Bar’chu
et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed! Baruch ata YHVH
Eloheinu
melech ha-olam asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim, v’na-tan lanu eht Torah-to.
Baruch
atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Bless
YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the blessed One for all eternity.
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.)
Gen 16:1 And
Sarai, Aḇram’s wife, had borne him no child. And she had a Mitsrite female
servant whose name was Haḡar.
This narrative presents different midrashim. We see that
there is often a prompting to go to Egypt/Mistzraim for those whom YHVH has
called and chosen, who are confronted with a season of barreness. In fact some
don’t just go to Mitzraim – they run – Hagar can mean “flight,”- some who go may have no
option so ‘’Hagar’’ can also mean “the stranger” “ha ger.”
Examples: Abram and his family - Gen 12:10 And a scarcity of food came to
be in the land, and Aḇram went down to Mitsrayim to dwell there, for the
scarcity of food was severe in the land.
Yakov and his family
– Gen 46
Yitschak was told not to go to Mitzrayim/Egypt - Gen 26:1 And there was a scarcity of
food in the land, besides the first scarcity of food which was in the days of Aḇraham.
And Yitsḥaq went to Aḇimeleḵ, sovereign of the Philistines, in Gerar.
Gen 26:2
And יהוה appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Mitsrayim, live in
the land which I command you.
YHVH did not want His people to return that way again,
speaking of the kings He said: - Deu 17:16 “Only, he is not to increase horses for himself, nor
cause the people to return to Mitsrayim to increase horses, for יהוה has
said to you, ‘Do not return that way again.’
Yirmiyahu/Jeremiah warned the remnant not to return to Mitsrayim/Egypt
- When the remnant wanted to flee to Egypt. Yirmiyahu/Jeremiah prophesied
against it (Jer42:15-43:3), was forced to go with the remnant
to Egypt (Jer43:6, 7)
Even baby Yahshua spent some time in Egypt: Mat
2:13 And when they had left, see, a messenger of יהוה appeared to Yosěph in a
dream, saying, “Arise, take the Child and His mother, and flee to Mitsrayim,
and remain there until I bring you word, for Herodes is about to seek the Child
to destroy Him.” Mat 2:14 And rising up, he took the Child and His
mother by night and departed for Mitsrayim, Mat 2:15 and remained
there until the death of Herodes, to fill what was spoken by יהוה
through the prophet, saying, “Out of Mitsrayim I have called My Son.” Exo_4:22-23,
Hos 11:1 “When Yisra’ěl was a child, I loved him, and out of
Mitsrayim I called My son.
Some sages refer to Mitsrayim as a ‘’birth canal’’. In other
words even in the midst of trials and tribulations –new hope, new life,
heavenly life can be born.(Strongs 4714 – ‘’double staits’’- ie narrow,
constricted and tight)
Maybe we should take another look at barrenness. Every great
work and calling of YHVH seems to come from a place of barrenness – Yochanan
the immerser, the nation of Yisrael and even the bride of Messiah in the last
days-
Hos 2:14 “Therefore,
see, I am alluring her, and shall lead her into the wilderness, and shall speak
to her heart,
Gen 16:2 And Sarai
said to Aḇram, “See, יהוה has kept me from bearing
children. Please, go in to my female servant. It might be that I am built up by
her.” And Aḇram listened to the voice of Sarai.
Gen
16:3 And Sarai, Aḇram’s wife, took
Haḡar her female servant, the Mitsrite, and gave her to her husband Aḇram to
be his wife, after Aḇram had dwelt ten years in the land of Kenaʽan.
10 years
speaks of testing and trials. Kena’an comes from a Hebrew word S3665 and can
mean to be “humbled.” We could conclude that after being tested, Sarai could no
longer bear the humiliation of being barren; she was humbled in her own sight
and went about doing something in her own wisdom and strength to remedy her
barrenness. This is usually a bad idea.
Gen
16:4 And he went in to Haḡar, and she
conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised
in her eyes.
Gen
16:5 And Sarai said to Aḇram, “My wrong
be upon you! I gave my female servant into your bosom. And when she saw that
she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. Let יהוה judge between you and me.”
Gen
16:6 And Aḇram said to Sarai, “See,
your female servant is in your hand, do to her what is good in your eyes.” And
Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.
Gen
16:7 And the Messenger of יהוה found her by a spring of
water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur,
Gen
16:8 and He said, “Haḡar, Sarai’s
female servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?” And she
said, “I am fleeing from the presence of Sarai, my mistress.”
Gen
16:9 And the Messenger of יהוה said to her, “Return to your
mistress, and humble yourself under her hand.”
Gen
16:10 And the Messenger of יהוה said to her, “I am going to
increase your seed greatly, too numerous to be counted.”
Gen
16:11 And the Messenger of יהוה said to her, “See, you are
conceiving and bearing a son, and shall call his name Yishmaʽĕl, because יהוה has heard your affliction.
Gen
16:12 “And he is to be a wild man, his
hand against every one and every one’s hand against him, and dwell over against
all his brothers.”
Gen
16:13 And she called the Name of יהוה who spoke to her, “You are
the Ěl who sees,” for she said, “Even here have I seen after Him who sees me?”
Gen
16:14 That is why the well was called
Be’ĕr Laḥai Ro’i, see, it is between Qaḏĕsh and Bereḏ.
