November 2023
TORAH REFLECTION
Torah Reflection 07
Vayetze (Went out)
Last week we ended with Jacob being sent away, with Isaac’s blessing, to find himself a wife out of his own ‘family’ in Padan Aram. That was the place from which his mother Rebekah had come. Esau, on the other hand, having missed out on the ‘blessing of the firstborn’ from Isaac, in colloquial terms, ‘spat the dummy’, and married a daughter of Ishmael. The gulf between the brothers was widening. Although the main division we see in our modern world is that between Isaac and Ishmael (with their respective family groupings), Esau, it seems, rebelliously joined the Ishmaelite group and is now recognised as the father of the Edomite nation (southern Jordan today).
Isaac and his family had settled just south of Beersheva. Jacob dutifully “went out” on his journey towards Haran, today in southern Turkey, the place where Abram dwelt after leaving Ur of the Chaldeans. It was a distance of just over 1,000 Km. !!! (Imagine walking from Sydney to Brisbane or Melbourne). Jacob lay down to sleep after a long day walking, and he had a dream. There wouldn’t be many who couldn’t relate the story quite well. But there a few observations which some may not be familiar with.
First, there was a ladder between earth and heaven. Angels of God were ascending and descending. Some commentators have seen significance in that order. That they first ascended indicates that their ‘station’ was on earth, presumably doing their allotted task among men. Were they reporting on their activity? Well we don’t know, but the concept is interesting.
Second, the LORD stood at the top of the ladder and addressed Jacob. “I am the LORD God of Abraham (Jacob’s grandfather) and the God of Isaac (his father); The land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants … and in you and your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; For I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
Third, the content of God’s promise to Jacob is in almost identical terms to that which He had previously spoken to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) and to Isaac (Genesis 26:2-5). It is for this reason that our God is frequently referred to as the “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”. They were uniquely privileged to receive the “land promise” directly from God Almighty. And to each of them that promise was extended to their ‘descendants’. Pass it on!!
Fourth, Jacob has gained a bit of a reputation as a ‘tough negotiator’. Not least because of the ‘birthright’ deal he did with his older brother Esau! Some have even labelled him a “bit tricky!” And here again, as we have just noted, God had made an amazing promise to Jacob. In paraphrase “I’ll be with you wherever you go and I’ll bring you back again.” It’s a promise that many christians today hold on to as applicable to themselves. But it was not quite good enough for Jacob!! His response was to add conditions onto God’s promise. Jacob said, again in paraphrase “IF you stay with me, feed me, clothe me, look after me, and bring me back to my father’s house in peace, THEN You can be my God! AND if you do all that, of everything you give me, I’ll give a tenth back to You.”
The rest of our portion shows how God led him directly to the family of Laban, Rebekah’s brother. It begins with meeting some shepherds at the well where the sheep drank water each day. Those shepherds identified Laban’s daughter Rachel (who was a shepherdess) and so it was that Jacob later met Laban, Now, if the comment earlier about Jacob being “a bit tricky” was true, it is also true that in Laban, Jacob met his match! Please read the story to get the message! However, in spite of that, Jacob ended up with two wives, Leah and Rachel, lots of children, who would become leaders of the tribes of Israel, plenty of servants, and a large flock of sheep. But he was twenty years older than when he first met Laban!!!! Although Jacob and Laban parted in strained circumstances, the LORD also ensured that His promise to Jacob (see Genesis 31:24) remained intact.
But now we need to find the message for ourselves today from this fascinating account of Jacob’s twenty year search for his wife.
The first thing I note is that Jacob honoured his parents in undertaking the journey they had instructed him to make. It was not easy, and required patience, persistence, and hardship at times. But in so doing, he was blessed by having a life-changing encounter with the LORD. He met the wife of God’s choosing, and he became the father of the boys who headed the tribes of Israel, ‘the apple of God’s eye’.
The second thing I note is that, although his conditional acceptance of God’s promise seemed to be arrogant and presumptuous, he never-the-less kept his word to the LORD. He never forgot the faithfulness, love, and mercy of God in bringing him through those twenty difficult years.
