GOD IN THE HIDING PLACE
I remember several years ago when I was in hospital, how I experienced a crossroads event in my life. It was all about trusting the Lord in every circumstance.(Prov. 3:5-6) It is fairly easy to trust in the Lord a little bit until He strips away all our other dependancies and it was like this for me. Whilst I lay in the hospital bed, I realised my trust in Him was not as great as I had thought. Sometimes God allows us to expose a hard-hitting reality in our lives to shake us out of our complacency. For me, jolted me in the realisation that some of my foundations were built on sand rather than the solid rock. Unconditional trust in the Lord leaves no room for substitutions or manoeuvrings despite my urgent negotiations with God.
It was 7.00pm – visiting time – and in desperation I decided to ignore everything happening around me and I just pulled the bed sheets over my head into a type of improvised tent and began to make decree after decree before the Heavenly throne simply in faith, affirming His promises in my circumstances.
Suddenly, all the periphery sounds and noises I was surrounded with vanished as my ‘tent’ filled with the glory of God ablaze with blinding flashes of colours and heavenly sounds that do not exist on earth. This continued for around 30 minutes after which the matter was settled.
From that moment I set the boundaries of faith to the scale of unlimited because when one has tasted the goodness of God one is ruined for life and nothing can ever remain the same. And in perspective, I now understood that just one taste, one glimpse, of the eternity that’s awaiting us in Heaven makes everything else in this world simply boring and unattractive in comparison.
Parasha Matot & Ma’asei Num.30:2–36:13; Jer.1:1–2:3; Matt.23:1–39
By Raphael ben Levi
This week’s double Torah portion, continues with the Book of Numbers (B’Midbar) which you may recall began in the opening chapter with a census. It does this for several reasons. One is very practical. God commanded the census to prepare the Israelites for entry into Canaan. It would assist them to become an organised community where God was squarely placed in the centre of everything. Their welfare depended entirely upon their covenant relationship with Him in accordance with His grace based upon their trust and obedience to walk in accordance to His ways.
Each person held a unique value in the community without distinction and a unique function that is no different to us as believers who are part of the Body of Messiah. Problems would arise whenever this point was disregarded. The apostle Paul makes that very clear in 1Cor.12: “12 Just as a body is one whole made up of many different parts, and all the different parts comprise the one body…18 God has meticulously put this body together; He placed each part in the exact place to perform the exact function He wanted.”
So, the Israelite census not only provided them with a mechanism to function as a community but it also demonstrated their uniqueness and value not only corporately but individually in the sight of God. This helps us better understand why Satan works tirelessly to destroy the Body of Messiah through any means and frequently with false belief systems. For example, some people believe they are worthless and are stuck in that groove; at the other extreme some people especially prone to leaders allow themselves to be so filled of pride that they tear down any initiative that doesn’t originate from themselves.
So let me add value to these things from a very different perspective. For example we read when Paul publicly stated: “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia.” He wanted to be sure that they knew about his experience – a weakness, the inner turmoil within him caused by the affliction where he confessed that “…we were so burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.“ (2Cor.1:8-9) Paul made it clear that we all have strengths and weaknesses even among the best and strongest. The point that Paul was making to a very young congregation easily susceptible to Satan’s traps was that although every believer may experience negative things in life we needn’t be governed by them or allow ourselves to become stuck in a groove.
Paul goes on to share how God used his despair – the worst of what we may experience in life for good. “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (v 9). Paul’s experience was similar to the Psalmist who could say “…“For God alone… is my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.” Ps 62:5-6
We could share many other examples – about Aharon and Miriam’s harsh criticism of Moses their own brother, of the meraglim who lacked courage to return from Canaan with a positive report, and those who rebelled against Moses such as Korach. We read about heroes such as Joshua, Caleb, and Pinchas, and anti-heroes such as Balak, Balaam and Judas Iscariot. But the important thing in all of this are the choices we make following devastating events that will shape our lives or our mistakes that will mould our identity for either for good or for bad – choices that can effect our status in eternity. But when it does happen as all of us have experienced, the critical question is what we do about it – remain stuck in a groove or choose to allow God His perfect way in us?
