Numbers Week 42 - Matot (Tribes) Notes

These are my first ever Torah Portion notes from 2018 and 2019, drawn from these sources. Every Saturday starting from Friday sunset, God's people get together and read portions from the Torah to learn and look deeper into His word, starting after the 8 days Feast of tabernacles until.Tabernacles the next year:

• The Way Biblical Fellowship: Tribes and Journeys (Torah Portions: Mattot and Masei) 2015 - 2016
• Rob Skiba Virtual House Church

1. 2013 Broadcast   

Scriptures in Week 42:

TORAH:

Numbers 30 - 32

PROPHETS:

Jeremiah 1 - 2:28; 

Judges 11:29-40

NEW TESTAMENT:

Matthew 5:33-37; 23:1-39
Revelation 7 

TORAH

When people make vows or promises, you cannot break it. You also find yourself in a trap by manipulating God by feeling to do something for Him due to what He has done. Not always, it can lead to dictating God. We should ideally be listening to what He says and doing it.

"When you vow a vow to God, don’t defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay that which you vow." Ecclesiastes 5:4

Verse 3-7 doe snot mean that the father of the house has some masculine power over the house, it says that the father is the one reasonable if he is the one that makes one to sin or stop a vow or good deed from happening. It is nothing patriarchal, it is saying that God will have the husband held reasonable for all the decision that the couple makes. In an actual fact, it would be better to be the woman in this case, since if the man is not responsible enough, he will be the one sinning. They are one flesh. The husband is the one to not abuse the responsibility to make good decisions in a marriage.

If a wife vows something to YHWH, at that point she is under an obligation to do it. But if her husband forbids her or prevents her from conducting that vow, then the guilt, for her not fulfilling that vow rests on the husband. Does not sound very misogynistic to me. It sounds rather reasonable. This should make feminist think twice about the God of the "Old Testament" that is supposedly "misogynistic."

"But if he shall make them null and void after that he has heard them, then he shall bear her iniquity.” Numbers 30:15

I also want to remind you all that it was Yeshua that bore our iniquity too and took the curse instead of us. Hallelujah!

What does this mean? After a issue that Pinchas dealt with, a massive census, long lists of sacrifices on feast days and laws about vows, YHWH all of a sudden says: "oh yeah, take full vengeance on the Midianites for what they did with Balaam and the prostitution!" Sounds too abrupt and incoherent does it not? You can imagine Moses sitting there,like, okay so vows yep got what's next? You are going to war and soon you will die..... Unfortunately, the Torah does not tell us Moses' reaction which i believed might have been quite perplexed and possibly a bit frightened. Remember last week, all this interruption was very necessary.

See the work of Tony Robinson

"The Holy One gave the commandment to go to war with Midian in Numbers 25:16-18; however, the account of the war doesn’t actually occur until Numbers 31:1-12! What about all of the text between those verses? Wouldn’t it have made more “chronological” sense to place the narrative of the war (Numbers 31:1-12) right after the commandment (Numbers 25:16-18)?

Remember, our goal is to determine why Numbers 26-30 was placed between the command to attack Midyan and its actual fulfillment. We will do this by searching for a common theme between the section (Numbers 26:1-30:17) that was "inserted" and the war with Midyan (Numbers 25:16-18 and Numbers 31:1-12). Understanding the War I. Since we are searching for a theme between Numbers 26:1-30:17 and the war with Midyan, it makes sense to look at each section thematically. We will start with Numbers 25:1-9 even though it was part of last week’s sidra, because this passage contains the events necessitating the war against Midyan. 

"Vengeance is mine, and recompense,

    at the time when their foot slides;

for the day of their calamity is at hand.

    Their doom rushes at them.” Deuteronomy 32:35

Proverbs 20:22 World English Bible (WEB)

22 Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.”

    Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you."

"Romans 12:19-21 World English Bible (WEB)

19 Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him.

    If he is thirsty, give him a drink;

    for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

21 Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." 

We cannot take vengeance on someone if a person attacks us and does kills a child of ours, because that will be playing God - just like judging others. To make it right, we should leave the situation in YHWH hands. When He executes His vengeance, it is always done perfectly.

