Tag Archives: Genesis

The Life of Joseph—A Foreshadow of Messiah Ben (Son of) Yosef

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The spirit of Antimessiah (Antichrist) is on a dramatic rise in this day and age. It is even alive in the Hebrew Roots or Messianic Israel Movement where some are losing their faith in Yeshua. A few are even converting to Rabbinic Judaism, which denies the messiahship and deity of Yeshua and the divine inspiration of the Testimony of Yeshua. Some of the blame for this can be laid at the feet of a few of the modern-day descendants of the non-believing Pharisees (i.e., the Rabbinic Jews) who use clever arguments to beguile unstable and unlearned souls into humanistic reasoning devoid of a living faith in Yeshua the Savior and Redeemer of man. Because of a spiritual blindness that Scripture prophesied would come upon the Jews producing hardness of heart toward Yeshua the Messiah, unbelieving Jews ignore the numerous prophetic shadow-pictures pointing to Yeshua the Messiah contained in their own Tanakh.

Joseph's coat 2-33397808May the following study strengthen your faith in Yeshua, in his divine origination in the very heart, mind and essence of Elohim, and in the fact that he was foreordained to come to this earth to reconcile sinful man to his Heavenly Father through his self-sacrifice on the cross. All this was prophesied long ago in the Hebrew Scriptures. The ancient Jewish rabbis speak of a messianic figure coming called Messiah ben Yosef, the Suffering Servant, whose life and ministry would parallel that of Joseph, yet these same rabbis fail to see the connection between Joseph’s life and that of Yeshua. Let’s now chronicle the striking and uncanny parallels between Joseph and Messiah, the son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant (Many of these comparisons come from the book, Gleanings in Genesis, by Arthur W. Pink):

  • Joseph had two names: Yoseph (meaning “to add, increase, do again”) and Zaphnath-panaaneah (41:45) (meaning “revealer of secrets”). How do these names point to Yeshua’s mission? Continue reading →
 

A Conversation Between God and Man(?!)

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Genesis 35:1, 6–7, 9–10, 15 (cp. 32:23–31), Elohim said unto Jacob. This account of the encounter between Elohim and Jacob is so matter-of-fact and is written in such a manner as to be familial, if not almost casual. There are no embellishments or hyperbole, just statement of literal fact. Again, the plain (peshat) meaning of the text seems clear: Elohim spoke with man face-to-face. This was not the only time Jacob had experienced such a divine encounter as we have previously noted in is encounter with Elohim in Genesis 32.

It could be said that Elohim spoke to Jacob in some sort of a vision form, until we come to verse 13 and 14, which states that “Elohim went up from [Jacob] where he talked with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him.” These verses indicate that Elohim was literally there at that place and when finished “went up from [Jacob].” The word place in verse 13 is the Hebrew word maqowm, which is a “performative noun [which] represents the physical location where something is or ought to be … so it is translated place, home, room …” (TWOT, vol 2, p. 794). The well-respected Brown, Driver and Briggs lexicon, like TWOT, defines maqowm as a literally physical place, spot or locality (p. 879). The word maqowm is used 402 times in the Tanakh and only four times does it refer to YHVH’s heavenly dwelling place (1 Kgs 8:30; 2 Chr 6:21; Hos 5:15 and Mic 1:3); all other scriptural passages where the word is used is referring to literal or figurative place on earth including Genesis 35:13. The evidence is clear: YHVH Elohim was on this earth, speaking to Jacob in some form of diminished glory that man could see him and live.

 

The Law of Reaping and Sowing — Often Learned Through the School of Hard Knocks

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Genesis 28:22, I will surely give the tenth. To whom would Jacob ultimately tithe? We don’t know, but Jacob may have been making a prophecy about his descendants bringing their tithes and offerings to the house of El or the temple that would eventually be built on that exact spot.
Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28 was his first, life-changing personal encounter with the Elohim of his fathers (Gen 28:10ff). What is his response? It was to serve YHVH and to worship him by giving him one-tenth (a tithe) of his increase (verse 22).

What prompted this response on Jacob’s part? Why was such a response appropriate? When did you have your first encounter with your Heavenly Father and Master? Have you faithfully used the first fruits of your increase to honor, worship and express gratitude to him ever since? If not, why not? Scripture calls not tithing “robbing Elohim” and that as a result a curse may be on your finances (see Mal 3:8–11). Proverbs 3:9 lays out a solid truth about how tithing is a form of worshipping the Creator. “Honour [glorify] YHVH with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase, so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

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The Scriptures reveals the spiritual law of reciprocity: You reap what you sow (Gen 8:22; Gal 6:7–9). If you don’t sow you will not reap. If you sow evil or good you will reap the same. Jacob had to learn this law the hard way. In Job 4:8 we read, “Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.” Jacob gained the birthright through posing as Esau (a deception) and Laban in turn deceives Jacob by putting Leah under the veil posing as Rachel in Jacob’s marriage bed. It is very easy to see the principle of reaping and sowing Continue reading →

 

Abraham — The Father of the Torah-Obedient

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Genesis 26:5, Abraham obeyed [shema] my voice [kol], and kept [also: observe, preserve, guard; shamar, שמר] my charge [mishmereth], my commandments [mitzvah] my statutes [chuqqah], and my laws [toroti]. There are those who teach that the Torah-law does not predate Moses. Not only does this verse disprove that, 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.

