Parashah 16: B'shallach (After he had

let go)
Parashah 16: B'shallach (After he had let go), Exodus 13:17 to 17:16
Haftarah (Writings and Prophets): Judges 4:4 through 5:1-31.
B'rit Hadasha (New Testament): Luke 2:22-24; John 6:25-35, 19:31-37; 1
Cor. 10:1-13; 2 Cor. 8:1-15; Revelation 15:1-4.

Summary & Overview

TORAH
o Exodus 13:17 | The Pillars of Cloud and Fire
o Exodus 14:1 | Crossing the Red Sea
o Exodus 14:26 | The Pursuers Drowned
o Exodus 15:1 | The Song of Moses
o Exodus 15:20 | The Song of Miriam
o Exodus 15:22 | Bitter Water Made Sweet
o Exodus 16:1 | Bread from Heaven
o Exodus 17:1 | Water from the Rock
o Exodus 17:8 | Amalek attacks Israel and is weakened

We are starting this Torah Portion at the end to lay foundation regarding the
enemies we faced in Egypt, as discussed last week and comparing it to the new
enemy we will face in the Wilderness.

The Two Enemies Spiritual Warfare

Israel faced two enemies between Egypt and Sinai. The first enemy was
Pharaoh whom they encountered in Egypt, and the other was Amalek,
which they encountered in the Wilderness. When you compare these
two enemies, you find a lot of insight and can learn a lot regarding
spiritual warfare. We read about spiritual warfare in the Book of
Ephesians, but the foundation of spiritual warfare is found back here
in the Book of Exodus. These are the two battles you will face when
you decide to follow Yshua. You need to know your enemies to
overcome then as you go through your new life journey on your way
to the Promised Land. We will look at these two enemies separately
and tactics on how to overcome their attacks so that we may endure
till the end.

Pharaoh: Egypt represents the kingdom of Satan, It is run by one leader

Pharaoh who promotes a false religion, idolatry and any kind of spiritual
uncleanness you can think of. He is a slave master and a control freak. We
have looked at the four tactics he used to try and keep Israel from worshipping
YHVH in the Wilderness.

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He wants you to compromise to keep you close to Egypt so that you may think
you are free but actually still bound in sin. Its all about deception and lies that
bring false sense of freedom that actually bounds. YHVH defeated Pharaoh,
and the battle took place in and near Egypt. The only thing the people had to do
was to turn their backs on Pharaoh and obey YHVH.
Exo 14:13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand firm, and
see the salvation of YHVH, which he will show to you to day: for the
Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for
ever.
Our battle against Pharaoh (Satan) is already won, but he can still come and try
to kill, steal and destroy. Israel did not attack Satan, they stood firm and
watched YHVH destroy his army. Moses said to the people fear not, stand
firm. We see similar words taught by the Apostle Paul in the Book of Ephesians
where he teaches us to stand firm against Satan.
Eph 6:10-13 Finally, my brethren, be strong in YHVH,
and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour
of Elohim, that you may be able to stand against the wiles
of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the
whole armour of Elohim, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

There is a lot of fighting going on in churches today in the

name of spiritual warfare where Believers try to beat up the
Devil and his demons. This is not the kind of enemy you should
attack, but rather stand firm with the Armour of YHVH so that
you can withstand his attacks. We find the detail of this Armour in Ephesians
chapter 6:
Helmet of Salvation Helmet is the word kobah that
means to be high or rounded and is first found in
Scripture in 1 Sam 17:5 where it describes the armour of
Goliath with him wearing a helmet of brass. Brass in
Hebrew depicts judgement and is related to the brazen
altar where the sin sacrifices were conducted. The very
act of Yshuas death as the sin sacrifice elevated Him to
a state of authority and made Him the Head of the Body. The head
represents authority and the helmet of salvation or brass helmet is
linked to the Head Who is Messiah, and we are His Body, that is
under His Head or Authority. If we wear the Helmet of Salvation we
are actually placing His Head on top of us, His Body and we do this
by submitting to His authority. This elevates us to His Authority, and
Satan and his demons have to bow before Him (us). Just like the
Philistines trusted in Goliath to bring them salvation so we trust in
Yshua that is greater than any enemy we might face. You have power
and authority over Satan and his demons in the Name of Yshua
stand fast!

