8/17/2013

Parashat 11 Portion 43 Beresheet 46:28-47:31 Haftarah: Zech 10:6-11:7- John 19:29-30

We are now in the Sixth Hebrew/Scriptural Month, the month of ELUL. You can read about the Month of Elul on the right hand side of this home page under the heading "PAGES".


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.)



“Yeshayahu/Isaiah chapter 19, describes a very difficult, violent and economically disastrous future for Mitrayim/Egypt in the last days, and even worse leadership than it has had in the past….but there is also hope, there is good news — very good news — in Mitsrayim’s/Egypt’s future as well.”

Isa 19:1  The message concerning Mitsrayim. See, יהוה is riding on a swift cloud, and He shall come into Mitsrayim. And the idols of Mitsrayim shall tremble at His presence, and the heart of Mitsrayim melt in its midst.
Isa 19:2  “And I shall stir up Mitsrites against Mitsrites, and they shall fight, each one against his brother, and each one against his neighbour, city against city, reign against reign.
Isa 19:3  “And the spirit of Mitsrayim shall vanish within them, and I destroy their counsel. And they shall seek the idols and the mutterers, the mediums and the sorcerers.
Isa 19:4  “And I shall deliver the Mitsrites into the hand of a cruel master, and a fierce sovereign to rule over them,”  declares the Master, יהוה of hosts.  

The spirit of Mitzrayim must “vanish” – In spite of all that Mitzrayim has become and represents it has also been a “birth canal” for those who are called by His Name. To be born again means we come out of ‘Mitsrayim/Egypt’ by the blood of a lamb and we go through a mikvah (baptism) ‘Red Sea’ and we go through many trials and tribulations before we eventually enter into the Promised Land. The very word “Mitzrayim” means  “restriction.”

In the last days when this calamity comes upon Mitzrayim – restoration too will come.

Isa 19:19  In that day an altar to יהוה shall be in the midst of the land of Mitsrayim, and a standing column to יהוה at its border.
Isa 19:20  And it shall be for a sign and for a witness to יהוה of hosts in the land of Mitsrayim. When they cry to יהוה because of the oppressors, He sends them a Saviour and an Elohim, and shall deliver them.
Isa 19:21  And יהוה shall be known to Mitsrayim, and the Mitsrites shall know יהוה in that day, and make slaughtering and meal offering, and shall make a vow to יהוה and pay it.
Isa 19:22  And יהוה shall smite Mitsrayim, smite it and heal it. And they shall turn to יהוה, and He shall hear them and heal them.
Isa 19:23  In that day there shall be a highway from Mitsrayim to Ashshur,* and Ashshur shall come into Mitsrayim and Mitsrayim into Ashshur, and Mitsrayim shall serve with Ashshur.
Isa 19:24  In that day Yisra’ĕl shall be one of three with Mitsrayim and Ashshur, even a blessing in the midst of the earth,
Isa 19:25  whom יהוה of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Mitsrayim My people, and Ashshur the work of My hands, and Yisra’ĕl My inheritance.”

*Ashshur includes areas in modern day countries of Syria Turkey Iraq and Iran.
It is also significant that in the last days Yerushalyim is refered to as Mitsrayim (Egypt) and even Sodom:

Rev 11:8  and their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Seḏom and Mitsrayim, where also our Master was impaled,

Once again those who are alive in the last days will witness how YHVH creates a “birthing canal” for His people to come out of bondage and restriction into the marvellous freedom of His kingdom.

Today we see in the Middle East parties in conflict where no possible resolution seems possible.

Could this possibly be pointing to the reality that we are approaching a time in the history of the world where YHVH will no longer tolerate disobedience to His Covenant/Torah.

