Mattot - Masei
Torah Mattot, ‘Tribes’, Waters contained in green branches.
Massei, ‘Journeys’ To pull stakes, lift up the camp and embark on a journey.
B’midbar (Numbers) 30:1 – 32:42; 33:1 – 36:13
Yermiyahu (Jeremiah) 1:1 – 2:3; 2:4-28; 3:4; 4:1-2
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:33-37; Ya’aqov (James) 4:1-12; Philippians 3:7-21
In ancient times, a man was known by the staff in his hand. His tribal affiliation and occupation were identified by the staff he carried. Almost no one carries a signature staff in hand today, so how can I carry an identifier with a tribe of Israel?
Tribes and Staffs
Mattot – Tribes means rods, scepters, or staffs, but not in the sense of wooden sticks dried up and lifeless. In the paleo Hebrew for the root word matteh, the first letter, mem, pictures reproductive waters. The letter tet represents a container or a vessel, like a green branch full of sap. Together the mem and the tet picture a living, water-filled branch that can reproduce much fruit.
We know that to be true of our position in Messiah, grafted into the Vine, the Life of Yeshua the Anointed One, Who flows through our spirits. Our Mashiyach is the One Who is Life. He alone gives Life and the fruit of the Ruach (Spirit) in and through His people.
Yeshua is Aaron’s rod that budded and bore almonds. Only in Him do we have eternal life.
The commandment of YHWH to the heads of the mattot, the tribes, was to contain the Life of the Messiah in the tribe and the homes of the heads of households so that each tribe, family, and the individual could bear much fruit.
Words That Contain or Lose Life
With that in mind, consider how words vowed by a man, a wife, or daughter were to be contained and gained; and not loosened and lost. Vows not kept means life lost and fruit lacking in a relationship. Vows spoken in words must be kept alive by performing what was promised.
Broken vows produce a violation of trust and death to relationships. Any sin separates the soul from the Spirit of Life, drying up the branch.
The head of the household is supposed to establish and perform, or on the other hand, nullify and annul vows made in his house. Out of love for his family, he manages what is spoken in his home in keeping with the Word and Spirit of YHWH. Then the Ruach will be contained in His whole family’s life, and the fruit of the Spirit will abound in his household.
He Who Bears the Guilt of Broken Vows
Her husband may ratify or veto any vow or sworn oath to deny herself. But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, he is confirming all her vows and oaths on her. He assures them by saying nothing to her on the day of his hearing about it. But he will bear her guilt if he nullifies them after hearing about it. (B’midbar (Numbers) 30:13-14)
So, if a husband remains silent when he hears his wife’s or daughter’s vows and does not keep the vow, he bears her iniquity, even if he nullifies it after that day. The husband then takes the consequence of the death of her vow.
What about the house of Israel? What did the Bride of Messiah vow to her Bridegroom at Mount Sinai?
And Moshe came and told all the words of YHWH to the people and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “We will do all the Words which YHWH has spoken.” (Shemot (Exodus) 24:3b)
Did YHWH disannul the vow that He knew His Bride would break that day? Based upon what’s written, He said nothing to annul her vows.
We also know that He would renew His covenant with His Bride by the precious blood of the Lamb, by the work of our Messiah in His first coming.
Good News for the Bride
Have you ever wondered why Yeshua did not speak but remained silent before His accusers when on trial before being crucified?
For our Messiah to fulfill the mitzvah (commandment) on vows, our Husband had to be silent to bear her iniquity. He could have disannulled the vows and the will of the people to “crucify Him, crucify Him!” But to fulfill Torah and take on the iniquity of our breaking vows, He remained silent like a sheep led to the slaughter.
In this way, the Messiah, our Elohim, fulfilled the prophecy of David:
To You silence is praise, O Elohim, in Zion; and to You is a vow paid. To You who hears prayer, all flesh comes. Things of iniquity, our transgressions, are mightier than I; You atone for them. (Tehillim (Psalm) 65:1-3)
In His silence, like a lamb to the slaughter, Yeshua in this way bore our sins, paid for our broken vows, and atoned for them.
Our Messiah cannot and will never break a vow, but Israel does every time we sin. Thanks be to the Messiah; He has atoned for us all! Thank Yah for the Gospel!
Yeshua was resurrected three days after His crucifixion to proclaim the Good News to His bride. He commissioned His disciples to proclaim the Gospel that He had nullified the sins of Israel, including that of breaking their vow to do all the words of the covenant.
How could the Messiah qualify to restore the marital vows and the marriage covenant? He was innocent and not worthy of any consequences. He has and will forever keep His side of the covenant that He has spoken long ago to Abraham and His seed. His vows are still good, and He still keeps them today. He has proven Himself faithful to keep His every vow and every word He has promised to His people.
