There are parts of God’s Word that are difficult to accept, especially when they do not match the reality people want to believe in. One of those parts is the reality of war. For many, war belongs to the past. It is something they read about in Scripture and something that happened long ago. However, when you open the Word of God honestly, you see that those stories are not disconnected from today. They reflect a world that is still broken, still facing evil, and still requiring difficult decisions.

There are well-meaning followers of God who struggle with this. They want to believe that evil can always be avoided and that conflict can always be resolved without force. That is not what we see in Scripture, and it is not the reality we are living in. As someone living in Israel, who chose to raise my family here, and who has lost many friends and also my nephew in this war, this is not something I read about. This is the reality I am living in every day.

At the same time, Scripture makes something clear. As God’s people, we are not called to ignore evil. When there are those who actively seek to destroy, there are moments when that evil must be confronted. That is why Israel needs an army. It is not because we desire war, but because without it there would be no way to defend life or protect what God has entrusted to us.

We see this in this week’s Parashah. In the wilderness, before entering the Land, God commands Moses to take a census of the people. Every man from the age of twenty and above was counted because he would be expected to go to war. This was preparation. This makes something clear. Israel was not entering a peaceful or empty land. The inheritance that God would entrust them with would require them to stand, to fight, and to defend.

Later in the chapter, we are given the number of those counted. There were 603,550 men. When we consider the full camp, including women and children, the number likely reached close to two million people. This was an entire nation being prepared for a reality where war was not just a possibility, but something they would have to face. This truth is not easy to accept, but it is part of God’s Word. It cannot be softened to fit a more comfortable view of life.

Yeshua Himself spoke about this, not only as a present reality, but also as what we should expect in the future:

You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Matthew 24:6–7

This is the reality of the world we live in, and it is also the direction the world is moving in. That is why He also said:

But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved.
Matthew 24:13

Endurance is required because the reality is not simple. At the same time, we are reminded that even within this reality, God does not leave His people without guidance. We see this clearly in the relationship between David and Jonathan.

In 1 Samuel 20:18–42, David is not standing on a battlefield, yet his life is under immediate threat. King Saul has made the decision to kill him, so the danger is real and immediate.

Jonathan understood what was happening. When he saw that Saul was determined to kill David, he acted so that David would know and be able to escape. Through the arrows he shot into the field, he sent a message that determined whether David would live or die. David survived not because the danger disappeared, but because someone recognized the reality and acted. This reflects the same truth we see in the wilderness. Israel was counted and prepared because the threat ahead was real. David had to respond because the threat was already there.

This is not only a story from the past. It is a pattern we still recognize today. We live in a world where evil exists. For us here in Israel, this is part of daily life. God is in control. That does not remove the reality we face, but it gives us what we need to stand in it. He gives us the strength to stand, the wisdom to act, and the endurance to continue.

Shabbat Shalom,
Moran