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 Breastplate of Righteousness Breastplate is first used in
Scripture in Exo 25:7 describing the Breastplate of the High
Priest decorated with Onyx stones. The very next verse says
that they need to build YHVH a Sanctuary so that He can
dwell with man. This breastplate is not made to protect you
during war; it was to protect the High Priest against the
Holiness of YHVH. The High Priest was the only person
allowed to enter the Holy of Holies once a year, and if he
had any sin, being unrighteous, he would die because of
the Presence of YHVH. This piece of armour also depicts
YHVHs Presence and His Righteousness since Yshua is
our High Priest Who is without sin and thus righteous.
When we live and express Holiness we represent Him and His
presence. When Satan looks at a righteous person, he sees Yshua
and flees. YHVH said Be Holy for I am Holy Be holy and stand fast!
Sword of the Spirit: The word sword or
chereb is first found in Scripture in Gen
3:24 and is about the guarding of the Garden
of Eden after man was removed. Cherubims
together with a flaming sword (chereb)
guarded the way of the Tree of Life. These
were the same Angels found on the Ark of
the Covenant that guarded the Ark in the
Holy of Holies. Their wings formed the arm and back support for the
seat or Throne of YHVH, represented by the Ark. What is the way
(derek) of the Tree of Life? It is the same as the contents inside the
Ark; the Ten Commandments, the Rod of Aaron and a bowl of manna.
The Tree of Life is a Person and His ways need to be guarded. This
is none other than Yshua Who is the Tree of Life and Who embodies
the Commandments, the Rod or Sceptre of the King and the
supernatural food that comes from His Spirit.
The Sword is also known as YHVHs Word, and in this case, it is a
flaming Sword. Fire is linked to the letter Shin that is another
representation of YHVHs Spirit. This makes the flaming sword the
Sword of Fire or the Sword of the Spirit as referred to by Paul in
Eph 6. The Sword of the Spirit is His Word in action in the hand or
mouth of the Believer when confronted by Satan. What is guarded by
the Cherubims is the weapon that will defeat Satan. This is how
Yshua defeated Satan when He was tempted in the Wilderness, He
continually quoted Scripture saying it is written and by this, He
guarded the way of the Tree of Life and kept Satan (sinfulness) out
of the Garden (your life). Know the Word and learn how to handle the
Word as a sword stand fast!

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 Shield of Faith: Shield is first used in Scripture in Gen 15:1
where YHVH made the Covenant Promise to Abraham and
said I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward.
We always had the idea that we must have faith as if faith is
generated from ourselves with effort. YHVH gave Abraham
faith in the form of a Shield that is a gift. This is confirmed in
Rom 10:17 that faith comes by hearing the Word of YHVH.
YHVH gave the Truth, all you have to do is to listen, and faith
will come. Abraham is known as the Father of Faith because of
his faithfulness and understanding what the Shield of YHVH
represents. YHVH said I am your Shield, in other words; the faith that
you hold on to is actually Him, the Truth, the Word, Yshua. He is the
Gift we received, and He is our Shield, just stay behind Him and hold
on to Him. The way to defeat Satan is to hold on the One that stands
between you and Satan stand fast!
Girt your loins with Truth: Loins is first found in Scripture in
Gen 35:11 where Jacob wrestled with YHVH and was told that
Kings would come out of his loins. Truth is first found in
Scripture in Gen 24:27 where Abrahams servant thanked
YHVH for the truth of revealing the bride of Isaac to him. The
Truth spoken of here is the Truth that Yshua is the King and
we are His Bride. When Satan attacks, you should remind him
of who you are in Messiah and that you are His Bride, the Bride
of the King. The battle is won if you know who you are in
Messiah Yshua. Stand fast and hold on to this truth!
Shoes of willingness: Shoes is first found in Exo 3:5 where
YHVH told Moses at the Burning Bush to take off his shoes.
We have discussed this in an earlier Torah Portion and came
to the conclusion that the Bush represented Moses with
YHVHs Anointing upon him and did not consume him. Moses
had to remove his shoes as a symbol of not walking in the way
he used to walk but to put on YHVHs shoes and start walking
as He would walk, in holiness. Walking in someone elses
shoes is a symbol of living your life according to their ways and
do things the way they would do it. You must be willing to take
up His shoes and walk in it. This is similar to what Yshua said
to his Disciples in Matt 16:24; If anyone wishes to come after Me,
he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. There are
three things that stand out here; you must deny yourself or die to self,
you must take up the cross or Anointing that will equip you for the task
YHVH called you to and lastly, you must follow Him willingly, walking
as He would walk. The shoes of willingness is about; knowing the
plan of YHVH, getting anointed to do it and walking in it.
Q - How does walking in YHVHs task or plan, defeat Satan?
Yshua defeated Satan by carrying His Cross, performing His task He
was anointed for and by doing this, He defeated Satan, sin and death.
Imagine what YHVHs Plan has installed for you in kicking Satans
butt! Fins out YHVHs will and plan for your life and walk in it stand
fast in your calling!

