parashah 16- b'shallach

8/20/2019 Parashah 16- B'Shallach

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Parashah 16: B'shallach (After he hadlet go)

Parashah 16: B'shallach (After he had let go), Exodus 13:17 to 17:16

Haftarah (Writings and Prophets): Judges 4:4 through 5:1-31.

B'rit Hadasha (New Testament): Luke 2:22-24; John 6:25-35, 19:31-37; 1

Cor. 10:1-13; 2 Cor. 8:1-15; Revelation 15:1-4.

Summary & Overview

TORAH

o Exodus 13:17 | The Pillars of Cloud and Fire

o Exodus 14:1 | Crossing the Red Sea

o Exodus 14:26 | The Pursuers Drowned

o Exodus 15:1 | The Song of Moses

o Exodus 15:20 | The Song of Miriam

o Exodus 15:22 | Bitter Water Made Sweet

o Exodus 16:1 | Bread from Heaven

o Exodus 17:1 | Water from the Rock

o Exodus 17:8 | Amalek attacks Israel and is weakened

We are starting this Torah Portion at the end to lay foundation regarding the

enemies we faced in Egypt, as discussed last week and comparing it to the new

enemy we will face in the Wilderness.

The Two Enemies – Spiritual Warfare

Israel faced two enemies between Egypt and Sinai. The first enemy wasPharaoh whom they encountered in Egypt, and the other was Amalek,which they encountered in the Wilderness. When you compare thesetwo enemies, you find a lot of insight and can learn a lot regardingspiritual warfare. We read about spiritual warfare in the Book ofEphesians, but the foundation of spiritual warfare is found back here

in the Book of Exodus. These are the two battles you will face whenyou decide to follow Y’shua. You need to know your enemies toovercome then as you go through your new life journey on your wayto the Promised Land. We will look at these two enemies separatelyand tactics on how to overcome their attacks so that we may enduretill the end.

Pharaoh: Egypt represents the kingdom of Satan, It is run by one leaderPharaoh who promotes a false religion, idolatry and any kind of spiritualuncleanness you can think of. He is a slave master and a control freak. Wehave looked at the four tactics he used to try and keep Israel from worshipping

YHVH in the Wilderness.


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He wants you to compromise to keep you close to “Egypt” so that you may thinkyou are free but actually still bound in sin. It’s all about deception and lies thatbring false sense of freedom that actually bounds. YHVH defeated Pharaoh,and the battle took place in and near Egypt. The only thing the people had to dowas to turn their backs on Pharaoh and obey YHVH.

Exo 14:13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand firm, andsee the salvation of YHVH, which he will show to you to day: for the

Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more forever.

Our battle against Pharaoh (Satan) is already won, but he can still come and tryto kill, steal and destroy. Israel did not attack Satan, they stood firm andwatched YHVH destroy his army. Moses said to the people “fear not, standfirm”. We see similar words taught by the Apostle Paul in the Book of Ephesianswhere he teaches us to stand firm against Satan.

Eph 6:10-13 Finally, my brethren, be strong in YHVH,

and in the power of his might. 11

Put on the whole armourof Elohim, that you may be able to stand against the wilesof the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,but against principalities, against powers, against therulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritualwickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you thewhole armour of Elohim, that you may be able towithstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

There is a lot of fighting going on in churches today in thename of “spiritual warfare” where Believers try to beat up the

Devil and his demons. This is not the kind of enemy you shouldattack, but rather stand firm with the Armour of YHVH so thatyou can withstand his attacks. We find the detail of this Armour in Ephesianschapter 6:

Helmet of Salvation – Helmet is the word “kobah” thatmeans “to be high or rounded” and is first found inScripture in 1 Sam 17:5 where it describes the armour ofGoliath with him wearing a helmet of brass. Brass inHebrew depicts judgement and is related to the brazenaltar where the sin sacrifices were conducted. The very

act of Y’shua’s death as the sin sacrifice elevated Him toa state of authority and made Him the Head of the Body. The headrepresents authority and the “helmet of salvation” or “brass helmet” islinked to the “Head” Who is Messiah, and we are His Body, that is“under His Head” or Authority. If we wear the “Helmet of Salvation “ weare actually placing “His Head” on top of us, His Body and we do thisby submitting to His authority. This “elevates” us to His Authority, andSatan and his demons have to bow before Him (us). Just like thePhilistines trusted in Goliath to bring them salvation so we trust inY’shua that is greater than any enemy we might face. You have powerand authority over Satan and his demons in the Name of Y’shua –

stand fast!