The Torah-Word of Elohim

The Torah-Word of Elohim

My laws [Torah]. The primary meaning of the word Torah (Strong’s H8451, TWOT 910b), according to the Theological 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,

Torah signifies primarily “direction, teaching, instruction” (Prov 13:14). It is derived from the verb yarah [ירה] [meaning] ‘to project, point out’ (3384) 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.

The TWOT 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 ירה (Strong’s H3384), 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 (Strong’s H4175) 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 (Strong’s H2298) which means “to miss the mark,” i.e., transgressing the Torah as 1 John 3:4 states, “Sin is the transgression of the Torah.”

 

Meet the Remarkable Rebekah

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Do you  want to know what kind of woman Rebekah, the wife of Isaac was? Well read this and let it inspire you:

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She was modest with a servant’s heart, selflessness and kind. Genesis 24:11–21 recounts Eliezer’s encounter with Rebecca at the well. He was not interested in a wealthy girl for Isaac. He preferred someone of modest means — the kind who would go to draw water herself, and not have servants do it for her. Eliezer wanted to see how the girl would behave away from her home atmosphere, so that he would have a more accurate perspective of her character. At the well, the girl would be natural and act in accordance with her own character. At home, however her behavior might well reflect the constraints of her family’s orders or expectations. She passed the test, for she spoke only about bringing water for him, and then went on to draw water for his camels. It was second nature to Rebecca that another’s needs should be provided for. This act spoke volumes about her great kindness. That his camels had to be watered was so obvious to her that she saw no need to say she would do it. Unlike the other girls at the well who wasted their time in idle chatter and gossip, Rebecca did her task quickly and without delay. Rebecca acted in a most exalted manner: Continue reading →

 

Isaac—A Man of Godly Character

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Isaac—A Character Sketch

  • He was successful and blessed. (Gen 26:12)
  • He was obedient to his father.

At age 37 Abraham bound Isaac to the altar (in Heb. called the akeidah, Gen 22).

Isaac was obedient to marry Rebekah, his parents’ choice, unlike Esau. He trusted and had faith in his parents even as he trusted his life with his father at the akeida.

Akeidah

  • He had a deep and personal relationship with YHVH.

Here we learn that obedience to and faith in and love for parents leads to devotion to YHVH. Honoring one’s parents is the key to honoring YHVH and entering into relationship with him. That is why the fifth commandment to honor one’s parents is placed after the commands to love Elohim. In Genesis 24:63 and 25:21, (see The Stone Tanach rendering of this verse in addition, The ArtScroll Beresheis, p. 1048, which says Isaac prayed abundantly and urgingly, i.e., persistent prayer, a penetrating prayer or request), we see that Isaac had a deep and personal relationship with his Creator. Continue reading →

 

Following YHVH Can Be Tough on Marriages

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Genesis 22:19; 23:2, Abraham dwelt at Beersheba…Sarah died in…Hebron. At this point, Abraham and Sarah lived in two separate towns some 50 miles apart. Why was this? The Scriptures don’s say, so we can only speculate. Perhaps the trial of Abraham’s faith in the previous chapter where YHVH asked him to sacrifice Isaac and Abraham’s compliance to do so put such a strain on their marriage that they separated. Perhaps the idea that YHVH would ask Abraham to sacrifice their only son was so hard for Sarah to believe that she questioned whether Abraham had even heard correctly from YHVH about this.

20243059Whatever the case, following YHVH can be tough on marriages and families as Yeshua notes in Matthew 10:34–39. Sometimes families split as a result. Abraham wasn’t unique in his situation.

In Exodus 4:24–26, in all likelihood, Zipporah and Moses split up over YHVH’s request to circumcise their two sons, for we never hear of Zipporah again, except that Moses had sent her away (Exod 18:2). Some Bible scholars take this mean that he put her away or divorced her (likely because of her refusal to follow him onto the mission field). Later, we find Moses remarrying a Cushite woman (who was likely black; Num 12:1).

David had to leave his first wife Michal, the daughter of Saul, because she despised him for dancing before YHVH’s ark of the covenant (2 Sam 6:14–16, 23).

The situation with the prophet Hosea is notable, as well, in this regard. YHVH required him to marry a wife of harlotry as part of his spiritual walk, so that he would better understand the experience of YHVH who was married to the adulterous nation of Israel. Hosea didn’t even know whether the children born to his wife were his own, or those of another man, yet he was to love her unconditionally anyway.

In the apostolic era, we hear virtually nothing about the wives of the apostles. This in no way indicates that their marriages were troubled, but one can only wonder given the rigors of the spiritual assignment YHVH had given them.

Paul is a case in point. He was likely married, since it would have been uncommon for someone of his spiritual stature to not to have been married in the Hebraic culture in which he lived, yet no mention of his wife is made. At the same time, he mentions a thorn in the flesh to buffet him and to keep him humble (2 Cor 12:7). On can only wonder if this isn’t a reference to a difficult marriage situation. Perhaps his wife became antagonistic at his conversion to Yeshua resulting in his leaving the prestigious and affluent life of the religious elite of his day, and counting his past life as dung (Phil 3:8). This may have been too much for her to bear.