Darash Chai - Seek Life!

For the first time in the narrative portions in the center of the book of Numbers we encounter a chapter that seems out of place. The narratives of this central portions are put aside for a moment to address matters of sacrifice and an accessory for clothing. This chapter seems so out of place in the midst of what we have just been reading. But when we slow down and examine all that this chapter has to say we find that it is not out of place. Rather this chapter is deploying countermeasures to combat the rising rebellion in the midst of Israel.

The pattern continues this week. Israel in their lack of faith in the power of their God has slandered the promise that God has given them. The inhabitants of the land are too great! And now in their fear, Israel takes it one step further and slanders the plan that YHVH has to bring them to their inheritance. And this week we find the limits that YHVH has for this people. The people who have seen Him work over and over, and yet they still doubt. And that doubt leads to drastic consequences.

First it was the manna. Then it was the leader. This week Israel speaks out again. This time against the Promised Land. And we begin to see a pattern forming. An outcome that is consistent in these stories that make up the middle of the book of Numbers. The motivations are different in each of these cases, but the resulting action is the same. The tongue is indeed the untamable beast.

The time for Passover is upon us. Once again we celebrate the festival of our salvation and freedom. And as we approach this season it is all too common to hear a multitude of teachings on the Passover. And yet in all of this, there is a festival that is often overlooked. The festival of Matza. The feast of Unleavened Bread. Too often we get distracted by the Passover as we memorialize our freedom, and we miss out on what follows. The festival of Matza.

Numbers 12 is a short chapter. But as we dig into this chapter we discover something foundational that is presented. A way of reading and interpreting the Bible that is easy to dismiss. And yet this chapter not only provides the foundation of this principle, it also provides an example of this principle. All while leveraging the narrative towards shining a light in what is perhaps, the darkest part of our hearts.

As we begin the second part of the book of Numbers, the text takes a sudden shift from organization and laws to narrative. And in these narrative portions of the center of the book we read of Israel's adventures in the wilderness. And in these wilderness adventures we begin to see a picture formed in the characterizations of the people. Not a picture of God, or a picture of Israel of the past. Rather a picture of humanity. Our own fallen nature is drug into the light and exposed for all to see.

This week we reach the end of the first third of the book of Numbers. The bags are packed and Israel is ready to set out on the road. But there are a few small items to go over before the trip begins. And there is one important reminder to be given that will hold Israel true though the next 39 years.

As we open the book of Numbers we read of the characteristics that were to define Israel. Twelve distinct tribes united into one nation. Each warrior with honor. Everyone working together with a united purpose. And yet there is still one thing missing. The human leadership that is in place is not popular. And herein lies the crux of the problem. Israel is not led by human leadership. Israel is to be led by God.

In Numbers 7 we once again encounter a chapter of extreme repetition. And yet, in this chapter there is a word that is used for the first four times in the Bible. Dedication. Hanukkah. A word that has come to be associated with a winter festival, dreidels, miracles, and fried foods. And yet we find none of that here. Instead, hanukkah, dedication is a topic that transcends the festival and gets to the very heart of intentions.

The Nazarite vow is a thing that is shrouded in mystery. What does it mean to be a Nazarite besides the thing that a person is to avoid? What kind of duties or benefit does the Nazarite vow give to a person? And for the sake of the flow of the text, who is the Nazarite vow directed towards? There is a class of person that was just passed over for the priesthood. How is it that this vow is addressed to them?

Numbers 5 contains a ceremony that has caused no end of confusion and consternation for quite a long time. A ceremony that not only seems barbaric to a degree, but also seems completely out of place in the text. Why now, or all places, does the text move to describe the water trial for the woman suspected of adultery? What is the context that this trial is speaking into, and what does it demonstrate about God?

We often hear the title Lord of Hosts applied to God. But what does this word mean? Hosts? Usually this word is translated as armies and we think warriors, but if we examine where this word is found, we might find that it is used in some interesting ways that have nothing to do with warfare. Or does it?

The book of Numbers begins as one of the more boring parts of the Bible to be found. Long lists of numbers and positions that really don't matter today. What does it matter to us if the tribe of Zebulun had 57,400 men and that they camped on the east side of the tabernacle? The fact is that it is super easy to skip over these chapters, but if you were to do so, you would miss the key to something amazing. Something that is all to easy to miss.

The last chapter of Leviticus contains some of the most counter cultural teachings in the Bible, as well as being one of the most confusing chapters. What exactly is going on with these valuations of a person? And what about putting things under the ban? And how does all of this fit in with Leviticus anyway?

At the end of Leviticus we read a list of blessings and curses. Things that the nation of Israel can expect to occur in response to obedience or disobedience to God's Instruction. The blessings point us backward to something that we have already read in Scripture, and the curses point forward to something that will occur in Scripture. And not a single one of these blessings and curses are for the individual. They are a response to the community at large. And they give a picture of things yet to come.

Here in Leviticus we find a command that is given that embodies the ideals of justice, restoration, and redemption. Ideals that are at the heart of the Torah. And yet if we continue in scripture we find that these instructions were never once carried out by Israel. In fact, we read later in the Hebrew Scriptures that it was Israel's failure to keep this command that was the reason for 70 years of captivity in Babylon. But this command, these ideals are at the heart of the Torah, and they are at the heart of Yeshua's ministry.

When we read through Leviticus 24 from a Western perspective, the chapter seems disjointed and out of place. What exactly is this chapter doing at this spot? It is an inconclusive answer to this question that leads some to make up various answers. However, if we stop and consider every part of this chapter in the context of all that surrounds it, we might just find that there is an important topic being addressed just under the surface. An important aspect of community that up to this point has not been addressed in Leviticus.

The fourth movement of the book of Leviticus, the last part of the book that is all about communal worship, begins with the primary events that bind people together. Celebration. Holidays and remembrances. When we first encounter the holiday cycle of Leviticus we recognize that there are seven festivals, but what are these festivals and what can they teach us about our God and His Messiah?

It is easy for a modern audience to look to the text of the Torah and point out how simple or backward it is according to our modern and enlightened view of the world. This passage in Leviticus is a minefield of gotchas for this type of criticism. However, when we understand what topics it is that the Bible is addressing, rather than pushing our own agenda onto the text, we might find that what is being described is, in fact, quite profound as it teaches us about God and those who are to come into His presence.

At the beginning of chapter 19 we read a phrase that is repeated all throughout Leviticus, and in the New Testament. We read that we are to be holy because God is holy. Usually we take this phrase and we steep it in the form of a command. We are to accomplish holiness. But perhaps that is not how we should understand that phrase. Perhaps there is something more and something deeper being revealed.