In the previous chapter 25 verse 8 we read that
Avraham died and was gathered to his people. Chapter 26 of Bereshit (Genesis)
begins by stating that there was a famine in the land. Was this famine related
to Avraham’s death?
The Targum Yonatan also explains that when Yitzchak
was driven away from Gerar by Abimilech the wells dried up and the trees bore
no fruit.
During Yakov’s life there too was a severe famine not
only in the land of Yisrael but all over the world. Yakov was dishonoured by
his father in law – Laban – Yakov was dishonoured by his brother Esav - Yakov was also dishonoured by his sons because
of his love for Yosef and his sons brought great sorrow and sadness to Yakov
when they lied about Yosef’s so called untimely death. Yakov’s family had to leave their land to go
to Mitzraim/Egypt because of the severe famine.
Maybe we can draw
the conclusion that when the patriarchs were not honoured there was famine in
the land and even in the world.
When Yahshua was asked by his talmadim(disciples) to
teach them how to pray, Yahshua starts the prayer by honouring his Father - Our Father who is in the heaven, Your Name is
Set Apart…” Yahshua taught them the prayer we find in Matt 6:9-12. Some scholars
believe this was an abbreviated version of the “Amiddah” or “Shmoneh Esrei”.
Read the explanation found in website:
There are 18 sections in the Amiddah. The first
section is a prayer concerning the patriachs.
“PATRIARCHS”
or “Avot”
Blessed
are You, YHVH our Elohim and Elohim of our fathers, Elohim of Avraham, Elohim
of Yitzchak Elohim of Yakov, the great, mighty and awesome Elohim, Elohim
supreme, Who extends loving-kindness and is Master of all, Who remembers the
gracious deeds of our forefathers, and Who brings a Redeemer with love to their
children’s children for His
Name’s
sake. King, Redeemer, Savior, and Shield! Blessed are You O YHVH, Shield of Avraham.
It
is significant that this prayer starts in a dedication to the Patriachs and the
eventual Redeemer that will come through their descendants.
Yahshua
says of Avraham Joh 8:56
“Your father Aḇraham was glad that he
should see My day, and he saw it and did rejoice.”
YHVH is often referred to as the Elohim of Avraham,
Yitzchak and Yakov.
Mat 22:32 ‘I am the Elohim of Aḇraham, and the Elohim
of Yitsḥaq, and the Elohim of
Yaʽaqoḇ’? Elohim is not the
Elohim of the dead, but of the living.”
Yahshua clearly proclaims that the faith of the
patriarchs continues to live on.
These wells of our
fathers symbolically reveal the revelation of the one faith – the living water
that would bring life to a world in
desperate need of life.
Eph 4:4 one body and one Spirit, as you also were
called in one expectation of your calling,
Eph 4:5 one Master, one belief, one immersion,
Eph 4:6 one Elohim and Father of all,1 who
is above all, and through all, and in you all. Footnote: 1Mk.
12:32,34, 1 Cor. 8:6, 1 Tim. 2:5, Mk. 12:29-34.
It was at Yakov’s well
that Yahshua said to the Samaritan woman that he could give her water that she
would never thirst again.
Joh 4:6 And Yaʽaqoḇ’s fountain was there.
So יהושע, being wearied
from the journey, was sitting thus at the fountain. It was about the sixth
hour.
Joh 4:7 A woman of
Shomeron came to draw water. יהושע said to her,
“Give Me to drink.”
Joh 4:8 For His
taught ones had gone off into the city to buy food.
Joh 4:9 The woman
of Shomeron therefore said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Yehuḏite,
ask a drink from me, a woman of Shomeron?” For Yehuḏim do
not associate with Shomeronites.
Joh 4:10 יהושע answered and said to her, “If you knew the
gift of Elohim, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me to drink,’ you would
have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”1
Footnote: 1Jer. 2:13, Jer. 17:13, Zech. 14:8, John 7:37-39.
Joh 4:11 The woman
said to Him, “Master, You have no vessel, and the well is deep. From where,
then, do You have living water?
Joh 4:12 “Are You
greater than our father Yaʽaqoḇ, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and
his sons, and his cattle?”
Joh 4:13 יהושע answered and said to her, “Everyone
drinking of this water shall thirst again,
Joh 4:14 but
whoever drinks of the water I give him shall certainly never thirst. And the
water that I give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into
everlasting life.”
The sad history of religious men since the beginning of
time is the unrelenting effort they have applied to close the ancient wells of the
faith that our forefathers opened for us.
