A circumcised heart enables us to follow God in ways we might have previously not thought possible. Through it we can love God and love others, even the outsider, with everything we have.

This week, as I looked back to the opening words of the haftarah portion, did I truly understand what it means to find comfort in the presence of God? How does that prophetic word penetrate our world, fractured, conflicted, and now in constant turmoil?

The Exodus was historical and the Seder forces it to be experiential. Yeshua’s life was historical. Yet, when we follow him, it becomes experiential and transformational. Each generation is called to be the Joshua generation that enters the promises of God and showcases gratitude for God’s salvation by living out a life that reveals his character.

We live in a culture of addiction. Alcohol and drug addiction rates, already elevated before the COVID pandemic, continue to rise steeply. And if you include what we call “process addictions”—like gambling or compulsive shopping, screen time, or pornography use—nearly everyone is touched by addiction in one way or another.

“Human life is but a series of footnotes to a vast obscure unfinished masterpiece.” The quote is haunting, the implications are troubling, but the meaning speaks to a sense of anxiety to which I think everyone can relate.

Our current world situation prompts us to cry, “how long, O Lord, how long?” The promised star out of Jacob has come, yet we still live with war, famine, pestilence, and death. As we walk through these tumultuous times, remember three points drawn from Balaam’s oracles.

“Christians worry about eternal judgment and whether they’ll go to heaven or hell when they leave this world. Jews are concerned about life in this world, and how to make it a better place while they’re here.”

Leadership can be brutal. Many may be initially intoxicated with the idea of leading others, but give it a few weeks, months, or years, and one will encounter challenges. One of the most difficult aspects of leadership is when a friend, partner, or associate comes against you, and you experience betrayal.

Moses sends out twelve men, a man from every tribe, “every one a leader among them,” to spy out the land. This action reveals the partnership between God and his people that marks all of our godly activities here on earth: We follow God’s word to do his work, yet we also have to prepare by developing intelligent plans. Herein lies our dilemma.

Finally, after so many months remaining in the shadow of Sinai, Moshe will at last be leading God’s people toward the promised land. But just as Israel’s story is about to unfold in new ways, this parasha provides some reflective insights for us to consider.