Is there a connection between the sins we commit and the sicknesses and diseases that come upon us? In many cases, the answer is yes, The Bible has much to teach us on this subject.
Let’s first establish some basic truths.
Everyone will eventually die, so not all sickness is a result of sin (Heb 9:27).
Some sickness is not due to sin, but comes on us so that YHVH might be glorified when the person is miraculously healed (John 9:2–3).
The purpose of some sickness is for spiritual our refinement to bring us to a higher level spiritually as was the case with Job.
In a general sense, pain, suffering and death came upon all men because of Adam and Eve’s initial rebellion against YHVH Elohim in the Garden of Eden. As a result of the “fall of man,” all men have come under this curse and suffer as a result.
Unto the woman [Elohim] said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Gen 3:16–19)
Some sickness is a direct result of disobeying YHVH’s commandments; that is to say, it is YHVH’s judgment against that sin. For example, in Exodus 15:26, YHVH speaks about not putting the diseases of Egypt upon his people if they will follow his commandments.
And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of YHVH thy Elohim, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am YHVH that healeth thee.
The Torah further makes the connection between sin and sickness when it lists the curses for Torah disobedience in Deuteronomy 28:21–22.
YHVH will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. YHVH will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.
In Deuteronomy 7:15, YHVH again mentions not afflicting his people with the sicknesses of Egypt if they will obey his Torah-commandments.
And YHVH will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
Elsewhere, the Bible shows that there is a direct relationship between sin and healing in Psalm 103:3,
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases…
“Leprosy” or the infectious skin disease the Torah refers to as tsaraat (Lev 14:34) was a judgment from YHVH against several specific sins.
When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession…
In several instances in the Scriptures, we read that tsaraat was the consequences of a specific sin. In the case of Miriam, it was the sin of pride and rebellion against spiritual authority and using her tongue in an evil manner against YHVH’s spiritual authority (Num 12:1, 9–10). In the case of Gehazi, he became leprous because of greed and lying (2 Kgs 5:20–27). Uzziah, the king of Judah, became leprous because of his pride and rebellion against YHVH when he dared to violate the Torah by burning incense in the temple (2 Chron 26:16–23).
Envy can bring on bone diseases. Envy can also refer to “jealousy and sexual passion.”
A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones. (Prov 14:30)
Sexually transmitted diseases are a direct result of sexual promiscuity and idolatry, and is a judgment from Elohim against those who engage in such ungodly practices.
For this cause Elohim gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. (Rom 1:26–27)
Yeshua, on several occasions, equates sin and healing. That is to say, he viewed forgiveness of sin and the healing of a disease as synonymous concepts. To him, the sickness was a result of sin.
Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? (John 5:24)
Yeshua shows that illness can be a direct punishment for sin, as well, when he states that a man whom he had just healed was sick because of his sin.
Afterward Yeshua findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. (John 5:14)
YHVH’s laws of judgment against sin are still in operation even in the so-called “New Testament era of grace.” YHVH struck down and killed Annaias and Sapphira because they lied to the apostles and to the Spirit of Elohim (Acts 5:1–11).
Paul confirms the truth that there is still a correlation between sin and sickness when he states that some within the body of Yeshua get sick and die because of sin. Illness is a direct punishment for sin. Paul teaches that this can occur when a believer doesn’t have the proper fear and respect for YHVH Elohim and those things which are set-apart of kadosh such as blood and body of Yeshua as symbolized in the Passover communion service by the bread and the wine.
For I have received of the Master that which also I delivered unto you, that the Master Yeshua the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Master’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Master, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Master. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Master’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Master, that we should not be condemned with the world. (1 Cor 11:23–32)
When trials of our faith fall on us including sickness and disease, Scripture instructs us to receive it with joy realizing that this is occurring for our spiritual refinement. Then we are told to ask YHVH for wisdom presumably to help us to understand why the trial is occurring, so that we can repent of sin and learn from our mistakes.
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of Elohim, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (Jas 1:2–5)
Let us not forget that whom our Father in heaven loves he chastens. Sickness often is a form of loving chastisement or discipline from YHVH Elohim,
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of YHVH, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the YHVH loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, Elohim dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. (Heb 12:5–13)
Exodus 10:2,Tell in the hearing of your son…the mighty things I have done in Egypt. YHVH commanded Moses to record the story of Egypt’s judgment and fall for the Israelite’s future posterity. The Israelites were then to pass this story down orally and in written form to succeeding generations. The Passover seder is the fulfillment of this Torah command in that it reenacts the exodus story. In other words, YHVH is commanding parents to pass the gospel message of redemption downward to each new generation via the seder. The Passover seder is literally a gospel tract involving a dramatic presentation where the participants act out the story of Israel’s redemption which is the basis of the message of the gospel.
Exodus 10:3,Thus says YHVH Elohim of the Hebrews. It is true that Moses did would be similar in our day to going to the president of the U.S., who is the head of the most powerful and advanced nation on earth, and saying, The Elohim of the people of El Salvador says to you do this or that. How much impact would such a demand have on the U.S. president? Little or none. However, when YHVH deputizes a person for a divine mission, YHVH, the Creator of the universe, and just one person make a majority! The size of the country of the messenger no longer means anything.
How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Pharaoh was about to learn a hard lesson at the hands of YHVH Elohim. The sovereign Creator ultimately demands that everyone submits to his will and purposes. Those who refuse to do so imperil themselves. The Scriptures record that in addition to Pharaoh YHVH also held other political leaders accountable for exalting themselves against him and for refusing to humble themselves before him. These include Nebuchanezzar (Dan 4:19ff), Belshazzar (Dan 5:22), Zedekiah (2 Chron 36:12), Lucifer (Isa 14:13ff) and Herod (Acts 12:21–23).
Furthermore, those who put their trust in false gods will come under the judgment of the one supreme and true Elohim—the Mighty One of the Bible. Elohim uses men’s false gods or idols as a judgment against sinners to help them to see the futility of their idolatrous delusions and to bring them to repentance (e.g., Isa 66:4–5; Prov 10:24). As Elohim judged the false gods of Egypt one by one and brought that arrogant nation down, he will do the same in the end days with Babylon the Great and the idolatrous gods of this world. We see some striking parallels between the plagues YHVH brought upon Egypt and those he will bring upon the rebellious inhabitants of earth just prior to Yeshua’s second coming. For example, the seventh plague of hail (Exod 9:13ff) and the seventh vial with its 75 pound hailstones (Rev 16:17–21) is an ultimate expression of the fierceness of Elohim’s wrath upon a rebellious and still blaspheming world. When the earth is quaking and deadly hailstones are raining down from heaven, there will be no hiding place from Elohim’s wrath. Additional end-time plages that replicate those of Egypt include grievous sores to come upon men (Rev 16:2), the seawater and fresh water turning to blood (Rev 16:3–4), and darkness upon the earth (Rev 16:10). After this, Babylon the Great will fall (Rev 18:2), even as ancient Egypt fell under the severe blows of YHVH’s judgment.
Psalm chapter two summarizes the rebellious arrogance of men, and their conspiracy against the Creator in their attempt to keep control of their earthly kingdoms. Elohim will laugh at them from heaven and will then send his Son to judge them and to break their kingdoms in pieces with his rod of iron. NOW is the time “to kiss” Messiah the Son and to worship him if one desires to escape these divine judgments upon the wicked rebels (v. 12)!
What gods or idols do we have in our lives that we are holding on to? Each of the plagues against Egypt was a direct strike against one of the many gods of Egypt (Exod 12:12; Num 33:4). Elohim will destroy all pretenders and imposters who dare to challenge his sovereignty. (See notes at Exod 7:14.) The god of human pride and self will is the most powerful false god each human will ever face!
Exodus 10:8–10,We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and daughters…we must hold a feast [Heb. chag] unto YHVH. Egypt and Pharaoh (a spiritual metaphors for the world and Satan) wanted to destroy and divide families, which are the bedrock of YHVH physical and spiritual order and the center of Torah community, but Moses insisted on keeping families together when exodusing Egypt and going out to serve YHVH. In YHVH’s order of things, families must always stay together. YHVH’s feasts or chaggim (the plural of chag) along with the weekly seventh day Shabbat are the glue that helps to hold the families of YHVH’s people together. When we gather together in unity with a common purpose and focus to worship the Elohim of Israel and to celebrate his feasts, these events create strong familial, cultural and spiritual ties between families and all of YHVH’s people in general. Besides that, they are just plain fun to do and deeply significant spiritually.
Exodus 10:19,Red Sea [Heb. Yam Soof]. Is the Yam Soof referring to the Gulf of Suez or the Gulf of Aqaba that is located between the Sinai Peninsula and the modern country of Saudi Arabia?This verse tells us that YHVH brought up a strong wind that blew the locust plage eastward out of Egypt that blew them into the Red Sea. Where is the Red Sea? The Gulf of Suez or the Gulf of Aqaba? In 2012, a record plague of locusts originated in Egypt and made its way across the Sinai and over the Negev. So it is not impossible for locusts to travel long distances, and how much more so with the help of the wind?
Without getting lost in the weeds, let’s now discuss the definition of the word soof which is apparently of Egyptian origin and means “a reed, especially the papyrus, water plant or weed. This word can also refer to seaweed that grows along seashores everywhere. TheTWOT admits that Yam Soof can refer to the “Sea of Reeds”—a definition which is not limited to the marshy, papyrus laden to either the Bitter Lakes or Lake Timash areas of the Gulf of Suez, but can also take on a broader geographical area that includes the Gulf of Aqaba as per 1 Kings 9:26. This latter definition is how the LXX translators interpreted the phrase Yam Soof when they preferred the term Red Sea over Sea of Reeds.
Exodus 10:23,But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. YHVH protected the children of Israel from the most severe plagues that fell upon Egypt (Exod 8:22; 9:4, 6; 10:23; 11:7; 12:13). Similarly, YHVH spared Noah and Lot from the utter destruction that fell in their days. In the last days, YHVH promises to protect his remnant people in the great tribulation, from the wrath of Satan, and from the day of his fierce wrath (Rev 7:3; 9:4; 11:15–18; 12:13–17) either by removing them from the scene of destruction (e.g., Noah and Lot), or by placing a mark on them that distinguishes them from those targeted with destruction (see Rev 7:3–4; 9:4 cp. 22:4; Ezek 9:4). It is interesting to note that the invisible mark that the angel placed on the heads of the righteous just before the destruction of Jerusalem (Ezek 9:4) was the Paleo-Hebrew letter tav (t) that resembled our English letter “t” or “x.” Could the divine mark or a seal that will be written on the heads of the end times saints (Rev 7:3–4) be related to YHVH’s command for his people to place (literally or figuratively) on their arms and foreheads his commandments as symbolic sign of remembrance for them to be faithful to his commandments and the covenants (Deut 6:8; 11:18; Exod 13:19)? The resurrected and glorified saints who will be granted entrance into the New Jerusalem will also have YHVH’s name written on their foreheads as a divine seal, mark of ownership and as a sign that their hearts and minds are submitted to and in alignment with him and his Torah-Word (Rev 22:4). Let us not forget that the Book of Revelation identifies the end times saints as those who keep his Torah commandments and also have the faith or testimony of Yeshua the Messiah (Rev 12:17; 14:12). Only these will also have tickets to enter into the New Jerusalem and to eat of the tree of life. Why? Because they “do his commandments” (Rev 22:14)! What happens to the rest who claim to know YHVH but refuse to keep his commandments? Yeshua answers this question:
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity [lit. lawlessness]. (Matt 7:21–23)
Exodus 11
Exodus 11:2,Silver…gold. These were the wages the Egyptians owed the Israelites for their years of servitude and eventual enslavement to that nation. History will repeat itself in the future when the wealth of the Gentile nations will come to YHVH’s people, but unlike Pharaoh and the Egyptians, this time the people of the nations will be coming to faith in Yeshua the Messiah (Isa 60:5, 11).
