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. Amein
ואל שׁדי – ‘’El Shaddai‘’ the strength of the Nurturer’’(Heb
‘’shad’’ = breast) as well as ‘’Strength of The Destroyer’’ (Heb ‘’shadad’’
destroy) also – ‘’The All Sufficient One’’
To understand YHVH’s Word we need to first seek to understand Him.
The world including His chosen ones are about to witness both His kindness
as well as His severity as He prepares to gather together His Family – Yisrael.
Gen 43:14 “And Ěl Shaddai give to you compassion before the man, so that he shall release your other brother and Binyamin. And I, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”
Here we see Yakov and soon an end time
remnant come to a place of complete surrender to the mercies and purposes of
YHVH.
Gen 43:15 And the men took that present and Binyamin, and they took double the amount of silver in their hand, and arose and went down to Mitsrayim, and stood before Yosěph.
Gen 43:16 And Yosěph saw Binyamin
with them, and said to the one over his house, “Bring the men home, and make a
great slaughter, and prepare, for these men are to eat with me at noon.”
Gen 43:17 And the man did as
Yosěph said, and the man brought the men into Yosěph’s house.
Gen 43:18 And the men were afraid
because they were brought into Yosěph’s house. And they said, “It is because of
the silver, which was put back into our sacks the first time, that we are
brought in, to throw himself upon us and fall upon us, to take us as slaves,
our donkeys too.”
Gen 43:19 So they came near to the man over the house of Yosěph, and spoke to him at the door of the house,
Gen 43:20 and said, “O my master,
we indeed came down the first time to buy food,
Gen 43:21 but it came to be, when
we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks and saw each man’s silver
in the mouth of his sack, our silver in its weight. And we have brought it back
in our hand.
Gen 43:22 “And we have brought
down other silver in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our silver
in our sacks.”
Gen 43:23 But he said, “Peace be
with you, do not be afraid. Your Elohim and the Elohim of your father has given
you treasure in your sacks – your silver had come to me!” And he brought
Shim‛on out to them.
Gen 43:24 And the man brought the men into Yosĕph’s
house and gave them water, and they washed their feet. And he gave their
donkeys fodder.
Gen 43:25 And they made the present (‘’ha mincha”)
ready for Yosĕph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they were to eat there.
Gen 43:26 And when Yosĕph came home, they brought him
the present which was in their hand, into the house, and bowed down before him
to the earth.
Gen 43:27 And he asked them about their welfare, and
said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
Gen 43:28 And they said, “Your servant our father is in
good health, he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and did
obeisance.
Gen 43:29 And he lifted his eyes and saw his brother
Binyamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you
spoke to me?” And he said, “Elohim show favour to you, my son.”
Gen 43:30 And Yosĕph hurried, for his emotions were
deeply moved towards his brother, and he looked for a place to weep, and
went into his room and wept there.
Gen 43:31 Then he washed his face and came out, and
controlled himself, and said, “Serve the food.”
Gen 43:32 And they set him a place by himself, and them
by themselves, and the Mitsrites who ate with him by themselves, for the
Mitsrites could not eat food with the Heḇrews, for that is an abomination to
the Mitsrites.
Gen 43:33 And they sat before him, the first-born
according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the
men looked at each other in astonishment.
Gen 43:34 And he took portions to them from before him, but Binyamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they feasted and they drank with him – Luke 7:34
When you think things are really beginning to get better they can take a turn to be more devastating than before. This is the Hand of YHVH bringing His people on their knees in deep repentance.
Isa 30:15 For thus said the Master יהוה, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ěl, “In returning and rest you are saved, in stillness and trust is your strength.” But you would not, Isa 30:16 and you said, “No, for we flee upon horses,”…..
Gen 44:1 And he
commanded the one over his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as
they are able to bear, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack.
Gen 44:2 “And put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth
of the sack of the youngest, and the silver for his grain.” And he did
according to the word of Yosĕph which he spoke.
Gen 44:3 As soon as the morning was light, the men
were sent away, they and their donkeys.
Gen 44:4 And when they had gone out of the city, not
having gone far, Yosĕph said to the one over his house, “Rise up, follow the
men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for
good?
Gen 44:5 ‘Is this not the one from which my master
drinks, and with which he indeed divines? You have done evil in what you have
done.’ ”
Gen 44:6 So he overtook them and spoke these words to
them.
Gen 44:7 And they said to him, “Why does my master say
these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do according to this
word.
Gen 44:8 “See, we brought back to you from the land of
Kenaʽan the silver which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then should we
steal silver or gold from your master’s house?
Gen 44:9 “With whomever of your servants it is found –
he shall die and we shall become my master’s slaves as well.”
Gen 44:10 And he said, “Now also let it be according to
your words: he with whom it is found becomes my slave, and you are innocent.”
Gen 44:11 And they hurried, each man let down his sack
to the ground, and each opened his sack.
Gen 44:12 And he searched, with the oldest first and
with the youngest last, and the cup was found in Binyamin’s sack.
Gen 44:13 And they tore their garments, and each man
loaded his donkey and went back to the city.
Gen 44:14 And Yehuḏah and his brothers came to
Yosĕph’s house, and he was still there. And they fell before him on the ground.
Gen 44:15 And Yosĕph said to them, “What deed is this
you have done? Did you not know that a man like me indeed divines?”
Gen 44:16 And Yehuḏah said, “What do we say to my
master? What do we speak? Or how do we clear ourselves? Elohim has found out
the crookedness of your servants. See, we are my master’s slaves, both we and
he also with whom the cup was found.”
Gen 44:17 But he said, “Far be it from me to do this.
The man in whose hand the cup was found, he becomes my slave. And you, go up in
peace to your father.”