This Good News declares that Yeshua bore the iniquity of His Bride who had broken her vows, making atonement, covering her, and renewing His covenant with Israel. We can surely count on Him to keep His promises!
To stay free from binding ourselves to oaths we end up breaking, Yeshua taught us how to guard our liberty by not swearing but to just let our ‘yes be yes and our ‘no be no.’ (Mat 5:37) In Messiah, we have freedom from making vows that we would end up breaking. So, let’s guard the liberty we have in Messiah.
The Battle for the Soul
Whether we like it or not, the first line of warfare in each one of us is the flesh vs. the spirit.
Beloved, I exhort you as pilgrims and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul; having your behavior good among the nations, in that which they speak against you as evildoers; by observing your good works, they may glorify Elohim in a day of visitation (trial). (Kefa Alef (1 Peter) 2:11-12)
The only way to win over the sinful lusts of the flesh is death in Messiah’s sacrifice, who resurrects the spirit within us. Only through the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah can we offer ourselves as living sacrifices. In Messiah, the fire of the Ruach consumes the flesh and empowers the spirit.
Because the sons of Reuben and Gad chose the flesh over the will of YHWH among the nations, they were about to lose this war before they ever entered the land. Notice that these mattot (tribes) placed a double emphasis, their priority on their livestock, a type of their flesh.
…the land which YHWH has struck before the congregation of Yisra’el is a land for livestock, and your servants own livestock. And they said, “If we have found favor in your eyes, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not make us cross over the Jordan…” (B’midbar 32:4-5)
What? Did they care more about their livestock’s flesh than being Hebrews, which means to cross over? Yarden, Jordan, means ‘Descender,’ picturing humility.
The firstborn of Leah and the firstborn of Zilpah had enough of being humiliated, losing their firstborn status, and did not want to descend into the Yarden with the rest of the mattot Yisra’el. They first wanted their rightful inheritance to preserve their carnal lives in the flesh. Yeshua midrashes this point:
“Whoever seeks to save his life, he will lose it. And whoever will lose it, he will preserve it.” (Luke 17:33)
That’s what happened to the two and a half tribes that settled first – they were the first to lose their inheritance in the land, the first to be taken away into exile:
So, the Elohim of Yisra’el stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, that is, Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity… (1 Chronicle 5:26)
Manasseh was the firstborn of Yoseph, but one-half of that tribe held resentment for losing their firstborn inheritance. It is possible that these descendants of Manasseh wanted their inheritance back. It makes sense that there had been a split in the tribe over their firstborn status.
No wonder Moshe was upset with Reuben and Gad’s request not to cross over the Yarden, the Descender. He knew how important it is to cross over in humility to the Promised Land as Hebrews together, as a people are united.
Yeshua midrashed this point, “And if a house is divided against itself, that house is not able to stand.” (Mark 3:25)
Pride divides, humility unites.
Branches Reunited to the Vine
With the brethren re-uniting comes the anointing and the commanded blessing of Life in the Spirit as the psalmist sang – Psalm 133 [A Song of Ascents of David.]
Hine ma tov (Behold! How good) and how pleasant it is, for brethren living together, even in unity. It is like the precious oil on the head that ran down on the beard, Aharon‘s beard, going down to the mouth of his garments; like the dew of Hermon coming down on the mountains of TZiyon; for there YHWH commanded the blessing: life forevermore.
Abba’s will is that all twelve tribes of Yisra’el be re-united, inseparable mattot, green branches grafted into the olive tree together that produce the anointing oil of Yeshua HaMashiyach.
His doctrine distills like dew in the morning, eight times more absorbable than river water. May we be vessels that fully absorb and contain His Living HeadWaters, Mayim Chayim, and may we be branches that bear much fruit of the Ruach.
The 12,000 and the 144,000
YHWH commanded Moses to muster up 12,000 warriors, 1,000 from each one of the twelve tribes, to avenge themselves of the Midianites (meaning ‘strife’) over the matter of Baal-Peor. Not only did this troop win the battle and bring back the spoils of war, but something supernatural occurred.
And they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a census of men of war who are in our charge, and no man of us is missing.” (Num 31:49)
To have not one soldier lost in battle was unheard of in the ancient world. Historians find no accounts of similar battles where not one was missing returning from a battle like this.
Yeshua partially fulfilled this prophetic picture of the 12,000 when He was facing the strife and contention of those who were about to seize Him to crucify Him:
Yeshua answered, “I told you that I am He; so, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.“ (John 18:8-9; 17:12)
Here is another assuring word from our Master: Joh 10:27 My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. And no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” (John 10:27-30)
Note the confirmation that the Messiah spoke to His disciples not once but twice: “no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” That’s a promise I stand on, especially in these troubling times!