The third thing I note is that all of us who have had an encounter with God, have received His promise to us, of never leaving us nor forsaking us. That is a priceless promise. BUT it comes with a responsibility. To order our lives in a manner which brings glory to His name. Keeping our part of the arrangement, as did Jacob. The LORD bless you as you seek to honour your covenant with the LORD.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
TORAH REFLECTION
Torah Reflection 06
Toldot. (Descendants)
God had chosen Rebekah to be Isaac’s wife, and at 40 years of age, he married her. Good start eh! But we are not told how old Rebekah was! And the Bible doesn’t tell us, simple as that. What we are told (Genesis 24:8 and 24:58) is that Rebekah willingly consented to the marriage. Speculation beyond this is unprofitable, even though the sages have postulated on this matter for centuries. It is also speculated that Rebekah was barren for the first 20 years of that marriage, and this brings us to a salient point in the story.
There is little doubt that Abraham would have shared with Isaac the promise God had made to him about his descendants being numerous! Isaac’s mother was 90 when God miraculously intervened in the matter of Isaac’s birth. Now, the very next generation is beset with the same issue. Infertility. Their marriage has not produced any children. At stake here is Isaac’s relationship with God Almighty. There is no suggestion of going down the path that Abraham and Sarah had gone, which resulted in the birth of Ishmael. Our text in Hebrew uses the word “aqar” to describe the childlessness of the marriage, and that word is equally applicable to both male and female incapacity!!
So Isaac “pleaded” with the LORD. A good lesson from our portion today. The first ‘port of call’. Perhaps a lesson Isaac had learned at the feet of his esteemed father Abraham. Much later Psalmists make many references to the quality of reliable “refuge” and “comfort” which is to be found in the LORD. And then we read “and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” Isaac was 60 years of age when Rebekah gave birth.
The rest, as they say, is history!! The story is well known, but some of the detail is not as clearly understood as it should be. The LORD clearly knew the future, which He revealed to Rebekah. Multitudes of people who identify as “Christian” today appear to not grasp the effects on our society of this seemingly simple act of the birth of twins, and the revelation God gave to Rebekah about the future for each of them. “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.” There are those who see it as a prophetic announcement by the Almighty. Which it is. Others might interpret it as ‘foreknowledge’. What we all know, or should do, is that in His infinite and perfect plan, God made everlasting unconditional covenants of promise with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (the younger twin). And God IS working out His purposes for the world in direct fulfilment of those covenants.
The birthright (law of succession) belonged to Esau. But chapter 25 of our text ends by telling us “Thus Esau despised his birthright.” The Hebrew word is “bazah”, it means ‘disesteem’ or ‘disregard’. And for that he paid a very high price!! But there is a bit more to this situation. Some time later, when Esau was 40 years old, he married two Hittite women, Judith and Beeri, in defiance of the wishes of Isaac and Rebekah. How do we know this? Look at Genesis 26:35. “And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah”. He later again took another ‘foreign’ wife, this time a daughter of Ishmael. Esau seemed to be very rebellious. He is recognised as the father of the Edomites. But that is a digression from our portion today.
There was a famine in the land. Just like his father before him, Isaac took his family down into Philistine country to survive. To Gerar, which borders Gaza. And just like his father before him, he too tried to pass off his wife as his sister. And again Abi-Melech, king of Gerar, just as had happened to Abraham, blessed Isaac with safety of residence. Isaac planted crops and reaped a bumper harvest, so much so that the Philistines envied him. They had stopped up the wells which Abraham had dug there. So Isaac moved further into the valley of Gerar and dug open the wells which Abraham had dug years before. That caused more quarrels about the water! So eventually, Isaac moved yet again, to about 20 miles south of Beersheva, and again dug a well. He called the place Rehoboth (meaning ‘open spaces) and said “Now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land”. And so they were.
Our final comment on this portion has to be about the blessing which Isaac proclaimed over Jacob. The circumstances are dubious, many would say even fraudulent. We know the story. The blessing in part said “ May God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let the peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!.” That blessing, having been proclaimed, could not be revoked.
Enter Esau. I am your firstborn, “Bless me father”. Too late. But Isaac has some words, with the same introduction, but a very different meaning, for Esau. “By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck.” (i.e you will put some distance between you!) And so it was.
