Blessing for the Torah:
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,
(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.)
Even
though Sarah died she is still considered to be living on. This is not a
strange concept for believers.
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.
In fact the very
essence of true spirituality is encapsulated by the dying to self- concept.
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.
Luk 9:24 “For whoever wishes to save his life shall
lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake shall save it.
Today many churches
are obsessed with motivational sermons on how to have the best kind of life
possible. The teaching of the Scripture is clear - a special kind of living requires a special
kind of dying.
Let us consider for a
moment why this concept is so important for us to understand. When mankind
sinned death entered into the human race. The only way we could now enter into
eternal life was to die in this life and be raised again to enter into a new
eternal life with YHVH. Yahshua YHVH’s only brought forth son came and showed
us the way back into the presence of YHVH forever.
Yes, He came to give
us life and life in its fullness (Yochanan/John 10:10) but for us to obtain
this kind of life, we need to die to everything that will rob us of this kind
of life – eventually we will have to die in this world before we can enter into
the age to come. The exception of physically dying in this world of course is
being part of the last generation who will be caught up to be with Messiah, our
mortal bodies however will be transformed into immortal bodies should we be
part of this end time event as living beings and not ones who has died already.
The one who have died in Yahshua will be resurrected and lifted up first.
1Co 15:51 See, I speak a secret to you: We shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at
the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible has to put on
incorruption, and this mortal to put on immortality.
1Co 15:54 And when this corruptible has put on
incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall come to be the
word that has been written, “Death is swallowed up in overcoming.”
1Th 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the
Master, that we, the living who are left over at the coming of the Master shall
in no way go before those who are asleep.
1Th 4:16 Because the Master Himself shall come down
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of a chief messenger, and with the
trumpet of Elohim, and the dead in Messiah shall rise first.
1Th 4:17 Then we, the living who are left over, shall
be caught away together with them in the clouds to meet the Master in the air –
and so we shall always be with the Master.
This dying to self is
not something that will only happen when Yahshua returns, it is meant to be
part of our daily experience while we live. This is what a Hebrew does – he
crosses over from this life to the next. This crossing over is a process that
starts in the present time.
When we are led by the
Ruach of YHVH He will show us how to live this kind of life.
Yahshua compared our
lives to a seed falling to the ground.
Yochanan/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.
Are we going to die as
a lamb led to the slaughter – silently – or are we going to protest and grumble
every day as we endure the challenges that YHVH brings into our lives to bring
about death to self.
Gen 23:1 And Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven
years, the years of the life of Sarah.
Gen 23:2 And Sarah died in Qiryath Arba, that is Ḥeḇron, in the land of
Kena’an, and Aḇraham came to mourn
for Sarah and to weep for her.
It is said that Sarah was one hundred years old and twenty seven years
old. The Torah mentions this age by
stating the 100 and the 20 and the 7 separately. We are meant to pause and
consider the significance of this. This emphasis possibly refers to the
blessedness of the life that was granted her - One hundred years speaks of a
long life where much maturity and wisdom was gained; twenty years speaks of the
youthfulness and vigour of this life and seven years old speaks of the
innocence of this life.
Sarah lived a long and blessed life. She may have
been barren for many years but she was richly rewarded for her patience. This
is true for all those who are on the journey of Messianic restoration.
This Torah portion is titled “Chai Sarah” or the
life of Sarah. It may appear strange to call this section the life of Sarah
when it actually tells us about her death.
Shaul reminds us that even though our outward man
perishes we are renewed day by day.
2Co 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but even if
our outward man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed day by day.
2Co 4:17 For this slight momentary pressure, is
working for us a far more exceeding and everlasting weight of esteem.
2Co 4:18 We are not looking on what is seen, but on
what is not seen. For what is seen passes away, but what is not seen is
everlasting.1 Footnote: 1See 5:7, and Rom. 8:24, Heb.
11:1 & 13.
This
is further highlighted in vs 2 by the use of a yot or tittel on the word * “ve livkotah” or “and to weep
for her”, vs 2, the letter “kaph” is diminished. There are many possible
interpretations; however the one I prefer is that this diminished “kuph” from
the root word “bakah” or “weep” points to the resurrection. Death for those who
have the life of YHVH is not final; it is merely a state of rest in which one
waits for YHVH to resurrect at the appointed time when Yahshua comes back. Our
weeping, for those who have died, however sad is not so sad when we have within
us the hope of the First Resurrection.
Tehilim/Psa 84:1 How lovely are Your dwelling places, O יהוה of hosts!
Psa 84:2 My being
has longed, and even fainted, For the courts of יהוה; My heart and my flesh cry out for
the living Ěl.
Psa 84:3 Even the
sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she has put
her young ones – Your altars, O יהוה of hosts, My Sovereign and my
Elohim.
Psa 84:4 Blessed
are those who dwell in Your house, They are ever praising You. Selah.
Psa 84:5 Blessed
is the man whose strength is in You, Your Highways are in their heart.
