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 22:1
And it came to be after these events that Elohim tried (Heb ‘’nisa’’)
Aḇraham, and said to him, “Aḇraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” (The pa al
verb form of ‘’nasa’’ means to escape. The pi el form of the verb ‘’nisa’’
means to be tested and tried) Gen 22:2
And He said, “Take your son, now, your only son Yitsḥaq, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriyah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one
of the mountains which I command you.” Gen 22:3
And Aḇraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took
two of his young men with him, and Yitsḥaq his son. And he split the wood for
the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place which Elohim had commanded
him. Gen 22:4 And on the third day
Aḇraham lifted his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Gen 22:5 So Aḇraham said to his young men, “Stay here
with the donkey while the boy and I go over there and worship, and come back to
you.” Gen 22:6 And Aḇraham took the wood
of the burnt offering and laid it on Yitsḥaq his son. And he took the fire in
his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. Gen 22:7 And Yitsḥaq spoke to Aḇraham his father and
said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “See, the
fire and the wood! But where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Gen 22:8 And Aḇraham said, “My son, Elohim does
provide (heb – yire- he will see ‘’a future son who is to be offered’’) for
Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” And the two of them went together. Gen
22:9 And they came to the place which
Elohim had commanded him, and Aḇraham built an altar there and placed the wood
in order. And he bound Yitsḥaq his son and laid him on the altar, upon the
wood. Gen 22:10 And Aḇraham stretched
out his hand and took the knife to slay his son, Gen 22:11 but the Messenger of יהוה
called to him from the heavens and said, “Aḇraham, Aḇraham!” And he said,
“Here I am.” Gen 22:12 And He said, “Do
not lay your hand on the boy, nor touch him. For now I know that you fear
Elohim, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Gen
22:13 And Aḇraham lifted his eyes and
looked and saw behind him a ram caught in a bush by its horns, and Aḇraham
went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his
son. Gen 22:14 And Aḇraham called the
name of the place, ‘יהוה Yireh,’ as it is said to this
day, “On the mountain יהוה provides.” Gen 22:15 And the Messenger of יהוה
called to Aḇraham a second time from the heavens, Gen 22:16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares יהוה, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son,
your only son, Gen 22:17 that I shall
certainly bless you, and I shall certainly increase your seed as the stars of
the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore, and let your seed possess
the gate of their enemies. Gen 22:18
“And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because
you have obeyed My voice.” Gen 22:19
Then Aḇraham returned to his young men, and they rose up and went
together to Be’ĕrsheḇa. And Aḇraham dwelt at Be’ĕrsheḇa. Gen 22:20 And it came to be after these events that it
was reported to Aḇraham, saying, “See, Milkah too has borne children to your
brother Naḥor: Gen 22:21 “Uts his
first-born, and Buz his brother, and Qemu’ĕl the father of Aram, Gen 22:22 and Keseḏ, and Ḥazo, and Pildash, and
Yiḏlaph, and Bethu’ĕl.”
Gen
22:23 And Bethu’ĕl brought forth
Riḇqah. These eight Milkah bore to Naḥor, Aḇraham’s brother.
Gen
22:24 And his concubine, whose name was
Re’uwmah, also bore Teḇaḥ, and Gaḥam, and Taḥash, and Maʽaḵah.
Heb
11:17 By belief, Aḇraham, when he was tried, offered up Yitsḥaq, and he
who had received the promises offered up his only brought-forth son, Heb
11:18 of whom it was said, “In Yitsḥaq your seed shall be called,”
Gen_21:12.
Heb
11:19 reckoning that Elohim was able to raise, even from the dead, from
which he received him back, as a type.
1Co
1:18 For
the word of the stake is indeed foolishness to those who are perishing, but to
us who are being saved it is the power of Elohim. 1Co 1:21 For
since, in the wisdom of Elohim, the world through wisdom did not know Elohim,
it pleased Elohim through the foolishness of preaching to save those who
believe. 1Co 1:22 And since Yehuḏim ask a sign, and Greeks seek
wisdom, 1Co 1:23 yet we proclaim Messiah impaled, to the Yehuḏim a
stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness, 1Co 1:24 but to those
who are called – both Yehuḏim and Greeks – Messiah the power of Elohim and the
wisdom of Elohim.
The preaching of ‘’cross’’ or of ‘’the execution tree of
Yahshua’’ is foolishness to many even today.
Yashua’s execution can only make sense when we who follow
him take up our ‘’execution stakes’ daily and follow him. - Luk 9:23 And He said to them all, “If
anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his stake
daily, and follow Me.
Php
3:10 to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship
of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, Php 3:11 if somehow
I might attain to the resurrection from the dead.
What is the power of His resurrection? It is the power of YHVH to overcome all
obstacles in establishing the fullness of His covenant promises – in procuring
for Himself a covenant people, redeeming them from the power of sin and its
penalty of death, and enabling them to live in righteousness. This was the
faith of Abraham! He knew that YVHV alone had the power to raise from the dead
his son Isaac if need be to establish His Righteousness and provide the way of
salvation.
