Blessing for the Torah Reading:
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.)
In the entire Torah
scroll, “vayechi” is unique in that there is no extra space between it and the
preceding parashah, in contrast to the general rule that a new parashah begins
on a new line or is at least separated by nine empty spaces. Rashi, therefore,
describes “vayechi” as “closed.” Yakov wanted to tell his children the time of
the “end,” the Messianic age when Yisrael’s exile would finally end. We wait for that coming time when this will
become a reality. This coming together will bring a quality and intensity of
life that will surpass all our expectation and understanding, a life that is
presently hidden from us.
Moshiach also spoken of
sheep that were “hidden.”
Yochanan/Joh
10:14 “I am the good shepherd.1
And I know Mine, and Mine know Me, Footnote: 1Ezek. 34:11-12, Heb.
13:20, 1 Peter 2:25, 1 Peter 5:4.
Joh 10:15 even as the Father knows Me, and I know the
Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16 “And other sheep I have which are not of this
fold – I have to bring them as well, and they shall hear My voice, and there
shall be one flock, one shepherd.1 Footnote: 1Ezek.
34:23, Ezek. 37:24.
There are a number of
“Sheep” that are growing increasingly restless they no longer can be contained
in the bondage of religion – they must and they are breaking out of the sheepfolds
of religion to follow the true Messiah.
The ancient shepherds built sheepfolds
from stone. Here the sheep would be confined by their shepherd for their own
protection during the hours of darkness. As the dawn approached the shepherd
would come into the sheepfold among His sheep. They would gather around the
shepherd as he prepared to open a way for them to be delivered from the stone
enclosure. As he opened a way out for them they would crowd up alongside him
pushing against the gateway with a lot of force. This is the same picture
spoken of by Matthew in that difficult and problematic verse in Matt 11:12.
Mat 11:12 “And from the days of Yoḥanan the Immerser till
now the reign of the heavens is violated, and the violent seize it.
The prophet Micah spoke
the following:
Mic 2:12 “I shall certainly gather all of you, O Yaʽaqoḇ, I shall bring
together the remnant of Yisra’ĕl, put them together like sheep of the fold,
like a flock(of Bozrah) in the midst of their pasture, they being noisy because
of men (or “together I will place them as a flock in distress, as a drove in
the midst of a plague; they will clamour
because of humanity”)
Mic 2:13
“The breach-maker shall go up before them. They shall break out (use
violence) and pass through the gate, and go out by it, and their sovereign pass
before them, with יהוה at their
head!”
Most translations omit “Bozrah” in vs 12. Bozrah was a
desert fortress in Edom.
“This is the magnificent pastoral picture of
Yahshua as Messiah breaking forth from Esav’s/Esau's bonds of the flesh and
leading the "man-child company" forth into a new history in the
coming Millennium of Messiah. This momentous action will not happen until the
end of this age. But when it does come it will be spectacular. The Bozrah
deliverance will change the destiny of heaven and earth. The stars and the
angelic rulers will fall. And on earth Messiah will establish His Millennial
Kingdom. This will not be a kingdom of the church as we know it. It will not be
an existential kingdom of ecclesiastical revelry under the stained glass. Nor
will it be kingdom of the church in some sort of charismatic mind game. This
will be reality! The Millennium of Messiah will be a kingdom here
on earth. And it will last for a literal one thousand years.
This detailed picture of the deliverance of the
elect by Messiah (and not the
church) at the second advent is given to us in Micah chapter 2. This divine and
earthly drama is laid out for us quite clearly and in detail. Note well that it
is the Messiah who brings the breakthrough here. He and He alone is "the
Breaker". No churchman will get Messiah's esteem here even if he claims
some super-anointed status as a latter day "apostle" or
"prophet" in the charismatic "five-fold ministry". No
religious pretenders can usurp Messiah's role. None of them. Not even if they
proclaim that they are up to the task of bringing in the Kingdom Now. Neither
the "apostolic/prophetic", or the Papal/Jesuit Catholic leaderships
can fit the bill here. Nor can today's politically active Puritan leaders. Nor
can our liberal politically savvy Ecumenical leaders of the U.N., the U.R.O.
and the global scene.
