Zechariah 2:14-4:7
John 19:31-37
Hebrews 3:1-6
B'ha'alotcha (When you set up)
It was hard for the Hebrews
to believe that a full year had passed since their deliverance from
Egypt. So much had happened to them in that short amount of time, and now it was time for Passover. It would be their first Passover in the Wilderness.
The day before Passover,
Moshe found himself in the midst of quite a commotion in the Tribe of
Judah. There had been a great number of Egyptians who, in the last days
of the plagues, had desired to follow Elohim. Each family
of Egyptians had been assigned to a tribe. Some tribes had accepted the
Egyptians as their own with no problems, but the people of Judah had struggled with those who had been asked to join their tribe. Their problems seemed to be rearing up yet again.
Moshe decided it best to walk right into the middle of the argument, and the people, out of respect, quieted down immediately. "Could someone tell me what is going on here?"
The leader of Judah was very quick to reply,
"Moshe, these Egyptians say they want to celebrate Passover with us and
be just like us. They are Egyptians. They were not born Hebrews. They
are not like us. Tell them the answer is no. Partaking in the commandments of Mount Sinai is just for us."
One of the Egyptians started
to speak, but Moshe held his hand up for the man to remain silent.
Moshe looked squarely at each of the men of Judah, then began, "Brothers, it is not the Egyptians who are out of line. It
is you. You think that the bloodline of our forefathers makes you more
worthy of the love of Elohim than these who were born Egyptians? You, as of yet,
do not understand the purpose of your calling. The reason you were
redeemed from Egypt is not because you were such a great people, but
because of the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Elohim promised our forefathers that He would make of them a great nation of people, called out of the world and unto Him. He is our Father, and it is up to Him to say who comes into His family. If He desires for these Egyptians to be adopted into His family, then how are you or I to say no? He has given us the Torah -- not to hide under a basket --
but to bring light to the nations so they may follow Him also. Through
the instructions of His Torah, they are to become as we are, His
family."
The men of Judah and the Egyptians stood in silence, each looking to the others to see who would speak next. Finally, one of the Egyptians reached his hand out to one of the men of Judah. The silence of the moment was deafening. Slowly, the leader of Judah reached out, grasped his hand, and said, "Please forgive me. In His eyes, we have been brothers since we left Egypt. Today, you are a brother in my eyes also. Would you help lead the Passover with me this year?"
Tears began to flow as the
men embraced. Moshe thought to himself about the wonders of what it
meant for family to come together.
**
Passover that year had been a very meaningful time for the people. It had given them some much-needed time to focus on Elohim. Soon after their celebration, the Cloud had begun to move, and the Hebrews moved with it. Each move was accomplished in the specific order Elohim had directed.
After one of the moves, a
small group of people began to complain about all the work it was taking
to take everything down, carry it, and then putting it back up. The complaints began to travel throughout the camp about one subject,
then another. By the time it got to Moshe, it was out of control. The
subject was food and what they remembered from Egypt. If it had not been
for the intersession of Moshe on that day, the plague of quail sent
from Elohim would have killed every last one of the Hebrews.
Moshe was exhausted by the time he got the complaining under control, the quail out of the camp, and those who had died, buried in proper manner.
He headed back to his camp to call it an early night. As he approached
his camp, he saw Aaron and Miriam waiting for him. He did not know why
they were there, but inside he just did not feel it was going to be good.
As Moshe drew close, he could see that Miriam was pointing to his own wife (a Cushite woman) and yelling complaints at her. He could not believe what he was hearing. Where did this come from? They
continued to yell; Aaron, Miriam, and Moshe's wife back and forth and
even back at Moshe, and at anyone who was within earshot.
Finally, Miriam turned her full attention toward Moshe and started rambling sarcastically about how she thought he was so special. "Yah talks to you all the time. Yah could talk to me too."
She continued on as Aaron just stood, nodding his head in agreement. So, this is what it is all about. They are jealous of my position and relationship with The Almighty. He looked to the heavens and said a quick prayer. "Yah, please forgive them. This is not their heart."
"You two follow me please," Moshe said, turning to walk toward the Tent of Meeting. Aaron and Miriam just looked at one another and followed.
As they stood in front of
the Tent of Meeting, part of the Cloud drew closer to them. The voice of
Yah began to speak to Aaron and Miriam about His friend,
Moshe. The two stood motionless. When the Cloud lifted, Miriam looked
down and saw that her hand had turned white as snow. It looked as if the skin was turning to ash, ready to fall off with the slightest movement.
Moshe saw what was happening. He immediately sprang in between Miriam and the Cloud. He raised his hands and began shouting his prayers to Adonai. As he prayed, the color began coming back into Miriam's hand.
When enough color came
back for Miriam to stop screaming and raise to her knees, Moshe
approached, laying his hands on her shoulders. "I forgive you, Miriam," Moshe said. "You must, however,
learn that there are consequences to actions. You should have learned
this from those who complained about manna just days ago and are now
buried in the ground around us. Be who He has called you to be! Never be
jealous of another person's calling. You be the best at
what He desires you to be. " With his voice softening Moshe added, "Now
you must leave the camp for seven days to give you time to think about
your sin and what it could have caused if it had not been taken care of so quickly. Now go. I will see you in seven days."
Then as Miriam walked away,
Moshe turned to Aaron. "Do not follow the crowd when it is wrong; even
when the crowd is only one person, and one so close as your sister. I need some rest. We will talk more in the morning."
Moshe entered his tent without even waiting for a reply. He fell down
on his mat without even taking off his sandals and within seconds, was
asleep.
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