Bless YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the blessed One for all eternity. 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. Amein.
ויהי אברם
In this final portion
of ‘’Lech Lecha’’ the focus now shifts to Avram – ‘’Avram became ………’’
Avram has humbled
himself under the Mighty Hand of YHVH and now YHVH is about to exalt him.
1Pe
5:6 Humble yourselves, then, under the mighty hand of Elohim, so that He
exalts you in due time,
ויהי אברם
Avram
becomes much more than we realize …….He is not only the father of the promised
son, he is the father of nations, he is the father of our faith, he is the very
first Hebrew, he is the very embodiment of fatherhood and covenant community.
Gen 17:1 And it
came to be when Aḇram was ninety-nine years old, that יהוה appeared to Aḇram and said to him, “I am Ěl Shaddai – walk
before Me and be(become) perfect1. Footnote: 1Messiah
gives the same command in Mat 5:48 “Therefore, be perfect,[m] as your Father in the heavens is perfect. Footnote: m Gen_17:1,
Psa_119:1, 1Jn_2:5, Heb_6:1, I Peter 1:16.
El Shaddai
is the name of YHVH that relates to nurturing. “Shad” in Hebrew is “breast”.
YHVH is referred to as the “Breasted One.”
The name El
Shaddai is used 7 times in the Tenach and this is the first time it is used.
According to the law of first appearance in the scripture, this is truly
significant as it relates to YHVH preserving and nurturing His covenant with
us. The use of the term ‘’El Shadai’’ in Genesis occurs where the birth of
children is the primary concern, especially when woman are barren – 28:3;
35:11; 43:14; 48:3 -
The Hebrew
word “shad” is also a masculine noun. Covenantal life can only come through caring
fathers. (Heb – ‘’avot’’fathers)
The Hitpael
verb is used for “walk” – “hithalech” and means to walk back and forth –
continue to walk by faith regarding the promise of a son and the call to father
nations.
Gen
17:2 “And I give My covenant between Me
and you, and shall greatly increase you.”
ב וְאֶתְּנָה
בְרִיתִי, בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶךָ; וְאַרְבֶּה אוֹתְךָ, בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד.
Note – “ve
etna” means “I have given” The “hey” ending emphasizes the intensity of the
cohortative verb. In other words YHVH is saying ‘’ Im going to give you my
covenant so completely that it cannot be measured or imagined.
Gal 3:9 so that those who are of belief are blessed with Aḇraham, the believer. Gal 3:29 And if you are of Messiah, then you are seed of Aḇraham, and heirs according to promise.
Gen 17:3 And Aḇram fell on his face, and Elohim spoke with him, saying, Gen 17:4 “As for Me, look, My covenant is with you, and you shall become a father of many nations. Gen 17:5 “And no longer is your name called Aḇram, but your name shall be Aḇraham, because I shall make you a father of many nations. (Heb – ‘’hamon’’ means multitude) Gen 17:6 “And I shall make you bear fruit exceedingly, and make nations of you, and sovereigns shall come from you. Gen 17:7 “And I shall establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be Elohim to you and your seed after you. Gen 17:8 “And I shall give to you and your seed after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Kenaʽan, as an everlasting possession. And I shall be their Elohim.” Gen 17:9 And Elohim said to Aḇraham, “As for you, guard My covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their generations. Gen 17:10 “This is My covenant which you guard between Me and you, and your seed after you: Every male child among you is to be circumcised. Gen 17:11 “And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall become a sign of the covenant between Me and you. Gen 17:12 “And a son of eight days is circumcised by you, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with silver from any foreigner who is not of your seed.
Gen
17:13 “He who is born in your house, and
he who is bought with your silver, has to be circumcised. So shall My covenant
be in your flesh, for an everlasting covenant.
Gen 17:14 “And an uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, his life shall be cut off from his people – he has broken My covenant.”
This instruction is very, very clear. Sadly religious rebellious leaders have always tried to obscure the simplicity of this instruction.
Gen
17:15 And Elohim said to Aḇraham, “As
for Sarai your wife, do not call her name Sarai, for Sarah is her name.
