One Generation
Then and now
B’midbar (Numbers) 32:13
And YHWH’s anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of YHWH, was consumed.
YHWH was displeased with Israel not long after bringing them out of Egypt at the time of Pesach (Passover). There is not just one reason He was displeased and angry with that generation, but ten reasons.
It is important to take note that the passing of a generation happens in the span of forty years as noted in the verse above.
B’midbar (Numbers) 14:22
“because all those men that have seen My glory, and My signs, which I wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted Me these ten times, and have not hearkened to My Voice;”
We are not interested in what those ten times consisted of in this study. However, every one of those ten times in which that generation displeased YHWH had something in common. That is, they did not shema (hear and obey) His Voice. It is because they did not shema that the generation which came forth out of Egypt was not allowed to enter into the land.
In a later generation something similar happened as well. Only this time, it was the reverse. They were already in the land, but were made to leave because of this lack of listening to and obeying His Voice.
Yeshua Mashiach came to His people, Israel, while they were in the land. Did they receive Him? No. Did they listen to His Voice? No. It is interesting to note that Israel (house of Judah) was given a whole generation in which to accept Yeshua as Mashiach. Counting from His death, this is from the crucifixion of Yeshua in 30 AD (this is when the rejection began) to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD is forty years, one generation. At the end of those forty years, because they had not listened to and obeyed His Voice, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and they were carried out of the land promised to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’aqov.
Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 1:9
That which has been is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.
At some point, YHWH shall rise up the nation of Northern Israel, the ten tribes of the northern kingdom and return them to their land. However, if history teaches us anything, it is that Israel is stiff-necked and does not listen to His Voice very well. Will the generation which is offered a return to the land accept, or will it have to pass away and their children go in? I hope we can learn from past mistakes, but I fear it is not so.
Yochanan (John) 13:35
“By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another.”
Something as simple as loving one another seems to elude so many who claim to follow Mashiach Yeshua. So many think that uniformity is equivalent to unity, when in reality, it has nothing to do with it. Take for example the human body. It has many parts. Each part is created to function in a certain way and to do a certain task. There is no uniformity amongst the parts of the human body, not all parts look the same, nor do all parts function the same. This is also true of the body of Mashiach. He places each person within His body to do His will. Just because another person does not look like you, dress like you, act like you, does not mean he is any less a part of the body. And just because one person makes a claim against another part of the body that he is not a part of the body, does not make it so, either. Only Yeshua Mashiach determines who is and who is not a part of His body.
Where is the love and acceptance between the members of His body? Can we, are we willing to accept one another with all of our faults and shortcomings? Each person has plenty of their own that he should be reluctant to pick up a stone to throw at another.
YHWH gives us grace, to be sure. However, that grace has conditions upon it. If the generation which is offered the opportunity to reenter the land fails to do so, it will fall to the next generation.
Just because a generation fails to accomplish His will does not make them any less His people. All that generation which fell in the wilderness were still His people, they were still Israel. Every step of the way, YHWH still led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night for that whole forty years. He still loved them, cared for them, and provided for their needs. However, He also did not allow them to enter His land.
Will this happen again?
What will you do to prevent it from happening?
Do you hear and obey His Voice day by day and moment by moment? That is what it is going to take to reenter His land. Anything less than hearing and obeying His Voice will keep one from reentering His land.
Shabbat Shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
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