Once
again the opening words of the parasha capture the essence of its instruction-
The Hebrew reads: “Yakov went out from the well of seven or of completeness –
Bersheva - and walked towards a mountainous or a parched place – Charan” see
Strongs 2787.
He
went from the place where he received the covenantal blessing of the first born
onto a spiritual journey that would teach him the eternal truth of Torah and
Messiah.
Everything
in the Torah points to and finds its true meaning in the person of Yahshua our
Messiah.
If
we want to be conformed into the image of our Messiah - the destination Yahveh
has called us to,(Rom 8:29) we must be willing to embrace the same kind of path
and live and move outside of our comfort zones as our fathers did – Avraham
Yitzchak and Yakov.
The spiritual crisis in our
present day is caused because we have taken our eyes off the “Goal of the
Torah” – Yahshua Ha Mashiach Rom 10:4 – The Chief Captain and Perfector of THE
FAITH – Heb 12:2
Mat 7:13 “Enter in through the narrow gate! Because
the gate is wide – and the way is broad – that leads to destruction, and there
are many who enter in through it.
Mat 7:14 “Because the gate is narrow and the way is
hard pressed1 which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Footnote: 1Or the way is afflicted.
Luk 4:1 And יהושע, being filled
with the Set-apart Spirit, returned from the Yardĕn and was led by the Spirit
into the wilderness,
Luk 9:23 And He (Yahshua) said to them all, “If anyone
wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his stake daily, and
follow Me.
Barnabas and Shaul in
their missionary journeys establishing assemblies and teaching the Torah the
way Yahshua taught the Torah, encouraged the disciples and also warned them of
the trails they would face on this journey of the faith.
Act 14:22 strengthening the beings of the taught ones,
encouraging them to continue in the belief, and that through many pressures we
have to enter the reign of Elohim.
Psa 34:19 Many are the evils(Heb – ra ot) of the
righteous1, But יהוה delivers him
out of them all. Footnote: 1Ps. 71:20, 2 Tim. 3:11-12.
כ רַבּוֹת, רָעוֹת צַדִּיק;
וּמִכֻּלָּם, יַצִּילֶנּוּ יְהוָה.
Definition of Hebrew
word “natzal” – “deliver” (Hiphil)
1c1) to take away, snatch away
1c2) to rescue, recover
1c3) to deliver (from enemies or troubles
or death)
1c4) to deliver from sin and guilt
Perhaps these challenges
are sure evidence that identify one who had become a Hebrew – one who has
crossed over.
The message of the
modern church is to ascribe challenges to the devil. Much of the modern church
wants to be entertained and blessed; they believe Yahshua primarily came to
make his followers rich and happy. This is simply not the kind of message our
Messiah and his followers came to teach us.
Gen 28:11
And he came upon a place and stopped over for the night, for the sun had
set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he
lay down in that place to sleep.
יא וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם
וַיָּלֶן שָׁם, כִּי-בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם, וַיָּשֶׂם
מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו; וַיִּשְׁכַּב, בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא.
Three
times in this one verse the Hebrew word “ha makom” or “the place” is used. This
possibly points to the significance of this place which the sages believe to be
the same place where Avraham offered Yitzchak and where the two temples would
be built and destroyed. In the future Messianic kingdom we believe Messiah will
rule and reign from this mountain where a new temple will be built and all
nations will come to “the place” - “makom” to be taught the Torah of YHVH – see
Zech 6:12.
“..put it at his head..” mera'ăshâh - place at the head, dominion, head place (noun
feminine)
This
maybe a veiled reference to Yahshua revealed as the “chief corner stone”.
Psa 118:22 The stone which the builders rejected Has
become the chief corner-stone.
Psa 118:23 This was from יהוה, It is
marvellous in our eyes.
Mat 21:42 יהושע said to them,
“Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief corner-stone. This was from יהוה, and it is
marvellous in our eyes’?
Mat 21:43 “Because
of this I say to you: the reign of Elohim shall be taken from you and given to
a nation bringing forth the fruits of it.
