Watch Here: Parasha Shelach 2022!
Numbers 13:1-15:41; Joshua 1-2; Matthew 10, Acts 13
In this Parasha, we are going to zoom WAY IN on this Hebrew word, “shelach”, because it illustrates the right relationship we are to have with our Elohim.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 10:12
12 “And now, Israel, what does Yahweh your Elohim require of you, but to fear Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul.
In other words, it illustrates the righteousness we are to have with our Elohim.
So, what is this Hebrew word shelach all about? And how does it relate to the shaliach?
Romim (Romans) 1:1
1 Shaul, a bondservant of Yeshua, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of Elohim.
And why is it so vital that we understand and live the same societal structure that Yahweh uses Biblically if we are to please our Elohim?
Tehillim (Psalm) 147:11
11 Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy.
In other words, if we want to please Yahweh, do not we have to adopt His culture?
Join us for Parasha Shelach so we can find out why Yahweh’s culture is so important for us and Ephraim to adopt today.
The Hebrew term “shelach” is Strong’s Hebrew concordance number H7971, and it is a primitive root that means simply “to send away“ or “to send out”!
And we saw in other places that the Hebrew term for an apostle is a shaliach or a sent one.
But here is the thing, if someone is sent, does not someone have to do the sending? And who is it that has to do the sending in order for someone to qualify as a shelach?
Well, for most of us growing up in a democracy, we have forgotten completely what the mindset of kingship is all about. We cannot relate to life under a kingship.
Because in democracy, if we get an idea and want to do something, we just do it. It is freedom, liberty completely.
But under a kingship, the king’s ministers need to review everything to make sure it is not going to compromise national security, make sure it is not going to help our enemies, and make sure it is going to build the kingdom long-term.
So, that is why in the kingship, the king will send out his ministers to do his bidding and to carry out his work.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:18
18 “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which Yahweh your Elohim gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
Well, in a very real sense, after Mount Sinai, when we signed up and said our “I do’s”, we have become effectively His ministers.
Shemote (Exodus) 19:6
6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a Set-apart nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
So, we are agents of His Kingdom, so to speak; if we are sent by Him and we are not self-elected, and if we stick to our roles.
Yocḥanan (John) 15:16
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My Name He may give you.
Now we are going to see the problems of being self-elected a little later on in this parasha. Because if we decide to send ourselves, that is not the same thing as the King of the universe sending us. Just by way of information, for those of you ministers with your own independent ministries.
In Scripture, a shaliach (or a sent one) is a shaliach precisely because Yahweh sends him to do something special for Him; he has a commission, so to speak.
Shophetim (Judges) 6:14
14 Then Yahweh turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”
And again, later in this parasha, we are going to see that we do not get to send ourselves, that is called self-idolatry, and it carries a huge punishment.
Luqa (Luke) 14:11
11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Next week we are going to see that it seems like no matter whom Elohim sends; it seems like our forefathers always reject them. At least, that is the pattern shown in Scripture.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 23:34
34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city.
And to speak the truth in love, that is the same problem as most of us in Ephraim labor under as well, without even realizing it. People say well, how so?
Well, to briefly recap the big picture view, Yahweh originally created us humans to Shema (meaning to hear and obey His voice).
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 27:10
10 Therefore you shall obey the voice of Yahweh your Elohim, and observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.”
And the very first thing He commanded us, was to tend and keep the garden. But there were several implicit assumptions. He expected us also to love our brothers, take care of our brothers, and serve as our brother’s keepers. But we did not want to do that.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 19:18
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am Yahweh.
Instead, we chose the route of selfishness. We chose not to take care of the earth; we chose not to take care of our brothers. But we chose to trash our home and to get ahead of our brothers and to get a leg up on our brothers.
Well, this kind of selfish thinking is basically what has made it possible that we have the societal situation of today. Where men are effectively following the way of Babylon. Where the rich and powerful use their wealth and power for their own personal betterment, at the expense of everyone else. At the expense of all their brothers and sisters.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 10:1-2
1 “Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, who write misfortune, which they have prescribed
2 To rob the needy of justice, and to take what is right from the poor of My people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless”.
So, we are effectively staring that end game in the face right now. Every week, as we read the news, with the coming of the Sabbatean-Frankist globalist world order.
We know from our studies in Revelation & the End Times that they are not going to win it; they are going to lose. They do not know that; they are going to find out the hard way.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 18:2
2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
But we also know that the only way that we get to be kept from the hour of trial is by joining and participating in the Assembly of Philadelphia, (the assembly of true brotherly love).
