It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.

As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.

Torah Portion Name and Readings-

Bamidbar is the Hebrew words for “in the wilderness” and is the name for the weekly Torah Portion reading for the Book of Numbers starting in chapter 1 verse 1 and going through chapter 4 verse 20. It is also the Hebrew name for the book of Numbers.

Prophets and New Testament-

It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of Hosea in chapter 1 verse 10 through chapter 2 verse 20.

The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Matthew in chapter 4 with verses 1 through 17.

Torah Portion Overview-

This week’s Torah Portion covers the census of the Levites and the census of the firstborns. At the Passover when the firstborns of Egypt were killed (Exodus 12:12) and the firstborns of Israel were spared they were “purchased with a price” and belonged to Yahweh (Exodus 13:2, Numbers 8:16-17). This is why the firstborn had to be redeemed, because they belonged to Yahweh (Exodus 13:2, 13). However, the Levites were chosen in place of the firstborn.

Numbers 3:40-41 (ESV)

“And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. And you shall take the Levites for me--I am the LORD--instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.”

The Levites had several responsibilities:

1. Carry the Ark of the Covenant (Deuteronomy 10:8, 31:9).

2. Take care of the tabernacle and its components (Exodus 38:21, Numbers 1:50).

3. Guard the Tabernacle (Numbers 1:53, 3, 31:47).

4. Minister before the Lord (Deuteronomy 10:8).

• They are offered as a wave offering to the Lord (Numbers 8:11).

• They are given to Aaron and his sons (Numbers 3:9, 8:19, 18:6).

They were also spread out among the people so as to help combat lawlessness and idolatry. It was the Levite who was to teach the law. Thus the Levites served the Lord and had a place of honor among the people.

Yet the ark was lost, and it seems will never be seen again (Jeremiah 3:16) (although perhaps this verse is about the second coming of Christ). The temple was destroyed, and thus the Levites were not able to minister to the Lord! Their duties were lost and they faded from history.

Yet there is an interesting prophecy in Isaiah that speaks of foreigners (not God fearers, actual foreigner from the covenant of Moses, Gentiles) who will come and minister to Yahweh. What is most interesting about this verse is that in the Torah the word for minister (šārat) is most often used to describe the work of the priests or Levites!

Isaiah 56:6-7 (ESV)

“And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant-- these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

Notice the end result of the foreigners ministering is that His house becomes a “house of prayer for all peoples” (see also 1 Kings 8:41-43)! This is also possibly further attested by Isaiah 66:18-21 (see also Zephaniah 3:9-10, Malachi 1:11).

Isaiah 66:18-21 (ESV)

“For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD.

It is not clear here if “some of them” from verse 21 is a Jew (verse 20) or a foreigner/Gentile (verses 18-19) which is why I say this verse might apply. However, it is my belief that this verse is speaking of gentiles, as we know that Isaiah 56:6-7 is speaking of them. What is the point of all this? How can a foreigner be a priest or Levite?!

Remember that Israel is God’s “firstborn son”.

Exodus 4:22 (ESV)

“Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son,”

Originally the priesthood was to be with Moses but because of Moses it was instead passed to Aaron and his sons. The Levites, from that same family, were chosen to serve the priesthood in place of the firstborn. But what happens when all the peoples of the earth come under Yahweh (Jesus) as King? What happens when there is neither Jew nor gentile (Romans 10:12, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11)? In other words, how are roles assigned when the whole world is united into the family of God? The firstborn is Israel, which would be made up of Jews (Judah) and Israel. But who is Israel? Israel was divorced and scattered. They were sent into exile and have not returned. I think the answer is simple, Israel is made up of Gentiles. And so we can see that the plan was to take some from the Jews, and some from the gentiles. Israel, the church, does not replace the Jews but joins with them. They combine together to serve the Lord as priests and “Levites”.

But we can take it a step further. We live our lives as living sacrifices, in constant worship to God (Romans 12:1), as priests we offering ourselves as living sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5, 2:9). We do this as His temple (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:19-22) because we are filled with the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? It means that we don’t have to worry about whether we are a Jew or Gentiles! We get to serve Yahweh ourselves with our life! We get to live in such a way that we are the sacrifice! We get to share the love of God with others and be that minister to them. We unite as Jew and Gentiles with the common goal to see the Glory of God fill the whole earth!

Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-

• Numbers 1:1 Census of Israel’s fighting males

• Numbers 1:47 Levites do not fight but serve

• Numbers 2:1 The layout of the camp

• Numbers 3:1 Aaron and his sons

• Numbers 3:14 Census of the Levites and their clans

• Numbers 3:40 Census of the firstborn and redemption of firstborn

• Numbers 4:1 The Levites break down the camp

Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-

• Hosea 1:10 Israel restored and united with Judah.

• Hosea 2:2 Israel’s judgement and God’s mercy.

Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-

• Matthew 4:1 Jesus is tempted by the Devil.

• Matthew 4:12 Jesus moves to Capernaum and starts preaching.

Bibliography

• Michael D. Hildenbrand, “Firstborn,” Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 462.

• Chad Chambers, “Firstborn,” The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

• Merlin D. Rehm, “Levites and Priests,” The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992) 297–309.

• John T. Swann, “Levites,” The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

• Joseph Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 56–66: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 19B of Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 130-136, 140–143, 312–317.

• William H. C. Propp, Exodus 1–18: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2 of Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 454–456.

The Book of Numbers “Bamidbar” which means “in the wilderness.”

The Old Testament is commonly referred to as the Torah. It is considered the most sacred of all of Israel’s Scriptures. Most of our modern Bibles include the Old Testament “Torah” as the first five books in the Bible. The name for the forth book of the Bible, Numbers, is called Bamidbar in the Hebrew. The name “Bamidbar ” comes from the opening phrases in the book of Numbers which means “in the wilderness.”

Numbers flows directly out of the stories in the previous books of Exodus and Leviticus and recounts their journey in the wilderness as they leave Mount Sinai.

As Christians, we find the book of Numbers and the stories therein, as a historical account of Israel as they journeyed through the wilderness which helps to inform us on how we should face adversity, hardship, trials, and tribulations, as well as judgment, with faith, courage, and obedience.

To Watch an overview of this week’s Torah Portion CLICK HERE