The God of Each of Us
Sh’lach Lecha, Numbers 13:1–15:41
Suzy Linett, Devar Shalom, Ontario, CA
Years ago, when I attended my confirmation class as a teenager, the conservative Rabbi taught that the reason Scripture refers to Adonai as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob rather than simply “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” is due to the concept of progressive revelation.
Each generation of the patriarchs built upon the foundation of the previous ones. Although the rabbi was not a believer in Yeshua, it has occurred to me that he was exactly right. Abraham was told by the Lord to leave his father’s house and to leave the pagan worship of idols to follow the one true God. Isaac experienced a unique blend of obedience and mercy/grace from the Lord. He grew up in a home with a believing father, and so was raised in faith. Rarely is his faith discussed, including what he might have been thinking while Abraham bound him to the wood. Jacob struggled with God and with men, receiving the name Israel in Genesis 32:29. In verse 30, he asked the angel/man/theophany for his name, and received a blessing. Although the name of the spiritual being was not given, Jacob named the place Peniel (“face of God”) – because he had seen God face to face.
No matter how this is interpreted, we see a continuum of deeper and deeper interaction with Adonai. Today is no different. There is progressive revelation of who the Lord is and how we are to relate to him.
This week’s parasha begins with a command to Moses from the Lord. He is to send spies from each tribe to “investigate the land of Canaan” (Num 13:2). We are told these men were “princes” of their respective tribes (v.3) and they were sent from the “wilderness of Paran” until they reached Hebron (vs.3–21). They traveled a good distance from Paran and came back to give their report. Caleb and Joshua gave a good report and encouraged the people to move forward and take the Land. The remaining ten expressed fear and certainty that the Israelites would be defeated. The people grumbled, they rebelled, they threatened the leadership. The Lord appeared in his glory and Moses pleaded on behalf of the people to spare them. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob was indeed the God of Moses as well, but the people had failed to truly make him their God. We know the story. The ten who gave a bad report died in a plague, and the Israelites were destined to complete 40 years before they entered the Land.
In the Maftir section of our parasha, Numbers 15:37–41, Adonai gives the commandment and instruction for the tzitzit which were to be on the borders of the garment. They also were found on the hem of Yeshua’s garment in Luke 8:44, bringing healing to a woman who had been ill for 12 years. Let’s look at this passage a bit more closely and in a greater context. The people had failed to recognize the sovereignty and power of the Lord to lead them in safety. There was a need for a constant visual reminder of the Lord’s presence, and to make him personal. Israel had been redeemed from slavery as a nation, as a people group, and Aaron had been installed as high priest. Despite all of this, the people were swayed by the bad report of the ten spies. This commandment was not limited to Aaron, nor even to the tribe of Levi. We are told each Israelite was to make “his own” tzitzit so that individually there would be recollection of the mitzvot, and of what the Lord had already done.
Corporate worship and study are valuable, but Adonai also requires individual worship and time with him. When the people looked at each other and saw the tzitzit, and the commanded special techelet color, they recognized national covering of God. When they looked at their individual tzitzit, each recognized individual, personal covering. While the English translation simply uses the word “blue” to define the color, the Hebrew word, techelet, actually means a lot more. It is a specific shade, a highly prized and difficult-to-produce color/shade.
Even the Talmud makes mention of techelet (Menachot 44a) as a critical color in service to Adonai. Why blue? Why this very expensive shade of blue? When times are tough, we are to look upon the tzitzit covering us and we are reminded that God covers us; we are reminded to look up to the blue heavens, and the special, difficult-to-produce, and valuable dye reminds us not only that Israel significant as a nation, but also by wearing our own tzitzit, each one of us individually has specific importance to our heavenly Father. We are reminded that as he keeps close to each one of us, we are to keep ourselves close to him – individually as well as nationally.
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and the God of Suzy? No, I am not putting myself in the same class as the patriarchs, yet there is indeed progressive revelation of the nature of God, who he is, and what my relationship with him is to be. I see this pattern in my personal life and in the life of others. The pattern ranges from the earliest years of my life, of hearing the Bible stories as a toddler and upwards; from learning the Shema and beginning to understand that indeed here is a God, one God, who is real. It continued into my teenage years of hearing others speak of him, on to my college years of ignoring him, all prior to coming to faith. The progressive revelation continued on to my mid to late 20’s when I had a divine encounter that really was a culmination of progressive encounters; a building upon foundations provided by those who went before me, and of those who shared with me sequentially, revealing more and more.
Even in the last 43 years, since coming to faith, I have seen the progressive revelation as I continue on my own spiritual quest. Each of us has an individual itinerary within our growing movement. Just as the Israelites were led out of Egypt as a nation and embarked on a national course, each was to make his own tzitizit for individual treks within the corporate movement. So it is with us. The Messianic movement is one of progressive revelation and growth, yet within that movement, each of us is responsible for our own individual journey. As I give thanks to the Lord for my own progress, I also thank him for each individual and group I have met along the way as they continue on their own journeys, corporately as part of congregations and within the greater Messianic community, and individually, continuing to develop a personal relationship and walk with him.
Indeed, he is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. He is the God of Moses, and may he be revealed as the God of each of you in a new way. Shabbat Shalom!
Scripture references are from the TLV.