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Bhaalotkha: Torah: Bmidbar 8:1-12:16/

Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14-4:7/ Brit: John 19:31-37; Heb.3:1-6


The title of this weeks parasha is Bhaalotekha and taken in context of the
the literal meaning of the verb in this sentence it means to kindle, to raise up, or to
light. The root of the word comes from Strongs number 5927 or Alah and it means
among other things to go up, ascend, offer up, extend, reach, and can mean to take
a journey. The first time we see this root word is in Bresheit 2:6, There went up
a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. In the sense of
kindling we see it used in Vayikra or Leviticus 24:2 Command the children of
Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the
lamps to burn continually.
The 2-letter root word Ayin-Lamed means work and yoke. Ayin
means to see or observe meaning to experience and gain understanding. Lamed
carries the meaning of a staff & yoke. The staff was used often as a yoke as it was
placed around and over the shoulder to direct and guide the animal in the
performing of its designated work. We as YHVHs set apart people have been
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appointed to do works as well. In fact, Messiah sent His call out prefacing it by
kindly pointing out For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Mat 11:30 CJB).
How many have attempted to make merchandise of GOD in the pursuit of a
lifestyle of pleasure only to find it leaves one empty? Make no mistake, we are
called to be sent, to do and to obey and Aharon was not appointed to spend his
days with sandals propped up behind a big acacia wood desk tasking everyone else
from a fluffy white cloud. When done correctly, service approved unto HaShem
will come with a cost and it will require sacrifice. A wise person who numbers
their days like the psalmist sang once taught me, that anything worth having
comes with a cost; question is, are we ready to pay? Perhaps the weightier question
is So what are you kindling? You See? Everything starts with the heart, and
Aharon, the Cohen HaGadol cleaned and maintained the Menorah in the Holy
place every day; daily working out his salvation in a holy place. Theres something
left to be said about that.
But Aharon was to kindle the lamps and to light them in such way that the
flames faced or shone facing forward. Why is that important? Why did that
detail make it into the Word of God? Is it trivial? Is any of Gods Word trivial?
Certainly not, even down to the smallest letter and stroke (Mt. 5:18). But it begs
the question then, what is so significant about the light facing forward when the
Menorahs lamps are burning? Perhaps drawing from the rich symbolism of the
menorah and the rooms contents may enlighten us as to its directional
significance.
Family Reunion
In order to understand the greater purpose of The Tent of Meeting we have
to briefly examine The Tabernacle. There were two rooms yes? The Holy of Holies
which contained the Ark of the Covenant and the cover with the two center-
facing Keruvim, above which and in the center The Presence of YHVH would
descend and meet Aharon there once a year, but numerous times on The Day of
Atonement; and then the veil that separated or created a partition to its adjacent
room over called the Holy Place. In this room there were three specific items. The
Menorah, the Altar of Incense, and the Table with the Shewbread. One entered the
Tent of Meeting through the gateway from the hall and into the sanctuary on the
East Side. Once inside one could view to the left, which would be to the south, the
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Holy Menorah shining its Holy Light illuminating the entire Holy Place; to the
West one viewed the Veil, or Curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy
of Holies where The Ark of The Covenant rest just on the other side. In the center
of the Holy Place was the Altar of incense constantly sending up its fragrant
offering like the prayers of the saints (Rev.8:4); and to the North stood the Table of
Shewbread with its twelve loaves prepared and placed there weekly by the
cohanim.
Much discussion has been made of these furnishings. Allow me to restate the
obvious beloved, all of the furnishings in the Tabernacle point ultimately to
Messiah. But because God has called us to be involved in covenant with Him we
are able to extract some deeper understanding in the dynamic between God and His
covenant people, by way of exploring and understanding the relationship between
the placement of the furnishings in The Holy Place. We will return to The
Menorah, but we read it was to shine or face forward because it not only
illuminated the room, but specifically it shined upon the table of Shewbread. The
twelve loaves were symbolic of Messiah, but also of the obvious connection with
the number twelve being the twelve tribes of Israel. The Holy Light of the
Menorah shined on the twelve tribes as they were united, together on the table. If
we take a moment to examine the word in Hebrew for table it is shulchan and it
literally means to spread out. It also means where one sends his hand to receive
food (Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, Benner).
