- Faith, Entering the Promised Land !!!
Previously posted ...
Putin and the Pope - who advises who !!!
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Welcome to our study for this week’s Torah portion, which is called
Shelach Lecha (Send Forth). This is the portion of Scripture that will
be read in synagogues around the world this Saturday (Shabbat) morning.
We are certain you will be blessed as you read along with us !
Parasha Shelach Lecha (Send Forth)
Numbers 13:1–15:41; Joshua 2:1–24; Romans 4:1–25
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ‘Send out for yourself (shelach lecha שְׁלַח-לְך)
men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel;
you shall send a man from each of their fathers' tribes, every one a leader among them.’"
(Numbers 13:1–2)
Last week in Parasha Behaalotecha, God commanded Aaron to light the lamps of the Menorah,
and the tribe of Levi was initiated into the service of the Sanctuary.
This week’s Parasha (Scripture portion) describes how God tests the Israelites by sending out
12 meraglim (spies) to check out the situation in the Promised Land (as God had commanded them)
before going in to take possession of it. The Promised Land Is Bountiful !
You can view this Parasha on our website complete with embedded links ...
Shelach Lecha (Send Forth): Faith, Testing, and Entering the Promised Land
http://free.messianicbible.
Parasha Reading Schedule 5775
http://free.messianicbible.
THE SHABBAT CANDLE BLESSING
Jewish people around the world mark
this day by the candle lighting and blessing:
"Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe,
who has sanctified us with His commandments, and
commanded us to kindle the light of the Holy Shabbat."
http://lp.eteacherhebrew.com/
✡ ✡ ✡
Yavoh ~ He is coming !
Yahweh - Yeshua - Ruach Ha-Kodesh
Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה
BREAKING NEWS FROM ISRAEL
Minute by minute updates here ...
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http://www.jihadwatch.org/
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
http://prophecyupdate.
Watching for Yeshua Ha-Mashiach
Thanks - Ted Belman writing from Jerusalem, Israel for 12+ years ...
The Israeli-Saudi Labyrinth
by Yoram Ettinger
President Obama with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef. The Saudi regime sides with Israel’s stance on Iran and considers the Jewish state considers its most effective ally in the face of a potential self-destructive U.S. agreement with the ayatollahs. The recent increase in strategic coordination between Israel and Saudi Arabia brings to the forefront Israel’s role in bolstering the national security of the House of Saud. This coordination has become particularly critical for Riyadh, due to the erosion of the U.S.’s posture of deterrence as lethal Iranian threats to Saudi Arabia worsen. [...]
http://www.israpundit.org/
... another Masterful description and analysis of who and what Obama represents ...
Obama, Goldberg and Golda
by Sarah Honig, JPOST
Golda1Golda Meir rarely passed up an opportunity to warn about the allure of “lies wrapped up in sweet words.” She knew that shallowness offers smug refuge from the intractable and that syrupy slogans are a convenient copout for the intellectually indolent. US President Barack Obama probably knows the same which is perhaps why he laid the blarney on so thick in his recent interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, who himself couldn’t have been more cloying. It’s undeniably in Obama’s interest to sweet-talk American Jews – whom he must perceive mostly as sycophant dilettantes – into trusting that some of his best friends are Jews. [...]
http://www.israpundit.org/
http://sarahhonig.com/2015/06/
BREAKING: Major test vote for Obama’s trade package fails by huge margin
by Dan Calabrese, CFP
If President Obama, in pursuit of a trade agenda that has his own party in rebellion, thought he could pull reluctant Democrats to his side with a “sweetener” to retrain workers who might be displaced as a result of the deal – um, no. Today a test vote on that provision produced an absolute fiasco for Obama and his allies on the issue: In a 126-302 vote, the House killed the so-called Trade Adjustment Assistance bill—a program that retrains workers displaced by trade. The bill was originally put on the table as a sweetener to help entice recalcitrant Democrats to back the president’s overall agenda. But the president’s own party is so opposed to that agenda, they voted down the sweetener. [...]
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Make Ahead Oatmeal
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Quinoa Pancakes
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Jamie tells ...
