Pinehas Numbers 25
Weekly Torah Section: Pinchas Numbers 25:10-30:1, HafTorah I Kings 18:46-19:21
This week we pick back up with the saga of Elijah after the conflict on Mt. Carmel with the prophets of Ba’al, his pinnacle of success as a prophet to the northern kingdom. G-d has answered him in a wonderful way. Rain comes, Elijah tells Ahab to hurry home before the rains make it impossible. In verse 46 it says the Hand of G-d was on him and he ran before Ahab. The idea here is that after his victory Elijah was considered part of the king’s entourage now. Ahab included him in the company going before him. So why does he run as soon as Jezebel threatens him two verses later? Maybe his new position gave him a false sense of security, maybe he trusted Ahab to protect him. Is it easy to take our eyes off of G-d as our protector and shield? So Elijah takes his servant and runs to the wilderness – to Beersheva. The wilderness is often used as a place of refuge. Israel, David, Yeshua, all had experiences in the wilderness. It is also a place of revelation. Think what we have said about the word for desert. In Hebrew the word for desert is midbar. To speak is ledaber. The root word is the same in both words. People went to the desert to hear from G-d.
Balak Numbers 22
Weekly Torah Section: Balak Numbers 22:2-25:9, HafTorah Micah 5:1-6:8
Micah was a prophet from the flat country in Judea and prophesied for over half a century. He was a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea. He prophesied during the reign of three Judean kings, the last being Hezekiah. Jeremiah refers to Micah in Jeremiah 26:18-19. In Micah 5:1-5 he speaks of the coming Messianic age, where the Messiah will be born, about his role as the Good Shepherd and the one who brings peace. I want us to look mainly at verse 8 in chapter 6. What does the L-rd require of us? He requires us to “do justice,” “love kindness” and to “walk humbly with G-d.”
Chukat (Statute) Numbers 19
Weekly Torah Section: Chukat (Statute) Numbers 19:1-22:1, HafTorah Judges 11:1-33
In Judges we read about a crisis that had come upon the people of Gilead – a territory to the Northeast of what is the land of Israel today. The people or leaders of Gilead asked Jephthah, ( Ephtach in Hebrew), to save them from the Ammonite King who was demanding their surrender. Jephthah first tried diplomacy but that didn’t work. He then goes out and defeats the Ammonites but at a high cost. Before going into battle he made an oath or vow to G-d. What was that vow? Look in Judges 11:31. Why did he make such a vow? Did he not know what the Torah said? Yes in fact he recited the past history of the Jewish people to the King of Ammon. So he did know the Torah. He was not ignorant so why did he make this vow? Could it have been pride or arrogance? In Leviticus 27:4 it says that a female vowed to the L-rd could be redeemed for 30 shekels of silver donated to the sanctuary. So even after making the vow he could have redeemed his daughter for 30 shekels of silver.
Korach Numbers 16:1
Weekly Torah Section: Korach Numbers 16:1-18:32, HafTorah: I Samuel 11:14-12:22
Tonight I want us to mainly look at the Torah portion, but I do have a few things to say about the Haftorah. In I Samuel we see the greatest of Israel’s judges turning over the nation to their first king – King Saul. What connection do you see between Samuel and the Torah section in Numbers. There are at least two things. Both contain a miraculous sign. In Numbers the earth opens and swallows up 250 people. In Samuel a fierce thunderstorm occurs. Why is the thunderstorm a miraculous sign? When does this thunderstorm occur – during the wheat harvest. So what time of year was that? Near the holiday of Shavuot, which means it was the time of year when rain does not fall in Israel. The other connection was both Moses and Samuel said they had taken nothing from the people. (Numbers 16:15 and I Samuel 12:3)
Bamidbar (In the Desert) and Shavuot
Weekly Torah Section: Bamidbar (In the Desert) Numbers 1:1-4:20, HafTorah: Hosea 2:1-22
Shavuot (Pentecost) Leviticus 23:9-22
Shavuot starts 49 days after Passover at the end of the counting of the Omer. It is known as the time of G-d giving the Torah. And if you look at Exodus you can count the days from Passover until the Mt. Sinai experience and come to this conclusion as well. I want us to take a minute and look at this holiday since some may not be familiar with it. It begins this coming Tuesday evening, May 18th. It is the second of the pilgrimage holidays coming between Passover and Succoth. In Deut. we read a good account of the agricultural background to the holiday of Shavuot. What does it mean to us and can we make some spiritual applications to our lives?
