It’s the beginning of the end for Moshe as Israel faces an uncertain future with Joshua. The first of three farewell speeches begins this week, and by the end of this very day Moshe will die. It’s one last chance to Israel to finally get the message or perish in the flames of her own arrogance. Speaking of arrogance, this is also the time the Temples were destroyed as the 9th day of the 5th month of Ab is this Sunday. Stay tuned then for special Tisha B’Av content, including new Member Q&A and special bonuses! Enjoy!
The book of Bamidbar (Numbers) comes to a stunning close this week with a special in-depth DOUBLE Torah portion of Mattot (the Tribes) and Masei (the Journeys). These last seven chapters of Numbers may be the most exciting of them all up to this point. As war with Midian breaks out and is now in full force, another civil war nearly breaks out as Reuben and Gad attempt to secede from the rest of the tribes and settle on the eastern side of the Jordan. Moshe can’t let this happen or else his own army ranks are depleted and vulnerable against a determined enemy and the remaining tribes may lose heart and either not want to fight with less of a fighting force or not want to go into Canaan at all. The future of Israel depends on the amazing decision Moshe is about to make, with consequences that reach down even to this day. And if that is not enough, a sequel to the case of Zelophehad’s daughters also comes at the end, and if this is not dealt with properly the entire inheritance structure for the tribes in Canaan could be permanently destroyed. No pressure! Also check out a special BONUS VIDEO, an hour long teaching I did at a local Christian TV station. More details on that are in the FEATURED section. Enjoy!
The book of Bamidbar (Numbers) comes to a stunning close this week with a special in-depth DOUBLE Torah portion of Mattot (the Tribes) and Masei (the Journeys). These last seven chapters of Numbers may be the most exciting of them all up to this point. As war with Midian breaks out and is now in full force, another civil war nearly breaks out as Reuben and Gad attempt to secede from the rest of the tribes and settle on the eastern side of the Jordan. Moshe can’t let this happen or else his own army ranks are depleted and vulnerable against a determined enemy and the remaining tribes may lose heart and either not want to fight with less of a fighting force or not want to go into Canaan at all. The future of Israel depends on the amazing decision Moshe is about to make, with consequences that reach down even to this day. And if that is not enough, a sequel to the case of Zelophehad’s daughters also comes at the end, and if this is not dealt with properly the entire inheritance structure for the tribes in Canaan could be permanently destroyed. No pressure! Also check out a special BONUS VIDEO, an hour long teaching I did at a local Christian TV station. More details on that are in the FEATURED section. Enjoy!
However, as a special bonus, you might want to check out the brand new video teaching i did at Channel 24, a local Christian TV station. Just go to the home page and look at the FEATURED section on the upper left corner. Enjoy and we will see you here next week for Torah 101! Shalom!
Some time ago I did a series of programs for a local Christian TV station called Channel 24. I was the guest on a series called “Tap into the Source”. In this first hour-long program that I am showing here, I am part of a three person round-table discussion on the Nazarene-Hebrew Roots movement and history and how we differ from the traditional church. It’s a pretty deep dialogue but also very friendly. I am joined by friends Noe Gonzales and Melinda Abreo who have their own ministries. I hope you enjoy this thorough discussion. Also here’s a tip: The program’s theme music plays for just under a full minute before we start talking so you might want to forward that.
In a time of year where Hollywood overwhelms us with summer blockbusters, it’s time to show the original action hero, a man so brave he saves the lives of an entire nation for all time. The weapon sent against israel was subtle enough that no scanner or device even today could have detected it but so deadly that 24,000 people died inside a few minutes and millions more would have died had not Pinchus stood up for what was right, preserving both his people and his family’s role as high priests at the same time. Forget the theater, Redbox or Netflix. The greatest action hero of them all is playing on your television right now, coming now to the parsha near you.
In a time of year where Hollywood overwhelms us with summer blockbusters, it’s time to show the original action hero, a man so brave he saves the lives of an entire nation for all time. The weapon sent against israel was subtle enough that no scanner or device even today could have detected it but so deadly that 24,000 people died inside a few minutes and millions more would have died had not Pinchus stood up for what was right, preserving both his people and his family’s role as high priests at the same time. Forget the theater, Redbox or Netflix. The greatest action hero of them all is playing on your television right now, coming now to the parsha near you.
In a time of year where Hollywood overwhelms us with summer blockbusters, it’s time to show the original action hero, a man so brave he saves the lives of an entire nation for all time. The weapon sent against israel was subtle enough that no scanner or device even today could have detected it but so deadly that 24,000 people died inside a few minutes and millions more would have died had not Pinchus stood up for what was right, preserving both his people and his family’s role as high priests at the same time. Forget the theater, Redbox or Netflix. The greatest action hero of them all is playing on your television right now, coming now to the parsha near you.
This story would be very funny if it wasn’t first and foremost tragic. Balak of Moab is scared of Israel. He can’t overcome them with his army and he tries this week to engage a prophet for hire, Balaam, to curse Israel. Balaam tries repeatedly to to do so and get his reward from the king only to find Father Yah standing in his way with the truth. But before Balaam can even meet the king, he has to get past a heavenly messenger and deal with the wise rebuke of his own beast of burden. Ironically, after all that effort, Israel dooms itself this week by lapsing into promiscuity and idolatry. So sin was able to do to Israel what nothing else could not. Also on Scroll to Scroll a special look into the life of Peter. Keep Reeding
This story would be very funny if it wasn’t first sand foremost tragic. Balak of Moab is scared of Israel. He can’t overcome them with his army and he tries this week to engage a prophet for hire, Balaam, to curse Israel. Balaam tries repeatedly to to do so and get his reward from the king only to find Father Yah standing in his way with the truth. But before Balaam can even meet the king, he has to get past a heavenly messenger and deal with the wise rebuke of his own beast of burden. Ironically, after all that effort, Israel dooms itself this week by lapsing into promiscuity and idolatry. So sin was able to do to Israel what nothing else could not. Also on Scroll to Scroll a special look into the life of Peter.
This story would be very funny if it wasn’t first and foremost tragic. Balak of Moab is scared of Israel. He can’t overcome them with his army and he tries this week to engage a prophet for hire, Balaam, to curse Israel. Balaam tries repeatedly to to do so and get his reward from the king only to find Father Yah standing in his way with the truth. But before Balaam can even meet the king, he has to get past a heavenly messenger and deal with the wise rebuke of his own beast of burden. Ironically, after all that effort, Israel dooms itself this week by lapsing into promiscuity and idolatry. So sin was able to do to Israel what nothing else could not. Also on Scroll to Scroll a special look into the life of Peter.
Remember back in Leviticus when it seemed parshas were all detail about sacrifices and architecture and little about conflict and action? Now here is this part of Numbers it seems it is all action–the bad kind–and no pausing at all. Even after miracles and plagues made it clear that Korah was evil, Israel still pines for him and his band and refuses to understand that Moshe is the only true representative for Elohim. This week things get really personal as both Moshe’s sister Miriam and brother Aaron die, and there is no rest from the wicked surrounding Moshe even in these tragic circumstances; only war, hardship and pain. In our Haftorah we also look at the mysterious Jephtah and ask the hard question: Did he really sacrifice his daughter in exchange for victory at war? All this, and I forgot to also mention, 38 years goes by in a flash so fast that the text barely lets you know what happened. Talk about losing track of time. And finally, for Scroll to Scroll, don’t miss the new teaching, “The Message of the Math”. Enjoy.