Gen
17:16 “And I shall bless her and also
give you a son by her. And I shall bless her, and she shall become nations –
sovereigns of peoples are to be from her.”
Gen
17:17 And Aḇraham fell on his face and
laughed,(Heb – ‘’tzocheck’’) and said in his heart, “Is a child born to
a man who is a hundred years old? Or is Sarah, who is ninety years old, to bear
a child?”
Gen
17:18 And Aḇraham said to Elohim, “Oh,
let Yishmaʽĕl live before You!”
Gen 17:19 And Elohim said, “No, Sarah your wife is truly bearing a son to you, and you shall call his name Yitsḥaq.(Heb – ‘’he will laugh’’) And I shall establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
Rom 9:6 However, it is not as though the word of Elohim has failed. For they are not all Yisra’ěl who are of Yisra’ěl,[]a Footnote: aA play on words. See Explanatory Note on “Overcomers.” Rom 9:7 neither are they all children because they are the seed of Aḇraham, but, “In Yitsḥaq your seed shall be called.” Gen_21:12. Rom 9:8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of Elohim, but the children of the promise are reckoned as the seed. Rom 9:9 For this is the word of promise, “At this time I shall come and Sarah shall have a son.”
Gen
17:20 “And as for Yishmaʽĕl, I have
heard you. See, I shall bless him, and shall make him bear fruit, and greatly
increase him. He is to bring forth twelve princes, and I shall make him a great
nation.
Gen
17:21 “But My covenant I establish with
Yitsḥaq, whom Sarah is to bear to you at this set time next year.”
Gen
17:22 And when He had ended speaking
with him, Elohim went up from Aḇraham.
Gen
17:23 And Aḇraham took Yishmaʽĕl his
son, and all those born in his house and all those bought with his silver,
every male among the men of Aḇraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of
their foreskins that same day, as Elohim told him.
Gen 17:24 And Aḇraham was ninety-nine years old when
he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen
17:25 And Yishmaʽĕl his son was thirteen
years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen
17:26 Aḇraham and his son Yishmaʽĕl
were circumcised that same day.
Gen
17:27 And all the men of his house, born
in the house or bought with silver from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Let’s take another look at circumcision.
Sadly the history of Yisrael
shows that circumcision became more of an ‘’ethnic marker’’ than a reminder of
their own inability(our own flesh) to bring about an everlasting covenant
between YHVH and themselves. This sad fact features in much of the Apostles
Paul misunderstood teaching on circumcision.
Deu
10:16 “And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart,[b] and harden your neck no more.
Footnote: bSee also Deu_30:6-8, Rom_2:26-29 and 1Co_7:19.
1Co
7:19 The circumcision is naught, and the uncircumcision is naught, but
the guarding of the commands of Elohim does matter!a Footnote: aSee Rom_2:26-29.
Paul here
is speaking above of conversion to Judaism.
If you
guard His commands you will be circumcised.
Rom 4:7 “Blessed are those whose lawlessnesses are forgiven, and whose sins are covered, Rom 4:8 blessed is the man to whom יהוה shall by no means reckon sin.” Psa_32:1-2. Rom 4:9 Is this blessing then upon the circumcised only, or also upon the uncircumcised? For we affirm: Belief was reckoned unto Aḇraham for righteousness. Gen_15:6. Rom 4:10 How then was it reckoned? Being in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. Rom 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the belief while in uncircumcision, for him to be a father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for righteousness to be reckoned to them also, Rom 4:12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the belief which our father Aḇraham had in uncircumcision.
The Promise
Realized Through Faith
Rom 4:13 For the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Aḇraham or to his seed through the Torah, but through a righteousness of belief. Rom 4:14 For if those who are of the Torah are heirs, belief has been made useless, and the promise has been nullified, Rom 4:15 for the Torah works out wrath, for where there is no Torah there is no transgression.