Nuclear Iran in perspective: life-changing lessons from Israel
http://learningisrael.com/
Quinoa Paella
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Italian Style Halibut with Sage
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
How To Grill The Perfect Steak [Video]
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Healthy In 7 Ingredients or Less
http://www.joyofkosher.com/
Caramelized Onion Spaghetti Squash Casserole
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Desserts For The Vegan In You - Mean, Green Pistachio Ice Cream
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Joy of Kosher w Jamie Geller
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new Jamie Geller YOUTUBE Channel
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Verily, Beloveds, I can scarcely take this all in while here on
the Lord's Earth, when we are all finally home, please, do
stop by to see Jamie and those beloveds within her given house ...
Beautiful ... http://luvaton.com/
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
Psalm 19:1-2 KJV
Shabbat Shalom - Parasha Shelach Lecha (Send Forth)
- Faith, Entering the Promised Land !!!
Shabbat
shalom
Welcome to our study for this week’s Torah portion, which
is called Shelach Lecha
(Send Forth).
This is the portion of Scripture that will be read in
synagogues around the world this Saturday (Shabbat) morning.
We are certain you will be blessed as you read along with us!
Parasha Shelach
Lecha (Send Forth)
Numbers 13:1–15:41; Joshua 2:1–24; Romans 4:1–25
“Then the Lord spoke to
Moses saying, ‘Send out for
yourself (shelach lecha שְׁלַח-לְך)
men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan,
which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall
send a man from each of their fathers' tribes, every one a
leader among them.’" (Numbers 13:1–2)
Last week in Parasha Behaalotecha, God commanded Aaron to
light the lamps of the Menorah, and the tribe of Levi was
initiated into the service of the Sanctuary.
This week’s Parasha (Scripture portion) describes how God
tests the Israelites by sending out 12 meraglim (spies)
to check out the situation in the Promised Land (as God had
commanded them) before going in to take possession of it.
Torah scroll and a wooden yad (Torah pointer)
The Promised Land Is
Bountiful
“‘Be of good courage. And
bring some of the fruit of the land.’ Now the time was the
season of the first ripe grapes.” (Numbers 13:20)
God instructed Moses to send one chieftain from
each of the 12 tribes of Israel to scout out the land of
Canaan. Among the spies were Caleb, son of
Jephunneh from the Tribe of Judah and Hosea (Hoshea), son of
Nun from the Tribe of Ephraim. Later, Moses changed Hosea’s
name to Joshua.
When Moses sent out the spies, it was the season of the
first ripe grapes. They were to go in with courage and bring
back a sample of the fruit of the Land. They were also to
assess the characteristics of the inhabitants, the
fortification of the cities, and the existence of any trees.
After 40 days, they returned with a cluster of grapes from
the Valley of Eshkol (cluster),
which was so bountiful
that they had to tie the cluster to a pole and carry it on
their shoulders. Here in Israel, the
grapes are still tiny at the beginning of June. They will
begin to ripen around mid-July in the heat of summer. So it
is likely that the spies went into the Promised Land around
the end of July.
The spies also brought back pomegranates and figs. These
fruits grow in abundance today in the Land of Israel—a miracle
since this land lay barren and lifeless for about 2,000 years.
The fact that the Land of Israel is fruitful again is
evidence of God’s great mercy and grace, as well as His
faithfulness to His covenant promises.
Israeli grapes
The Number 40
Why were the spies scouting the land of Canaan
for 40 days? Why not a month or two weeks?
The number 40 is significant in the Bible as it is the number of testing, preparation and
leadership, as well as the harbinger of something new. (Jewish
Wisdom in the Numbers)
We see this pattern many times in the Scriptures:
- In a dramatic new beginning, rain fell for 40 days and nights during the Flood before the waters stopped and the world was repopulated. (Genesis 7:4)
- Moses lived in Egypt for 40 years, was prepared for leadership in Midian for 40 years; and finally led the children of Israel in the wilderness for 40 years as a new nation.
- Moses fasted on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights before he went down the mountain with the Ten Commandments.
“Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty
nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote
on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten
Commandments.” (Exodus
34:28)
- Goliath challenged the Israelites twice a day for 40 days before David defeated him, which began a great following by the people. (1 Samuel 17:16)
- Yeshua was tested by the devil in the wilderness for 40 days before He began His public ministry.
“Then Yeshua was led up by the Spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had
fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the
Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’” (Matthew 4:1–3)
- The period from the resurrection of Yeshua to His
ascension was 40 days, a period of preparing the disciples
for the work that lay ahead. (Acts 1:3)
The Animals Entering Noah's Ark, by Jacopo Bassano
10 Spies Inspire
Fear Rather Than Faith
“There we saw the Nephilim
(the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we
seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to
them.” (Numbers 13:33)
After 40 days, all 12 spies essentially testified
to the entire Israelite community and Moses that the land
“does flow with milk and honey!” just as God had promised.
