Category: Torah

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Genesis 28:10-32:3: Is it better to learn through mistakes?

Ya’akov had to flee his family because of how he deceived his father to obtain the blessing that was his in the first place and he meets with God at Bethel. From there, he becomes even more acquainted with deception at the hands of Laban, but as the victim, not the perpetrator. During this time, God humbled Ya’akov, brought his flesh low so he could live in the Spirit. It’s a pity that the descendants of his grandson Ephraim chose to live by his fleshly example rather than his spiritual example.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Genesis 25:19–28:9: Esau lives out why ‘following your heart’ can be folly

The “big picture” lessons of Parashat Toldot both come to us from the life of Esau. First, we need to understand that who and where we came from doesn’t necessarily define who we are or will become. Second, we need to recognize the good around us and become wise to the frequent folly of “following your heart.”

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Genesis 23:1-25:18: Believers’ bargain bonanza from Sarah and Rivkah

Why did Abraham the nomadic “father of faith” pay so much for a tomb for his wife Sarah? What’s the connection between Abraham’s and King David’s picking a certain son as the successor over other, older sons? Are does the symbol of a well in the account of Yitzkhak marrying Rivkah and in Yeshua’s encounter with the Samaritan woman teach us about the Mashiakh’s work of bringing new life out of death? These are questions tackled in this discussion of the Torah portion Chayei Sarah (“life of Sarah”), covering Genesis 23-25.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

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

A beautifully set outdoor feast featuring Middle Eastern-style flatbread, bowls of grapes and dates, cheese, and pottery filled with drinks, all arranged on a rustic wooden table under an olive tree. The warm sunlight filters through the leaves, creating a peaceful and inviting atmosphere. Overlaid on the image is bold text that reads, "Abraham learns faith in God despite his trust issues – Genesis 18:1–22:24," with a logo in the bottom right corner that says "halle.info.

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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Discussions Torah

Genesis 1:1–6:8: The Creator shows why to ‘have no other gods before [Him]’

Fresco of God creating the sun, moon and stars. Fanefjord Church, Møn, Denmark.

Some Bible versions translate Gen. 1:1 as “In the beginning, God created…” or “In the beginning of God’s creating the heavens and the earth….” בְּרֵאשִׁית Bereysheet (Genesis) is not a science book. It is not designed to teach you how God created anything. The purpose of the beginning of Bereisheet is to teach us who God is, what He did and how powerful He is, much like Devarim (Deuteronomy) starts with reminding the people who God is and why the Ten Commandments say to have no other gods before Him.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 19: Red heifer a picture of Messiah

A holocaust of a red heifer, with its ashes preserved in water was used to cleanse people who had made contact with a dead body and for ritual items used in Temple worship. (Photo by Rennett Stowe via wikimedia commons, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

God did not create the ritual of the red heifer, described in Numbers 19, to prevent the spread of disease but to make sure we don’t treat the death of a fellow human being casually. That’s regardless of whether their death was recent or many years ago. Death is our enemy. Death is not natural. Death is not our friend. The symbol of the red heifer points to the Messiah, and we can learn how much Yeshua did for us through that symbol.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 16-17: Rebel against God’s appointed leaders, rebel against God

When we are not satisfied with the position God placed us and we covet someone else’s job or position, we are in grave spiritual danger. We may experience physical consequences for our rebellion, maybe not in the extreme manner recorded in Numbers 16–17, but God does not like complainers. Any insight we have about our condition comes from God.