Parasha 57: He Who Believes in Me

He Who Believes in Me

-- T O R A H   P O R T I O N --

Introduction:

Have you been in a situation where you’re sharing something important, then some believe and some don’t?

Last Shabbat, God’s pillar of cloud and fire went before the children of Israel as they departed from the land of Egypt. But suddenly, Pharaoh realized that he shouldn’t let the Israelites go from serving him and his people. So he took six hundred chariots with captains, and they chased the Israelites, who were about to cross the Red Sea. The children of Israel got frightened, and Moshe encouraged them to stand still and witness the salvation of God.

God made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel began crossing the sea, but the Egyptians chased and went after them. Then Moshe stretched out his hand over the sea, and the wall of waters came back upon the Egyptians, and not so much as one of them remained. So God saved His people, and they believed and feared Him.

Our Torah portion this Shabbat has two sections. Chapter 15:22–27 is about the bitter water made sweet. Going back to the final verse of chapter 14, Israel saw how God fought for them and saved them from the Egyptians. Fresh from crossing the Red Sea, the children of Israel began to complain against Moshe regarding the Marah or bitter water, which can be likened to the bitter attitude of the Israelites. Considering they sang a song to God because of their victory against the Egyptians, their belief in Moshe suddenly disappeared like a bubble.

Life didn’t get more controllable for the children of Israel. Their journey to the Promised Land presented new challenges. Just three days later, the children of Israel were dying of thirst. So when they arrived at Marah, they panicked and laid into Moshe when they found out that the water was undrinkable. The early lesson here is very simple: following God didn't mean easy living or a piece of cake for the children of Israel. It’s a clash of FAITH over FEAR. Our expedition, compared to the children of Israel, is full of obstacles and hardships. But just as the children of Israel had reasons to trust God, so do we. Even the most bitter circumstances can give way to something sweet if we embrace the promises of God.

The second section of our Torah portion is from chapter 16:1–24, which is about the bread from heaven. Here, the children of Israel complained again to Moshe. They thought that Moshe brought them into the wilderness to die from hunger as a community. Now God tested His people by giving them ordinances. And whoever believes in Him will experience the following:

No diseases like what God brought on the Egyptians (v. 26) – In Leviticus 26:14–16, God said to His people:

“But if you do not obey (believe) Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, WASTING DISEASE AND FEVER which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart.”

God is serious in punishing His people who don't believe and obey His words. But they can run away from any diseases by believing, because God declared Himself as their Healer.

No lack of Meat and Bread (vv. 1–20) – Here’s the thing: when the children of Israel grumbled against Moshe and Aaron in the wilderness about food, God heard it and He rained bread. But in spite of the provision, God told Moshe that He would test them too if they would believe and walk in His instruction. In verse 9, Moshe told the children of Israel to come near before God, for He heard their grumbling. Then the testing followed, for they should not gather much food. But they didn't pay attention to Moshe; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and caused Moshe to get mad. The children of Israel continued to disobey. The sun grew hot, and the manna melted (v. 21).

No overwork (vv. 22–24) – Along with what the children of Israel should believe is to gather manna twice on the sixth day, and they did. Because the following day would be a Shabbat rest. Exodus 1:13–14 says:

“So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them was with rigor.”

The Hebrew word for rigor is perek, which means “cruelty, harshness.” I believe that part of the cruelty and harshness that the children of Israel experienced in Egypt was having no day of rest. That’s why God brought them out so they could experience the delight of Shabbat. Notice carefully in verse 23 what God said: “Tomorrow (seventh day) is a Shabbat rest, a holy Shabbat to the LORD.” The double gathering of manna on the sixth day is a reminder to us that our bodies were designed by God to work only for six days. God rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:2), and we should imitate Him, because this has been the model since creation. As the children of Israel believed, God sustained the manna.

I believe that God tests us so that He can mold us. He is the Great Potter and we are the clay. His testing is for our good. And when we mold into what God wants us to be, it brings joy and honor to Him.

1 Peter 1:7 says: “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Messiah Yeshua is revealed.”

God can use anything to test His people if they would believe in Him. He used the tree of knowledge of good and evil for Adam and Eve. He used manna for the children of Israel after they were freed from Egypt. He used Isaac for Abraham. He used Pharaoh for Moshe. Now and then, God continuously uses His Torah (teaching, instructions). If people believe in Him, we should be on the side of those who believe.

John 5:46–47:

“For if you believed Moshe, you would believe Me; for he wrote (Torah) about Me (Torah Who became flesh). But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words (Torah)?”

The bitterness you fear may be the very place God intends to turn your unbelief into unshakable trust.

What bitter experience are you resisting that God may be using to reveal whether you trust His heart or only His miracles? Will you let Him transform the bitterness—or will you allow it to transform you?

-- H A F T A R A H P O R T I O N --

Isaiah calls the nations to assemble—not merely Israel, but fugitives from the nations (vv. 20–21). God summons them as witnesses to His absolute sovereignty, His justice, and His ability to save. He challenges them to compare their idols with His prophetic works: Who foretold these things long ago? Who declared it before it came to pass? Only Adonai—Tzva’ot, the Just God and Savior.

To understand verses 20–25, we must trace Isaiah’s argument back to verse 1. There, God appoints Cyrus, king of Persia, as His instrument to invade Babylon and liberate Israel. Just as He hardened Pharaoh to display His power at the Exodus, God now raises up Cyrus to display His sovereignty among the nations.

