Parsha Chukat - Bemidbar/Numbers 19:1 - 22:1
Ever since we came out of Christianity to the set-apart Hebrew belief, people have been a little confused about our belief in Messiah (Mashiach). We’ve written a couple articles and made a few videos to explain who the Mashiach is, and this week, in Parsha Chukat, there is one verse that sums up the Mashiach in a nutshell:
Bemidbar/Numbers 20:16 - ‘And we cried out to יהוה, and He heard our voice and sent the Messenger and brought us up out of Mitsrayim.
The Name of the Mashiach is YahuShuah. His Name and the meaning of His Name were revealed to us by ruach hakodesh.
YahuShuah means: “I AM YAHUAH El Shaddai who saves His people (those turning back) and blesses them with wealth, security, peace, and nobility.”
Bemidbar 20:16 aligns exactly with this meaning of YahuShuah. YAHUAH hears our cry when we turn back to Him, and YAHUAH saves us. He sends His Messenger - the Mashiach - to bring us out of our distresses and into the blessings of the Most High.
In the Beginning...
We believe in the Heavenly Mashiach. He was brought forth at the beginning of Creation as the first Light on the first day (the sun, moon, and stars weren’t created until the fourth day).
Mashiach is the first of the Creation of Elohim because He is the deliverance of Elohim. YAHUAH knew He was going to create people who would be fallible, and so His first creation was the Mashiach. Within Mashiach is teshuva, repentance, the returning to Elohim.
When the people turn to YAHUAH (repent) and cry out to Elohim in distress, YAH has compassion on them, and He then sends forth His word (decree) of salvation to rescue them from their distress.
Mashiach carries out this word of salvation. He is the One who brings forth the spiritual into the natural. He transforms the spiritual word of deliverance into the physical action of deliverance.
YAHUAH speaks, Mashiach carries it out.
The Spirit of Mashiach
Many times, the salvation of the people is worked out in the earth through a set-apart one chosen by Elohim. The Almighty sends the spirit of Mashiach to be with this chosen individual to accomplish a great work of salvation and save His people from distress.
Moshe delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Mitsrayim. The Messenger whom YAHUAH sent was the Mashiach. He was with Moshe to help him carry out the great work of the Exodus, to bring the people out of the distress of slavery and to lead them to the Promised Land, the place of peace, rest, security, and blessing.
Many others in Tanakh also had the spirit of Mashiach to help them deliver the people of Elohim:
Yehoshua fought the battles to deliver Yisrael from the inhabitants of the land and give them peace.
All throughout the book of Shophetim (Judges), YAHUAH raised up “saviors” to deliver His people from oppression (Shoph/Judges 3:9,15; Neh. 9:27).
David fought Yisrael’s enemies and brought in an era of peace, during which Shelomoh reigned.
Ezra brought the captives back from exile in Babylon.
These are all examples of how the spirit of Mashiach came upon an individual to work deliverance and complete the salvation of YAH’s people.
Family of Messiah YahuShuah Assembly
Another example of such an individual is the Teacher of Righteousness. He is written about in the Dead Sea Scrolls. He lived in the 1st century BCE, before the age of Christianity. It was towards the close of the Second Temple era, and the people (including the priesthood) began to stray from the ways of YAHUAH.
The spirit of Mashiach was upon the Teacher of Righteousness to encourage the people to return to YAHUAH, the Elohim of Abraham, Yitshaq, and Ya’aqob and to lead them back into the Covenant. He worked to bring people back to the Torah of YAHUAH.
His teachings prophetically speak of the end of days, and now that those times are upon us, we follow many of his teachings. Just as he did, we too exhort people to return to YAHUAH, return to His Torah, and enter the Covenant, before it’s too late.
That is why we are Family of Messiah YahuShuah Assembly: because Messiah is with us to help deliver the people in these end times.
YAHUAH our Savior
YAHUAH alone is our Savior, Redeemer, and Deliverer. YAHUAH saves and delivers us. Mashiach carries out the will of the Father, but the salvation comes from YAHUAH!
YAHUAH gives His word, and YAHUAH sends forth the Mashiach. Therefore, we pray only to YAH and give our praise and thanksgiving only to Him.
We are at the end of the age, and the people have to return to YAHUAH to be saved from the distresses that will be on the earth. When they cry out to Him, He will send Mashiach to save them and deliver them out of all their distresses. Mashiach will guide them back to the Torah of YAHUAH. This is the salvation that the Mashaich brings.
Just as YAHUAH sent Mashiach to deliver the children of Yisrael and make the great Exodus from Egypt, so too YAHUAH will deliver His people and bring about the Second Great Exodus.
As the people come out to the truth and return to YAHUAH, all the nations will hear and know that YAHUAH is Elohim, there is none else.
“And you shall know today, and shall recall to your heart that יהוה Himself is Elohim in the heavens above and on the earth beneath; there is none else."
(Debarim/Deut. 4:39)