JULY 13, 2022 Numbers 6:2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, he shall separate himself to the Lord.” In previous chapters, emphasis was sometimes placed on situations where someone would be considered unclean in regard to the Sanctuary […]
JULY 9, 2022 Numbers 5:1-2 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.” If we understand that the sanctity of the Sanctuary had to be maintained, it stands to reason that the camp, itself, had to ritually […]
JULY 11, 2022 Numbers 5:12, 14-15 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him … if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and […]
As Balaam set out for Moab, “God was angry because he was going” (Numbers 22:22). Why? Had not God Himself granted Balaam permission to go? Why did He become angry? The Almighty knew what was in Balaam’s heart. He knew that, despite all his exterior piety, Balaam intended to curse Israel and get the reward from Balak.
The Angel of the LORD blocked Balaam’s path three times. Each time, Balaam did not see the angel, but the donkey did. This is more than just good storytelling. The three incidents correspond to Balaam’s three attempts to curse Israel in Numbers 23-24. Balaam attempted to utter a curse over the people of Israel three times, but each time the LORD stood in his way, so to speak, and changed his curse into a blessing.
Ironically, Balaam referred to himself as “the man whose eye is opened” (Numbers 24:4) and as the man “who knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty … having his eyes uncovered” (Numbers 24:15-16). His donkey disagreed with his self-assessment. The man who “sees clearly the vision of the Almighty with eyes open,” did not see as clearly as his donkey. The donkey had a better vision of God than Balaam did. The donkey had deeper spiritual insight than Balaam did.
The Angel of the LORD blocked Balaam’s path three times. An unseen angel with a sword in his hand stood only a few paces ahead of him. On the third occasion, Balaam assaulted his donkey with a stick. When the donkey rebuked him, Balaam said, “If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now” (Numbers 22:29). The sages noticed the irony of such a statement from a man who allegedly could defeat an entire nation simply by the power of his words. He intended on smiting all Israel with the power of his speech, but he needed to beat his donkey with a stick and wished for a sword to kill her:
This villain was going to curse an entire nation which had not sinned against him [merely by the power of his words], yet he has to smite his donkey [with his hand] to prevent it from going into a field! … the donkey spoke to Balaam saying, “You need a sword in your hand to kill me? How then do you intend to uproot an entire nation with only your words?” Balaam could not think of an answer, so he kept silent. (Numbers Rabbah 20:14)
The Midrash Rabbah goes on to explain that one should never argue with donkeys or any other animals because they will always outwit a person. For that reason, God, in His mercy and wisdom, has closed the mouths of animals. If not, they would continually make us feel stupid:
The Holy One, blessed be He, has consideration for the dignity of mankind and, knowing their weakness, He shut the mouth of beasts. For had they been able to speak, it would have been impossible to put them to the service of man or to stand one’s ground against them. For here was this donkey, the most stupid of all beasts, and there was the wisest of all wise men, yet as soon as she opened her mouth he could not stand his ground against her! (Numbers Rabbah 20:14)
Balak – בלק Torah : Numbers 22:2-25:9 Haftarah : Micah 5:6-6:8 Gospel : Mark 11:12-26
JULY 8, 2022 Numbers 4:29, 31 As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families and by their fathers’ house….And this is what they must carry as all their service for the tabernacle of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its’ pillars, its’ sockets. Anyone who follows football or other such team sports understands that, […]
JULY 7, 2022 Numbers 4:24-25 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and carrying: They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of meeting with its covering, the covering of badger skins that is on it, the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Hearkening back to something we have discussed before, the primacy of […]
JULY 6, 2022 Numbers 4:5-6 When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue, and […]
JULY 5, 2022 Numbers 3:29, 31 The families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. Their duty included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the screen, and all the work relating to them. In keeping with […]
JULY 4, 2022 Numbers 3:12-13 Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to […]
In Numbers 19, the Torah gives the laws for preparing the ashes of the red heifer. The red heifer is an unusual sacrifice which was slaughtered and burned outside of the Tabernacle. Its ashes were then collected and mixed with water. The water was sprinkled in a purification ceremony which removed ritual uncleanness engendered by contact with death.
Paradoxically, the preparation of the red heifer renders each person involved unclean. The priest who oversees the slaughter and the burning becomes unclean and incurs first degree impurity. The man who ignites the fire becomes unclean. The man who gathers the ashes together is rendered unclean. Moreover, the one who sprinkles the water of cleansing to remove the impurity of corpse contamination incurs first degree impurity. The sages speak of the paradox as an inexplicable decree of the Almighty:
Who decreed this? Was it not … God? We have learned that all the people engaged in preparing the water of the ashes of the red heifer, from beginning to end, defile garments, while the heifer itself makes garments ritually clean. The Holy One, blessed is He, says, “I have laid down a statute; I have issued a decree! You cannot transgress My decree.” (Numbers Rabbah 19:1)
The same paradox is also present in the rituals of Yom Kippur. After completing the purification ceremony of Yom Kippur, the high priest needed to immerse again. Similarly, the man who released the goat into the wilderness needed to immerse before returning to the camp, and the priest who oversaw the burning of the carcasses of the sin offerings needed to immerse himself before returning to the camp.
The purification paradox hints toward Messiah who became unclean in order to cleanse. To save others from death He died. Yeshua took on mortal uncleanness by virtue of His human birth. He took on human uncleanness by virtue of His healing ministry in our midst. He took on the uncleanness, the iniquity, the transgression, and sin of Israel. He took on the contaminating impurity of death itself, in order to cleanse us from sin and death. He did not remain long in a state of ritual impurity. Human uncleanness and iniquity did not cling to Him. He stepped out from the tomb in perfect purity. He shed the mortal form, and with it He shed ritual impurity. The unclean grave clothes, tainted with the contamination of death, He left behind.
The writer of the book of Hebrews specifically mentions in Hebrews 9:13-14 the ashes of the red heifer. What is more, he attributes efficacy to them as regards cleansing the flesh. The passage compares the blood of Messiah to the ashes of the red heifer. If the ashes of the red heifer work on the outside (the flesh), how much more so does the blood of Messiah work on the inside (the conscience) from sin:
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:13-14)
Chukat – חוקת : “Statute” Torah : Numbers 19:1-22:1 Haftarah : Judges 11:1-33 Gospel : Matthew 21:1-17