When Phinehas and the army going to battle parallels when Yeshua comes back with His hosts of heaven into battle between Antichrist. Because it mentions "the son of Eleazar the priest (Phinehas)", "the trumpets for the alarm," all contain verbiage seen in descriptions of the battle of Armageddon.

The Midinates that they killed contained Nephlilm genes (or to be more specific, were Elioud/Elgo and demigods). By fighting them, Israel will be bringing to extinction the physical seed of Ha'satan from the gene-pool.

These people had taken YHWH's bride and had tried to turn His bride astray that would ultimately kill her. Pretend you were God, and your wife was kidnapped and taken to be killed. How just would it be to intervene, removed the offender or to sit and do nothing? It would be the ultimate blessing to kill  these possibly Nephilim descendant nation from the face of the earth before causing anymore harm.

The women were spared. But where they the problem to begin with? This is why Moses is angry because the sins was not completely removed. The Israelites, like Saul with the Amalekites had only partially obedient God. 

Here is an article that i read last week that is in tune with this week's Torah study. Jim Staley here gives us amazing insights that i think we should all take to heart.

Got a Mole Problem?

Written by Jim Staley

 

Numbers 31

Have you ever had a mole problem? One that just keeps coming back and ruining your yard or garden? They seem to go away for a while and then come back with vengeance. I recently learned that moles love grub worms and they seek them more than any other food. I personally have a mole that just won't stay out of my garden. An old timer told me that all you have to do is get rid of the grub worms (thereby removing its food source) and it will move on. And because moles are like besetting sins that just don't seem to go away, I got to thinking about this week's Torah Portion and the "mole problem" that the Israelites had with the Midianites. So. If you've got a mole problem in your life, this article might be for you. 

"Vengeance is Mine, says the LORD."
-- Deuteronomy 32:35

If vengeance is His, then why is He instructing the Israelites to take vengeance on the Midianites? Well, in short, it's because, many times, Yahweh uses people to carry out His plans. Revenge is forbidden in the bible because it is ultimately self-serving (Lev. 19:18). It is only when the Almighty gives very specific instructions to do so that it becomes permissible. In most cases, the Father takes His vengeance out on those that deserve it in very creative ways that will not include the person seeking the justice. Sometimes it's immediate and sometimes it's years down the line. And many times when the Lord finally DOES bring justice, the person being punished doesn't even connect the result to an action they committed in years past. But the vengeance that Yahweh has toward His enemies gives us the blueprint for how to take vengeance on the pesky moles in our lives.

Read Numbers 31:1-18

The chapter starts off with Yahweh telling Moses to go after the children of Midian in war. It was now time to get revenge on them for partnering with Balaam and seducing the men of Israel to fornicate with the daughters of Midian so the Israelites would curse themselves. During the battle, the Israelites chose one thousand men from each tribe and utterly annihilated all five cities of Midian without losing a single soul in battle. Phineas was charged with being the leader because of the instant claim to fame he garnered when he stopped the plague with his righteous zeal. When they returned from battle, they were expecting a high five from Moses. Unfortunately, Moses was furious. Why? Because they didn't kill all the same women that had seduced them to begin with! Moses required them to immediately put to death all of the women that had been with a man and every male, regardless of age. He allowed all the girls that were underage to live.

QUESTION: Why was Moses upset? How do we apply this today? What is the spiritual principle?

This part of the story gives us a great spiritual principle: The only way to truly defeat temptation is to completely destroy the root and source of it. The little girls could be retrained in the ways of Yahweh and would pose no threat to drawing the men away when they grew older. The boys, on the other hand, would grow up to be men and would likely seek revenge for their parents' death. In this same way, we have to make sure that we leave no stone unturned when fighting an enemy in our lives. Whether it be depression, anxiety, lust, anger, or fear, we must destroy all the sources from which those besetting sins are attacking us. Whether your enemy is small or large, you must take it seriously and create a strategy to utterly eradicate it so that it doesn't ever overtake or bother you again.