Hitgalut (Revelation) 3:10
10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Well, there are rules for that. And what that means is that rather than trying to get ahead of our brothers at the expense of our brothers, at the expense of the planet, we need to serve our brothers.
Marqaus (Mark) 9:35
35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
We need to take care of our home according to everything that Elohim’s voice ever said for us to do. That is the only way to end up with peace on earth long-term.
Now the world’s going to plunge itself into darkness before we realize that. Before Elohim saves us and shortens the days of tribulation.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 24:7-8
7 For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
But what we need to do on our end is that we need to organize according to His word so that we can help Him build His kingdom.
Ivrim (Hebrews) 12:28
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve Elohim acceptably with reverence and fear.
We need to make ourselves available to be sent by Him, and there has never been a better time than right now.
Because effectively, we take a step back and we look at the big picture view. Basically, Yahweh sent His Son to take back a rebellious world through love.
Yocḥanan (John) 3:16
16 For Yahweh so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
But if we do not respond to the love of Elohim’s Son 100 percent. And hear His word, read His word, and do the things He says to do, then what good are we to Him as sent ones? And what good are we to Him as a bride?
But it is tricky because Yahweh uses a different system than we use, and we need to understand it. For those of us who have grown up under voting and democracy, and elections. Yahweh uses a completely different system that operates on completely different assumptions.
Because democracy is rebellion, democracy is based on the premise that we are all sovereign.
Shophetim (Judges) 8:33
33 So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals and made Baal-Berith their god.
And this is our power-sharing strategy; between us, we all agree to yield a portion of our sovereignty to a central red-horse government. As we explained in the study on Revelation & the End Times is effectively here to destroy us. Because the red horse is not our friend, only Yahweh, our Elohim is our friend.
So, in order to be in His protection, we have to adopt His culture. We have to adopt His commanded form of government. That is our job right now in Nazarene Israel.
Yocḥanan (John) 15:13-14
13 Greater love has no one than this than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
The world operates on the assumption that the majority is usually right. And so that is how democracy operates; it is whatever the majority rule, whatever the mob wants, the mob gets. Because we think that whatever seems good and right in our own eyes is what we ought to vote for when Yahweh says that way leads only to death.
Mishle (Proverbs) 14:12
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
The assumption in Scripture is that the majority of the people are usually dead wrong because we are only human; we are people.
Shemote (Exodus) 23:2
2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.
And Yaakov also tells us that the things that we seek after, things of the world, those are opposed to the things of the flesh. Diametrically opposed; the two things are opposites.
Ya‛akov (James) 4:4
4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with Elohim? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of Elohim.
And the problem is that even if you tried to make democracy work the right way, most people get their passions and their emotions confused for Elohim’s Spirit. They cannot tell the difference between their emotionality and what Elohim is saying through His Spirit.
Typically speaking, what happens for Elohim to bring order to His people because He is an Elohim of order, what He does historically is that He sends either one man or a small group of men who know how to rule their own spirits and who also know how to submit to the Spirit of Elohim. They do not get caught up in emotionalism.
B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:1
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty Elohim; walk before Me and be blameless.
They are able to hear Yahweh’s voice and to speak and act according to it. And those are the people Yahweh our Elohim works through.
For example, Yahweh sent Moshe to draw our forefathers out of the land of Egypt and to bring us into covenant relationship with Him.
Now in this parasha, Moshe himself is told to send out spies to spy out the land of Israel. And all through Scripture, we see this kind of agency relationship. Where the king, or the leader, or in this case, Yahweh, sends out His agents to do His bidding.
Shemuel Bet (2 Samuel) 9:5
5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.
And that is effectively what a shaliach (or an apostle) is, is Yahweh’s agent called and sent out for a specific purpose or mission. That purpose or mission can be very broad, or can be very general, like the Great Commission, or it can be very specific.
But if the King is the one sending, it is always in line with building Elohim’s true Kingdom. It is always in line with His original purpose, which is to cause a broken and fallen rebellious mankind to submit to His Son in love.
Kepha Aleph (1 Peter) 5:6
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of Elohim, that He may exalt you in due time.
That is the ultimate goal here, so everything that is done must be in keeping with Elohim’s ultimate goal.
In our Torah portion, beginning in the Bemiḏbar (Numbers) Chapter 13, Yahweh tells Moshe (Moses) to send out spies to spy out the land.
