TORAH: Numbers 19:1-22:1
HAFTARAH: Judges 11:1-33
GOSPEL: John 19:38-42
Portion Summary
Chukat is the thirty-ninth reading from the Torah. The word chukat (חוקת) means “statute.” The name is derived from the second verse of the reading: “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded” (Numbers 19:2). Chukat presents the mysterious laws of the red-heifer ceremony for purification after contact with human death. This reading also contains the story of Moses striking the rock, the stories of the deaths of Aaron and Miriam and the wars with the Amorites. The portion concludes with the host of Israel encamping on the edge of the Promised Land.
Moses and the Brazen Serpent (Image: Via Wikimedia Commons, by Fidelio Bruni, Russian Painter, 1840)
Portion Outline:
Torah
Numbers 19:1 | Ceremony of the Red Heifer
Numbers 20:1 | The Waters of Meribah
Numbers 20:14 | Passage through Edom Refused
Numbers 20:22 | The Death of Aaron
Numbers 21:1 | The Bronze Serpent
Numbers 21:10 | The Journey to Moab
Numbers 21:21 | King Sihon Defeated
Numbers 21:33 | King Og Defeated
Prophets
Jdg 11:1 | Jephthah
Jdg 11:29 | Jephthah’s Vow
Portion Commentary:
The Bronze Serpent
How did the serpent on the pole heal the people?
The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. (Numbers 21:6)
The problem with complaining is that God is listening. He hears our words and weighs our hearts. As the Israelites complained about the daily provision of manna, God heard their words and sent a punishment of poisonous snakes. Why did God use snakes to punish Israel?
Rashi explains that God chose snakes for two reasons. The serpent in the Garden of Eden was punished for speaking words of slander against God. God sent the serpent, who was punished for speaking slander, to punish those who were guilty of speaking slander. The second reason was that the serpent had been cursed to eat dust all the days of its life. God sent the serpent, who was punished by being given a diet of dust, to punish those who complained about their food.
When we allow ourselves to slip into self-pity and we give expression to a critical spirit, we are already victims of the evil one. He is a professional slanderer, the accuser of the brethren and the origin of rebellion against God. He was the very first to express discontentment with the lot in life God had assigned to him. When we show ingratitude toward God and complain about His ways, we are speaking the serpent’s native tongue. His venom is already poisoning our hearts.
The solution to the problem is repentance. The Israelites went to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us” (Numbers 21:7). Their words encapsulate the gospel message. Yeshua is our Moses. The serpent is the devil. We are the sinners. If we want to be healed and delivered from the serpent, we need to repent, confess our sins and seek forgiveness through Yeshua.
Read complete commentary at First Fruits of Zion.
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