Too many times the children of God are kept in bondage by sins and habits that entangle them because they continue to allow the same thought patterns and situations that are causing those sins to be present in their lives. You may believe that the instructions of Moses to his brethren were radical, but that is the kind of action it takes to eradicate sin. Sin radically affects the soul and is powerfully addictive. So to remove it, we sometimes have to be just as radical. Someone once said that the definition of "insanity" is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." If we want to experience the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control), we have to be a radical Phineas in order to achieve them. It does not matter what kind of personality you have. All you have to do is have discipline to change your habits and kill the giants. Even a giant will eventually starve to death if it is not fed.

SO STOP FEEDING THE GIANTS!

Let's say that you are prone to anxiety and fear. You hate the way you feel when you give into it. Your decisions are based off of it and sometimes you find yourself swamped with all of the crazy thoughts that are swirling through your mind like a tornado picking up an entire town. It destroys your shalom and prevents you from really enjoying life and doing what the Spirit desires you to do. How do you eradicate it? How do you kill that mole? You can't. That's right. You can't kill the mole. Just like the real mole, that demonic spirit operates underground and in the dark. Why spend all your time trying to kill the mole when all you have to do is get rid of its food source?

When it comes down to it, all besetting sins, in my opinion, can be destroyed by just doing the following four things:

1. Accountability: Confessing our sins to one another
2. Changing what we believe: Renewing our minds
3. Getting an eternal perspective
4. Getting radical

ACCOUNTABILITY

If you want to kill something that operates in the dark, you have to come into the light first. This means your first line of action is to tell someone what you are struggling with and ask for help. Leaning on someone that does not have the same struggle as you can do wonders in creating an environment of hope and encouragement that you can thrive in. James says this in his book:

"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another that you may be healed."
-- James 5:16

Having someone stand with you and help create the strategy to keep the moles out of your life is a powerful first step. James goes on to say that "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Find someone that you can not only confess to but is also dedicated to helping you and praying with you all the way to the finish line.

CHANGING WHAT YOU BELIEVE

We do what we believe. We eat when we believe we are hungry. Some people take diet pills that fool the brain into thinking they are not hungry. If the brain thinks it's not hungry, it will not desire food. It's not about reality. It's about what you believe. In the same way, what you believe about your "mole" determines the mole's future. Most people don't hate sin the way God hates sin and herein lies the problem. They don't see the damage, the destruction, and the power it has over a person like He does, affecting generations after they are long gone.

So how do you change what you believe? You have to change what you put into your mind. There's an old saying in the computer world, "Garbage In, Garbage Out." In other words, you cannot get out of something any more than you put in. In this case, even if you know something is wrong intellectually and you don't want to be like that anymore, if the mole keeps coming back, it's because there is a breech in your perimeter. Your belief system has been compromised.

To fix this, you must first search your heart. You must give permission for the Father to dig into your heart and discover where the belief system that is negatively affecting you started. Did it come through a trauma of your past, a generational problem that was passed to you, personal sin? Find the source and confess it and ask the Father to deliver you from that pain. Many times the "sin" is not the root. Pain is. Heal the pain and the sin goes away. This can be a difficult process that may require a friend or a counselor's help. But when the Spirit begins to heal the pain, then you can renew the mind.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
-- Romans 12:1-2

Once the root is discovered, then we fill that void with the very word of Yahweh. We search the scriptures looking for everything we can find on our subject mole and write all those scriptures down, reciting them daily. We memorize them and repeat them all day long. When the mole comes around, we simply quote those scriptures and the mole goes running.

GETTING AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

In my experience, this is one of the most powerful steps one can take. We are so used to living inside of time and inside of our own bubbles of reality that we forget that we are eternal beings. We forget that every action we take is creating another reality that will be waiting for us when we die. Did you know that every single thing you do on this earth determines where you live in heaven and what kind of dwelling place you live in? If we truly turned our minds toward the eternal and constantly evaluated our lives based on the barometer of eternity, many issues in our lives would melt in comparison. If we could see the real angels that have been assigned to us, following us everywhere we go and watching everything we do and say, we would certainly change many things in our lives. If we really believed and feared Yahweh because we knew that every word will be judged and every thought will be on display on Judgment Day, we would see instant changes and the moles would scramble away, never to return. We simply need heaven's perspective and the Spirit's understanding that we are not living for this earth. We are simply interviewing for eternity.

GET RADICAL!

