Last week in the annual cycle of Torah study, we read a double portion and it is also the final portion in sefer B’midbar – the book of Numbers. The opening line of the first portion (Numbers 30:1-2) is addressed only to the heads of the tribes as opposed to the entire community. The opening statement enforces the importance of keeping one’s vows or oaths, i.e., keeping one’s word – having our actions and our words line up with one another. It is another example of God’s desire for His people to reflect His image. He cannot break His word or fail to keep His promises and therefore if we would live our lives consistently with His principals and character, we should try never to break our word either. After this we find a number of statements regarding the authority of a husband over the wife and a father over his unmarried daughter (Numbers 30:3-16) regarding the making of vows. This has often been interpreted to be demeaning to women, in that it allows men to exercise undue control over their wives and children, but actually, the truth is that women, in this case are allowed more freedom then men, in that if they make a hasty and unwise promise or commitment, they need not be bound to it, if after the husband or father learns about it, he feels it is an unwise commitment for them to make. It protects them rather than unfairly restricting them. Furthermore, as I will attempt to demonstrate in this article, this statute may be prophetic in nature by alluding to the protections afforded to the Church - the Bride of Messiah as a result of the authority of the bridegroom, Yeshua the Messiah, to nullify vows or commitments we may have unwisely made.
In the Same portion we later find that the Torah commands the establishment of cities of refuge where a murderer is allowed sanctuary from the punishment of execution by a kinsman of the slain. The text in Numbers 35 describes the number of cities that are designated cities of refuge, and the process by which someone guilty of unintentional murder, can take refuge. Under ancient tribal law says a person would be subject to execution by a close kinsman of the murdered person. The Torah is careful to differentiate one guilty of intentional murder because that person cannot avail themselves of protection from capital punishment. There is a strange clause given, whereby the guilty party would be unable to leave the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest. There is no other commandment in the Torah like this. The closest thing would be the commandment regarding the Jubilee year when people who have sold themselves as bond servants to pay their debts are freed and allowed to return to their families and their home in the year of Jubilee which comes around once every 50 years. The similarity here is that in either case there is a potential for unfairness in the application of these Commandments. A person trapped in the city of refuge for 20 years and another person who had committed unintentional murder only days before, would both would go free on the same day, triggered by the death of the High Priest. The person who had sold themselves into slavery 40 years before the Jubilee year, would go free the same year as someone who sold themselves into slavery only a year before. This hardly seems fair.
According to Bible scholar Dr. Ken Johnson, this unfairness points to a prophetic meaning connected with Messiah. In a recent presentation on one of the the Dead Sea Scrolls known as 11Q Melchizadek (11Q13), Dr. Johnson reviews the text of the scroll and how it identifies Messiah to the enigmatic character from Genesis 14:18, Melchizadek and connects the commandment referred to regarding the Jubilee, when everyone would go free (Leviticus 25) with the commandment for the release of debts on the Schmittah (Deuteronomy 15:2) with the prophesied coming of Messiah (Isaiah 61:1). We know from the gospel account (Luke 4:18) that Yeshua read this text in the Synagogue in Nazereth to declare that He himself was the Messiah and said after the reading, “today in your hearing these words are fulfilled.” I.e., the prophecies regarding the coming of Messiah were fulfilled in Him. Here is a portion of the text from the Melchizadek scroll which is dated to approximately 200 B.C.:
“Moses said, ‘In that year of Jubilee, each of you will be free to return home [Lev 25:13]’ and he described how, saying,” now this is the manner of the release: Let every creditor remit when he has lent his neighbor. He shall not press his neighbor or his brother for repayment, for the LORD’s release has been proclaimed [Deu 15:2}. Its interpretation pertains to the end of days. The captives Moses speaks of are those whom Isaiah says, ’To proclaim freedom to the captives [Isa 61:1]. Its interpretation is that the Lord will assign those freed to the sons of Heaven and the lot of Melchizadek. Even those whose teachers had deliberately hidden and kept secret from the truth about their inheritance through Melchizadek. The lord will cast their lot amid the portions of Melchizadek, who will make them return [repent] and will proclaim freedom to them, to free them from the debt of all their iniquities. This event will take place in the first week of the jubilee that occurs after the ninth Jubilee [AD32].”