Despite that, they also saw that the cities were fortified
and that giants live in the Land.
Rather than focusing
on the great fruitfulness of the Land, they focus,
instead, on the great size of the inhabitants in contrast
to their own smallness.
Caleb tried to counter their defeatist attitude by
assuring the people, “We are
well able to overcome it” with God’s help. He urged
them, “Let us go up at once and
occupy it.” (Numbers 13:30)
The other 10 spies, however, instilled such fear in the
people that the whole Israelite community began to cry and
shout, “If only we had died in
Egypt! Or in this wilderness!” (Numbers 14:1–2)
A dairy farm in Israel (Photo by Luz Prieto)
In their apprehension, they forgot how the Lord
had sent ten plagues and even parted a sea for them, so they
cried more: “Why is
the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the
sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. ...
We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” (Numbers
14:3–4)
Of course, this is not the first time the people wanted to
go back to Egypt.
In Parasha Beshalach, the people stood trapped between an
advancing Egyptian army and the Red Sea. Terrified, they told
Moses, “Didn’t we say to you in
Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It
would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to
die in the desert!” (Exodus 14:12)
Then God parted the Red Sea and crushed the Egyptian army.
When they reached
the other side of the sea in safety, they were already
craving the food back in bondage: “If only we had died by the LORD's
hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all
the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this
desert to starve this entire assembly to death."
(Exodus 16:3)
(Exodus 16:3)
Then God sent manna every morning for them to eat.
In Parasha Behaalotecha last week, we saw that they got
tired of the manna and remembered the fish they “ate in Egypt at no cost—also the
cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.” (Numbers
11:5)
Then God sent quail, along with judgment for their
continual complaining.
Throughout their wilderness journey, they complained to
Moses and about Moses for many reasons. Each time, they
witnessed God’s judgments and mercy. Yet, they still did not
fully apprehend His love for them, nor His ability to keep His
promise to give them a land of their own.
God said it best: “How long
will these people treat Me with contempt? How long will
they refuse to believe in Me, in spite of all the signs I
have performed among them?” (Numbers 14:11)
A Jewish woman buys fruit from a Druze Muslim in the Golan Heights.
“I will strike them with the
pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a
nation greater and mightier than they.”
(Numbers 14:12)
(Numbers 14:12)
Because of their rebellion and unbelief during this test
of faith, God threatened to destroy the entire community of
Israel instantly and start all over again with Moses.
God gave Moses this same opportunity in Parasha Ki Tisa
when the people He had just delivered from bondage worshiped a
Golden Calf instead of Him. (Exodus 32:9–10)
Being the most humble man on the face of the
earth, however, Moses refused to accept God’s offer to
replace Israel then and now.
Instead, he appealed
to the Lord’s merciful nature, asking to
forgive the people—the same people who railed against Moses
and Aaron and threatened to stone Caleb and Joshua just a
short time earlier. Moses reminded the Lord:
“The
LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,
forgiving iniquity and transgression, ... Pardon the
iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness
of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from
Egypt even until now.” (Numbers 14:18–19)
A Jewish teen wearing a tallit (prayer shawl) and a kippah (head
covering) prays using a siddur (prayer book).
Moses also appealed to the Lord’s reputation as a
God of integrity who is able to do all that He promises:
Moses told Him:
Moses told Him:
“They
[the Egyptians] have heard that you, O LORD, are in the
midst of this people. ... if you kill this people as one
man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It
is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into
the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed
them in the wilderness.’” (Numbers 14:14–16)
Because of Moses’
intercession and his appeal to God’s reputation and
merciful nature, God relented from
completely destroying the entire nation of Israel;
nevertheless, He decreed judgment on those who refused to
trust in God the way Joshua and Caleb trusted in God.
“I
have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely
as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the
whole earth, not one of those who saw my glory and the signs
I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed
me and tested me ten times—not one of them will ever see the
land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has
treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my
servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me
wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to,
and his descendants will inherit it.” (Numbers
14:20–24)
The entire generation (ages 20 and up) who had just been
counted in the census would not enter the Promised Land they
so feared; instead, they would die in the wilderness. But
Joshua and Caleb would live to enter the Land.
