"And he came near"
Blessing for the Torah Reading:
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.)
“And he came near” points us to another very important future event –
The Jews (Yehudah) including his brothers, the other tribes, recognizing the
true Messiah.
Zec 12:10 “And I shall pour on the house of Dawiḏ and on the inhabitants of Yerushalayim a
spirit of favour and prayers. And they shall look on Me whom they pierced, and
they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son. And they shall be in
bitterness over Him as a bitterness over the first-born.
This “drawing near” by Yehudah
and his brethren has significant implications for all of mankind. Paul
describes it this way:
Rom 8:19 For the intense longing1 of the
creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of Elohim. Footnote: 1Lit.
anxiously looking with outstretched head.
Rom 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility,
not from choice, but because of Him who subjected it, in anticipation,
Rom 8:21 that the creation itself also shall be
delivered from the bondage to corruption into the esteemed freedom of the
children of Elohim.
Rom 8:22 For we know that all the creation groans
together, and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Rom 8:23 And not only so, but even we ourselves who
have the first-fruits of the Spirit, we ourselves also groan within ourselves,
eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
This adoption Paul is speaking about could also be
pointing to the coming together of the family of Yisrael.
Rom 11:12 And if their fall (Yehudah and the Yehudim)
is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the gentiles, how much
more their completeness!
Rom 11:13 For I speak to you, the gentiles, inasmuch as
I am an emissary to the gentiles, I esteem my service,
Rom 11:14 if somehow I might provoke to jealousy those
who are my flesh and save some of them.
Rom 11:15 For if their casting away is the restoration
to favour of the world, what is their acceptance but life from the dead?
Rom 11:25 For I do not wish you to be ignorant of this
secret, brothers, lest you should be wise in your own estimation, that
hardening in part has come over Yisra’ĕl, until the completeness of the
gentiles1 has come in. Footnote: 1Gen. 48:19.
Rom 11:26 And so all Yisra’ĕl shall be saved, as it has
been written, “The Deliverer shall come out of Tsiyon, and He shall turn away
wickedness from Yaʽaqoḇ,
Rom 11:27
and this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”1
Footnote: 1Isa. 59:20-21.
Rom 11:28
Truly, as regards the Good News they are enemies for your sake,
but concerning the choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
Rom 11:29
For the gifts and the calling of Elohim are not to be repented of.
Rom 11:32 For Elohim has shut them all up to
disobedience, in order to have compassion on all.
Rom 11:33 Oh, the depth of riches, and wisdom and
knowledge of Elohim! How unsearchable His judgments and untraceable His ways!
Rom 11:34 “For who has known the mind of יהוה? Or who has become His
counsellor?”
Of course there
are many churchmen around today – even good ones – who attempt changing YHVH’s
counsel by claiming that the church has now replaced Yisrael and Yahshua has
come to do away with the Torah – bringing grace instead of condemnation – a lie
from the pit of hell.
We are once again reminded that all of Torah points us to Messiah.
Rom 10:4 For Messiah is the goal1 of the
‘Torah unto righteousness’ to everyone who believes. Footnote: 1Or
end purpose; not termination.
In this Torah portion the allegorical
conclusion is that this points to when Messiah is exalted by the Father to
bring about the final restoration of his brothers – the tribes of Yisrael.
We believe the sages who say that the
Messiah (Yahshua) will first come as Moshiach Ben Yosef and then will return
again as Moshiach Ben David – the ruler of Yisrael – all of scripture testifies
to this truth.
It is clear from this Torah portion that
Yosef is now the second most powerful man in Mitsrayim/ and even in the world.
This Torah portion also then points us to
our time of preparation for the coming Appointments (Moadim). This is the month
of Elul – the time when the bride prepares to meet her bridegroom – Yom Teruah.
It’s a time of repentance – Yom Kippur and it’s a time to pray that we may
found worthy of attending the marriage supper of the Lamb – Sukkot.
Gen 44:18 And Yehuḏah came near to him
and said, “O my master, please let your servant speak a word in my master’s
hearing, and do not let your displeasure burn against your servant, for you are
like Pharaoh.
We remember that at
this time Yehudah and his brothers are in great distress.