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Breastplate of Righteousness – Breastplate is first used inScripture in Exo 25:7 describing the Breastplate of the HighPriest decorated with Onyx stones. The very next verse saysthat they need to build YHVH a Sanctuary so that He candwell with man. This breastplate is not made to protect youduring war; it was to protect the High Priest against theHoliness of YHVH. The High Priest was the only personallowed to enter the Holy of Holies once a year, and if hehad any sin, being unrighteous, he would die because ofthe Presence of YHVH. This piece of armour also depictsYHVH’s Presence and His Righteousness since Y’shua isour High Priest Who is without sin and thus righteous.When we live and express Holiness we represent Him and Hispresence. When Satan looks at a righteous person, he sees Y’shuaand flees. YHVH said “Be Holy for I am Holy” – Be holy and stand fast!

Sword of the Spirit: The word sword or“chereb” is first found in Scripture in Gen3:24 and is about the guarding of the Gardenof Eden after man was removed. Cherubims together with a flaming sword (chereb)“guarded the way of the Tree of Life”. Thesewere the same Angels found on the Ark ofthe Covenant that guarded the Ark in theHoly of Holies. Their wings formed the arm and back support for the“seat” or Throne of YHVH, represented by the Ark. What is “the way(derek) of the Tree of Life”? It is the same as the contents inside the

Ark; the Ten Commandments, the Rod of Aaron and a bowl of manna.The “Tree of Life” is a Person and His ways need to be guarded. Thisis none other than Y’shua Who is the Tree of Life and Who embodiesthe Commandments, the Rod or Sceptre of the King and the“supernatural food” that comes from His Spirit.

The Sword is also known as YHVH’s Word, and in this case, it is aflaming Sword. Fire is linked to the letter “Shin” that is anotherrepresentation of YHVH’s Spirit. This makes the “flaming sword” the“Sword of Fire” or the “Sword of the Spirit” as referred to by Paul inEph 6. The Sword of the Spirit is His Word in action in the hand ormouth of the Believer when confronted by Satan. What is guarded bythe Cherubims is the weapon that will defeat Satan. This is howY’shua defeated Satan when He was tempted in the Wilderness, Hecontinually quoted Scripture saying “…it is written…” and by this, He“guarded the way” of the “Tree of Life” and kept Satan (sinfulness) outof the Garden (your life). Know the Word and learn how to handle theWord as a sword – stand fast!


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Shield of Faith: Shield is first used in Scripture in Gen 15:1where YHVH made the Covenant Promise to Abraham andsaid “… I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward ”.We always had the idea that we must have faith as if faith isgenerated from ourselves with effort. YHVH gave Abrahamfaith in the form of a Shield that is a gift. This is confirmed inRom 10:17 that faith comes by hearing the Word of YHVH.YHVH gave the Truth, all you have to do is to listen, and faithwill come. Abraham is known as the Father of Faith because ofhis faithfulness and understanding what the “Shield” of YHVHrepresents. YHVH said “I am your Shield”, in other words; the faith thatyou hold on to is actually Him, the Truth, the Word, Y’shua. He is theGift we received, and He is our Shield, just stay behind Him and holdon to Him. The way to defeat Satan is to hold on the One that standsbetween you and Satan – stand fast!

Girt your loins with Truth: Loins is first found in Scripture in

Gen 35:11 where Jacob wrestled with YHVH and was told thatKings would come out of his loins. Truth is first found inScripture in Gen 24:27 where Abraham’s servant thankedYHVH for the truth of revealing the bride of Isaac to him. TheTruth spoken of here is the Truth that Y’shua is the King andwe are His Bride. When Satan attacks, you should remind himof who you are in Messiah and that you are His Bride, the Brideof the King. The battle is won if you know who you are inMessiah Y’shua. Stand fast and hold on to this truth!

Shoes of willingness: Shoes is first found in Exo 3:5 where

YHVH told Moses at the Burning Bush to take off his shoes.We have discussed this in an earlier Torah Portion and cameto the conclusion that the Bush represented Moses withYHVH’s Anointing upon him and did not consume him. Moseshad to remove his shoes as a symbol of not walking in the wayhe used to walk but to put on YHVH’s “shoes” and start walkingas He would walk, in holiness. Walking in someone else’s’shoes is a symbol of living your life according to their ways anddo things the way they would do it. You must be willing to takeup His shoes and walk in it. This is similar to what Y’shua saidto his Disciples in Matt 16:24; “… If anyone wishes to come after Me,

he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me”. There arethree things that stand out here; you must deny yourself or die to self,you must take up the cross or Anointing that will equip you for the taskYHVH called you to and lastly, you must follow Him willingly, walkingas He would walk. The “shoes of willingness” is about; knowing theplan of YHVH, getting anointed to do it and walking in it.

