7-26-14 Message to Castlewood Canyon Church
Torah Portion: Matot (tribes); Num 30:1 – 32:42; Mas’ei Num 33:1 – 36:13 (journeys of) Haftarah: Jer 1:1 - 2:3, 2:4-28
Suggested Acheron K’tuvim: John 14:27-27
They Shall Not Live in Your Land
Central question of this message: What have been the
consequences in this age of the failures of our forefathers to drive out the pagan tribes in the Promised Land?
We have a double portion this week. It is Matot-Mas’ei. Matot begins with the law regarding vows, and who can annul them, and Mas’ei records the journeys of the Hebrews from the Exodus to the entry to the Land. First, Matot.
Num 30:1-4
30 Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the
sons of Israel, saying, "This is the word which the Lord has commanded. 2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord,
or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding
obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do
according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 Also if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself
by an obligation in her father's house in her youth, 4
and her father hears her vow and her obligation by
which she has bound herself, and her father says
nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every obligation by which she has bound herself shall stand.
Then, Mas’ei.
Num 33:1-3
33 These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by
which they came out from the land of Egypt by their
armies, under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2
And Moses recorded their starting places according to
their journeys by the command of the Lord, and these
are their journeys according to their starting places. 3 And they journeyed from Rameses in the first month,
on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the next day after the Passover the sons of Israel started out boldly in the sight of all the Egyptians,
This is the final parasha of the book of B’Midbar (Numbers), and so we also read the final portion of the final parasha, to conclude this book.
Num 36:13
13 These are the commandments and the ordinances
which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel
through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan
opposite Jericho.
And, as is our custom once we finish one of the books of Torah, we stand and jointly proclaim:
Chazak! Chazak! Chazak! V’nischasek!
Strength! Strength! Strength! And may you be strengthened!
What I bring you today is taken not merely from this double-portion, it is taken from the news broadcasts we see every day regarding the war in Israel.
We find a command in today’s double parasha which is quite relevant today.
Num 33:50-56
50 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab
by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, 51 "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you,
and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all
their molten images and demolish all their high
places; 53 and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.
54 'And you shall inherit the land by lot according to
your families; to the larger you shall give more
inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give less
inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to anyone, that shall be his. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. 55 'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about
that those whom you let remain of them will become
as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and
they shall trouble you in the land in which you live.
56 'And it shall come about that as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you.'"
In spite of these repeated warnings, we know that this command wasn’t completely obeyed.
At that time in history, the pagan tribes in much of what is now known as Israel was still controlled by a weakened Egypt, which was still hanging on to power – but only by a thread.
At the time Moses was delivering these words we read today, Amenhotep IV, also known as Akenaten was Pharaoh in Egypt.
Akenaten had abandoned Cairo as his capital (maybe because it had suffered such devastation because of the plagues?), and established a new capital further south, on the east side of the Nile sometime between 1350 and 1330 BCE.
He named the new city Akhetaton, and lived there with his queen, Nefertiri. In modern Egypt, it is now known as El-Amarna.
Akhetaton remained the capital of Egypt until it was abandoned during the second year of the reign of Tutankhamun in 1332 BCE, and the capital was moved to Thebes.
As the conquest of the land of Israel began, the garrison commanders of various cities in what is today Israel wrote urgent letters to Amenhotep III and IV. Those letters are known today as the “Tel El Amarna” letters. [“Tel” refers to a rubble heap].
Some 3,200 years after these letters were written, the local Egyptians first found them. After digging them up, they sold them on the antiquities market. Now more than 384 clay tablets are scattered now in the museums of Germany (203), England (80), Cairo (50), France (7), Russia (3), and Chicago (1).
A few of the more than 384 tablets, which were unearthed beginning in 1887 at El Amarna, by local Egyptians who claimed to be digging for fertilizer.
It is because of those excavations, and the preservation of these letters – spanning as little as 15 years – that we now know what was going on in those ancient cities at the time of the entrance of the Hebrew people under G-d’s command to conquer the Promised Land.
There are some of these letters which will not be displayed at the Cairo Museum, regardless of their cultural significance to the Egyptian people. I am convinced that they are not being displayed because they feature prominently the Hebrews (often rendered
“Apiru”, or “Habiru”) in those letters, and the admissions in those letters that the Habiru are taking the Holy Land, and many peoples are taking their side.
