Blessing for the Torah:
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher
bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn
ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
you have selected us from among all the peoples,
and have given us your Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
“The idea of
a remnant is found 540 times in the Bible! Most of the time, the remnant
concept is disguised by the way the words are translated into English. In the
Tenach, remnant is translated by six Hebrew root words, each of which
has the underlying meaning of "what is left," "what
remains," "survivors," "escapees," or "the
rest." The one Greek root used in the New Testament and in the Septuagint
has the same meaning.”
Rom 11:5 So therefore also, at this present time a
remnant according to the choice of favour has come to be.
Isa 10:20 And in that day it shall be that the remnant
of Yisra’ĕl, and those who have escaped of the house of Ya’aqoḇ, never again lean
upon him who defeated them, but shall lean upon יהוה, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl, in truth.
Isa 10:21 A
remnant shall return, the remnant of Ya’aqoḇ, to
the Mighty Ěl.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman,
and he went to fight with the remnant of her seed, those guarding the commands
of Elohim and possessing the witness of יהושע Messiah.
There is a deep conviction amongst a remnant that
only very few people, even those who call themselves believers are really
serious about embracing the truth of YHVH.
2Ch 16:9 “For the eyes of יהוה diligently search throughout all
the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect to
Him. You have acted foolishly in this, so from now on you shall have battles.”
The remnant have an extremely important redemptive role
in the redemptive plan of YHVH.
Rom 9:27 And Yeshayahu cries out on behalf of
Yisra’ĕl, “Though the number of the children of Yisra’ĕl be as the sand of the
sea, the remnant shall be saved.
Rom 9:28 For He is bringing a matter to an end, and is
cutting it short in righteousness, because יהוה shall cut short a matter on
the earth.”
Rom 9:29 And as
Yeshayahu said before, “If יהוה of hosts had not left us a seed, we
would have become like Seḏom, and we would have been made like Amorah.”
Our Torah portion begins:
Gen 31:3 And יהוה said to Ya’aqoḇ, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your
relatives. And I am with you.”
These will be the most beautiful Hebrew words to hear in
the coming days:
ג וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה
אֶל-יַעֲקֹב, שׁוּב אֶל-אֶרֶץ אֲבוֹתֶיךָ וּלְמוֹלַדְתֶּךָ; וְאֶהְיֶה, עִמָּךְ.
The sages suggest that a time is coming when the presence
of YHVH will only rest upon those who return to the land.
Shaul reminds us that this is a pattern for us to expect
to be repeated again at some time in history.
1Co 10:11 And all these came upon them as examples, and
they were written as a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come,
Gen 31:4 And Ya’aqoḇ sent
and called Raḥĕl and Lĕ’ah to the field, to his flock,
Gen 31:5 and said
to them, “I see your father’s face, that it is not toward me as before, but the
Elohim of my father has been with me.
Gen 31:6 “And you
know that I have served your father with all my strength.
Gen 31:7 “Yet your
father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but Elohim did not allow
him to do evil to me.
Gen 31:8 “When he
said this, ‘The speckled are your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled.
And when he said this, ‘The streaked are your wages,’ then all the flocks bore
streaked.
Gen 31:9 “So
Elohim has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
Let us be reminded that all things belong to YHVH and He
can distribute things the way He chooses.
Pro 13:22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his
children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the
righteous.
Gen 31:10 “And it
came to be, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and
looked in a dream and saw the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked,
speckled, and mottled.
Gen 31:11 “And the
Messenger of Elohim spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Ya’aqoḇ.’ And
I said, ‘Here I am.’
Gen 31:12 “And He
said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are
streaked, speckled, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laḇan is
doing to you.
Gen 31:13 ‘I am
the Ěl of Bĕyth Ěl, where you anointed the standing column and where you made a
vow to Me. Now rise up, get out of this land, and return to the land of your
relatives.’ ”
Let us try and imagine that the returning flock of Yakov
LOOK COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TO THE REMAINING FLOCK OF LAVAN –
The emergence of this entirely different flock will
become more evident as YHVH begins to remind us that it is time to renew and
establish His covenant. This renewal of covenant always has to do with returning
to the land the return of Messiah and the rebuilding of the Temple in
Yerushalayim with the accompanying Aaronic Priesthood.
