Mas’Ei מַסְעֵי
“Journeys Of”
Torah: Numbers 33:1–36:13
PROPHETS: Jeremiah 2:4–28; 3:4; 4:1-2
APOSTOLIC WRITINGS: James 4:1–12
The devotional below is designed to help you dive deeper into God’s heart by exploring Torah as the gateway into transformational Bible reading.
torah
Sometimes we need to reflect on the past to bring our future into better focus. Our Torah portion begins with a listing of all the places the people of Israel stayed on their journey from Egypt to the threshold of the Promised Land. Moses is emphatic that we understand what he is giving us. “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. 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.”
49 verses list the names of the places they stayed. What does this list of 42 locations do for us except possibly to make us yawn and remember, “Oh yeah, we’re still in the book of Numbers and its lists.” 49 verses with 42 locations speak of 40 years of faithfulness on the part of God while Israel was unfaithful. This list pulled at the heartstrings of the people of Israel and caused them to reflect back on the faithfulness of God to provide for their needs over the last 40 years. That same God would continue to provide for them as they entered the Promised Land.
haftarah
This Haftarah portion picks up right where the last one left off. Jeremiah was the prophet who watched as Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed and God’s punishment came from the north. Yet he continues to speak the words of God.
God is reminding the Israelites that He was faithful and brought them into the Promised Land. “And I brought you into the fruitful land, to eat its fruit and its good things. But you came and defiled My land, and My inheritance you made an abomination.” Verse 11 states that Israel exchanged its glory for that which does not profit (that is, for idols).
God has two indictments against Israel. They had forsaken God and were not willing to serve Him. Our portion ends with “For according to the number of your cities, are your gods, O Judah.” This is a very tough place to end the Haftarah. There is no hope, no expectation of God’s mercy and redemption. Therefore, the Rabbis append 3:4 and 4:1-2. In 3:4, God is hearing the people of Judah as they remember and call on the God of their youth. 4:1-2 speaks of Israel’s opportunity to return and be restored to God. While these verses may make us feel better, the stern words of rebuke still ring in our ears.
Apostlic Writings
James (literally: Jacob) was writing to people who needed to be rebuked. Obviously this congregation was dealing with quarrels and conflicts. Typical of James/Jacob, he doesn’t mince words but gets right to the point. The source of their quarrels and conflicts is their lust and envy. What’s more, they don’t have because either they don’t ask or they ask with the wrong motives.
His discussion then takes an interesting turn. In the context of a discussion on conflict, he says, “Friendship with the world is hostility toward God.” At first glance this may seem to miss the point.
In the computer industry, we design products that are “user friendly.” Likewise, at times, we are more “world friendly” than “God friendly.“ We design more of our lives around the world’s values than God’s. The natural result is conflict. To resolve this issue, James/Jacob provides a seven-step plan for harmony with others.
Submit yourself and the issue to God.
Resist the evil one and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners - deal with your own sin in the matter.
Purify your hearts, you double minded. Be single minded about God’s position on the issue, not wavering between two opinions.
Humble yourselves.
Be miserable and mourn and weep.
Sometimes our quarrels and conflicts speak more to what is in our hearts than what others have or have not done. We, too, need to receive James’/Jacob’s rebuke.
The faithfulness of God in the face of our sin is a stark contrast. We never talk about it but we sometimes pull out “nice” verses that attempt to make us feel better while inside we have forsaken God and are not willing to serve Him. We quarrel and fight with righteous indignation, not realizing that our lack of a dynamic relationship with God directly impacts our ability to be in relationship with others. Once again, we are more like the people in these passages than we care to admit.
Go back and read again through James’/Jacob’s seven-step plan for harmony. There is a rich progression of restoration and perspective.
application
The above summary is an adaptation of the work by Kiel Cooper with whom I was associated in Messianic Jewish congregational life when I wrote much of what is now the Parashah Project.
SATURDAY
Rest. Fellowship. Discussion.