Our Torah
Portion for this week:
Gen 26:12 And Yitsḥaq
sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold, and יהוה blessed him.
Gen 26:13 And the
man grew great and went forward until he became very great.
Gen 26:14 And he
came to have possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great body of
servants, and the Philistines envied him.
Shaul clearly teaches
that the very essence of the Good News that through Avraham all the nations of
the world would be blessed, even in the midst of famine. Perhaps the most
blessed and fruitful times for the true believers of the true Messiah will come
during the great tribulation.
Gal 3:7 Know, then, that those who are of belief
(noun – implying those who of the faith – the ancient Avrahamic faith)) are
sons of Aḇraham.
Gal 3:8 And
the Scripture, having foreseen that Elohim would declare right the nations by
belief,(noun – referring those who were joined to the same faith as Avraham)
announced the Good News to Aḇraham beforehand,
saying, “All the nations shall be blessed in you,”
Gal 3:9 so
that those who are of belief are blessed with Aḇraham, the believer.
Remember Avraham was the first Hebrew (Ivri) – one
who crossed over from Babylon to the promised land. Today there are many
genuine believers in the Hebrew roots movement who are following in his
footsteps.
The sad reality is that the church has created an
alternative “faith” to the one of our fathers. In fact the prophet Yermiyahu
(Jeremiah) stated that the gentiles had inherited folly from their spiritual
leaders – their fathers.
Jer 16:19 O יהוה, my strength
and my stronghold and my refuge, in the day of distress the gentiles shall come
to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have inherited only
falsehood, futility, and there is no value in them.”1 Footnote: 1See
Ps. 147:19, Isa. 2:3, Isa. 60:2-3, John 4:22, Rom. 2:20, Rom. 3:2, Rom. 9:4.
The
spirit of the modern church is becoming more and more hostile towards the
patriarchal spirit revealed in the Torah and throughout all scripture. They say
“all we need is Jesus” but it was Yahshua that perfectly embraced all of the
faith in such a manner that he alone became worthy to be the Mediator between
us and the Father. It was Yahshua that
came to reopen the wells of salvation that our ancient fathers dug. It was
Yahshua that came in the fullness of the revelation of all scripture – the
faith – and become our Prince and leader –
Psa 40:7 Then I said, “See, I have come; In the scroll
of the Book it is prescribed for me.
Psa 40:8 I have delighted to do Your pleasure, O my
Elohim, And Your Torah is within my heart1.” Footnote: 1Ps.
37:31, Ps. 119:11, Isa. 51:7, Heb. 10:7-9.
Isa 12:2 “See, Ěl is my deliverance, I trust and am
not afraid. For Yah, יהוה, is my
strength and my song; and He has become my deliverance.” Isa 12:3 And you shall draw water with joy from the
fountains of deliverance. Isa 12:4 And
in that day you shall say, “Praise יהוה, call upon His
Name; make known His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His Name is
exalted. Isa 12:5 “Sing to יהוה, For He has done excellently; this is
known in all the earth. Isa 12:6 “Cry
aloud and shout, O inhabitant of Tsiyon, for great is the Set-apart One of
Yisra’ĕl in your midst!”
Note the following
comments from a well- known Christian leader:
8:00PM
EDT 9/30/2000 Cindy Jacobs - Charisma Magazine -
IT IS GOD'S HOUR FOR
THE RELEASE OF WOMEN IN EVERY ASPECT OF MINISTRY. BUT HOW DO WE PREVENT AGE-OLD
GENDER BIASES FROM HOLDING US BACK?
The patriarchal
"spirit" is a negative attitude toward women in leadership that
frequently originates from a religious belief system, traditional way of
thinking or cultural bias. However, there are times when the attitude is so
strong and so ingrained that it can be categorized as demonic.
It is my dream that
the patriarchal spirit will be defeated in the next few years – end quote.
http://www.charismamag.com/site-archives/24-uncategorised/9506-responding-to-the-patriarchal-spirit
According
to Kathryn J. Riss, Th.M “ Scripture nowhere directs a husband to rule
over his wife, nor a wife to obey her husband - See her blasphemous
website:
One of the most
tragic stories of the scripture is that of King Ahab and Jezebel.
1Ki 21:25 Indeed, there never was anyone like Aḥaḇ who sold himself to
do evil in the eyes of יהוה, because Izeḇel his
wife stirred him up.
