Beshalach (When he Let Go)

Torah: Exodus 13:17-17:16 Haftarah: Judges 4:4 -5:31 Brit Chadasha: John 16:7-33

Come Together

In this week’s portion we see Pharaoh letting the children of Yisrael go.  Something very interesting that I see here in the text is that Yahweh did not send the Yisraelites by the way of the Philistines.  This was actually the shortest way to get to Eretz Yisrael (Land of Yisrael) so why weren’t they able to go through the land of the Philistines?  I believe there are several explanations for this but I think the Stone Edition Chumash gives a good explanation as to why.  I quote, “The quickest, easiest, and most direct route from Egypt to Eretz Yisrael is northeast, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, a route that goes through Philistia, which is on the west coast of the Holy Land (part of which is the Gaza area of today). However, just as this was the easiest way to leave Egypt, it would have been the easiest way to return there.  Since the war-like Philistines were sure to fight the Jewish ‘invaders,’ God knew that the people would lose heart and return to Egypt.  To avoid this, He led them on a roundabout path through the Sinai Desert, going east and then north, so that they would enter the Land from the eastern bank of the Jordan River.  This would take them so far from Egypt that it would be difficult—though not impossible—for them to consider returning.  Even so, there were times in the Wilderness when the Jews complained against Moses and wanted to return to Egypt; hand such a return been quick and easy, they would surely have attempted it.

[i] I think that commentary on this particular verse holds weight.

Walk a thon

Now I would like to mention my opinion as to why I believe Yahweh led the children in a different direction.  In verse eighteen of chapter thirteen of Exodus it says, “So Elohim led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Sea of Reeds.”  Let’s have a little Hebrew lesson shall we?  The word for wilderness in Hebrew is midbawr and the root word it comes from is dawbar and both of these words have something to do with speech.  Now what in the world would our English word wilderness have to do with speech?  The answer is this.  Yahweh had to remove the Yisraelites from ‘their stuff’ or should I say the things that ‘distracted’ them and bring them to a dry uncomfortable place in order to have their attention to speak to them.  So the wilderness in other words is the place where Yahweh speaks to us.

I have said this before but will say it again.  Even though the Yisraelites were no longer in Egypt, Egypt was still in the Yisraelites.  Possibly some of us are no longer in the manmade denominational system of religion but some of that system still remains in us.  It’s the wilderness experience where we get cleaned up and have to trust Yahweh.  Sure there are trials, tribulations and tests but that is the scrubbing and cleaning process.  We shouldn’t run from that.  We should embrace it because He wants to bring us to the mountain where He is going to speak to us and lay it all out for us and He doesn’t want us defiled with the stench of religion or our manmade ways.

Also, could this also have been written for you and me?  What am I hinting at?  Well there is a teaching that is very popular in countries who are free and don’t suffer persecution that at any moment the Body of Messiah is going to whisked away or whisked out of here and the ‘disobedient Jews’ are going to be left behind to suffer.  That erroneous doctrine is called the pre-tribulation rapture.  It’s the easy way out no suffering and not a lot of pain.  It’s easy on the flesh too.

Could it be that the children of Yisrael not being able to go the shortest easiest way to make it to Eretz Yisrael and having to go through the wilderness i.e. the place of trials, testing’s, and tribulations is something prophetic in the Scriptures for you and me?

Could it just be that Yahweh is showing his children that we are not going the shortest and easiest way i.e. pre-tribulation rapture but his children are going to have to go through the wilderness i.e. the tribulation period?  That is just a thought to chew on for a while.  See we as humans don’t like to suffer or our flesh doesn’t like to suffer or be in uncomfortable situations but Yahweh allows us to go through things because it usually has something to do with Him dealing with something on the inside of us.  Another words, Yahweh is allowing us to go through trials and testing’s and tribulations in order bring us closer to Him.  Remember flesh will not inherit the Kingdom.[ii] So we go through a process of having to get scrubbed on in order to get clean thus it takes us walking through the desert to burn the dross out of us.  So there isn’t much of a cleaning process to go through if we are whisked out of here before trouble and it all gets bad and we would continue being old filthy rags but Yahweh looks out for us and allows us to go through the tribulation to prepare His bride without spot or wrinkle for Him.

Thought of the Week

 

“And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. “And I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and shall enter into judgment with you face to face there. Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 20:34-35

Endnotes


[i] The Artscroll Series / Stone Edition, The Chumash (Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., 2000 artscroll.com) 366
[ii] I Corinthians 15:50