Psa 119:18/19 Please open our eyes YHVH that we might see hidden and wonderful truths in Your Torah. Father we are strangers and sojourners here on earth, please do not hide your commandments from us.
We ask in
Yahshua’s name – Amein.
ושׂרי
אשׁת
ושׂרי
אשׁת אברם לא ילדה
Lit
– Sarai wife of Avram did not bring forth life
The Midrash expands on Sarai’s deep pain and longing,
describing her barrenness as one of the greatest spiritual tests in her life.
We see this pattern of bareness repeated in the scriptures:
Sarah (Genesis 11:30, 17–18, 21) Abraham’s wife. Barren
for decades; she was 90 years old when YHVH gave birth to her promised son. Waited
25 years after YHVH’s first promise to Abraham before Isaac was born. Laughed
in disbelief at first but ultimately became the mother of Isaac and a matriarch
of Israel.
Rebekah (Genesis 25:20–21, 26) Isaac’s wife. Barren
for about 20 years of marriage. Isaac prayed earnestly, and YHVH gave her twin
sons, Esau and Jacob.
Rachel (Genesis 29–30, 35) Jacob’s beloved wife. Barren
for many years while her sister Leah bore several children. Deeply grieved and
jealous; cried out, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” YHVH “remembered” her and
gave her Joseph, and later Benjamin (though she died in childbirth with
Benjamin).
Manoah’s wife (the mother of Samson) (Judges 13) Unnamed
in Scripture but explicitly described as barren. A messenger appeared and
announced she would bear a son who would be a Nazirite and begin to deliver
Israel from the Philistines. Gave birth to Samson after a long period of
childlessness.
Hannah (1 Samuel 1–2) Wife of Elkanah, mother of
Samuel. Barren for years and deeply provoked by Peninnah (Elkanah’s other wife
who had children). Poured out her soul in prayer at the tabernacle, vowing to
dedicate her son to YHYVH. YHVH answered and gave her Samuel (and later
additional children).
Elizabeth (Luke 1) Wife of Zechariah the priest,
mother of John the Baptist. Barren and “well advanced in years” (past normal
childbearing age). Both she and Zechariah were righteous before YHVH yet
remained childless until old age. The messenger Gabriel announced she would
bear a son; she conceived John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus.
These women’s stories run throughout Scripture as
testimonies of YHVH’s ability to do the impossible and His timing is always
perfect. The children of these barren women would play significant roles in
establishing YHVH’s covenant on earth.
Sarai and Hagar
Gen 16:1 And Sarai, Aḇram’s
wife, had borne him no child. And she had a Mitsriet female servant whose name
was Haḡar.
We see here perhaps a hidden reference to the gentiles being
fruitful in the midst of YHVH’s chosen people.
In ancient Hebrew culture, the term גֵּר (pronounced ger, plural gerim) primarily
referred to a resident alien or sojourner—a non-Israelite who lived permanently
or semi-permanently among the Israelite community but was not a native-born
citizen.
Here we find in the story of Ruth a grateful heart of a ‘’Ger’’
Ruth the Moabite is
called a foreigner (similar to ‘’ger’’) after settling in Bethlehem (Ruth
2:10).
Rth
2:10 And she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him,
“Why have I found favour in your eyes, that you should take notice of me,
seeing I am a foreigner?”
Rth
1:16 But
Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you, or to go back from following after
you. For wherever you go, I go; and wherever you stop over, I stop over. Your
people is my people, and your Elohim is my Elohim.a Footnote: aRuth,
great-grandmother of Dawiḏ.
Rth
1:17 “Where you die, I die, and there I shall be buried. יהוה do so to me, and more also – for death
itself parts you and me.”
Same laws applied to ger and Israelite - Num 15:15 One law is for you of the assembly
and for the stranger who sojourns with you – a law forever throughout your
generations. As you are, so is the stranger before יהוה. Num 15:16 One Torah and one right-ruling is for you
and for the stranger who sojourns with you.’ (Noahide laws are a rabbinic
invention)
Gen 16:2 And Sarai said to Aḇram, “See, יהוה has kept me from bearing children. Please,
go in to my female servant. It might be that I am built up by her.” And Aḇram listened to the voice of
Sarai.
So, here once again we see that even the gentiles will come
from the seed of Abraham.
Gal
3:29 And if you are of Messiah, then you are seed of Abraham, and heirs
according to promise.
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,
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_18:10.
The Samaritan woman who Yahshua was addressing belonged to a
people who claimed Ephraimite (and Manassite) origin — and in the northern
Israelite context, “Ephraimite” was often shorthand for anyone from the
northern tribes/kingdom.
Today, there are several prominent leaders withing the
Messianic movement who believe that Christians (including messianics) are at
least spiritually (possibly physically) connected to the house of Ephraim.
Within the Hebrew roots movement there is a general
consensus that the gentile church has not replaced Israel.
