Here we are in yet another great catastrophe for the Hebrew nation. The next Torah portion in review is Pinchas, named after one of Aaron’s descendants who made peace between Israel and God by taking a decisive action demonstrating his zeal for the Heavenly Father. Enemies that lace this Torah portion are idolatry, once again, sexual impurity, corrupt leadership, and a plague that took 24,000 lives. However, the greatest enemies that produced all of the other enemies were Balaak and Balaam as wicked men who laid a trap for the congregation of Israel to fall prey to.
Jeremiah 5:26: For among My people are found wicked men; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men.
Numbers 31:16-17: Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.
The above verse tells us that men lay traps, and the Hebrew word for such a person is yaqash, often translated as fowler or one who traps birds. In this context, ‘fowler’ refers to someone who ensnares others, much like a bird catcher. If you have followed my writings, I believe that when the Bible speaks about birds, it is referring to the subjects of the Kingdom of God or covenant people. When it describes fish, it is most likely referring to everyone else as subjects of the nations. This understanding would explain why Yeshua tells his disciples that He will make them ‘fishers of men’. This phrase means that they will be responsible for bringing people into the Kingdom of God, much like fishermen catch fish. When men trap birds, the imagery portrays men making believers stumble. The Bible shows us multiple examples of such traps-Cain trapped righteous Abel, Joseph’s brothers laid a trap for him, and the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Temple elite laid multiple traps for Yeshua.
Yeshua tells a story to his followers about a special judgment saved for those who cause a ‘little one’ to stumble. The ‘little one’ in this context refers to a believer, particularly one who is young in their faith or vulnerable. The Greek word for stumble or offense is skandalon, which means to lay a trap. Balaak and Balaam joined forces to ensnare the Israelites. They knew that the Holy One could not protect them if they worshipped other gods, so they caused them to stumble for selfish gain. It was not an angel sitting on their shoulder that led them into idolatry and adultery; it was human beings who had evil intentions and used manipulation to devise harm.
Matthew 18:7: Woe to the world because of snares! For snares must come, but woe to that man through whom the snare comes!
We will all have to face this enemy in our lives. We learned in the last blog that what causes humans to devise evil against others are the earthly nature’s crooked motivations of greed, pride, self-seeking behavior, envy, hatred, and lust. How do we guard ourselves so we do not fall prey to the traps laid out for us?
Obey the voice of God. Obedience is not just a suggestion; it is the key to obtaining protection, provision, wisdom, insight, and understanding. I understand the allure of being rewarded without putting in the work, but in this faith walk, if you do not follow the Voice of the Holy One, you will not receive the fruit that comes from it. Your obedience is crucial in your spiritual journey.
Guard your heart and all of the portals that feed it-the eyes, the ears, and the mouth. In the Garden, Eve saw the fruit that looked good even though God had described it as not good, and it led to disobedience. Here, the Israelites must have seen the Midianite women and brought them back with them to assimilate into the community, even though God commanded that they destroy all the seed. If we don’t align the information we take in with the written word, we can put our guard down and open our hearts to those who will only abuse that access. Discernment is key in our spiritual growth. We must be vigilant in aligning what we hear and see with the truth of the written word.
Follow righteous leadership. In Numbers 25:4, Moses asked to take all of the leaders of the people who caused the Israelites to stumble and kill them. This did not happen due to Pinchas’s actions. I know we think that God is a vengeful entity, but He did this to keep the community alive as a whole. Think about the same passage of Greek scriptures where Yeshua talks about the little ones who stumble. He goes on to give a metaphor of cutting off body parts that cause you to sin. In 1 Corinthians, Paul describes the humans that make up the living Temple of the Divine Presence or the community of believers as body parts.
1 Corinthians 12:12-17: For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of the body—though many—are one body, so also is Messiah. For in one Ruach we were all immersed into one body—whether Jewish or Greek, slave or free—and all were made to drink of one Ruach. For the body is not one part, but many. If the foot says, “Since I’m not a hand, I’m not part of the body,” is it therefore not part of the body? And if the ear says, “Since I’m not an eye, I’m not part of the body,” is it for this reason any less part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
Matthew 18:9: If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. It’s better for you to enter into life with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into fiery Gehenna (pit/grave).
If the body parts are symbolic of people, let us apply this understanding of Matthew 18 and recognize that this is what was happening in Numbers 25. God was saying, ‘Cast out of the community (death in that time) the leaders who caused the little ones to stumble, or the entire community will not make it to the Promised Land.’ This is akin to removing a cancerous growth from the body to save the rest of the body. Do you understand, it is either take out the lump of cancer so the rest of the body can live, or the whole body dies.
Do not take advantage of God’s blessings. Remember in the last Torah portion how every time Balaam tried to curse the Israelites, the Holy One turned it into a blessing. God drenched the Israelites in so many blessings, they must have thought they were indestructible. Maybe pride grew in their hearts, causing them to believe that God’s blessings were unconditional. But the word of God that Moses spoke to the Israelites was clear-the blessings are the direct result of obedience. They learned this the hard way, and we must not forget the consequences of disobedience.
If we keep walking the good path in pursuit of peace and love, worshipping the Holy One in truth and obedience, then no matter the plans others have for you, God will protect you and turn any curse into a blessing.
Psalm 91:3: Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
Deuteronomy 23:5: Nevertheless, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.
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