YHVH says in the book of Ezekiel speaking of restoring His Holy People
that They will enter my sanctuary, approach my table to minister to me and
perform my service. (Eze. 44:16). We read elsewhere in Tehillim 23 that YHVH
prepares a table for us in the midst of our enemies and in Psalm 78 we read how
our ancestors tempted God asking after He had already, many times over, prepared
a table in the bmidbar, or wilderness for His stiff-necked people. But the
emphasis in context to the light that shone facing forward was to illuminate Gods
provision for His people. Metaphorically speaking it evoke[s] the picture of the
fellowship shared by those seated around the table, such as the beautiful family
scene in Psalm 128:3 (Theo. Wordbook of the OT, p.928)
A song of ascents: How happy is everyone who fears ADONAI, who lives
by his ways.
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You will eat what your hands have produced; you will be happy and
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prosperous.
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Your wife will be like a fruitful vine in the inner parts of your house.
Your children around the table will be like shoots from an olive tree. (Psa 128:1-
3 CJB)
Yeshua MessiahThe Etz Chayim
So the light illuminates Gods provision for His people, their unity, their
fellowship and relationship operating as a Holy family, prospering and lifting one
another up as they walked in obedience with Gods Word! But the Menorah could
only illuminate the table of Shewbread as it was properly maintained. The
Menorah we read now and as at first when Moshe was first shown the pattern in
Shemot, that it was to be of pure Gold, and it was to be one piece of hammered
Gold. Consulting Ruth Lascelles book A Dwelling Place for God we observe
that Gold specifically speaks of Divinity. Recall that all the furnishings in the Tent
of Meeting were constructed or overlaid with Gold! But it also speaks of offering
our very best. When we have been tested and are refined His Word says we will
come forth as Gold (Job 23:10). If we examine the Haftarah portion in Zechariah,
reading from chapter 3 verse 8 we read of the prophet being shown a vision of
Gods restoration being accomplished through His Branch, or Tsemach! Used
only a handful of times the Tsemach, or Branch as studied in the Septuagint
specifically refers to One rising like the sun in the east, blossoming with strength.
This Branch is none other than the one depicted in the Menorah that gives light to
YHVHs set apart people. It is Messiah! He is the Vine, we are the branches. We
are called to overcome by His Ruach as foretold in the Haftarah in chapter 4.
Read Zechariah 3:8-4:6
Crushed to Bring Light
The Menorah is fashioned like a tree. It has the central trunk or stem, and out
from the central trunk sprout the branches. It is our responsibility to bring in fresh
pressed olive oil to supply to the lamps of the menorah so that it can burn daily
(Exo.27:20). While Aharon tended, cleaned and replaced the wicks and refilled
them, the Menorah symbolizes not only our participation in allowing our lives to
be used in service to YHVH by way of sacrifice and obedience, but it reveals as we
do so, the character of The One who came and allowed Himself to be crushed in
order to bring Gods empowering Holy Spirit, His provision, His light to reveal His
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Way to walk and His restored favor upon His set-apart peopleHallelu-YAH! The
Menorah is not only a constant testimony of our Redeemer Yeshua, but also of the
appointed work and reward for those who enter into covenant with YHVH, to
submit themselves to the hard-pressing work of sacrificing oneself in order for the
Gods Love to burn brightly to a confused and blinded world of sleepy Israelites!
Waving, Sifting, Separated
A brief word about Wave Offerings. When we read about Shavuot wave
offering of the two leavened loaves, and in this weeks parsha we see they share a
noteworthy quality. Here in Numbers chapter 8, and in the two leavened loaves we
read that there is to be a grain offering, and both are to be of fine flour. Websters
Dictionary defines flour as a product consisting of finely milled wheat. In order
to become finethe wheat has to undergo a refining process. First its to be
threshed on the threshing floor where its trampled in order for the heads of grain
to be cracked open. It is then sifted so that the wheat is separated from the chaff,
and it is also placed on a millstone where it is ground into a fine powder. The
longer the grinding, the finer the flour. When complete, this product bears forth a
high quality grain cake that is fit to offer our King.