I first heard of these letters in the early 1980s, while I was working for Zola Levitt Ministries. Dr. Thomas McCall had just returned from the Cairo Museum, where he had been granted access to them in the basement. He was able to translate them, and told Zola and me what they said. Their contents are now more well known. It’s hard to keep such a secret in this world.
In the interest of space, I will not repeat here all the words of the Egyptian garrison commander, named Abdi-Hiba, commander at Jerusalem, pleading for help from Pharaoh, because of the successful conquering of the land by those he calls “Apiru” or “Habiru” (Hebrews).
In letter 287, Abdi-Hiba reports that “all the lands” have become hostile to Egyptian leadership. He cites specific cities which have turned to support the Habiru: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Lachish.
Abdi-Hiba asks for a replacement army of archers come from Egypt, because the commander of the Egyptian forces in Jerusalem has left him. He predicts soon that even Jerusalem will fall to the Habiru.
There is no record of any response from the Pharaoh to this letter, but we see that Abdi-Hiba wrote another letter telling Pharaoh that the situation is now worse than it was at the first writing.
Abdi-Hiba reports, in letter 286, that he’s heard that those surrounding the Pharaoh have slandered him to Pharaoh, blaming him for the loss of the land to the Habiru. He refers to Pharaoh as the “king” and “lord.”
Why should I practice mischief against the king, the
Lord? As long as the king, my lord, lives I will say to the deputy of the king, [my] lo[rd]: “Why do you love the
Habiru [Hebrews], and hate the regents?” But therefore
am I slandered before the king, my lord. Because I say:
`The lands of the king, my lord, are lost,' therefore am I slandered to the king, my lord. Because I say: “The lands of the king, my lord, are lost” therefore am I slandered to the king, my lord. But let the king, my lord, know (this):
After the king, my lord, had appointed a garrison,
Esenhamu took i[t] [al]l ...[back to]... E[g]ypt ... of the k[in]g, the lord; [There is n]o garrison here. [So] let the king [c]are for his land. [Let] the king [ca]re for his land.
[The land]s of the king, the lord, have all deserted.
Ilimilku has devastated the whole land of the king. So let the king, the lord, care for his land.
.
.
.
“The lands of the king are going to ruin.” [But] you do not listen to me. All regents are lost; there remains not a regent to the king, the lord. Let the king turn his attention to the archers so that archers of the king, my lord, will go forth. No lands of the king remain. The Habiru
[Hebrews] plunder all lands of the king. If archers are here this year, then the lands of the king, the lord, will remain; but if archers are not here, then the lands of the king, the lord, are lost.
What do these letters tell the rest of historians which we already know? First of all, that the Hebrews actually existed at that time, and the Exodus story as told in Scripture is true.
Secondly, and more importantly, G-d has given us the entire land, and we are winning the war. This truth goes against the Hamas
narrative which is being advanced by mainstream media, and the “useful idiots” which Bibi Netanyahu identified during his speech to Congress this last week.
Help would not come from Egypt for at least another generation, possibly because Pharaoh’s entire army was drowned, and all other Egyptian firstborn males were dead. Maybe there was a strong hesitation to going up against the Hebrews, since the stories of the exodus were still rather fresh in the minds of the survivors.
But, regardless of the historical fact that we were winning, the Hebrews lost heart for the conquest of the land, and began to tolerate – if not join with – those pagan tribes.
I wish to focus today on one area of the Promised Land that was not fully conquered, and which was later fully abandoned to one group of fierce pagans. That land is today called Gaza.
Judges 1:18-19
18 And Judah took Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon
with its territory and Ekron with its territory. 19 Now the Lord was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill
country; but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley [Philistines] because they had iron chariots.
But we didn’t ever really conquer the seacoast from Ashdod, southward to Gaza. We allowed the Philistines to remain there. We decided to compromise with them, and not drive them out.
Saul and David fought them. So did Samson. Goliath was from Gath, which remained in Philistine territory at that time.
Somehow we thought, during the time of the conquest of Israel, that peace was more important than following G-d’s commands. With some twist of logic, some 3,300 years ago, we thought that we could trade land for peace. We adopted a “two-state” solution. And what we today call “the Gaza strip” was born.
We seem to have not learned much in the last 3,300 years. We keep making the same mistakes, and wondering why the same enemies still beset us. All we had to do was to follow G-d’s instructions.