Exodus 12
Exodus 12:2, Month. Month is the Hebrew word chodesh/חדש, which, according to the world’s best scholars, lexicons and Bible translators, means “the new moon, month, monthly, the first day of the month, the lunar month.” It is found in the Tanakh (Old Testament) 276 times and is translated in the King James Version as “month” 254 times, “new moon” (20 times), and “monthly” (1 time). We see that from these definitions that the terms “month” and “new moon” are synonymous. It has been understood for millennia that the ancient Israelites began their month with the new moon. Both the biblical and secular historical records are in unanimous agreement on this point. Many of the pagan nations including the Egypt and Babylon also started their months using the new moon. This, however, in not proof of the pagan originations of sighting the new month in this manner. To say it is would be the same as saying that because pagans believe the 2 + 2 = 4, the saints cannot accept this mathematical truth. Of course, it is obvious that such reasoning would illogical nonsense by intelligent and critically thinking people! Therefore, we reject the spurious notion that sighting the new moon to determine the month’s beginning is pagan.
Is the phrase “the law of sin and death” as used by Paul and as found in Romans 8:2 a reference to “the law of Moses” which is a biblical synonym for YHVH’s Torah-law as revealed in the Pentateuch or the first five book of the Bible? This is what some Christians believe and teach. Here is the phrase in its larger context:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in the Messiah Yeshua, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in the Messiah Yeshua has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, Elohim did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against Elohim; for it is not subject to the law of Elohim, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please Elohim. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Messiah, he is not His. 10 And if the Messiah is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Rom 8:1–10, emphasis added)
What is Paul really saying here? If one were to cherry pick the phrase “the law of sin and death” out of its larger context, one could assume that “the law” reference is referring to YHVH’s Torah law. Many Bible believers have made this assumption thus supposedly proving the long held belief that Paul writings undergird the mainstream Christian theological belief that the law was “done away with” and is largely non-applicable to Gentile Christians. But is this Paul is really saying here? As in all things in life, understanding the contextual background of something is essential to arriving at the correct meaning and truth of a matter as we are about to discover here.
In Romans 7:23, Paul talks about “another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” This other law is what the Jewish sages refer to as the evil inclination or ha-yetzer rah with which every human is born. This is because due to the fall of man each person is born spiritually cut off from Elohim and is thus subject to the powerful influences of the world, flesh and the devil.
When we yield to our innate yetzer rah or carnal (or fleshly), rebellious, sinful nature, this brings a person under the death penalty that automatically comes on each human for violating Elohim’s Torah, for sin is the violation of YHVH’s Torah-law (1 John 3:3). The law of sin and death is simply a matter of the “law” of cause and effect, which states that one reaps what one sows, or for every action there is a reaction. Paul states this elsewhere Paul: “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Ezekiel states that the soul that sins (or violates YHVH’s Torah-law will die (Ezek 18:4). Again, John states that “sin is the violation of [YHVH’s] Torah-law” (1 John 3:4). Therefore, the law of sin and death is yielding to our sinful nature that is prone to rebellion against the word, laws or commandments of YHVH Elohim the results of which brings the consequences of sinful actions as prescribed by the Torah. The end result of sin is death or extinguishment of life and eternal separation from Elohim.
Just because YHVH’s Torah-law prescribes the death penalty for sin does not make the Torah evil any more than violating the law of gravity by jumping off a cliff makes that law evil, or violating a traffic law makes that law evil. YHVH’s righteous laws exist for man’s good—to protect us from harm, and are thus not evil. Both the Torah-law, the law of gravity and other laws (e.g., traffic laws and other civil laws) are (for the most part) for society’s protection. But if we violate them, we not only jeopardize our well-being and safety and that of other people, but there may be a penalty to pay for breaking them as well.
In Genesis 2:17 Elohim laid down a law: do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He pronounced upon man the curse of death if he violated this law. Man broke the law and ate from the forbidden tree. To go against the law of Elohim is sin (1 John 3:4). As previously noted, the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23), and the soul that sins shall die (Ezek 18:4). This then is the law of sin and death that Paul talks about in Romans 8:2. When a person obeys the Torah-laws Elohim, he will neither be sinning nor will he bring upon himself the wages of that sin which is death.
YHVH Elohim, man’s Creator, declares that every person has a choice to make: choose life of death.
See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil…I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love YHVH your Elohim, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which YHVH swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” (Deut 30:15, 19–20)
Before he died, Moses admonished the people of Elohim to choose to serve and obey YHVH. He referred to the YHVH’s Torah-law as “your life,” and he declared that bodying it was not a futile thing, but would bring blessings and long life.
“Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this Torah-law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.” (Deut 32:46–47, emphasis added)
Moreover, Paul in numerous places, including in the chapter preceding Romans chapter eight totally obliterates an notion that he is somehow against YHVH’s Torah law. Again, context is the key to understanding the meaning a person’s statement. In Romans chapter seven, Paul speaks favorably of YHVH’s Torah-law.
Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. (Rom 7:12)
How can this be taken to mean that Paul is against YHVH’s Torah? Then Paul goes on to say,
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. (Rom 7:14)
Here Paul is stating that YHVH’s law is eternal and thus immutable, but he is juxtaposing the law against his is own enslavement to that law of sin and death that wars in his own nature. He then goes on to describe this inner struggle in most honest and self-effacing terms:
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. (Rom 7:18–21)
Then in the next several verses, Paul again goes on to contrast the evil law of sin and death that is against him with YHVH’s Torah-law, which is immutable, holy, just and good:
For I delight in the law of Elohim according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank Elohim—through Yeshua the Messiah our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of Elohim, but with the flesh the law of sin. (Rom 7:22–25, emphasis added)
Then in the next two verses, Paul triumphantly proclaims that:
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Messiah Yeshua, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yeshua has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Rom 8:1–2)
Therefore, YHVH Torah, that is, his instructions in righteousness, is not the law of sin and death. However, if we choose to follow our carnal, sinful human natures, and to choose to disregard our Creator’s words, then this will bring us under the law of sin and death, which is the negative consequences of our actions.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Elohim is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord. (Rom 6:23)
Jacob’s vision of a ladder to heaven is one of those enigmatic scriptural passages which has befuddled the keen intellects of many Bible scholars down through the ages. Perhaps the deeper elucidations of Jacob’s vision has escaped the reader as well. If so, you are not alone, for even well-known Christian commentators such as Matthew Henry and Adam Clarke struggled to find the deeper meaning of this allegorical dream but fell short of an adequate explanation. They realized that it had something to do with the Person of Yeshua the Messiah and his heaven-ordained ministry to reconcile earth’s inhabitants to their Heavenly Father and Creator but had little more to say on the matter. Keil and Delitzsch don’t even connect Jacob’s dream to the Person of Yeshua. Other than vague explanations as to the dream’s interpretations, these esteemed scholars have nothing more to proffer the reader. Little if anything is said of the allegorical meaning of the ladder, the dust, the stones (plural) becoming a stone (singular) or of the significance of “the place.” Even the unusually insightful biblical scholar Arthur W. Pink in his book, Gleanings In Genesis,though he draws 101 parallels between Joseph and Yeshua the Messiah, gives the reader no more insights into the spiritual and prophetic implications of Jacob’s ladder than do Henry and Clarke. This is some of the best that Christian scholars have to offer on this subject. As we are about to discover, below the tip of this gigantic biblical iceberg there is a vast revelation of truth in Jacob’s prophetic and allegorical dream that is waiting to be explored.
But before delving into the prophetic and symbolic significance of Jacob’s ladder dream, perhaps Jewish Torah scholars have something to offer us. It goes without saying that the traditional Jewish interpretations will be devoid of any references to Yeshua the Messiah, but otherwise, perhaps we glean some pearls of understanding from them anyway. After all, these sages have been studying this passage for more than 3800 years! Curiously, Shlomo Yitzchaki known by his rabbinic acronym as Rashi and viewed by many Jews as the greatest Torah expositor of the last 1000 years, has little to add to our understanding as does Samson Raphael Hirsch, the great nineteenth-century rabbinic Torah scholar. The Baal HaTurim in his Torah commentary adds some interesting insights relating to the subsurface or hidden meaning of some of the Hebrew words used in the text that not only confirm the simple or plain meaning of the text, but add depth to it as well on an allegorical or prophetic level. We will cite a number of other Jewish scholars who between them contribute greatly to our understanding of the text. But for all their collective wisdom, these Jewish scholars, not surprisingly, fail to connect the meaning of the ladder to YHVH’s plan of redemption and salvation for Israel and ultimately for all of mankind. They fail to see the big picture and master plan involving the Messiah, the Living Word of Elohim, sent from heaven to redeem lost mankind. Yet as we will discover, this revelation and much more besides is to be found in this dream that takes up only one verse in the Bible!
Both the Christian scholars and the Jewish sages are blind in part to the truth behind Jacob’s dream, since both have rejected half of the key to unlocking the full depth and panoramic understanding of this vision. The former has, to one degree or another, rejected its Jewish or Hebraic roots and the relevance of YHVH’s written Torah, while the latter has rejected Yeshua, Living Word or Living Torah sent from Heaven to give us wisdom, understanding, redemption and salvation. Each side is spiritually blind in part to one-half of YHVH’s truth (Rom 11:25). Both have stumbled over the stone of stumbling and the rock of offence (Isa 8:14). The Christians have rejected much of the truth of the written Torah, while the Jews have rejected the spirit of prophecy and YHVH’s plan of salvation as revealed through Yeshua, the Living Torah (Rev 19:20). To understand the heart of the Father as revealed in his written word, Yeshua said that it would take both spirit and truth (John 4:23–24). With these realities in mind, let us proceed to understand the vision of Jacob in its full spirit and truth, panoramic scope.
The Text
Let’s now read the text in Genesis 28:10–22 pertaining to Jacob and his dream of the ladder to heaven. The bolded words are defined below under the “Word Definitions” section of this teaching.
10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
11 And he encountered/interceded/prayed at theplace, and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took of the stones of the place which he arranged around his head, and lay down in theplace to sleep.
12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladderset up earthward/on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of Elohim ascending and descending on it.
13 And, behold, YHVH stood above it, and said, I am YHVH, Elohim of Abraham your father, and the Elohim of Isaac: the ground upon which you are lying, to you will I give it, and to your seed/descendants;
14 And your seed/descendants shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out powerfully to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in you and in your seed/descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 And, behold, I am with you, and will guard you in all places wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land; for I will not forsake you, until I have done what I have spoken about you.
16 And Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and he said, Surely YHVH is in this place; and I knew it not.
17 And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other but the house of Elohim, and this is the gate of heaven.
18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he placed around his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
19 And he called the name of the place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz originally.
20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If Elohim will be with me, and will guard me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothes to wear,
21 So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall YHVH be my Elohim:
22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall become a house of Elohim: and whatever you give me I shall repeatedly give a tenth/tithe to you.” (emphasis added)
Word Definitions
To understand this passage properly and to discover the deep spiritual mysteries contained therein, we must first define some of the words from a biblical, Hebraic perspective.
Verse 11,The place [haMakom]. In Jewish understanding, this Hebrew word is a reference to Mount Moriah, that is, the “Temple Mount” (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash, p. 144, commentary on verse 11) where Isaac was “sacrificed” and the Jerusalem temple was eventually built. The imminent Jewish Torah scholar, Rashi (Solomon Yitzhaki, 1040–1105) in his definitive Torah commentary also identifies the place mentioned in this verse with Mount Moriah. In TheArtScrollBereishis, quoting Rashi,we read, “The Torah does not tell us which place. Instead it uses the definite article in the place, implying that the identity of the place was so well known that it need not be specified. This indicates that it refers to the site referred to elsewhere by the designation the place: Mount Moriah, of which it is said [in Gen 22:4 (see also Deut 16:16)]: ‘he saw the place from afar’” (p. 1219). The same commentary continues, “It cannot refer to any place other than Mount Moriah since the Torah itself refers to that holy site as makom, the place, in several places [Gen 22:4; and as Ralbag notes, the future Temple site on Mount Moria is also obliquely referred to in the Torah as the ‘place’ Hashem [YHVH] shall select (Deut 16:16 and frequently)] Accordingly, by its reference to place here, the allusion to Moriah is clear (Mizrachi)” (ibid.). Baal Ha Turim notes in his Torah commentary that in verse 11 the term the place appears three times “which is an allusion to the three pilgrimage [aliyot] festivals [i.e., Pesach/Passover and Chag haMatzot/the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Chag haShavuot/the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost and Chag haSukkot/the Feast of Tabernacles] at which times Jacob’s descendants would ascend to this place [i.e., the temple in Jerusalem].”