S883 - Beer-lahai-roi = “well of the
Living One seeing me” or “the well that belongs to one who sees while he is living.”
http://thetorah.com/locating-beer-lahai-roi/
“About 5 Km
north of Petra, situated in a short Canyon is one of Petra’s business quarters.
Tourists call it “Little Petra,” on maps it appears as Beida, but the locals
name the place Siq el-Bared. On a dirt-road about half way between Ein Musa
(that is Ein Kadesh) and Siq el-Bared, are the ruins of a small Turkish
village. The name of the village is Chai, and its spring is Ein el-Chai.
This site matches all the requirements of Beer-lahai-roi: it is situated
between Kadesh and Bared, on the road running east-west leading to Mutsrayim/Egypt
and there is a spring at the site. I propose identifying Ein el-Chai as
biblical Beer-lahai-roi. – “
Wells prove
to be very significant meeting places in the scriptures, perhaps even in the
future. Could Petra be a possible meeting place for a future bride of Messiah?
See also Ber/Gen 24:62 where Yitzchak meets Rivkah; Ber 29:10 Yakov meets
Rachel at a well where he falls in love with her. Avraham sent Eliezer to find
a wife for Yitzchak. Eliezer found Rivkah by a well.
Yahshua
also had an encounter with a Samaritan woman at a well – Yoh/John 4:6 Yakov’s
well. This Samaritan woman was possibly barren as she was put away by five
husbands. It was acceptable in those times to put away a wife who was barren.
Note these
people found water (life) in barren places.
Yisraelites
are called upon to be “well diggers” see Psalm 84.
Gen
16:15 And Haḡar bore Aḇram a son, and
Aḇram called the name of his son, whom Haḡar bore, Yishmaʽĕl.
Gen
16:16 And Aḇram was eighty-six years
old when Haḡar bore Yishmaʽĕl to Aḇram.
Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision
Gen 17:1 And it came to be when Aḇram was
ninety-nine years old, that יהוה appeared to Aḇram and said to him, “I am
Ěl Shaddai – walk before Me and be perfect.
Gen 17:2 “And I give My covenant between Me and
you, and shall greatly increase you.”
Gen 17:3 And Aḇram fell on his face, and Elohim
spoke with him, saying,
Gen 17:4 “As for Me, look, My covenant is with you,
and you shall become a father of many nations.
Gen 17:5 “And no longer is your name called Aḇram,
but your name shall be Aḇraham, because I shall make you a father of many
nations.
Gal 4:21 Say to
me, you who wish to be under Torah, do you not hear the Torah?
Gal 4:22 For it
has been written that Aḇraham had two sons, one by a female servant, the other
by a free woman.
Gal 4:23 But he
who was of the female servant was born according to the flesh, and he of the
free woman through promise.
Gal 4:24 This is
allegorical, for these are the two covenants: one indeed from Mount Sinai which
brings forth slavery, which is Haḡar,
Gal 4:25 for this
Haḡar is Mount Sinai in Araḇia, and corresponds to Yerushalayim which now is,
and is in slavery with her children.
Gal 4:26 But the
Yerushalayim above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27 For it
has been written, “Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and
shout, you who do not have birth pains! For the deserted one has many more
children than she who has a husband.”
Gal 4:28 And we,
brothers, as Yitsḥaq was, are children of promise.
Gal 4:29 But, as
he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him born
according to the Spirit, so also now.
Gal 4:30 But what
does the Scripture say? “Cast out the female servant and her son, for the son
of the female servant shall by no means be heir with the son of the free
woman.”
Gal 4:31
Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the female servant but of
the free woman.
Gal 5:17 For the
flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are
opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you desire to do.
Gal 5:18 But if
you are led by the Spirit, you are not under Torah.
Paul uses the term “under the Torah” 11 times. In general
we may categorize this phrase under two general headings: 1. Under the
condemnation of the Torah, 2. Under the errant teaching that a gentile gains
righteous status through the ritual of the proselyte ie submitting to the Torah
as the rabbi’s defined it.
Unfortunately vs 18 has often been misunderstood by
Christians to mean that YHVH has done away with the Torah when Yahshua died.
See Galatians Commentary page 61,62 by Tim Hegg.
The resolution of the conflict described in vs 17 is
clearly laid out here: being led by the Ruach (Spirit) is the prime
characteristic of those born from above – see Rom 8:4&14
Rom 8:4 so that
the righteousness of the Torah should be completed in us who do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of
Elohim, these are sons of Elohim.
Rom
8:1 There
is, then, now no condemnation to those who are in Messiah יהושע, who do not walk according
to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Gen 26:1 And there was a scarcity of food in
the land, besides the first scarcity of food which was in the days of Aḇraham.
And Yitsḥaq went to Aḇimeleḵ, sovereign of the Philistines, in Gerar.
Gen 26:2 And יהוה appeared to him and
said, “Do not go down to Mitsrayim, live in the land which I command you.
Gen 26:3 “Sojourn in this land. And I shall be with
you and bless you, for I give all these lands to you and your seed. And I shall
establish the oath which I swore to Aḇraham your father.
Gen 26:4 “And I shall increase your seed like the
stars of the heavens, and I shall give all these lands to your seed. And in
your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
Gen 26:5 because Aḇraham obeyed My voice and
guarded My Charge: My commands, My laws, and My Torot.”a Footnote: aTorot -
plural of Torah, teaching.
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, YHVH giver of the Torah – Ameyn