Q - How does “walking in YHVH’s task or plan”, defeat Satan?

Y’shua defeated Satan by “carrying His Cross”, performing His task Hewas anointed for and by doing this, He defeated Satan, sin and death.

Imagine what YHVH’s Plan has installed for you in kicking Satan’sbutt! Fins out YHVH’s will and plan for your life and “walk in it” – standfast in your calling!


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We have a good example of what the war declaration looks like and is foundin the passage where David faced Goliath.

1 Sam 17:45-47 Then said David to the Philistine, You come to me witha sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to you in thename of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you has

defied. 46 This day will the Lord deliver you into my hand; and I willsmite you, and take your head from you; and I will give the carcases ofthe host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wildbeasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in

Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saves not withsword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into ourhands.

Y’shua taught His Disciples how to pray and with David representingMessiah, the Beloved, He teaches us how to fight. We will analyse thispassage to see the structure and then use the “Armour of God” we have just

looked at and hang it on this framework of David’s declaration. David identified the enemy and exposes his tactics and weapons.

David identifies himself and declares his authority and the Name Herepresents and defends.

Then he tells the enemy their future, what is going to happen to them.

David then declares in Who’s Name this will happen and elevate theGod he serves to his enemy.

David then reveals how the battle will take place and who will fight.

Then David took a stone and killed the enemy, standing in one place – standing fast.

When you encounter a situation where you face the enemy your “battle cry”declaration might look something similar to what David said to Goliath.

“ Satan, you come to me with shadows of fear and with lies regarding meand my life. I am the Bride of the King, Y’shua the Messiah and in theName of Y’shua, all your plans and lies will be destroyed. I come to you inY’shua’s Righteousness and not on my own, in His Authority and not myown, and you will submit under the Name of Y’shua for you are alreadydefeated. You do not have much time left. When my King comes on theclouds, you will be bound and cast into bondage till you are released toburn forever and ever. Your lies will be exposed, and your plans will beconfused, destroyed and cast down in the Name of Y’shua the Messiah.YHVH’s Name will be made known because of the victory here today sothat everyone will see that He is my God and the one and only true God.”

Then “release the stone”; use Scripture regarding your situation and declarethat over your situation and remind YHVH of His promises.

Hebrew Study Tip

When you want to find the meaning of a Person’s name, you can look atthe meaning of the name it self, but also add the meanings of the namesof the parents, if their names are known. This will shed more light on thecharacter and reveal the origins of that person that influenced theircharacter.


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Amalek: The Israelites encountered Amalek, their first enemy after they leftEgypt. Who were the Amalekites? The Amalekites came from Esau’s bloodline. Amalek was the offspring of Eliphaz, hisfather and Timnah, his mother. Eliphazmeans; “god of gold”. Timna means;“restraint” or “holding back of the will”.

The meaning of these names gives usinsight into the origins of Amalek and is

based on the “god of gold” (father), lover of material things and restraining ofthe will (mother), something that binds and restricts your ability to make yourown decisions. It is as if you are controlled like a puppet.

If we look at the name Amalek, it consists of two words;“Am” that means people and “lek” that means, “licking up”,like a dog licking. Prov 26:11 refer to a fool that goes back to

his folly, just like a dog that returns to its own vomit, licking itup. Amalek, as previously discussed, represents the fleshthat constantly pulls you back so that you can do foolishthings repeatedly. This makes “the flesh” a very persistentenemy that is in constant battle with your soul. We see anexample of this enemy in the Book of Ester with thecharacter Haman, a descendant of Amalek, who wanted to destroy Israel(righteous people of Elohim). There is another example of this fleshly enemy; Agag, the king of the Amalekites, whom we encountered in a previous TorahPortion. He represents the flesh that loves “fat bread” or the teachings thatpromote freshness that turn YHVH’s people into “fat immature babies”.

The war against Amalek only started once Israel left Egypt. Afteryou make a decision to follow Y’shua, you will encounter the nextenemy that is on the inside; the flesh that wants to kill your soul.The battle against Egypt was fought by YHVH, and they neverencountered Israel in battle again. Amalek, on the other hand, wasnever destroyed but only weakened.

Practical Implication: When YHVH won the battle against Satan for thesake of your soul, He does not need to fight Satan again, Satan isdefeated. The only way Satan can get to you now is by using your own

flesh against you. You become your own worst enemy, and the battle ofthe flesh will never seize, and the flesh will not be destroyed but onlyweakened.