Verse 11, Encountered, interceded, prayed [Heb. paga]. According to The ArtScrollBereishis Commentary, the Jewish sages interprets the word paga, as used here and in Genesis 23:8 and Jeremiah 7:16 to denote prayer and intercession (p. 1219). If we realize that this place was Mount Moriah where the future temple would be built (explained below), then Jacob’s praying at this spot is symbolic and prophetic, since the temple was to be known later as a house of prayer (Isa 56:7; Matt 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46), and became the place on earth where YHVH would hear the prayers of his people (2 Sam 7:27; 1 Kgs 8:29; 2 Chr 6:20, 29; 7:12).
Verses 11, 18, 22,Stone(s) is the Hebrew word ehben meaning “stone through the meaning to build” (from banah [meaning “to build, builder”]).
Examples of the usage of the word ehben elsewhere in the Tanakh (Old Testament) include the following:
Refers to the 10 Words (“Commandments”) on tablets of stone (ehben) (Deut 4:13; 5:22; Exod 24:12; 34:1, 4).
Refers to the Messiah who was the Stone (ehben) the builders (banah) rejected that eventually became the head of the corner (Ps 118:22).
Refers to the Messiah who was to become a stone (ehben) of stumbling and a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel (Isa 8:14).
Refers to the Messiah when YHVH through Isaiah prophesied, “Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone [ehben], a tried stone [ehben], a sure foundation” (Isa 28:16).
A title for Elohim: the Stone (ehben) of Israel (Gen 49:24).
Verse 12,Ladder is the Hebrew word sulam meaning “staircase”(from salal [meaning “cast up, lift up, exalt”and according to TheTheological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TheTWOT) probably means “a highway or literally a road that is higher than the adjacent terrain.” The TWOT notes that this word is used by the prophets in the sense of “God’s [spiritual] highway” from which Israel had departed to follow false bypaths (Isa 57:14; 62:10]).
In Jewish mystical literature, this ladder is equivalent to a tree (Heb. etz)(e.g., as in the sephirotic tree in later Jewish mystical thought) and a tzelon Elohim; (i.e., a supernatural image of Elohim; Messiah Vol. 3, p. 149; by Avi Ben Mordechai).
On verse 12, Jewish sage Ya’acov Baal Ha Turim (born ca. AD 1269) in his Torah commentary notes several interesting facts about the word ladder (Heb. sulam). First he states that the word sulam is spelled defectively (with the kubutz vowel point replacing the vav after the letter samech). Therefore, sulam is spelled samech, lamed, mem or okx instead of samech, vav, lamed, mem or okux. What is the significance of this occurrence in the Torah? According to Michael Munk in his book, The Wisdom In the Hebrew Alphabet (pp.100–103) defective spelling of words occurs occasionally in other words in the Torah such as shalom/o`uKA(peace, well being) and owr/r~ut (light). When a word is spelled defectively, it signifies that the word should be understood to take on a diminished or defective meaning as opposed to the full expression of the word at its highest spiritual level. For example, in the first chapter of Genesis prior to verse 14 (when the physical luminaries were created) the light that shown prior to the fourth day was a supernatural or spiritual light emanating from Elohim himself, and therefore the Hebrew word for light, owr/r~ut,is spelled complete with the vav (r~ut) whereas the light that shone from the physical luminaries after the creation on the fourth day was a physical or low level of light, and therefore the word light is spelled defectively, without the vav (r~t). This occurs in the Tanakh with the word shalom/o`uKA as well. Spelled defectively (i.e., o`K{A) it refers to a physical, man-made peace, whereas spelled complete it represents the spiritual peace which comes only from Elohim. So what is the significance of the defective spelling of the word sulam (ladder) in our text? Hold this question in abeyance for the time being, for we shall answer it below.
Baal HaTurim also notes that the gematria (or numerical valuation of the Hebrew letters) for sulam is the same as that for the words wealth or money and poverty as well as for the words sound or voice. Keep this in mind also. Understanding these concepts are all part of unravelling the mystery of what (or who) the ladder represents!
Finally, Baal HaTurim has one other observation to make about the word sulam. The letters or consonants (S-L-M; Hebrew words generally consists of only consonants) are the same as the word for idol (S-M-L, pronounced seh-mehl). Based on this association, Baal HaTurim suggests that Elohim was showing Jacob a prophecy that his descendants would eventually fall into idolatry. We shall explore some other implications of the similarity between these two words later on.
Verse 12,Set up is the Hebrew word natsab meaning “to set up, put, place, stand firmly, fix, establish, to be planted”(Judg 9:6). Examples of usage of the word natsab elsewhere in the Tanakh include:
“YHVH stands in his congregation.” (Ps 82:1)
“I saw YHVH standing upon the altar.” (Amos 9:1)
Verse 12,Earthis the Hebrew word eretz or artzah meaning “to be firm, the earth, a land, country, ground, world.” Eretz throughout Scripture and in modern Hebrew is a colloquial expression denoting “the land of Israel.”
Verse 12,Topis the Hebrew word rosh meaning “head, beginning, captain, chief, first, height, highest part, summit or foremost.” Examples of the usage of the word rosh as found elsewhere in the Tanakh include:
The stone which the builders refused is become the head of the corner [i.e., the Messiah, Ps 118:22)
Matthew 21:42 quoting Psalm 118:22 referring to Yeshua.
Other Hebrew-speaking Jewish authors of the Testimony of Yeshua (New Testament) carry this same idea into their writings:
First Peter 2:7–8 speaks of the stone which the builder disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense which stumble at the Word or Torah of Elohim (i.e., Yeshua, who is the Living Torah).
The saints are the house [Heb. bethel] of YHVH and are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Yeshua the Messiah himself being the chief cornerstone in whom all the building fitly framed together grows into a set-apart [Heb. kadosh] temple in YHVH in whom you are also built together for a habitation of YHVH through the Spirit (Eph 2:20–27).
Baal Ha Turim in his Torah commentary on this verse notes that the numerical values of the words “a ladder set up or standing”is equivalent to the ramp leading up to the altar of the temple and the concept of the ladder “set up on the earth or earthward”is an allusion to the altar which in Exodus 20:24 is described as an “altar of earth.” The expression its “top or head reaching heavenward”is an allusion to the fragrance of the offerings, which ascended heavenward as a sweet savor to YHVH (Exod 29:18; 29:25; etc.). Below we will learn the spiritual significance of this to the redeemed believer in Yeshua.
Verse 14,Dust is the Hebrew word aphar meaning “pulverized earth, clay, dry, loose earth.” On the phrase in this verse, “Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth,” The ArtScrollBereishisCommentary states that Sforno (a notable sixteenth-century Italian Jewish philosopher and Bible exegete) connects this phrase with the following one, rendering: Only after your offspring shall have become as degraded as the dust of the earth (see Isa 51:23) shall they spread out powerfully to the west, east, north, and south. For, as the Sages have taught, God’s future salvation [or, the Final Redemption which is to occur prior to and during the Messianic Age (or Millennial Age) will come only after Israel has experienced much degradation. R. Bachya (a late eleventh-century Jewish philosopher and moralist) interprets this word similarly. He notes that Elohim compared Israel to the dust of the earth rather than to the stars in heaven (as he did when he blessed Isaac in Gen 26:4) to intimate that Israel will become like dust in ways other than abundance. Dust has the connotation of lowliness inasmuch as Israel would be downtrodden like the dust while in exile. Also, like dust, however, they would endure everything and prevail, just as the earth survives all those who tread on it. As Isaiah foretold (Isa 26:5): He brings it to the dust, yet it is from the dust that Israel will be redeemed, as it is written (ibid. 52:2): Shake yourself from the dust, arise…O Jerusalem” (p. 1231). Here are several examples in the Tanakh of the Israelites being likened to dust trampled under the feet of the heathen:
YHVH to Abram: I will make your seed as the dust of the earth… (Gen 13:16)
Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? (Num 23:10)
Now, O YHVH Elohim, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou has made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. (2 Chron 1:9, emphasis added on all)
Verse 17,Gate (of heaven) is the Hebrew word shah-ar meaning “opening, gate, door.” According to The TWOT, the root idea of this word is “to split open, to break through.” The term gate in Scripture can sometimes be used as a metonymy where the gate represents the whole of the city (e.g., Gen 22:17; 24:60). In Genesis 28:17, it is a symbol of the means of access to heaven (ibid.). The ArtScrollBereishis Commentary says, “It is the gate through which prayers and sacrifices ascend to heaven [according to the Jewish sages, Rashi and Ramban]” (p. 1238).
This heavenly gate is literally a portal into the spirit or heavenly world beyond.This spot where the future temple was built was a portal or a gateway to heaven. Down through the ages, spiritist-type people are often looking for sacred spots where they believe portals exist in an effort to connect to the spirit world beyond in order to receive secret knowledge or to seek wisdom and understanding about the meaning of life. The wonderful thing for the saints is that Yeshua promised that his disciples would receive the Holy Spirit, who would live within them and through their human or personal spirit would connect them to the divine. Christians do not need sacred spots or portals, relics, magic rituals, incantations or psychotropic drugs to bring us into the throne room of the Creator. For the redeemed believer, Yeshua the Messiah is our portal, our gate to heaven, our way to the Father in heaven, the way, the truth and the life. If Yeshua is your Lord and Savior, rejoice, child of the Most High Elohim, for you are the temple of the Spirit of Elohim, who now lives in you because of your personal relationship with Yeshua the Messiah! Savor, treasure and abide in this divine Truth!
Verse 19,Beth El means “house of El.” Beth Elwas formerly Luz meaning “almond (tree), turn aside, depart.”
Jacob’s Dream Explained
Now that we have defined our terms, it is time to start putting the pieces of this allegorical and prophetic puzzle together. The Jewish sages know that this dream is prophetic when they state, “In general, the expositors [of the Torah] agree that the vision was a disclosure of the future of the Jewish nation” (The ArtScroll Bereishis Commentary, vol. 1(b), p. 1224).
Classical Christian commentator, Adam Clarke, in his commentary on Genesis, in grasping to comprehend the meaning of the dream, suppositions that the ladder “was probably a type of [Messiah], in whom both worlds meet, and in whom the divine and human nature are conjoined. The ladder was set up on the earth, was manifested in the flesh, and in him [Messiah Yeshua] dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Nothing could be a more expressive emblem of the incarnation and its effects; [Yeshua the Messiah] is the grand connecting medium between heaven and earth, between God and man. By him God comes down to man, through him man ascends to God” (Clarkes Commentary, vol. 1, p. 176).
Genesis 25:21, Isaac pleaded. As with his father Abraham, the faith of Isaac was tried mightily. Rebekah was barren and Isaac entreated YHVH that his promises to Abraham might be fulfilled to him as well. YHVH at long last answered Isaac’s prayer with twins, Esau and Jacob. We learn from this that though the faith of the redeemed believer be tried, the promises of YHVH are always sure. What spiritual mountains have you been asking in faith for YHVH to remove from your life (Mark 11:23), or promises of YHVH to be fulfilled in your life (2 Cor 1:20), or prayers to be answered? Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Remember this: Never cease praying and believing, and believing that you receive (Mark 11:24)! Doubts and fear will come, yet prevailing prayer and faith overcome all. (Read 1 John 5:4–5.)
Genesis 25:23, Two nations…one people shall be stronger than the other people; the elder shall serve the younger. We can see the fulfillment of this interesting prophecy in the subsequent interplay between the Jews and western Christians versus the Muslims to this day in numerous ways. With few exceptions, the Muslims nations have always played a subordinate role to the Jews and Christians. Recently, however, the balances are shifting slightly in favor of the Muslims, who are endeavoring to take over many Western nations through illegitimate means or by terrorist activities. As prophesied in the Scriptures, YHVH is allowing this as a disciplinary judgment against his people because they have largely forsaken him.