‘’We should not fall
into the trap of thinking that the Torah was given as a means of covenant
entrance, nor that it was given with the premise that if one kept it perfectly,
one would be accorded the status of righteousness. Clearly, obedience to the
Torah included adherence to the provisions it granted for one who transgressed
(i.e., establishing appropriate restitution, or bringing of a sacrifice by the
repentant sinner). But the point is that the Torah, in clearly establishing
YHVH’s standards of righteousness, likewise manifested Israel’s inability and
therefore made sin all that more evident. Where there may have been debate over
what exactly constituted sin from man’s point of view, the Torah made clear
what constituted sin from YHVH’s viewpoint. Moreover, it also established
punishment for sin. The point is obvious: where there is no Torah, there can be
no proper punishment because, technically, there is no violation. Thus, the
existence of Torah in clear, written form raises the possibility of violation
of that Torah, and thus of punishment for its violation. Furthermore, the Torah,
while setting forth YHVH’s revelation of what constituted set apartness and
therefore what constituted sin, never offered Israel the means by which she
could overcome the wayward bent of the sinful nature, and therefore, apart from
an attended work of the Spirit in relationship to the Torah, inevitably
established the basis for punishment of the transgressor. In short, for the
person who attempted obedience without first having the heart circumcised in
the realm of faith, the Torah functioned primarily in terms of condemnation
rather than in the establishment of true set apartness.’’
Rom 4:16 On account of this it is of belief, that it be according to favour, for the promise to be made certain to all the seed, not only to those who are of the Torah, but also to those who are of the belief of Aḇraham, who is father of us all – Rom 4:17 as it has been written, “I have made you a father of many nations” Gen_17:5 – in the presence of Him whom he believed, even Elohim, who gives life to the dead and calls that which does not exist as existing, Rom 4:18 who against all expectation did believe, in expectation, so that he should become father of many nations, according to what was said, “So shall your seed be.” Gen_15:5. Rom 4:19 And not having grown weak in belief, he did not consider his own body, already dead, being about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb, Rom 4:20 he did not hesitate about the promise of Elohim through unbelief, but was strengthened in belief, giving esteem to Elohim, Rom 4:21 and being completely persuaded that what He had promised He was also able to do. Rom 4:22 Therefore also “it was reckoned to him for righteousness.” Gen_15:6. Rom 4:23 And not because of him alone was it written that it was reckoned to him, Gen_15:6. Rom 4:24 but also because of us, to whom it shall be reckoned, to us who believe in Him who raised up יהושע our Master from the dead, Rom 4:25 who was delivered up because of our trespasses, and was raised for us to be declared right.
Rom 2:25 For circumcision indeed profits if you practise the Torah, but if you are a transgressor of the Torah, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Rom 2:26 So, if an uncircumcised one watches over the righteousnesses of the Torah, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned as circumcision? Rom 2:27 And the uncircumcised by nature, who perfects the Torah, shall judge you who notwithstanding letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the Torah! Rom 2:28 For he is not a Yehuḏi who is so outwardly, neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. Rom 2:29 But a Yehuḏi is he who is so inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart,[g] in Spirit, not literally, whose praise is not from men but from Elohim. Footnote: g 1Co_7:19, Exo_19:5, Deu_10:12-16, Deu_30:6-8.
Deu 30:6 “And יהוה your Elohim shall circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, so that you might live, Deu 30:7 and יהוה your Elohim shall put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. Deu 30:8 “And you shall turn back and obey the voice of יהוה and do all His commands which I command you today.
The true revelation of
physical circumcision comes to those who love YHVH with all our heart and all
our being and the evidence will be to walk in the Spirit of YHVH and guard all
His Torah.
1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and guard His commands. 1Jn 5:3 For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands,[a] and His commands are not heavy, Footnote: aSee 1Jn_5:2, 2Jn_1:6 and Joh_14:15. 1Jn 5:4 because everyone having been born of Elohim overcomes the world. And this is the overcoming that has overcome the world: our belief.(Gk The faith of us)
Baruch atah YHVH,
Eloheinu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan lanu Toraht-emet, v’chai-yeh o’lam
nata-b’tochenu. Baruch atah YHVH, notein ha-Torah. Amein.
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.