YHVH stated that King Ahab did more evil in his eyes than any other king
before him. When YHVH of heaven makes this kind of comment about a person’s life
this clearly reveals that He was not pleased with Ahab’s rule. YHVH said that
Ahab didn’t think much was wrong with the evil things that he did while he
ruled. He married a foreign woman named Jezebel who worshiped the god Baal and
he built a temple to honor this god in Samaria. He also built altars and idols
to another pagan deity named Asherah. He allowed Jezebel to kill YHVH’s priests
and a set apart man named Naboth. He also created problems for the prophet
Elijah while he was alive. - See more at: http://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/ahab-the-most-wicked-king-of-israel/#sthash.Ir9uFuSB.dpuf
At one point during Ahab’s rule, his wife Jezebel was killing YHVH’s
prophets. King Ahab didn’t care about what she was doing because he was
worshipping Baal. YHVH sent a prophet named Eliyahu to resolve this situation.
- See more at: http://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/ahab-the-most-wicked-king-of-israel/#sthash.Ir9uFuSB.dpuf
Note when King Ahab and his
wicked queen ruled in Israel there was a severe famine in the land.
See 1 Kings 18 and 19
Jas 5:17 Ěliyahu was a man with feelings like us, and
he prayed earnestly that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for
three years and six months.
It is perhaps not a
coincidence that South Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 100 years.
The following website states:
http://www.destinyman.com/2016/02/18/drought-pushes-50-000-south-africans-into-poverty/
Thousands of South Africans have been forced into
poverty, due to the current drought that is gripping the country. The World
Bank announced on Wednesday that an additional 50 000 people are now living on
less than R501 per month.Briefing a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, Catriona Purfield, the World Bank’s Lead Economist for SA, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland, said that the number is expected to increase, reports ENCA.
“We estimate that we will be seeing the average income of South Africans falling from 2013 to 2017 and the poorness ration increasing,” she said
The country is experiencing the worst drought the country has seen in over 100 years. Last year, economists were raising concerns about food price increases. In November, the Department of Agriculture, led by Minister Senzeni Zokwana and Deputy Minister Bheki Cele, presented a report to a Parliamentary committee, in which they discussed the impact of the drought on food security. End quote.
“The
University of Pretoria’s Professor Willem Landman says South Africans should brace themselves for
more heat.
“The
forecast for the next couple of weeks ahead, and maybe the next few months, I
think we can expect to see periods of little rain and intense heat.”
Landman says
there may be few rain episodes in between.
“I can again
see periods of irrigation, but we can expect to find again periods of intense
heat and no rain.” End quote.
The spirit
of feminism (Queen of heaven) is increasing its influence and power over the
earth
Isa 3:12 “My people! Youths exert pressure on them,
and women rule over them. O My people! Your leaders lead you astray1,
and swallow the way of your paths.” Footnote: 1See also 9:16.
Which paths?
Jer 6:16
Thus said יהוה, “Stand in the
ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it;
and find rest for yourselves. But they said, ‘We do not walk in it.’
Jer 6:17 “And I
raised up watchmen over you, and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the ram’s
horn!’ But they said, ‘We do not listen.’Jer 6:18 “Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is upon them! Jer 6:19 “Hear, O earth! See, I am bringing evil upon
this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not listened
to My words, nor My Torah – and they rejected it.
What is the Jezebel spirit?
Rev 2:18 “And to the messenger of the assembly in
Thyatira write, ‘This says the Son of Elohim, who has eyes like a flame of
fire, and His feet like burnished brass: Rev 2:19 “I know your works, and love, and service,
and belief, and your endurance. And as for your works, the last are more than
the first.
Rev 2:20 “But I hold against you that you allow that
woman Izeḇel, who calls herself
a prophetess, to teach and lead My servants astray to commit whoring and to eat
food offered to idols. Rev 2:21
“And I gave her time to repent of her whoring, and she did not repent. Rev
2:22 “See, I am throwing her into a
sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great affliction, unless
they repent of their works.
Rev 2:23 “And I shall slay her children with death.
And all the assemblies shall know that I am the One searching the kidneys and
hearts. And I shall give to each one of you according to your works. Rev
2:24 “And to you I say, and to the rest
in Thyatira, as many as do not possess this teaching, and who have not known
the depths of Satan, as they call them, I am not putting on you another burden.
Rev 2:25 “But hold fast what you have until I come.
In the last days YHVH will once again bring a famine in
the land during the great tribulation.