Mat 21:44 “And he
who falls on this stone shall be broken, but on whomever it falls, he shall be
pulverised.”
Isa 8:14 “And He shall be for a set-apart place, but a
stone of stumbling and a rock that makes for falling to both the houses of
Yisra’ĕl, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
Isa 8:15 “And many among them shall stumble and fall,
and be broken and snared and taken.”
Isa 8:16
Bind up the witness, seal the Torah among my taught ones.
“Hebrew word for “broken” - (Niphal)
to be broken, be maimed, be crippled, be wrecked to be crushed
(figuratively).”
Gen 28:12
And he dreamed and saw a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached
to the heavens, and saw messengers of Elohim going up and coming down on it.
“ladder” in Hebrew is “sulam”
this is the only place in scripture where this word is used. The gematria for
“sulam” and “Sinai” are the same – 130.
The events and message that
come from these two locations (Sinai and Mount Tzion) reveal YHVH’s complete redemptive purpose for mankind and
has influenced the life of man on this planet more than any other place or
event in history.
The same message Moshe
received on Sinai, Yahshua will proclaim (has proclaimed) from the temple mount
or Mount Zion (mount Moriah).
Yahshua refers to the event of
this parashah in Joh 1:51 And He said to
him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, from now on you shall see the heaven opened,
and the messengers of Elohim ascending and descending upon the Son of Adam.”
The significance of this event
points us to fact that YHVH was assuring Yakov that he and his seed would be
inseparably linked to Him from Yerushalayim through Yahshua and His promise and
Covenant with Yisrael through Yahshua, the mediator, for ever and ever.
Gen 28:13
And see, יהוה stood above it
and said, “I am יהוה Elohim of Aḇraham
your father and the Elohim of Yitsḥaq.
The land on which you are lying, I give it to you and your seed.
Gen 28:14 “And
your seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall break forth to the
west and to the east, to the north and the south. And all the clans of the
earth shall be blessed in you and in your seed.
Gen 28:15 “And
see, I am with you and shall guard you wherever you go, and shall bring you
back to this land. For I am not going to leave you until I have done what I
have spoken to you.”
Gen 28:16 And Yaʽaqoḇ awoke
from his sleep and said, “Truly, יהוה is in this
place, and I did not know it.”
Gen 28:17 And he
was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the
house of Elohim, and this is the gate of the heavens!”
Gen 28:18 And Yaʽaqoḇ rose
early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up
as a standing column, and poured oil on top of it.
Gen 28:19 And he
called the name of that place Bĕyth Ěl, however, the name of that city had been
Luz previously.
It is almost only by accident that you will find Beit –El.
Gen 28:20 And Yaʽaqoḇ made
a vow, saying, “Seeing Elohim is with me, and has kept me in this way that I am
going, and has given me bread to eat and a garment to put on –
Gen 28:21 when I
have returned to my father’s house in peace, and יהוה has been my
Elohim,
Gen 28:22 then
this stone which I have set as a standing column shall be Elohim’s house, and
of all that You give me, I shall certainly give a tenth to You.”
Gen 29:1 And Yaʽaqoḇ moved on and came to
the land of the people of the East.
Gen 29:2 And
he looked and saw a well in the field,
and saw three flocks of sheep lying by it, for out of that well they
watered the flocks, and a large stone was on the well’s mouth.
Gen 29:3 And
all the flocks would be gathered there, then they would roll the stone from the
well’s mouth and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the
well’s mouth.
Gen
28:22 then this stone(Heb – ve haven
hazot) which I have set as a standing column shall be Elohim’s house. This could be a reference to Messiah as the chief corner stone of the
future temple.
Only twice in the Tenach
do you have a combination of the word “and the stone” in Hebrew “ve ha even” It is found in Ber/Gen 28:22 and
29:2.
