CANDLEGLOW LESSON: MASA’EI
(Numbers 33:1-36:13) Week 43
The Books of Moses remind us of Adonai’s powerful love for those who are His. His instructions are precious pearls of wisdom directly from His lips. Experiencing God like this deepens our love for Him. I have asked many times of the Lord, “Where will my immersion in Torah, and my invitation for others to enter this garden, lead?” There is no answer more relevant than the growing adoration for our Father in heaven, as we get to know Him more, Parashah by Parashah, through the ancient rotation of study from Genesis 1:1 through Deuteronomy 34:12. As we enter the final chapters of the book of Numbers, we read the bold and prophetic words of the Lord to the children of Isra’el, and the instructions of crossing over into the Promised Land to subdue it as commanded.
This is the Lesson of our Dispossessing. What are we commanded to dispossess, as we cross over from darkness into light, advancing in our journey as Children of the Light? “ADONAI told Moshe to give this order to the people of Isra’el; “When you enter the land of Kena’an, it will become your land to pass on as an inheritance, the land of Kena’an as defined by these borders.” (Numbers 34:2 CJB)
If we are to enter into our inheritance, subduing it for the Kingdom of God and future generations, what must we dispossess in order to leave a legacy of the Kingdom of Light for our families and our children and their children?
This is the Lesson of our Dispossessing. We see in the stories of Torah how easily the Nation fell back into slavery and sin. The familiar, even though slave territory, felt more like home than unfamiliar territory. We too are called to advance into our inheritance, taking the banner of Adonai with us, to plant it where He plants us. By living a life set apart for Him, we overtake territory for the Children of the Light.
This is the Lesson of our Dispossessing. There are many chains that bind us; technology, materialism, false doctrine, idol worship; turning away from His light to gaze into the darkness of a broken world, and many times, generational sin. May we learn from the Nation of Israel and from her struggles. May we run from the familiar culture of the day, throwing ourselves fully into the arms of Adonai. His ways will bring us light, life and unity. May we shine with His light, like a City on a Hill. With His Spirit alive in us, we will possess our inheritance in Him, to leave future generations as our legacy!
SHABBAT CANDLEGLOW LESSON:
What more of an inheritance, for a child of God, could be rejoiced over than our full adoption into the Family of God? This is our greatest inheritance, and it is eternal! The Sabbath rest is for us, as a gift from the Father of Creation, to encourage us to lean fully into His powerful attributes as we rest from our personal creative force in the world, for just one day, each week. This exercise of obedience on our part, leaning into Him, not our own creative force, develops the intimate relationship of a child with their Father. He is able to bless us as no other. He desires the best outcomes for our lives now, and in eternity with Him. He encourages us to try Him and test Him, and see that He is GOOD. It is in the resting and trusting during Shabbat, as we gather as a family in our homes, into the Family of God, that we find our Sabbath ‘pause’ is more of a beautiful ballet with the Lord. It can be more of a dance of delight in our faith in Him, than a restraint which does not bring beauty and harmony to our spirit.
May we understand this holy ‘pause’ with the Lord is like a beautiful ‘refrain’ in a piece of music, or a sweet swaying ‘embrace’, in a dance with Him. Let the Lord hold you this Shabbat, and sway with you, rocking you into His peace as He builds your faith by the beauty of His embrace!
Shabbat Shalom Dear Treasured People,
Sydney