When God judged Babylon through Cyrus, Gentiles also were invited to “draw near” (v. 20)—not merely to observe, but to acknowledge and believe that He alone is:

1. A Just God and Savior (v. 21)

God demonstrates justice by judging the wicked kingdom of Babylon.

He demonstrates salvation by rescuing Israel—just as He did in Egypt, and again in their exile.

Nations watching this drama unfold were meant to realize:

Only the God of Israel judges righteously, and only the God of Israel saves.

2. The One True God (v. 22)

When God announces, “For I am God, and there is no other,” He invites the ends of the earth to abandon idolatry.

The wood and stone idols cannot speak, cannot act, cannot save.

But the God who foretold Cyrus’ rise proves He is the only true God.

3. Worthy to Be Praised (v. 23)

God swears by Himself—His word cannot fail:

“Before Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.”

Paul draws directly from this verse in Philippians 2:10–11, applying it to Yeshua the Messiah:

“At the name of Yeshua every knee should bow … and every tongue confess that Yeshua HaMashiach is Lord.”

Isaiah 45 reveals that the glory, allegiance, and worship due to YHWH are given to Yeshua—showing His divinity and His identity as Adonai’s perfect revelation.

Isaiah’s prophecy makes a radical declaration for its time:

The God of Israel is extending His hand to the nations.

Just as Ruth the Moabitess declared:

“Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” — Ruth 1:16

So Isaiah invites the nations to forsake idols, recognize Israel’s God as their own, and join themselves to His covenant blessings.

Isaiah ends with the declaration of those who turn to Him:

“In Adonai alone are righteousness and strength.”

Those who resisted Him will be brought to shame;

those who come to Him will be justified, vindicated, and glorified.

This righteousness is not human achievement—it is a gift that flows from the One who alone saves:

Only in Adonai is justice.

Only in Adonai is strength.

Only in Adonai is salvation.

This is why every redeemed heart declares:

“God—yes God!—is my strength and my salvation.” (Isa. 12:2)

When God exposes our idols, it’s not to humiliate us—it’s to make room for His glory.

What idol—visible or hidden still contends with God’s sovereignty in your life? Will you bow now in willing allegiance, or wait until the day when every knee must bow?

-- APOSTOLIC P O R T I O N --

Our Apostolic portion deals with the blindness and unbelief of the people in spite of the signs that Yeshua performed. From verse 1 to 14, He fed 5,000 men. Verses 15 to 21, He walks on the water. Verses 22 to 30, Yeshua challenged the people not to labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to everlasting life, which He can give.

He told the people that He is the manna from heaven, but this statement caused many Jews to complain and not believe that He is the bread that came down from heaven. The Greek word for believe is pisteuo, which means “be convinced of something.” We must be convinced that Yeshua is the manna from heaven, and if we are, we have eternal life. The people struggled to believe because they expected signs, not a Savior who embodied the signs.

When Yeshua said that He is the manna from heaven, it means:

He can give eternal life – In verse 49, He said that in spite of the manna that the Israelites ate in the wilderness, they died because it only sustained earthly life. But in Yeshua, we receive eternal life.

He is the Unleavened Bread – 1 John 3:5–6 says:

“And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.”

When we step back, we see the picture clearly:: 

The bitter water showed Israel’s need for a Savior who transforms.

The manna showed Israel’s need for a Savior who sustains.

Both point straight to Yeshua, the One who turns death into life and who feeds our souls with the life that never ends.

Adonai Himself would come down and sustain His people.

In John 6, Yeshua proclaims that He is that very sustenance—not a symbol, not a metaphor, but the living reality.

The question is not whether manna fell…
but whether we believe the One who sent it is now standing before us.

The manna kept Israel alive for a day; the Bread of Heaven keeps the believer alive forever.

What hunger in your soul have you been trying to satisfy with temporary “manna,” and what would it look like today to come to Yeshua for the bread that endures?

Here is the connection of our Parasha 57: it’s about believing in God and in His words. In the Torah, the children of Israel complained about the water and food. So God gave them instructions, and when they believed, God provided their needs. In the Haftarah, the people of the earth should believe that Adonai YHVH is God and there is no other beside Him. In the Apostolic portion, those who believe that Yeshua is the manna from heaven will have everlasting life.

I want to end this with a story. Bill went to a barbershop to have his hair cut. As the barber began, they talked about God. The barber said: “I don’t believe that God exists.”

“Why do you say that?” asked Bill.

“Tell me, Bill, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.”

Now Bill said to the barber: “You know what? Barbers do not exist.”

“How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!”

“No!” Bill exclaimed.

“Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”

“Ah, but barbers DO exist! That’s what happens when people do not come to me.”

“Exactly!” Bill affirmed.

“That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist! And that’s what happens when people do not come to God as well.”

Belief is the bridge between wilderness and promise; every step of faith becomes a testimony of the God who provides, delivers, and sustains.

If Adonai asked you today, “Do you believe Me?”, what evidence in your life would answer that question? Where is Adonai inviting you to shift from complaining to believing, from testing Him to trusting Him?

Shabbat Shalom,

Topher

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Sources:

blueletterbible.org

atimetolaugh.org

firmisrael.org

thebiblesays.com

reformjudaism.org

wernerbiblecommentary.org

TheMacArthurStudyBible

scenichillsblvd.com