Nasso Slides (pfd)
Nasso Notes (pdf)
Overview of Nasso (“Accounting”) Numbers 4:21 – 7:89
Last week’s Portion gave us most of the logistics required to move the Tabernacle (along with 2.5 to 3 million people) through the desert. We continue this week with more of these details; we ended last week with the assigned duties of the Levite family of Kohath – they had the choicest assignment of carrying all of the furnishings and utensils used in the Tabernacle.
Chapter 4 Aaron’s Duties and Census
Once the Kohathites had removed and packed the furnishings from the Tabernacle, it was then the Gershonites turn to remove all of the fabric coverings from the Tabernacle structure, the curtains within it, and the curtain surrounding the Outer Court. These would be neatly packed for transport.
Once the curtains and fabrics had been removed, then Merari would pack up the remaining Tabernacle items: all of the structural support items and the Outer Fence structure.
When Israel arrived at their next encampment, then the assembly of the Tabernacle took place in the reverse order: first Merari would set up all of the structural posts and supports; then Gershon would attach all of the fabric coverings and curtains: and finally Kohath would place all of the furnishings and utensils inside the Tabernacle. The arrangement of the Tribes around the Tabernacle was very orderly; the sequence of the Tribal march was also very orderly; and so the dis-assembly and re-assembly of the Tabernacle was just as orderly. Yehovah is the God of Order!
We saw last week that the total number of all the Levite men was 22,000; we see this week that the number of the descendants of Aaron was 8,580. This census included only men who were age 30 to 50. Thirty was the age that a man completed his 5-year apprenticeship and could then enter the Priesthood (Yeshua was age 30 when He entered His public ministry); and fifty was the “retirement” age for the Priests, performing all those sacrifices took its toll on the Priests!
Chapter 5
Rules of Cleanliness
We saw the rules for Clean & Unclean back in Leviticus 12-15; here we see some practical applications for these rules. Those who had “leprosy” (or any type of communicable skin disease) were to be excluded from the entire camp; those who had any type of bodily discharge were to be excluded from the Camp of the Levites; and those who had come into contact with a dead body were to be excluded from the Tabernacle. Any person who had committed a sin against another person had to first confess that sin, then make restitution plus 20% as a “penalty.”
The Ordeal of Jealousy
If a man suspected his wife of adultery but had no witnesses, then he must confront her. If she denied the charge, then the husband must bring her to the Priest for him to administer this Ordeal of Jealousy:
He offered a Grain Offering for her.
He let down her hair – the sign of an unmarried woman (or worse, a harlot).
He mixed the dust of the ground with clean water to make bitter water.
He wrote her charges onto “The Book” and then literally scraped those words into the bitter water.
Finally, he made the woman drink the bitter water; if she was guilty of the charge of adultery, then her belly would swell and her thigh would rot…whatever that means.
Even though this procedure sounds so bizarre to our Western culture, it is referenced several places in both the Tanach (Old Covenant) and the New Covenant.
Moses, at the Golden Calf incident (Exodus 32:20), burned the golden image, he ground it into a powder, spread the powder upon the water, and made the people drink it. That procedure came directly from this Ordeal of Jealousy of an adulterous bride…which is exactly what Israel had become when they worshipped the Golden Calf. Then Moses sent the Levites throughout the camp to eliminate the ring-leaders…and how did they identify them??? Their bellies were swollen and their thighs were rotten…just as prescribed in this Ordeal of Jealousy.
We see a hint that Joseph wanted to avoid this procedure when he decided to not make a public example of Mary, and to “put her away secretly.” (Matthew 1:19)
We also see this procedure applied to the Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8:3-11). We will look at this in detail in our Brit Chadashah reading.
We see this procedure referenced in the Book of Revelation:
The Woman (Wife) on the Beast (Rev 17:3-6 & 18)
Judgments (like hair) are let loose (Rev 8:1-6)
The Grain Offering of Jealousy is offered (Rev 8:7)
Curses going into the water (Rev 8:10)
Water becoming bitter (Rev 14:8)
Belly swells & thigh rots (Rev 9:10)
And finally we see that Yeshua also followed this procedure as He laid down His life on that Tree of Sacrifice:
His hair was let loose (Isaiah 50:6)
He drank bitter water (John 19:30)
His death removed the written curses of adultery (Colossians 2:14 & Galatians 3:19).