The last several stories in Numbers are all about being radical. Joshua and Caleb went radical when they refused to see the giants before them and instead chose the perspective of Yahweh. Yahweh went radical on Korah and company because they chose to challenge God's anointed authorities. Balaam came up with a radical idea to try to get the Israelites to curse themselves. Phineas went radical when he grabbed his javelin and killed Cozbi and Zimri. And Moses went radical when he told the Israelites to kill everyone but the little girls so that the Israelites would never again be tempted to sin before Baal of Peor.

So how do you get radical? You change everything you can to get rid of those evil moles. You change your schedule. You post scriptures all over the house. You set your alarms for prayer times. You tie reminders on your hands. You change friends if need be. You kill every temptation at its root and you go buy a nun's habit and wear it all day as a uniform. Okay, maybe the last one is taking it a bit too far. But hey...whatever works! The point is you must take your javelin and meet this mole head on. No more responding to it after it's too late. You have to strike preemptively! You know it's coming eventually, so get your bulletproof vest on, load your gun, and be ready!

Although the above four steps are not a cure-all for every situation, the enemy tries to deceive us that it is more complicated than it is. He wants us to believe that it is too hard, we've been dealing with it for too long, etc... He is the father of lies and he knows how to get in our heads. That is exactly why we need to take every thought captive and constantly renew our minds.

In the end, when you are successful at destroying the Midianite "moles," what you are left with is beyond imagination. Gold, silver, precious metals, cities you did not build, wells you did not dig, etc... What you end up with is your inheritance, rich for the taking. But first, like the Israelites, you must declare war!

Shalom,
Jim Staley

This sounds disgusting for those that do not know its meaning. YHWH says to kill the woman that are not virgins but take Midianite women that are virgins your your own? It sounds like they are raping the women but it dose not say that. It takes a fallen mind to take something like this and see such a heinous deed in it, so inconstant with the rest of the Torah. If the Word is perfect then we are misunderstanding it and to see where we went wrong and fix the mistake.

"Deuteronomy 21:10-13 World English Bible (WEB)

10 When you go out to battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God delivers them into your hands, and you carry them away captive, 11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you have a desire to her, and desire to take her as your wife; 12 then you shall bring her home to your house. She shall shave her head and trim her nails. 13 She shall take the clothing of her captivity off of herself, and shall remain in your house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month. After that you shall go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife." It says not to have sex, but to marry the person you desire. What they would do, went the women were captured they would put on clothes or even lack of clothes to beatify and tempt men. YHWH knows man's heart and knows how he created the sexual drive, so if a man sees a woman behaving like this, then he is probably going to lust after her and have very adulterous thoughts plaguing their minds or even worse - go to bed with them. So YHWH says that if a man wants to take the woman home to get married, she needs to shave her head and cut her nails so she will not be able to entice and tempt the man she had been taken to. As someone that is wrestling with lust and sexual temptation, i say amen to this! It gives the woman freedom to go through her mourning practise for her lost country destroyed in war, which is to cut off her hair. I know about you, dealing with this for one mouth would teach you respect and be compassionate about those that have suffered from war. Obviously, a consent has to be made as well.

The war captives that were spared are to be purified with the other Israelites. That means they are grafted into the House of Israel - thus showcasing the acceptance and welcoming nature of the church. The process of doing this on the third and the second day reflects the purification of the red heifer.

Verse 23 speaks on a spiritual level.

"Numbers 31:23 World English Bible (WEB)

23 everything that may withstand the fire, you shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity. All that doesn’t withstand the fire you shall make to go through the water."

When Yeshua comes back, the world will be purged by fire. The only thing that will be left is the only thing that can withstand the fire, is righteousness which is founded by His salvation. As we go through our life, we are sanctified by the impurities in life by going through hardships. The water that cleans us is the water of the Word.

"2 Peter 3:10-13 World English Bible (WEB)

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness, 12 looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, which will cause the burning heavens to be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells."

"Hebrews 12:26-28 World English Bible (WEB)

26 whose voice shook the earth then, but now he has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.”[a] 27 This phrase, “Yet once more”, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, receiving a Kingdom that can’t be shaken, let us have grace, through which we serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe,"

"1 Corinthians 3:11-15 World English Bible (WEB)

11 For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble; 13 each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. 14 If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire."