I never want to end my life with the words, “If only…” with regret of missed opportunities but with the realisation that by His grace I stepped out of life’s negative paralysis and stumbled into the arms of a God – the One who offers us second chances and new beginnings because He alone is the way, truth and life.
Our individualism is a hallmark of our humanity where each person is moulded from the raw material that God Himself created. Scripture likens it to a potter and the clay and silver purified in the refiner’s fire into something beautiful for God whose purpose is always to shape us closer into His likeness. If you are in a groove today, would you allow God to break your chains and set you free?
Moses himself experienced many tough challenges in his life, but clung to God amid his vulnerability, and God turned areas of weakness into strength. Aaron and Miriam criticised Moses in a moment of jealousy but consequently it led them to experience a deeper love and unity towards each other. Ten meraglim, princes among the people, failed to provide their people with a positive report yet out of it a new generation emerged under Joshua who learnt from the mistakes of their predecessors. Was it all really necessary? Well God seemed to think so!
Our day-to-day life is not the final destination, but a succession of destinations. What is of greatest significance about life’s journey is what takes place along the way with the bumps in-between. That good work that God is doing in our lives contains many bumps, but He uses these things to bring into alignment into His perfect will and timings.
A case in point is in the life of Jephthah, one of the judges of Israel, the son of Gilead the son of a harlot who was a rough diamond, extremely impetuous. Jephthah made a rash vow to God without considering the cost – he just did it. His personal ambitions and a craving for acceptance among his people – that was his weakness – clouded his judgment which led him make a disastrous error. When his half-brother Amnon threatened war against him, Jephthah told God: “If you will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” Judg.11:30-31
To “offer something up as a burnt offering” was a phrase understood to mean that he would dedicate that specific something totally unto God. In that moment Jephthah basically told God, “Just give me what I am asking for, and I’ll worry about my end of the deal later.” When he came to his house in Mizpah, he was greeted by his daughter, his only child who came out dancing to meet him with timbrels. What was potentially a cause for great celebration ended in calamity.
Jephthah’s daughter requested to go in mourning for a short period of time. Although she was not literally offered up as a burnt offering, because that would have been a blatant violation of Torah, the ‘burnt offering’ that he referred to meant she would be a visible sacrifice for the rest of her life without marrying or ever having children – the ultimate disgrace with no way out. Her bright future was burnt to ashes and the stark ramifications Jephthah faced was that his lineage had come to an abrupt end. Jephthah found himself caught in a trap that he had himself laid. Yet, there is a flip side to this story. In Heb.11, Jephthah is mentioned as a hero of faith. Despite his critical error of judgement he stayed true to God even in face of his worst nightmare.
Here is the point. So often the promises we make to God originate from good intentions yet may lay in tatters when they are guided by our own logic or emotions rather than by the Holy Spirit. It is a salutary warning to us of the seriousness that God views the promises we make to Him.
Remember Korah the Levite? An entire parasha is devoted to him surrounding an incident involving 250 prominent Levites under him that also included another group headed by two Reubenites, Dathan and Abiram, who were outspokenly critical of Moses’ leadership (16:1-3) and sought to remove him in place of themselves. Their rash error led to disastrous consequences.
Korah’s rebellion is a reminder of Lucifer’s rebellion against God in Isa.14. something that resonates to the present time packaged in multiple varieties of disguises. Rebellion has reached epidemic proportions within society today that has gained a stronghold even within many sectors of the Church where godly principles are frequently abandoned and replaced with the world’s standards.
Betrayal is a bitter pill to swallow. God Himself knows this full well and Yeshua experienced it in full measure throughout His earthly ministry. Here in this parasha, we see how it was directed towards Moses. Imagine his shock and disappointment so soon following the event surrounding the bad report from the 12 meraglim. At that time the Israelites wanted to stone him and now only a short while later he faced something similar. Korah and his followers motivations were glaringly ungodly yet held a glamour and daring that was tainted with the poison of satanic influence.