Chapter 6 The Law of the Nazarite
The Tanach (and most to the Bible) is focused on the Aaronic Priesthood which is supported by the remaining Levites. Only the descendants of Levi, specifically Aaron, qualify for this Priesthood. Here in this Portion we are given the procedure whereby any person (male and female, regardless of Tribal affiliation) may dedicate himself to Yehovah’s service.
The Nazarite Vow is voluntary – it can be made by yourself or by someone on your behalf; both men and women can make the vow regardless of Tribal affiliation; and it can be terminated at any time.
The signs that a person has taken the Nazarite Vow are that they will:
Drink no wine or other strong drink
Eat nothing from the grape vine
Not shave their hair
Not touch anything dead
This is purely voluntary but, if you make the vow, Yehovah expects you to keep it until you end it. The procedure to end the Vow is done at the door of the Tabernacle (or Temple) by presenting Burnt, Sin & Peace Offerings and shaving your hair to be offered with the Peace Offering.
We are told in Scripture that both Samuel (I Samuel 1:19-22) and Samson (Judges 13:5-6) were Nazarites. There is the hint that John the Baptist was a Nazarite (Luke 1:15) and also the Apostle Paul (Acts 18:18). There is also the hint that Yeshua took the Nazarite Vow at His Last Seder when He said, “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29). He is referring here to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (His Bride).
The chapter ends with the Bracha ha-Cohenim, the Priestly Blessing:
“May the Lord bless you and keep you;
May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
This blessing stands out from all the other blessings that Yehovah gave to Israel; all of these other blessings were corporate blessings for the Nation of Israel as an entity. This blessing alone is Yehovah placing His Blessing upon every individual person; it is an incredibly intimate exchange that Yehovah has with each and every one of us. And He doesn’t just give us His Peace: He is in such an intimate relationship with us that He places His Peace upon each one of us.
Chapter 7 Dedicated Offerings
This chapter documents all of the offerings that Israel dedicated to Yehovah as the Tabernacle was dedicated. Immediately after Moses had finished setting up the Tabernacle (on the first day of the first month in the second year) the 12 Tribes presented their offerings as described in this chapter: offerings of gold and silver as well as Peace and Burnt Offerings. This series of offerings took place over a 12-day period…which would end just prior to Passover on the 14th day of the first month.
This 89-verse chapter details all of these offerings…and Yehovah acknowledges our dedicated offerings today in the same way.
The Haftarah Reading (Judges 13:2-25)
This is the story of Samson, a Nazarite from birth because his mother took the Nazarite vow before his birth. We know from the Torah Portion that a Nazarite is not to drink wine nor eat grapes, nor cut his hair, nor touch anything dead. Samson is the most famous (although perhaps the worst) example of a Nazarite. The Haftarah reading is God’s instructions to Samson’s mother for her to take the Nazarite vow for herself and for her unborn son. We read from Judges 13:2-25
“Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance[a] was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ” Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.” And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!” So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.” Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?” So the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.” Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.” And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.) Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?” And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?” So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!” But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.” So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.”
The Brit Chadashah reading is an example of this procedure applied to the Woman Caught in Adultery. We read from John 8:3-11:
“Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Yeshua stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Yeshua was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Yeshua had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers]of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Yeshua said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
Alfred Edersheim, in his book, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, described an area in the Temple’s Court of the Women where one of the marble floor tiles was left loose so it could be taken up to access the dirt beneath it for the purpose of administering this Ordeal of Jealousy. In John’s account of this event, the Pharisees and the Priest had already pulled up the loose tile and they had gotten the dirt to mix with water. While the Priest was writing the woman’s sins that would then be scraped off into the water, Yeshua was also writing in the dust…the sins of all those who brought her to the Temple for punishment. And we know the end of that story!