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We have a good example of what the war declaration looks like and is found
in the passage where David faced Goliath.
1 Sam 17:45-47 Then said David to the Philistine, You come to me with
a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to you in the
name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you has
defied. 46 This day will the Lord deliver you into my hand; and I will
smite you, and take your head from you; and I will give the carcases of
the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild
beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in
Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saves not with
sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our
hands.
Yshua taught His Disciples how to pray and with David representing
Messiah, the Beloved, He teaches us how to fight. We will analyse this
passage to see the structure and then use the Armour of God we have just
looked at and hang it on this framework of Davids declaration.
David identified the enemy and exposes his tactics and weapons.
David identifies himself and declares his authority and the Name He
represents and defends.
Then he tells the enemy their future, what is going to happen to them.
David then declares in Whos Name this will happen and elevate the
God he serves to his enemy.
David then reveals how the battle will take place and who will fight.
Then David took a stone and killed the enemy, standing in one place
standing fast.
When you encounter a situation where you face the enemy your battle cry
declaration might look something similar to what David said to Goliath.

Satan, you come to me with shadows of fear and with lies regarding me
and my life. I am the Bride of the King, Yshua the Messiah and in the
Name of Yshua, all your plans and lies will be destroyed. I come to you in
Yshuas Righteousness and not on my own, in His Authority and not my
own, and you will submit under the Name of Yshua for you are already
defeated. You do not have much time left. When my King comes on the
clouds, you will be bound and cast into bondage till you are released to
burn forever and ever. Your lies will be exposed, and your plans will be
confused, destroyed and cast down in the Name of Yshua the Messiah.
YHVHs Name will be made known because of the victory here today so
that everyone will see that He is my God and the one and only true God.
Then release the stone; use Scripture regarding your situation and declare
that over your situation and remind YHVH of His promises.

Hebrew Study Tip

When you want to find the meaning of a Persons name, you can look at
the meaning of the name it self, but also add the meanings of the names
of the parents, if their names are known. This will shed more light on the
character and reveal the origins of that person that influenced their
character.

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 Amalek: The Israelites encountered
Amalek, their first enemy after they left
Egypt. Who were the Amalekites? The
Amalekites came from Esaus bloodline.
Amalek was the offspring of Eliphaz, his
father and Timnah, his mother. Eliphaz
means; god of gold. Timna means;
restraint or holding back of the will.
The meaning of these names gives us
insight into the origins of Amalek and is
based on the god of gold (father), lover of material things and restraining of
the will (mother), something that binds and restricts your ability to make your
own decisions. It is as if you are controlled like a puppet.
If we look at the name Amalek, it consists of two words;
Am that means people and lek that means, licking up,
like a dog licking. Prov 26:11 refer to a fool that goes back to
his folly, just like a dog that returns to its own vomit, licking it
up. Amalek, as previously discussed, represents the flesh
that constantly pulls you back so that you can do foolish
things repeatedly. This makes the flesh a very persistent
enemy that is in constant battle with your soul. We see an
example of this enemy in the Book of Ester with the
character Haman, a descendant of Amalek, who wanted to destroy Israel
(righteous people of Elohim). There is another example of this fleshly enemy;
Agag, the king of the Amalekites, whom we encountered in a previous Torah
Portion. He represents the flesh that loves fat bread or the teachings that
promote freshness that turn YHVHs people into fat immature babies.
The war against Amalek only started once Israel left Egypt. After
you make a decision to follow Yshua, you will encounter the next
enemy that is on the inside; the flesh that wants to kill your soul.
The battle against Egypt was fought by YHVH, and they never
encountered Israel in battle again. Amalek, on the other hand, was
never destroyed but only weakened.