Many in the church believe that the birthright of Israel was
passed on to the gentiles: (not true)
Heb 12:22 But you have drawn near to Mount Tsiyon
and to the city of the living Elohim, to the heavenly Yerushalayim, to myriads
of messengers,
Heb 12:23 to the entire gathering and assembly of
the first-born having been enrolled in heaven, and to Elohim the Judge of all,
and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,
In the English translations vs 23 is translated ‘’ Heb
12:23 To
the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven’’
In Hebrew the assembly of the first born is called ‘’ עדת הבכורים ‘’
וְאֶל־אֲצִילֵי
בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא שָׁלַח יָדוֹ
וַיֶּחֱזוּ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתּוּ
"But toward the nobles of the children of Israel He
did not stretch out His hand, and they beheld Elohim, and they ate and
drank." ‘’ אֲצִילֵי ‘’
chiefs or nobles.
So in Exodus 24:11, the plain meaning is:
“But against the nobles of the sons of Israel He did
not stretch out His hand” = God did not strike them, did not punish
them, did not kill them → even though they saw God (וַיֶּחֱזוּ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים) and lived!
This is absolutely shocking in the biblical worldview,
because normally no human can see God and live:
·
Exodus 33:20 – “You cannot see My face, for no
man can see Me and live”
Yet in Exodus 24:9–11, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and
the 70 elders saw the God of Israel (they even describe His feet standing on a
pavement of sapphire), ate and drank in His presence, and God did not kill
them.
Because in the 1500s–1600s, the Church of England
(Anglican Church) was the state church, and King James I explicitly forbade
Tyndale's earlier practice of translating ἐκκλησία
(ekklesia – called out) as "congregation" (which implied local
independent assemblies without hierarchy). The king wanted a word that
preserved the idea of an institutional, visible, hierarchical organization.
Heb 12:24 and to יהושע the Mediatord of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling which speaks better than the blood of Heḇel. Footnote: dSee Heb_8:6.
Heb 12:25 Take heed not to refuse the One speaking.
For if those did not escape who refused the warning on earth, much less we who
turn away from Him from heaven,
Heb 12:26 whose voice shook the earth then, but now
He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also
the heaven.” Hag_2:6.
Heb 12:27 And this, “Yet once more,” makes clear
the removal of what is shaken – as having been made – so that the unshaken matters
might remain.
Heb 12:28 Therefore, receiving an unshakeable
reign, let us hold the favour, through which we serve Elohim pleasingly with
reverence and awe,
Heb 12:29 for indeed, our Elohim is a consuming
fire. Deu_4:24.
And now comes another shocker – Paul addresses this assembly
of the first born in 2 Cor 11
2Co 11:3
But I am afraid, lest, as the serpent deceived Ḥawwah by his trickery, so your
minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Messiah.
2Co 11:4
For, indeed, if he who is coming proclaims another יהושע,a whom we have not proclaimed, or if you receive a different
spirit which you have not received, or a different Good News which you have not
accepted, you put up with it well enough! Footnote: a Mat_24:5 and Mat_24:23-24,
Jhn_5:43.
This is
the dilemma of the church:
Joh 3:36
“He who believes in the Son possesses everlasting life, but he who does not
obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Elohim remains on him.”
Now here
comes an even greater shocker:
Ephraim
is not included in the end time remnant that will escape the great tribulation.
See Rev 7
Why, because
Ephraim like the church has been idolatrous and disobedient for a long time.
We like Sarah
have been ‘’barren for a long long time.
Psa 68:6
Elohim makes a home for the lonely; He brings out into prosperity Those who are
bound with chains; Only the rebellious shall dwell in a dry land.
The biblical writers repeatedly use the verb סָרַר (to be rebellious,
stubborn, defiant, apostate) and its derivatives to describe the essence of
idolatry — turning away from YHWH to serve other gods.
Idolatry is giving to anyone or anything the glory, love,
trust, fear, obedience, or worship that belongs exclusively to the one true God
— whether that substitute is a stone statue, a human desire, a relationship,
money, or even a religious system.
Listen to
Jeremiah’s end time prophecy of Ephraim:
Jer 31:15 Thus said יהוה, “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing,
bitter weeping, Raḥěl
weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because
they are no more.”
Jer 31:16 Thus said יהוה, “Hold back your voice from weeping, and
your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work,” declares יהוה, “and they shall
return from the land of the enemy.
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. I was ashamed, even
humiliated, for I bore the reproach of my youth.’
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.
Jer 31:9 calls Ephraim ‘’my first born’’)
Eze
37:15 And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,
Eze
37:16 “And you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it,
‘For Yehuḏah and for the children of Yisra’ěl, his companions.’ Then take another
stick and write on it, ‘For Yosěph, the stick of Ephrayim, and for all the
house of Yisra’ěl, his companions.’
Eze
37:17 “Then bring them together for yourself into one stick, and they
shall become one in your hand.
Eze
37:18 “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t
you show us what you mean by these?’
