Complete Parashah Library (Messianic)

What Ya’akov needed in his life was a mirror, someone or something to show him the greed and selfishness of his own heart. He needed to be able to see the inner-workings of his own selfish heart, in order to move on past this time of trials in his life. This was provided for him in the person of Lavan.... How can we apply this Torah lesson to our lives today? We already know that the Torah itself works in our lives as a mirror, highlighting the “way in which we should walk”—a way that should be pleasing to our heavenly father. In fact the book of James (whose Hebrew title is Ya’akov), informs us that the man who “looks into the mirror of the Torah” and fails to heed its instruction (do what it says), is like a man who beholds his face in a real mirror, walks away, and immediately forgets what he just saw (James 1:21-25). But sometimes HaShem uses everyday experiences to act as his mirror of truth, showing us exactly where we need to concentrate our energies of correction.

The Torah says that when the unknown assailant failed to defeat Ya’akov, then he struck the socket of Ya’akov’s hip, causing it to go into disjoint. “The man said, “Let me go, because it’s daybreak” (vs.27a) But by now, Ya’akov had come to the realization that this was no ordinary man. It was not some desert robber, or bounty hunter, or even a demon—it was none other than a representative of the One who could see into his own hollow soul and cause the supernatural change that Ya’akov knew he so desperately needed! For this very reason, rather than let go of this man, Ya’akov clung to him for dear life! He had finally come to the place where he knew he could not—would not—run any further! He knew now inside of himself, that this was the only One who could rescue him from his own fearful self! So, despite the all-night struggle, he mustered up enough strength to say within himself, “I will not! I refuse to let you go! I have spent all of my life running in fear from the things that I could not control! I have nowhere else to turn for help! So I will NOT let you go! I will not let you go UNTIL YOU BLESS ME!” This was the breaking of the man Ya’akov. This was the moment when HaShem recognized that he was genuinely a humbled man, in desperate need of a Savior.

The lessons today should be obvious: HaShem masterfully orchestrated every single event of Yosef’s life, bringing him into a position where he would be the key player in the provision and leadership of the young tribe of Isra’el. It was necessary to allow Yosef to experience the pain and suffering at the hands of his brothers, in order that the ultimate plan of HaShem, a plan that promised blessing and inheritance, might come to pass! So it was this way also for our own Savior Yeshua. He had to suffer shame and humiliation at the hands of his own flesh and blood, in order that the Will of the Almighty would be fulfilled. The life of Yeshua was “sacrificed” so that the lives of his brothers might be saved! We shall see also that the life of Yosef was “sacrificed” so that the lives of his brothers might be saved! "To be sure, in the case of both Yosef and Yeshua, their immediate families weren’t the only ones who would benefit from the sacrifice. The entire land of Egypt, and surrounding communities, were about to witness the provision of Almighty God, as he worked through the obedience of Yosef, a humble, anointed son of Isra’el…. "Likewise, the entire world this time has witnessed (and shall witness again soon) the provision of Almighty God, as he worked through the obedience of Yeshua, his humble, anointed, ONLY-BEGOTTEN Son...."

Yes, the Torah is a document filled with the lives of imperfect men, trusting in the providence and grace of a perfect God. Yosef once again allows his brothers to make for Kena’an with provisions for their family, but this time, unknown to his brothers, he manipulates a plan to further develop their character. Acting, I believe, under the guidance of HaShem, he singles out Binyamin and places his personal goblet in his pack. Upon learning of the turn of events, the brothers are speechless. This was the moment that Yosef was waiting for, the moment when his brothers finally had come to the place of total desperation, a place of utter helplessness. HaShem had cornered them, Yosef realized, and there was nowhere else to hide. This is the place where an individual needs to find himself, in order to accept the provision and blessing that HaShem has in store for him. By reaching the end of their rope, so to say, they are faced with the opportunity to fall on the mercy and grace of the One that they figured would be of no significant place in their lives. Someday, according to the book of Zechariah chapter 12, this is the place that the Nation of Isra’el will ultimately have to come to as well, as they face the brother that they forsook almost 2000 years ago.

Up to this point, Yosef (Joseph) had remained unknown to his brothers. The Spirit of the Holy One was guiding him as he put his brothers through various tests of integrity and humility. Although at times it seemed rather cruel to treat them with such harshness, in fact, this was the crucible that would serve to break them down. They needed to learn a very valuable lesson, one that would transform them into the God-ordained family that they needed to be. To be sure, if Yosef’s brothers failed to learn how to put off hate, jealousy, bitter-ness, and resentment, countless more unnecessary suffering might have taken place, and their father Isra’el would have gone to his grave with a grieving soul. Yosef has orchestrated a scenario by which the brothers have reached a position of “checkmate” so to say: if they allow the “guilty” Binyamin to remain with Yosef, their father will surely die; if they attempt to defy Yosef by taking Binyamin back to their father, they all might die. Whether or not Yosef, the brothers or Binyamin realized it, HaShem had cornered them and now a reckoning must take place! The guilty brothers must come to grips with the sibling they abandoned long ago.

