Even though by now it probably shouldn’t, it still amazes me just how utterly relevant the weekly Torah portion (parsha) so often is.\u00a0 Not only are we seeing so much of prophecy fulfilled (admittedly, perhaps not for the first time!) before our eyes, but the lessons for what we should DO in response are just as vital now as they were to those who lived it the first time.<\/p>\n
The story of the ‘spies’ in Numbers chapters 15 and 16 is a perfect example when it comes to current events.\u00a0 Not only is it the “first recorded vote” in all of Scripture, but it teaches the timeless lesson that when it comes to the choice between “believing Him” and accepting appearances, which “look correct” to us, there is no contest.\u00a0 Even the Hebrew word “tur” — a root verb meaning “to spy out,” seek, or explore (think “tourist”)\u00a0 —\u00a0 is revealing,\u00a0 and the use of the very same word at the end of the portion points to a wonderful solution as well.<\/p>\n
The story starts out by making sure that we know exactly who the players were.\u00a0 Each of the representatives of their respective tribes, “every one a leader among them<\/em>,” was recorded by name.\u00a0 And Moses gave clear instructions, (Num. 13:17-20) telling them to observe the people, the land, and what type of cities they dwelt in, but with the proviso, “Kazakh<\/em>,” in the Hebrew , to “be strong and of good courage!<\/em>”<\/p>\n Yet the vast majority* returned bearing not only the incredible fruit of the promised land, but an ‘evil report’<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 They failed utterly to “see” beyond the surface, as they had been directed, and were instead deceived by appearances, and their own preconceptions.\u00a0 Caleb and Joshua — alone — saw the Truth, and recognized that the land was “an exceedingly good land,”<\/em> exactly as YHVH had promised.<\/p>\n And while there are many wonderful lessons which can be drawn from the story,\u00a0 it is the question of “what do we choose to believe” that I find particularly interesting.\u00a0 Yes, there were giants in the land, but Numbers 13:33 gives us more information than might be obvious at first glance; read it carefully: Imagine that!\u00a0 The men of the land managed to see the ‘grasshoppers’ exactly <\/strong>as they saw themselves<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 Joshua and Caleb, however, realized (Num. 14:9) that “their defense has been removed from them,”<\/em> and not only should they not be feared, but (in the equivalent Hebrew idiom) ‘we will eat their lunch!’\u00a0 So, we should go now<\/strong>, Caleb urged.\u00a0 As it turned out, the “whole congregation” turned on the two of them, rejected the promises of YHVH, and all of those adults ended up not going at ALL.\u00a0 Every one of them died in the wilderness, because they “despised<\/em>” YHVH (Num. 14:11) by their failure to believe His promises, given all that they had already SEEN!<\/p>\n And just Who do we believe today?\u00a0 We have a world economy based on dishonest weights and measures — which He calls “abomination” — and it is nearing worldwide collapse.\u00a0 A debt which is mathematically impossible to ever “repay” is taking down the PIIGS dominoes (Greece, then Spain) first, but portends a plague of truly Biblical proportions.\u00a0 Unrest, riots, famine, and war will follow – as they always do, and just as Scripture warns.<\/p>\n And what of the governments…all of whom arguably now serve the “prince of this world”?\u00a0 There, too, both Scripture and the news give the same answer:\u00a0 Tyranny.\u00a0 “Capital controls” and other draconian population control measures have already been implemented across Europe, to prevent people from escaping the economic meltdown, or preserving their wealth.\u00a0 Cameras, airport searches, and internet spyware have long ago made the concept of ‘privacy’ laughable.\u00a0 In the United States, tens of thousands of drones are not only already being openly admitted to perform aerial spying, but now to being armed…with everything from Tasers and rubber bullets to machine guns and missiles.<\/p>\n People have even begun to bring an “evil report”:\u00a0 The “New World Order” is too strong to resist.\u00a0 Big Brother really IS watching you…and X-raying, and groping.\u00a0 And, just like the Borg of Star Trek<\/em>, “resistance is futile”.\u00a0 It truly sounds bleak…at least to those without “eyes to see” His Truth.<\/p>\n Is what we face today really so different from the “giants in the land” that so terrified a mixed multitude who ended up dying in the wilderness? And why does He end the lesson associated with the spies, and immediately the man who rebelled against His Sabbath, the way He does?<\/p>\n Part of the solution is in fact as simple as Scripture lays it out for us:\u00a0 “Choose this day Whom you will serve…serve YHVH…and Him alone<\/strong>.”<\/em>\u00a0 Believe His promises.\u00a0 Fear Not.\u00a0 Seek Him…and “He will direct your paths.”<\/em><\/p>\n “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”<\/em>\u00a0 (Luke 21:36)<\/p>\n There is no question that this is a time for prayer.\u00a0 But is there something else — practical and effective, and maybe even relatively EASY to do — that might help us learn to “walk that path”?<\/p>\n Yes.\u00a0 And it is at the end of that same Torah portion (Numbers 15:38-40).\u00a0 It even uses the same Hebrew word —\u00a0 “tur<\/span>” again — to make the point: Who are we gonna believe?\u00a0 YHVH or our own “lying eyes”?\u00a0 If we can learn to follow even some of His simplest commands, and look upon the tzitzit that he tells us to put upon the corners of our garments as a reminder, He is faithful enough to teach us, and guide us the rest of the way.<\/p>\n Kazakh!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Do we believe in the PROMISES of YHVH, or our own “Lyin’ Eyes”… Continue reading
\n“…and we were in our own sigh<\/strong>t as grasshoppers, and so <\/strong>we were in their <\/strong>sight. <\/em>”<\/p>\n
\nDoes the commandment to “Fear Not!” still apply?\u00a0 If we allow ourselves to be propagandized into seeing ourselves as the blind “tur-ists” did — grasshoppers in our OWN sight — is it so hard to see how that <\/em>story would end?<\/p>\n
\nPut a blue thread in the tzitzit <\/em>on the corners of your garments.
\n“And you shall have the tzitit, that you may look upon them and remember all the commandments of YHVH and do <\/strong>them, and that you may<\/em> not spy<\/span> after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you use to go astray;<\/em>
\nand that you may remember and do <\/strong>all My commandments, and be set apart to your Elohim.<\/em>”<\/p>\n