Bemiḏbar (Numbers) 13:1-2
1 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”
Kind of funny, the word in Hebrew is Strong’s Hebrew H8446, Toor. So, when you go to the land of Israel, and you tell them what your purpose is, you say ‘tourism’. They go, “aAha!; they are here to spy out the land; it is Ephraim!”.
So, once again, what we are going to see is the Two Houses in action. We are going to see Judah send out Caleb, the son of Yephunneh. And we are going to see the tribe of Ephraim send out Hoshea the son of Nun.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 13:6,8
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Yephunneh.
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea, the son of Nun.
And then in verse 16, we are going to see how Moshe called Hoshea the son of Nun by a new name Yehoshua, or in English, we say Joshua.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 13:16
16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.
And if you would like to know how the name of Hoshea became Yehoshua and then later Yeshua, please check out the study on “The Set-apart Names” in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume One; we also have a video on the same subject.
But as we explain in the Nazarene Israel Study, Caleb and Joshua represent what are called “The Two Houses of Israel”. And you can read all about that and why that is so important in the Nazarene Israel Study.
So, what happens in the parasha? Well, verse 25 tells the end of forty days, the spies return back from spying out the land, from touring the land, being tourists.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 13:25
25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.
And of course, ten of the spies bring back a bad report, and they focus on all the negatives; they are very pessimistic.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 13:28
28 Nevertheless, the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
Does it not seem like there is always a whiner around here somewhere? So, they had the wrong focus. They are focused on all the negatives; they are forgetting about Yahweh.
But then, in verse 30, Caleb jumps up, and he quiets the people before Moshe. He says let us go up at once and occupy it because we are well able to overcome it. Because we have Yahweh on our side. We have nothing to fear if Yahweh is sending us; if our Elohim is sending us, we know He is the true Elohim, we can do it.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 13:30
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moshe and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
But the ten spies said no, we cannot go up against the people even though Yahweh is on our side.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 13:31
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.”
Even though Yahweh just trashed Egypt and even though Yahweh just brought judgment on all the gods of Egypt. And even though Yahweh just parted the Reed sea for us. And even though we are receiving a miracle of manna daily. And even though we have the column of fire and cloud over the tabernacle both by day and by night. There are all kinds of things going on that we cannot explain by anything other than supernatural means. Mount Sinai is on smoke, Moshe is gone for forty days, all kinds of things, there are miracles going on that defy explanation.
And so, our forefathers cried out “no, we cannot go up because they are stronger than we are.” What this is saying is there is no real faith in Yahweh.
Just like Ephraim does not show real faith in Yahweh. That if we will do everything He says to do that He will take care of us. And if we do not do everything He says to do; we are not going to make it back home.
Chapter 14. Then all the congregation raises a loud cry, and our forefathers cried and wept all night.
In verse 4 we see our Babylonian tendencies. A red horse genetic tendencies at work because our forefathers wanted to elect or select or vote for their own leader and then go back to Egypt.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 14:4
4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”
So, what is the difference with that in democracy? And in a democracy, we think, what is wrong with that? It is the people exercising their right to choose. But the problem is under Kingship; we do not get a right to choose.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 30:19
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.
We have a right to choose who we are going to submit to as our King and whether or not we are going to be faithful. Meaning whether or not He is going to have to kill us all for treason in the tribulation. And that is basically all the choices we get.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 25:41
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
But we should be ecstatic about it. We should be literally in ecstasy all the time that Yahweh has called us to suffer these things for Him. And to do His bidding and to be His servants.
Thessaloniquim Aleph (1 Thessalonians) 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of Elohim in Yeshua for you.
We are supposed to give thanks for this, in all things and at all times. Because we are called to be His slaves. We are supposed to rejoice because He has the victory over our flesh. And because we have died the same death, the Yeshua has died. And we are raised in the same resurrection that Yeshua was raised in; now we are raised into His Spirit.
Romim (Romans) 6:4
4 Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Messiah was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.
Yes, we are called to a role as a slave. But we are called in the role of a slave princess. What is wrong with being a slave princess to the King of the universe’s Son?
Brothers and sisters, we just need to humble ourselves, to humbly accept the position. Do we understand what we are being given? It is like someone hands you a platter filled with gold, silver, diamonds, and gemstones, and we are like, “we do not want it; it is too much work, we have to go, we have inconveniences, we just do not like it.”
