Dr Clifford Denton.
Matot/Massei: Numbers 30:1-32:42/Numbers 33:1-36:13.
27th July 2024/21 Tammuz.
Everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean; and it shall be purified with the water of purification. But all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water. (Numbers 31:23)
Picture by Helen McNeill.
Next week we begin Deuteronomy. However, two portions are to be read this week, taking us to the end of the Book of Numbers. We are at the border of Canaan on the east of the river Jordan and Moses’ responsibility for the people is coming to an end. He gives instructions for the settling of the land before speaking more pastorally in the Book of Deuteronomy.
There are parallels throughout the Bible in which, at the end of a leader’s life, arrangements are made for the next generation.
One example is where David hands over the Kingdom to Solomon, preparing for the building of the Temple and instructing his son how to deal with those to whom justice was to be administered (2 Samuel 20-1 Kings 2, 1 Chronicles 22-29).
Another example is how the Apostle Paul ensured that all matters were in order before the end of his ministry, summed up in Acts 20:26-32: Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also, from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore, watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Most importantly, as our ultimate example, Yeshua prepared His disciples for when He would leave them, for example, in Matthew 24-25, John 15-17.
Up to the time recounted in the last chapter of Numbers, Israel had been a community in the wilderness. When they camped in a certain place, the camp was organised in precise ways, with each of the Tribes in its allotted position around the Tabernacle. God’s presence was at the centre of the camp and the Levitical Priests ministered in a prescribed and orderly way. Customs and traditions of life had built up over the wilderness years but, now at the edge of the Jordan, preparations were made for settling the Tribes in a different way, each with their allotment of land, and each family with its own plot of land, across the entire Land of Canaan. Jerusalem would, eventually, become the centre for worship and gathering for the Feasts, but first the Land was to be conquered and settled.
The listing of families by names and by tribal leaders had already been accomplished and now, inheritance by Tribe and family was to be enacted with the same precision that applied to every part of the lives of God’s people. The judgement against the Midianites showed that there was to be no compromise to false gods and the purification of all the spoil from the battle further emphasised that no uncleanness was to be among God’s people. Justice was to be carefully maintained and, once acquired, the land kept undefiled from innocent blood so that God could live in the midst of His people (Numbers 35:34). Clear principles for the lives of God’s people are recorded in these chapters.
What does this mean for us today? When the Gospel went out into the Gentile world, another era began when God’s people were not confined to one land (Israel). But the same principles were to be behind the widely dispersed communities of believers. By this time, these principles were well established in Israel through the many years of Torah study and implementation of the teaching since the time of Moses. The means by which God’s people are purified changed when the Holy Spirit was given to all believers on account of the New Covenant, but the structure of community remains the same. It was the Apostles’ responsibility to bring appropriate teaching to the new communities of believers.
The central role and structure of family was emphasised by Paul, for example in Ephesians 5 and 6. The appointment of ministries, including pastors, teachers, elders and deacons was necessary for the ordering and maturity of communities (Ephesians 4, Titus). The fulfilment of Tabernacle sacrifice and worship was then, as now, understood to be through Yeshua’s sacrifice (reference the Book of Hebrews) and the worshipping communities of God’s people were to live pure and holy lives (1 Peter 2). The Lord would be in the midst of His people just as He was for Israel in the wilderness and in the Promised Land, but now in communities across the entire world. The criticism of the seven churches in Asia (Revelation 2 and 3) emphasised that there was to be no compromise and the importance of adhering to God’s order.
After around 2000 years since the Gospel went across the world, it is miraculous how entire nations have responded and largely ordered themselves, founded on the teaching of the Bible. Even a generation ago in Britain, communities across the country were built on strong families, biblical laws that protected, and believing communities that gathered in local church buildings, so much that it pleased God to be in our midst. But this is disappearing rapidly now. We are moving into a future where believers will be in a more alien environment.
Parents and grandparents are wise to consider the heritage that they are leaving for their families, just as Moses did for his people, and others who have followed throughout the generations. That is why our studies this week can be a fresh inspiration to considering our part in preparing the next generation for the future as we cross, as it were, into the new era of mankind where there is a growing expectation of a world of ungodliness, described by the biblical Prophets as preceding the return of the Lord Yeshua.
Here, then, is our question arising from this week’s torah study, for your consideration. How far are the principles expounded in Torah, as fulfilled through New Covenant understanding, being taught to the next generation of our own families in the urgent days in which we live?