Para Aduma - the ashes of the red heifer purity the person with Tamei (uncleanness), yet it renders tamei anyone involved in preparing the ashes
Numbers chapter 19, 2
These require the most faith. However,
it does not mean we cannot find context to understand them.
Para Aduma - has to do with worshiping the golden calf
4 categories where we can find tamei - impurity:
Foods
Liquids
Vessels and garments
An Israelite
In the Temple of Meeting, if a teruma (offering) or challah became tamei, the Kohen (priest) was no longer permitted to eat it.
This is the reason for the red heifer:
2 “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.
10 My beloved is white and ruddy, Chief among ten thousand.
1838 I. דָּגַל (dā·ḡǎl): v.; ≡ Str 1713; TWOT 402b—LN 79.9–79.17 (qal pass.) be outstanding, be conspicuous, i.e., have an appearance that is readily pointed out, implying beauty or majesty note: as a kind of appearance,
My beloved [ani dod] = but in it you find David - דוד - if you take the vowels out
10 My beloved is white and ruddy, Chief among ten thousand.
The Holy One is adom - Not Esau, but red, the colour of blood atonement
The Red Heifer displays His banner - “dagul” of atonement and purification
He is tzach: white, dazzling, clear
The red heifer provides a way for the Israelites to achieve purity in spite of the realm of death that returned in their sin of the Golden Calf
What what about Balak?
As the Torah portion is Chukkat Balak
CLOSING
Balak - Destroyer
The promise of Messiah as a follow up of the Red Heifer
Balak hired Balaam who compromised. His job was to curse Israel
But he could not because his eyes are opened by the HS
1 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
3 Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
5 “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel!
vs Korach’s tents
23 So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”
25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.”
The Promise that God will raise another prophet like Moses
5 “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside, Like aloes planted by the Lord, Like cedars beside the waters.
7 He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 “God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; He shall consume the nations, his enemies; He shall break their bones And pierce them with his arrows.
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,
The Prophecy of Messiah right in the middle of the Red Heifer
15 So he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
17 “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.
18 “And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does valiantly.
19 Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, And destroy the remains of the city.”
The death of a righteous changes everything:
Miriam
Numbers 20:1
Aaron
Numbers 33:38
Moses
Deuteronomy 34:5
Yeshua’s prayer in the Garden for His disciples (all Jewish)
He sanctifies Himself as Adonai sanctified Himself with Moses and Aaron’s death
19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
By faith in Yeshua even when we do not see it or understand it - we are saved
As the Red Heifer is explained
11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Until the resurrection of the body, Yeshua’s blood cleanses us for service.
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”
This is a direct quote from the Torah to remind us of the covenant. It came from
6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.”
8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”
May the name of the Lord be sanctified in your life
Shabbat Shalom