Hebrew Study Tip

A Hebrew word can be broken up in with each one of the parts having ameaning that gives us further insight into that word. This is specificallyused to find the meaning of names. Another technique that can be usedto delve deeper is to read the word from left to right instead of right to leftas you normally would do. By doing this you can find supporting

meanings or hidden insight of that word. We will look at examples ofthese two techniques below.


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Israel’s Journey – Overview of Salvation

After Israel had left Egypt, they travelled through the wilderness, crossed theRed Sea and travelled to Mount Sinai where they received the Ten

Commandments from YHVH. Then their journey began through the wilderness(40 years) and eventually ended up in the Land of Promise, the Land of milkand honey.

This is the same pattern or “steps” we as believers will follow when we acceptY’shua as our Saviour . The Firs t Step is to “apply the blood” and “eat the lamb”

in Egypt which is a prophetic picture of us accepting Y’shua as our Saviourwhile we were still sinners in this World. Part of the First Step is to embrace theWord (eat the lamb) so that we can have the strength to leave our Worldlylifestyles and walk towards the Mountain (YHVH’s ways).

The Second Step involves crossing the Red Sea, this is represented by the actof Baptism or a Mikvah. Abraham “crossed over” and that identified him as thefirst Hebrew and we need to “cross over” of be baptised as a sign of embracingour new culture (YHVH’s culture) as Hebrews. This is a spiritual cleansingprocess where you “unlearn” your previous culture to embrace His culture.

The Third Step is to go to the Mountain and receive the Commandments ofYHVH directly from Him. Jer 31:33 and Heb 10:16 reveals to us this processwhere YHVH writes His Commandments on our hearts through receiving HisSpirit. We will look at this in more detail in the next section.

The Fourth and Final Step is to enter the Promised Land, but before we canenter, we have to go through the Wilderness. We have to face the real world outthere, equipped with the Spirit and the Commandments so that we can travelthrough the Wilderness and “survive spiritually” until we reach our finaldestination called “Salvation”.

The Wilderness is the “battlefield” where you will face your enemies that will tryto stop you from entering the Promised Land. Remember that your salvation isbased on these 4 steps and people can “get lost along the way”. You can “loseyour salvation” by staying in Egypt, even if you applied the Blood of the Lamb.You can “lose your salvation” if you do not cross the Red Sea, exposed toPharaoh (Satan) and cause you to backslide into sin. You can “lose yoursalvation” if you do not face the Mountain and engage in “Golden Calf worship”(mixing and confusion – Babylon). You can “lose your salvation” through

murmuring, wandering through the Wilderness for “40 years” and “die there”because you refused to believe and apply YHVH’s Word, defeated by Amalek,that is your own fleshiness.

LeavingEgypt

Red SeaCrossing

Mount Sinai

WildernessPromised

Land

Leaving

Sin &Bondage

Baptism EmbraceTorah Life You are"Saved"


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We have to follow Him from Egypt, right through theWilderness (Life) until we reach the end of our journey. Paulcompares this to running a race until you reach the finishingline. Then and only then will you enter the Promised Land orNew Jerusalem. It is not a question of running against

someone else, you run the race against yourself, and the goalis to finish the race and not to give up or let go.

Crossing the Red Sea – Baptism

The Red Sea is the “barrier” betweenyou and Egypt. We have looked at the4 Compromises Pharaoh suggested tokeep a handle on the children of Israel,and this “temptation” will be eliminated

once you travelled far enough awayfrom Egypt. This is the “line” you haveto cross to prevent Satan from pullingyou back into sin and bondage. Thisline is depicted by the Red sea wherethe Egyptian enemies lost their battle

against Israel. YHVH gave Israel victory over Pharaoh, and his army and YHVHwill give you victory over Satan and his demons if you undergo the next step ofobedience called Immersion or Mikvah. By taking this next step to obedience,you “drown” all the negative spiritual forces that had a hold on you when youwere still in sin and bondage. This is a liberating experience where even

demons can leave a believer. In Africa when they baptise converts, sometimesthe demons manifest and do not want the person to enter the water

Q – Why is it that demons do not like water?

When Y’shua cast out the demons out of Legion, He commanded then to gointo the pigs and then the pigs, instinctively ran over the cliff into the water. Matt12:43 reveals to us that when an unclean spirit leaves a man, it goes towaterless places and do not find rest and may return with seven more evilspirits if the “house” is not cleaned out.

Baptism (Mikvah) is the cleansing process that will keep them out once theyleave. Your Mikvah or Baptism is the “barrier” between you and Satan that

prevent him to have a hold on you or to find an open the door to come back.