Gen 31:14 And Raḥĕl and
Lĕ’ah answered and said to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance in
our father’s house?
Do we still have any portion or business with manmade
religion?
Gen 31:15 “Are we
not reckoned by him as strangers? For he has sold us, and also entirely
consumed our silver.
Gen 31:16 “For all
the wealth which Elohim has taken from our father are ours and our children’s.
Now then, do whatever Elohim has told you.”
Gen 31:17 So Ya’aqoḇ rose
and put his sons and his wives on camels,
Gen 31:18 and he
drove off all his livestock and all his possessions which he had acquired, his
property of the livestock which he had acquired in Paddan Aram, to go to his
father Yitsḥaq in the land of Kena’an.
Gen 31:19 And when
Laḇan had gone to shear his sheep, Raḥĕl
stole the house idols that were her father’s.
Maybe this warns those who leave Lavan (the religious
world system) NOT TO TAKE WITH THEM THE DETESTABLE DOCTRINES THAT OPPOSE THE
TRUTH OF YHVH.
Gen 31:20 And Ya’aqoḇ
deceived Laḇan the Aramean, because he did not inform him that he was
about to flee.
כ וַיִּגְנֹב יַעֲקֹב,
אֶת-לֵב לָבָן הָאֲרַמִּי--עַל-בְּלִי הִגִּיד לוֹ, כִּי בֹרֵחַ הוּא.
The Hebrew reads that Yakov stole (ganav) the heart of
Lavan.
This is stated thus because once Yakov (his descendants)
leave, there is nothing of worth left over.
Gen 31:21 And he
fled with all that he had. And he rose up and passed over the river, and headed
toward the mountains of Gil’aḏ.
Most probably the Euphrates river as his father Avraham also
once crossed. Yakov is once again an “Ivri” who has crossed over from Babylon.
Gen 31:22 And on
the third day Laḇan was told that Ya’aqoḇ had
fled.
Gen 31:23 Then he
took his brothers with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he
overtook him in the mountains of Gil’aḏ.
Gen 31:24 But in a
dream by night Elohim came to Laḇan the Aramean, and said to him, “Guard yourself, that
you do not speak to Ya’aqoḇ either good or evil.”
Gen 31:25 Then Laḇan
overtook Ya’aqoḇ. Now Ya’aqoḇ had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laḇan
with his brothers pitched in the mountains of Gil’aḏ.
Gen 31:26 And Laḇan
said to Ya’aqoḇ, “What have you done, that you have deceived me, and
driven my daughters off like captives taken with the sword?
Gen 31:27 “Why did
you flee secretly and deceive me, and not inform me, and I would have sent you
away with joy and songs, with tambourine and lyre?
Gen 31:28 “And you
did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have been foolish to
do this.
Gen 31:29 “It is
in the power of my hand to do evil to you, but the Elohim of your father spoke
to me last night, saying, ‘Guard yourself, that you do not speak to Ya’aqoḇ
either good or evil.’
Gen 31:30 “And now
you have gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you
steal my mighty ones?”
Gen 31:31 And Ya’aqoḇ
answered and said to Laḇan, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Lest you tear
your daughters away from me.’
Gen 31:32 “With
whomever you find your mighty ones, do not let him live. In the presence of our
brothers, see for yourself what is with me and take it with you.” For Ya’aqoḇ did
not know that Raḥĕl had stolen them.
Gen 31:33 And Laḇan
went into Ya’aqoḇ’s tent, and into Lĕ’ah’s tent, and into the tents of the
two female servants, but he did not find them. And he came out of Lĕ’ah’s tent
and entered Raḥĕl’s tent.
Gen 31:34 Now Raḥĕl had
taken the house idols and put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And
Laḇan searched all about the tent but did not find them.
Gen 31:35 And she
said to her father, “Let it not displease my master that I am unable to rise
before you, for the way of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find
the house idols.
Gen 31:36 And Ya’aqoḇ was
wroth and contended with Laḇan, and Ya’aqoḇ answered and said to Laḇan,
“What is my transgression? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me?
Gen 31:37 “Now
that you have searched all my goods what have you found of all your household
goods? Set it here before my brothers and your brothers, and let them decide
between the two of us!
Gen 31:38 “These twenty years I have been with
you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I
have not eaten the rams of your sheep.
