Bamidbar (Numbers)
|
Meaning
|
Day Four
|
Haftara
|
B'rit Hadashah
|
1 Our Father, we receive Your Words and hide Your commandments with us; 2 we incline our ear unto wisdom, and apply our hearts to understanding; 3 We cry after knowledge and lift up our voices for understanding; 4 we seek it as silver; and search for it as for hidden treasures; 5 We declare that we shall understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. Declaration of Proverbs 2:1-5
Numbers 20:22-21:4 (NASB)1
22 Now when they set out from Kadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.
23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying,
24 "Aaron will be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah. 25 "Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be gathered to his people, and will die there." 27 So Moses did just as the LORD had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 After Moses had stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days. 21 1 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, then he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2 So Israel made a vow to the LORD and said, "If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities." 3 The LORD heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed them and their cities. Thus the name of the place was called Hormah. 4 Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey.
23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying,
24 "Aaron will be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah. 25 "Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be gathered to his people, and will die there." 27 So Moses did just as the LORD had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 After Moses had stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days. 21 1 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, then he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2 So Israel made a vow to the LORD and said, "If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities." 3 The LORD heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed them and their cities. Thus the name of the place was called Hormah. 4 Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey.
36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. Psalm 18:36. A psalm of praise because I'm still walking and able to take care of some outside chores despite my grumpy knees! I accomplished the 'weed-whacking' near the front of the coop and the tall grasses are gone, It looks much more civilized over there! Of course, I also sustained more insect bites. Those little blighters get me right through my work gloves. How can a tiny insect weapon like that be so small and yet wreak such damage? Anyway, I keep doing what I can and keeping my focus on the progress, even if it isn't as dramatic as I once would have preferred. The huge Canada thistle that I watered with a large amount of vinegar has given up the ghost and I was able to carefully grab it and pull it out by the roots with ease. I'll have to look it up and see if that nasty plant has any use besides murderous thorns. The last three years have seen this monster plant spring up in many places on the property. I've lived in this country for going on seventy years and I never knew what a Canada Thistle was until they surfaced on the homestead! They are nasty! A copious baptism in vinegar took care of it.
Now, as we continue in our Torah for the day, I'm afraid there isn't more news of the 'good' variety. The population skirted the long way around the territory of Edom (which is a large area directly south of the Dead Sea). They were not granted access by the Edomite leader. Then, as they were moving along, the news came to Moses and Aaron that Aaron would be leaving the planet at Mount Hor along the way.
22 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor. 23 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, 24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah... 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel. Numbers 20:22-29.
Another crushing personal loss for our Moses! Now he must 'motor on' in bereavement without his closest siblings. I wonder if he felt truly alone in those days. Surely he knew that Yah was with him, but he still had to come to terms with his losses, as we all do, along the way in the wilderness of living.
The three opening verses of the following chapter are thought by some commentators, to be out of sync with the story. They consider that the victory at Hormah was delivered, not in the time of Moses, but in the time of Joshua. They believe that Joshua or perhaps Ezra included that three-sentence history note at a later date. When the disaster occurred in that area to the contingent of Israel attempting to enter the land without the Ark and the rest of Israel, they were decimated by the Canaanites. The name “Hormah” means חׇרְמָה Chormâh, khor-maw' from H2763; devoted or “utter destruction”. This area was banned or devoted to the LORD. When that judgment is passed down, it means utter destruction. Everything there must be totally destroyed and no booty or lives shall be taken or saved. The root H2763 is חָרַם châram, khaw-ram' a primitive root; to seclude; specifically (by a ban) to devote to religious uses (especially destruction); physical and reflexive, to be blunt as to the nose:—make accursed, consecrate, (utterly) destroy, devote, forfeit, have a flat nose, utterly (slay, make away). From the context, we can safely determine that the blunt nose is not the intended meaning. Whether or not this segment was added later might be a small issue that might not be cogent to the next event in their journey.
4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. Numbers 20:4.
Well now... we can see how this happened. The longer route indeed discouraged the people. We can relate! We know what we're meant to do or have planned, but there are obstacles along the way. We get a little petulant. “Let's get this done!” or “We would have had time to do this three times with this craziness!” We know all the little gripes that come out when our hopes are put on hold! We can sympathize with Israel in this. But as one quipped, “When you're knee deep in alligators, you forget you're there to drain the swamp.” When expectations are held up by delay after delay, we can get sidetracked from the tasks at hand. No one likes waiting. It can be tolerated if one has a backup plan. I used to ensure I had a book to read, or some knitting or a sewing project that could be utilized to keep my mind off the waiting. Some solutions work. Just the fact that Israel had to take the long route had to have been crushing news. “What now? Moses says that Edom won't let us pass? Aw, Come ON!”