Eze
37:19 say to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I am taking the stick of Yosěph, which is in the hand of
Ephrayim, and the tribes of Yisra’ěl, his companions. And I shall give them
unto him, with the stick of Yehuḏah, and make them one stick, and they shall be
one in My hand.” ’
Eze
37:20 “And the sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before
their eyes.
Eze
37:21 “And speak to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I am taking the children of Yisra’ěl from among the
nations, wherever they have gone, and shall gather them from all around, and I
shall bring them into their land.
Eze
37:22 “And I shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of
Yisra’ěl. And one sovereign shall be sovereign over them all, and let them no
longer be two nations, and let them no longer be divided into two reigns.
Eze
37:23 “And they shall no longer defile themselves with their idols, nor
with their disgusting matters, nor with any of their transgressions. And
I shall save them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and
I shall cleanse them. And they shall be My people, and I be their Elohim,
Eze
37:24 while Dawiḏ My servant is sovereign over them. And they shall all have one
shepherd and walk in My right-rulings and guard My laws, and shall do
them.
Eze
37:25 “And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Ya‛aqoḇ My servant, where your fathers
dwelt. And they shall dwell in it, they and their children and their children’s
children, forever, and My servant Dawiḏ be their prince forever.
Eze
37:26 “And I shall make a covenant of peace with them – an everlasting
covenant it is with them. And I shall place them and increase them, and shall
place My set-apart place in their midst, forever.
Eze
37:27 “And My Dwelling Place shall be over them. And I shall be their
Elohim, and they shall be My people.
Eze
37:28 “And the nations shall know that I, יהוה, am setting Yisra’ěl apart, when My set-apart place is in their
midst – forever.” ’ ”
Isa
54:1 “Sing,
O barren one, you who did not bear! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labour! For the children of the deserted one are more
than the children of the married woman,” said יהוה. Isa 54:4 “Do not fear, for you
shall not be put to shame, nor hurt, you shall not be humiliated. For the shame
of your youth you shall forget, and not remember the reproach of your widowhood
any more.
Gen 16:2 And Sarai said to
Aḇram,
“See, יהוה has kept me from bearing children. Please,
go in to my female servant. It might be that I am built up by her.” And Aḇram
listened to the voice of Sarai.
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_18:10.
Gen 22:17 that I shall
certainly bless you, and I shall certainly increase your seed as the stars of
the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore, and let your seed possess
the gate of their enemies.
This is part of
God’s covenant renewal with Abraham after the Akedah (binding of Isaac).
Gen 16:4 And he went in to Haḡar, and she conceived. And
when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her
eyes.
Gen 16:5 And Sarai said to Aḇram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my female
servant into your bosom. And when she saw that she had conceived, I was
despised in her eyes. Let יהוה
judge between you and me.”
Gen 16:6 And Aḇram
said to Sarai, “See, your female servant is in your hand, do to her what is
good in your eyes.” And Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her
presence.
Gen 16:7 And the Messenger of יהוה found her by a spring of water in the
wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur,
Gen 16:8 and He said, “Haḡar, Sarai’s female servant, where have you come
from, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence
of Sarai, my mistress.”
Gen 16:9 And the Messenger of יהוה said to her, “Return to your mistress, and
humble yourself under her hand.”
Gen 16:10 And the Messenger of יהוה said to her, “I am going to increase your
seed greatly, too numerous to be counted.”
Gen 16:11 And the Messenger of יהוה said to her, “See, you are conceiving and
bearing a son, and shall call his name Yishma‛ěl, because יהוה has heard your affliction.
Gen 16:12 “And he is to be a wild man, his hand
against every one and every one’s hand against him, and dwell over against all
his brothers.”
Gen 16:13 And she called the Name of יהוה who spoke to her,
“You are the Ěl who sees,” for she said, “Even here have I seen after Him who
sees me?”
Gen 16:14 That is why the well was called Be’ěr Laḥai Ro’i, see, it is between Qaḏěsh and Bereḏ.
Gen 16:15 And Haḡar
bore Aḇram a son, and Aḇram called the name of his
son, whom Haḡar bore,
Yishma‛ěl.
Gen 16:16 And Aḇram
was eighty-six years old when Haḡar
bore Yishma‛ěl to Aḇram.
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
perfect.
Gen
17:2 “And I give My covenant between Me and you, and shall greatly
increase you.”
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.
Jer
31:32 not like the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I
strengthenedb their hand to bring them out of the land of Mitsrayim, My
covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares יהוה. Footnote: bCommonly understood as “take
hold of.”
Jer
31:33 “For this is the covenant I shall make with the house of Yisra’ěl
after those days, declares יהוה: I shall put My Torah in
their inward parts, and write it on their hearts. And I shall be their Elohim,
and they shall be My people.
Thank you for the Apostolic scriptures that bring
understanding hope and joy for both Jew and gentile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CvLBJBeMl8