Torah: Bamidbar (Numbers) 25:10—30:1; Haftarah: Jeremiah 1:1 – 2:3
How are we doing with storing up treasures in heaven?
This week's Parashah starts with God rewarding a good deed done by Pinchas, a righteous man zealous for God. The nation fell into immorality and Pinchas' action put an end to a plague that had taken the lives of 24,000 Israelis. Pinchas was awarded the covenant of peace and an eternal priesthood.
At this moment in time, the Israelis are standing by the Jordan river near Jericho ready, after 39 years, ready to enter into the Land. God tells Moshe to take another census after the generation of the Exodus died. The new number of people came to be only 1,820 fewer than that at the beginning of Exodus, an amazing result given the adverse conditions of life in the wilderness and how many have died in various rebellions. Only by God's grace their number did not decrease far more. Also, God tells Moshe to take Joshua, the son of Nun, and install him as their new leader. Joshua was also a righteous man whom God rewards for his faithfulness.
But God, in His mercy, wants to teach the entire nation - every one of them, not just a few righteous ones - how to also be faithful. He shows them how to channel their desire to come close to Him and to do good deeds through the symbolism of bringing offerings to Him. In Bamidbar (Numbers) chapters 28 and 29, God instructs Moshe to tell the people how to exercise this godly character of giving through the daily offerings and the mussaf - additional - offerings of the Holy Days:
"The LORD spoke to Moshe, saying, 'Command the people of Israel, and say to them, "My offering, and My bread for My sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savor to Me, you shall be scrupulous to offer to Me in their appointed time.”
- Daily: “This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to the LORD; two lambs of the first year, without spot, day by day, a continual burnt offering.”
- On Shabbat: “And on the Shabbat day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth measures of flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, and the drink offering of it; this is the burnt offering of every Shabbat, beside the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering.”
- On Rosh Chodesh: “And in the beginnings of your months you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD; two young bulls, and one ram, seven lambs of the first year without spot; and one kid of the goats for a sin offering to the LORD shall be offered, beside the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering.”
- At Pesach: “And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. In the first day shall be a holy gathering; you shall do no manner of labor in it. But you shall offer a sacrifice made by fire for a burnt offering to the LORD; two young bulls, and one ram, and seven lambs of the first year; they shall be to you without blemish; and one goat for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you. You shall offer these beside the burnt offering in the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. And on the seventh day you shall have a holy gathering; you shall do no labor.”
- At Shavuot: “Also in the day of the first-fruits, when you bring a new meal offering to the LORD, in your feast of weeks, you shall have a holy gathering; you shall do no labor. But you shall offer the burnt offering for a sweet savor to the LORD; two young bulls, one ram, seven lambs of the first year; and one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you. You shall offer them beside the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering.”
- On Rosh haShanah: “And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy gathering; you shall do no labor; it is a day of blowing the shofar for you. And you shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savor to the LORD; one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish; and one kid of the goats for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you. Beside the burnt offering of the Rosh Chodesh, and its meal offering, and the daily burnt offering, and its meal offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, for a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire to the LORD.”
- On Yom Kippur: “And you shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month a holy gathering; and you shall afflict your souls; you shall not do any work in it. But you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD for a sweet savor; one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year; they shall be to you without blemish; one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and the meal offering of it, and their drink offerings.”
- At Succoth: “And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy gathering; you shall do no labor, and you shall keep a feast to the LORD seven days. You shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD; thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish; and one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its drink offering.”
- On Shemini Atzeret: “On the eighth day (of the Succoth feast) you shall have a solemn assembly; you shall do no labor in it. But you shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD; one bull, one ram, seven lambs of the first year without blemish; and one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and its meal and its drink offering.”
”These things you shall do to the LORD in your set feasts, beside your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, for your meal offerings, for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings."
God asked the Israelis to exercise giving by bringing daily offerings and, in addition to these daily offerings, weekly offerings on Shabbat, monthly offerings on Rosh Chodesh, and yearly offerings on Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret. Just take a moment and calculate how many animals had to be sacrificed and think about who provided these animals for them in the first place, notice the phrases, My offerings, My bread, My sacrifices. The Israelis were scrupulous and eager to bring these offerings to the LORD. By doing that, not only they exercised their generosity, but they showed their trust in God to provide for them.
In this age that we live in, in which the Temple does not stand, we know that all these offerings were a symbol of the sacrificial offering of Yeshua on the Roman execution stake, the cross. We know this because Yeshua's words, praying to the Father: “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me,” words recorded in the letter to the Hebrews. God provided teachings through practical imagery of sacrificing animals to exemplify the roll would be played by the coming of Messiah. But, if Messiah fulfilled all of them, does that mean that we no longer bring an offering to the LORD? Does that mean that we are expecting only to receive from God and not to give to Him?
We have received God’s greatest gift, Yeshua – salvation - we have received His grace, mercy, and love. God loved us so much that He gave, not from the surplus, not from the leftovers, or from the last, but the best, His beloved Son, and through Him, He gave us salvation. The expression of God’s love is giving, and He gives not because we deserve, but because He loves.
How are our hearts responding to such a love that went to such terrible and heartbreaking depths to redeem us from our sins? If we are truly to become the disciples of Yeshua, shouldn't His love cause an appropriate response from our hearts? Shouldn’t we, the believers, then, be people characterized by love, and thereby be people who give? We want to reflect God’s character – to be holy because He is Holy. Giving is for our own benefit. We exercise this characteristic to become more God-like (not gods) in our character - we were created in His image after all, the potential is there. When we exercise giving, we show love, we become people who are sensitive and carrying, people who reflect mercy and compassion. Your giving reflects your character, your faith, and your blessings. Your giving is about your character and your heart overflowing with joy. We are born in sin and being selfish, but we can learn. Exercise giving and you will experience a divine reversal. Exercise giving and the Holy Spirit will fill your heart with joy.
The wisest man that ever lived asked the question: “What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:3). His conclusion was: "The end of the matter, when all has been heard, is: fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every deed into judgment, every secret thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil." But Yeshua took the answer a step further: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20). And how do we do that? By giving. By giving from our talents, time, and treasures to the work of spreading the good news of the Gospel. Yeshua's answer for the work of man done under the sun is: work for the sake of heaven. How are we doing with storing up treasures in heaven?
We, as Messianic believers, should have as our permanent goal to make known Yeshua to the Jewish community. We can do it individually and we can do it together because we have been given different gifts, so take courage “the harvest is plentiful.” Please consider where your heart is and search how you can actively participate in reaching the Jewish people. Where can you use your time, talents, and treasures? What is your ministry? God gave you a gift, do not hide it, use it for His glory.
Pinchas and Joshua not only received the reward for their good deeds on this earth, but I am sure they were received by the LORD into heaven with the words: “Well done good and faithful servant.” What a testimony of people hungering for God's righteousness. May we all follow their example and hunger for God's righteousness.
Shabbat joy, peace, and blessings! Shabbat Shalom!
