On the road to Emmaus, Yeshua met with two of His disciples and, beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. (Luke 24:27). For our Torah studies this year, therefore, week by week we will seek to discover how all of Torah prepared the way for the coming Messiah.
11th July 2026 (26 Tammuz)
Matot (tribes), Numbers 30:1-32:42, Masei (journeys), Numbers 33:1-36:13
This year, the last two portions of Bamidbar (Numbers) are read in the same week. We read how Moses gave clear instructions for how the Promised Land was to be divided among the tribes. Each tribe would have their own inheritance, decided by lot, to be administered by Eleazar and Joshua and eleven tribal leaders, with special arrangements for the tribe of Levi, and for Cities of Refuge. The land allotted to each tribe was not be transferred to another tribe. If women from one tribe married outside their tribe, any inheritance of theirs would remain with their original tribe. While simply stated, the rules for tribal inheritance in the Promised Land were fixed for the years to come.
Israel would not enter the Promised Land easily. They were a nation prepared for warfare. The recent census listed all the men above 20 years old as men of war;
And it came to pass, after the plague, that the Lord spoke to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying: “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel from twenty years old and above, by their fathers’ houses, all who are able to go to war in Israel.” (Numbers 26:1-2)
It was through warfare that Israel entered the Promised Land and this has been the character of Israel’s history until today: in order to retain identity and live in the land allotted to them by God there has been much warfare.
Judgement was brought to the Midianites because of their attempt to destroy Israel, either from a curse placed on them through Balaam, or by intermarriage and seduction into following false gods, as we read in earlier Torah portions. Prior to crossing the Jordan, Israel’s army defeated Midian as God instructed Moses; then the army was ready to cross the Jordan to defeat the seven nations in Canaan.
God’s righteous judgment on nations is an ongoing theme of the Bible, in His faithfulness to the Covenant He made with Abraham. There is never a glimpse of compromise, as He fulfils His purposes. Even when, in later years, Israel itself comes under the judgement of God, other nations have to be careful not to misinterpret what He is doing. For example, when Judah was led captive to Babylon in 586 BCE, some nations came under God’s judgement for their wrong intent, seeking to gloat or take advantage of Judah’s misfortune. Zechariah spoke of this:
So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great zeal. I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; for I was a little angry, and they helped—but with evil intent.” (Zechariah 1:14-15)
Though Babylon itself was the agent of God’s judgement on Judah, it was later judged and fell from its high place as the prominent and powerful nation that it had been:
Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no more be called
Tender and delicate.
…..I will take vengeance,
And I will not arbitrate with a man.
As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
Sit in silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans;
For you shall no longer be called
The Lady of Kingdoms.
I was angry with My people;
I have profaned My inheritance,
And given them into your hand.
You showed them no mercy;
On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily.
And you said, ‘I shall be a lady forever,’
So that you did not take these things to heart,
Nor remember the latter end of them. (Isaiah 47:1-7)
God will not compromise, and this is a major theme of the Bible, in relation to the judgement of nations and also in other ways. For example, we see this when Saul made an unlawful sacrifice (1 Samuel 13), also when God brought justice for the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21) and in the consequences that followed King David’s adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11), and in many incidents we have studied in earlier Torah portions.
What can we learn, therefore, from the incidents of our Torah portion this week?
There is an immediate link to a frequently read passage in Isaiah concerning the prophesied birth of Messiah. Let us read this magnificent and uplifting passage again, in full:
Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward more heavily oppressed her,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles.
The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation
And increased its joy;
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian.
For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:1-7)
This prophecy of Isaiah follows warnings of difficult times for Israel under the coming invasion of Assyria. Yet, God also speaks of a time coming when there will be a King on David’s throne forever. This is a very popular passage from the Scriptures that is often read at Christmas among many Christian fellowships. Yet, there is a much greater reality before us than the adoration of a new-born baby in a manger. This is a prophecy that announces the coming of One who will defeat God’s end-time enemies just as Midian was defeated prior to the conquest of Canaan.
The promised child who would be born into the nation of Israel, specifically to the Tribe of Judah, would become a conquering King, defeating the enemies of God and those standing against His covenant purposes, in the same way that Midian was judged.
All nations should marvel at the baby in the manger but, far more than that, take seriously God’s ways and His prophetic purposes laid out and taught in all Scripture.
Why is this? Because it is as relevant today to the nations of the earth as it was to Midian prior to the conquest of Canaan.
The climax of history is recorded clearly, though sometimes mysteriously, in the Book of Revelation. Midian was judged and so was Babylon in the days of Moses and the biblical Prophets. Major world empires have also come and gone in the onward march of covenant history. Revelation speaks of the time when all the principles we should have learned from history will come to a final climax in the judgement of the world empire which is named after Babylon of old. Just as Moses brought God’s judgement on Midian, so Yeshua will be the conquering King who brings judgement to the final Babylon, which will be the united confederacy of nations deceived by satan into opposing God’s covenant plans. Through Yeshua, there will be no compromise at this immense moment of history which brings in His everlasting Kingdom:
After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”
And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. (Revelation 18:1-9)
The teaching from our portion this week points to this time, a time which is near. The establishment of Israel in the Promised Land, which followed the victory over Midian and Israel inhabiting Canaan, points to the time of Yeshua’s victory over antichristian nations prior to the final establishment of His Kingdom on earth and in heaven. As Yeshua Himself said:
… when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. (Luke 21:20-28)
