At the men’s Torah study Rob and I head up each Thursday night, we were amazed at the richness of this week’s parashah. B’ha’alotcha covers Numbers chapters 8-12, and it’s just full of riches.
One of the items that stood out is the dispute between God and Moses’ siblings. Both Aaron and Miriam complain against Moses and suggest that God has spoken to them also.
While this is true, what was the reason for their grumbling? That Moses had a Gentile bride. That was the cause of their jealousy! Yet what a suggestive picture this is of the Messiah. He, too, has taken a Gentile bride as the “grafted in” portion of the commonwealth of Israel that is called his people. What an amazing picture!
Yet, lest Gentile believers get too proud of themselves, one should note that in this parashah, it is the grumbling of the Gentile “mixed multitude” hanging out with the children of Israel that begin the grumbling against the L-RD’s manna-only diet.
And this is just scratching the surface of this rich, rich portion.
Tags: B'ha'alotcha