Emor (Say) Leviticus 21:1
Weekly Torah Section: Emore (Say) Leviticus 21:1-24:23, Haftorah: Ezekiel 44:15-31
In both the Torah and Haftorah portions we read about the priests and their duties and qualifications. In the Haftorah, Ezekiel 44:15-31 we read the words of Ezekiel. Who was he? When were these verses written and where was he when he wrote this? Ezekiel was a priest from the temple in Jerusalem so he knew intimately what the priestly duties were. He wrote these verses in Babylon by the river Chebar in 585 BCE.
In Ezekiel 44:15 it says that the sons of Zadok (In Hebrew Zadok means righteous) will stand before the L-rd and offer the offerings while the other priests will do the more menial tasks. Why were they singled out? They were the only priests that kept the commandments concerning the sanctuary and offerings to G-d. Again, they stayed close to G-d and they stayed holy while the rest of Israel had strayed away from G-d. Even the other priests had not remained faithful. This reminds us of the New Testament verses where it says in the last days many of the elect will fall away. If we as the elect know our priestly duties and our role as Christians we will not be deceived in the last days. It also goes back to how important it is to stay clean in the midst of a crooked world. What was the sons of Zadok’s inheritance? In Ezekiel 44:28 it says the L-rd was their inheritance. May this be our inheritance as well.
All these verses in Ezekiel take place in the Messianic age when the Torah will go forth from Jerusalem.
Tazria/Metzora (Conceived/Leper)
Weekly Torah Section: Tazria (Conceived) and Metzora (Leper) Leviticus 12:1-15:33,
Haftorah: II Kings 7:3-20
What binds these Torah sections and II Kings 7:3-20 together? Leprosy and Lepers are the common themes. What is leprosy? Today it is known as Hanson’s Disease. But what the scripture talks about is probably something else. In scripture when people had leprosy it was usually different types of skin problems, boils, rashes or psoriasis.
In II Kings we read of Elisha and how he followed Elijah as the prophet to the northern kingdom. The events here happened during the reign of King Joram, son of Ahab, the king of Syria. Ben Hadad had laid siege to the city and people had been reduced to eating their own children as prophesied in Deut. 28:53. In chapter 6 verse 25, it tells how bad it had become. We pick up the story in II Kings 7:3 where we see four lepers talking at the entrance to the city. Why were they outside the city? The answer can be found in Leviticus 13:46. Because of their leprosy they were not allowed inside the city.
Sh’mini (The Eighth)
Sh’mini (The Eighth) Leviticus 9:1-11:47 and II Samuel 6:1-7:17
I would like us to look first at II Samuel and then move to the Torah portion for tonight. First a touch of background: the Philistines had captured the ark from Israel in battle and took it to their territory. However, pretty quickly they saw that was not working out for them so they took it from Gath and returned it to Beith Shemesh. In I Samuel 6:19 it tells us the people of Beth Shemesh opened the ark and because of that 50,070 people died. Then they sent it on to Kirjath Jearim where it stayed in the house of Abinadab for twenty years.
Tzav (Command)
Weekly Torah Section: Tzav (Command) Leviticus 6:8-8:36, Haftorah: Malachi 3:1-4:6
I would like to start with the Torah section, Leviticus 6:8-8:36 and then finish with Malachi 3:1-4:6. The first verse of the Torah section begins with the word, Tzav. In English this word means “Command.” What is interesting is that this word is used rather than some other Hebrew word that would mean to tell or to speak. These words are often used when the person wishes to get across a sense of urgency. Command, on the other hand, seems to say do it now and keep on doing it. So, the question arises why did G-d feel He had to use this word here? Would G-d have doubted the commitment of Aaron and his sons? After all, they were at the top of the religious hierarchy. One thought that carries a hint was that maybe G-d wasn’t worried about the immediate future but as time went on would their attentiveness wane. It is one thing to be excited and committed early in our walk with G-d and another to hold on to that zeal as time goes on. So like Aaron and his sons we are challenged to not lose our fire but to stay close to G-d no matter what we experience in life.
Vayikra (He Called)
Weekly Torah Section: Vayikra (He Called) Leviticus 1:1-6:7, Haftorah: Isaiah 43:21-44:23
I would like to begin with the Haftorah reading in Isaiah 43. My question is, why was Israel formed and likewise, by adoption, why were we created? We were created to praise G-d. How do we do that? By living our lives in total dedication to Him. Here I would like to bring in one Hebrew word from the Torah portion, Korban. We will talk more about it later but when you read the Torah in Leviticus this word, or a form of this word appears over and over. So what does it really mean? Usually you think of this word meaning sacrifice but It also means to draw close or draw near. So, to really praise G-d we must draw close to Him. Now back to Isaiah.