None of them can bring in that final glorious breakthrough.
None of these religious champions can 'cut it'.
None of them can lay claim to be our Deliverer.
We need to leave the religious rallies and all the
hype and hoopla. We need to be wary of powerful Christian Freemasons as they
attempt to organize their "last crusade". And we need get back to the
Bible here. Ha Mashiach is "the
man". He is our Savior and our Redeemer. He is also our future Deliverer.” End of quote.
“Vayechi” – and he lived. Who lived? Yakov’s
descendants are alive in us to this day.
Gen 47:28 And Yaʽaqoḇ lived in the land of
Mitsrayim seventeen years. So the length of Yaʽaqoḇ’s life was one
hundred and forty-seven years.
Gen 47:29
And the time for Yisra’ĕl to die drew near, and he called his son Yosĕph
and said to him, “Now if I have found favour in your eyes, please put your hand
under my thigh, and show kindness and truth to me. Please do not bury me in
Mitsrayim,
Gen 47:30
but I shall lie with my fathers, and you shall take me up out of
Mitsrayim and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I do as you have
said.”
Commentary – Donald Morgan - Gen 24:2-9, 47:29: "... put your hand under my thigh, and I
will make you swear by YHVH ...." (Note: This means "put your hand
under my testicles," which is the manner in which oaths were taken at the
time; "testament," "testify," and "testicle" comes
from the same root word.)
“There
has been a great deal of research that examines how ancient religious rituals
still influence modern behavior. Praying people would be surprised to learn
that the posture of hands in prayer may be a modern re-enactment of touching
testicles. The ancient practice is known as the "Yarech Oath" these
new discoveries come from the work of the historian Dr. Rex Curry. They are
based on some of the oldest descriptions of prayer (or oaths) in the
Scriptures.” Wikipedia.
Gen 47:31
And he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him, and Yisra’ĕl bowed
himself on the head of the bed.
The reference to
Yakov’s bed could indicate that he was very ill – it also adds to the imagery
of a place of intimacy from which came all his descendants.
Gen 48:1 And after these events it came to be that it
was said to Yosĕph, “See, your father is sick.” And he took with him his two
sons, Menashsheh (to forget or be deprived) and Ephrayim (doubly fruitful)
Gen 48:2 And Yaʽaqoḇ was told, “See, your
son Yosĕph is coming to you.” And Yisra’ĕl strengthened himself and sat up on
the bed.
Gen 48:3 And
Yaʽaqoḇ said to Yosĕph, “Ěl
Shaddai(many breasted One) appeared to me at Luz in the land of Kenaʽan and blessed me,
Gen 48:4 and said to me, ‘See, I am making you bear
fruit and shall increase you and make of you an assembly of peoples, and give
this land to your seed after you as an everlasting possession.’
Gen 48:5 “And now, your two sons, Ephrayim and
Menashsheh, who were born to you in the land of Mitsrayim before I came to you
in Mitsrayim, are mine – as Re’uḇĕn
and Shimʽon,
they are mine.
Gen 48:6
“Your offspring whom you shall bring forth after them are yours, and let
them be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.
Gen 48:7
“And I, when I came from Paddan, Raḥĕl
died beside me in the land of Kenaʽan
on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath. And I buried
her there on the way to Ephrath,(derived from same root as Ephraim) that is
Bĕyth Leḥem.” (the very place
of Messiah’s birth)
Gen 48:8 And
Yisra’ĕl saw Yosĕph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”
Gen 48:9 And
Yosĕph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom Elohim has given me in this
place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and let me bless them.”
Gen 48:10
And the eyes of Yisra’ĕl were dim with age, and he was unable to see.
