PARSHA "BeSHALACH Shemot 13:17 - 17:16

[Ben Avraham]

Preview: PARSHA "B'Shalach" EXODUS 13-17

PARSHA "B'Shalach" (when he sent)

EXODUS 13:17-17:16, JUDGES 4:4-5:31, JOHN 6:22-40

We see in this Parsha how YHVH again comes to the rescue, and tests HIS people in their faith, "Do you really trust me in ALL situations? even when things seem hopeless. When YHVH lead HIS people through the Sinai peninsula to the shores of the Red Sea, He knew EXACTELY what he was doing, Today, at the crossing site is a beach resort called Nweba Beach, and if one has scuba gear, can see the remains of chariot wheels, at the shallow bottom of that section of the Red Sea.

It can be said that the Israelites were between a "rock and a hard place" there they are, they are blocked by the sea, and the Egyptian army in hot pursuit. I wonder what went through the minds of the Egyptians, couldn't they tell that they had lost the war against God? we can see how "pride and arrogance" can lead people to their destruction, even when they can see that all is lost,

We see a cloud, that served as a guide and light to the Israelites, became darkness and a barrier to the Egyptians. The cloud was lifted up from in front of the Israelites and blocked the way of the Egyptians. This was during the night so as to give the Israelites time to get across the water, remember that there are several million people not to mention thousands of heads of cattle, sheep, goats, etc, so, it would have taken all night for them to cross. YHVH had the Egyptians pinned down, immobile, at a "stand still" until morning broke.

YHVH used an "East Wind" to open and divide the sea. says that the "Israelites crossed over on dry land" Now, when the Egyptians saw all this, didn't they figure out it was a trap? I mean really, I imagine the majority of the soldiers knew they were marching to their death, but since "Pharaoh rules" they are going to go against their better judgment. We could say the same about Hitler, if enough of the Wehrmacht leaders would have resisted his crazy plans, perhaps millions of lives would have been saved.

But HaShem wants to put an end to the military power of Egypt once and for all.
They enter into the pathway of the sea, and we know the end result, they took their "goodbye-for-ever" bath. We can see spiritual insights here. What was "Yeshuah" (salvation) for the Israelites, was destruction for the enemy, The cloud of Light, became a cloud of darkness, one could say the "Ruach Elohim" *the breath of God" parted the sea, His Spirit favored his chosen but brought judgment on the pursuers. Here is the final division between "good" and "evil" between "slavery" and "Freedom" now there is no turning back.

YHVH is taking a hodge-podge of undisciplined slaves to become an organized nation of priests, lead by his chosen man, Moses. But there is still a lot of work to be done. It took only one day to take Israel out of Egypt, but 40 years to take Egypt out of Israel. We still have the grumble and groaning of the people, but the grace, love, and provision of Adonai inspite of all, the "Mana" from heaven, and the "quails"

We can ask ourselves, are we any different? do we gripe and complain about trivial things, even when we have seen the provision of the LORD in our lives again and again. HE continues to bless, and we continue to complain, where does it stop? Just as Moshe took the Israelites out of Egypt, away from the House on bondage, so Yeshua, took us out of the bondage to Satan and a life of sin, to become part of HIS people, to become "bond-slaves" and to serve HIM who is the "best" master of all.
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JUDGES 4:4-5:31 (Shoftim)

woman, we see again, the hand of YHVH to deliver the chosen people, but this time through a woman, "Deborah" God uses both men and women in HIS service to do HIS will, to be prayer warriors, (bible) teachers, singers, military service men and women, we all have a special place in God's plan, if you are a woman, serve HIM, if you are a man, serve HIM as HE directs.
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JOHN 6:22-40

Yeshua knows the heart of the people, the people follow him for a free meal, as he told them, and here, He makes it a point to show that the "Bread of Life" (himself)
is more important than the "bread form the earth" Yes, we need our "daily bread
(be in Jewish rye or something else) but the "" is our "spiritual food" some
times we starve the spirit and overindulge the body in "buffets" No, Moshe did NOT bring down the bread from Heaven, it was YHVH who did it, Moshe had nothing to do with it, He only told the people that it would happen. One title for Yeshua is "Lechem-Chai" (The Bread of Life) and was fittingly born in the "House of Bread (Beit-Lechem) which is in English "Bethlehem"


Shabbat Shalom........................rabbi Ben Avraham

[alon]

Yes, reminds me of some of the things I came across in my studies.

