Balaq: Fear Leads to Hate
Shabbat Shalom Kol
Yisrael. It is our pleasure to present this week's Torah Parsha commentary by
Nazarene Yisraelite Rabbi T. (Mordecai) Mitchell, Rabbi and Rosh Zaken of B'nai
Yeshurun Nazarene Yisraelite Synagogue, Kittanning, Pa., board member of the
Union of Nazarene Yisraelite Congregations and member of the International Beit
Din of the Institute of Nazarene Jewish Studies. It is our sincere hope and
prayer that these commentaries encourage, inspire, and strengthen the body of
Messiah in Kol Yisrael. This week our Parsha is Balak (Destroyer)
Bemidbar (Numbers) 2:2 to 25:9. Our Haftarah portion is Mikah 5:6 6:8.
Our suggested Brit Chadasha readings are: 2 Kefa (Peter) 2:1 22; Yehudah (Jude)
11 and Revelation 2:14 15. Added reading: Tehillim (Psalm) 106.
2. And Balaq son
of Tsippor saw all that Yisrael had done to the Amorites.
-
And Moab was
exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was in dread
because of the children of Yisrael.
Our Parsha begins by
telling us that Balaq and his people were not merely fearful of the Yisraelites,
but they lived in dread of them.
No doubt this tells us
that our fears, especially unreasonable, baseless fears, often lead to hatred.
We often fear what we do not know or understand. However, when it comes to
fear we must understand that fear in and of itself is not necessarily wrong or
bad.
In 1 Kepha (1 Peter)
2:17, we are told to fear Elohim. This fear may be better understood as a holy
awe, rather than a dreadful type of fear. Something awe inspiring. But if we
examine the entire verse we learn that this type of fear, a holy and good fear,
is coupled with a love of others: Respect all, love the brotherhood, fear
Elohim, respect the sovereign.
When we have the fear
of Yahweh in our hearts and minds, it causes us to treat all with respect and
indeed, love our brethren in the faith. We also respect the
sovereign, meaning that we are law-abiding
people, those who respect the good laws of the land in which they
live.
Obviously, this was not
the type of fear that Balak had. From his behavior, we can see that Balak, whose
very name means Destroyer, did not have respect for others, and there was no
love in his heart. Therefore, he did not respect Almighty Yahweh.
In 2 timothy 1:7 we
read: For Elohim has not given us a spirit of cowardice (KJV:
fear) but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
What this is saying is
that if we allow ourselves to be overcome with the wrong kind of fear, we will
not have a sound mind. Apparently, both Balaq and Bilaam had this type of wrong
fear, because they did not fear Yahweh, therefore they did not have sound minds.
We might add that both
men were filled with the desire to receive for self alone EGO!
According to several
Rabbinic commentators, the names Balaq and Bilaam contain a Sod level or hidden
message. This message gives us a clue as to the root of their evil and a clue to
the future.
As we know, Amalek was
the mortal, sworn enemy of Yisrael. In Shemoth 17:16 we read: ...YHWH is
to fight against Amalek, from generation to generation.
Although Yisrael, at
various places in the Bible was commanded to smite and destroy Amalek, their
success was never complete Amalek was never totally defeated.
What does this have to
do with Balaq and Bilaam? For one, the very name Amalek is rooted in the names
of these two men. Please note the bold print in the transliteration of the
Hebrew letters that make up their names:
Bilaam: Beth, Lamed,
Ayin, Mem.
Bilaq: Beth,
Lamed, Qoph
The last two letters of these men's names spell:
Ayin, Mem, Lamed, Qoph, or Amalek (Amaleq). Although at
this time, Amalek was out of the picture, the spirit of Amalek was very much
present.
We also said that the names of these two men hinted
of the future, meaning the future enemy of Yisrael. The remaining letters are:
Beth, Beth, Lamed. (Concerning the second 'Beth' we must remember that without a
'dot' in its center, it takes on a 'V' sound). Therefore we have the
transliterated spelling BVL meaning Bavel (or BBL, Bable) the Hebrew word for
Babylon.
While the Kingdom of Yehudah went into Babylonian
captivity (and later returned) we know that in the latter days the Babylonian
system of government be the final world ruling government on the earth, headed
by the beast power and the anti-Messiah. The aim of this government, as we read
in Revelation 12:17 and 14:12, will be to destroy the people of Yahweh,
...those guarding the commands of Elohim and possessing the witness of
Yahshua. (Revelation 12:17b).
There is yet another hidden teaching in the name
Bilaam. Bilaam's name means Without a people. The name is Strong's number
1109, meaning not (of the) people. It stems from Strong's number 1077: bal,
meaning nothing, or not at all. From this we can understand that Balaq
wanted Bilaam to curse Yahweh's people, the true Yisrael, out of
existence.
With Yisrael out of the picture, or so he thought,
Balaq could replace them with his own people. Now here's the shocking lesson we
must learn from this: Balaq has not been defeated entirely. The agenda of Balaq
(and Bilaam) to replace Yisrael is still with us today, and very much in
action.
That agenda is today, in part, Replacement Theology.
It teaches that Elohim Himself (not Balaq or Bilaam) has replaced the Jews
(Yisrael) with something called the church, thus cursing the Jews, and by
extension, all Yisrael.