And he drew them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
Gen 48:11 And Yisra’ĕl said to Yosĕph, “I had not
thought to see your face. But see, Elohim has also shown me your seed!”
Gen 48:12 So
Yosĕph brought them from between his
knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth.
Gen 48:13
And Yosĕph took them both, Ephrayim with his right hand toward
Yisra’ĕl’s left hand, and Menashsheh with his left hand toward Yisra’ĕl’s right
hand, and brought them near him.
Gen 48:14
And Yisra’ĕl stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephrayim’s
head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Menashsheh’s head, consciously
directing his hands, for Menashsheh was the first-born.
Gen 48:15 And he blessed Yosĕph, and said, “The Elohim
before whom my fathers Aḇraham
and Yitsḥaq
walked, the Elohim who has fed me all my life long to this day,
Gen 48:16 the Messenger who has redeemed me from all
evil – bless the youths! And let my name be called upon them, and the name of my
fathers Aḇraham
and Yitsḥaq.
And let them increase to a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
Gen 48:17
And when Yosĕph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of
Ephrayim, it was evil in his eyes; and he took hold of his father’s hand to
remove it from the head of Ephrayim to the head of Menashsheh.
Gen 48:18
And Yosĕph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the
first-born, put your right hand on his head.”
Gen 48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my
son, I know. He also becomes a people, and he also is great. And yet, his
younger brother is greater than he, and his seed is to become the completeness
of the nations.”
Gen 48:20
And he blessed them on that day, saying, “In you Yisra’ĕl shall bless,
saying, ‘Elohim make you as Ephrayim and as Menashsheh!’ ” Thus he put Ephrayim
before Menashsheh.
Gen 48:21
And Yisra’ĕl said to Yosĕph, “See, I am dying, but Elohim shall be with
you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
Gen 48:22
“And I, I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I
took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.”
Ephrayim/Ephraim is going to
play a key role in the end times.
Jer 31:6 “For there shall be a day when the watchmen
cry on Mount Ephrayim, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Tsiyon, to יהוה our Elohim.’ ”
ה כִּי יֶשׁ-יוֹם, קָרְאוּ
נֹצְרִים בְּהַר אֶפְרָיִם; קוּמוּ וְנַעֲלֶה צִיּוֹן, אֶל-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ.
“The Hebrew word for “watchman” is “notzrim.” In
Hebrew the word for Christians is also “notzrim”
The word notzrim,
comes from the root natzar.
The real explanation of this word in Hebrew is to “safe keep” — to keep till a
later time, to hide it in a way that will be revealed later.
“You
have a hand grenade; it has a pin. The pin in Hebrew is called nitzray.
That’s with the same root. That’s what’s keeping it together. If you open it,
it pops out.”(explodes) – quote from Ben Cohen.
Isa 49:1 Listen to Me, O coastlands, and hear, you
peoples from afar! יהוה has called Me
from the womb, from My mother’s belly He has caused My Name to be remembered. (the
womb is also a hidden place)
Isa 49:2 And He
made My mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of His hand He hid Me, and made
Me a polished shaft. In His quiver He hid Me.”
Isa 49:3 And He
said to Me, ‘You are My servant, O Yisra’ĕl, in whom I am adorned.’
Isa 49:4 And I
said, ‘I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for emptiness, and in
vain. But my right-ruling is with יהוה, and my work
with my Elohim.’ ”
Isa 49:5 And now
said יהוה – who formed
Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Yaʽaqoḇ back to Him, though Yisra’ĕl is not gathered to Him, yet
I am esteemed in the eyes of יהוה, and My Elohim
has been My strength –
Isa 49:6 and He
says, “Shall it be a small matter for You to be My Servant to raise up
the tribes of Yaʽaqoḇ, and to bring back the preserved ones of Yisra’ĕl? (Notzrim)And I shall give You as a
light to the gentiles, to be My deliverance to the ends of the earth!