Gen 44:19
“My master asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’
Gen 44:20
“And we said to my master, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young
child of his old age, and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of
his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’
Gen 44:21
“And you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, and let me set my
eyes on him.’
Gen 44:22
“And we said to my master, ‘The boy is not able to leave his father, for
if he leaves his father, his father shall die.’
Does this possibly point to a small remnant
in the last days that are walking close to the Father who will embark on a
dangerous mission to bring about the restoration of the family of Yisrael ?-
some of this small remnant may even die! (Maybe not!)
Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in the
heaven, “Now have come the deliverance and the power and the reign of our
Elohim,1 and the authority of His Messiah, for the accuser of our
brothers, who accused them before our Elohim day and night, has been thrown
down. Footnote: 1See 11:15.
Rev 12:11 “And they overcame him because of the Blood
of the Lamb, and because of the Word of their witness, and they did not love
their lives to the death.
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.
All scripture can only
be understood in the light of all other scripture – these prophecies in Revelation
are pointing to the Torah and the return of Messiah.
Gen 44:23
“But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down
with you, you do not see my face again.’
Gen 44:24
“And it came to be, when we went up to your servant my father, that we
told him the words of my master.
Gen 44:25
“And our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’
Gen 44:26
“But we said, ‘We are not able to go down. If our youngest brother is
with us, then we shall go down, for we are not able to see the man’s face
unless our youngest brother is with us.’
Gen 44:27
“Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me
two sons,
Gen 44:28
and the one went out from me, and I said, “Truly, he is torn, torn to
pieces!” And I have not seen him since.
Gen 44:29
‘And if you take this one from me too, and harm comes to him, you shall
bring down my grey hair with evil to the grave.’
Gen 44:30
“And now, if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us
– since his own life is bound up in his life –
Gen 44:31
then it shall be, when he sees that the boy is not with us, that he
shall die. So your servants shall bring down the grey hair of your servant our
father with evil to the grave.
Gen 44:32
“For your servant went guaranty for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I
do not bring him back to you, then I shall be a sinner before my father
forever.’
Gen 44:33
“And now, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a slave
to my master, and let the boy go up with his brothers.
Gen 44:34
“For how do I go up to my father if the boy is not with me, lest I see
the evil that would come upon my father?”
We can assume that this allegory points to
the time when Yehudah will once again enter into a mediatory role presenting
himself and his brothers to our Messiah who is just about to reveal himself to
his brothers – the tribes of Yisrael.
At this time we see the primary motivation
of the brothers is the love of their father –Yakov – because of all the grief
they brought to him as the result of the news of Yosef’s death.
Could it be that once again at the end of
this age we will discover the heart of our Heavenly Father and His grief over
the separation of His family for such a long time?
Imagine the joy in heaven when YHVH sends
His son to come and reconcile the family of Yisrael and establish His Kingdom
on earth forever and ever.
Benyamin seems to be an allegorical
representation of those who are similar of heart and spirit to Yosef – maybe
this is a restored messianic movement free from all forms of pagan mixture
clinging to YHVH and His Torah.
Yehudah seems very concerned in protecting
those who have the heart and spirit of a Benyamin.
The coming of Benyamin would
eventually cause Yakov the father to come to Mitsrayim/Egypt – maybe this
points to the coming restored messianic movement causing as it were YHVH to
once again to intervene for a last time bringing an end to this age - only when the Father is revealed is the family
able to be saved – It is striking to note the number of times Yakov is
mentioned in this portion. Only once the Egyptian influence is exposed and removed
could the family of Yakov be joined together again. Maybe this” Benyamin”
movement is what Shaul refers to as the “fullness of the gentiles”.
Rom 11:25 For I do not wish you to be ignorant of this
secret, brothers, lest you should be wise in your own estimation, that
hardening in part has come over Yisra’ĕl, until the completeness of the
gentiles1 has come in. Footnote: 1Gen. 48:19.
(Compare Greek word “pleroma” –
“fullness” in vs 12 and 25)
Many believe that the church with
its mixture of worship and ‘Replacement theology’ does not even feature in end
time prophecy because it has rejected YHVH’s agenda for Yisrael.
Gen 45:1 And Yosĕph was unable to restrain himself
before all those who stood by him, and he called out, “Have everyone go out
from me!” So no one stood with him while Yosĕph made himself known to his
brothers.