"1 Peter 1:3-7 World English Bible (WEB)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy became our father again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, 5 who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials, 7 that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ—".

Balaam was killed but his donkey was still alive and taken to be used by the Israelites.

These are the spoils of war Israel took from Midian. The numbers are so great it gives us an insight that this war was absolutely gigantic and epic on massive area of land:

• 675,000 sheep. 337,500 sheep were kept by the Israelites. 675 for YHWH.
• 72,000 cattle. 36,000 cattle for Israel. 72 for YHWH.
• 61,000 donkeys. 30,500 for Israel. 61 for YHWH.
• 32,000 virgin women that were grafted in with welcome instead of living them alone to die. 16,000 women for the Israel and 32 for YHWH.

Gad and Reuben have so much livestock they desire to stay on the east side of the Jordan in order to raise their livestock.  By staying where they were, they were committing the sin of the spies that gave a bad reports of the land and to not take it. 

However, the Gadites and Reubenites say that they will fight to take the land, but they will leave their families on the eastern side so went the conquest is done, they can crossover.

Verse 20 to 22 in Chapter 32, really empathises "before YHWH" which stresses that we should never impress men, but rather YHWH. 

Each of these tribes mentioned have got something interesting that links them together. Reuben had the opportunity to have the firstborn blessing taken from him, Gad was the firstborn of Zilpah but he is not the leader of Zilpah's children. Manasseh is Joseph's firstborn but he never got Ephraim's blessing. Since they are the ones that have been rejected, they are finding confront by camping together.

The tribe of Manasseh had gone by command to fight Amorites giants and took their land.

PROPHETS AND NEW TESTAMENT

"Jeremiah 1:19 World English Bible (WEB)
19 They will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you”, says Yahweh, “to rescue you.”

The noble vine is the seed of the woman and the degenerate plant and strange vine is the seed of Satan.

Jephthah's daughter had let her father fulfil his vow. Did he have to sacrifice his daughter!!?!?!?

Jephthah's Vow:Did He or Didn't He?

by Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Forerunner, "Ready Answer," July 1994

The Bible contains the story of a man of God, Jephthah, who went beyond these customary vows before the big battle of his career (Judges 11:29-40). A Manassite from Gilead, a fertile region just south of the Sea of Galilee and east of the Jordan River, Jephthah was born into an influential and wealthy family. However, he was illegitimate. Unwilling to share the family's wealth, his half-brothers forced him into exile. It was the sort of thing that generals and kings have done throughout history. Before the great battle that will determine the fate of nations or empires, military leaders have prayed for divine help. Soldiers in the trenches and on the front lines do it often. Many vow to reform themselves, to do some act that will please their god or to give themselves to his service.

He traveled northwestward to an area east of Syria called Tob. Like David in his years of running from Saul, Jephthah lived as a vagabond and a soldier of fortune, collecting a band of riffraff and outcasts around him. His reputation as a brave and brilliant military commander grew and spread.

When Ammon began to raid parts of Israel, mostly Gilead, the elders of the land came to him for help. They offered him the position of commander of their armies, but he refused to fight for them unless he was also granted power as head of Gilead. Backed against the wall as they were, the elders could only accede to his request.

So, with his power as head and commander, he recruited an army throughout the area. Meanwhile, as biblical law requires (Deuteronomy 20:10-12), he sent emissaries to Ammon to negotiate peace, but they were rebuffed. With no other choice left, Jephthah marched on Ammon, and during this march he made his vow.

A Promise Made and Kept

And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, "If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." (Judges 11:30-31)

Evidently, God heard, and Jephthah secured a complete victory over Ammon. Word of his success raced across the land. Soon, the people of Mizpah, Jephthah's home, heard the news and prepared to greet him with a victory celebration when he returned.

Unfortunately, leading the celebrants was Jephthah's only child, a daughter. Fully aware of his part of the vow, Jephthah scanned ahead to see who or what would come to meet him first. But when his eyes fell first on his own daughter, his jubilation suddenly turned to bitter grief.

After her father explained what he had done, Jephthah's daughter amazingly put up no resistance. Agreeing that he must keep his vow, she asked only to mourn her virginity for two months before he did. When the two months were over, Jephthah performed his vow, and his daughter's great sacrifice was commemorated yearly by the women of Israel.