Isa 49:8 Thus said יהוה, “In a favourable time I shall answer You,
and in the day of deliverance I shall help You – and I guard You and give You
for a covenant of the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit
the ruined inheritances,
Isa 49:9 to say to
the prisoners, ‘Go out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.
Who is the prophet speaking about? It must be those
who carry in full measure the nature character and ruach of Moshiach.
Is it possible that
this “favourable time” is the “mello ha goyim” the fullness of the gentiles.
Like their brother Yehudah the veil will be removed from our eyes and ears to
see as they were meant to see and to hear as they were meant to hear. No longer
shall YHVH’s counsel be hidden from us?,
Is it possible that a
remnant from Ephrayim will be raised up in the last days that will be so
infused with the Ruach of YHVH and walk in the way of Mashiach, and call
Yehudah to his place of leadership amongst the tribes of Yisrael, that will
bring about the “olam ha ba” – the age to come?
Often when the word “notzrim”
appears it appears in the context of Ephrayim. That which is hidden will be
revealed.
The sad reality is
that we – Ephrayim have been in rebellion to our older Jewish brother for
centuries.
2Ch 10:19 Thus Yisra’ĕl revolted against the house of
Dawiḏ to this day.
But there is hope for
us.
Yirmeyahu/Jer
31:17 “And there is expectancy for your
latter end,” declares יהוה, “and your
children shall return to their own country.
Jer 31:18 “I have
clearly heard Ephrayim lamenting, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,
like an untrained calf. Turn me back, and I shall turn back, for You are יהוה my Elohim.
Jer 31:19 ‘For
after my turning back, I repented. And after I was instructed, I struck myself
on the thigh (yarech). I was ashamed, even humiliated, for I bore the reproach
of my youth.’ (Ephrayim did not produce righteous offspring)
Jer 31:20 “Is
Ephrayim a precious son to Me, a child of delights? For though I spoke against
him, I still remembered him. That is why My affections were deeply moved for
him. I have great compassion for him,” declares יהוה.
Gen 49:1 And
Yaʽaqoḇ called his sons and
said, “Gather together, so that I declare to you what is to befall you in the
last days:
א וַיִּקְרָא יַעֲקֹב,
אֶל-בָּנָיו; וַיֹּאמֶר, הֵאָסְפוּ וְאַגִּידָה לָכֶם, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-יִקְרָא
אֶתְכֶם, בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים
It is interesting to note that the root word “kra –
kuph, reish aleph” is the verb meaning to “call or cry out” this word is used
twice in verse one. So we understand Yakov calls his sons together to declare
to them what would call them in the last days.
Book of Yasher chapter
56
7 And on the next day Jacob again called for his sons, and they all
assembled and came to him and sat before him, and Jacob on that day blessed his
sons before his death, each man did he bless according to his blessing; behold
it is written in the book of the law of the Lord appertaining to Israel.8 And Jacob said unto Judah, I know my son that thou art a mighty man for thy brethren; reign over them, and thy sons shall reign over their sons forever.
9 Only teach thy sons the bow and all the weapons of war, in order that they may fight the battles of their brother who will rule over his enemies.
20 For I know that many
and grievous troubles will befall you in the latter days in the land, yea your
children and children's children, only serve the Lord and he will save you from
all trouble.
21 And it shall come to
pass when you shall go after God to serve him and will teach your children
after you, and your children's children, to know the Lord, then will the Lord
raise up unto you and your children a servant from amongst your children, and
the Lord will deliver you through his hand from all affliction, and bring you
out of Egypt and bring you back to the land of your fathers to inherit it
securely. End quote.
The following verses
are difficult to understand and many different interpretations have been forwarded
as to their meaning over the years. I would like to suggest a midrash around the
possible hidden inferences of sins that these descendants would recognize in
their lives that would bring about a great repentance and turning back to YHVH
in the last days.