God has provided all of us who are His, a birthright. Guard it. Honour it. Esteem it highly. Do not treat it lightly. Learn the lesson of Esau.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
TORAH REFLECTION
Torah Reflection 05
Chayei Sarah (Life of Sarah)
What an interesting title to this week’s Torah reading! The life of Sarah. The first sentence tells us that Sarah lived 127 years. And the second proclaims her death!! It is not unusual today for a funeral to be principally about remembering the life of the deceased. In Sarah’s case, apart from mentioning her in relation to her burial place, her name is not used again in the whole reading. Nothing! Of course we can all recall things about her from our previous Scripture readings. For me, perhaps the standout is the degree of faith she shared with her husband Abram. After all, she too left her home and followed the LORD’s instructions to journey to a land she did not know. But she will always be remembered as the elderly lady, unable to bear children, chosen by God to miraculously bear ONE child only. That child became the grandfather of the 12 boys who each became head of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, the nation called by God to be His “special treasure” and “the apple of His eye”’
There is often speculation regarding the timing of some events in the Scripture. Rabbinic reasoning is that Sarah’s death, at the age of 127 years, is closely related to the anxiety she experienced at the Lord’s testing of Abraham with the ‘binding of Isaac’. Most people consider Isaac to have been about 12 years old at the time. But if the Rabbi’s are correct, Isaac would then have been a 37 year old man! And certainly, the sequential timing of the two events favours the Rabbinic view.
I find it interesting to look at a map of the area where events occurred in Scripture. At the same time, reference back to genealogy, specifically Genesis 10, (after Noah) in order to provide a framework to see how the names we encounter fit into the picture. But none of that alters the general thrust of the message contained in the reading today. Abraham was in Canaan, a foreigner (Hb. ‘ger’) from the ‘other side of the river’ (Euphrates) and he had developed a good relationship with his Canaanite neighbours. He needed a place to bury his beloved Sarah, so he negotiated, not for ANY burial sepulchre, but the best available. “The cave of the field of Machpelah”’. It was not cheap, but Abraham paid without bargaining. It is one of three well known places recorded in Scripture where land title was purchased from the landholder. The others being the site of Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem, and Araunah’s threshing floor in Jerusalem. They have never been sold back again!
Eventually, the “cave of the field of Machpelah” became the final resting place of the bodies of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives Sarah, Rebecca and Leah. (Rachel is not buried there) Later Herod built the huge wall around the ‘cave’ and over time it has become the enormous building, known as the “Tomb of the Patriarchs” which still stands on that site today. It functions mostly as a mosque, with a quite small synagogue adjacent to the main building, and Jews are allowed access to the main building on ten days each year. (On a visit to friends in Kiryat Arba on one such day, a few years ago, my late wife and I were privileged to witness the awe in which this place is held by Jews today).
We are then told that Abraham was ‘advanced in age’, and he wanted to make sure that his son, Isaac, had a wife of ‘correct lineage’! Taking up the timing issue again, it does seem a bit premature for Abraham to be caring about a wife for a 12 year old boy doesn’t it? In any event, he was concerned. In those days, “putting a hand under one’s thigh”, was considered an intimate gesture which confirmed a promise, and Abraham’s ‘governing servant’ was placed under such promise. It was a solemn oath. Little did that servant know that God had preceded him in that mission. It was a “done deal” as the words came out of Abraham’s mouth. Don’t you marvel, as I do, at God’s ways. The story is a most interesting one and worthy of your careful attention. Read it yourself. Abraham wanted all the possibilities covered. Isaac’s wife was to come from Abraham’s own family, BUT Isaac was forbidden to go there himself. Why? Because Abraham believed God. And God had said (Genesis 12:7) “To your descendants I will give this land”. At that particular time there was only ONE descendant. Isaac. And Isaac had not yet heard that promise directly from God. It was vital that he did. The whole future plan of God depended on it. And, by Abraham’s reckoning, Isaac’s wife could not possibly come from an idolatrous Canaanite family. The mixture would be wrong.
So Rebekah, a daughter of Abraham’s nephew, was the young lady who met Abraham’s servant at the watering place. What a coincidence!!! Abraham’s old servant was praying for some guidance at the well. “How am I going to know the person I am supposed to find?” I imagine him thinking. Wham! There she is standing in front of him. No short list. No choice. No ambiguity. Thank You LORD. The young Rebekah invited Abraham’s servant, who by this time was so sure that his mission was prospering, that he presented costly gifts to the young lady in thanks for her kindness. It was shortly after this that we meet Laban. Rebekah’s brother. We will meet him again later in this series. He, seeing the costly jewellery, and I suspect, having an eye for business, ‘gushed’ to offer hospitality and friendship to the new visitors. And so it was, that this story had a happy ending. Rebekah, God’s choice of a wife for Isaac, returned with Abraham’s servant.