Mar 1:10-11 And immediately coming up out of thewater, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spiritlike a dove descending upon Him. (11) And therecame a voice from Heaven, saying, You are Mybeloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The Immersion of Y’shua had two functions; it ordained Himas a Teacher/Rabbi at the age of 30 as was the custom and itshowed us the example of what we have to go through. The

custom was that if you became a disciple of a Teacher/Rabbi,you are mikvah’d (immersed) in the name of your Teacher toshow that you follow his teachings. We are baptised in the


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Name of Y’shua to show that we are following Him as our Teacher and Rabbi.

When Y’shua came out of the water, the Spirit of YHVH descended upon Him,and this shows us the timing of receiving His Holy Spirit. After a person isbaptised, the facilitator should lay hands on the one being baptised and askYHVH to fill (baptise) them with His Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh).

Q – What is the purpose of receiving His Spirit?

Earlier in this Torah Portion, you will read about a pillar of cloud and the pillar offire that led the people of Israel. What do these pillars represent? These pillarsrepresent the Spirit of YHVH that led His people through the Wilderness up toMt Sinai. The function of His Spirit is in the names given to the Spirit namely;Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Truth. First of all, YHVH Spirit will help you to bebecome Holy, walking in His Truth or Word. His Spirit is also known as “theSpirit of Truth” you will receive the revelation of His Word through YHVH’s Spiritwhere He will write His Commandments on your heart. The act of Baptism isprophetically linked to Mt Sinai where they received the Ten Commandments,and later in Acts 2, they received the Holy Spirit when they celebrated the Feastof Shavuot.

Faith vs. MiraclesWe have looked at a lot of signs andwonders during the time Israel leftEgypt. We then saw numerousmiracles after they left; the miracle ofthe Red Sea, the miracle turning the

bitter water turning sweet, the miracleof food that falling from heaven. Thenwe saw the miracle of water from arock, and lastly, we saw the miracle ofIsrael’s victory over Amalek.

Q – Why did YHVH do many miracles at first, but later stopped?

Miracles build faith, and when YHVH called Moses, the people were still inbondage and had no faith in YHVH at all. Then the miracles “dried up” after they

got to know YHVH and followed Him for a while. It was as if YHVH had to weanthem off miracles to sustain and build their faith in another way.

Israel murmured and complained each time they faced a new challenge, andthey forgot the miracles of the past. This shows us that miracles had their placebut could not sustain the faith of a believer. People tend to see YHVH’scloseness when they see a lot of miracles, but when miracles in their lifedecrease, they feel distant from YHVH, and their faith diminishes with theabsence of miracles. Remember, you only need a miracle in a crisis. It is betterto live a life of victory that to live a life full of crises where you need miracles.

There is only one thing that can build and sustain faith, and that is throughYHVH’s Wor d, His Torah. Faith comes by hearing and the hearing of the Wordof YHVH, not by seeing, seeing the miracles of YHVH.


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Miracles are for unbelievers to draw their attention to see that YHVH is the oneand only true God. Once He has their attention, He “turns down” the miraclesand “turns up” the Word so that their faith can move from being based onmiracles to being based on the Truth.

Many believers seek miracles because it “proofs” that YHVH exists and is in

their midst. They seek His “presence” all the time, and that is the pinnacle oftheir faith. If they had an encounter with Him through a vision or supernaturalword or even a feeling like “goose bumps”, then they have enough “faith” to facethe week. During the week they will “crave another fix” to get them through thefollowing week and so getting “addicted” to miracles or the supernatural.

These people only know Jesus / Y’shua as the “hand ofGod”, the miracle worker but never experience Him as the“Word of God” Who is the “Mouth” and the “Head” of theirsalvation. His Word is His Authority (head) that you haveto submit under so that you can listen to His voice (Word)

and build your house (life) on the rock (foundation) to havefaith when the storms (supernatural signs and wonders)come.

Q – Ever wondered why Y’shua told the people whoreceived a miracle not to tell other people?

Y’shua did this so that the people will not get addicted tomiracles and never “grow up” spiritually. The miraclesY’shua did, revealed Him as the Messiah to unbelievers,

but were never intended to continue on. Miracles are like milk given to babies,

new believers, but you need solid food to be nourished. Miracles will onlyquince your “thirst” but will never be enough to still the hunger pains.

Conclusion: Do not seek the “hand of YHVH” and His miracles, seek His facewhere His Head and Mouth is so that you can know Him as Your King and theWord, not the “Miracle Man” that pulls a rabbit out of a hat for entertainment. Donot seek His “presence” in the form of a feeling but rather know His Word sothat you have faith when the storms come.

parashah 16- b'shallach

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