Gen 49:3 “Re’uḇĕn,
you are my first-born, my power and the beginning of my strength, the
excellency of exaltation and the excellency of power.
Gen 49:4 “Boiling like water, you do not excel,
because you went up to your father’s bed, then you defiled it – he went up to
my couch.
The first issue
addressed is that of sexual behaviour. This whole issue of sexual morality has become one
of the greatest battle fields in modern society. Yet the Torah is very explicit
and clear on how one should conduct oneself sexually. Sadly many including the
church have imposed their own codes of sexual conduct which have created
massive destruction and confusion in the world. We need only to look at the
devastation caused by enforced celibacy and enforced monogamy in the western
cultures.
Gen 49:5 “Shimʽon
and Lĕwi are brothers, their weapons are implements of violence.
Gen 49:6 “Let my being not enter their council, let my
esteem not be united to their assembly; because they slew a man in their
displeasure, and they lamed an ox in pleasure.
Gen 49:7 “Cursed be their displeasure for it is
fierce, and their wrath for it is cruel! I divide them in Yaʽaqoḇ and scatter them in
Yisra’ĕl.
Levi was given the priestly duties of the nation.
Let us consider for a moment how many people have been killed and persecuted in
the world over the past 2000 years because of the religious intolerance caused
by different and contrasting religious views.
Church
history of the murder:
1096 Roman Catholic crusaders
slaughter half the Jews in Worms, Germany.
1098 Roman Catholic crusaders
slaughter almost all of the inhabitants of the city of Antioch.
1099 Roman Catholic crusaders
massacre 70,000 Muslims and Jews when they capture Jerusalem.
1208 – 1226 The Albigensian Crusades in
southern France.
Roman Catholic crusaders slaughter approximately 20,000 citizens of
Beziers, France, on July 22, 1209. Albigensian Christians and Catholics were slain. By the time the Roman Catholic armies
finished their “crusade,” almost the entire population of southern France
(mostly Albigensian Christians) has been exterminated. During the six centuries
of papal Inquisition that began in the 13th century, up to 50 million people
were killed.
1236 Roman Catholic crusaders
slaughter Jews in the Anjou and Poitou regions of western France. The Catholic
crusaders trample to death under their horses 3000 Jews who refuse baptism.
1243 Roman Catholic mobs burn
alive all the Jews in Berlitz, Germany (near Berlin).
1298 Roman Catholic mobs burn alive
all Jews in Rottingen, Germany.
April 26, 1349 Roman Catholic mobs
burn to death all Jews in Germersheim, Germany.
1348 – 1349 The Jews are blamed for
the bubonic plague. Author Dave Hunt tells us, “Accused of causing the ‘Black
Death’ Jews were rounded up [by Roman Catholic mobs] and hanged, burned, and
drowned by the thousands in revenge.”
1389 Roman Catholic mobs murder
3000 Jews in Prague when they refuse to be baptized.
1481 – 1483 At the direction of the
Roman Catholic inquisitors, authorities burn at the stake at least 2000 people
during the first two years of the Spanish Inquisition.
1540 – 1570 Roman Catholic armies
butcher at least 900,000 Waldensian Christians of all ages during this 30-year
period.
1550 – 1560 Roman Catholic troops
slaughter at least 250,000 Dutch Protestants via torture, hanging, and burning
during this ten-year period.
1553 – 1558 Roman Catholic Queen
Mary I of England (aka “bloody Mary”) attempts to bring England back under the
yoke of papal tyranny. During her reign, approximately 200 men and woman are
burned to death at the sake. Her victims include bishops, scholars, and other
Protestant leaders.
1572 St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. French
Roman Catholic soldiers begin killing Protestants in Paris on the night of
August 24, 1572. The soldiers kill at least 10,000 Protestants during the first
three days. At least 8000 more Protestants are killed as the slaughter spreads
to the countryside.
1618 – 1648 The Thirty Years’ War.