Genesis 25:27–28, Esau vs. Jacob. There are only two types of people on this earth: Esaus and Jacobs. Please reflect on this for a moment. The evidence of this fact is illustrated by those who hung on either side of Yeshua at his crucifixion: a believer or one who had faith in Yeshua, and one who did not. Let’s explore this idea.
Hanging on either side of Yeshua on the cross, spiritually speaking, there was a spiritual “Jacob” and an “Esau” (Matt 24:39–41; Luke 23:39–43). One of the thieves repented and accepted Yeshua as his Savior, and was blessed for it. The other thief only mocked and scorned Yeshua and, hence, died in his sins spiritually condemned forever.
So what type of person was Esau? The Bible describes him as a cunning hunter (Gen 25:25). Nimrod was the only other person in Scripture termed “a hunter” (Gen 10:9). What kind of person would a hunter have been then compared to the typical farmer or herdsman of the day like Isaac and Jacob? Think wild, violent, uncivilized and savage versus civilized and domesticated. Even the meaning of the name Esau meaning “hairy or rough”suggests what type of individual he was.
We are given a clue to Esau’s character when Scripture reveals that Esau was “a man of the field.” Field in Scripture can be a metaphor for the world (see Matt 13:38). This description seems to fit Esau, for he was a profane (unhallowed, worldly, ungodly) man (Heb 12:16). He had no esteem for things of spiritual and eternal value. That is why he sold his birthright—his spiritual inheritance. He lived for the moment and had no eye for, hope in, or faith toward the future. His eyes were on worldly gain, not on righteousness. He sought the instant gratification of his sensual nature. That is why he sold his birthright for a bowl of lentils in order to satiate his physical hunger at the moment; that is, his god was his belly and he lived for the moment without thinking of the future consequences of his actions. In so doing, he disdained and dishonored his family heritage and those things that were highly esteemed by his father and grandfather.
Moreover, in Genesis 26:34–35, we see, to the great grief of his parents, that Esau married one of the local, heathen Canaanite girls. He did not honor his parents or respect their wishes to marry someone of like spiritual faith and belief.
Do these traits describe some unbelievers that you know, and even some believers or their children who have abandoned the biblical faith in which they were raised, while preferring to follow the heathen and unbiblical values of the world around them? Perhaps you were even like this before you were saved.
Truly Esau was a prodigal son, who unlike the wayward son in Yeshua’s parable by the same name, sadly, left his father’s house and forsook the ways of righteousness for the temporal and temporary pleasures of the world.
Genesis 25:30,Esau…Edom. Eventually the descendants of Esau would settle in the area SE of the Dead Sea in what is now modern Jordan and north of the Gulf of Aqaba and the land of Midian. This area is referred to in the Bible as Edom or Mount Seir. However, several years after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC, and country of Edom was utterly destroyed either by the Babylonians or other neighboring peoples (see Keil and Delitzsch, JFB, Josephus Ant. 10.9.7). After the Babylonian captivity, the westward fleeing Edomites took refuge in southern Judah (in the area around Beersheba and encompassing the modern Gaza Strip), which became known as Idumea (Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia). According to Josephus, the Maccabean Jews subjugated the Edomites or Idumeans and forced them to convert to Judaism (Jospephus Ant. 13.9.1, 15.5). Subsequently, this paved the way for Herod the Edomite’s kingdom. Idumea is mentioned once in the Gospel of Mark, since people from that territory were among the multitudes who came to hear Yeshua (Mark 3:8).
Edom (the Spirit of Islam) Exposed
Many, if not most of the modern Moslems or Muslims (especially the Arabs) trace their lineage back if not biologically then spiritually to Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Hagar. Islam in its religious book, the Koran, claims that it was Abraham and Ishmael who built the Kaaba, which is the small building containing a stone that supposedly fell from heaven. This shrine is located in the midst of the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
In Genesis 16:11–12 YHVH prophesied the following concerning Ishmael and his descendants:
The angel of YHVH said to her further, “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son; and you shall call his name Ishmael, because YHVH has given heed to your affliction. And he will be a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.”
More than two thousand years after Moses wrote the Book of Genesis which records YHVH Elohim initiating a covenant with Abraham (the Abrahamic Covenant) and then conferring the birthright and covental blessings upon Isaac, Abraham’s son, Mohammed, the founder of Islam, changed the story. Mohammed twisted the biblical account of Abraham’s giving the birthright blessing to Isaac and believe instead that Ishmael, Abraham’s son through Hagar, his concubine, was the promised son of blessing. Both Israelites and Arabs, therefore, believe that they have a right to the Promised Land of Canaan, and, hence, this disagreement is at the roots of the modern Arab-Israeli conflict.
Scripture further records that Esau, the disinherited son of Isaac, also had a jealous anger against his brother Jacob, who received the Abrahamaic, covenantal birthright promise instead of him. Scripture further records that Esau married the daughter of Ishmael (Gen 28:9). Thus in some of Esau’s descendants (he had more than one wife), the lineage of Esau and Ishmael were combined and both men had a jealous feud with the sons of Jacob, which has been passed down generationally to this day.
The Bible has more to say prophetically about the descendants of Edom (another name for Esau, Gen 31:6, 8) than about those of Ishmael. Edom is portrayed as an aggressive and bloodthirsty people who are opposed to Israel at every step. We will discover what Scripture has to say about this below.
In the mean time, let’s take a closer look at Edom or Esau.
Edom (meaning “red”) was Esau’s nickname (see Gen 25:25, 30; 36:1, 8–9, 19, 43).
Esau intermarried with the descendants of Ishmael (Gen 28:9).
Seir is another name for the land of Edom (Gen 32:3; 33:16; 36:8) which was historically located SE of the Dead Sea in what is now located in modern Jordan. Eventually, the Edomites were forced out of that area and moved westward into the area of southern Israel west of the Dead Sea. In the time of the Romans, this area was known as Idumea and overlapped into the modern area known today as the Gaza Strip. Thus, it is likely that some modern day Gazans, including the terrorist group Hamas, may be ancient descendents of Edom. If so, this may explain in part their murderous hatred for Israel and the Jews.
Esau intermarried with the people of Canaan (Gen 36:2). He intermarried with the Hittites, the Hivites, as well as the Ishmaelites.
His descendants included the Amalekites (Gen 36:12, 16), who fought against the children of Israel upon leaving Egypt and as soon as they entered the wilderness en route to the Promised Land (Exod 17:1).
Esau’s sons were dukes or chieftains (leaders of clans) and kings (Gen 36:15–16, 40–43).
Although Esau’s direct lineage was confined to the area of the traditional land of Edom, in modern-day Jordan, it is clear from the biblical record that he and his descendants intermarried with many of the neighboring nations, so that his descendants were scattered far and wide over the region that later became known as the Holy Land.
The entire one-chapter Book of Obadiahis a prophecy against Edom. Let’s note several key points in this prophecy that might help us to understand some things about Edom in light of end-time Bible prophecy and how this relates to the end-times Arab-Israeli conflict. When you think of Edom, think of the modern day Palestinians.
The Book of Obadiah has more to say about Edom:
Obadiah 1:2, The descendants of Edom are greatly despised (or scorned, held in contempt, disdained).
Obadiah 1:3, Though they dwell in the clefts (places of concealment, retreats) of the rocks, they are proud and view themselves as invincible.
Obadiah 1:4, YHVH promises to bring Edom down.
Obadiah 1:7, Esau has a confederacy (league, alliance) of nations, which include many of the modern Moslem and Arab nations.
Obadiah 1:11, Edom’s eyes are on Jerusalem. Edom, along with other foreign enemies of Israel, will cast lots for Jerusalem (seek to divide it among the nations or religions of the world as an international city under the control of the United Nations?).
Obadiah 1:13, Edom has entered into the gates of the land of Israel in the day of her calamity or disaster.
Obadiah 1:14, Edom will kill Jewish refugees trying to escape the land of Israel in her time of distress.
Obadiah 1:15, The time frame of the fulfillment of these prophecies is “near” the day of YHVH, when he will judge Edom and the other heathen nations.
Obadiah 1:16, Edom will be drinking (celebrating?) on the Temple Mount which is YHVH’s “holy mountain,” and as a result, they shall drink the cup of YHVH’s wrath.
Obadiah 1:17, The house of Jacob will eventually get the Temple Mount back!
When we read the Book of Obadiah, we see a graphic, prophetic descriptions of the modern Palestinian and other Islamo-terrorists who hate Israel, the Jews as well as Christians.
The Bible has much to say about who Jacob and his descendents represents in end-time prophecy. Now we also see who Jacob’s descendants’ arch-enemy will be, and who will attempt to prevent both the Jews and Christians from returning to the land of Israel in fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The return of the scattered descendents of Jacob (modern Jews and Christians) will begin to happen in the end times before the coming of the Messiah and continue after his return. The Bible is clear on this as we have written about elsewhere
As we noted, Edom’s hatred for Israel has its roots in the antagonism between Ishmael and Isaac, and then afterwards between Esau and Jacob. The hatred that Esau had for Israel has been passed on down to successive generations of Edomites. The biblical prophets discusses this murderous antagonism on Edom’s part as being carried down generation to generation to the very end times. Let’s review some of other biblical prophecies in this regard.
Ezekiel 36 speaks about the conflict between end-time Edom and end-time Israel. In verse two, we see that the enemies of Israel have regarded the “ancient high [or declared, promised] places” of Israel as “ours in possession.” This is a clear reference to the holy places in Israel (e.g., the Temple Mount for the Jews and Bethlehem and Nazareth for the Christians—only in recent years have the Palestinians taken Bethlehem and forced—out of persecution and intimidation—the majority of the large Christian population of that city to leave). “High places” can also refer to the militarily strategic high places such as the Golan Heights and the ridges surrounding the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Next, let’s look at Ezekiel 35, which is a prophecy against Edom. In verses four through five, we see that end-time Edom will be devastated because of its perpetual hatred for the children of Israel. They have killed their enemies by the power of the sword. This is how Muslim’s have traditionally spread their religion—by their curved scimitar sword which is displayed prominently on the flag of Saudi Arabia to this day. Historically, advancing Moslem armies would force their captives to leave, covert or die. According to verse five, this will be occurring at the time of the punishment (of the children of Israel?) at the time of the end (NAS) or the end of time (lit. Hebrew). This is another example of YHVH’s using Edom (Esau) to bring Ephraim and Judah to its knees and to repentance in the time of the end.
In verses six through nine of the same chapter, we see that YHVH will punish Edom for its blood-thirstiness against Israel and will devastate its cities and slay large numbers of its people. Other biblical prophecies indicate that the militaries of Judah and Ephraim will be the means by which YHVH accomplishes this.
Finally, in Ezekiel 35:10, Edom (Islam) wants to take over or possess the two countries or lands (Heb. eretz) of Israel or those of Judah and Ephraim (or the Jews and Christians), even though YHVH was there (in the lands of his people). Their anger and hatred against Israel is based on envy or jealousy (verse 11) of Israel.
The Koran, the religious book of Islam, has taken the historic and prophesied hatred of Edom and formed a religion around it. The Koran was written by Mohammed, a Jew and Christian hater, more than one thousand years after the prophecies of Ezekiel and Obadiah. Here are some quotes from the Koran that confirm the prophecies of the Bible with regard to Edom.