Torah ark at the Western (Wailing) Wall
(Photo by James Emery)
The Lessons for Us
Today
What lessons may we learn from this account of Israel in
the wilderness?
First, we need to be people of faith, seeing
ourselves as sons and daughters of the King of kings and
Lord of lords—and not tiny grasshoppers to be
crushed under some giant’s foot. We need to believe that no
matter what challenge we face today, we are “well able to
overcome it” with God’s help.
This is the kind of faith that pleases God. Without it,
it is impossible to please Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
Second, as people of
faith, we need to guard our speech and speak forth
faith-filled words.
Why did the whole community of Israel die in the
wilderness? They reaped the fruit of their faithless, fearful
words.
The people said many times, “We will surely die in this
wilderness,” and God allowed them to speak their own future
into existence.
“Say
to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have
spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of
you who have complained against Me shall fall in this
wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your
entire number, from twenty years old and above.”
(Numbers 14:28–29)
(Numbers 14:28–29)
Two ultra-Orthodox Jewish men have a conversation in Jerusalem.
For each of the 40 days that the Israelites spied out the
land of Canaan, the Israelites would wander in the wilderness
a year until that generation died—40 years. Only Joshua and
Caleb, who had a different spirit and wholly trusted in the
Lord would enter the Promised Land along with the next
generation.
“According
to the number of the days in which you spied out the land,
forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year,
namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection. I the
LORD have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil
congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this
wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall
die.’” (Numbers 14:34)
Third, we need to repent of our unbelief and
begin trusting in God or else we cannot move
forward. And sometimes, our lack of faith may prevent us from
moving forward in a particular area even after we repent.
In this reading, the Israelites were suddenly remorseful
for their behavior and gathered up the courage to go up and
take the Land, but it was too late.
Moses warned them, “Do not go
up, for the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down
before your enemies,” but they rebelled again, went
up in presumption and were, therefore, defeated by the
Amalekites and Canaanites.
Also, the ten spies who had brought back the evil report
of the Land were struck down by the Lord in a plague; but
Joshua and Caleb were left alive.
God had rendered His final decision and they were now “not
able” as they had spoken over themselves.
Fourth, we should be
a humble people given to intercession for others—from family members to
complete strangers. May we all be
like Moses, who pleaded for mercy on behalf of his people.
An Ethiopian Jewish man and a Kes, a religious leader of the
Ethiopian Jews, carry the Torah.
Our faith matters to
God!
The Word of God says that the power of life and death is
in our tongues and we shall, in a sense, eat our words. (Proverbs
18:21)
Yeshua said that it is by our words that we will be
acquitted and by our words we will be condemned. (Matthew
12:37)
May we be careful and deliberate in the words that we
speak over ourselves and others, since faith comes by hearing.
May our words and actions be a testimony of the
goodness and greatness of the God of Israel, and may we take
hold of His promises by faith.
“May these words of my mouth
and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
(Psalm 19:14)
(Psalm 19:14)
A mother and daughter share a moment at the Dead Sea in Israel.
Haftarah (Prophetic
Reading): Faith Moves Us into His Promises
In Haftarah Shelach Lecha (Joshua 2:1–24), we
see that Joshua, Moses’
assistant and one of the two spies who trusted God, has
been appointed by the Lord to lead the next generation of
Israelites into the Promised Land.
As Abraham’s faith moved Him forward into the role of the
Patriarch of the Chosen People and recipient of the covenant,
so did Joshua’s faith move him forward into his role of a
leader who, with God’s help, was “well able to overcome” all
the obstacles before him and take possession of the Promised
Land.
In this Haftarah, Joshua sends out two of his own spies
into Jericho, in preparation for battle. Although Jericho is
a well-fortified city with a well-equipped army and great
walls surrounding it, the spies tell Joshua, “The LORD has surely given the whole
land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear
because of us.” (Joshua 2:24)
Now in the land that their parents so feared, the
next generation of Israelites witness God move and have
great faith, being “fully
convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises.”
(Romans 4:21)
May we be fully convinced of that truth as well.
You can play a role in God's plan for the Jewish People in
these Last Day by helping Bibles for Israel bring the Good
News of Yeshua to the Holy Land.
"Hear the word of the LORD,
you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: 'He who
scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over His
flock like a shepherd." (Jeremiah 31:10)
"You will again have
compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."
(Micah 7:19)
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