This bloody, religious war is planned, instigated, and orchestrated by the
Roman Catholic Jesuit order and its agents in an attempt to exterminate all the
Protestants in Europe. Many countries in central Europe lose up to half their
population.
1641 – 1649 Eight years of
Jesuit-instigated Roman Catholic butchery of Irish Protestants claims the lives
of at least 100,000 Protestants.
1685 French Roman Catholic
soldiers slaughter approximately 500,000 French Protestant Huguenots on the
orders of Roman Catholic King Louis 14 of France.
Circa 1938 – 1945 Catholic dictators such
as Adolf Hitler and Monsignor Tiso slaughter approximately six million Jews in
Europe prior to and during World War 2.
1941 – 1945 The Roman Catholic
Ustashi in the fascist state of Croatia butcher up to one million Serbian
Orthodox Christians. Roman Catholic killer squads are often led by Franciscan
priests, monks, and friars. This genocide is choreographed by two Jesuit
prelates: Aloysius Stepinac and Ivan Saric. End quote.
The same spirit lives in the hearts of many religious people who would
still like to see the destruction of the Jewish state and the Jews. Christian
doctrines such as “replacement theology” serve only to fuel such hatred.
Gen 49:8 “You, Yehuḏah, your brothers
praise you; your hand is on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children
bow down before you.
Gen 49:9 “Yehuḏah
is a lion’s cub; from the prey you have gone up, my son! He bowed down, he
crouched like a lion. And like a lion, who does rouse him?
Gen 49:10 “The sceptre shall not turn aside from Yehuḏah, nor a Lawgiver
from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to Him is the obedience of
peoples.
Gen 49:11 “Binding his donkey to the vine, and his
donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his robes
in the blood of grapes.
Gen 49:12 “His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth
whiter than milk.
Yehudah will still
bitterly weep and repent because they failed to protect our Messiah and his
Torah.
Zec 12:10 “And I shall pour on the house of Dawiḏ and on the
inhabitants of Yerushalayim a spirit of favour and prayers. And they shall look
on Me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his
only son. And they shall be in bitterness over Him as a bitterness over the
first-born.
Zec 12:11
“In that day the mourning in Yerushalayim is going to be great, like the
mourning at Haḏaḏ Rimmon in the valley
of Meḡiddo.
Zec 12:12
“And the land shall mourn, every clan by itself: the clan of the house
of Dawiḏ by itself, and their
women by themselves; the clan of the house of Nathan by itself, and their women
by themselves;
Zec 12:13 the clan of
the house of Lĕwi by itself, and their women by themselves; the clan of Shimʽi by itself, and their
women by themselves;
Zec 12:14
all the rest of the clans, every clan by itself, and their women by
themselves.
All the clans will
mourn and repent because we were all guilty of the death of our Messiah.
Fortunately for the entire family of Yisrael our
Messiah will not condemn us but like Yosef he will say:
Gen 50:20 “And you, you intended evil against me, but
Elohim intended it for good, in order to do it as it is this day, to keep a
great many people alive.
Gen 50:21 “And now, do not fear, I provide for you and
your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
Gen 49:13
“Zeḇulun dwells at the
seashore, he is for a haven for ships, and his border is unto Tsiḏon.
We believe that Zevulun was blessed with the gift
of doing trade and making money and even financed their brothers Yissaskar to
study Torah. How long did this activity last? How much money is spent today on
those who desire to dedicate their lives to the study of Torah. The Torah
plainly tells us that wealth is given to establish Torah.
Deu 8:18 “But you shall remember יהוה your Elohim,
for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, in order to establish His
covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is today.
Gen 49:14 “Yissasḵar is a strong donkey lying
down between two burdens,
Gen 49:15 and he saw that a resting place was good, and
that the land was pleasant, and he inclined his shoulder to bear a burden, and
became a subject to slave labour.
What are the two burdens? The burden to study and the
burden to supply the needs of your family???