Make war upon those to whom the Scriptures have been given as believe not in God [Allah]…and who forbid not that which God and His Apostle [Mohammed] have forbidden, and who profess not the profession of the truth, until they pay tribute out of hand, and they be humbled. The Jews say, “Ezra is a son of God”; and the Christians say, “The Messiah is a son of God.” Such sayings in their mouths. They resemble the sayings of the infidels of old! God do battle with them! How they are misguided! (Sura 9:29–30)
When thy Lord spake unto the angels, “I will be with you: therefore stablish ye the faithful I will cast a dread into the heart of the infidels.” Strike off their heads then, and strike off from them every finger-tip. (Sura 8:12)
“O people of the Book!…Can I announce to you any retribution worse than that which awaiteth them with God? They whom God hath cursed and with whom He hath been angry—some of them hath he changed into apes and swine; and they who worship Thagout are in evil plight, and have gone far astray from the right path. (Sura 5:64–65)
Only recompense of those who war against God and His Apostle, and go about to commit disorders on the earth, shall be that they shall be slain and crucified, or have their alternate hands and feet cut off, or be banished from the land…(Sura 5:37)
Genesis 25:32,I am about to die. The implication here is not that Esau was about to die of hunger, but that he would die before seeing the fulfillment of the promises YHVH had made to Isaac and Abraham regarding possessing the land of Canaan. Remember that YHVH had told Abraham that it would be four hundred years before his descendents would inherit the land of Canaan (Gen 15:13), since “the sins of the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Gen 15:16). So what good would his birthright be? He would see no material gain from this land inheritance in his lifetime.
Actually Esau was right—but only in the short term perspective; however, he was totally wrong in the long term perspective! Esau was only motivated by temporal and material gain, not spiritual, future rewards, which are possessed by faith, not by sight (Heb 11:1–2, 8–10, 39–40). Sadly, the vast majority of people on earth to this day operate under this shortsighted mentality.
Esau was a profane and secular man, and the Spirit and character of YHVH strive against and loathe such individuals (Mal 1:3; Rom 9:13), who prefer the present secular and sensual pleasures over pleasing YHVH. In reality, their god is their belly and they mind earthly things (Phil 3:19). This was the state of the Laodicean believers in Revelation 3:14–22.
Pause now and reflect. Do not pass over these admonitions lightly. Search your heart for the areas where you put the secular, material and sensual above YHVH, and then repent of faithlessness. Ask the Spirit of YHVH to open your eyes to the blind areas in your life and help you to acquire a more heavenly-mindless focus.
Genesis 26
Genesis 26:1–29,There was a famine in the land. At the well of Lachai-roi (or “the well of the Living One seeing me,” Gen 24:62), Isaac was fruitful. There he met his wife while in communion with YHVH (Gen 24:62–64). Isaac also dwelt in that area for 20 years, and there he entreated YHVH because of Rebekah’s barrenness (Gen 25:21), and YHVH answered Isaac’s prayer and Rebekah gave birth to twins (Gen 25:22).
But because of famine in the land, Isaac felt compelled to leave Canaan to seek relief in Egypt following the earlier footsteps of his father, Abraham. At this point, we must ask ourselves whether it is wise for the saints to rely on “Egypt” (a metaphor for the world) for their physical sustenance instead of trusting YHVH and believing that where he has planted us and blessed us is where we should stay? One needs to answer this question carefully and then and only then follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Evidently, YHVH didn’t want Isaac to go down to Egpty, for while en route to that land, he graciously redirected Isaac stay in Canaan and to sojourn in Gerar (temporarily), where he would continue to bless him and his posterity (Gen 26:2–4).
Isaac obeyed YHVH—more or less. Isaac ended up in Gerar located on the border between Canaan and Egypt and dwelt there a long time but not temporarily as YHVH had instructed him (Gen 26:6, 8). Instead of fully obeying YHVH, it was as if Isaac was hedging his bet between faith and fear, between Canaan, the land of promise, and Egypt, the land of comfort for the flesh man. How often do we vacillate between two opinions and then compromise between YHVH’s will and our own in matters where he has given us clear direction?
This place of spiritual indecision and weakness put Isaac in a compromising situation (Gen 26:7). He felt compelled to lie about his wife, thus repeating the sin of his father (Gen 20:1–2). Compromised obedience puts us in compromising situations where in order to “save our skin” we often have to compromise our moral values.
Though Isaac was not in YHVH’s perfect will, YHVH was still faithful to keep his promises that he had made to Isaac earlier (Gen 26:3–4). Isaac was blessed one hundred fold in his wealth (Gen 26:12–14).
Despite YHVH’s blessings, Isaac’s labors were not without difficulty and opposition from an enemy who was intent upon stealing the water wells that were rightfully his (Gen 26:12–15).
In the arid regions of the Holy Land, wells are essential for survival and prosperity. Wells are often a biblical metaphor for salvation, life, abundance and truth—things the enemy is intent on taking from YHVH’s servants (in this light, consider Isa 12:3; 55:1–3; Ps 36:9; John 4:7–14; 7:37–39; 10:10). Do not let the enemy steal from you that which YHVH has given to you.
Genesis 26:2–5,YHVH appeared to him. Like his father Abraham, Isaac was also a prophet in that YHVH spoke directly to him giving him instructions on what to do, where to go and revelation about what was to occur in the future.
Genesis 26:5,Because. (See notes at Gen 18:19.) Based on Paul’s teaching in Romans chapter four, we see that the Abrahamic Covenant is the model for salvation, which can be tersely stated as “salvation is by grace through faith leading to or resulting in good works or righteousness” (Eph 2:8–10). From this verse, it might appear that the Abrahamic Covenant was not a faith-based covenant at all, but a works based one. In other words, Abraham had to do something to be counted righteous or to come into good standing with Elohim—a concept which is commonly referred to as “earning one’s salvation through one’s good works.” The fact is that in the Abrahamic Covenant, Abraham only had to have faith and believe in YHVH to be justified or to be considered righteous by Elohim (Gen 15:6). It was on this basis that YHVH granted him “salvation.” But this initial step of faith on Abraham’s part and the righteousness Elohim attributed to him was but the first step in Abraham’s faith walk. From that point forward, he had to walk out his faith and continue trusting YHVH (see also Gen 19:5). The apostolic writers present the truth that the steps one takes while coming into a relationship with Elohim is a journey comprised of many steps, not a one time event that occurs at the beginning of that walk. Our faith-walk is more than just mental assent with a few emotion experiences thrown in for good measure. It is more than just following the golden rule about loving our neighbor in some nebulous sort of way. It involves faithfulness to YHVH’s instructions. James clearly states in his epistle that this is how one demonstrates the legitimacy of one’s faith when he declares that faith without works is dead (Jas 2:18, 20, 26; see vv. 12–26 for context). Abraham demonstrated his faithfulness by his obedience to YHVH’s Torah or YHVH’s Word or voice. Furthermore, as a result of this obedience, YHVH promised to bless him beyond simply being granted initial salvation or righteousness. This two-step approach or model still holds true in the Testimony of Yeshua. One is saved or delivered from the wages of their past sin (Rom 3:25), which is death (Rom 6:23), by their faith (or initial salvation), and then one ceases from that sin by continuing in the good works of Torah obedience (Eph 2:8–10). Moreover, Yeshua and the apostolic writers in numerous instances reveal that future rewards (both temporal and eternal rewards) come as a result of one’s good works (e.g., Matt 5:19). The ultimate reward and the outworking of one’s faith walk is being granted eternal life and inclusion in the family of Elohim.
Abraham obeyed [Heb. shema] my voice [Heb. kol], and kept [also: observe, preserve, guard; shamar, RNA] my charge [Heb. mishmereth], my commandments [Heb. mitzvot] my statutes [Heb. chuqqah], and my laws [Heb. toroti]. Some Bible teachers incorrectly state that the Torah-law does not predate Moses. Not only does this verse disprove this false notion, but it also shows that Abraham kept the Torah-law of Elohim. In a Hebrew lexicon or word dictionary, look up each of these words and study their meanings and how they are used contextually in the Scriptures. One will discover that the Torah is much more than just a set of dos and don’ts. Rather it reflects the very heart, character and righteousness of YHVH, who invites humans to take the requisite steps in coming into an eternal relationship with him by becoming like him through adherence to these high moral and spiritual standards. In a sense, the Torah is like a pathway or ladder to heaven, and Yeshua, who is the Living Torah-Word of Elohim (John 1:1, 14) is that ladder to the Father in heaven (John 1:51 cp. Gen 28:12; John 14:4).
My voice. This verse equates the voice of Elohim with his Torah commands. To obey the voice of Elohim is to obey his Torah instructions. The voice and Torah of Elohim are two ways of saying the same thing. YHVH’s servants were obeying his voice, the Torah, long before it was written down by Moses.
My laws [Torah]. The word Torah here is in the plural. The ancient Jewish sages teach that this is speaking of both the written and oral Torahs (the latter being Jewish oral tradition which then became the Talmud in the early part of the common era). Since Yeshua questioned the validity of the “tradition of the elders” (Mark 7:3, 5; Matt 15:2 also Matt 7:6; Mark 7:13), which was another name for the Jew’s oral Torah (which later became known much later as the Talmud), so should we not do the same? Instead of being a prophetic reference to the Talmud (which contains many Jewish fables and traditions that, in reality, violate the Written Torah [see Matt 15:6; Mark 7:7–13]), it is more likely that Moses (the author of Genesis), when using the plural form of the word Torah, was referring to the various subdivisions of the overall Torah contained in the first five books of the Bible. These subdivisions or aspects of the Torah (like facets of a diamond) could include historical narrative, prophecy, the universal principles or commandments of the Torah that are applicable to all men for all time, specific commandments that applied to Israel before the cross (e.g., the Levitical and sacrificial systems), and to the Torah that was given to Moses and was written down into a codified form (like a nation’s constitution) for the governing of the nation of Israel and was referred to in the Gospels as “the law of Moses.”
The primary meaning of the word Torah, according to TheTheological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) is “teaching”(and not “law”). Strong’s Concordance lists the meaning of Torah in this order: “a precept, a statute.” The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon defines Torah as “direction, instruction, law”(in that order). According to Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the word torah primarily signifies “direction, teaching, instruction” (Prov 13:14). It is derived from the verb yarah [VRH] [meaning] “to project, point out” and hence to point out or teach. The law of Elohim is that which points out or indicates his will to man. Seen against its background of the verb yarah, it becomes clear that Torah is much more than law or a set of rules. Torah is not restriction or hindrance, but instead the means whereby one can reach a goal or ideal.
TheTWOT similarly states,
The word Torah basically means “teaching” whether it is the wise man instructing his son or [Elohim] instructing Israel. The wise give insight into all aspects of life so that the young may know how to conduct themselves and to live a long blessed life (Prov 3:1f). So too [Elohim], motivated by love, reveals to man basic insights into how to live with each other and how to approach [Elohim]. Through the law [Elohim] shows his interest in all aspects of man’s life which is to be lived under his direction and care. Law of [Elohim] stands parallel to [the] word of [YHVH] to signify that law is the revelation of [Elohim’s] will (e.g., Isa 1:10).
As already noted, the word Torah originates from the root word yarah/VRH, which means “to flow as water, to lay or throw as in shooting an arrow; to point out as if aiming the finger to make a point, to teach.” Another cognate (related word) of the word Torah is the Hebrew word moreh, which means “teacher or archer (as in one who shoots at a target).” Moreh derives from the same Hebrew root word, yarah,as does Torah. Therefore, when one is walking according to the Torah of YHVH Elohim, one is walking in the light of YHVH’s truth, which is hitting the mark of righteousness. Likewise, YHVH’s teachings or instructions are a river of life flowing from his throne aimed at hitting the mark of truth and righteousness. By contrast, the Hebrew word for sin is chata which means “to miss the mark,” i.e., transgressing the Torah as 1 John 3:4 states, “Sin is the transgression of the Torah.”
Genesis 26:8, Sporting. This Hebrew word means “playing, laughing, being joyful with.” Marriage is a blessing from Elohim that should involve couples relishing each other’s company while joyfully laughing and playing together.
Genesis 26:9–10, Then Abimelech called. It is a sad affair when the heathen have a higher standard of integrity than the righteous and have to take the righteous to task for their falling short ethically as Abimelech did with Isaac. When this occurs, this ruins any positive witness a righteous person may have had in the eyes the heathen.
