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Parashat-Chukat-20135773.Pdf (619.16 FRIEDMANREVIEW 7 TAMMUZ5773 Torah Reading June 22, 2013 Schedule REVIEW Torah Numbers FRIEDMAN (Bamidbar) 21:1-22:1 Haftarah Judges 11:1-33 Gospel Matthew 21:1-17 Chukat, “instuction about...” Today’s portion is entitled Chukat (“Instruction about…”) and is Numbers 19.1-22.1. Two famous sections are found in Chukat: the instructions concerning the red cow and its ashes for ritual purification purposes, and the water shortage rebellion at Meribah. While reading the parasha this week, I was engaged by chapter 21, verses 1-3 “The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the south, heard that Israel had come by the route of the spies, and he waged war against Israel and took from them a captive. Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, "If You deliver this people into my hand, I shall consecrate their cities." The Lord heard Israel's voice and delivered the Canaanite. He destroyed them and [consecrated] their cities, and he called the place Hormah .” (verses 1-3, Chabad translation). The ruins of the Canaanite city of Arad can be seen today. They are quite extensive, and are one of the better preserved ancient sites to visit in Israel. People are lobbying for them to be a UNESCO Heritage site. Right next to Canaanite Arad is the Israelite Arad, the town that King Solomon ‘founded’ as a royal fortress and guard city, guarding the southern accesses of his kingdom. 1 Two ruins of Arad stand side by side by to each other today, separated by a mere few hundred yards. The legacy of Canaanite Arad is found in our text today. Their leader “heard that Israel had come…and he waged war against Israel…22.1.” The Canaanites often reacted in this manner; they were the Girgashites, Perrizites, Jebusites, Amorites, Hivites, Hittites and ‘Canaanites’. June 22, 2013 They were usually fearful of Israel, so they went to war, instead of responding to offers of peace. They could have allowed Israel to rest in their territory, simply use some water, then pass on through. Instead, the very presence of REVIEW Israel meant war for these nations. Our parasha notes another instance of this same phenomenon. Israel asked another Canaanite nation, the Amorites, for passage, and here is what happened: FRIEDMAN “Israel sent messengers to say to Sihon king of the Amorites: Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king’s highway until we have passed through your territory.” But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. He mustered his entire army and marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought with Israel. Israel, however, put him to the sword and took over his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only as far as the Ammonites, because their border was fortified.” (Numbers 21.11-13, KJV). Once again, a Canaanite nation decided to let fear dictate their political and military actions, and they were destroyed due to opposing Israel. Over a hundred years later, the descendants of these Amorites warred against Israel yet again in an attempt to recover the lands mentioned above (“took over his land”) in Numbers 21. Our reading from the Prophets for today is from Judges 11: And it came to pass after a while, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel (Judges 11.4) “The Ammonite claim was as follows: And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah (Israel’s military leader): 'Because Israel took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even unto the Jabbok, and unto the Jordan; now therefore restore those cities peaceably.' This was not Israel’s recollection of that very same history, which is relayed as follows: “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the desert to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh. Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Give us permission to go through your country,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh…Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Let us pass through your country to our own place…Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to 2 pass through his territory. He mustered all his men and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. Then the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his men into Israel’s hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country… For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along June 22, 2013 the Arnon. Why didn’t you retake them during that time? I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me.” (Judges 11.15-17, 19-21,27a) REVIEW We often say that a people’s attitude towards Israel is a type of watershed. In history that has been true. Today’s portion clearly shows this to be the case some 3,300 years ago. The Canaanites (here, the Amorites) The settlements of the Canaanites around Arad were destroyed (21.3): “He destroyed them…and FRIEDMAN called the place ‘Hormah’ (which in Hebrew means ‘totally obliterated’), and: “Israel, however, put him (Sihon the Amorite king) to the sword and took over his land” (21.13). Similar to the ancient situation, a nation’s actions towards Israel today serve as a watershed. With the tremendous amount of anti-Semitism and Israel hatred in the world today, this is a serious issue to consider. This may not look the same as it did in ancient times; yet the truth remains that: “in terms of God, they (the Jewish people] are beloved… see Romans 11.28-29). God chose the Jewish people and the Land of Israel as central to His purposes for redeeming mankind. Messiah Yeshua, a Jew, came and died as the apex of God’s redemptive plan. This happened in Israel, and from Israel and the Jewish people, spread around the world. The Prophets teach us that in the future, Israel and the Jewish people will still have a central role in Messiah’s return and future kingdom on earth. Let me encourage each of you to pray fervently for Israel, as well as for those who spew anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel. This usually goes hand in hand with hatred of the One True God. As it was in the days of Sihon, the Amorite king in our parasha, so it is still today. The same accusations that Sihon stated against Israel are stated today by Israel’s enemies: “Israel took our lands; give them back peaceably, or we will war against you. You stole what you have, starting when you came out of Egypt (or today, ‘starting when you came to Israel after the Holocaust’). We think we have progressed so much as mankind…but we really haven’t. Scientifically, we have; but morally and spiritually, we carry the same attitudes that the Bible makes clear for us. A wise king once taught: “There is nothing new under the sun”. The prayers that we encourage above may go a long way in helping nations to recognize truth. Shabbat Shalom, David and Margalit 3 4 FRIEDMANREVIEW June 22, 2013 5 FRIEDMANREVIEW June 22, 2013.
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