Fickle Like Fish
Beha’alotcha, In your going up, In
your lighting up
B’midbar (Numbers) 8:1 – 12:16
ZekharYah (Zechariah) 2:10 – 4:7
I Corinthians 10:6-13
by David Klug
People are fickle like fish. We’ll all be going the right direction, than the next thing you know we’re heading the opposite way. In the wilderness, the hearts of the children of Israel were bent on turning about-face.
Moving Forward Backwards
The trumpets blew and the camps of Israel pulled stakes. Every time the cloud moved, the whole camp followed. It’s the one thing that the children of Israel always got right, heading the right direction, following the glory cloud. Israel had left the wilderness of Sinai and had moved forward following the cloud as one people into the wilderness of Paran (Numbers 10:12). Sinai means ‘thorny,’ but Paran
means ‘ornamental.’ YHWH was leading them out of a thorny, ugly condition of the flesh into a beautiful, ornamental condition of walking in the Spirit and bearing fruit. Yet the next thing we know the people were ‘evil as those complaining in the ears of
YHWH.’ (Num 11:1, LITV) On their journey to Paran, their hearts had turned an aboutface to Egypt. The mixed multitude had turned Israel back and so they wept, lusting after the fish and food of Egypt. ‘We remember the fish!’ (Num 11:5a)
The Two Fixed Fish
A symbol of a fish is fixed in between the two accounts of Israel moving forward as a people and then turning back in their hearts to Egypt. At the end of Numbers Chapter 10, Moses scribed in an inverted symbol of a fish twice. It’s one of the jots and tittles of
Moses that the Master Yeshua said would not fail from the Torah (Mat 5:18, Luke 16:17). What are these two stigmatized letters? The inverted letter nun.
What does the letter nun represent? A fish quickened with life darting through the water. Teeming with life, fish school and multiply innumerably. So the letter nun also pictures multiplication, abundance and posterity for future generations.
Inverted, Why Backwards?
Why did the Author of the Torah have the nun inverted, written backwards, twice in Numbers 10:35-36? Inverting the nun indicates a change in direction of the fish towards something unusual, set-apart and not of this world, but of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The two nuns bracket the verses on the glory cloud arising, moving out to scatter and drive out the enemies of Israel and then, coming back to rest, returning to the camp. The two nuns follow the phrase ‘three days’ written twice in verse 33: And they pulled up stakes from the mount of YHWH a journey of three days. And the ark of the covenant of YHWH pulled out before them, a journey of three days, to seek out a resting place for them.
What does this double reference of three days hint at? Of course, the resurrection of the Messiah after three days in the grave! The inverted nuns not only indicate a change of direction for Israel, but of the darting fish, full of life and energy. The inverted fish symbolize not natural life, but inverted, they symbolize supernatural, resurrection life! When Israel is born-again and resurrected spiritually, then YHWH Elohim arises and fights our battles for us. Rising up in the Spirit of YHWH, He scatters our enemies, and those who hate us flee from our faces. With that in mind, let’s read Numbers 10:35-36.
And it happened when the ark pulled out, Moses said, “Rise, O YHWH, and Your enemies shall be scattered, and those hating You shall flee from Your presence.” And when it rested, he said, “Return, O YHWH, to the myriads of the thousands of
Israel.”
The Word to Arise
The Hebrew word for YHWH to ‘Arise’ is ‘Qoom’. Qoom is the same word Yeshua used when raising a little girl from the dead. In the Gospel of Mark we read the actual words that He spoke: Taking the child by the hand, He *said to her, “Talitha qoom!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, Rise up!”). (Mark 5:41)
Why did Mark record the Hebrew word qoom? The Gospels rarely record the actual Hebrew or Aramaic words that Yeshua spoke. I believe the Gospel writer was referring back to the famous phrase ‘Qoomah YHWH’ in Numbers 10:35. ‘Arise YHWH!’ describes the Messiah Who is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)! Yeshua is the inverted nun; the risen LORD is ‘Qoomah YHWH!’
Qoom is spelled qoof, vav, mem. From right to left, this word pictures the rising of a head by the neck, connection to the Man nailed, and reproduction of His new life from the waters of birth. In the context of the glory cloud and the Ark of the Covenant, Qoom pictures the glory cloud rising from the Ark, connecting believers in the Messiah’s work upon the cross, and reproducing His resurrection life to the people in the camp of Israel.
Multiplying Like Fish
Jacob had blessed the sons of Joseph with their posterity multiplying like fish. “And maythey grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” (Gen 48:16) Here, the Hebrew root word for ‘grow’ is ‘dagah,’ which with the letter nun on the end making dagon, is the
Hebrew word for fish. So Jacob’s blessing was for their offspring to multiply like fish. Although the seed of Abraham, the seed of Messiah, has multiplied like fish throughout the sea of peoples in the world today, for a time we are concealed under the surface. Be encouraged that there are a lot of us out there, regardless of the world not wanting anyone seeing us. Despite censorship and suppression, the Father has His people scattered throughout the world and we are multiplying!