Genesis 26:17–22, And Isaac departed. To avoid potential conflict with his envious heathen neighbors (v. 14), Isaac the peacemaking, Elohim-fearing man, turned the other cheek and removed himself from the area of disputation. Even afterwards, the covetous Philistines kept stealing the wells that Isaac or his father, had dug. Even though Isaac was mightier than the Philistines according to their own king (v. 16), and likely could have defended the wells militarily, he chose to suffer lose and walk away. This is in line with the teachings of Yeshua, who instructed his disciples to love one’s enemies, to pray for them, to agree with one’s adversary when possible, to bless those that curse you and even, at times, to let others defraud you of your possessions (Matt 6:38–48). Similarly, the wise Solomon taught that there is a time to make war and to make peace (Eccl 3:8) with that latter, according to Yeshua, being the preferable option, if possible, in most cases.
Genesis 26:18–22, And Isaac dug again. Isaac redug the wells that belonged to his father in the land YHVH promised to him, yet the heathens opposed him and stole from him what was rightfully his. The wells’ names were Contention and Strife. How easy it is to allow fleshly or demonically motivated people to oppose and deter us from our divine destiny. What was Isaac’s response? He took the high road of peace refusing to be embroiled in carnal battles. His faith in YHVH was undaunted and at the third well he found, which he named spaciousness (Heb. Rehoboth) and contained a vast supply of water. Are you striving and contending with the spiritual Philistines in your life? Are they keeping you from moving onward spiritually into a place of fruitfulness where the river of life from YHVH’s throne flows? Following the example of Isaac, let’s learn to choose your battles carefully. It is not necessary to engage the enemy at every point of conflict. Sometimes we need to walk away. There is a time to walk away and a time to fight. A wise person will be led by the Spirit of Elohim as to the right course of action in any given situation. When you choose to fight, let YHVH fight your battles and you will progress onward and upward in your faith-walk.
Genesis 26:23–25, He went up…to Beersheba. Beersheba is some 30 miles SSE of Gerar. Isaac, tired of conflict with the heathens, removed himself completely out of the area. Upon retracing the steps of his father, Abraham, back into the land of promise in redigging the ancient wells ending up in Beer-sheba (Heb. “well of the covenant or seven-fold oath”), YHVH blessed Isaac with shalom. The moment Isaac returned back to the heart of Canaan—the future Promised Land, the heart and center of YHVH’s will for his life, what happened? YHVH began speaking to Isaac again (v. 24) as he had earlier (v. 4). Is YHVH calling you back to the ancient wells of your salvation? Similarly, YHVH is calling many of his end time people to retrace the steps of our father Abraham, the father of faith, to return to the ancient paths where a special blessing awaits us. (Read Mal 4:4–6 and Jer 6:16, 19; 18:15.)
Genesis 26:28, A covenant. This was, in effect, a military peace treaty or a nonaggression pact between two nations. The fear of YHVH was upon the enemies of Isaac.
Genesis 26:31, Peace. The Hebrew word shalom, which is here spelled in the undiminished manner containing the letter vav, suggests a deeper, lasting and more complete peace that comes from heaven. Now Isaac was a consummate peacemaker, who not only agreed with his adversaries, but in so doing, gained the favor of Elohim (Matt 5:22–25), and consequently obtained the peace from above that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:17).
Genesis 26:34–35, Esau…took…the daughter of…the Hittite. At an early age, Esau evidenced his carnal and worldly proclivities in the fact that he despised the things of Elohim including his own spiritual heritage and birthright. His carnal demeanor to satisfy his fleshly desires manifested itself in his taking ungoldy, heathen wives, which was a sore grief to his righteous parents. All godly parent want their children to walk in the paths of righteousness, and when they do not, it brings them grief. Sadly, even though YHVH’s blessings and provision was evident in the lives of Esau’s parents, and such could have been his as well, Esau was so carnally bent, so drawn into the allurements of the secular world around him, that he rejected his spiritual heritage and upbringing and chose the ways of world instead.
Genesis 27
Genesis 27:1–32, Rebekah and Jacob’s scheming. How often do we take matters into our own hands to “help” YHVH out in fulfilling his promises for our life. This is what Rebekah and Jacob did. Where is the faith in that? (Read Psalm 37:3–7, 23–24, 34.) We all have the natural tendency to what to take matters into our own hands instead of waiting on YHVH. There are numerous scriptures that admonish the saint to wait on YHVH to work out his plans in our lives in his own timing (e.g., Ps 25:3, 5, 21; 27:14; 37:34; 59:9; 62:5; 69:6; 130:5; Prov 20:22; Isa 40:31). In the waiting, patience and trusting faith in YHVH and his timing is developed in the life of the saint. Analyze the actions of your life on the basis of these words. Consider the following concepts of faith:
Dynamic or Active Faith: A person with this kind of faith knows when to move ahead and when to wait.
Passive or Inactive Faith: A person with this kind of faith never moves, but tends to sits idly by waiting for things just to happen on their own.
Presumptuous or Impetuous Faith: A person with this kind of faith always moves and never waits.
Jacob and Rebekah demonstrated presumptuous or impetuous faith when engineering the acquisition of the birthright instead of waiting for YHVH to change Jacob’s heart on the matter. What kind of faith do you have?
Genesis 27:4,Make me savory food. Sometimes when a person is of extreme age and is, to one degree or another, physically incapacitated from performing the functions of a normal life that produce pleasure and fulfillment, eating becomes a high point of their daily life because of the immediate pleasure it brings. Think “comfort food.” Perhaps this was the case with Isaac. As such, the simple act of the consumption of food can even overshadow one’s spiritual walk. An older person must guard against this and maintain their spiritual relationship with and focus on Elohim to the very end as best they can.
Genesis 27:13,Upon me be your curse. Evidently, the ancient Hebrews placed great significance upon the power of the blessing and the curse spoken by a person of authority over his subordinates (Gen 27:33). We also see this in the conveyance or invocation of the Aaronic Benediction by the priests upon the people (Num 6:22–27). On the other hand, we see the Jewish leaders invoking a curse upon the Jewish people over their allowing the Romans to crucify Yeshua (Matt 27:25). In some regards, it seems that the Jewish people have been under a curse to this day in light of the continual cycles of anti-Semitism that have occurred down through the millennia.
Genesis 27:28,Fatness. Heb. shaman means “oil.”
Genesis 27:40,By the sword you shall live. Compare this verse with the description of Ishmael in Genesis 16:12. In Genesis 28:9 Esau married the daughter of Ishmael thus uniting these two family lines from which many of the present-day Arabic and Middle Eastern inhabitants descend. Look at these two verses and compare the character traits of Esau listed there with those of the Palestinians who live to kill the Jews and to destroy the nation of Israel today. The roots of today’s hatred among these people largely originate in the jealousy and rivalry that existed between Jacob and Esau.
Jacob’s prophecy over Esau contains another curios piece of information. What is the traditional weapon that comes to mind when thinking of Arabs and Bedouin type people of the Middle East? Of course, it is the curved scimitar sword that appears on the flag of Saudi Arabia to this day, which contains within its current borders the ancient territory of Edom.
Genesis 27:41,Esua hated Jacob.This reveals the murderous heart of Edom, which continues to this day among Esua’s descendants in their attitude toward the Israeli Jews.
Genesis 28
Genesis 28:1–2, Then Isaac called Jacob. By this time, it appears that Isaac had had a change of heart concerning Jacob. He was no longer angry with Rebekah and Jacob for their scheming; rather; he had and accepted the fact that his younger son was YHVH’s choice to carry on patriarchal lineage and covenant. This change of mind was no doubt due to Rebekah’s positive influence on Jacob in helping him to determine Elohim’s will. The power and influence of a godly and righteous woman on a man’s life for good is not to be underestimated. Conversely, the negative influence on a man’s life of an ungodly, carnally motivated woman can be devastating and debilitating.
It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman. (Prov 21:19)
Genesis 28:5, Isaac sent Jacob away. Jacob paid a hard price for his trickery and deceit. YHVH did not let him off the proverbial hook easily. Jacob received none of the material inheritance blessings of Isaac, but had to start over from zero building his personal fortune under Laban, who was a taskmaster and a deceiver himself. After twenty years of toiling under and enduring the scheming of his uncle, Jacob came out a humbled and changed man. Are you presently paying a dear price for your past mistakes? Are you “taking your medicine” and learning your lessons well so that YHVH can mature and bless you in the end?
Genesis 28:8,Esau saw. Esau was simply a man-pleaser, not an Elohim-pleaser. He cared nothing for the things of Elohim. What’s more, he cared only what is parents thought because of the blessing that he thought in so doing might confer on him. He had a “What’s in it for me mentality.” He was totally a carnally minded man. In the end, due to his being short sighted and living for the moment, he gained much material substance but lost his soul and his eternal inheritance.
Genesis 23:2, Sarah died…in Hebron.See notes at Genesis 22:19.
And to weep for her. The small letter kaf in v’liv-kotah indicates that Abraham’s expression of grief was constrained. The righteous person knows that there is an afterlife; death is only a temporary separation, and he does not give way to excessive sadness. The small kaf teaches us that Abraham did not parade his grief, but bore his pain in his heart, not in public. (Munk, p. 137; The ArtScroll Series Interlinear Chumash—Bereishis/Genesis, p. 116). The Tikkun (p. 47) gives a completely different explanation for the small kaf. Thus, this calls into questions the validity of rabbinic speculation in these matters.
Genesis 23:3, Abraham stood up. In the face of an extreme trial—the death of Sarah—Abraham stood up to bury his dead. This is even in face of the fact that Abraham and Sarah seemed to have been estranged and living in separate towns since the akeidah. At the same time, rather than remaining incapacitated by his grief, he rose up as a mighty man and dutifully took care of business and buried his dead.
Genesis 23:3ff, I am a foreigner. According to the covenantal promises of YHVH, Abraham was the rightful owner of the land of Canaan, not the children of Heth (the Hittites), yet how did Abraham treat the ruling Canaanite “squatters?” He refrained himself from treating his rivals with impudence and arrogance but treated them with honor and respect. How does Scripture enjoin us to treat human authorities? Can we respect their positions of authority without flattering them or condoning their wickedness? Ponder the demeanor of other biblical personages in their dealings with earthly, pagan authorities: Moses, Nehemiah, Daniel, Yeshua, and Paul for example.
Genesis 23:15, Four hundred shekels of silver. Abraham paid a full and possibly even an inflated price for the cave of Machpelah without balking. In so doing, he maintained a good reputation among the heathen. Matthew Henry in his commentary on this passage states, “The religion of the Bible enjoins [us] to pay due respect to all in authority, without flattering their persons, or countenancing their crimes if they are unworthy characters.” The righteous must maintain a good reputation with those who are outside the spiritual body of the redeemed believers (1 Tim 3:7) by treating them with honor and respect, especially those in our community and place of work.
Genesis 24
Genesis 24:2, So Abraham said. In appointing Eliezer to find a wife for Isaac, Abraham was deputizing him to become the friend of the bridegroom, or the family representative in this important mission. (For more on this subject, see notes at John 3:29.)
Genesis 24:2, 9, Put your hand under my thigh. (Heb. yarek; see also Gen 47:29) Abraham’s servant literally placed his hands over Abraham’s testicles thus swearing an oath on Abraham’s projected progeny, even as in modern times we place our hands on the Bible. Interestingly, the word testicle or teste derives from the Latin words testis meaning “testimony, testify and testament.” Yarek is the same word the KJV translates “hollow of his thigh” in Genesis 32:25 and 32, although, in this case, it seems to be referring to the tendon of the hip.
What Abraham had his servant do seems a bit indiscreet if not lewd in our culture, yet this was obviously an accepted custom in this ancient society.
The fact is that the Hebrews were an earthy, simple and basic people in their day-to-day life; they were without pretenses or veneers in their day-to-day interactions. Yet in their understanding of and walk with Elohim, they were deep and had a broad understanding as evidenced through the pages of the Bible. Moreover, because they had the Torah, they were much wiser and at a higher level spiritually than the nations around them who had rejected Elohim and who, instead, worshipped sticks, rocks, trees, idols and demons resulting in all sorts of idolatrous and licentious perversions. Paul talks about this in Romans 1:18–32.
