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Torah reading Vayera (וירא): Genesis 18:1–22:24

One of the Creator’s names is YHWH Yireh (Jehovah Jirah), translated as “the LORD sees” or “the LORD is seen.” And one of the key times Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus Christ) is foreseen is Abraham’s near-sacrifice of is “one and only son.” The mercy and sacrifice of God is on full display in this week’s Torah portion, וַיֵּרָא Vayera (“he appeared,” Gen. 18:1–22:24).

Readings

  • Genesis 18:1–22:24
  • 2Kings 4
  • Luke 2:1-38
  • Luke 17:22-37
  • John 3:1–21
  • Romans 1:14–2:16; 9:6–9
  • Galatians 3:15–18; 5:1–6
  • Colossians 2:11–15
  • Hebrews 7:1–19; 11:8–12

Studies

The following are notes and recordings of studies by Hallel Fellowship teachers on Vayera. Also included are notes and the recording for the Haftarah (Prophets) reading (2nd Kings 4) by Daniel.

Is destruction of the wicked an example of 'God so loved the world'? (Genesis 18-22; John 3)

Is destruction of the wicked an example of ‘God so loved the world’? (Genesis 18–22; John 3)

The Torah reading וַיֵּרָא Vayera (“he appeared,” Genesis 18–22) grabs readers’ attention with its gripping account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the scandalous consequences of Lot’s choices. This seems at odds with “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). This study explores the importance of trust (faith), the power of prayer and God’s mercy balanced with justice. We’ll see that God’s desire is to save humanity from divine judgment that must come to bring to an end the forces dragging humanity toward death. Mercy indeed triumphs over judgment for those who learn to trust their Creator….
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Open your heart to those who don't know what time it is (Genesis 18-19; Romans 1-2)

Open your heart to those who don’t know what time it is (Genesis 18–19; Romans 1–2)

We look on in dismay at how degenerative American culture and politics have become, fret how so many of our fellow Americans vote for politicians and laws that accelerate that decline. It’s very tempting to harden our hearts against such people. But via the Torah reading Vayera וַיֵּרָא Vayera (“he appeared,” Genesis 18–22), God calls us to be like Abraham, who walked in faith, depending completely on God’s mercy yet acknowledging God’s justice as he watched Sodom and her neighboring cities go up in flames. Abraham’s heart was so sensitive that he implored God to save them all — even the…
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Watch for dangers lurking in our spiritual blind spots (Genesis 19)

Watch for dangers lurking in our spiritual blindspots (Genesis 19)

The account of Lot is one of the most salacious tragedies in the Torah, but from it we can learn precious lessons about the things that can sneak up and destroy us when we’re not paying attention. We are told in the reading וַיֵּרָא Vayera (“he appeared,” Gen. 18:1–22:24) that he was a righteous man, but he was incapable of teaching his own wife, family and community how to walk uprightly with God and with their neighbors. Abraham, on the other hand, was also a righteous man, but Abraham stood out in God’s eyes. Abraham was righteous and he also had the…
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How the righteous can preserve a wayward nation (Genesis 18-22)

How the righteous can preserve a wayward nation (Genesis 18–22)

Does God judge the nations based on what they don’t know? The Torah reading וירא Vayera (“he appeared,” Genesis 18-22) illustrates through Abraham’s dealings with Sodom-Gomorrah and Philistia that Heaven judges the Gentiles by their conduct, specifically on how they take care of other people, aka the Golden Rule.
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Genesis 18–19: How to show hospitality in an hostile world

Abraham and Lot offer the world concrete examples of radical hospitality. Both of them had an overflowing love for their fellow man that was stronger than the fear and “stranger danger” that holds most of us back from helping those in need. Many focus on illicit behavior, but Sodom’s utter lack of hospitality and its culture of fear is why God wiped them off the map, destroying them so utterly that their lush valley is now an ocean of salt. Torah reading וַיֵּרָא Vayera (“[and] he appeared,”) is a fair warning to us in our day. We must be careful when responding…
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Luke 17: How the ‘days of Lot’ prepare us for the Day of the LORD

