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,
you have selected us from among all the peoples,
and have given us your Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
There is a very stern warning in
the Haftarah portion. Severe judgment is pronounced by the prophet Amos on the
heathen nations because of how they have treated others – but Yehudah and
Yisrael do not escape the strong warning of impending judgment as well. This is
a warning to us who call ourselves believers and become complacent because we
think others deserve the judgments of YHVH and not us.
Amo 2:4 Thus said יהוה, “For three transgressions of Yehuḏah, and
for four, I do not turn it back, because they have rejected the Torah of יהוה, and did
not guard His laws. And their lies
after which their fathers walked lead them astray.
Amo 2:5 “But I
shall send fire upon Yehuḏah, and it shall consume the palaces of Yerushalayim.”
Amo 2:6 Thus said יהוה, “For
three transgressions of Yisra’ĕl,
and for four, I do not turn it back, because they sell the righteous for
silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals,
To understand the essence of YHVH’s anger against Yisrael
in this passage we need to understand the Hebrew expression used. The Hebrew is
not talking about two different kinds of people – righteous and needy – the
Hebrew uses a poetic parallel comparing righteous people to needy people. The
scripture is saying that righteous people are sold for a pair of sandals or
they are sold for the going rate. Sandals were exchanged when business deals
were done. This really seems to anger YHVH – when righteous people are sold out
for the price of popular opinion.
There always seems to be a righteous remnant who opposes the
popular opinions of the church or synagogue and they are sold out so that the
religious system can pursue its own unrighteous agenda.
If you want to get into big trouble with YHVH treat His
people badly.
2Th 1:1 Sha’ul, and Sila, and Timothy, to the
assembly of the Thessalonians in Elohim our Father and the Master יהושע Messiah:
2Th 1:2 Favour to
you and peace from Elohim our Father and the Master יהושע Messiah.
2Th 1:3 We ought
to give thanks to Elohim always for you, brothers, as it is proper, because
your belief grows exceedingly, and the love every one of you has for each other
is increasing,
2Th 1:4 so that we
ourselves boast of you among the assemblies of Elohim for your endurance and
belief in all your persecutions and afflictions which you are bearing,
2Th 1:5 clear
evidence of the righteous judgment of Elohim, in order for you to be counted
worthy of the reign of Elohim, for which you also suffer,
2Th 1:6 since
Elohim shall rightly repay with affliction those who afflict you,
2Th 1:7 and to
give you who are afflicted rest with us when the Master יהושע is
revealed from heaven with His mighty messengers,
2Th 1:8 in flaming
fire taking vengeance on those who do not know Elohim, and on those who do not
obey the Good News of our Master יהושע Messiah,
2Th 1:9 who shall
be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Master and
from the esteem of His strength, (maybe he is talking about some of the
religious people of his day)
2Th 1:10 when He
comes to be esteemed in His set-apart ones and to be admired among all those
who believe in that Day, because our witness to you was believed.
2Th 1:11 To this
end we always pray for you that our Elohim would count you worthy of this
calling, and complete all the good pleasure of goodness, and the work of belief
with power,
2Th 1:12 so that
the Name of our Master יהושע Messiah is esteemed in you, and you
in Him, according to the favour of our Elohim and the Master יהושע Messiah.
Our Torah portion begins:
Gen 40:1 And after these events it came to be that the
cupbearer and the baker of the sovereign of Mitsrayim sinned against their
master, the sovereign of Mitsrayim.
Gen 40:2 And Pharaoh was wroth with his two officers,
the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.
Gen 40:3 So he put them in confinement in the house of
the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Yosĕph was a prisoner.
Gen 40:4 And the captain of the guard put Yosĕph in
charge of them, and he served them. So they were in confinement for some time.
Gen 40:5 Then the cupbearer and the baker of the
sovereign of Mitsrayim, who were confined in the prison, dreamed a dream, both
of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own
interpretation.
Gen 40:6 And Yosĕph came in to them in the morning and
looked at them and saw that they were sad.
Gen 40:7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with
him in confinement of his master’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad
today?”
Gen 40:8 And they said to him, “We each have dreamed a
dream, and there is no one to interpret it.” And Yosĕph said to them, “Do
not interpretations belong to Elohim? Relate them to me, please.”
Gen 40:9 So the chief cupbearer related his dream to
Yosĕph, and said to him, “See, in my dream a vine was before me,
Gen 40:10 and in the vine were three branches, and it
was as though it budded – its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought
forth ripe grapes.
Gen 40:11 “And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand. So I took
the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s
hand.”
Gen 40:12 And Yosĕph said to him, “This is the
interpretation of it: The three branches
are three days.
Gen 40:13 “Yet, within three days Pharaoh is going to lift up your head and restore you to
your place, and you shall put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the
former ruling, when you were his cupbearer.
Gen 40:14 “But remember me when it is well with you,
and please show kindness to me. And mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out of
this house.
Gen 40:15 “For truly I was stolen away from the land of
the Heḇrews. And also I have
done naught that they should put me into the dungeon.”
Gen 40:16
And the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, and he said to
Yosĕph, “I also was in my dream and saw three white baskets were on my head,
Gen 40:17
and in the uppermost basket all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and
the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”
Gen 40:18
And Yosĕph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days.
Gen 40:19
“Yet, within three days Pharaoh is going to lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree. And the birds
shall eat your flesh from you.”
