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The parasha for this week is entitled B’ha-alotecha, meaning “when you raise up”, and covers Numbers chapters 8 through 12. It begins with God’s command to consecrate B’nai Levi, the Levites, for the service of the Tabernacle. God chose the entire tribe of Levi to belong to Him in place of all the firstborn sons of Israel. This unique honor was because Levi was the only tribe to declare their loyalty to Adonai and Moses at the time of the disgraceful Golden Calf incident. In chapter 8, the Levites were actually presented as a living wave offering – something I believe foreshadowed the New Covenant admonition that we present our bodies to the Lord as “living sacrifices” (Rom. 12:1).
The parasha also reiterates God’s command that Israel celebrate the Passover every year on its appointed day: 14 Nisan. Passover was never to be neglected. If someone was ritually unclean, perhaps due to the death of a friend or family member, or if a person was on a distant journey and could not return to Jerusalem in time, they were permitted to celebrate it one month later, on 14 Iyyar. But if a man simply refused to celebrate Passover, he was to be cut off from Israel.
One of the verses I so appreciate in this parasha is Numbers 9:14. “You shall have one statute, both for the alien and for the native of the land.” There were to be no double-standards in Israel. This shouldn’t surprise us, since the One who declared it would later say, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples!” [1] And Yeshua declared, “They (Jews and Gentiles) shall become one flock with one Shepherd.” [2]
In terms of Israel’s relationship with Adonai, this parasha feels a little bit like a roller coaster ride. On the one hand, our people obediently followed the Lord wherever He led us, in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Whenever the cloud was lifted, Israel packed up and set out. Wherever it settled, Israel settled; whether for days, weeks, or even a year at a time. But our people followed God.
It calls to mind God’s affection expressed by the prophet Jeremiah: “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying ‘Thus says the Lord, “I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, the love of your betrothals, your following after Me in the wilderness, through a land not sown.”’” [3]
Yet this parasha also records an awful lot of kvetching. Chapters 11 and 12 relate a series of complaints. First we complained about the lack of culinary variety. Too much manna, and no cucumbers, melons, leeks and onions like we had back in Egypt. Next, Moses complains to God about having to deal with such disagreeable people. 400 years of brutal slavery, and we’ve been free less than a year, and already we’re being demanding, accusatory and unappreciative.
Some might say, “What is wrong with these people? What ingrates! Don’t they appreciate that they’re free?” But a mature believer looks at this and says, “Wow – this hits just a little too close to home! It sounds a lot like yours truly. Look how much I have and yet I often neglect to give thanks to God!” We fallen human beings are quick to forget all He has done for us. Left to ourselves, we will become more demanding and less thankful.
Moses also kvetched because he seemed to get nothing but grief, rejection and rebellion from the very people he was serving. God had Moses appoint seventy elders, to whom He would give a portion of His Spirit, in order to share the burden of administration. The seventy were summoned outside the camp to meet with Moses and God, but two of them, Eldad and Medad, refused to come out. Yet the Holy Spirit came upon these two also, right in the middle of the camp, in the midst of two million people, and they began prophesying. So much for the idea that the Holy Spirit is a force, or merely an emanation. Random, impersonal forces don’t make precise, personal distinctions like that!
But when Joshua heard that Eldad and Medad were prophesying, he urged Moses to restrain them. Joshua was always very loyal to Moses. But in this instance his zeal was misplaced, and Moses chided him for it, saying, “Would that all God’s people were prophets…” You and I need to be careful not to elevate other human beings, even those we respect, beyond what is appropriate.
Moses was a great servant of God, but very definitely a fellow human being.
Our first loyalty must always be to God and to Messiah Yeshua. This kind of immature jealousy and partisanship occurs elsewhere in the Scriptures, including 1 Corinthians (“I am of Paul… I am of Apollos”) and it isn’t good.
But whereas Joshua was jealous for Moses, Aaron and Miriam became jealous of Moses, and began complaining about him. The catalyst seems to have been Moses’ marrying a Cushite woman. Cush was the ancient name for Ethiopia. Yes, Moses married a black woman! When you consider how much debate exists today in the Jewish community over the issue of intermarriage, this passage becomes all the more significant.
Intermarriage, rightly defined, biblically defined, is when a believer marries an unbeliever, not when a person of one ethnicity marries a person of another ethnicity. It is clear from Scripture that God detests bigotry. Aaron and Miriam learned this the hard way. God called them on the carpet as it were, and struck Miriam with leprosy. She had to be confined outside the camp for seven days. By contrast, Yeshua willingly interacted with individuals and groups whom the Jewish religious establishment wouldn’t give the time of day. I truly hope we learn this lesson.
Is it possible to be so near to the God of Israel, and yet our hearts be so far from Him? Yes, it is, and these historical books teach us the need to have Yirat Adonai – reverence for the Lord. The key is to not forget what He has done for us. That is why Israel was given frequent reminders of the Exodus. We need to cultivate our own walk with Yeshua so as to never forget the high cost He paid to redeem us. Just as we re-visit these Torah passages through a yearly cycle, it would be a good idea to regularly be reading one or another of the Gospels, so that it will never be said of us, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” May God strengthen us and re-kindle our first-love for Him.
[1] Isaiah 56:6-7
[2] John 10:16
[3] Jeremiah 2:2