You know, humility does not come easily to us, and neither does trust. We do not trust Yahweh, we do not submit to Yahweh, or we would do all the things that Elohim says.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 11:29
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
So then, in verse 5, Moshe and Aharon fall on their faces because the people are rebelling against their King.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 14:5
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
They are rebelling against the one who shaliach them and who sent them.
So, then we see the leaders of the Two Houses, Joshua, the son of Nun, symbolic of the tribe of Ephraim. Caleb, the son of Yephunneh, symbolic of the house of Judah. They tore their clothes; they said no, the land is an exceedingly good land. If we respond in trust and Yahweh delights in us, He will bring us into the land He promised.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 14:8
8 If Yahweh delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’
But do not rebel against Yahweh. Because that is what it was, it was a rebellion against the King who shaliach them.
And by the way, while we are here, we should mention that Joshua was second to jump up. He jumped up only after Caleb had already jumped up. That is why the land was promised to Caleb, and that is why Judah was brought back home to the land first.
We talk about how the End Times play out in our study on Revelation & the End Times.
Okay, in verse 11, Yahweh said to Moshe how long will these people despise Me? And how long will they not believe in me, despite all the many myriads and multitude of signs that I have done among them?
So far, our ancestors, we have seen Yahweh just trash Egypt, trashed their gods. Everything Yahweh has said has come to pass. But we still we do not believe Him. We are watching daily miracles of manna, daily miracles of the column and fire and cloud. We see His hand; we see our forefathers saw His protection.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 59:12
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them.
But we rebelled against our King; we rebelled against the One who sent us. Because we spent a whole year at the foot of Mount Sinai organizing and building the tabernacle, now here it is a year later, Yahweh is sending us as a bridal nation out on a mission for Him. But we do not want to do it. We only wanted a land of milk and honey if it is easy.
We do not want to tithe; we do not want to work; we do not want to volunteer; we do not want to do anything. It does not make Yahweh happy.
Verse 37. And all the men who brought up a bad report died by plague, because they had a focus on the negative. There is always somebody looking for some reason why we cannot do what Yahweh’s word says to do today.
There is always some reason that we do not have to do it, or we cannot do it, or whatever. But they are looking for excuses. They are looking for reasons to get out of what Yahweh said to do instead of looking for ways to show Yahweh their love by doing what Yahweh hopes that we will do.
Yocḥanan (John) 14:15
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
But that is what He is giving us. He is giving us an opportunity to excel. And how many of us, we know that we are called. We assume that we are chosen because we are called, even though we have not chosen to respond to His call.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 6:8
8 Also I heard the voice of Yahweh, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”
Caleb, the son of Yephunneh, and also Joshua, the son of Nun, remained alive through the whole time. Because they looked for the positive, they brought a good report; they diligently sought that which was good instead of focusing on that which was bad.
So again, they are the representatives of the “The Two Houses of Israel”, Ephraim and Judah. You can read all about that in the Nazarene Israel Study.
In verse 39, we have more drama trauma among our ancestors. Moshe told these words to the people, and our ancestors mourned greatly. So, then, what did we do?
Bemidbar (Numbers) 14:40
40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which Yahweh has promised, for we have sinned!”
Well, we got up early in the morning we went up to the heights of the hill country. We said, “here we are, choose us” now we will go up to the land which Yahweh has promised. We will go to the place which Yahweh has promised.
And what does Moshe say? He says what do you think you are doing? Yahweh did not send you to go anywhere. Your King did not shelach you. Okay, you are shaliachim yourselves. It does not work; you are going to die; they did not listen.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 14:41-42
41 And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command of Yahweh? For this will not succeed.
42 Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for Yahweh is not among you.
So, of course, the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, defeated them, and pursued them even to Hormah.
That is what happens when we decide to send ourselves. All those independent ministers who are not building Yeshua’s unified Kingdom based on a single foundation of apostles and prophets. Based on the principle of the five-fold ministry. What are you doing?
In the End Time context, if you are building your own little ministry, you are building your own little ministry kingdom. What are you doing in an End-Time context? We do not get to send ourselves.
Before we go on to our Haftarah prophetic portion, first, let’s take a look at something special here in Bemidbar (or Numbers) chapter 15, starting in verse 37.
Yahweh said to Moshe speak to the children of Israel and the people of Israel and tell them to make tassels (or tzitzit) on the corners of their garments throughout their generations; that means it applies to today. And put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at, to remember to do all the Commandments of Yahweh, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you are inclined to.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 15:37-39
37 Again, Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
38, “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners.