In our Torah portion, Yosef instructs everyone except he and his brothers to leave the room. In this suspenseful moment between immediate family members, he discloses his true identity to them, “I am Yosef!” But, astounded and speechless at the impossible, his brothers could not answer him. The moment is surely heart rendering and moving, and Yosef doesn’t want them to risk misunderstanding him anymore. He bids them to gather closer to him, closer to his heart, as he whispers ever so gently, “I am Yosef, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.” I believe that you could have heard a pin drop in the room that day, as his brothers’ eyes were opened to the truth. Their brother—the one whom they wronged, whom they forsook because of his silly predictions of leadership, the one considered by them as least significant, the one beloved of their father—was now standing before them alive, and proclaiming to forgive them! It is significant for us to realize the power and magnitude of love and clarity of soul that true forgiveness and restitution carries with them. As it was for Yosef and his brothers that moment, so it will be for Yeshua and his brothers that day as he draws them close and speaks to them tenderly, “I am Yeshua!” At first, it may also seem incredible to them as well, but, as his brothers learn of his true identity, that he was not merely some insignificant carpenter from Natzeret or just another good rabbi, that he was not speaking under his own influence when he told them of the power in becoming a servant, that it was the Will of the Father that allowed them to do him injustice—that he had been placed in a position of suffering and leadership to preserve their very lives—then they will also finally and corporately become reconciled to their long-lost brother!

Isra’el’s sons (here in chapter 49) are the recipients of blessings that directly involve their individual actions, but also incorporates their future inheritance and characteristics as tribes. In essence, HaShem, through Isra’el, blesses them according to what they have done, but simultaneously, grants them grace for what they could not achieve on their own. Comparing the above-mentioned blessing of Y‘hudah with, per se, Shim’ on and Levi, we can see this. In the case of the latter, their blessings (or lack thereof) directly point to their prior actions taken during the incident with Dinah their sister, taught in B’resheet chapter 34. In this story, they took matters into their own hands, much to the shame of their father Isra’el (34:30, 31). Yet in the case of the former, nothing is mentioned of his shameful actions in B’resheet chapter 38. Still, HaShem sees fit to bless him abundantly, by promising to send forth the promised ruler from his loins. Amazingly enough, this promise of “Shiloh”, a title/name which has no corresponding Hebrew roots or stems relating to it, has been almost universally accepted by rabbis and Christian scholars alike, as referring to the coming Messiah! Observe the opinions of early Judaism as preserved for us in their writings (a few quotes for our study): "Kings and rulers shall not cease from the house of Judah…until King Messiah comes." UNTIL SHILOH COMETH; this alludes to the royal Messiah. AND UNTO HIM SHALL THE OBEDIENCE (YIKHATH) OF THE PEOPLE BE: he [the Messiah] will come and set on edge (makheth) the teeth of the nations of the world. In the Babylonian Talmud Rabbi Johanan said: "The world was created for the sake of the Messiah, what is this Messiah's name? The school of Rabbi Shila said 'his name is Shiloh, for it is written; until Shiloh come.'"

Only the Spirit of the Holy One, writing the Torah on the heart and mind, can bring the participant to the intended goal of surrendering to the Mashiach. With our natural mind, we read, "do this…" and "don’t do that…” and we have a tendency to misunderstand the grace behind the words. Yeshua came to explain the gracious intent of every command, by explaining the primary thrust of the Torah in the first place: leading its reader to a genuine trusting faith in the Messiah found therein—namely himself! Moreover, grace is needed when sin blinds our eyes to believe that covenant status is granted on the basis of ethnicity, whether natural or achieved. Historic Isra'el of the 1st century genuinely believed that by virtue of being born Jewish they were automatically guaranteed covenant status. What is more, from their point of view, if someone from non-Jewish stock wished to join the covenant people all he or she needed to do was convert to Judaism, hence my use of the terms “natural” and “achieved” respectively. Natural Isra'elites—those native-born—held to the prevailing theology that Torah was given to maintain the covenant status already acquired at birth. The “ger” (Hebrew for stranger, alien, etc.) was deemed as someone in the process of becoming a Jew via the vehicle of proselyte conversion. Rav Sha'ul went to great lengths to refute such teaching in his letters both to the Romans and to the Galatians. To be sure, if we apply this hermeneutic to those letters, instead of adopting a “grace versus law” hermeneutic, the Apostle begins to make more sense theologically and historically. I am convinced more now than ever that a foundational understanding of Paul’s writings must take into account the historical fact that 1st century Isra'el reckoned herself as right-standing before HaShem on the basis of ethnicity (read as “being Jewish”) alone! She did not feel that keeping the Torah equaled positional (forensic) righteousness; she concluded—albeit incorrectly—that keeping Torah was the vehicle that one used to maintain covenant status already achieved either at birth or by conversion.

Moshe said to God, "Look, when I appear before the people of Isra'el and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you'; and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" God said to Moshe, "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be]," and added, "Here is what to say to the people of Isra'el: 'Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.'" God said further to Moshe, "Say this to the people of Isra'el: 'Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [ADONAI], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov, has sent me to you. 'This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.

I believe that HaShem wants us to come to the awesome realization, through the Ruach HaKodesh, that the “name” of the LORD is Yeshua! If you don’t believe me, read the rest of Philippians where the Torah teaches that one day, everyone will acknowledge that Yeshua is ADONAI, to the glory of God the Father! This word “adonai” is the Greek word “kurios”, which can be translated “sir” or “lord” depending on the context. Since Sha’ul is quoting from the TaNaKH book of Isaiah, then the context demands the rendering “LORD” (i.e. YHVH). In fact, to further the seeming controversy, Isaiah 45:23 is specifically referring to ADONAI the Father! This means that the verse in Philippians is hinting that Yeshua will be acknowledged as ADONAI without explicitly stating that Yeshua IS the Father. We must be careful not to put something into the text that is not there.