Act 17:30  “Truly, then, having overlooked these times of ignorance, Elohim now commands all men everywhere to repent,
Act 17:31  because He has set a day on which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed,1 having given proof of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Isa 24:3  the earth is completely emptied and utterly plundered, for יהוה has spoken this word.
Isa 24:4  The earth shall mourn and wither, the world shall languish and wither, the haughty people of the earth shall languish.
Isa 24:5  For the earth has been defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the Torot1, changed2 the law, broken the everlasting covenant3. Footnotes: 1Torot - plural of Torah, teaching. 2Jer. 23:36. 3This is the only reason, according to all Scriptures, why the earth shall be burned in the day of judgment – see also 13:9, 13:11, 26:21, 66:24, Mic. 5:15, Zeph. 1:2-18.
Isa 24:6  Therefore a curse shall consume the earth, and those who dwell in it be punished. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth shall be burned, and few men shall be left.

The context of this Torah portion should be seen in that a remnant of believers will see the establishing of Messianic truth before Messiah returns to earth.

Act 3:20  and that He sends יהושע Messiah, pre-appointed for you,
Act 3:21  whom heaven needs to receive until the times of restoration of all matters, of which Elohim spoke through the mouth of all His set-apart prophets since of old.
Act 3:22  “For Mosheh truly said to the fathers, ‘יהוה your Elohim shall raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brothers. Him you shall hear according to all matters, whatever He says to you.
Act 3:23  ‘And it shall be that every being who does not hear that Prophet1 shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ Footnote: 1Deut. 18:18-20.
Act 3:24  “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Shemu’ĕl and those following, have also announced these days.
Act 3:25  “You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which Elohim made with our fathers, saying to Aḇraham, ‘And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.’
Act 3:26  “To you first, Elohim, having raised up His Servant יהושע, sent Him to bless you, in turning away each one of you from your wicked ways.”1 Footnote: 1See 2:38.

Note there will be a measure of restoration of Messianic Torah observance BEFORE MESSIAH RETURNS.

Our Torah portion begins:
Ber/Gen 46:28  And he sent Yehuḏah before him to Yosĕph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen.

Note the leadership role Yehudah has in leading the way for the family of Yisrael to come together in Mitzrayim (bondage).
We too can expect in the last days that a remnant of Yehudah will lead the way once again for the coming together of the brothers.

Gen 46:29  And Yosĕph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father
Yisra’ĕl. And he appeared to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time.
Gen 46:30  And Yisra’ĕl said to Yosĕph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”
Gen 46:31  And Yosĕph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I am going up to inform Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Kena’an, have come to me.

Note the family of Yisrael do not meet in the courts of the Phaorah but in the tent of Yakov/Yisrael.
In the last days we too can expect a great love and proper honour to return to our Heavenly Father.

Gen 46:32  ‘And the men are shepherds, that they have been men of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds, and all that they have.’
Gen 46:33  “And it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’
Gen 46:34  that you shall say, ‘Your servants have been men of livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ so that you dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Mitsrites.”

Shepherding and caring are not part of the Egyptian way of life. They see themselves as way above simple shepherds. Instead they worship the animals the shepherds take care of. The Remnant will live in the tents of Yakov, will pitch their tents build their altars and dig wells – and study the Torah and take care of animals –which qualifies them to shepherd the nations.

Gen 47:1  Then Yosĕph went and spoke to Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Kena’an. And see, they are in the land of Goshen.”
Gen 47:2  And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
Gen 47:3  And Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.”
Gen 47:4  And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because there is no pasture for your servant’s flocks, for the scarcity of food is severe in the land of Kena’an. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”
Gen 47:5  And Pharaoh spoke to Yosĕph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.
Gen 47:6  “The land of Mitsrayim is before you. Settle your father and brothers in the best of the land, let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of capable men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”
Gen 47:7  And Yosĕph brought in his father Ya’aqoḇ and set him before Pharaoh. And Ya’aqoḇ blessed Pharaoh.
Gen 47:8  And Pharaoh said to Ya’aqoḇ, “How old are you?”
Gen 47:9  And Ya’aqoḇ said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojournings are one hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.”

A Yakov - people – the remnant of Yisrael will be those who have through many trails and tribulations come to this special place of reunion of the family of Yisrael.

