Message 6-21-08

Shelach Lecha-Send for Yourself

Numbers 13:1-15:41

Joshua 2:1-24

Acts 10:9-20

 

Introduction

Moses sends the twelve spies into Canaan. Joshua and Caleb give a positive report and the other 10 spies give a negative one. The people become angry. God threatens to wipe out the Children of Israel but relents when Moses intercedes on their behalf. To punish the people God announces that all those who left Egypt would not enter the Promised Land except for Joshua and Caleb. Moses instructs the Israelites about the Sabbath, how to treat strangers, and the tzizit or fringes.

 

Numbers 14:6-9

6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: "The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 "If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, 'a land which flows with milk and honey.' 9 "Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them."

 

Notice that Joshua and Caleb tore their clothing. This is a traditional sign of mourning that is still practiced among the Orthodox Jews while in most other branches of Judaism they don a black mourning ribbon that is slit about halfway through to symbolize mourning. Joshua and Caleb were upset over the fact that ten of the twelve spies gave reports that were negative in their presentation and caused most of Israel to become afraid of the people living in Canaan.

 

On the flip side of this we have Joshua and Caleb who told the Israelites not to be afraid because God would go with them and help them to take the land because God had promised the land to Israel from Abraham on down to their day. The land had been given into perpetuity to Israel. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob dwelled in the land but never really took possession of the land except for the cave in Macpelah that was purchased by Abraham as a burial place for his wife Sarah and which would later house Isaac, Jacob, Rebecca, and Leah. Rachel was buried in Hebron.

 

For Israel to occupy the land and to hold it was a matter of faith and obedience. They had to have faith in God and had to follow His Torah. God makes this perfectly clear to them and to us as their descendants. There are many times where we become overwhelmed by the reality in front of us rather than placing our faith in God and His Son Yeshua. If we would do this the Ruach HaKodesh would light a fire within each one of us that would help us to carry through with God’s word.

 

Deuteronomy 32:20 And He said: 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, Children in whom is no faith.

 

Matthew 6:30 "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

 

These verses are prime examples of the lack of faith of God’s people. These verses are not about how much money you have or how fancy are your material possessions. What they are about is the faith it takes to allow God to provide our every need. I have often told my congregation’s that God provides our needs not necessarily our wants. Wants have nothing to do with God’s provision. Wants are our desires that go beyond what God knows we need. So, this means, that God provides as He chooses to give and not what we desire.

 

Our society is a wants based one. We want what our neighbor has, what we see advertised on television and in the newspapers. This is not to say that God does not give us more than our needs. God blesses us as He sees fit and whatever He chooses to bless us with we have to learn to be satisfied with that. If not we will one day stand before Him and have to give an accounting and there may be some tough questions asked of us?

Matthew 14:31 And immediately Yeshua stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

 

This passage is talking about the Apostle Peter and the time he was in the boat and Yeshua came walking to them on the water. Peter jumped out of the boat and began walking towards Yeshua but took his eyes off of His Messiah and began to sink in the water and Yeshua came and caught him. Does this mean if we have the faith we can walk on water? I don’t know but I do know that there have been things that have happened in other countries that defy the reality of life as we know it. The dead have been raised, the sick have been healed, needs have been miraculously provided for. I know, in my own life, that God has answered my prayers, those of my wife and those of people who have been praying for us.

 

In our congregation we recently put in place a prayer team with team leaders of a husband and wife in our congregation. Under them they have chosen a prayer team that prays for the congregation’s leadership. They also have a prayer list where they send the needs of the congregation that are submitted by the members while keeping the more intimate ones for the prayer team. This provides privacy for those who ask for it while still bringing prayer warriors on board to fight the battle. I wish that years back I would have had a prayer team like this. Their prayers have moved mountains, symbolically, but we are seeing things moving in heaven and on earth.

 

Congregational leadership needs to have prayer warriors who are willing to put themselves on the line. What I mean is that those who are prayer warriors must be careful because when they step out in faith like this the enemy will attack them. This is not an “if” situation but an “it will” situation. Those who step up in prayer will be attacked by the enemy because he does not want our prayers reaching the throne of the Father. We do not spend enough time in prayer my friends. We need to be on our knees before God every single day as many times as we can. Prayer makes a difference! It will build our faith up and we need to be strengthened by our God. Caleb and Joshua had the faith that was needed. They never wavered in their faith in the God of Israel and that faith brought them out of Egypt, through the Wilderness and into the Promised Land and brought Joshua to the leadership of Israel.

