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TEACHING THE HEBRAIC PERSPECTIVE OF FAITH IN AND OBEDIENCE TO THE ONE TRUE GOD
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| July Update |
| I was delayed in recording the July update. Will try to have it uploaded by Monday afternoon. An email will be sent as soon as it is on the site.
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| Torah Commentary |
| Balak "Balak"
Numbers 22:2-25:9
Micah 5:6-6:8
Dwelling Alone
The word of the defeat of Sichon, king of Emori came to Balak very quickly even without TV and the Internet. Balak just knew he was going to be next in line for defeat. He must take action and take it fast before he too was just a memory in the pages of history. To defeat Israel would not be an easy task. He had already heard of their great strength. He needed to get the upper hand of this situation. He needed a weapon far greater than human strength.
His first thought went to Balaam and the curses he had spoken over defeated armies of the past. His words had worked many times. Would they work again?
We all know well the account of Balaam and his seeming struggle to do good. How many of us who grew up in Sunday School will ever forget the day a donkey talked? Many of us were taught about the wrong in cursing God's people and what it meant to hear His voice before He had to make your favorite pet give you the message. But is there more to the story? Did HaShem turn Balaam's greed into a teaching time for you and me? I believe so.
In Numbers 23:9 Balaam says, "yes, a people that will dwell alone and not think itself one of the nations." This verse is very rich in its meaning to us today.
A number of years ago then prime minister of Israel Yitz'chak Rabin made a speech in Jerusalem. In that speech he said that the people of the state of Israel just wanted to be like all other nations. What was he saying in this infamous statement? He was saying that although the state of Israel was founded by a miracle of God Himself, even though they were called by God to live by the commandments of God, they just wanted to look like, act like and be like all the other nations of the world. They did not want to be different; they did not desire to dwell alone as a nation clearly devoted to the One who had brought them out of the ashes of the Holocaust. Yitz'chak Rabin may have been a citizen of the State of Israel, but his words in that speech before his assassination proved he had not learned what it was to be part of the Nation of Israel, a nation called to be different from others even if it meant living alone.
In my travels I frequently talk with people who still struggle with the issues Balaam brought up many centuries ago. They just cannot accept the fact that HaShem calls us to be a different, a special, a peculiar people, no matter what the cost. Many in Christian circles would say that this difference is the one inside of you, because you have accepted the gift of salvation in Messiah, but I submit that it goes further. Difference on the inside will make its way to the outside. That is a fact of nature that cannot be denied. If a tree has good water and nourishment flowing within, it will be seen in the outward fruit. If what is inside is polluted, the tree has no choice but to show forth in what it produces.
Yeshua teaches us in the Book of John at least three traits of His followers that make us different from those around us. He first teaches obedience to His commandments of Torah. Torah makes us different from other people. Wearing of fringes with blue threads (tzitzit) in a town where no one even knows what they are, such as the town where I live, makes you different than all the rest. Going into the local Mexican restaurant and asking the waitress if the refried beans are made with lard, a pork product, makes you different. Mowing your yard on Sunday morning while everyone else is heading to church makes you different. But different as those things may be, it is what sets us apart from all others and allows a different light to shine forth for those who are seeking a life apart from the crowd.
Yeshua teaches us to love one another. Not the kind of false love portrayed on TV and movies, but a love that goes past the physical and sees another through the eyes of God Himself. It is a love that causes us to give of our lives, our resources and our very being to help those around us who are also dwelling alone.
Yeshua teaches us to be servants. Not the kind of servant who is doing something for his own gain or with an ulterior motive. True servants seek nothing in return, but give of their lives to others only for the reward which cannot be bought with money or possessions.
Balaam's words should be an encouragement for many of us today. We are to be a people who are not concerned with the latest fashion, trend or fleeting gimmick. We are only concerned about principles of life that never fade away - obedience, love and being a servant to all. .
Shabbat Shalom,
Mike
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