The 12,000 warriors of Numbers 31 are a prophetic picture of a greater army to come – the 144,000 of Revelations Chapters 7 and 14. YHWH will have selected and sealed 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes to make up this mighty host.
And I heard the number of those having been sealed: one hundred forty-four thousand, having been sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel. (Rev 7:4)
The Greek word for ‘to seal’ is sphragizo, meaning ‘to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation. Every 144,000 will be sealed secure, preserved from the end-time wars and judgments poured out upon the world. Therefore, the 12,000 who came back from defeating Midian without one man missing foreshadows the 144,000 who will be found standing with the Lamb at the end, not one missing. Watch this:
Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him, one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. (Rev 14:1)
Why are there 12 times more of the 144,400 in Revelations than the 12,000 in Numbers? It may have to do with the emphasis on the twelve tribes being restored in the end days. The number twelve also has to do with governing authority as a nation. The Kingdom of Yah will prevail in part by the agency of the 144,000 in the end times.
One of the mysteries of the 144,000 is what they do. What is their purpose, and what will they accomplish in these end times?
All we are told is that they ‘sang a new song before the throne (Rev 14:3). Now, if the 12,000 who defeated Midian foreshadow the 144,000, then what does singing the ‘new song’ have to do with defeating Midian, whose name means ‘strife?’
The enemy is stirring up the strife in the world in every arena of life. The Government and the media are constantly fomenting the racial divide between blacks and whites. ‘Pro-choice’ is pitted against ‘pro-life.’ The vaccinated strive with the unvaccinated to be jabbed. Rumors of war with Iran, Russia, and China, to name a few, fly around the media today. Families and marriages are wrought with strife. I could go on and on. Where is there any genuine peace in this world?
Song of the 144,000
One wonderful way that we believers find true peace is through music. It’s amazing how spiritual music continues to sing in my soul, sometimes day and night, uplifting and maintaining my spirit.
On the other hand, the enemy uses music for those who want strife and contention with the social justice issues of our day, trying to stir up the media pots
We need priests after the order of Melchizedek to slay modern-day Zimri’s and Cosbi’s. Zimri means ‘my music;’ Cosbi means ‘my lie.’
How can today’s Phineas anointing slay the strife and immorality of our culture today? Through singing a ‘new song.’
All we are told the 144,000 do is sing a new song before the throne. ´ I believe we have yet to hear the most anointed and powerful music ever sung on this earth. The 144,000 singers have two characteristics, two qualifications to slay Zimri, ‘my music’ and Cosbi ‘my lie’ and their immorality.
We are told that the 144,000 were not defiled with women, and in their mouths was found no falsehood. (Rev 14:4-5) These are the ones whose song will slay Zimri and Cosbi fornicating today, stopping the strife of Midianites and destroying the authority that brings chaos (meaning of shalom in paleo Hebrew).
The first tribe listed for the 144,000 is the tribe of Judah, whose name means ‘praise YHWH!’ The 12,000 of Judah will lead the other tribes with songs of praise unto the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The Father has anointed many musicians to give us a foretaste of the song of the 144,000. I love the songs of Heart cry of David, who have a heart for the songs of the throne and of the Lamb. I believe songs like ‘Endless Song’ and ‘Majesty’ are in the vein of what the 144,000 will sing.
I find victory over strife and contention; I find shalom joining into the endless song of praises unto the Lamb of Elohim, Who is worthy and sits amid the throne. (Rev 5:6)
The Twelve Tribes of Israel Restored
The 144,000 are tribal members of the twelve tribes of Israel. They are sealed with the Holy Spirit and contain the life and power of the Spirit of Life within and through them. They will perfectly fulfill the meaning of the Hebrew word Mattot – tribes.
Interestingly, the second tribe listed after Judah is Reuben among the 144,000. Although Reuben was one of the first tribes to go into exile for taking his inheritance first, Reuben is redeemed and will be restored.
The same thing with Manasseh’s redemption; we see that tribe among the 144,000 – but not Ephraim – hmmm! However, he is in the loins of Joseph, who is represented as one of the twelve tribes.
Praise Yah for the restoration of the whole house of Israel! The twelve tribes are being restored! They’re coming back! And 144,000 of them will be sealed and preserved until the coming of the King. May we join in their endless song until the end.
May we keep and cherish our ancestors’ vows to do all He says and not leak out the covenant Word of Life from our lives. May we trust that our Messiah has born our iniquity and will assuredly keep His vows to His people with all His heart and with all His soul.
For in the Messiah, we together as His Body have the commanded blessing of everlasting Life! May we sing the endless song of the redeemed into eternity, for He is forever worthy of our highest praise! May we all find an end to strife in this world and perfect shalom forever and ever…
B’rakhot BaShem Yeshua HaMashiyach,
Blessings in the Name of Yeshua the Messiah,
David Klug