Num. 15:30-31
But the soul who does anything defiantly, whether he is a native to the land or a foreign resident, that soul shall be cut off from among her people.
Because he has despised the word of YHWH and has broken his commandments, that soul shall be completely cut off, his guilt will be on him.”
First mentioned in Exodus 29, and further described in Leviticus chapter four, the sin offering was used to atone for sin. As previously discussed, three different animals were used for this type of offering: bulls, goats, and sheep.
While young bulls and goats were used for rulers and the high priest, female goats or ewes were used for ordinary people. Lev. 4:27
And if one soul of the people of the land sins unintentionally from the commandments which YHWH has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty, and if his sin which he has sinned is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has sinned.
This is repeated in Numbers 15:27-28
And if one soul sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a one-year-old female goat for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement before YHWH for the soul who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him that he may be forgiven.
The next verse clarifies that this applied to both the native Israelites and alien residents. Num. 15:29
You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is a home-born among the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourns among them.
This brings us to Numbers 15:30, 31
But the soul who does anything defiantly… his guilt will be on him.
A contrast is made between a person who sins unintentionally and one who sins defiantly. In the former case, the animal can be brought to the Altar, and atonement can be made. In the latter, the sin offering cannot be slaughtered and the person remains guilty.
An example of defiant sin is then given in the next verse. Num. 15:32, 35
When the children of Israel were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath.
“…this man shall surely be put to death”
The people were first given instructions concerning the Sabbath at the wilderness of Sin (Exo. 16). They were reminded of it on three separate occasions at Sinai: at the foot of the Mountain by YHWH Himself (Exo. 20:8-11), by Moses when he was taking contributions for the Tabernacle and its furnishings (Exo. 35:1-3), and when Moses gave them instructions for being set-apart after the death of Aaron’s two eldest sons (Lev. 19:3).
Additionally, Moses likely communicated it to them again along with the instructions concerning all the Appointed Times (Lev. 23:3).
The point is, before the event recorded in Numbers 15:32-36, the people had been repeatedly (at least four times) told not to work on the Sabbath. The man gathering wood knew what he was doing was defiance toward YHWH and did it anyway.
While capital punishment for defiance may seem harsh, the apostle Shaul taught this to the set-apart ones of the Diaspora. Heb. 10:26, 28, 29
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a slaughtering for sins..
He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy…
How much more severe punishment do you think he will deserve who…has insulted the Spirit of Grace?”
Disregarding YHWH’s clear instructions concerning the Sabbath was just one example of how a person could be severed from the people of Israel.
Other examples included:
-Offering one’s child to the false deity Molech. Lev. 20:3
-Concealing or overlooking a person who participated in this practice. Lev. 20:4-5
-Pursuing sorcery or witchcraft. Lev. 20:6
-Failing to humble oneself with hunger on Yom Kippur. Lev. 23:29
-Performing any of the sexually immoral acts listed in Leviticus 18:6-29
-Eating animal fat or consuming their blood. Lev. 7:25, 27; 17:14
-Not purifying oneself after touching the deceased. Num. 19:13, 20
-Profaning YHWH’s peace offering. Lev. 7:20, 21; 19:5-8
-Failing to bring animal offerings to the Tabernacle. Lev. 17:3-4, 8-9
-Making anything resembling the anointing oil or incense intended for the Mikdash and its
Vessels for common uses. Exo. 30:33, 38
-Not bringing the Passover offering to the Mikdash without a proper excuse. Num. 9:13
-Eating leaven during the seven days of Unleavened Bread. Exo. 12:15, 19
Perhaps the most puzzling instance when a person was told to be removed from Israel was when their parents failed to circumcise them on the eighth day of their birth.
Gen. 17:14
It was not as though the infant intentionally broke the Covenant. Their parents would be the unfaithful ones in this scenario. The child would have had no control over this breach. Yet they would be the ones cut off from the people of Israel.
This goes to show how being considered Israel and part of YHWH’s people had little to do with one’s upbringing. Even if one was circumcised on the eighth day, they could later be removed from Israel if they were unfaithful in one of the thirteen ways mentioned above—namely, if they defiantly disobeyed YHWH.
A person’s identity instead rests on their faith. This was true for both the native Israelites and those born elsewhere but chose to join YHWH and His people. This is made evident in passages like Numbers 15:26 & 29.
This explains why Yeshua told two of the seven assemblies that some falsely identify as Israel.
Rev. 2:9; 3:9
For those who may take these words the wrong way, the apostle Paul made it clear that Israel was never replaced. YHWH’s people, like Torah says, are those who remain faithful (Rom. 11:1-7, 17-26). This is the point of elaborating on Numbers 15:30-31.
Luke 17:5-10
In this modern society, far removed from the daily life and mindset of the Near East of the first century, it is difficult to wrap our heads around the relationship between a master and his servant.
Perhaps the Transatlantic Slave trade and the type of slavery that was brought to this country a couple of hundred years ago would come to mind.
While similar, this was not the same thing. A servant in that place and time was more of an indentured servant.
My questions for myself and you are:
Do we think of ourselves as indentured servants to Yeshua and His Father?
Do we connect this concept with Him increasing or adding to our faith?
As far as I can tell, ‘slave’ is technically a better translation than ‘servant’. The Tree of Life Version got it right. I didn’t want to give the impression that someone owning another person as property is something Scripture condones. But if a fellow Hebrew was poor and sold themselves to someone else in exchange for basic needs, the person who bought them did own them for the duration of their service. They didn’t own them as indefinite property. They could not sell them to someone else or give them to their children after them. The term only lasted until the next Shmita. Exo. 21:2; Deu. 15:12-15; Lev. 25:39-42.
* ‘Unworthy’ or ‘worthless’ or ‘useless’ are all acceptable translations from the Greek of Luk. 17:10. From Aramaic, Lamsa and Trimm translated b’mila as ‘idle’, while Murdock and Bauscher translated it as ‘unprofitable’. I just went off the Greek. I chose the word ‘useless’ because we are taught to have a humble mind, as Yeshua had. Phl. 2:5-8. We are not supposed to hold ourselves in great esteem, but rather lowly. Like Moses, who when a group of 253 men accused him of dictatorship, fell on his face in humility.
I believe that faith and works are two sides of the same coin and that they work together in harmony. Faith in YHWH leads to works (of obedience to His instructions given in Scripture, not to works of charity like feeding the poor). And works (of obedience) lead to more faith. The same coin has just flipped from heads to tails and back to heads again.
I say the works that follow faith are obedience, not charity because that is why YHWH gave us Scripture, why He sent His prophets, and why Yeshua came: to bring us into His Covenant. What does the prophet Jeremiah say the Covenant is? His instructions in our hearts and minds. Jer. 31:33. What does He want from us? He doesn’t just want us to be good people. People who don’t believe can do good things. What He wants from us is for us to listen to Him. Deu. 10:12-13. What does the apostle Paul say? If I give all my possessions to feed the poor but am lacking in love, what does it profit? 1 Co. 13:3
I am not trying to downplay charity. Please don’t get me wrong. Charity is good. I believe in charity. However, you know as well as I that caring for the needy would come naturally to a child of YAH. What does the apostle John say? How can the love of YHWH live in someone who does not show compassion to those in need? 1 Jo. 3:17. How can a person love their neighbor as themselves (Lev. 19:18; Mat. 19:19; 22:39; Mar. 12:32; Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14; Jas. 2:8) and not help them if they need help?
A common pitfall for Christians is to sidestep obedience and suggest the works that follow faith are works of charity.