Rev 11:3 “And I shall give unto my two witnesses, and
they shall prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clad in
sackcloth.” Rev 11:5 And if anyone
wishes to harm them, fire comes out from their mouth and consumes their
enemies. And if anyone wishes to harm them, he has to be killed in that way. Rev
11:6 These possess authority to shut the
heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy. And they possess
authority over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all
plagues, as often as they wish.
The prophet Amos says that there will be a famine for
hearing the word of YHVH.
Amo 8:11 “See, days are coming,” declares the Master יהוה, “that I shall
send a hunger in the land, not a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for water, but
for hearing the Words of יהוה.
Many may claim prosperity and blessing but in reality
there is a famine in their lives for the Torah – the Word of YHVH. They think
they are alive but they are dead.
Rev 3:1 “And to the messenger of the assembly in
Sardis write, ‘He who has the seven Spirits of Elohim and the seven stars, says
this, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are
dead.
Pro 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death1. Footnote: 1See 16:25.
Gen 26:15 And the
Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in
the days of Aḇraham his father, and filled them with dirt.
Gen 26:16 And Aḇimeleḵ said
to Yitsḥaq, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
Gen 26:17 So Yitsḥaq
went from there and pitched his tent in the wadi Gerar, and dwelt there.
Gen 26:18 And
Yitsḥaq dug again the
wells of water which they had dug in the days of Aḇraham
his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Aḇraham.
And he called them by the names which his father had called them.
Note they did not dig new wells but unstopped the old
wells. We don’t have to look for new sources of water or spiritual life, we
simply need to remove all the pagan mixture that has come into the wells of our
salvation.
Gen 26:19 But when
Yitsḥaq’s servants dug in the wadi and found a well of running
water there,
Gen 26:20 the
herdsmen of Gerar strove with Yitsḥaq’s
herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” And he called the name of the well Ěseq, because they strove with
him.
Gen 26:21 And they
dug another well, and they strove over that one too, and he called its name Sitnah.
Gen 26:22 And he
moved from there and dug another well, and they did not strive over it. And he
called its name Reḥoḇoth, and said, “For now יהוה has made room
for us, and we shall bear fruit in the land.”
Gen 26:23 And from
there he went up to Be’ĕrsheḇa.
This has
been described as similar to the Messianic restoration. When we begin to
rediscover the ancient wells of the truth of Torah, which have been blocked by
the “Philistines” you experience strife from those outside Esek( or contention)
then from those inside ( Sitnah or
quarrelling) and then when you move on and leave them behind, you have space to
breath. (Rehoboth)
Gen 26:24 And יהוה appeared to him the same night and said,
“I am the Elohim of your father Aḇraham.
Do not fear, for I am with you, and shall bless you and increase your seed for
My servant Aḇraham’s sake.”
Gen 26:25 And he
built an altar there, and called on the Name of יהוה, and he
pitched his tent there, and the servants of Yitsḥaq dug
a well there.
Gen 26:26 And Aḇimeleḵ came
to him from Gerar, with Aḥuzzath, one of his friends, and Piḵol the
commander of his army.
Gen 26:27 And
Yitsḥaq said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing you
have hated me and have sent me away from you?”
Gen 26:28 But they
said, “We have clearly seen that יהוה is with you.
And we said, ‘Please, let there be an oath between us, between you and us. And
let us make a covenant with you,
Gen 26:29 that you
do no evil to us, as we have not touched you, and as we have done only good
toward you, and have sent you away in peace. You are now blessed by יהוה.’ ”
Gen 26:30 And he
made them a feast, and they ate and drank.
The Targum Yonatan explains Abimelek’s sudden change of
heart: “When Yitzchak left Gerar the wells dried up and the trees bore no
fruit. They felt this befell them because they had driven him away, so Abimilek
went to Yitzchak from Gerar”
Gen 26:31 And they
rose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another. And Yitsḥaq let
them go, and they departed from him in peace.
Gen 26:32 And on
the same day it came to be that the servants of Yitsḥaq
came and informed him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We
have found water.”
Gen 26:33 So he
called it Shiḇah. Therefore the name of the city is Be’ĕrsheḇa to
this day.
Gen 26:34 And when
Ěsaw was forty years old, he took as wives Yehuḏith
the daughter of Be’ĕri the Ḥittite, and Basemath the daughter of Ělon the Ḥittite.
Gen 26:35 And they
were a bitterness of spirit to Yitsḥaq and
Riḇqah.