The Essenes employed a unique calendar system different from the Lunar calendar employed by the Pharisees and Sadducees of the time, but it is quite clear that according to their calendar, the date of the fulfillment of the prophecy relating to messiah was AD32, i.e., the approximate year of Yeshua's death on the cross. Keep in mind that this document is dated to approx. 200 B.C. The identification of Messiah as Melchizadek is clear and consistent with the New Testament writings. Five times in the New Testament, Jesus is called, directly or indirectly, “a priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:11, 17). The text in Hebrews 5:5-10 presents two examples of the designation of Jesus as High Priest:
“So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’; as he says also in another place, ‘You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.’ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:5-10 ESV).
But I want to return to the earlier suggestion that when we see statutes or commandments in the Torah that seem to be unfair, it should be considered prophetic in nature and it is almost certainly a pointer to Messiah. We started by examining the seemingly unfair and possibly Sexist commandment regarding the nullification of vows made by a daughter by her father or of a wife by her husband. How is this commandment potentially unfair? A widowed woman, divorcee or an unmarried woman not living in her fathers house would not enjoy this protection and therefore the unfairness. As we have just learned it is this very potential for unfairness that reveals the prophetic nature of this statute and that points to the Messiah our Bridegroom who protects us from unwise vows and commitments. Whatever sway the powers of this world may hope to hold over us because of ANY unwise agreements we may have made, our redeemer has already delivered us from this debt and obligation.
More on Melchizadek
But more recently discovered in the trove of over 950 documents is the Melchizadek Scroll. Analysis of the text of this scroll is illuminating to say the least. It clearly points to the true understanding of the Essene Community as it relates to the coming of Messiah. In fact as we gain more and more understanding of the beliefs of the Essenes we see that, of all of the Jewish sects that existed 2,000 years ago and during the inter-testamental period. The beliefs of the Essenes line up most perfectly with Christian understanding of scripture as documented by the writers of the New Testament. In fact one could almost say the the New Testament authors were reading from the same scrolls and interpreting them in the same manner in many respects as the Essenes. E.g., they taught that the Messiah was God Incarnate, that He comes to die for our sins, and that He redeems us through His sacrificial death. Because the Dead Sea Scrolls confirm beyond any doubt the Jewish presence in the land of Israel during this time period, that the biblical text we have today is consistent with the ancient texts written over 2,000 years ago, modern day Jews are beginning to examine these writings and as a result , many are coming to faith in Messiah - becoming Messianic Believers.
Of all the unusual individuals that show up in Scripture, Melchizedek, the King of Salem, is one of the most fascinating. Throughout the Old and New Testament, Melchizedek is only mentioned in three books: Genesis, Psalms, and Hebrews, with Genesis being the only book where he appears in person. Very little information is given in Scripture about Melchizedek, however, among the discoveries made at the Qumran caves, the Melchizedek Dead Sea Scroll, dating back to the 1st Century BC, gives more information about the importance of Melchizedek the priest.
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said:
Genesis 14:18-20 “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
And he gave him a tithe of all.
The spiritual authority of Melchizedek and the way in which the author of Genesis brings the readers attention to the absence of any genealogy relating to Melchizedek, indicates the uniqueness of Melchizedek as a figure of Scripture. Melchizedek has no genealogy, he is a priest of God during a time when there were very few godly men, and the author of Hebrews draws comparisons between Melchizedek and Yeshua (Jesus), saying that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham (Hebrews 7:7).
Similarly, in John 8 the Jews ask Jesus if he is greater than Abraham. Jesus (Yeshuah) answered,
John 8:54-57 “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
The parallels between Jesus and Melchizedek are so striking, that some Biblical scholars have speculated whether Melchizedek may have been a manifestation of Messiah before the the Nativity of Yeshua. On the other hand, the references made in Hebrews, stating that Yeshua “is a priest after the order of Melchizedek”, would seem redundant if Melchizedek had himself been a manifestation of Messiah. What is certain is that Melchizedek was a great priest of God and that he was recognized as such by Abraham, King David, and the author of the Book of Hebrews. Whether they were in fact the same personage, we will have to wait to ask Him when he returns or when we meet up with him in the heavens.