Scholars and theologians throughout the ages have wondered, "Did Jephthah really sacrifice his daughter? Or did he dedicate her to God for the rest of her life?" Until the Middle Ages, every commentator of record (even Josephus, cf. Antiquities, 5.7.10) wrote that he actually killed her, but enough evidence exists to suggest that he did not offer her on an altar, but made her a lifelong Nazirite, totally dedicated and holy to God (Numbers 6:8).

Jephthah's Character

It is unfortunate that he made the vow at all. However, unlike Gideon and others, God never appeared or spoke to him. In fact, God dealt with him much as he does with us—through law, experience and personal circumstance. Apparently, he needed the vow to bolster his faith, to secure God's favor however he could, though obviously God was with him (verse 29).

But Jephthah knew the law. He knew that God requires parley before battle to give the opponent a chance to surrender or retreat. He knew that vows are sacred promises to be kept (Numbers 30). He also knew the history of Israel's approach to the Promised Land and Moses' negotiations with the kings of Edom, Moab and the Amorites well enough to make a legal point in his own negotiations (Judges 11:15-27). Obviously, Jephthah knew that human sacrifice is a detestable and hated act to God (Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 12:31).

Not only did Jephthah know it was wrong, the people of Gilead would also have abhorred the practice and were commanded to kill one who did it (Leviticus 20:2-5)! They—especially the priests—would never have been a party to it, nor would the maidens have commemorated it (the Hebrew word translated "lament" in Judges 11:40 is actually "praise," "commemorate" or "rehearse").

Nor was Jephthah an impetuous or rash person. His vow was spoken, not on the eve of battle, but on the march to it. Rather than leaping at the chance to command Gilead's army, he patiently negotiated for a more powerful position. He did not rush into battle with Ammon, but recruited and trained an army, negotiating with the enemy all the while. If he remained in character, his vow must have been well considered.

The vow itself has been misunderstood too. His vow is in two parts: whatever comes out of the house "shall surely be the LORD's and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." Bullinger in the Companion Bible says: "The Hebrew Vav [translated ‘and' in the KJV/NKJV] is a connective particle, and is rendered in many different ways. It is also used as a disjunctive, and is often rendered ‘or' (or with a negative ‘nor')." So Bullinger concludes Jephthah vowed to dedicate to God whoever came out to meet him, or if it was an animal, to offer it as a burnt offering.

This agrees with Jephthah's character. He considered the scenario, decided a human being or an animal could fulfill it, and provided for both circumstances. Another factor is the term "burnt offering" (Hebrew olah), which has no connotation of fire or burning. It literally means "that which goes up," and implies total consumption (as one "consumed in his work") or complete surrender. Thus, even without changing the conjunction, the wording of the vow can technically mean that she was completely devoted to God.

Why Such Grief?

If that is so, why was there such great grief, anguish and mourning? A little background in Israelite culture helps here. Remember how distraught Abraham and Sarah were that they could not have a son? And Rebekah? And Rachel? And Samson's parents? And John the Baptist's parents? Barrenness was a source of great distress and grief to the Israelites. They thought God was displeased with them.

Spinsterhood was almost unknown as well—a woman's whole life revolved around marriage, family and children. Thus, as it states specifically, Jephthah's daughter mourned with her friends over her virginity, not her impending death. She knew she would not die, but remain a virgin for the rest of her life.

Also, she was Jephthah's only child. This is triply stressed in verse 34. Literally, it reads, "She only was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter." So she also mourned the end of Jephthah's line. He would have no natural heirs to carry on his name, titles or wealth. Recall Abraham's great distress about this too (Genesis 15:2).

In verse 39 the writer repeats, "She knew no man" immediately after he writes that Jephthah performed the vow. If he had truly sacrificed her, would it not have been better to write, "And she died"? But she did not die! She lived out her life without knowing a man! This is why the maidens of Israel praised her so much! She gave up—sacrificed—the one thing that they prized most highly: their ability to have children.

Also, the words "he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed" show that he had divine approval for his actions. God would not have approved of human sacrifice. If God had not approved, the writer would have written of God's displeasure, as he did with Gideon's making of a golden ephod (Judges 8:27). And certainly it would not have become a tradition of praise, a customary event in Israel, if God was not pleased.