Practical Implication: When YHVH won the battle against Satan for the
sake of your soul, He does not need to fight Satan again, Satan is
defeated. The only way Satan can get to you now is by using your own
flesh against you. You become your own worst enemy, and the battle of
the flesh will never seize, and the flesh will not be destroyed but only
weakened.

Hebrew Study Tip

A Hebrew word can be broken up in with each one of the parts having a
meaning that gives us further insight into that word. This is specifically
used to find the meaning of names. Another technique that can be used
to delve deeper is to read the word from left to right instead of right to left
as you normally would do. By doing this you can find supporting
meanings or hidden insight of that word. We will look at examples of
these two techniques below.

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 The battle between Israel and
Amalek took place at Rephidim that
means place of rest. The first two
letters of this word make up the
word Repha that means to relax
or to let go or to make slack. This
was the battle where Moses, Aaron
and Hur went up the hill or High
Place to fight the battle in the
spiritual while Joshua was in the valley, fighting the battle in the physical. Moses
had to lift up his staff above his head to let the Israelites win, but when he
relaxed his arms as they grow weak, the Amalekites won. Aaron and Hur had to
support his arms for Israel to win the battle.

Moses name backwards reads hey-shin-mem ,sh.Hey h means light or

shining and shin-mem ,s spells Shem that means Name. Reading Moses
name backwards can be interpreted as; shining the Name.
Aaron means, Light bringer and Hur means, white cloth. Hur rvx when you
read it from left to right, makes the word Ruach xvr that means breath or
Spirit of YHVH.
Personal Application 1: The physical battle took
place in the valley while the spiritual battle took
place on the mountain. This is a picture of standing
in the gap for someone that goes through a tough
time with others interceding. The spiritual battle is
fought in the power of the Spirit (Ruach meaning
of Hur backwards), by people that live holy lives
(white clothes meaning of Hur), shining His light
by declaring YHVHs Word (Light meaning of
Aaron) over the situation in the Name of Yshua
(shining the Name meaning of Moses).
We read in Exo 17:13 that Amalek was weakened with the edge of the sword
The normal translation normally saya edge of the sword, but here it uses
mouth of the sword. This gives us insight that the spiritual battle or
intercessory prayers should fight out loud, speaking and declaring YHVHs
Word and Name over the situation. This gives us a very good idea of how
intercessory prayer or spiritual warfare works.

Personal Application 2: The battle between Israel and

Amalek is also a good example of how we can
overcome the battle against the internal enemy, namely
the flesh. To overcome the flesh, you have to live a life
of holiness, bearing His light and His Name upon your
life, with the strength and help of His Spirit. You should
always uplift and hold YHVHs Truth (standards) high,
by being faithful in the truth you have received, then
your clothes will be white without spot or wrinkle, ready and prepared as the
Bride of Messiah.

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 Israels Journey Overview of Salvation
After Israel had left Egypt, they travelled through the wilderness, crossed the
Red Sea and travelled to Mount Sinai where they received the Ten
Commandments from YHVH. Then their journey began through the wilderness
(40 years) and eventually ended up in the Land of Promise, the Land of milk
and honey.