It is amazing to
contemplate that A STONE was rolled away from the grave of our Master and when
his followers came to seek him, he was not there – Luke 24:2
This
“Stone” has been lifted once and will soon be lifted again. It is possible that
when the different flocks are drawn
together to the same place by the Ruach of YHVH that the “Stone” will be
lifted and Messianic life will flow –
Yahshua has other 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.
Gen 29:4 So
Yaʽaqoḇ said to them, “My
brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Ḥaran.”
Gen 29:5 And
he said to them, “Do you know Laḇan
son of Naḥor?” And they said,
“We know him.”
Gen 29:6 So
he said to them, “Is he well?” And they said, “Well. And see, his daughter Raḥĕl is coming with the
sheep.”
Gen 29:7 And
he said, “See, it is still high day, not the time for the livestock to be
gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.”
Gen 29:8 But
they said, “We are not allowed until all the flocks are gathered together, and
they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, then we shall water the
sheep.”
Gen 29:9
While he was still speaking with them, Raḥĕl came with her
father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
Gen 29:10
And it came to be, when Yaʽaqoḇ saw Raḥĕl the daughter of Laḇan his mother’s
brother, and the sheep of Laḇan his mother’s
brother, that Yaʽaqoḇ went near and rolled
the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laḇan his mother’s
brother.
Gen 29:11
And Yaʽaqoḇ kissed Raḥĕl, and lifted up his
voice and wept.
Gen 29:12
And when Yaʽaqoḇ told Raḥĕl that he was her
father’s relative and that he was Riḇqah’s
son, she ran and told her father.
Gen 29:13
And it came to be, when Laḇan
heard the report about Yaʽaqoḇ his sister’s son,
that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to
his house. Then he told Laḇan all these matters.
Gen 29:14
And Laḇan said to him, “You
are indeed my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.
Gen 29:15
Then Laḇan said to Yaʽaqoḇ, “Because you are my
relative, should you therefore serve me for naught? Let me know, what should
your wages be?”
Gen 29:16
And Laḇan had two daughters,
the name of the elder was Lĕ’ah, and the name of the younger was Raḥĕl.
Gen 29:17
And Lĕ’ah’s eyes were weak, but Raḥĕl
was lovely of form and appearance.
Gen 29:18
And Yaʽaqoḇ loved Raḥĕl, so he said, “Let
me serve you seven years for Raḥĕl
your younger daughter.”
Gen 29:19
And Laḇan said, “It is better
that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with
me.”
Gen 29:20 So
Yaʽaqoḇ served seven years
for Raḥĕl, and they seemed to
him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
Gen 29:21
Then Yaʽaqoḇ said to Laḇan, “Give me my wife,
for my days are completed, and let me go in to her.”
Gen 29:22
And Laḇan gathered all the
men of the place and made a feast.
Gen 29:23
And it came to be in the evening, that he took Lĕ’ah his daughter and
brought her to Yaʽaqoḇ. And he went in to
her.
Gen 29:24
And Laḇan gave his female
servant Zilpah to his daughter Lĕ’ah as a female servant.
Gen 29:25
And in the morning it came to be, that see, it was Lĕ’ah. So he said to
Laḇan, “What is this you
have done to me? Was it not for Raḥĕl
that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?”
Gen 29:26
And Laḇan said, “It is not
done this way in our place, to give the younger before the first-born.
Gen 29:27
“Complete the week of this one, then we give you this one too, for the
service which you shall serve with me still another seven years.”
Gen 29:28
And Yaʽaqoḇ did so and completed
her week. Then he gave him his daughter Raḥĕl
too, as wife.
Gen 29:29
And Laḇan gave his female
servant Bilhah to his daughter Raḥĕl
as a female servant.
Gen 29:30
And he also went in to Raḥĕl,
and he also loved Raḥĕl more than Lĕ’ah.
And he served with Laḇan still another seven
years.
Yahveh allowed this “deception” of Yakov, because
it would be from Yakov’s two wives and two concubines that the 12 tribes of
Yisrael would emerge. This could not have been some evil plot as even the 12
gates of the New Yerushalayim are named after these 12 tribes and sons of Yakov
– see Rev 21:12.