Bamidbar - The Military Messiah
The Torah portion of Bamidbar talks about a census of the children of Israel, which include the counting of the men who are eligible to go to war. It also talks about the heads of the tribes of Israel, and the place where Yehudah was supposed to encamp. All of these things point towards the Messiah.
It says in Numbers 1:2:
“Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head.”
The people of Israel are counted in numerous instances in the Bible. The sages explain that God did this because they are precious to Him. The sages state nine censuses that occurred in the Bible and point to a tenth census that will take place in the days of Messiah. The sages pointed to Jeremiah 33:13-15 as proof:
“‘In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Yehudah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says the LORD.”
The Midrash Rabbah relates that the person who will number them is Messiah, who will be the Good Shepherd of Israel. It says in Micah 7:15, "As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt, I will show you miracles." So, just as Moshe, the first redeemer of the children of Israel, conducted a census, so will the ultimate redeemer.
The title of “the Good Shepherd” is expanded upon in Targum Yonatan:
“‘ln the area around Jerusalem and in the cities of the house of Yehudah, the people will pass for reckoning under the hands of the Messiah,’says the LORD.”
In this Torah portion God tells Moshe and Aharon to count every man old enough to serve in the army. It also talks about the role of the tribe of Levi, where they encamp around the Tabernacle, and what the function of the Levitical families is. We learn about the layout of the camp of Israel, with three tribes encamped on each side, surrounding the camp of the Levites, with the Levites surrounding the camp of the priests, and the priests encamping around the Tabernacle. This Torah portion also talks about the marching order of the tribes of Israel.
All this reminds us that God is a God of war, and his Messiah will be a military conqueror. Christians explain that this is why the Jews in Yeshua’s time did not recognize him as the Messiah, because they were looking for a conquering Messiah, not a suffering Messiah. They expected, prayed for, and hoped for a Jewish Alexander the Great, who would overthrow the Roman government, take over the world, and rule it.
The Jewish people were not ready for a suffering-servant Messiah. Even though Jewish writings and various prophecies from the Bible point towards a suffering Messiah, the Jewish people were expecting a great military conqueror.
This just makes sense. Messiah means "king", does it not? The prophets predicted a conquering king who would defeat the nations and rule the world. Even Yeshua's own talmidim believed that they were part of a political revolution.
It goes both ways though. Christians are in danger of failing to recognize the military Messiah. They have focused only on the suffering spiritual redeemer, and forgotten the warrior king. They have become so accustomed to thinking of the Messiah as a spiritual redeemer of sins that they have totally forgotten about him being a physical redeemer of his people.
The people in Yeshua’s time who were seeking a conquering Messiah were not wrong to seek that. They were only skipping a step. The idea they had about the conquering Messiah comes from the prophets. One such passage that led them to believe in a conquering Messiah is Psalms 2:9-12:
“You shall break the nations with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware. Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
The Bible tells us that the Messiah is a military conqueror. It says in this Torah portion, that God prepared the army of Israel for the conquest of the promised land.
It says in Numbers 1:4:
“With you, moreover, there shall be a man of each tribe, each one head of his father's household.”
Midrash Tanchuma says that the word "man" in this verse relates to King Messiah, as it says in Zechariah 6:12, "Behold, a man whose name is Branch," and also in Isaiah 53:3, "A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Messiah is the head over the whole household of Israel, the man at the head of the tribes. Yeshua refers to Himself as the head of the household in Matthew 10:25.
One interpretation of this idea explains that Messiah is here on earth as a man from the tribe of Yehudah, but the spiritual anointment of Messiah must come down from heaven. This is similar to what is says in Romans 1:3-4, saying that Yeshua “‘was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh’ but ‘declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness.”
As Kol Ya’akov states in the Yalkut Moshiach:
“For behold, Messiah is now below. However, at the time of the coming of Elijah, he will arouse supernal springs and bring down for him a soul from above. The Torah says "With you ... there shall be a man." The words "with you" mean "with the coming of Elijah the Tishbite, the priest who will come proclaiming good news." Thus, a man of each tribe, for Messiah is a man from below, for now he is below, but he will come with a soul from above.” (Kol Ya'akov in Yalkut Moshiach: Bamidbar Naso Behaalosechal, 38 | 22)
This Torah portion tells us, in Numbers 2:3-4, “Now those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Yehudah.” Yehudah's encampment towards the sunrise points towards the Messiah rising from the tribe of Yehudah, as it says in the Midrash:
“The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, ‘Moses! Yehudah will camp on the eastern side, the direction from which light goes forth into the world because the kingship will go forth into the world from Yehudah.’” (Numbers Rabbah 2:10)
There are multiple sources that relate the Messiah to the sunrise. Psalms 119:5 compares the rising sun to "a bridegroom coming out of his chamber." The Bridegroom is a title of the Messiah. Malachi 4:2 says, "The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings" Isaiah 60:1 and 3 say, "The glory of the LORD has risen upon you." and, "Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising."
It says in the Talmud:
“Rabbi Chiyyah the Elder and Rabbi Shim'on bar Chalafta were walking in the plains of the Arbel [on the west side of the Sea of Galilee] in the fading darkness before dawn. Rabbi Chiyyah the Elder said to Rabbi Shim'on bar Chalafta, ‘Rabbi! This is just how the redemption of Israel will occur. At first, it will happen little by little, but as it progresses, it will grow and grow like the growing light before daylight.’ From where is this derived? From the passage [in Micah 7:8] that says, ‘Though I dwell in the darkness, the LORD is a light for me.’” (y.Berachot 1:1)
It says in Numbers 2:3-4:
“Now those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Yehudah, by their armies, and the leader of the sons of Yehudah: Nahshon the son of Amminadab, and his army, even their numbered men.”
Nahshon ben Amminadab, the head of the tribe of Yehudah, led tribes of Israel when they marched out. It says in Numbers 2:9, “They shall set out first.” And in Numbers 10:14 it says, "The standard of the camp of the sons of Yehudah, according to their armies, set out first, with Nahshon the son of Amminadab, over its army." Tradition says that this was not the first time Nahshon ben Amminadab led the people of Israel. This Nahshon was the same Nahshon who walked into the Red Sea before it had split, and had encouraged Israel to cross it. His name appears in the genealogies of Yeshua in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. He was a forefather and foreshadow of Messiah.
As the hosts of Israel marched forth in the wilderness, they carried the Tabernacle with them. So too, the hosts above will bring the eternal Tabernacle of God, and they will establish the heavenly Tabernacle on earth as the new Yerushalayim, as it says in Revelations 21:3:
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.”
In this Torah portion we learn about the census taken of the children of Israel, the military layout of the camp, which points towards the military Messiah. We learn about Nachshon ben Amminadab, a forefather and foreshadow of Messiah. We learn about the way the children of Israel marched in the wilderness carrying the Tabernacle of God, which points towards the way the angels of the Lord will march down from heaven and bring the New Yerushalayim.
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