Psa 84:6 Passing through
the valley of weeping, They make it a fountain; The Teacher also covers it with
blessings.
Psa 84:7 They go
from strength to strength, Appearing before Elohim in Tsiyon.
Psa 84:8 O יהוה Elohim
of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O Elohim of Ya’aqov!
Selah.
Note vs 6: the same Hebrew word for weeping “bakah” is used. The tittel may then
point to the Messiah (Teacher) who weeps for us (as we should intercede for
others) and in so doing covers us and others with blessing.
Even though our lives may have blessing our spiritual
journey will sometimes be filled with much pain. It is in this “valley of pain”
we are encouraged to dig wells.
I believe this has an end time significance for those who
are called to this Messianic restoration. It may be the suffering and weeping
we go through now that will enable us to show them the fountains of living
water that sustained us during these difficult times.
Gen 23:3
Then Aḇraham rose up from
beside his dead, and spoke to the sons of Ḥĕth,
saying,
Gen 23:4 “I
am a foreigner and a sojourner among you. Give me property for a burial site
among you, so that I bury my dead from my presence.”
Gen 23:5 And
the sons of Ḥĕth answered Aḇraham, saying to him,
Heth or Cheth in
Hebrew means “terror” sons of terror. We learn from this that Hebrews will face
opposition and even “terror” from the people of this world. We will also be
exploited as Avraham was by paying as much as 25 times more for the burial plot
than he should have.
Gen 23:6
“Hear us, my master: You are a prince of Elohim among us. Bury your dead
in the choicest of our burial places. None of us withholds from you his burial
site, from burying your dead.”
Gen 23:7 So
Aḇraham rose and bowed
himself to the people of the land, the sons of Ḥĕth.
Gen 23:8 And
he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your desire that I bury my dead from my
presence, hear me, and approach Ephron son of Tsoḥar for me,
Gen 23:9 and
let me have the cave of Maḵpĕlah which he has,
which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me for the complete amount
of silver, as property for a burial site among you.”
Gen 23:10
And Ephron dwelt among the sons of Ḥĕth.
And Ephron the Ḥittite answered Aḇraham in the hearing
of the sons of Ḥĕth, all who entered
at the gate of his city, saying,
Gen 23:11
“No, my master, listen to me! I shall give you the field and the cave
that is in it. I shall give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people.
I shall give it to you. Bury your dead!”
Gen 23:12
And Aḇraham bowed himself
down before the people of the land,
Gen 23:13
and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying,
“If only you would hear me. I shall give the amount of silver for the field,
take it from me, and let me bury my dead there.”
Gen 23:14
And Ephron answered Aḇraham, saying to him,
Gen 23:15
“My master, listen to me! The land is worth four hundred sheqels of
silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.”
Gen 23:16
And Aḇraham listened to
Ephron, and Aḇraham weighed out the
silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Ḥĕth, four hundred
sheqels of silver, currency of the merchants.
Gen 23:17
Thus the field of Ephron which was in Maḵpĕlah, which was
before Mamrĕ, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that
were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded
The word “Machpelah”
figuratively means to “repeat or to double”. The life and promises that YHVH
has given to our ancestors will be given and even fulfilled in their
descendants. The life of these fathers and mothers of our faith was not meant
to remain in a grave, it was meant to be passed on to their descendants.
(Repeated and doubled)
“Mamre” means strength
or fatness. This comes as a result of His life within us.
Gen 23:18 to Aḇraham as a possession
in the presence of the sons of Ḥĕth,
before all who went in at the gate of his city.
Gen 23:19
And after this Aḇraham buried Sarah his
wife in the cave of the field of Maḵpĕlah,
before Mamrĕ, that is Ḥeḇron, in the land of
Kena’an.
Gen
23:20 Thus the field and the cave that
is in it were deeded to Aḇraham by the sons of Ḥĕth as property for a
burial site.
Let us consider the
importance of the deeds for Machpelah, Shechem and the Temple Mount in
Yerushalayim.
We
know now that Avraham and his seed possessed the title deed for Machpelah in
Hebron or Kiryat Arba. Yakov purchased
Shechem and the threshing floor of Onan (2 Sam 24:24) or the temple mount was
purchased by King David.
These
are significant “gateways” of the Promised Land. The one who owns these
gateways owns the right of entrance and possession of the land.
Shechem
was where the children of Yisrael first entered to come into the Promised Land
after the 40 year wilderness wandering. This was also the same place where
Yahshua spoke to a Samaritan woman (Yoch/John 4) telling her that He was the
Messiah. This could be a possible reference to the return of the gentiles to
Yisrael.
Hebron
speaks of an entry point for all those especially the Jews who return to the
faith of their forefathers.
Yerushalayim
is the city to which Messiah will return and rule and reign for 1000 years
before the arrival of a Renewed Heaven and Renewed Earth. (Rev 21)
These
are just ideas of why these landmarks are so important I am sure there are even
more significant reasons why these landmarks are of extreme importance in
YHVH’s redemption plan for His people.
“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.
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