But the elderly Abraham then re-married and produced many more children. He eventually died aged 175 and was buried, with his beloved Sarai in “the cave of Machpelah”.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
TORAH REFLECTION
Torah Reflection 04
Vayera. (And He appeared)
There are three times recorded in Genesis when the LORD appeared to Abraham. This is the second of those appearances.
Abraham sat in the door of his tent in the heat of the day. The text suggests he was perhaps ‘nodding off’! When he looked up, there were three men standing looking at him. Abraham ran towards them and bowed, addressing them as “my Lord” (Adonai is actually a plural word). The text makes it clear that even though there are different words used for “God” in this encounter, the common source is of God Almighty, and His purpose was to convey the news that the promise of a natural born child, previously conveyed to Abraham, was about to be fulfilled. Sarah overheard the announcement and couldn’t avoid a chuckle! That chuckle was countered by an amazing insight, which we do well to remember, perhaps especially in our day when we consider what is happening in the world today. “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” Of course the answer is “NO”, but we also need to be mindful that God unfolds His plan in His own time, and not in a timeframe which we often expect because of our sincere supplication.
Again it is manifestly evident in the text that God had determined that His judgement was to be brought on the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Why? Because “their sin was very great”, AND there had been an “outcry to the LORD” against it. Was that outcry from righteous people praying for change? We can only speculate. It certainly gives enormous encouragement to us to bring before the LORD matters which we can plainly see wrong and gravely sinful in our society today doesn’t it? Then an amazing dialogue occurred.
Why was God concerned about revealing to Abraham His intention to bring judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah? The “great and mighty nation”, which God had promised Abraham would spring from his loins, was unfulfilled at this stage. (I now take a bit of licence here, and disagree if you wish. But roll forward 4000 years to the time when God (in the person of Yeshua) came and dwelt bodily amongst us, for a comparison.) Abraham was righteous, God was faced with the judgement of severely unrighteous men. And NOT for the first time. What would a righteous man make of that judgement? Abraham was representative of a future nation of ‘priests’ before God. How would they prosecute judgement when faced with rank unrighteousness? Is that unrighteousness to be tolerated, or dealt with? As I pen this ‘reflection’, that is what I perceive to be God’s motive. But I may be wrong!! In any event God entered into dialogue with Abraham .. and Abraham was honest, and generous, in his attitude. (The Bible records another account similar in nature which God had with Moses after the exodus from Egypt .. Numbers 14) The dialogue which ensued appears to see God ‘giving ground’ in the light of Abraham’s concerns about numbers. The final number of “righteous men”, in order that the community avoid the severe judgement, TEN, is the minimum number much later decreed by the Rabbinate to be sufficient (and necessary) to be a “minion” to form a Jewish synagogue congregation.
The text, Genesis 18:19, says “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” It is from that statement that I have taken my licence!
Of course, we must acknowledge that God knew exactly how many ‘righteous’ men were there, but it seems to me that He wanted to ensure that Abraham (and those considered righteous who came after him) would accept the ‘fairness’ of the judgement. (my earlier reference to 4000 years later alludes to the fact that God, in the person of Yeshua, took on human form and had no cause, then, to determine what man might think about His judgement. He had become ‘flesh’ and dwelt among them. BUT we also know that unrighteous men do, and always will, consider God’s judgements to be harsh and inappropriate!!) Whatever God’s reasons, that’s what happened. Then followed the well know account of the judgement of Sodom and Gommorah
Isaac, the son of God’s promise to Abraham, was born when Abraham was 100 years old. How precious would that have been to him? But Abraham had another son, Ishmael, born about 14 years earlier as a result of Sarai trying to ‘help God out’ in providing Abram with an heir. The enmity which developed between the mothers of those two boys, passed to the sons, and remains to this very day. The enmity runs very deep, and is unlikely to end until God again intervenes by sending His Son, Yeshua, back to this earth as the King of kings. And that is another story, an event, still future to us, which will happen as sure as night follows day.
But God had one more test for the faithful Abraham. It is impossible for any father to imagine a more daunting test. MOST fathers would fail the test upon its suggestion. “Offer your son to Me as a burnt offering”. What would you think went through Abraham’s mind at that point? Again, I take licence here, because it is impossible to know. But shock and horror would be a first guess. God knew that there was a day coming when He Himself would have to make such a sacrifice. Was there a man on the earth who would do such a thing? Well we know the story. Abraham was such a man who FULLY TRUSTED his God. Selah! What an example he is.
What God expects of us is to put our trust in Him. No more, no less.
Shabbat Shalom
RS