Leaving Red Sea Mount Promised

Wilderness
Egypt Crossing Sinai Land

This is the same pattern or steps we as believers will follow when we accept
Yshua as our Saviour. The First Step is to apply the blood and eat the lamb
in Egypt which is a prophetic picture of us accepting Yshua as our Saviour
while we were still sinners in this World. Part of the First Step is to embrace the
Word (eat the lamb) so that we can have the strength to leave our Worldly
lifestyles and walk towards the Mountain (YHVHs ways).

The Second Step involves crossing the Red Sea, this is represented by the act
of Baptism or a Mikvah. Abraham crossed over and that identified him as the
first Hebrew and we need to cross over of be baptised as a sign of embracing
our new culture (YHVHs culture) as Hebrews. This is a spiritual cleansing
process where you unlearn your previous culture to embrace His culture.

The Third Step is to go to the Mountain and receive the Commandments of

YHVH directly from Him. Jer 31:33 and Heb 10:16 reveals to us this process
where YHVH writes His Commandments on our hearts through receiving His
Spirit. We will look at this in more detail in the next section.

The Fourth and Final Step is to enter the Promised Land, but before we can
enter, we have to go through the Wilderness. We have to face the real world out
there, equipped with the Spirit and the Commandments so that we can travel
through the Wilderness and survive spiritually until we reach our final
destination called Salvation.
Leaving
Embrace You are
Sin & Baptism Life
Torah "Saved"
Bondage

The Wilderness is the battlefield where you will face your enemies that will try
to stop you from entering the Promised Land. Remember that your salvation is
based on these 4 steps and people can get lost along the way. You can lose
your salvation by staying in Egypt, even if you applied the Blood of the Lamb.
You can lose your salvation if you do not cross the Red Sea, exposed to
Pharaoh (Satan) and cause you to backslide into sin. You can lose your
salvation if you do not face the Mountain and engage in Golden Calf worship
(mixing and confusion Babylon). You can lose your salvation through
murmuring, wandering through the Wilderness for 40 years and die there
because you refused to believe and apply YHVHs Word, defeated by Amalek,
that is your own fleshiness.

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We have to follow Him from Egypt, right through the
Wilderness (Life) until we reach the end of our journey. Paul
compares this to running a race until you reach the finishing
line. Then and only then will you enter the Promised Land or
New Jerusalem. It is not a question of running against
someone else, you run the race against yourself, and the goal
is to finish the race and not to give up or let go.

Crossing the Red Sea Baptism

The Red Sea is the barrier between
you and Egypt. We have looked at the
4 Compromises Pharaoh suggested to
keep a handle on the children of Israel,
and this temptation will be eliminated
once you travelled far enough away
from Egypt. This is the line you have
to cross to prevent Satan from pulling
you back into sin and bondage. This
line is depicted by the Red sea where
the Egyptian enemies lost their battle
against Israel. YHVH gave Israel victory over Pharaoh, and his army and YHVH
will give you victory over Satan and his demons if you undergo the next step of
obedience called Immersion or Mikvah. By taking this next step to obedience,
you drown all the negative spiritual forces that had a hold on you when you
were still in sin and bondage. This is a liberating experience where even
demons can leave a believer. In Africa when they baptise converts, sometimes
the demons manifest and do not want the person to enter the water
Q Why is it that demons do not like water?
When Yshua cast out the demons out of Legion, He commanded then to go
into the pigs and then the pigs, instinctively ran over the cliff into the water. Matt
12:43 reveals to us that when an unclean spirit leaves a man, it goes to
waterless places and do not find rest and may return with seven more evil
spirits if the house is not cleaned out.
Baptism (Mikvah) is the cleansing process that will keep them out once they
leave. Your Mikvah or Baptism is the barrier between you and Satan that
prevent him to have a hold on you or to find an open the door to come back.
Mar 1:10-11 And immediately coming up out of the
water, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit
like a dove descending upon Him. (11) And there
came a voice from Heaven, saying, You are My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The Immersion of Yshua had two functions; it ordained Him

as a Teacher/Rabbi at the age of 30 as was the custom and it
showed us the example of what we have to go through. The
custom was that if you became a disciple of a Teacher/Rabbi,
you are mikvahd (immersed) in the name of your Teacher to
show that you follow his teachings. We are baptised in the

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Name of Yshua to show that we are following Him as our Teacher and Rabbi.
When Yshua came out of the water, the Spirit of YHVH descended upon Him,
and this shows us the timing of receiving His Holy Spirit. After a person is
baptised, the facilitator should lay hands on the one being baptised and ask
YHVH to fill (baptise) them with His Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh).