Gen 31:39 “That
which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you, I myself bore the loss of it.
You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
Gen 31:40 “Thus
I was! By day the heat consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep fled
from my eyes.
Gen 31:41 “These twenty years I have been in your house.
I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your
flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.
Gen 31:42 “Unless
the Elohim of my father, the Elohim of Aḇraham
and the Fear of Yitsḥaq, had been with me, you would now have sent me away
empty-handed. Elohim has seen my affliction and the labour of my hands, and
rendered judgment last night.”
Gen 31:43 And Laḇan
answered and said to Ya’aqoḇ, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children
are my children, and this flock is my flock, and all that you see is mine. But
what shall I do today to these, my daughters or to their children whom they
have borne?
Gen 31:44 “And
now, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and it shall be a witness between
you and me.”
Gen 31:45 So Ya’aqoḇ took
a stone and set it up as a standing column.
Gen 31:46 And Ya’aqoḇ said
to his brothers, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and
they ate there on the heap.
Gen 31:47 And Laḇan
called it Yeḡar Sahaḏutha, but Ya’aqoḇ
called it Gal’ĕḏ.
Gen 31:48 And Laḇan
said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why its name
was called Gal’ĕḏ,
Gen 31:49 also
Mitspah, because he said, “Let יהוה watch between you and me when we
are out of each other’s sight.
Gen 31:50 “If you
afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although
no man is with us; see, Elohim is witness between you and me!”
Gen 31:51 And Laḇan
said to Ya’aqoḇ, “See this heap and see this standing column, which I
have placed between you and me.
Gen 31:52 “This
heap is a witness, and this standing column is a witness, that I do not pass
beyond this heap to you, and you do not pass beyond this heap and this standing
column to me, for evil.
Gen 31:53 “The
Elohim of Aḇraham, the Elohim of Naḥor,
and the Elohim of their father rightly rule between us!” And Ya’aqoḇ swore
by the Fear of his father Yitsḥaq.
Gen 31:54 And Ya’aqoḇ
brought an offering on the mountain, and called his brothers to eat bread. And
they ate bread and spent the night on the mountain.
Gen
31:55 And Laḇan rose up early in the morning, and kissed his sons and daughters and
blessed them. And Laḇan left and returned to his place.
Gen 32:1 And Ya’aqoḇ went on his way, and
the messengers of Elohim met him.
Gen 32:2 And
when Ya’aqoḇ saw them, he said,
“This is the camp of Elohim.” And he called the name of that place Maḥanayim (two camps)
The frequent use of the number 2 or 20 draws our
attention to the so called “two house teaching.” It is possible that there are
two houses in Yisrael, one Yehudah and the other Yisrael of Yakov. This second
house could possibly be referring to the so called lost 10 tribes of Yisrael.
The author of this blog does not wish to be contentious over this issue but
realizes that there may be some truth in the two house teaching.
Eze 37:15 And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,
Eze 37:16 “And
you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it, ‘For Yehuḏah and
for the children of Yisra’ĕl, his companions.’ Then take another stick and
write on it, ‘For Yosĕph, the stick of Ephrayim, and for all the house of
Yisra’ĕl, his companions.’
Eze 37:17 “Then
bring them together for yourself into one stick, and they shall become one in
your hand.
Eze 37:18 “And
when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t you show us what
you mean by these?’
Eze 37:19 say to
them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I am taking the stick of
Yosĕph, which is in the hand of Ephrayim, and the tribes of Yisra’ĕl, his
companions. And I shall give them unto him, with the stick of Yehuḏah,
and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.” ’
Eze 37:20 “And the
sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.
Eze 37:21 “And
speak to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I am taking the children of
Yisra’ĕl from among the gentiles, wherever they have gone, and shall gather
them from all around, and I shall bring them into their land.
Eze 37:22 “And I
shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Yisra’ĕl. And one
sovereign shall be sovereign over them all, and let them no longer be two
nations, and let them no longer be divided into two reigns.
“Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher
natan lanu Toraht-emet, v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu. Baruch atah YHVH,
noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you Yahweh, our Elohim, King of the
Universe, you have given us your Torah of truth, and have planted everlasting
life within our midst. Blessed are you, Yahweh giver of the Torah – Ameyn
Please
note these notes are under construction and are subject to correction and are
in no way a final authority on any subject.