Heb 7:1-10 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
More on the Dead Sea Scrolls
Is been said that the greatest discovery in human history was the cache of documents known as the The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient manuscripts that were discovered between 1947 and about 1956 in eleven caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea. These scrolls are believed to have been hidden away by a community of Jewish believers known as the Essenes. The timing of the discovery was coincidental with the founding of the modern nation of Israel and therefore indicates to many that the discovery has great prophetic significance. They are approximately two thousand years old, dating from the third century BCE to the first century CE. Most of the scrolls were written in Hebrew, with a smaller number in Aramaic or Greek and were written on parchment, or in a few cases, papyrus. Only seven of the scrolls were found mostly intact. Nevertheless, scholars have managed to reconstruct approximately 950 different manuscripts from the fragments discovered.
Possibly the most famous of Dead Sea Scrolls is the great Isaiah Scroll.
The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa) is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947. It is the largest (7.34 meters or about 24 feet long) and best preserved of all the biblical scrolls, and the only one that is almost complete. The 54 columns contain all 66 chapters of the Hebrew version of the biblical Book of Isaiah. Dating from ca. 125 BCE, it is also one of the oldest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some one thousand years older than the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible known to us before the scrolls' discovery. (1)
The manuscripts fall into three major categories: biblical, apocryphal, and sectarian. The biblical manuscripts comprise some two hundred copies of books of the Hebrew Bible, representing the oldest surviving biblical text in the world. Among the apocryphal manuscripts (works not included in the Jewish biblical canon) are works that had previously been known only in translation, or that had not been known at all. The sectarian manuscripts include biblical commentary, religious-legal writings, liturgical texts, and apocalyptic literature. Most scholars believe that the scrolls formed the library of the sect that lived at Qumran.
In 2019 Cindy and I visited the Shrine of the Book which houses the first seven scrolls discovered at Qumran. It was an amazing experience. The Shrine of the Book was built as a repository for the first seven scrolls discovered at Qumran in 1947. The unique white dome embodies the lids of the jars in which the first scrolls were found. This symbolic building, a kind of sanctuary intended to express profound spiritual meaning, is considered an international landmark of modern architecture. Designed by American Jewish architects Armand P. Bartos and Frederic J. Kiesler, it was dedicated in an impressive ceremony on April 20, 1965. Its location next to official institutions of the State of Israel—the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), key government offices, and the Jewish National and University Library—is appropriate considering the degree of national importance that has been accorded the ancient texts and the building that preserves them.
Sources:
- The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls
http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah
- The Dead Sea Scrolls
https://www.imj.org.il/en/wings/shrine-book/dead-sea-scrolls
- Melchizedek Dead Sea Scroll Found at Qumran
https://livingpassages.com/melchizedek-dead-sea-scroll/
- Melchizedek in 11Q13 (11QMelch)
https://otstory.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/melchizedek-in-11q13-11qmelch/
- Dr. Ken Johnson: Dead Sea Scrolls 11Q13 from the Defender Conference - Rise 2021, by Subscription only from SkyWatchTV.com at https://defenderconference.com
Other sources:
Astour, Michael C. 1992. “Melchizedek.” ABD IV: 685-88.
Brooke, G. 1992. “Melchizedek (11QMelch).” ABD IV: 687-88.
Fitzmyer, Joseph A. 1967. “Further Light on Melchizedek from Qumran Cave 11.” JBL 86/1: 25-41.
Garcı́a Martı́nez, Florentino ; Tigchelaar, Eibert J. C.:The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Translations). Leiden; New York : Brill, 1997-1998.
Martinze, García. 1992. Qumran and Apocalyptic. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
Van de Water, Rick. 2006. “Michael and Yhwh: Toward Identifying Melchizedek in 11Q13.” JSP 16/1: 75-86.
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