As late as August 2005 we were still trading land for peace in Gaza as Israel forced out 8,600 residents of what was called the “Gush Katif” (“harvest bloc”) and destroyed their homes. But there was no peace. The rockets fired at our people from Gaza only increased.
The current war in the holy land forced our people to make a national choice. As Bibi Netanyahu said, “Never again… is now!”
As I write this, the long-delayed war against the foreigners in our land is progressing, and victory in Gaza against the modern Philistines is at hand. It will only take a few months more. Will Israel once again opt for this “two state solution?” I hope not. Will the population of Gaza live at peace with Israel once the
extermination of Hamas is accomplished? Unlikely. The vast majority of the people that politicians and reporters call “innocents” supported the October 7th massacre, and also support Hamas. But maybe they will be too busy rebuilding their cities to fight us. That will take another 40 years, given what I have seen.
The curse of the foreigners within the Land because of the disobedience of the people 3,300 years ago seems to be lifting today.
The prophet Joel spoke of it.
Joel 3:4-8
4 "Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering Me a
recompense? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and
speedily I will return your recompense on your head. 5
"Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought
My precious treasures to your temples, 6 and sold the
sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to
remove them far from their territory, 7 behold, I am
going to arouse them from the place where you have sold them, and return your recompense on your head. 8 "Also
I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of
the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation," for the Lord has spoken.
We see that G-d will, Himself, remedy the problem that we caused by our disobedience. He has not, and will not, forsake us.
An interesting byproduct of this war is that the nation of Israel is turning back to G-d. I am told by a soldier that when he was mobilized to go to war, only five or so out of his company were devout towards G-d. Now, after only a few months of fighting, Maybe there are five remaining in his company who are not devout in worship of G-d.
Torah scrolls are being carried
along with the soldiers in
Gaza. Worship services on
Sabbath are now common in
the battlefield.
The people of Gaza are seeing
that the Israeli soldiers are the
ones who provide food, water,
and safety. And that Hamas
steals truckloads of food, all the
medicine, the ambulances, and
uses the refugees as human
shields. Gazans are seeing the
truth, too.
I have seen a video where
soldiers finished a worship service in the battlefield with recitation of the following verses from Psalm 91.
Ps 91:1-7
91 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will
abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I
trust!" 3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, And from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will
cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you
may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and
bulwark. 5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; 6 Of the pestilence
that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, And
ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not
approach you. 8 You will only look on with your eyes,
And see the recompense of the wicked.
Just over four days ago, the IDF updated the number of Israeli soldiers killed in the war. Only 329 have lost their lives in the ground war in Gaza. But 12,000 terrorist Hamas fighters have been killed. Psalm 91 is coming true today.
But now things are heating-up to the north. Hezbollah in Lebanon has for many months been firing many smaller rockets toward Israel, most landing harmlessly in open areas. Ones representing a threat to people were intercepted by Iron Dome.
Last Saturday, Hezbollah brought Lebanon into the war by crossing a line that cannot be ignored.
Hezbollah fired
an
Iranian-
supplied “Falaq-
1” rocket into a
playground in a
Druze village in
northern Golan.
It had an explosive warhead of about 110 lbs. 12 children were instantly killed and many more maimed.
Countries of the world warned their people in Lebanon to get out.
Lebanon also knows that reprisals are coming, and closed their airport. Grocery stores and gasoline stations experienced a rush for supplies.
Last Sunday, Turkey’s President Erdogan declared that Turkey needs to prepare to go to war with Israel should it invade Lebanon.
On Monday of last week, Israel struck a headquarters building in Beirut used by Hezbollah and Iran, and killed Hezbollah’s No. 2 commander Fuad Shucker.
Are these the opening shots in the big war described by Ezekiel 3839? I do not know. But I do see that the current conflicts are a direct result of our people Israel allowing the Philistines to remain
in the land that G-d promised to us, rather than driving them out as we were told to do.
What shall we, those who love the L-rd and His Name, do in response to all this?
First – Pray
Second – Listen to the Spirit
Third – Do what the Spirit says to do.
Fourth – Pray some more.
But while we are engaged in that effort, we must remember that even in the midst of turmoil, and possibly even another world war, we can be calm and assured – in Yeshua’s hand.
John 14:27-27
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
And know that our Savior is not surprised by all of this. He saw it coming. And when the Father says, “Go, Son, get your bride.” He will come for us. So, stay busy in His work, and keep looking for His return.