39 And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of Yahweh and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined.
And the whole point here is that we are no longer to do what we want. Because we are His servants, we are His slaves, willingly. And that is what it is to be a slave; we no longer have rights to ourselves. We no longer have legal rights. We no longer have free will. Because we are not free, we are slaves.
So, we do not get to exercise our own free will. And that is what this little blue tassel is. Exactly a reminder of, is that we do not get to do our own will. We do not get to follow our own hearts, in our own eyes, and our own desires; we do not get to send ourselves.
Now in a democracy, we could just send ourselves wherever we want. There is no problem. We can start a ministry. You know we have a Bible and a camera; we can be a ministry.
We are not building Yeshua’s unified Kingdom, so it does not really truly work for Yahweh’s ultimate purposes. But we can do whatever we want because we are in a democracy. But not under Kingship because under Kingship, we are all just soldiers. We are part of our war Elohim’s armies.
Timotheus Bet (2 Timothy) 2:3
3 You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Yeshua the Messiah.
And that is what this little blue tassel says, is that we are no longer the harlot after our own eyes and our own desires.
If you want to understand this in more detail in the Torah Calendar Study, near the end of the book, we have a chapter called “About Service.” And the point of the chapter is the way Elohim looks at things.
Whatever we pay attention to, that is what we are serving. So that is what we consider worthy of our time; that is what we consider worthy of our attention. So that is effectively what we worship. And this gets very deep; it is a very simple principle.
But when we take into account, we take a look at where do we spend our time? Where do we spend our money? What do we pay attention to?
In the language of Scripture, what we pay attention to that is effectively what we worship.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 6:21
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
If we are worshiping a cross, we may not realize that it is the sign of the demon Tammuz. So, if we are looking upon a cross and gazing upon a cross and trying to think of Yeshua or Jesus, as the case may be. That is idolatry that is not doing the things Elohim says to do; that is not keeping the second commandment.
Shemote (Exodus) 20:4
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
So, if we do the things that Elohim says to do, then, and only then, in the language of the Bible, Yahweh considers that we consider Him worthy to tell us what to do.
Someone who is worthy to tell us what to do, we worth-ship Him because we consider Him worthy to give Him our attention. But if we do not do what Yahweh says to do. If we do not hear His voice, and we do not read His word and do everything He has commanded the way He tells us to do it. Then in Yahweh’s thinking, we do not consider Him worthy to be our Elohim.
Shemuel Aleph (1 Samuel) 15:22
22 So Samuel said: “Has Yahweh as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
So, no matter what we might think, no matter what we might say. He does not consider that we are worshiping Him because we do not consider Him worthy to be the one to establish everything we do as a unified nation worldwide.
And that is also effectively the case with the rabbinic tzitzit: they do not obey the Torah. They are obeying their own traditions and teachings. And that is because the rabbis tell us to color our tzitzit blue with the mucous gland of the Murex Trunculus sea snail.
There are all sorts of studies out there on the internet. If you kill a sea snail, a Murex Trunculus, at certain times of day, you can extract the dye from the gland. And it makes the dye from the mucous gland either purple or blue or sometimes even red. But you are coloring your tzitzit with sea snail snot. And not only that, it is an unclean animal.
In Vayiqra or Leviticus chapter 11 and verse 10, it tells us we are to abominate the carcass of anything that lives in the water, like a sea snail that does not have fins or scales. And your Murex Trunculus sea snail does not have fins or scales. Therefore, according to Yahweh, we are supposed to abominate the Murex Trunculus sea snail, not soak our tzitzit in its snot.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 11:10
10 But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you.
Now we come to our Haftarah prophetic portion. We come to Joshua or Yehoshua chapter 2; we see the same thing, we see a shaliachim. We see Joshua sending spies on a mission.
Yehoshua (Joshua) 2:1
1 Now Joshua, the son of Nun, sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So, they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there.
But what we need to notice here is the reason that anyone is ever sent; it is always to build Yahweh’s Kingdom. It is always to further His greater overall purpose. Which is to bring the earth in subjection to His Son, and then Elohim shall be all in all.
That is always why anyone is truly ever sent. It is to help further Yahweh’s cause and build Yeshua’s unified Kingdom in this age.
Notice the spies do not send themselves. They are sent by the one who is placed in authority so that it can be a unified operation. It can be one operation, one single body.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 12:12
12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Messiah.