The Torah reading Vayera (“and He appeared,” Genesis 18–22) aptly describes how the Creator of the Heavens and Earth shows up “in the fullness of time.” We will see messianic parallels between the “days of Lot” in Sodom, the “days of Noah” and the Day of the LORD preceding the return of Yeshua (Jesus), the Son of Man (Matthew 24; Luke 17).
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Genesis 18–22: Open your eyes when God ‘shows up’

God “shows up” all over the place in events recorded in the Bible and today, but He is not passive. Rather, the LORD is active in Earth’s affairs.  A pattern of behavior we see in the Torah reading וַיֵּרָא Vayera (“and He appeared”) is that when people are in “fight or flight” mode, they usually make very poor decisions. Lot’s “bright idea” to give his daughters to protect his guests from a vile mob, Lot’s daughter’s “bright idea” to get pregnant by their father a mere few days after they escaped from Sodom’s flames, and later Abraham and Sarah’s decision to lie…
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Studies in Torah

Abraham’s teachable moments on faith (Genesis 18:1–22:24)

Why is Abraham considered our “father of faith” when so much of his biblical biography shows examples of his utter lack of faith? He laughed in God’s face about a son from a barren wife, circumvented God’s prophesy for that son and lied to two different kings about his relationship with Sarah, putting her in real danger. In the Torah parashah (portion) called Vayera (“He appeared,” Gen. 18:1–22:24), we learn that despite Abraham’s (and Sarah’s) ups and downs, their faith was growing, not shrinking. That is why God Himself not only credited Abraham’s trust as righteousness but also made them patriarch…
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Studies in Torah

Abraham learns faith in God despite his trust issues (Genesis 18:1–22:24)

Do we trust God in His promises? We can come up with all sorts of ideas about God. But if we don’t really trust Him and His leading, why bother following? These are questions tackled in this discussion on the Torah portion Vayera (“and He appeared”), covering Genesis 18-22. Abraham is shown to have trust issues up to his great test of faith. At that point, he sees something. This passage is all about the Promised One — the Mashiakh (Messiah) — represented by Abraham’s son Yitzkhak (Isaac).
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8 miraculous women of Chanukah: Sarah, Rivka (Rebekah), Raqel (Rachel), Shimshon's (Samson's) mother, Channah (Hannah), Shunami (Shunammite) woman, Elisheva (Elizabeth) and Miriam (Mary)

8 miraculous women of Chanukah

The eight days of Chanukah (Festival of Dedication, John 10:22–39), historically parallel the eight days of Sukkot (Festival of Tabernacles). But there is a startling parallel to eight women in the Bible for whom having children would have been miraculous — including the mother of Yeshua (Jesus) — yet these women dedicated themselves to God’s mission to restore the Earth.
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Genesis 18

God informs Abraham of a son by Sarah, destruction of Sodom

Abraham hosts God for lunch as mercy on Sodom and Gomorrah is negotiated

Why does Scripture mention Sodom and Gomorrah from beginning to end?

Genesis 19

‘Righteous’ Lot flees destruction of Sodom, impregnates his daughters

Sodom, Gomorrah & environs are destroyed

Importance of Sodom

Parallel: Judges 19:1 – 20:7: A Levite, his concubine & the life in Israel without the King

Genesis 20

Sarah in the household of Abimelech

Was Abraham a liar after Sodom was on fire?

Genesis 21

Son of Promise, Son of Flesh (part 1, part 2)

Abraham obeys Sarah and confronts Abimelech; Ishmael grows up

Genesis 21:1-13: Ishmael the son of human effort mocks Sarah the mother of God’s promise

Genesis 21:10-21: God sends Ishmael away to become a great nation separate from that of Isaac

Genesis 22

Abraham: An example of hope and trust in God, part 2

Binding of Isaac

Genesis 22:1-9: God tests Abraham and Yitskhak on Mt. Moriah

Binding of Yitskhak foreshadows Yeshua’s death, resurrection

Haftarah

2nd Kings 4: Understanding + Spirit = Salvation: Eliyahu, Elisha foreshadow Messiah in freeing, healing sons

Parallel: 1st Kings 17 (part 1 and part 2)

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