What is the take away here?
The Psalms in a couple of places tells us that the fool has said in his heart that there is no God (Elohim) (Pss 14:1; 53:1). As highly developed and advanced intellectually and technologically as our modern society may be, most of the intelligentsia and erudite of our day are a bunch of educated idiots or fools, who deny the existence of Elohim, while they mock the Bible. Instead, most them, being the highly rationalistic and materialistic people that they are, they worship their own minds, their own bodies and other material things all of which, by biblical definition, are idols. Moreover, they believe in unproven theories or mythologies like macro-evolution and they predict the end of the world in a few decades due to global warming or climate change. Like the ancients, many of them worship the same demons and sacrifice their children to the same demon gods (called abortion) as their ancient Baal and Moloch worshiping predecessors.
While the ancient Hebrews may have seemed like a rather “crude,” definitely earthy and a bit indecent race in some of their cultural practices, they were nevertheless a people who knew Elohim and obeyed him, had a deep knowledge of spiritual matters, and possessed wisdom and understanding of life issues. This is in stark contadistinction to many high-minded intellects, who in all of their erudition have totally missed Elohim and in reality still worship sticks, stones, trees and material objects (e.g., homes, money, boats, cars, art objects, political power, education, their bodies), and believe in mythologies (e.g., evolution and Marxism) rather than the Truth of YHVH Elohim of the Bible.
The example of Paul the apostle comes to mind, who wrote the following words some 2,000 years after the time of Abraham (in reality, things hadn’t changed much from Abraham to Paul, and they have not changed much from Paul till now either, for human nature remains the same):
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wide, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where the wise? Where the scribe? Where the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in YHVH.” (1 Cor 1:18–31. emphasis added)
In light of what the Bible, the Word of Elohim, has to say on this subject, being a “fool” for YHVH Elohim-Yeshua far outweighs in value to being “wise” in the eyes of this world!
Genesis 24:4, Take a wife for my son Isaac. Some Bible students see in Abraham’s sending Eliezer his servant as an allegory of our Heavenly Father choosing a bride for Yeshua, his Son with the help of the Holy Spirit. The analogy goes like this: When speaking to Abraham, YHVH refers to Isaac as “your only son…whom you love” (Gen 22:2). In this statement, it is hard to miss the similarity with the well-known John 3:16 passage where Yeshua refers to himself as the only begotten Son whom his Father in heaven loves. Isaac is an obvious prophetic picture of Yeshua in that Abraham sacrificed a ram in place of his only son whom he loved on the very spot where, one thousand years later, the Temple of Solomon would be built and where sacrifices were made to atone for men’s sin.
Moreover, this is the same spot later in biblical history where Yeshua himself was condemned to death and not far from there became the Lamb of Elohim who was sacrificed to atone for men’s sins.
What is even more amazing is that the name Eliezer means “my El helps,” which many biblical students see as an allusion to the Holy Spirit who helps or comforts us, and to which Yeshua refers to as the Comforter or Helper (e.g., John 14:16). It is the Holy Spirit that is choosing and preparing a bride from among called and redeemed Israelites for Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of Elohim.
Genesis 24:6, 8,Beware [Heb. shamar] that you bring not my son there again. Why was Abraham insistent that Isaac not be exposed to Babylon? What was there to beware of (shamar/RNA)? The Hebrew word shamar means “to guard against, protect from, keep watch and ward, preserve, keep oneself from.” The answer is found in verse seven.
YHVH Elohim of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, “To your descendants I give this land,” He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
This teach us much about protecting our children and loved ones from the corrupting influences of this world. We must be ever vigilant like a soldier on guard duty to preserve and protect our children (or those under our spiritual care) from those things that could lead to their spiritual ruination. It is our divinely mandated duty to show them a better path and to teach them diligently in the way they should go (Deut 6:6) that leads to life and not death (Deut 30:15–16, 19–20).
Had Abraham allowed Isaac to return to Babylon with Eliezer, this country boy might have been tempted to remain there due to the alluring appeal of the wealth, worldly influences and cosmopolitan glamor of city life. Had Isaac remained in Babylon, then YHVH’s plan for Abraham’s descendents would have been totally thwarted. Abraham in his wisdom was looking out for the spiritual destiny of his son and protecting him from any outside influences that may have sidetracked him from YHVH’s perfect will. Abraham was exercising wisdom on Isaac’s behalf in that he in his wisdom and understanding was able to see the future in ways that a young man is not able to see due to a paucity of life experience and understanding resulting therefrom.
YHVH had led Abraham out of the spiritual filth of Babylon. In no way did he want Isaac to go back to what he had left behind. If Isaac had seen the prosperity and convenience of a Babylonian lifestyle, he might have been tempted to stay there—especially if he had found a wife in that place.
Abraham insisted that any potential mate leave Babylon and come to Isaac and not vice versa. Only a wife was willing to leave Babylon would be a suitable matriarchal soul mate to Isaac and to accompany in fulfilling his divine destiny.
Are we investing the necessary time and energy into our children to insure that they do not return to the spiritual Babylon from which we fled prior to our becoming followers of Yeshua? Are we guiding them in finding spouses who are willing to leave spiritual Babylon and to become disciples of Yeshua?
Genesis 24:12, Give me success. Scripture directs us to, “Trust in YHVH with all your heart and lean not unto your own understandings, but in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths” (Prov 3:5–6). Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, was a man of prayer who sought guidance from heaven in fulfilling his mission in finding a wife for Isaac.
Abraham was a man of faith—even the father of the faithful (Rom 4:12, 16). Eliezer was likewise a man of faith. Abraham had taught him well, just like a son.
How does Eliezer evidence faith? Simply this. He blesses Rebekah even before he knows who she really is (Gen 24:22) all on the basis of an answered prayer.
Do we walk in such trusting faith, day-by-day, moment-by-moment? Are we teaching the little ones under our charge these same attributes as Abraham had taught his dependents?
Genesis 24:14,Let it come pass. Here Eliezer asks for a sign from heaven. It is not wrong to ask for a sign from Elohim as one is endeavoring to fulfill his will and stay on the right track spiritually. However, when men test Elohim, seek signs out of doubt and unbelief with little desire to obey him, the Yeshua’s statement is applicable in this case: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign,” (Matt 12:39).
Genesis 24:17–18,Let me drink. See notes at Mark 9:41.
Genesis 24:30,When he saw. Laban’s preoccupation with materialism (a typical trait of those who are caught up in Babylonian or worldly mores) would dominate his life for many years to come as the story of Jacob’s dealings with him would later prove. This teaches us that the character traits one manifests as a child or youth are often precursors and indicators showing us how a person will act later on whether good or bad. In Laban’s case, he was greedy and covetous as a youth and also as an older man.
Genesis 24:45,Speaking in my heart. Obviously, Eliezer was in constant communications with YHVH through prayer. Is this not a character trait of a righteous person? 1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us to pray without ceasing. In Luke 18:1–7, Yeshua teaches about the benefits of righteous and prevailing prayer. How often do you pray? Once a day? When you pray, is it merely a morning and/or evening ritual that leaves your soul (mind, will and emotions) untouched and unchanged? Is this the kind of relationship the Father is seeking with you? A mighty man of Elohim when asked the question, “How long do you pray each day?” He replied, “Seldom do I pray more than one-half hour, but seldom do I go more than a half hour without praying.” Could this be said of you?
Genesis 24:53, Then the servant brought out jewelry. Here Eliezer is presenting Rachel’s family with a dowry. What was the purpose of the dowry? In ancient times, a family’s efficiency and work force was diminished when losing a daughter to marriage. The dowry compensated the family for the loss of a worker. Often unmarried daughters not only fetched water from the well, but would also tend the father’s flock (Gen 29:6; Exod 2:16), tend to household chores or work in the fields (Manners and Customs, pp. 127–128). Additionally, the father was expected to give part of the dowry to his daughter in case the marriage failed, she would have some financial resources to fall back on. Leah and Rachel complained when their father failed to provide for them thusly (Gen 31:15; ibid., p. 128).
Genesis 24:58, I will go. Rebekah demonstrated unusual faith. She, like her Uncle Abraham and Aunt Sarah before her, was willing to leave the comforts and security of Babylon and to go with a stranger to a strange place and to live as a nomad. When asked, “Will you go with this man?” she replied quickly and to the point, “I will go.” Do you have such unreserved devotion to Yeshua, the Lover of your soul and your Betrothed, that you will go WHEREVER he leads no matter how difficult or uncomfortable the way? Or have you placed restrictions and qualifications on him? Compare your faith on a scale of one to ten with that of Abraham, Eliezer and Rebekah.
Genesis 24:62, The well of Lachai Roi. Isaac was a man of the well, for he is associated with a well eight times (24:62; 25:11; 26:19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 32). Eight is the biblical number of new beginnings. Spiritually, a well represent spiritual life and the number eight signifies new beginnings. When we drink from the well of salvation, new life from within springs forth! (See Isa 12:3 and John 4:7–13.)
The first mention in Scripture of Isaac after he was bound to the altar on Mount Moriah (Gen 22) was that he “came from the way of the well Lachai-roi” (Gen 24:62). If Isaac’s binding to the altar prophetically typified the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Yeshua, and at the next mention of Isaac we find him at the well Lachai-roi (meaning “the Living One who sees me”) what does this spiritually typify? After is resurrection and ascension, Yeshua promised to send the Comforter or Holy Spirit to his disciples (John 16:7). Yeshua likens the same Holy Spirit to water from a well (John 7:37–39), and to the giver of spiritual gifts (Eph 4:9).
Genesis24:63,Went out to meditate.What does this one verse tell us about the kind of man Isaac was? Do you have moments each day where you turn off the world to connect with and listen to YHVH, to reflect before YHVH on the past day, and to meditate, pray and supplicate? Who are other notable biblical personages who would slip away from the press and exigencies of life to spend time alone with their Heavenly Father? If Yeshua came to your mind, you would be correct (Matt 14:23, 26:36; 6:46; Luke 6:12).
Genesis24:67,Isaac brought her. Marriage customs during biblical times in the Near East are in stark contrast to those of our modern, western culture. As Marvin Wilson explains, in biblical times, “couples were expected to grow to love each other after marriage. In the modern West, the emphasis has been more on marrying the person that you love rather than learning to love the one that you marry.” The biblical values relating to marriage are exemplified in this verse where the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah was arranged and they met for the first time on the day of their marriage. As Wilson notes, “the text states that “Isaac brought her into the tent of her his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her.” This verse illustrates the Jewish approach to marriage. Love develops after marriage; it was not a matter of falling in love and then marrying (Our Father Abraham—The Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith, p. 202, by Marvin R. Wilson).
Genesis 12–41 on the Overcoming Faith of the Patriarchs—An Example to Follow
Scripture records that Abraham was the patriarch (literally meaning “the chief father”) of the Hebrew people, and a pillar of faith because of his trust in and obedience to YHVH Elohim. As such, he is often referred to as the Father of the Faithful. But when Elohim first called this man of faith and father of the Israelite people, was he a giant in his faith? Not at all. Yes he had faith, but his faith was imperfect; it had to grow, and it was a process, which we will discuss below.
Abraham’s faith, like the proverbial mustard seed, started out small, but it was still enormous compared to most other people. After all, on a mere promise from Elohim, he uprooted his entire family and travelled on foot hundreds of miles across the dangerous desert and through various countries and encountering many hardships along the way in hopes of a better life. It was if he were moving from New York City to Jawbone Flats, Oregon, a virtual ghost town in the mountains with a population four people! (Note: after more than 100 years, town of Jawbone Flats has since burned down in a tragic forest fire.)
Abraham’s first steps of faith were measured, cautious, incremental and at times hesitant, yet through it all YHVH was gracious because Abraham’s heart was inclined to do his will. Because of Abraham’s faithfulness, YHVH still credited righteousness to his spiritual account (Gen 15:6). Not only that, but he passed his mountain moving, gravity defying faith on to his children and grandchildren and beyond, and this legacy of faith lives on in many of his physical and spiritual descendants to this day.