Certainly anti-Semitism plays an important role in
Replacement Theology. Anti-Semitism stems from fear and hatred, the same kind
exhibited by Balaq.
No one, Amalek, Balaq, the Egyptians, Antiocus
Ephiphanes, Herod, Nero, or Hitler or Hussein has ever or will ever succeed in
destroying the Jews or Yisrael. Those groups who reject the Two House Message
cannot and will not prevent the eventual and inevitable reunification of the
House of Epharaim (Yisrael) with the House of Yehudah.
Bemidbar 24:9b ...Blessed
is he who blesses you and cursed is he who curses you.
That promise of protection was first proclaimed by
Almighty Yahweh to Avraham (Abram) in Bereshith 12:3.
Although Balaq did not succeed in destroying Yisrael
through curses, his plan did succeed to a great degree in the form of a more
subtle attack. We read in Bemidbar 25:1 that Yisrael ...began to whore
with the daughters of Moab.
Verse 2 continues: and they invited the people
to the slaughtering of their mighty ones, and the people ate, and bowed down to
their mighty ones. 3. Thus Israel was joined to Ba'al Peor, and
the displeasure of YHWH burned against Yisrael.
As we might know, Ba'al Peor means
the L-rd of the Matrix,or opening, in other words, the female sex
organ.
While we are assured of supernatural protection from
curses, and the evil eye, it is up to us to be on guard against the
lusts of the flesh.
This may involve not only sexual sins, but also
pertains to marriage or romantic involvement with non-believers. If any
person, young or otherwise, is seeking a mate, they must seek a mate from among
the people of Yahweh. As parents, we have an obligation to ensure that our
children seek out appropriate mates. This is a Mitzvah that we must give all
diligence to fulfill.
Ignoring this Mitzvah opens the door for the
destruction of Kol Yisrael. However, rest assured that Almighty Yahweh will
never allow Yisrael to be destroyed, Instead, He will destroy those who dare
violate this Command, just as was done in Bemidbar 25:4 -- 9
Debarim (Deuteronomy) 7:3-4 And do not
intermarry with them you do not give your daughters to his son, and you do not
take his daughters for your son. 4. For he turns your sons away
from following Me, to serve other mighty ones. Then the displeasure of YHWH
shall burn against you and promptly destroy you.
This was the very problem faced by NehemYah, as we
read in NehemYah 13:23-27. As the Yehudites were in the process of returning to
their land, and rebuilding and cleansing the temple, they were held back in
their endeavors by intermarriage with non-believers.
Today, Nazarene Yisrael is in the process of
fulfilling the Two House message, rebuilding the Fallen Sukkah, to restore the
unity of Yehudah and Epharaim. The enemy, our real enemy, ha-satan, cannot curse
of destroy us. But through subtle allurements of the flesh, he can cause us to
weaken and pollute ourselves if we open the doors for him to do so by ignoring
the instruction of Torah.
Reading this week's Parsha give us the power and
protection to avoid curses, envy and the evil eye cast by others.
Several brethren have responded to last week's
challenge to learn to go deeper into the Word of Yahweh and learn to seek out
the hidden things, (Iyob 11:6) by asking for reference or study materials on
Gematria. I understand that there is an excellent software Gematria program. I
do not have it nor have I used it, but copies may be for sale in B'nai Avraham's
on-line e-store. E-mail Rabbi Nydle for details, but please do not make
inquiries or visit the e-store on Shabbat.
I use a book, The Spice of Torah
Gematria, by Gutman G. Locks, Judaic Press, 1985. The ISBN number is:
0-91018-58-4.
Readers should be able to order this book through any
good book store or from one of the on-line book suppliers. However, at this time
the book is out of print and copies are likely to be quite expensive.
May Almighty Yahweh bless us all as we seek to serve
Him and learn more of His ways.
Comments or questions regarding this week's
commentary may be addressed to Rabbi Mitchell via e-mail at: yoel@windstream.net
Pal Talk Bible Studies
Please tune into our Pal Talk Bible studies at
8 p.m. Erev Shabbat (Friday Evening) and 1 p.m. Shabbat Day. Once on Pal
Talk, click on Religion and Spirituality, then click on
Other. our room is Bnai Yeshurun. All people of good will are
welcome.
Regional Shabbat Meeting
Our Regional Shabbat meeting will start at noon with
a fellowship meal, June 26, at the Covenant Center, Kittanning. All people of
good will are welcome. Come prepared to Worship Almighty Abba Yahweh and learn
more of His ways. Come to fellowship with brethren, eat good Scripturally clean
food, sing, dance and rejoice. There
will be no Pal Talk study at 1 p.m. Shabbat Day on June 26. We will, Yahweh
willing, hold the usual Pal Talk study 8 p.m. Erev Shabbat June 25.
Also- With Rabbi Nydle's upcoming
retirement from the USPS, He may be free to travel to some areas and
teach.Contact by e-mail only- bnaiavraham@qwestoffice.net
Check out his new books on his web site
also.
It is possible that our NEW Yeshivah will
be opening this fall with NEW classes and very low fees.Stay tuned for any
news.
Good changes are coming to the
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