Shelach “send out”
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-
Shelach is the Hebrew words for “send out” and is the name for the weekly Torah Portion reading for the Book of Numbers starting in chapter 13 verse 1 and going through chapter 15 verse 41.
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 Joshua in chapter 2 verse 1 through verse 24.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Matthew in chapter 10 with verses 1 through 14.
Torah Portion Overview-
During the years of Abraham’s sojourn Yahweh offered a land grant to Abraham of the land of Canaan (Genesis 17:8). During the covenantal sacrifice of the pieces Yahweh offered to Abraham’s descendants the “land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:8-21). Later through Moses the promise of this land was described as “a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Peritzzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:8)
There are many lists in the Bible with these nations, which are generally around six or seven (Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Peritzzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites from above is one such list). From the time of Abraham to Moses the people groups in the land would have changed and shifted as territory size shrank and grew.
Besides these six or seven nations the Girgashites were a subgroup of Canaanites (Genesis 10:15-16), the Rephaim were descendants of the nephilim and were giants, the Kadmonites (meaning easterner) were an unknown people group, possibly to the south, and the Kenites lived around the region of Sinai, and may have been smiths and/or shepherds and descended from Cain. The Kenizzites were descendants of Kenaz who was descended from Esau.
These were the nations that possessed the land That Yahweh was giving to Israel.
The children of Israel were marching straight towards the promised land after being delivered from Egypt. the Lord issued a command to send out chiefs to spy out the land.
Numbers 13:2 (ESV)
“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.”
These must have been men who were physically able to travel many days through rough terrain, intelligent enough to look for threats, issues and problems that they would need to overcome, and wise as leaders. Moses chose out twelve such men, chiefs of Israel. He sent these men out with this exhortation (Numbers 13:17b-20a, ESV):
“Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.”
They spied out the land for forty days which must have been a very taxing mission, but in doing so they lost heart. They were overwhelmed by what they saw and lost faith.
They started by showing the fruit that they had brought and then made this report:
The land flows with milk and honey.
The people are strong
The cities are fortified and large
There are giants (descendants of Anak)
Caleb’s report doesn’t contradict their findings, but he contradicts their spirit. Whereas the ten spies saw these things and were discouraged, Caleb saw these things and said “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” (Numbers 13:30b, ESV)
Where they saw the size of the giants “and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” (Numbers 13:33, ESV) Caleb saw the ability of Yahweh! He had faith in The Lord that He would keep His promise and deliver any enemy into their hands. He trusted the Spirit and power of God over the actions and power of man.
Zechariah 4:6 (ESV)
“Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.”
Joshua and Caleb brought a good report to the people!
Numbers 14:6-10 (ESV)
“And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.”
But the people did not believe! The ten spies who brought the bad report all died of plague (Numbers 14:37-38). The children of Israel, because they had tested The Lord ten times were sentenced to wonder the wilderness until they died, forty years for the forty days they spied out the land.
But what of Joshua and Caleb? Caleb trusted Yahweh and followed after Him whole heartedly! That’s the pun of his name, Caleb means dog, but also means loyal and faithful. He was loyal and faithful to Yahweh when all others around him were not. He trusted in Yahweh! And so he saw these hardships as something to overcome, not something that would destroy him!
You know what the irony of this is? Remember the Kenizzites in Genesis 15 that were going to be displaced? They came from Esau. Well, Caleb was a Kenizzite, a descendant of Kenaz, who came from Esau! (Genesis 36:9-11)
Numbers 32:12 (ESV)
“none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’”
Because of faithfulness and faith Caleb, one whom should be displaced, was instead given special allotment of land! This was his reward. Not only would he live through the forty years of struggle in the wilderness, but he would live to enter the land and inherit it!
Numbers 14:24 (ESV)
“But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.
And that’s what the Lord did! Caleb was given an inheritance of Hebron, a city of giants, and he conquered it… at eighty five years old!!
Joshua 14:6-15 (ESV)
“Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’ And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.” Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war.”
What can we learn about this? How can we apply it to our daily lives?
Well, it’s confession time. I have been working at my job to try to get a raise and I found out that there won’t be any raises. I was pretty upset, moping around the house. It was a rough couple of days! Then I read this Torah portion and it hit me! Yahweh is the one who blessed me and provides for me (and He has blessed me financially)! He has told me not to worry but here I am worrying!
Matthew 6:25-34 (ESV)
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
We can choose how we live our lives. We can choose to view the circumstances as something to overcome, or something that will destroy us. The difference is, do we believe in Yahweh! Do we believe the words He spoke to us? If we do, if we have faith, then we must turn to him and say “this problem that I see, you are greater!” It’s hard to have faith, it’s hard not to be discouraged. But we must trust God and look to Him!
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Numbers 13:1 Spies are sent out and return with a bad report
Numbers 14:1 The people test The Lord for a tenth time
Numbers 14:13 Moses prays for forgiveness
Numbers 14:20 40 years of judgment
Numbers 14:39 The people attack without the Lord and die.
Numbers 15:1 Miscellaneous sacrifice laws
Numbers 15:22 Unintentional sin sacrifices
Numbers 15:32 A man is stoned for breaking the Sabbath
Numbers 15:37 Tassel commandment
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Joshua 2:1-24 A harlot shows faith and hides Israelite spies
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
Matthew 10:1 The Twelve Disciples/Apostles are given authority and sent out
Bibliography
L. Michael Morales, Numbers 1–19, ed. David W. Baker and Beth M. Stovell, vol. 4a of Apollos Old Testament Commentary (London: Apollos, 2024), 322–339.
THE LEXHAM BIBLE DICTIONARY, s.v. “Girgashites.”
P. E. Satterthwaite and D. W Baker, “Nations of Canaan,” Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 596–600.
Mark S. Smith, “Rephaim,” The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992) 675.
Stephen A. Reed, “Kadmonites,” The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992) 4.
Baruch Halpern, “Kenites,” The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992) 17–20.
J. Kenneth Kuntz, “Kenaz (Person),” The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992) 17.
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