Incidentally, human sacrifice, though known among the pagans, was not introduced to Israel until the reign of Manasseh of Judah (c. 697-642 BC). Jephthah began judging about 1096 BC. When the king of Moab sacrificed his son on the walls of his city during a combined siege by Israel, Judah and Edom in about 850 BC, the Israelites were so repulsed that they immediately lifted the siege and went home (II Kings 3:27).

How Does This Help Us?

A final proof is that Jephthah is listed as a hero of faith in Hebrews 11:32. In the next verse, the writer says that these faithful people "subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness [and] obtained promises." If we apply this to Jephthah, his vow, in which God fulfilled His part, was an act of righteousness.

And though others listed in this list sinned horribly, would God have listed in "so great a cloud of witnesses" a man who sacrified his only child? True, Abraham, the father of the faithful, was willing to do so, but he also said that God would provide a sacrifice (Genesis 22:8). In Abraham's case, God stepped in, as He probably would have for Jephthah. Generally, the Bible speaks too highly of Jephthah to infer that he participated in a human sacrifice.

What does this teach us? Obviously, it is a reminder to be careful about what we vow. God takes vows seriously and expects them to be kept. Failing to keep a vow violates the ninth commandment and indicates weak character and faithlessness.

More important, we need to remember that we have already made our own vow—at baptism. We vowed to take Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, and in effect we gave our lives to Him for His use and His service. Jephthah offered his daughter; we offer ourselves (Romans 12:1).

Our lives are not our own to do with as we please (I Corinthians 6:19-20). We have the responsibility, now that we have been redeemed from our lives of sin, to live up to the high standards of God's way of life and to glorify God in whatever we do. This means growing in His image and bearing fruit, putting on the holy character of God and helping our brethren in their development. This means total devotion to God and fulfilling our parts in His plan.

We have made our vow; there is no turning back without great pain and loss. Our vow should be constantly on our minds, and we must strive to our utmost to keep it. We cannot afford to rest on our accomplishments or become satisfied with our present state of growth.

Are we ready to face the horrors and temptations of the time of the end? We will have to endure the birth pangs of the Great Tribulation if Israel's experience with the plagues in Egypt are a type. Are we truly strong and faithful? Are we firmly anchored in God and His Word? Can God trust us to be faithful witnesses under persecution and threat of death? God promises that those times are coming, like it or not. Are we ready?

Can we sincerely say, "Your will be done"? Have we completely put ourselves in God's hands? We need to remember Jephthah's daughter, her willing attitude, her selfless sacrifice. Like her, it is time to make ourselves completely devoted sacrifices to God.

© 1994 Church of the Great God
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Charlotte, NC  28247-1846
(803) 802-7075

We need to be careful what we say. What said is said and what is done is done.

Replica of the Seat of Moses in Chorazin.

We are to do what the church says. In other words, at mass one time, they read a Torah portion proclaiming Moses' words to chose life by following the commandments. But what is ironic about it, the priest reading it is far from doing that. This is what Yeshua means. Do not do what they do, do what they say.

What Yeshua was referring to when making a vow, according to those of "old time" is that they said that it was wrong to make a vow in YHWH's name or make a vow to Him. Yeshua is saying to not swear by anything. Because the Torah does not actually say to swear to YHWH. The whole purpose in this law is to show that the things that you speak are important that we carry them out.

The 144000 are going to be warriors.
"Numbers 31:5 World English Bible (WEB)
5 So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war."
"Revelation 7 World English Bible (WEB)
4 I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:
5 of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand."


In this episode, Doug Hamp and Rob Skiba dive into Revelation chapter 7 and discuss who the 144,000 are and what they believe their purpose is.

In this episode, Rob and Doug pick up where they left of in Revelation chapter 7. They discuss whether or not this chapter has anything that can be considered a reference to the Rapture. Toward the end, they also discussed a number of verses from Revelation chapter 8, regarding the Trumpets and whether or not the 1st Trumpet may actually start the Seven Year Tribulation Period (according to Ezekiel).

Shalom
Jonathon Karagiannis - 27/7/19