Inverted Nuns Like Pillars
The sages have said for millennia that the verses of Numbers 10:35-36 are one of the seven pillars of wisdom in the Torah. They see the Book of Numbers as three pillars as a result of these two verses being the middle pillar. The inverted nuns bracket out the fifth
pillar of wisdom and look like symbols of pillars in the modern Hebrew. The sages’ claim is that there is as much wisdom in those two verses as in the Book of Genesis, or other books in the Torah. Where did they get the seven pillars concept?
Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars. (Prov 9:1)
Wisdom has to do with the productive application of understanding and knowledge. In other words, it’s one thing to know facts; but it’s another to put what’s known to work producing something beneficial in the sight of the Father.
How do we apply the wisdom that’s in ‘Arise YHWH’ and ‘Return YHWH’ to our lives? Applying wisdom starts with the Gospel and putting on the Messiah – Who is Wisdom. And since Jews ask for a sign, and Greeks seek wisdom, we, on the other hand, preach Christ crucified (truly an offense to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks), but to the called out ones, both to Jews and to Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God; because the foolish thing of God is wiser than men, and the
weak thing of God is stronger than men. (1 Cor 1:22-25, LITV)
The Messiah crucified is the wisdom of God, but foolishness to the intellectuals. Messiah crucified is the only way to resurrection and new life in the Spirit. It is foolish to try to solve our problems and overcome our enemies in life in any other way than by the Spirit of God. Real wisdom is to put on the Messiah before taking on any pursuit in life. But clothe yourself with the Master Yeshua Messiah, and do not make forethought of the flesh, for its lusts. (Rom 13:14)
That’s how we can keep from doing the about-face back to Egypt after moving forward with YHWH. Don’t give any thought to satisfying the lust of the flesh. With the mind of Messiah (1 Cor 2:16) and by the Ruach HaQodesh, the Holy Spirit, unclean and evil
thoughts are scattered far from our minds. In Messiah, we can win the war of the mind!
Peter's About Face, Fickle Like a Fish
Peter, the fisherman, was as fickle as they come. He swore he would never deny His Master one moment – the next he denies he ever even knew Him before a little girl warming herself by the fire. After witnessing the empty tomb after the resurrection of the Messiah, Peter has nothing better to do than tell his buddies, “I’m going fishing!” (John 21:3) and takes them with him. Yep, fickle like a fish!
Before the crucifixion, one moment Peter’s saying to Yeshua, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Yeshua commends him by saying, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my Father in Heaven.” (Mark 16:16-17) Peter was definitely in the Spirit at that moment!
Notice Yeshua called him ‘the son of Jonah.’ The three days in the belly of a great fish was the one sign, the sign of Jonah, that Yeshua offered the Jews to know Him by. The sign of Jonah is the sign of resurrection, the sign of the Divine Messiah.
Next thing you know, Yeshua is rebuking Peter for rebuking Him for saying He’s having to go to be killed, and to be raised on the third day. But turning He said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you do not think of the things of
YHWH, but the things of men.” (Mat 16:23)
Like the children of Israel, Peter was fickle – in the Spirit receiving revelation about the Messiah one moment, then doing an about-face and opposing Yeshua’s death and resurrection announcement in the next. In this dialogue between Yeshua and Peter, the references to fish, the third day and the resurrection is a common thread with the fifth pillar of wisdom – Numbers 10:35-36.
But any one of us can do that – be in the Spirit one moment, then in the flesh serving ha’satan the next. I’ve caught myself doing it many times! We all need to guard our hearts and minds to not ‘make forethought for the flesh, for its lusts.’ (Rom 13:14) Is
our disposition towards the world, or the Kingdom of Heaven? Seek first the Kingdom. Apparently, Peter later learned his lesson. Although he’d been sifted back and forth like wheat (Luke 22:31-32), Peter later affirmed and established his brethren (1 Pet 5:8-11).
Fixed on Yeshua
The wise understand how fickle the human heart is. The wise walk in the resurrection power of the Spirit and make no provision for the flesh. The wise are not fickle, but fix their eyes on Yeshua. Their faces are set like flint to the cross before them. Before the wise of this word, the truly wise know nothing but Messiah and Him crucified.
I gave My back to those who strike, and My cheeks to those pulling out My beard; I did not hide My face from humiliation and spitting. For YHWH Elohim will help Me. Therefore I have not been disgraced. Therefore I set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed. (Isaiah 50:6-7)
Resurrection LIfe: Spirit, Soul and Body
Now the resurrection life doesn’t just make alive the spirit and soul of a believer, even the mortal flesh can be made alive by the Spirit. Here’s one of my favorite Scriptures:
And if the Ruach of the One who raised Yeshua from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Messiah Yeshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Ruach who dwells in you. (Rom 8:11, TLV)
I love it! Ever since I was born again by the Spirit in 1985, my spirit and soul and body have been made alive by the same Spirit that rose the Messiah from the dead. What a difference He’s made in my life! By His Spirit, even my mortal flesh of 60 years old is made alive to dance before Him every Shabbat. I love my new life in the Spirit!
Therefore we were buried together with Him through immersion into death – in order that just as Messiah was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have become joined together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also will be joined together in His resurrection. (Romans 6:4-5)
Qoomah YHWH! Arise O YHWH! Raise us up in the Spirit of Messiah! Shuvah YHWH! Return O YHWH! Bring us rest for our souls.
Hoping to worship the risen LORD with you this Shabbat!