 

Joshua 2:6-11

6 (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) 7 Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. 8 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 and said to the men: "I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. 10 "For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Reed Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 "And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

 

The power of God had been made evident in the destruction of Egypt and its army. Now, here we are forty years later, and Israel is ready to enter the Promised Land and Joshua sends two spies to check out the lay of the land. You notice that Joshua only sent two spies this time and not twelve. Dare I say he did not want a repeat of what had happened forty years earlier? These two men go to the home of Rahab, who is sometimes described as a prostitute, and some scholars believe she was an innkeeper of sorts. Whatever we may or may not believe about her she gives these two Israelites the report that the people living in Canaan are filled with fear of Israel because they know what the Israelite God had done to Egypt.

 

This was forty years after the fact and people were still talking about it. The people living in Canaan were living in fear because of what God had done to Egypt and to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites. God’s hand was on Israel and all He asked from them was to have faith and follow His Torah. God loves His people so much and He asks so little of us and yet we cannot do it. We who are Believers in Messiah and His Father are standing at the forefront of His people Israel. Those of us who know Yeshua, believe in His Father, and follow His Torah are on the frontlines of this fight folks! You are right there in the thick of it and you may very well be right there on the frontlines when Yeshua returns to take possession of what is rightfully His.

 

Revelation 19:11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.

 

This is where the rubber hits the road people. This is the time when Yeshua will return at the head of His army to take possession of what is His. This will be nothing like the first time He came. When He came then, the Jewish people were expecting Him to come like this time in Revelation 19:11. They wanted a conquering hero who would strike down their enemies with his sword and start a revolution but that just shows us that they did not understand what the Tanach was trying to teach them. He came as the Messiah ben Joseph, the suffering servant, the first time around. He would be like Joseph the son of Jacob who had been sold into slavery by his very own brothers and who was to be killed by some of these same brethren. He was falsely accused and placed in prison in Egypt but the end result was he was raised up by his God and made second in command of all of Egypt the same way Messiah will be second in command to His Father.

 

He took our sins upon Himself the first time and overcame death to be raised up to the side of His Father waiting for the day the Father will release Him to return to finish was had been started 2,000 years ago. I might dare to say this started from even before creation was laid out.

 

Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

 

This will usher in the Messianic Age, a time that both observant Jews and Christians know about, but their conception of what will take place may be very different. The bottom line is the Messiah will come and take up His throne and set things right. While peace will take hold it will not last because Messiah will rule with a rod of iron bringing the nations under the rule of Torah.

 

Psalm 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'

 

Revelation 2:27 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels' -- as I also have received from My Father.

 

Revelation 12:5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.

 

Revelation 19:15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

 

Are you ready for the Day of the Lord?

 

Acts 10:9-20

9 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13 And a voice came to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." 14 But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean." 15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed you must not call common." 16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again. 17 Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate. 18 And they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there. 19 While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are seeking you. 20 "Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them."

 

This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture because it is one of the most misinterpreted passages by the Church. The Church tries to use this passage to claim that the dietary laws of God found in the Torah have been done away with much in the same way the Torah has been done away with. They try to say this vision that Peter had was all about being able to eat unclean foods. The problem here is that what God has called unclean has never been considered to be food. It was common and not food to be eaten. I have always wondered why so many would fight so hard to cleanse what God declares otherwise.

 

Peter’s vision uses food in a symbolic manner, in a way that God could easily get His point across. Peter was an observant Jew who never defied God’s kosher laws regarding food. Once God had gotten his attention He could reveal the true meaning of the vision and that was for Peter to go to the home of Cornelius, a Roman citizen and centurion, who was also a God-fearer or ger in Hebrew. His years spent in Israel had apparently brought him to the understanding of the One True God. It would be Peter who would bring him the rest of the way to faith in Yeshua. More importantly it would be Peter who would pave the way for Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles or Nations. Peter would become Paul’s witness along with Barnabas about the message of salvation was to be shared not just with Israel but with the entire world.

 

It would take many years before the disciples of Yeshua would go to the nations but here in Acts the road is paved to bring the nations into the Kingdom of God. Peter, who is known as the Apostle to the Jews would be the one to pave the way for Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. Isn’t it amazing how God can use us despite what we may believe our calling is? Amen!

 

Spiritual life and secure life do not go together. To save oneself one must struggle and take risks…Ignazio Silone

 

 

for other Torah Studies check out: 

Tony Robinson at www.devoted.to/Torah (sign up) 

Mark R. Ensign at mrensign@arn.net (request to be added to list) 

Ardelle Brody [abrody@mchsi.com](posted on Mordecai’s website along with his Torah commentary-an excellent woman’s perspective)

 

May the Lord bless you and yours… Mordecai Silver

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