Gen 47:10  And Ya’aqoḇ blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
Gen 47:11  So Yosĕph settled his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Mitsrayim, in the best of the land, in the land of Ra’meses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
Gen 47:12  And Yosĕph provided his father, and his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread for the mouth of the little ones.
Gen 47:13  Now there was no bread in all the land, because the scarcity of food was very severe, and the land of Mitsrayim and all the land of Kena’an became exhausted from the scarcity of food.
Gen 47:14  And Yosĕph gathered up all the silver that was found in the land of Mitsrayim and in the land of Kena’an, for the grain which they bought. And Yosĕph brought the silver into Pharaoh’s house.
Gen 47:15  And when the silver was all spent in the land of Mitsrayim and in the land of Kena’an, all the Mitsrites came to Yosĕph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the silver is gone!”
Gen 47:16  And Yosĕph said, “Give your livestock, and I give you bread for your livestock, if the silver is gone.”
Gen 47:17  So they brought their livestock to Yosĕph, and Yosĕph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks they owned, and for the herds they owned, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.
Gen 47:18  And when that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We do not hide from my master that our silver is all spent, and my master also has the livestock we owned. There has not any been left before my master but our bodies and our lands.
Gen 47:19  “Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and let us and our land be servants of Pharaoh. And give us seed, and let us live and not die, and let the land not lie waste.”
Gen 47:20  And Yosĕph bought the entire land of Mitsrayim for Pharaoh, because every man of the Mitsrites sold his field, because the scarcity of food was severe upon them. And the land came to be Pharaoh’s.
Gen 47:21  And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Mitsrayim to the other end.
Gen 47:22  Only the ground of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had portions allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their portions which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not sell their ground.
Gen 47:23  And Yosĕph said to the people, “Look, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
Gen 47:24  “And it shall be that in the harvest you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. And four-fifths is your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”
Gen 47:25  And they said, “You have saved our lives. Let us find favour in the eyes of my master, and we shall become Pharaoh’s servants.”
Gen 47:26  And Yosĕph made it a law over the land of Mitsrayim to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the ground of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.
Gen 47:27  And Yisra’ĕl dwelt in the land of Mitsrayim, in the land of Goshen. And they had possessions there and bore fruit and increased exceedingly.
Gen 47:28  And Ya’aqoḇ lived in the land of Mitsrayim seventeen years. So the length of Ya’aqoḇ’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.
Gen 47:29  And the time for Yisra’ĕl to die drew near, and he called his son Yosĕph and said to him, “Now if I have found favour in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, and show kindness and truth to me. Please do not bury me in Mitsrayim,
Gen 47:30  but I shall lie with my fathers, and you shall take me up out of Mitsrayim and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I do as you have said.”
Gen 47:31  And he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him, and Yisra’ĕl bowed himself on the head of the bed.

These events may be a prophetic allegory of how YHVH will protect and prosper a remnant in the last days.

Who will this remnant be?

Those who have been truly born again by the Word/Torah of YHVH.

1Pe 1:23  having been born again – not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible – through the living Word of Elohim, which remains forever,

What does it mean to be born again?

Yochanan/Joh 3:3  יהושע answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he is unable to see1 the reign of Elohim.” Footnote: 1Or perceive.
Joh 3:4  Naḵdimon said to Him, “How is a man able to be born when he is old? Is he able to enter into his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”
Joh 3:5  יהושע answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he is unable to enter into the reign of Elohim.
Joh 3:6  “That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You have to be born from above.’
Joh 3:8  “The Spirit1 breathes where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

Today we have lost the original meaning of what was involved in such a conversion. It was a total radical turning away from every form of man-made religion and an embracing of the Torah of YHVH. This could only happen where the Ruach of YHVH had begun a deep work of regeneration within a person. This regeneration was evidenced by a mikvah (baptism) and a public declaration that a person was willing to forsake all. Many of the early believers sold all their possessions and lay them at the apostle’s feet. These were men and woman who had completely turned their backs on everything to follow Messiah. These were people who had discovered the pearl of great price – the treasure hidden in the field. These were the remnant of Yisrael.

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.