12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12.
We looked at this verse a while ago. When we get fatigued with waiting, we can get heart sick. It can range from anger, depression, and apathy that might cause us to decide to 'give up'. Our hearts might get consumed with bitterness that we can't reach the goal as expected. Here is a statement included in the article that is linked below: "Dashed hopes sicken the heart, and the higher the expectations, the greater the frustration." The best that we can do when the expectations feel impossible to meet, is to change the expectations to the reality. How timely that I just experienced this reality in the recent month!
Now, as we continue in our Torah for the day, I'm afraid there isn't more news of the 'good' variety. The population skirted the long way around the territory of Edom (which is a large area directly south of the Dead Sea). They were not granted access by the Edomite leader. Then, as they were moving along, the news came to Moses and Aaron that Aaron would be leaving the planet at Mount Hor along the way.
22 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor. 23 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, 24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah... 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel. Numbers 20:22-29.
Another crushing personal loss for our Moses! Now he must 'motor on' in bereavement without his closest siblings. I wonder if he felt truly alone in those days. Surely he knew that Yah was with him, but he still had to come to terms with his losses, as we all do, along the way in the wilderness of living.
The three opening verses of the following chapter are thought by some commentators, to be out of sync with the story. They consider that the victory at Hormah was delivered, not in the time of Moses, but in the time of Joshua. They believe that Joshua or perhaps Ezra included that three-sentence history note at a later date. When the disaster occurred in that area to the contingent of Israel attempting to enter the land without the Ark and the rest of Israel, they were decimated by the Canaanites. The name “Hormah” means חׇרְמָה Chormâh, khor-maw' from H2763; devoted or “utter destruction”. This area was banned or devoted to the LORD. When that judgment is passed down, it means utter destruction. Everything there must be totally destroyed and no booty or lives shall be taken or saved. The root H2763 is חָרַם châram, khaw-ram' a primitive root; to seclude; specifically (by a ban) to devote to religious uses (especially destruction); physical and reflexive, to be blunt as to the nose:—make accursed, consecrate, (utterly) destroy, devote, forfeit, have a flat nose, utterly (slay, make away). From the context, we can safely determine that the blunt nose is not the intended meaning. Whether or not this segment was added later might be a small issue that might not be cogent to the next event in their journey.
4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. Numbers 20:4.
Well now... we can see how this happened. The longer route indeed discouraged the people. We can relate! We know what we're meant to do or have planned, but there are obstacles along the way. We get a little petulant. “Let's get this done!” or “We would have had time to do this three times with this craziness!” We know all the little gripes that come out when our hopes are put on hold! We can sympathize with Israel in this. But as one quipped, “When you're knee deep in alligators, you forget you're there to drain the swamp.” When expectations are held up by delay after delay, we can get sidetracked from the tasks at hand. No one likes waiting. It can be tolerated if one has a backup plan. I used to ensure I had a book to read, or some knitting or a sewing project that could be utilized to keep my mind off the waiting. Some solutions work. Just the fact that Israel had to take the long route had to have been crushing news. “What now? Moses says that Edom won't let us pass? Aw, Come ON!”
12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12.
We looked at this verse a while ago. When we get fatigued with waiting, we can get heart sick. It can range from anger, depression, and apathy that might cause us to decide to 'give up'. Our hearts might get consumed with bitterness that we can't reach the goal as expected. Here is a statement included in the article that is linked below: "Dashed hopes sicken the heart, and the higher the expectations, the greater the frustration." The best that we can do when the expectations feel impossible to meet, is to change the expectations to the reality. How timely that I just experienced this reality in the recent month!
- I can't get the coop cleaned out in one day. (You aren't as young as you once were, so, work in increments.)
- I can't get the yard work done because it's raining. (So, do what you can IN the house.)
- I can't get out of this chair because my knee won't work! (Then do what you can in the chair, like take time to just relax for a change, and/OR... do what you can.)
- It looks like my cherry shrubs did not make it through the winter! (Yeah but EVERYTHING ELSE DID—even the finicky clematis plant!)
- Aw, man! I'm not doing another thing on this land, I'm so far behind, my cherry shrubs died and I'm very angry about that. While I'm feeling this way I'm going to stop keeping the chickens too! It's not worth the aggravation! (It's time to adjust and fine-tune two things: 1. Attitude and 2. Expectations.)
1 NASB www.lockman.org for daily reading and KJV in commentary unless otherwise specifiedWhat does it mean that hope deferred makes the heart sick (Proverbs 13:12)? | GotQuestions.org
Daily Torah Bites ©
anne@anchorchurchsurfside.com