Gen 40:20 And on the third day, Pharaoh’s birthday, it
came to be that he made a feast for all his servants. And he lifted up the
head of the chief cupbearer and of the chief baker among his servants,
Gen 40:21
and he restored the chief cupbearer to his post of cupbearer again, and
he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand,
Gen 40:22
but he hanged the chief baker, as Yosĕph had interpreted to them.
Gen 40:23
And the chief cupbearer did not remember Yosĕph, but forgot him.
We remember that there
is no idle word in the Torah –
Deu 32:46 he said to them, “Set your heart on all the
words with which I warn you today, so that you command your children to guard
to do all the Words of this Torah.
Deu 32:47 “For it is not a worthless Word for you,
because it is your life, and by this Word you prolong your days on the soil
which you pass over the Yardĕn to possess.”
The Torah does not just tell nice little stories
about historical events, beneath every word is a hidden treasure waiting to be
discovered. This is why students of the Torah love to Midrash – search – for possible
meanings and application of the Torah readings.
Yasher 46
19 “And the butler, to whom Joseph had interpreted his dream, forgot
Joseph, and he did not mention him to the king as he had promised, for this
thing was from the Lord in order to punish Joseph because he had trusted in
man.20 And Joseph remained after this in the prison house two years, until he had completed twelve years.”
This teaches us that the kind of work and ministry
YHVH has called a Yosef - people to do cannot and never will be accomplished by
our own strength. The task is too big and impossible for men to achieve without
the empowering of the Ruach of YHVH.
This is why Shaul
prays -
2Th 1:11 To this
end we always pray for you that our Elohim would count you worthy of this
calling, and complete all the good pleasure of goodness, and the work of belief
with power,
2Th 1:12 so that
the Name of our Master יהושע Messiah is esteemed in you, and you
in Him, according to the favour of our Elohim and the Master יהושע Messiah.
This Torah portion speaks about two very powerful
covenantal symbols – bread and wine – these both are connected to people’s
lives who want to get back into the presence of the king.
We understand now that these covenantal symbols reveal
the nature of Messiah’s calling and ministry to bring us back into the presence
of YHVH.
This Torah portion is about how people get into the
presence of the KING.
The key is and always will be Yahshua.
The pattern is always the same - Messiah the ‘bread of life broken for us’ can
only become reality for us and sustain us when we receive the fullness of
YHVH’s Ruach – the wine – so that we may enter into the covenant or presence of
YHVH.
The only way we ever get to accomplish His purposes as co
workers of His deliverance for His people is being in the closest possible
unhindered fellowship with Him – Shema Yisrael ….
So bread and wine speak of YHVH’s desire to be as
close as He can be with us and how Yahshua made it possible to be so.
Rev 3:19 “As many as I love, I reprove and discipline.
So be ardent and repent.
Rev 3:20 “See, I stand at the door and knock. If
anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I shall come in to him and dine with
him, and he with Me.
That’s why the
Appointment of Shavuot is so important -
it is not only the giving of the Torah -
the bread - but also the pouring
out of the Ruach – the wine.
Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is
loose behaviour, but be filled with the Spirit,
Shaul warns that we
are not to partake of the breaking of bread in an unworthy way.
1Co 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him
eat of that bread and drink of that cup.
1Co 11:29 For the one who is eating and drinking
unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the
Master.
1Co 11:30 Because of this many are weak and sick among
you, and many sleep.
1Co 11:31 For if we were to examine ourselves, we would
not be judged.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by
the Master, that we should not be condemned with the world.
1Co 11:33 So then, my brothers, when you come together
to eat, wait for one another.
1Co 11:34 And if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home,
lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I shall set in order when I
come. (Don’t use the gathering of the set apart ones as an opportunity to get a
free meal)
The covenant Yahshua
made with YHVH on our behalf is made real when we come together in unity to
manifest in a corporate way what Yahshua did for us on his own.
How does one partake in an unworthy manner?
When we reject the Torah – the bread.
When we only want to be led by the Ruach and not want the word broken
for us so that we may see that the two go together and cannot be isolated.
Our Master has shown
us that he leaves the best wine until last – we are all waiting for a final
outpouring of the Ruach of YHVH in these days that will revive the Torah and
prepare the way for the return of our Master and Messiah.
Joe 2:23 And you children of Tsiyon, be glad and
rejoice in יהוה your
Elohim, for He shall give you the Teacher of Righteousness, and cause the rain
to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.
Joe 2:24 And the
threshing-floors shall be filled with grain, and the vats shall overflow with
new wine and oil.
Joe 2:25 “Then I
shall repay you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling
locust, and the consuming locust, and the gnawing locust, My great army which I
sent among you.
Joe 2:26 “Then you
shall eat – eat and be satisfied – and shall praise the Name of יהוה your
Elohim, who has done with you so wondrously. And My people shall never be put
to shame.
Joe 2:27 “And you
shall know that I am in the midst of Yisra’ĕl1, and that I am יהוה your
Elohim and there is no one else. And My people shall never be put to shame.
Footnote: 1See Isa. 24:23.
Joe 2:28 “And
after this it shall be that I pour out My Spirit on all flesh. And your sons
and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men dream dreams, your young men
see visions.
Joe 2:29 “And also
on the male servants and on the female servants I shall pour out My Spirit in
those days.
Joe 2:30 “And I
shall give signs in the heavens and upon the earth: blood and fire and columns
of smoke,
Joe 2:31 the sun
is turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the
great and awesome day of יהוה.
“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.