Not a whole bunch of independent Messianics running around, a minister here, a minister there, here a minister, there a minister, everywhere a rabbi. They do not do that in Scripture.
Now let us go to our Brit Chadasha (or Renewed Covenant) portion, and we see Yeshua sending out His shaliachim (or His apostles). And it is literally the act of sending him out on a mission for Yeshua, which makes them shaliachim. There is no other qualification for a shaliachim (or apostle).
A lot of independent apostles, a lot of rogue apostles, and a lot of rogue ministers doing their own thing out there.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 10:5
5 These twelve Yeshua sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
Let us take a look at where we are, friends, brothers, and sisters. We are in the End Times. If there was ever a time to be doing Yeshua’s program, this is the time. And He has a program. We talk about that in a study on Torah Government and also in Acts 15 Order.
But notice here, the way it goes, is your King or His delegate is the one to shelach you (or send) you. And now you are a shaliach because He is the one who sent you; the Spirit sends us; we will see in just a bit.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 10:16
16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
There are also different kinds of shaliachim. First, we have the ecclesiastical (or ministerial) kinds of shaliach that everyone thinks about. Then you also have another kind of shelach, in ancient times, you also had messengers or runners who were also sent. Well that act of sending them out makes them a shelach, whether or not they are anointed to teach or whether they are simply a runner.
Now, if you want to know more, we have a study on that in Nazarene Scripture Studies Volume Three, “Junia: Woman Apostle or Courier?” and this explains the different kinds of shaliachim or different kinds of sent ones.
But the point we need to get from all this is that Yahweh’s service is not a democracy. It is a Kingship; it is effectively a benevolent dictatorship. The King shelachs His shaliachim to do His bidding, or He appoints someone to send someone else out.
But there is an order to it; there is a unified order to it. That is missing from the Messianic world. It is missing from what is called the Ephraimites movement, from independent Messianics. They do not understand that the message of this is a shaliach is just a soldier; that is all he is.
A shaliachs job is to listen to Yeshua’s Spirit. And then diligently do what he is told, including everything that was ever said before by the Spirit.
Because we are accountable to everything in Scripture, not just parts of it. Not just a convenient, broad, easy walk parts. You know how we have to do it in faith what Elohim tells us to do, and then we have to trust that Elohim is going to deliver us.
Ivrim (Hebrews) 11:1
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
That is what Scripture speaks of, so are we doing that? Or are we learning about what we should be doing? It is a question for each one of us to ask the Father Yahweh in prayer, to please show us the truth, show us whether or not we are in the faith.
So, now let’s come to Acts chapter 13 or Ma’asei 13, and we are going to see all of these elements in play in just a few short verses here.
First, we had the assembly that was in Antioch, which is in modern-day Turkey. And there were certain prophets and teachers, one of them was Bar Naba (or Barnabas); we also had Shimon called Niger or Black (probably because he was of African or Hamite extraction), and we had some others.
And as they were ministering to Yahweh and fasting, the Set-apart Spirit, which is the one that we need to listen to. It is the Set-apart Spirit that directs. And the Spirit said now separate or Set-apart unto me Bar Naba and Shaul for the work to which I have called them, it says.
And then having fasted and prayed, they laid hands on them and then sent them away. So it is that very act of being sent out on a mission, on their task, that is what makes a shaliach. Elohim sends you out; the Spirit sends you out.
You do not just decide, well, “I have got a Bible and a camera, and now I am in ministry.” That is what is called sending yourself, and it does not end well.
And next week, we are going to see that almost no matter who our Elohim sent, our forefathers would always reject them. In favor of doing their own thing of harloting after their own desires and calling it the will of Elohim.
Marqaus (Mark) 12:5-7
5 And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.
6 Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
So, brothers and sisters, those of us who are of the faith. You call yourself a Messianic, an independent, an Ephraimite, or whatever you call yourself. Are we all obeying Yeshua’s word? Are we obeying Yahweh’s word? Or are we doing our own thing? Are we simply learning about Yeshua and calling it the worship of Yeshua? We are not actually doing everything He says to do, but rather, we are making up our own version that seems more pleasing to us.
If we are willing to receive it, that is what the vast majority of Ephraimites and Messianics are doing is effectively rejecting what Yeshua says to do in favor of creating their own broader, easier road that does not look like the faith of the first century.
Please join us in praying for them. That they might wake up before it is too late, as we are entering into the End Times.