Will all of society be
owned by one Pharaoh who has complete control over all peoples?
Will a Yosef-people be
finally set free from their prisons of false religious ideas and begin to
rightfully take up their positions as the anointed ones who will provide the ‘’bread
of life’’ and provide guidance when there is a great darkness and famine over
all the earth?
The purpose of this ‘’Yosef’’
remnant will be to re unite the remnant family of YHVH. This will require great
wisdom and skill and suffering – as we see in our parashah reading.
Let us consider our
two haftarah readings - 1 Kings 8:50-58+66
Yer 42:7-17; 43:8-14:
The lessons of this Torah portion will require a wise response from those
who understand its message.
This will require dedication. It is not a co- incidence that this week we
are celebrating ‘’chanukkah’’.
1Ki 8:50 and forgive Your people
who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have
transgressed against You? And give them compassion before those who took them
captive, and they shall have compassion on them.
1Ki 8:51 For they are Your people
and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Mitsrayim, out of the iron
furnace.
1Ki 8:52 “Let Your eyes be open to
the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Yisra’ěl,
to listen to them whenever they call to You.
1Ki 8:53 “For You have separated
them unto Yourself for an inheritance, out of all the peoples of the earth, as
You spoke by the hand of Your servant Mosheh, when You brought our fathers out
of Mitsrayim, O Master יהוה.”
Solomon's
Benediction
1Ki 8:54 And it came to be, when
Shelomoh had ended praying all this prayer and supplication to יהוה, that he rose up from before the
slaughter-place of יהוה, from kneeling on his
knees with his hands spread up to the heavens.
1Ki 8:55 And he stood and blessed
all the assembly of Yisra’ěl with a loud voice, saying,
1Ki 8:56 “Blessed be יהוה, who has given rest to His people
Yisra’ěl, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of
all His good word, which He promised through His servant Mosheh.
1Ki 8:57 “יהוה our Elohim is with us as He was with our fathers – He does not
leave us nor forsake us
1Ki 8:58 to incline our hearts to
Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to guard His commands and His laws and
His right-rulings, which He commanded our fathers.
1Ki 8:65 And Shelomoh at that time performed the Festival, and all Yisra’ěl with him, a great assembly from the entrance of Ḥamath to the wadi of Mitsrayim, before יהוה our Elohim, seven days and seven days – fourteen days.a Footnote: aIt seems that the first seven were the Festival of Ḥanukkah (Dedication), and the last seven the Festival of Sukkot (Booths).
What is hindering us from dedicating our lives fully to Him? Don’t seek ‘’quick guidance’’ to escape the situation in which YHVH has placed you.
Jer 42:7 And after ten days it came to be that the word of יהוה came to Yirmeyahu. Jer 42:8 So he called Yoḥanan son of Qarěaḥ, and all the commanders of the army which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, Jer 42:9 and said to them, “Thus said יהוה, the Elohim of Yisra’ěl, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him, Jer 42:10 If you would indeed stay in this land, then I shall build you and not pull you down, and I shall plant you and not pluck you up. For I have relented of the evil I have done to you. Jer 42:11 Do not be afraid of the sovereign of Baḇel, of whom you are afraid. Do not be afraid of him,’ declares יהוה, ‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand. Jer 42:12 And I shall show you compassion, so that he has compassion on you and let you return to your own land.’ Jer 42:13 “But if you say, ‘We are not staying in this land,’ and so disobey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, Jer 42:14 saying, ‘No, but we are going to the land of Mitsrayim so that we see no fighting, nor hear a voice of a shophar, nor hunger for bread, and there we shall stay,’ Jer 42:15 then hear the word of יהוה, O remnant of Yehuḏah! Thus said יהוה of hosts, the Elohim of Yisra’ěl, ‘If you indeed set your faces to enter Mitsrayim, and shall go to sojourn there, Jer 42:16 then it shall be that the sword which you feared overtakes you there in the land of Mitsrayim, and the scarcity of food of which you were afraid clings to you there in Mitsrayim, and you die there. Jer 42:17 And so it shall be with all the men who set their faces to go to Mitsrayim to sojourn there: they shall die by the sword, by scarcity of food, and by pestilence, and not one of them shall survive or escape from the evil I am bringing upon them.’
Don’t
actively try to change your status in life. Allow YHVH to show you and lead you.
Pro
20:24 The steps of a man are from יהוה; What does a man know about his own
way?
Pro 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, But יהוה establishes his steps.
1Co 7:20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 1Co 7:21 Were you called while a slave? It matters not to you, but if you are able to become free too, rather use it. 1Co 7:22 For he who is called in the Master while a slave is the Master’s freed man. Likewise he who is called while free is a slave of Messiah.b Footnote: b Eph_6:6, 1Pe_2:16. 1Co 7:23 You were bought with a price, do not become slaves of men. 1Co 7:24 Brothers, let each one remain with Elohim in that calling in which he was called.
We are
all going to be adjusted in ways we could never have imagined. Why? Because we
all like sheep have gone astray, each one of us has turned to his own way. And יהוה has laid on Him the crookedness of us all. Is 53:6
When YHVH ‘’adjusts’’ us, we will in deep repentance turn back to Him the way it was always meant to be.
This Torah portion is about an end time remnant of overcomers that will require great endurance to usher in the coming Messianic age.
Heb 5:7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His reverent fear, Heb 5:8 though being a Son, He learned obedience by what He suffered.
Following the pattern of Messiah – His greatest suffering came towards the end of his life. There is a price to pay for the coming together of the family of Israel.
Heb 12:2 looking to the Prince and Perfecter of our belief, יהושע, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the stake, having despised the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of Elohim.
Blessed are you YHVH, 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 – Amein.