I wish to connect the beginning of this Parashah with the last verse of the prior Parashah to bring home a major point: the Voice that spoke with Moses in the Tabernacle is the same Voice that spoke to Samuel as a small boy while he lay in his bed [1 Samuel 3]; and it is the same Voice that spoke to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 43:6, “And I heard him speaking unto me out of the House: and the Man stood by me.” The Voice came from The Man. It is the Eternal Divine Logos that is speaking: The Word of God. (Revelation 19:3, “…and His Name is called THE WORD OF GOD.”)
So, here are the two connected verses from Parashah Nasso and Parashah Be’ha’a’lot’cha:
First, from Nasso—Numbers 7:89:
UV’VO MOSHE EL-OHEL MO’EYD LE’DABER IMO
VA’YISH’MA ET-HA’KOL MIDABER EILAIV
MEY’AL HA’KAPORET ASHER AL-ARON HA’EI’DUT
MI’BEYN SHNEI HA’KERUVIM
VA’YE’DABER EI’LAIV
“And when Moses came to the Tent of Meeting [Appointment] to speak with Him
he heard the Voice speaking to him
from above the mercy seat that was upon the Ark of the Testimony,
from between two^ Cherubim,
and He spoke with him.”
and now Numbers 8:1-2, the first verses of Parashah Be’ha’a’lot’cha, which is the continuation of the Divine Voice speaking in Numbers 7:89 since it immediately follows:
VA’YE’DABER ADONAI [Y”H] EL-MOSHE LEY’MOR:
DABER EL-AHARON VE’AMARTA EI’LAIV
BE’HA’A’LOT’CHA ET-HA’NEY’ROT
EL-MUL PE’NEI HAM’ME’NORAH YA’IRU SHIV’AT HA’NEIROT
“And ADONAI spoke to Moses saying,
Speak to Aaron and say to him,
When you kindle the lamps,
toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven lamps illuminate.”
See Revelation 2-3 and 4:5 concerning the full meaning of the Menorah’s seven lamps which were a prophetic sign that foreshadowed the continuously revelatory Presence of the Holy Spirit Who abides eternally in the midst the People of God.
Please bear with me as I hammer away at this.
From this beginning of the Parashah, the Voice continued to speak to Moses concerning
the taking of the Levites for their service,
the Passover observance at its appointed time,
the second Passover for those who were prevented from observing the actual Passover,
the setting up of the Tabernacle with the Shekinah of Cloud and Fire resting above it,
and the trumpets for calls to the assembly.
The narrative then proceeds in relation to
the breaking of camp,
Moses’ invitation to Jethro,
the murmuring of the people because they grew tired of the manna and Moses’ exasperation with them,
the seventy elders who became judges under Moses (“The Sanhedrin”),
God’s answer to the complaint of the people when they desired other food (God gave them quail and them smote them for gorging upon it [perhaps for tearing it apart and eating it raw as in some pagan practices]),
God placing the prophetic spirit upon the Seventy Elders, including two who had not come to the tent of meeting; Moses expressed a desire that all God’s people receive the Spirit of Prophecy [cf. Acts 2],
God’s affirmation of Moses when his authority was challenged,
and God’s rebuke of Miriam when she rebelled against Moses.
All of these matters are instructive in the ways of godliness, both by affirmation and by rebuke.
What is evident in a distinct way in the parashah is that God was actively present among the people directing their communal life through His Servant Moses. He did this by means of The Voice of God, the Word, speaking directly to Moses from the Ark of the Testimony inside the Tent of Meeting.
This is remarkable, is it not?
From the dynamic of God Speaking to Moses from His enthronement in the Most Holy Place, the Divine Voice remained among His People at large by the Prophetic Spirit that He inaugurated through Samuel into the ongoing life of Israel. That Prophetic gift began with the Judges, continued into the Monarchy, and expanded into the Messianic Era which we now enjoy. After Yeshua ascended into the Temple in Heaven [John 20:17; Revelation 4-5 et al], and from that exalted place where He is seated [Hebrews 1:3; 2:5 seq.], our Lord poured out upon us the Promise of the Father [Acts 2 et al].
The Divine Voice Speaking has not abated but has increased. In effect, Moses’ desire that “all God’s People” receive the Prophetic anointing has now been realized. As Acts 2:38-39 records, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the Promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
GOD IS CALLING YOU THROUGH THE GOSPEL!
In our Lord Yeshua ha’Mashiach, the desire of Moses for ALL OF GOD’S PEOPLE to receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit has been granted! This is the Promise of the Father. [Luke 24:49 with John 16:7-15; 2 Peter 1:1-4]
Think of it. The Gospel is the fulfilling of the Mosaic aspiration.
Have you asked God to give you this fulness? [Luke 11:13] Ask and you will receive! Seek and you will find! Knock and the Door will be opened unto you! [Matthew 7:7-11] Jesus is the Door. [John 10:9; Revelation 3:20]
Amen. Amen.
________
[^SHNEI KERUVIM—TWO CHERUBS: tradition says that one of the cherubs was male and the other female—this intimates a complimentary capacity that is similar to the dividing of Singular Adam into his two latent and interfacing natures which has resulted among humans in the generative function that flows from their reunion; this is a deep mystery]
[*John 10:9; Acts 19:1-7; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Romans 12:1-8; Ephesians 4:7-16]