Jan 30, 2015 18:22:05 GMT -8 Ben Avraham said:

Preview: PARSHA "B'Shalach" EXODUS 13-17

PARSHA "B'Shalach" (when he sent)

It can be said that the Israelites were between a "rock and a hard place" there they are, they are blocked by the sea, and the Egyptian army in hot pursuit. I wonder what went through the minds of the Egyptians, couldn't they tell that they had lost the war against God? we can see how "pride and arrogance" can lead people to their destruction, even when they can see that all is lost,... I imagine the majority of the soldiers knew they were marching to their death, but since "Pharaoh rules" they are going to go against their better judgment.

The armies of tyrants are trained to simply follow orders. There is also a mentality amongst soldiers everywhere that they will not let their comrades down. This mentality allowed men on both sides in our Civil and Revolutionary wars as well as men in countless other wars of the times to line up and hold fast in the face of murderouse vollies of musket fire. It allowed ment to form shield walls, pushing against those of their enemies all day while being hacked and thrust at by sword and spear. It causes men to rush machine gun emplacements and face other hazards unimaginable to those who have never done military service. I suspect most of the Egyptian soldiers had to know they were marching into a trap, and that the hand of God, or in their minds at least a god greater than all theirs combined, was against them. But they did as they were told. I suspect also they pursued hard and fast until God allowed their wheels to become mired.

We see a cloud, that served as a guide and light to the Israelites, became darkness and a barrier to the Egyptians. The cloud was lifted up from in front of the Israelites and blocked the way of the Egyptians.

The way you phrased this reminds me of one thing I read; the column of cloud and the fire were probably the same thing. Just at night the fire was more visable. And of course God could make one much greater as He willed it, and move and shape it at His will. HaShem here uses the imagery of near-eastern practice of carrying a burning brazier in front of a line of march. By day, the ranks followed the smoke, and by night the light from it was a beacon.

But HaShem wants to put an end to the military power of Egypt once and for all.
They enter into the pathway of the sea, and we know the end result, they took their "goodbye-for-ever" bath. We can see spiritual insights here. What was "Yeshuah" (salvation) for the Israelites, was destruction for the enemy, The cloud of Light, became a cloud of darkness, one could say the "Ruach Elohim" *the breath of God" parted the sea, His Spirit favored his chosen but brought judgment on the pursuers. Here is the final division between "good" and "evil" between "slavery" and "Freedom" now there is no turning back. ... Just as Moshe took the Israelites out of Egypt, away from the House on bondage, so Yeshua, took us out of the bondage to Satan and a life of sin, to become part of HIS people, to become "bond-slaves" and to serve HIM who is the "best" master of all.

The crossing of the sea was for the Hebrew nation a type of tevilah, and the waters rising above their heads a mikvah. Even though they did not get wet, they passed through the waters. The Egyptians, as you point out, got very wet. This is a picture of God removing sin (Egypt) from His people. And that is what tevilah does for us- it removes spiritual unavailability (uncleanness) before God. When done in the right frame of mind and heart condition, I believe there is something spiritual that happens in the waters of the mikvah. It is the same with n'tilat yadayim.

YHVH is taking a hodge-podge of undisciplined slaves to become an organized nation of priests, lead by his chosen man, Moses. But there is still a lot of work to be done. It took only one day to take Israel out of Egypt, but 40 years to take Egypt out of Israel. We still have the grumble and groaning of the people, but the grace, love, and provision of Adonai inspite of all, the "Mana" from heaven, and the "quails"

Yes, it is proving to take that and more for me ...

Dan C

[alon]

Par'shah Beshallach Sh'mot 13:17- 17:16

There are a lot of good points in this par'shah which are easily overlooked. Start with the study notes in my JPS TNK:

14:31 "Faith" in the Bible regularly means trust, rather than belief in the existence of God or assent to a doctrine.