The danger of those
who are supported to study Torah is to please their benefactors more than to
please the Father. The danger exists to become a bond servant of men rather
than YHVH.
Gen 49:16 “Dan
rightly rules his people as one of the tribes of Yisra’ĕl.
Gen 49:17 “Dan is a serpent by the way, an adder by the
path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider falls backward.
Gen 49:18 “I have waited for your deliverance, O יהוה!
Leaders are given the responsibility to bring freedom to
those under them so that they can also obey and follow the Torah of YHVH. Today
leaders have created a society that has enslaved the masses to taxes, bad
education, poor security and the rising costs of food and housing to the point
where people become slaves and degenerate into crime and despair.
Gen 49:19 “Gaḏ, a
raiding band raids him,(or he himself is raided) but he raids its heel.
The very thing that
Gad was good for, fighting and protecting his brothers, was the very thing that
became his downfall. (see history of Yisrael entering into Promised Land)
Satan does not always
attack us only on our weaknesses but more often on our strengths.
Gen 49:20 “Bread from Ashĕr is rich, and he gives delicacies of a sovereign.
Did Asher only focus on the rich or did he also take care
of the poor?
Gen 49:21 “Naphtali is a deer let loose, he gives words of elegance.
Were these words used to bring honour to YHVH? There is
so much literature and music in the world today that bring great dishonor to
Him who gave the talent to write and compose.
Gen 49:22 “Yosĕph is an offshoot of a fruit-bearing tree, an offshoot of a
fruit-bearing tree by a fountain, his branches run over a wall.
Gen 49:23 “And the
archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him.
Gen 49:24 “But his
bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Yaʽaqoḇ –
from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Yisra’ĕl –
Gen 49:25 from the
Ěl of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with
blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
Gen 49:26 “The
blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the
limit of the everlasting hills. They are on the head of Yosĕph, and on the
crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers.
It is thought that Yosef became the heart of western
civilization (Britain and USA) Much wealth and honour and responsibility was
entrusted to this civilization. The question is what did they really do with
this? Western civilization has failed because the kind of spirituality it has
promoted has failed – Christianity.
We were always meant to return to our Hebraic roots and
embrace the Torah of YHVH.
Gen 49:27 “Binyamin is a wolf that tears, in the morning he eats prey, and at
night he divides the spoil.”
“This
tribe will be like a wolf who devours its prey and in the evening divides its
spoil (Gen 49:27). One commentator has noted that
wolves typically kill more than they can eat, and so this metaphor tells
us the tribe of Benjamin will satisfy himself and then divvy up what is left
over. In other words, there is the potential for this clan to enjoy abundant
success within the family of Israel.Benjamin went on to succeed and father many godly individuals. Ehud, a Benjaminite judge, rescued Israel from Moab (Judg 3:12-30). Jonathan hailed from the tribe of Benjamin, and, unlike his father Saul, he loved David (1 sam 9:1-2; 14;49;18:1-5). Esther, who saved her people from extinction during Persian rule, and her cousin Mordecai also counted Benjamin as a forefather(Est 2:5-7). Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, was a Benjaminite as well (Rom 11:1). Though they had sinful ancestors like the rest of us, all of these persons finally chose righteousness over evil.
However, the wolf imagery is also forboding, warning of potential danger ahead for Benjamin. This tribe would also be capable of producing unfaithful men. Aside from King Saul, there is the ghastly episode in the period of the judges when certain Benjaminites raped a Levite’s concubine, leading to her death. The authorities in this tribe were unwilling to punish these evil men and compounded sin when they rose to defend them (Judg. 19–21)! These men chose to follow the sin of their clan, and they suffered the inevitable results.”
We close with the word of our great prophet Yeshayahu.
Yes/Isa 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says יהוה. “Though your
sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like
crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isa 1:19 “If you
submit and obey, you shall eat the good of the land;
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 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, 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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