There is much that we, as the children of Abraham through our faith in Yeshua the Messiah, can learn from this pillar of faith that will strengthen our own faith in YHVH Elohim and his promises.
Now let’s explore the life of Abraham.
Abraham (Abram)—The Father of the Faithful
Genesis 12:1, Get thee out of thy country. Did Abram immediately leave his father’s house and go directly to the country that YHVH would show him, or did he rather take incremental steps in that direction? Actually, Abram first settled in Charan before eventually translocating to Canaan. (Compare Genesis 11:31 with Genesis 12:1.) Charan is located in northern Mesopotamia and is nowhere near Canaan. Not only that, YHVH told Abram to leave his family, but instead he took part of his father’s house with him including his father and nephew. When Abram finally made his way to Canaan minus his father, he still had part of his kindred with him, something YHVH instructed him to leave behind (Gen 12:1). As it ended up, his nephew Lot proved to be a hindrance to Abram in fulfilling YHVH’s mission for his life in the new land. What lessons can we learn from this account?
First, YHVH is gracious to his people even when they fail to obey him completely and immediately. Abram was still taking steps of faith as imperfect as they may have been, and despite this, Scripture still refers to Abraham as the father of the faithful or of faithfulness (Rom 4:12, 16).
Second, Abram was a man of prominence in Babylon (Chaldea), was recognized as a mighty prince (Gen 23:6), and was 75 years old when YHVH asked him to leave the comforts of life in cosmopolitan Babylon to trek across the desert to the backwoods region of Canaan. No doubt, this was not an easy move for Abram for the reasons for reason of age and comfortability of lifestyle.
Abraham’s descendents who are disciples of Yeshua have to make similar choices as Abram did. They must decide whether to stay in the spiritual Babylon of this world or to leave it. Yeshua told his disciples that they would have to make great sacrifices including possibly forsaking their family to be his disciples (Matt 10:35–39.) At the same time, Yeshua promised vast eternal rewards to those, who like our father Abraham, would forsake family, homes and material possessions for him as they set out in faith to fulfil their divine destiny ( Matt 19:28–29). What physical obstacles stand in your way of fulfilling YHVH’s spiritual calling, mission and destiny for your life?
Genesis 16:1–16, Abraham takes matters into his own hands. The faith of Abraham, the father of the faithful, was tried greatly. After waiting years for a son through whom YHVH would fulfil is promises to Abraham, he finally gave in to doubt and unbelief. In stead of waiting for YHVH to give him a son, Abraham too matters into his own hands and endeavored to work out YHVH’s plans and purposes in his life through fleshly means. The result was Ishmael, the father of many of the modern Moslem Arabs. This mistake has had far-reaching geopolitical consequences for YHVH’s chosen people to this day!
Do you have trouble waiting on YHVH? Remember that YHVH’s primary goal in your life is NOT to bring YOUR dreams to pass or to give you a comfortable and happy life, but to form in you the person and character of Yeshua (Rom 8:28–29). Like anything of value, this only comes through time, much struggling and overcoming as well as the heat and pressure of spiritual refinement.
The faith-building refinement to which YHVH subjected Abraham would continue to occur in the lives of his descendants as the patriarch saw in a most amazing prophetic vision (Gen 15:12–14). In the vision of “Between the Pieces,” the birds of the air (a spiritual picture of Satan and his demons) wanted to interrupt the fulfilling of YHVH’s plans for the nation of Israel (verse 11). But through this dark vision, Abraham slept (verse 12). That is to say, he rested in YHVH, thus allowing him to work out his purposes according to a divine time schedule regardless of the occurrence of concomitant and distracting events. Through this process of faith-testing and character-building trials, YHVH refines his people into the spiritual vessels he wants them to be. Psalms chapter 37 describes this process of “not fretting,” “committing your way to YHVH,” “trusting also in him,” “resting in YHVH,” waiting on YHVH, and letting him direct our steps. (See Ps 37, entire chapter, with special focus on verses 4–7, 23–24.) The Bible refers to this process as “sanctification” (or becoming set aside for a holy purpose). It involves coming into a place spiritual maturity—of going from being a spiritual child to a mature adult in YHVH.
Like a lot of us, Abraham found himself struggling with waiting upon YHVH to fulfil his promises. As a result of Abraham’s lack of faith, he chose to “help engineer” the fulfillment of YHVH’s promises in his life. He slept with Hagar and Ishmael was the result. There have been lasting conflicts in the Middle East and beyond ever since due to Abraham’s lack of faith.
Genesis 21:1–7, YHVH visited Sarah.YHVH had promised Abraham a son years before. At age 90 did not YHVH suddenly drop a son into Sarah’s womb. During the intervening 15 years, year after year, Abraham and Sarah had to walk out their faith by attempting repeatedly to become pregnant, each time failing, until finally, at the appointed time it happened. This tell is vivid lesson for all of Abraham’s spiritual descendents about the faith-walk, and about overcoming discouragement and doubt. Obviously, Abraham’s faith was tested. Could he still trust YHVH’s promises of a son after all these years? Often when don’t receive quick answers to our prayers we give up. How is your faith compared to that of Abraham’s?
Abraham learned some hard lessons with Ishmael. After that, he finally began to have complete faith that YHVH would give him a son by Sarah. Faith is dynamic, and is neither passive nor presumptive. As an act of faithful obedience, the elderly Abraham continued to have physical relations with his wife until Isaac was born.
Genesis 22:1, Elohim did tempt Abraham.Trials and temptations show the disposition or character and metal of the human heart, whether it be righteous or unrighteous, pure or impure. When tested do you whine, grumble, accuse and mock others, defend yourself, backbite or become despondent? Or do you submit to the purifying fires of YHVH’s spiritual forge? During his lifetime, YHVH tested Abraham ten times. Being told to sacrifice Isaac was the last and most severe test. Despite the severity of this test, his faith and obedience was steady.When was the last time you faced such a test? What was your response? Did you pass or fail the test?
Note the development or progression of Abraham’s faith from the time he left Ur in Chaldea until the Akeidah or Binding of Isaac. He went from a spotty or mixed faith to a full and mature faith in YHVH. Being willing to give up his only beloved son was the ultimate test of his faith, and he passed with flying colors to become the father of the faithful. YHVH asks some of his children to give up things that are near and dear to them including spouses, children, careers, homes, dreams, material possessions, fame and sometimes our lives in order to follow him, but the eternal rewards are worth the sacrifice! Yeshua promises his followers:
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. (Matt 19:29)
Sarah—A Woman of Great Faith and Co-Heir With Abraham of YHVH’s Promises
Behind every great man, as the saying goes, is a great woman. Although Scripture primarily focuses on Abraham and faith-based relationship with YHVH, it goes without saying that he could not have risen to any notable spiritual heights without a woman of similar faith at his side. So let’s no shine the spotlight on what the Bible has to say about Sarah.
Sarah was very beautiful in character and physical appearance, since the two are related (Gen 12:10–20). A person with an ugly, angry, bitter disposition will not have a beautiful, attractive countenance.
Amazingly at age 90 Sarah was still youthfully beautiful, or else it is unlikely that King Abimelech would have abducted her and wanted to marry her (Gen 20:2). Often behind a woman of beautiful countenance is a person of beautiful character. This attractiveness drew the attention of a king.
Sarah was coequal with Abraham in the covenantal promises. Prior to Gen 17:15–22, the covenant was solely with Abraham. Here Sarah was made an equal party in this covenantal promise. And just as Abraham’s new role was signified by a change of name, so was Sarah’s. The name Sarai, means “my princess,” implying that she owed her greatness to her status as Abraham’s wife. Henceforth she would be called only Sarah, which signifies that she would become a “princess to all the nations of the world.” Prior to the covenant, Sarai’s personal majesty made her the princess of Abraham (and his country Aram). Now, however, all limitations were removed. She was princess “par excellence”—to all mankind (The Stone Edition Chumash, p. 75).
In preferring Isaac over Ishmael, Sarah protecting the spiritual atmosphere of her home. She was guarding her righteous son, Isaac, from the profaneness and mockery of the unrighteous Ishmael. She was concerned that Ishmael’s behavior toward Isaac would impede or prevent Isaac from fulfilling his godly mission. Any relationship with wicked people would have been harmful to Isaac and his children as Abraham recognized when he decided that he could not remain together with Lot. This is why Sarah demanded that Abraham drive Ishmael and Hagar away, and why YHVH ratified Sarah’s righteous request (The Stone Edition Chumash, p. 97, Gen 21:10–11). Sarah knew that “evil conduct corrupts good manner” (1 Cor 15:33).
Sarah was obedient and respectful to her husband, and Paul used her as an example for righteous women to follow.
Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sarah obeyed [to listen, to hearken to a command, be obedient, to submit to] Abraham, calling him lord [Gr. kurios means “master, sir; a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence”]: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. (1 Pet 3:1–7)
Sarah, like Abraham, had faith in Elohim. Behind Abraham, a great man of faith, was Sarah, who was a great woman of faith.
Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. (Heb 11:11–12)
Eliezer—A Faithful Servant of Abraham
Genesis 24:12,YHVH give me success. Scripture directs us to, “Trust in YHVH with all your heart and lean not unto your own understandings, but in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths” (Prov 3:5–6). Abraham’s example of faith had a profound influence upon Eliezer, his chief servant, whom he commissioned to find a wife for Isaac.
Abraham was a man of faith, and Scripture calls him the father of the faithful (Rom 4:12, 16). Eliezer was likewise a man of faith. Abraham had taught him well. Eliezer evidenced this faith when he blessed Rebecca even before he knew who her identity (Gen 24:22). This action was based simply on his faith that YHVH had answered his prayer. Do we walk in such trusting faith, day-by-day, moment-by-moment? Are we teaching the little ones under our charge these same attributes as Abraham had taught Eliezer?
Genesis 24:45, Eliezer kept his faith alive through constant contact with Elohim. Obviously, Eliezer was in constant communications with YHVH through prayer. Is this not a character trait of a righteous person? 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray without ceasing. In Luke 18:1–7, Yeshua teaches his disciples and us about the benefits of righteous and prevailing prayer. How often do you pray? Once a day? When you pray, is it merely a morning and/or evening ritual that leaves your soul (mind, will and emotions) untouched and unchanged? Is this the kind of relationship the Father is seeking with you? A mighty man of Elohim once when asked the question, “How long do you pray each day?” he replied, “Seldom do I pray more than one-half hour, but seldom do I go more than a half hour without praying.” Could this be said of you?
Note that people of faith are people of continual prayer communication with YHVH.
Rebekah, the Bride of Isaac—A Humble Woman of Faith From the Beginning
Genesis 24:58, I will go. From her debut in the Genesis narrative, Rebecca demonstrated unusual faith. Like her Uncle Abraham and Aunt Sarah, she was willing to leave the comforts and security of Babylonia and to go with a stranger to a strange place and live there as a virtual nomad roaming the barren wilderness of Canaan. When asked, “Will you go with this man?” She replied quickly and to the point, “I will go” (Gen 24:58). Some Bible teachers view Eliezer whose name means “El is (my) help” as a prophetic symbol of the Holy Spirit (who Yeshua referred to as the Helper (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) and Rebecca as representing the bride (or saints) of Yeshua.Do you have such unreserved devotion to Yeshua, the Lover of your soul and your Betrothed, that you will go WHEREVER he leads (Rev 14:4) no matter how difficult or uncomfortable the way? Or have you placed restrictions and qualifications on him? Compare your faith on a scale of one to ten with that of Abraham, Eliezer and Rebecca. Regardless of our level of faith, YHVH is patient with his children. If we will follow him, even if our faith is mustard seed-sized, he will lead us slowly as your faith in his Word and promises slowly increases like exercising a muscle.
Abraham in his wisdom sought a woman of faith for his son. He sent Eliezer hundreds of miles to find such a woman, while overlooking numerous Canaanite women in his own backyard. That is how dedicated Abraham was to obeying YHVH!
