Pinchas B’midbar (Numbers) 25:10-30:1
1.When we left last week’s Torah portion the children of Israel were punished for worshiping other gods. Throughout Torah we see Israel, over and over fall into idol worship and suffer for it. We have idol worship in our day today. Anything we put before G-d Almighty becomes an idol. Why do you think the people of Israel fell into the trap of idol worship over and over? Why was it so hard to stay faithful to the one true G-d? Why is it still hard for believers today?
Israel was attracted to idol worship because it offered tangible representations of gods, promised immediate gratification, and aligned with pagan practices prevalent in the region. As with believers in our day today, Israel struggled with wanting to be like the other nations. It was difficult to be set apart. I Samuel 8:5, 20)
Additionally, idol worship often included rituals that appealed to human senses and emotions, making it more engaging compared to the faith-based worship of the one true G-d.
Believers today may be quick to judge the Israelites for their idolatry, but we should remember that idols take many forms. Idolatrous sins still tempt the modern-day believer (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8–10).
Instead of bowing down to the ancient forms of Baal and Asherah, we today sometimes honor possessions, success, and physical pleasure to the dishonoring of G-d. Just as G-d disciplined the Israelites for their idolatry and forgave them when they repented, He disciplines us and extends the offer of forgiveness. (Hebrews 12:7–11; 1 John 1:9; 2 Peter 3:9).
2.Below is a list of celebrations in G-d’s calendar, that we read about in this week’s Torah portion. The Messianic scripture records that Yeshua and his followers kept the Festivals. See how many references you can find for these Festivals in the Messianic Scripture.
Passover – Feast of Unleavened Bread – Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost – Rosh Hashana/Feast of Trumpets – or the sounding of the shofar, Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur – Feast of Tabernacles/Succoth – Hoshana Rabbah/The Eighth Day of Succoth – Hanukkah/Festival of Lights
Passover – Commanded in Torah Leviticus 23:5
Found in Messianic Scripture – Matthew 26:2, Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 2:41-42; Luke 22:1; Luke 22:7-20 John 2:13; John 2:23; John 6:4; John 13:1-30;
Feast of Unleavened Bread – Commanded in Torah Leviticus 23:6-8
Found in Messianic Scripture – Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12; Luke 2:41-42; Luke 22:1; Luke 22:7; Acts 20:6 I Cor. 5:6-8
Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost – Commanded in Torah Leviticus 23:15-22
Found in Messianic Scripture – Acts 2:1-21; Acts 20:16; I Corinthians 16:8
Rosh Hashana/Feast of Trumpets – Commanded in Torah Leviticus 23:23-25
Although the Feast of Trumpets is not mentioned by name in the Messianic Scriptures, the sounding of trumpets (shofar) announcing Yeshua’s return- is mentioned in several places in the Messianic Scripture.
Found in Messianic Scripture – Matthew 24:30-31; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Rev. 11:15
Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur – Commanded in Torah Leviticus 23:26-32
Found in Messianic Scripture – Acts 27:9
Feast of Tabernacles/Succoth – Commanded in Torah Leviticus 23:33-43
Found in Messianic Scripture – John 7:1-2; John 7:8; John7:10; John 7:14
Hoshana Rabbah/The Eighth Day of Succoth – Commanded in Leviticus 23:36
Found in Messianic Scripture John 7:37
*Hanukkah/Festival of Lights Found in Messianic Scripture – John 10:22-23 *Although not found in Torah because it happened post-Torah, this feast celebrates the retaking of the Temple from Greek control in Second Century BCE.
3. We read the story of the daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 27:1-11. They stood before Moses, the priests and the whole congregation and asked for “a possession among the brothers of our father.” This had never been done before. What do you think gave these women the courage to stand up and ask for their father’s land when a woman had never been given an inheritance before?
In this passage we read of these women coming to Moshe with their request. They wanted to be counted in the parceling out of the Land once Israel crossed over the river Jordan when each tribe would be given their inheritance. At this time in history this was a radical request, apparently not covered in the Torah. When a man died his property went to his sons. If he had none then the inheritance would go to the next closest male heir. So Moshe went to G-d and inquired about how to answer these women. G-d agreed with the daughters and they were allowed to inherit whatever land their father would have received if he had lived until the crossing over to the Land.
Apparently one thing their father had achieved was to pass on to his daughters a love for the Land of Israel. This is an important point of this story. We inherit what we truly love. These women were concerned they would not share in the Land. It reminded me of how important it is to pass on to our children and even our friends what we truly love. Our faith must be part of that inheritance. It should be something that defines us in our life. How we act, how we live and the importance of who we are. If not, the foundation of our faith may die with us. These women were able to stand against the rules of society of their time. Their desire to be counted worthy to inherit part of the Land out weighed the seemingly lack of a way to realize that dream. They stood for what they thought was right.
Society so often dictates to us what to think, what is important and we go along with that without filtering it through what our faith calls upon us to do. We, our children, and other people who look up to us, will be taught that these transient things of the world are what is important. A result of this is they might lose their way and end up with no inheritance of value. These women went to the wall for what they believed to be right. G-d agreed and the whole of Israel was changed. New commandments were entered into the Torah basically because of their faith.
4.What are the three things the L-rd told Moses to do to set Joshua over the congregation before Moses died? What do you see is the importance of each of these steps?
Numbers 27:18-20, “ So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership,[a] and lay your hand on him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him.
Lay hands on him
Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly
Give him some of your authority
It is definitely a selfless gesture, when someone is facing death, that they put aside their personal needs and look to the needs of others. This is what Moses did in asking G-d to set a man over the congregation. Numbers 27:15-17.
We find this same thought in Matthew 9:36, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
The first thing Moses was to do was lay his hands on Joshua. This is like lighting one candle from another. When we share our influence with someone else it does not mean you have less. You have more. The same thing happens when we light a candle from another candle. You do not have less light you have more. This is still done in congregations today,
Laying his hand on Joshua was to give him some of his authority. This was to be done in the presence of the priests and the whole congregation so they would recognize him as their new leader. When Moses transferred his power to lead the congregation to Joshua and died his power ended but his influence lived on after him.
Power and influence are often thought of as being the same kind of thing: those who have power have influence and vice versa. In fact, though, they are quite different. If I have total power and then decide to share it with nine others, I now have only one-tenth of the power I had before. If I have a certain measure of influence and then share it with nine others, I do not have less. I have more. Instead of one person radiating this influence, there are now ten. Power works by division, influence by multiplication. Influence is simply more enduring than power
We are living in a time where leaders are looking for power instead of looking for ways to influence others for good. May we look for ways to influence those around us with our faith.