An ‘argument for the sake of Heaven’ is a Jewish phrase meaning speaking out for truth. This was not the case with Korah. But, for the sake of Heaven Moses embraced the “fellowship of His sufferings” which is to stand against the tide of the world’s standards and ungodly opinions. How did Moses do this? By simply responding to his accusers in accordance to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Korah’s rebellion was a power play against truth and honour but nothing can stand against the wisdom of God. One of our rabbis noted that: “If I argue for the sake of truth, then if I win, I win. But if I lose, I also win, because being defeated by the truth is the only defeat that is also a victory. I am enlarged. I learn something I did not know before. In a contest for power, if I lose, I lose. But if I win, I also lose, because in diminishing my opponents I have diminished myself.” When one deliberately sacrifices truth for the pursuit of power as did Korah the collateral damage is immeasurable.
Korah is a sad example of someone who allowed Satan to jeopardise his calling and destiny as a levite and priest of God. It is a terrible form of exile causing spiritual alienation even harsher than its physical equivalent. But even then, it need not be a person’s final end for the ever loving Good Shepherd is willing to leave the 99 sheep to rescue the one who never learns from his mistakes who is trapped on the wrong side of God’s moral compass. And then we realise that each one of us has been that sheep who needed rescuing at some point in our lives.
There’s a story from the Talmud where two people were walking along a path, and one of them had a jug of water. If both drink from it there would not be enough and they would both die. But if only one drank, he would survive and reach the town.
One sage interpreted this to mean that it would be better that both drink and die, rather than for one to witness the death of the companion. Yet, another sage stated that your own life takes precedence over the life of your companion. But the Talmud shares a third possibility that the one holding the jug should give the entire jug to his friend and die himself. This third interpretation, presents the concept of self-sacrifice, as illustrated by the apostle Paul when he states, “I am speaking the truth in Messiah—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Messiah for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” (Rom. 9:1–4)
Paul mirrors the same sacrifice as Aaron did who ran into the plague caused by the Israelites rebellion against God and through his courage it was stopped. Here was displayed a different brand of impetuosity, something noble rather than carnal and a different Aaron who had fallen prey in the event with the golden calf.
Amid the complexity of life, we face consequences for the choices we make in ever deeper layers showcasing God’s incredible love leading to transformation when we make right choices amid the long, messy, stubborn pathways we sometimes take. And through it we better understand how our thoughts and intentions provide ourselves with the building blocks to facilitate abundance in our journey through life. And the decisions we make will bear witness when we stand before the throne of God on the Day of Judgement.
Rom.8:28 now makes sense in a profounder way because despite our free choice everything will work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes in Messiah Yeshua even in times when we are battered and bruised. Our extremity becomes God’s opportunity when we and allow God to take hold of the reigns.
Words clearly hold enormous power. God Himself spoke the universe into existence bestowing life to each one of us. Words contain no neutrality: they either minister life or death: blessings or curses! (Jam 3:7-12) This should make us cautious about the manner of what we speak over others and ourselves.
The Israelites were provided with a photo album of memories for future generations to reflect upon and learn from the experiences of their forefathers so they could declare like the psalmist, “Doing Your will, My God, becomes my joy because Your Word is in my inmost being.” Ps. 40:9
Pursuing God single-mindedly with all one’s heart is a rare commodity that most people view as spectators rather than participators. The statement that David made in Ps.40 provides us with a glimpse of his heart where his overwhelming and wholehearted love caught the attention of God in a manner unparalleled in Scripture. To wholeheartedly pursue God is not a quaint sentiment but the noblest endeavour. Some people serve Him for public acclaim or for the applause of men. But, the psalmist’s overriding desire and joy was to live in close fellowship with God. Even when he fell from grace, he refused to allow anything to prevent him clawing his way back into fellowship and favour. In other words, he refused to allow himself to be stuck in a groove.
I want to share something very sad. Our sages tell us that only one-fifth of the Israelites left Egypt for they preferred to remain within the realm of enslavement because it seemed a ‘safer’ thing to do than launch out into the unknown. So too, after the abolition of slavery in America when the black people became ‘free’, many wanted to go right back to being a slave.
The Kingdom of Heaven is full of risk taking because God has called us to walk by faith not by sight. As Scripture states, “The just shall live by faith.” (Rom.1:17) Notwithstanding, when we take the narrow path hand in hand with our Maker, we learn that the very best the world can ever offer is merely a faint glimmer compared to what awaits us in the life to come.