In my honest opinion I believe the waving of the offering was how it
identified to those observing what special process it had undergone. It had been
cleaned and milled to be used for a special purpose by God. And so we see just like
the acceptable grain offering that was laid upon the altar and the grain offering that
was waved, so Aharon offered The Levites as a Wave offering unto YHVH; at
which point the people laid their hands on the Levites, who in turn laid their hands
on the animals to be sacrificed and then the animals who were without blemish
were sacrificed an offered to YHVH upon the altar. The point I observe in my
limited understanding however is just thisGod can use a person set apart for His
High Calling to make atonement for another person. That is revolutionary, but
weve been doing it without realizing it oftentimes. Do you pray for family
members or friends struggling through a difficult time? How about for someone
you love who is lost and confused or even in a place of rebellion? Does God
answer those prayers? Yes He does. So, do our prayers sometimes move the hand
of God to do acts of restoration, mercy and covering in the lives of those we pray
for? Absolutely. We need to pray more.
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In the English we read in the space of eleven verses the word Wave
Offering used four times. Do you think YHVH is trying to get our attention? If we
examine the word for Wave Offering in Hebrew its the word Tephunah, and it
means to wave, to quiver, or to vibrate. But if we explore the root word found in
the Paleo Hebrew it reveals the word noof. Comprised of a Nun, a Vav and a Fey,
its two-letter root is a Nun-Fey () and it is a picture of a seed, and an open
mouth; it means to use the mouth as a tool to separate the seed. and its literal
meaning is to shake, and to sieve! The Levites were selected by YHVH to be
sifted, crushed and separated for a special purpose to serve God in the Tabernacle.
Did this discount the sons and daughters of YHVH from the various other tribes?
Absolutely not. But what we find reveals that Gods chosen set apart people have a
special responsibility to walk in the fear of Adonai. Too many people today lack
that I fear. Too many people would prefer to assume too much. Just as we began
with the menorah facing forward, shining its Holy Light upon the twelve united
tribes of Israel, we see what happened in chapter 12 at the conclusion of this
parsha. Miriam and Aharon spoke ill of Moshes wife and thus of Moshe. This
sinful dialogue resulted in a plague didnt it? Let me ask you a question. Why did
the Levites camp all around between the Tabernacle and the other eleven tribes?
We read in chapter 8, verse 19 of Bmidbar and I have given the L'vi'im to Aharon
and his sons from among the people of Isra'el to do the service of the people of
Isra'el in the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Isra'el, so
that no plague will fall on the people of Isra'el in consequence of their coming too
close to the sanctuary." (Num 8:19 CJB)
You see? All of this sifting and crushing, this humiliation was a refining
process designed to put an end to self, to the lifting up of self, the kindling of lust,
and of vanity. Beloved we are so in need of doing as Rav Shaul stated, I die
daily. But do we? Do we put our selfish desires aside daily to address the
weightier matters of serving YHVH? Or do we like recorded in Chapter 12 of
Bmidbar engage in casual sinful conversation inviting death into the camp of
Gods people? We read, "Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My
household;
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With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even openly, and not in dark
sayings, And he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid To
speak against My servant, against Moses?"
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So the anger of the LORD burned
against them and He departed.
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But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the
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tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward
(paniym) Miriam, behold, she was leprous. (Num 12:7-10 NAS)
Arent we so often just like our ancestors? But so much has been recorded
for our learning,
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Now these things happened to them as an example, and they
were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come
(1Co 10:11 NAS). We conclude this study with the question then. Are we
learning? Because if we are, then by receiving His Word our hearts should be
changing. Or are we like those who possess great amounts of knowledge but are
never really coming to that place of real change as stated in 2 Timothy, always
learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2Ti 3:7 NAS). Let
us learn to be changed so that we can be filled with His Ruach HaKodesh and not
only prevent uncleanness in the camp but be a blessing to our brothers and sisters
Ahmein!