Characteristics of Manna (PDF)
BeShelach Slides (pdf)
BeShalach Notes (pdf)
Overview of Beshalach (Exodus 13:17 – 17:16)
Last week’s Portion ended with the final Plague – the Death of the Firstborn. Yehovah told Moses that the remaining firstborn of the faithful belong to Him. This week’s Portion starts Israel’s exodus out of Egypt.
The 40,000 foot high overview of this Portion could be stated this way:
Direction Exo 13:18 & 20
Extraction Exo 13:19
Revelation Exo 13:21-22 & 14:19-20
Glorification Exo 14:1-5
Preparation Exo 14:6-7, 17-18, 16:6-7 & 16
Continuation Exo 14:8-12 & 16
Salvation Exo 14:13-14 & 21-31
Communication Exo 14:15
Exultation Exo 15:1-21
Dehydration Exo 15:22-27
“Murmuration” Exo 16:1-3 & 9
Provision Exo 16:4-5, 8, 10-18 & 21-30
Commemoration Exo 16:31
Summarization Exo 17:1-7
Obliteration Exo 17:8-15
If you want a little more detail, then please keep reading!
Chapter 13 – Leaving Egypt
The shortest path from Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan was to follow the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea through the land of the Philistines. But Yehovah knew that the likely prospect of war with the Philistines would cause the people to turn back to Egypt, so He sent them instead on the much longer path through the wilderness and across the Sea of Reeds. (A point of clarification here: the Bible translates the term yam soof as “Red Sea” but the literal translation is “Reed Sea”. Because the Red Sea has many reeds along its shoreline, these names have become interchangeable and all modern translations use Red Sea.)
Moses took Joseph’s bones from his burial site in Egypt so they could be reburied in the Promised Land, according to the oath Israel had made with Joseph: “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.” Yehovah’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (and now through Joseph) was for descendants and land. Joseph had done his part to insure descendants, and now he wants to insure that the land covenant is also ultimately fulfilled.
So Yehovah led the Children of Israel as the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night as they traveled from Sukkot and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.
Chapter 14 – To The Sea of Reeds
Please review the Power Point slides to get the impact of Israel’s predicament here: as they traveled down the Wadi Watir, there were sheer mountain walls to their left and also on their right; the Reed Sea was directly in front of them; and Pharaoh’s army was rapidly approaching from the rear… the perfect time for Yehovah to go into action! Also notice the symbolism shown here. We have seen the family of Israel go into Egypt as 70 souls; and now we are seeing them come out of Egypt as a nation of 2-1/2 to 3 million people. As all of these Israelites were being squeezed through this narrow gorge by Pharaoh’s army, they then had to pass through the waters of the Reed Sea to find safety and freedom on the other side. This is a picture of childbirth! The Nation of Israel is born!! Now…back to the text.
Yehovah told Moses to lead the Children of Israel to camp at Pi Hachirot (the Mouth of the Gorges), between Migdol (the “tower” on Egypt’s border) and the Sea of Reeds. This is most probably Nuweiba Beach. Then Yehovah “hardened” (strengthened) Pharaoh’s heart one last time so that he would pursue the Children of Israel, thinking they were trapped between the Sea and the mountains. He led his entire army with the intent to capture them and bring them back into slavery into Egypt.
Let’s pause here for a moment while we consider how Satan operates in our lives; just like Pharaoh, doesn’t he attack us when we are at a point of desperation? But God….! Israel cried out to Yehovah and He heard their pleas for help. Moses told them, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. When Moses said, “(you) shall see the salvation of the LORD…” The Hebrew word translated “salvation” is Yeshua – the Name of Jesus. So Yehovah sent “the Angel of the LORD”, whom we now see here as the pre-incarnate Yeshua to separate the Children of Israel from Pharaoh’s advancing armies. And He manifested Himself as a cloud of darkness (chosech, the same darkness as the Ninth Plague) so that cloud surrounded the Egyptians in total darkness yet it gave light to the Children of Israel. Is this not the very picture of Yeshua as the Light of the World! And we have been told that Jesus can only be found in the New Testament…but wait until we get to the Tabernacle!!
So while the Angel of the LORD (Yeshua) was holding back the Egyptians, Yehovah was performing a miracle with the Israelites. He sent a strong east wind to part the Sea of Reeds. Notice again from the slides that there is a land bridge at this very location. The Sea of Reeds is on a major fault line which separates the Asian and African Techtronic Plates, and it reaches a depth of 3,000 feet. However, at this one point, there is an underwater land bridge that is “only” 300 feet deep; formed by millennia of sand and sediment flowing from the Wadi Watir. It was on this land bridge that Israel crossed over the Reed Sea. As quickly as Yehovah parted the Sea, He just as quickly closed it with a strong west wind drowning the entire Egyptian army…and Pharaoh. As Israel stood on the eastern side of the Sea, they saw the bodies of the dead Egyptians washed up on the shore (pushed there by the westerly wind), they realized the great miracle that Yehovah had performed; “thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses.”
