Weekly D'rash Pinchas

Art by Nireh Or

This week’s Torah portion is Pinchas (פִינְחָס). It covers Adonai’s covenant of shalom with Pinchas and his descendants, another census before entering the promised land, appointing Joshua as Moshe’s successor, Halakha (i.e., the way to walk) regarding inheritance, and a compiled check list for appointed sacrifices.

Sometimes from our perspective, censuses (especially Biblical ones) can be a little dry. “These are the clans of the sons of Gad as they were listed, 40,500. The sons of Judah were Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan” (Num. 26:18–19). I mean, we don’t know a lot about either of these persons, and between the two of them there are only 12 times that their names are recorded. Not to mention the fact that I can’t remember the last time I made a point based on the clans of the sons of Gad. That’s not to say that this information isn’t important, but there is a slightly different takeaway that I would like to focus on.

This census is significant because it marks a complete transformation with the nation of G-d Wrestlers (i.e., Israel)—just like Jacob’s wrestling with the Angel of the L-rd displaced his hip and caused him to walk differently. This census too is the fulfillment of a completely new Israel. “[For] among these there was not one of those listed by Moshe and Aharon the cohen, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai” (Num. 26:64). This transformation directly relates to what we are called as believers in Messiah: “If anyone is in Messiah, they are in the new creation—the old has passed; look, what has come is fresh and new” (2 Cor. 5:17)!

This second census was a necessary component before entrance to the promised land. This leads me to wonder when was the last time I took a census of my life, taking account of what is part of the new creation and what is still living from my time in Egypt. What an encouraging endeavor as we can look back and see how being in the Messiah has drastically, tangibly changed us. We are truly in the fresh and new!

On the other hand, this allows us to see work that still needs to be done. For us, the census is not yet complete. We must encounter more death before we are allowed to enter into the promised land, the Olam Ha-Ba. This is a challenge, but a good challenge as we strive to be disciples of Messiah Yeshua who are looking, thinking, and acting like Him in every way.

Shabbat Shalom,

Jared Shatz