Q What is the purpose of receiving His Spirit?

Earlier in this Torah Portion, you will read about a pillar of cloud and the pillar of
fire that led the people of Israel. What do these pillars represent? These pillars
represent the Spirit of YHVH that led His people through the Wilderness up to
Mt Sinai. The function of His Spirit is in the names given to the Spirit namely;
Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Truth. First of all, YHVH Spirit will help you to be
become Holy, walking in His Truth or Word. His Spirit is also known as the
Spirit of Truth you will receive the revelation of His Word through YHVHs Spirit
where He will write His Commandments on your heart. The act of Baptism is
prophetically linked to Mt Sinai where they received the Ten Commandments,
and later in Acts 2, they received the Holy Spirit when they celebrated the Feast
of Shavuot.

Faith vs. Miracles

We have looked at a lot of signs and
wonders during the time Israel left
Egypt. We then saw numerous
miracles after they left; the miracle of
the Red Sea, the miracle turning the
bitter water turning sweet, the miracle
of food that falling from heaven. Then
we saw the miracle of water from a
rock, and lastly, we saw the miracle of
Israels victory over Amalek.

Q Why did YHVH do many miracles at first, but later stopped?

Miracles build faith, and when YHVH called Moses, the people were still in
bondage and had no faith in YHVH at all. Then the miracles dried up after they
got to know YHVH and followed Him for a while. It was as if YHVH had to wean
them off miracles to sustain and build their faith in another way.
Israel murmured and complained each time they faced a new challenge, and
they forgot the miracles of the past. This shows us that miracles had their place
but could not sustain the faith of a believer. People tend to see YHVHs
closeness when they see a lot of miracles, but when miracles in their life
decrease, they feel distant from YHVH, and their faith diminishes with the
absence of miracles. Remember, you only need a miracle in a crisis. It is better
to live a life of victory that to live a life full of crises where you need miracles.

There is only one thing that can build and sustain faith, and that is through
YHVHs Word, His Torah. Faith comes by hearing and the hearing of the Word
of YHVH, not by seeing, seeing the miracles of YHVH.

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Miracles are for unbelievers to draw their attention to see that YHVH is the one
and only true God. Once He has their attention, He turns down the miracles
and turns up the Word so that their faith can move from being based on
miracles to being based on the Truth.
Many believers seek miracles because it proofs that YHVH exists and is in
their midst. They seek His presence all the time, and that is the pinnacle of
their faith. If they had an encounter with Him through a vision or supernatural
word or even a feeling like goose bumps, then they have enough faith to face
the week. During the week they will crave another fix to get them through the
following week and so getting addicted to miracles or the supernatural.

These people only know Jesus / Yshua as the hand of

God, the miracle worker but never experience Him as the
Word of God Who is the Mouth and the Head of their
salvation. His Word is His Authority (head) that you have
to submit under so that you can listen to His voice (Word)
and build your house (life) on the rock (foundation) to have
faith when the storms (supernatural signs and wonders)
come.

Q Ever wondered why Yshua told the people who

received a miracle not to tell other people?

Yshua did this so that the people will not get addicted to
miracles and never grow up spiritually. The miracles
Yshua did, revealed Him as the Messiah to unbelievers,
but were never intended to continue on. Miracles are like milk given to babies,
new believers, but you need solid food to be nourished. Miracles will only
quince your thirst but will never be enough to still the hunger pains.

Conclusion: Do not seek the hand of YHVH and His miracles, seek His face
where His Head and Mouth is so that you can know Him as Your King and the
Word, not the Miracle Man that pulls a rabbit out of a hat for entertainment. Do
not seek His presence in the form of a feeling but rather know His Word so
that you have faith when the storms come.

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