15:13 Love Heb "hesed," better rendered "faithfulness." It refers to acts of kindness that are expected between parties in a relationship ... it refers to God's covenantal faithfulness to Israel.

15:17 In your own mountain: "Mountain" refers to the promised land, which is mountainous, but "God's mountain" often refers to the Temple Mount as well, and the following phrases the place you made to dwell in and the sanctuary clearly refer to that. The v. blends the concepts of the promised land and the Temple Mount: The Israelites ... pictured as dwelling around the Temple in which God dwells in their midst. According to Rav S, in Israel it is always said that you "go up" to Jerusalem. We think if you are North of Jerusalem you'd go down. But to an Israeli Jew Jerusalem is always "up."

15:25-26 There He made for them a fixed rule, and there He put them to the test: The context suggests that this enigmatic sentence refers to the next v. and means that God told Israel the nature of their future relationship, against which they will be tested. The promise in v. 26, which also implies a warning, is prompted by Israel's grumbling against Moses, God's servant, which contained the seeds of rebellion against God Himself.
and 16:6-7 Divinely provided food and the appearance of God's Presence will remind them that, contrary to their charge in v. 3, it was God, not Moses and Aaron, who took them from Egypt and that their complaints are really against Him. In another thread we are talking about what to do with dissidents. Here we can see why they are not to be tolerated. Those who grumble against God's servants are really rebelling against God Himself, and so should be summarily dismissed before the grumbling spreads if they refuse to stop.

16:5 Apportion: Halakhic exegesis assigns the Heb word its more common meaning, "prepare," and infers a general rule that cooked food for the Sabbath must be prepared before the Sabbath.

16:6-7 The presence of the Lord, the visual form in which God appears to humans, usually described as fiery or as enveloped in a cloud or fire, though sometimes as a human form ... This suggests that Yeshua as God is not out of the realm of possibility in Jewish thought once they get past the 2000 yrs of history with the Christian church.

16:22 ... double the amount of food (Heb "lehem mishneh, " lit. "double the bread"). This vs. is the source of the Jewish custom of placing two loaves of bread ( called "lehem mishneh") on the table at the main Sabbath and festival meals. A cusom I was unaware of; thought it might be of interest.

16:31 Named it "mannah" (Heb "man"), playfully reinterpreting their original question, " what (Heb "man") is it?" (v. 15), as a declaration, "it is 'man.'" In essence, then, the term means "whatchamacallit" and expresses the mannah's unprecedented character in the Israelite's experience.

17:16 Hand upon the throne of the Lord: The anomalous word rendered "throne" may be an error for "banner," which would make the connection to v. 15 clearer. This difficult phrase is possibly an oath formula meaning "I swear by the Lord's throne/banner."

These are just a few of the notes, which are 1 1/2 times or more than the scriptures they comment on. So there is a lot in this weeks par'shah if we look and study.

Dan C

[alon]

Par'shah Beshallach Sh'mot 13:17- 17:16

Why not- from my notes before sanity took hold (a.k.a. b4 MJ):

13:11-14 Parallel: the firstborn son is on the same level as that of an ass- both must be redeemed by a sacrificial lamb. (Rom 3:22 & 10:12) All have sinned, and God makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile in this respect. (My brother just swears that this analogy should be taken literally; it means I am a donkeys backside).

14:4 Pharoah's heart was already hardened towards both God and Israel. The events God brought about just hardened his heart more as part of his already evil mentality. God used that hardness of heart, anger, enmity and hatred to allow Pharoah to command the destruction of his own people, punishing them for how they had treated Israel.

14:19-30 God often brings us to impossible circumstances so that, if we stand still and trust we can see His deliverance. (Psalm 66) Perfect love comes from faith (trust), faith from seeing God's power & provision, His peace and emotional deliverance. Learning to go from fear to faith allows us to cross on dry ground.

15:22-27 Transitions in life can be rapid. One day deliverance, next the bitter waters of Marah, then the rest at Elim. But it is at Marah, not Elim, that God reveals the Cross.

There is a whole lot more here in my notes from Christian commentators, so this is a rich par'shah this week. Don't miss it!

Dan C