Daily we are to present our bodies as living offerings.
Rom
12:1 I call
upon you, therefore, brothers, through the compassion of Elohim, to present
your bodies a living offering – set-apart, well-pleasing to Elohim – your
reasonable worship.
Rom
12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing
and perfect desire of Elohim.
The Ekeidah” or “the binding” prophetically points to those
who like Yitzchak willingly allowed himself to be bound and offered as an
offering. This reminds us too of Messiah who also willingly allowed himself to
be bound (nailed) to an execution stake.
Gal 2:20 “I have
been impaled with Messiah, and I no longer live, but Messiah lives in me.1 And
that which I now live in the flesh I live by belief in the Son of Elohim, who
loved me and gave Himself for me. Footnote: 1Rom. 8:10, 2 Cor. 6:16, 2 Cor.
13:5, Eph. 3:17, Col. 1:27, 1 John 4:4.
According to Tim Hegg – for Paul the death of Messiah did
not present an opportunity for salvation, but actually accomplished the payment
of sin. Paul is saying the old Paul is gone – he is dead – the only evidence of
his old life is now to be found in the image of Messiah. These words are so
radical that few are ever significantly impacted by them.
Gal 2:21 “I do not
set aside the favour of Elohim, for if righteousness is through Torah, then
Messiah died for naught.”
Far from distancing himself from the Torah, Paul recognized
that it was through the divine revelation of the Torah that he had come to the
truth. Paul in reality is saying that he died to the misunderstood and misused
Torah.
“For it was letting the Torah speak for itself that I died
to its traditional legalistic misinterpretation …..” Sterns
The Torah without the Spirit, that is apart, from genuine
saving faith, only causes a person to sin more and more.
Rom 7:9 And I was
alive apart from the Torah once, but when the command came, the sin revived,
and I died.
Paul is saying when he received the true revelation of
the Torah – he knew he was a dead man.
Rom 7:14 For we
know that the Torah is Spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.
Rom 7:22 For I
delight in the Torah of Elohim1 according to the inward man,
Footnote: 1Ps. 119:16. Rom 7:23
but I see another law in my members, battling against the Torah of my
mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Rom
7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who shall
deliver me from this body of death?
Rom 7:25 Thanks to
Elohim, through יהושע Messiah our Master! So then,
with the mind I myself truly serve the Torah of Elohim, but with the flesh the
law of sin.
Gal
3:21 Is the Torah then against the
promises of Elohim? Let it not be! For if a law had been given that was able to
make alive, truly righteousness would have been by Torah. Gal 3:22 But the Scripture has shut up all mankind
under sin, that the promise by belief in יהושע
Messiah might be given to those who believe.
Rom
6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were immersed into Messiah יהושע were immersed into His
death? Rom 6:4 We were therefore buried with Him through immersion
into death, that as Messiah was raised from the dead by the esteem of the
Father, so also we should walk in newness of life. Rom 6:5 For if we
have come to be grown together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also
of the resurrection, Rom 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was
impaled with Him, so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, to serve
sin no longer. Rom 6:7 For he who has died has been made right from
sin. Rom 6:8 And if we died with Messiah, we believe that we shall
also live with Him, Rom 6:9 knowing that Messiah, having been raised
from the dead, dies no more – death no longer rules over Him. Rom
6:10 For in that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He
lives, He lives to Elohim. Rom 6:11 So you also, reckon yourselves
to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to Elohim in Messiah יהושע our Master.
Joh
12:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the
ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Joh
12:25 “He who loves his life shall lose it, and he who hates his life in
this world shall preserve it for everlasting life. Joh 12:26 “If
anyone serves Me, let him follow Me. And where I am, there My servant also
shall be. If anyone serves Me, the Father shall value him.
Mar
14:3 And while He was in Běyth Anyah in the house of Shim‛on the leper,
and sitting at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of perfume,
genuine nard, very costly. And breaking the flask she poured it on His
head.
Unless the outer man dies or is broken we are of little
value to our Creator. This is the message of this week’s Torah portion – we too
must be willing to lay down our lives.
‘’A special kind of living requires a special kind of
dying’’
2Co
4:7 And we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellence
of the power might be of Elohim, and not of us – 2Co 4:8 being hard
pressed on every side,[b] but not crushed; being perplexed,
but not in despair; Footnote: bSee 1Co_1:8. 2Co 4:9 being
persecuted, but not forsaken; being thrown down, but not destroyed;
2Co
4:10 always bearing about in the body the dying of the Master יהושע, that the life of יהושע might also be manifested in
our body. 2Co 4:11 For we, the living, are always delivered to death
for the sake of יהושע,
that the life of יהושע
might also be manifested in our mortal flesh,
2Co
4:12 so that death indeed is working in us, but the life in you.
Listen to Art Katz
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XK1xpKRWyQ
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