A little “Rabbi Trail” here concerning the date of the Exodus: Ezekiel 32: 2 & 7 alludes to Pharaoh dying in a year with both solar and lunar eclipses. You can follow the details in the slides, but this would date the year of the exodus at 1492 BC….quite a bit earlier that is traditionally thought.
Chapter 15 – The Song of Moses
This is the first song recorded in the Bible; it is a song of victory and thanksgiving for the great miracles that Yehovah had performed. We will see that this is just the beginning of the miracles! Moses’ sister Miriam also sang a song as the women danced to the sounds of their tambourines. (Yes…in all the excitement and confusion of their departure from Egypt, they all remembered to bring their tambourines!) Miriam is described here as a “prophetess”, perhaps referring to the Rabbinic tradition that she prophesied to her parents that their yet unborn son Moses would lead his people to freedom.
Israel traveled from the Sea of Reeds into the Wilderness of Shur for three days without water. The people complained (who among us wouldn’t also complain in that situation!) and Yehovah led them to the Waters of Marah (“bitterness” – remember that Naomi, Ruth’s Mother-in-Law wanted to be called Marah because of her bitterness at losing her husband and her two sons). But the water was not fit to drink and the people still complained (again…who among us wouldn’t also do that!) So Yehovah instructed Moses to throw a branch of wood into the bitter water and it miraculously became drinkable…another Old Testament picture of Yeshua on the wooden Tree of Sacrifice to atone for our sins!! The chapter ends with them camping at Elim.
Chapter 16 – Manna From Heaven
The Children of Israel traveled from Elim to the Wilderness of Sin, exactly one month from the day they departed Egypt. By that time the unleavened bread and any other food they had brought with them had run out and they were very hungry. So Yehovah provided manna (literally “what is it”). He provided the manna every day for six days; and on the sixth day He provided a double portion for the seventh day. If they gathered more that needed, it would spoil. “Every man had gathered according to each one’s need.” Yehovah confirmed the seventh day as a Shabbat of rest: ““Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”
Yehovah told Moses to take a pot of this manna and save it for his generations to remember. So he placed it in the Ark of the Testimony….even though it wouldn’t be built until chapter 37. An example that Torah is not always presented to us in chronological order.
This manna is another picture of Yeshua as the Bread of Life!
Chapter 17 – Water From the Rock
As Israel traveled toward Mt Sinai they camped at Rephidim (the Resting Place). There they again thirsted for water. And once again Yehovah was merciful and answered their cries for help by having Moses strike the rock and water came forth. Another picture of Yeshua: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
The chapter and the Portion end with Amalek attacking Israel (perhaps to take the water from the rock that Yehovah was providing). Moses directed the battle: when he held his hands steady (Hebrew word emunah meaning “truth”), Israel prevailed; when he grew tired and lowered his hands, Amalek prevailed. So Aaron and Hur supported Moses’ hands so that Israel would prevail. This is a picture of Yehovah working in all of our lives: when we grow weary of the battle with the Enemy, Yehovah will support our hands with His Truth so that we may also prevail.
So Moses built an altar there and called the place Yehovah Nisi, Yehovah is My Banner; so that Israel would be reminded that, even though Amalek was defeated that day, they “will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
The Haftarah Judges 4:4 – 5:31
The Haftarah reading comes from the Book of Judges. Just like Yehovah’s Judgment of Egypt, we read here of a similar story of Israel’s victory over, and Yehovah’s judgment of her enemies, when the Judge Devorah & Barak were victorious over the Canaanite armies. Yehovah turned the battlefield to mud and the Canaanite chariots were useless; the armies were defeated, but Sisera, the commander of the armies escaped to the tent of Ya’el. She gave him shelter and warm milk to drink and, as he lay asleep, she nailed his head to the ground with a tent peg! Devorah & Barak rejoiced when they saw that Yehovah had defeated Sisera & the Canaanite armies. And just like this week’s Torah Portion, where Miriam sang her song of praise for their deliverance from Egypt, we read of Devorah’s song of praise for their victory over the Canaanite armies. We read from Judges 5:1-5 & 31:
“Then D’vorah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying: “When leaders lead in Israel, when the people willingly offer themselves, Bless the Lord! “Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel. Lord, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the field of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens poured, the clouds also poured water; the mountains gushed before the Lord, this Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel….Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord! But let those who love Him be like the sun when it comes out in full strength.”
The Brit Chadashah Luke 1:46-55
This week’s Brit Chadashah reading is the song of another Miriam…this one is the mother of Yeshua. The Angel Gabriel had told her that she would be the mother of the Messiah. As she was visiting her friend Elishevah, the child in her womb (John the Baptist) performed the first work of his ministry by leaping for joy in the Presence of Yeshua. We read from Luke 1:46-55 Miriam’s song of thanksgiving to Yehovah for selecting her to deliver the Messiah:
“And Miriam said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Avraham and to his seed forever.”