Category: Torah readings

In Genesis 20, Abraham again misrepresents Sarah as his sister, leading King Abimelech to take her into his household. God intervenes, warning Abimelech in a dream, resulting in Sarah’s return and Abraham’s prayer for healing. This episode highlights Abraham’s recurring struggle with fear and deception, yet God still refers to him as a prophet. The narrative underscores themes of human fallibility, divine protection, and the importance of integrity in relationships.

Genesis 19 contrasts Abraham’s hospitality and Sodom’s wickedness, emphasizing the challenge of righteousness in a corrupt world. Lot’s rescue foreshadows divine redemption, linking to Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) as the ultimate deliverer from judgment. The destruction of Sodom warns of coming judgment, while Abraham’s intercession reflects Yeshua’s role as mediator. The passage teaches the importance of righteousness, mercy, and trusting in God’s salvation amidst a fallen world.

Genesis 18 explores Abraham’s growing faith, hospitality and intercession. Abraham’s faith matures as he trusts God’s promise of a son, a foreshadowing of the Messiah’s miraculous birth. Abraham’s radical hospitality reflects God’s love, shown through Abraham and Lot’s care for strangers. God’s revelation of Sodom’s fate underscores His justice and mercy, inviting intercessory prayer. These moments point to Yeshua (Jesus), who embodies divine compassion, intercedes for humanity, and fulfills God’s promises. Believers are encouraged to deepen their faith, emulate God’s love, and participate in His redemptive plan through prayer and action.

Genesis 17 emphases God’s covenant with Abraham, which is foundational to the arrival of the Messiah. The circumcision covenant serves as a physical and spiritual marker of the promised Seed through whom all nations would be blessed, pointing to Yeshua (Jesus). The renaming of Abram to Abraham (“father of multitudes”) and Sarai to Sarah (“mother of nations”) reflects their roles in the divine plan to bring forth the Messiah.

Genesis 16 has important messianic connections through the appearance of the “angel of the Lord,” which has a number of hallmarks of a divine manifestation. Hagar’s encounter with Elohim, where she names Him “El-Roi” (“the God Who sees”), foreshadows the Messiah’s ultimate role as God among humanity. The chapter and parallel passages in Isaiah 64 and Galatians 4 contrast human efforts to fulfill divine promises (through Sarai and Hagar) with God’s sovereign plan, emphasizing that salvation and fulfillment come through divine intervention, not human actions.

Genesis 15 highlights Abram’s faith in God’s promise of descendants and land, which God credits as righteousness. This faith becomes the foundation of Israel’s mission to bring light to the nations. Abram’s trust in God’s covenant foreshadows the Messiah, Who fulfills these promises by fulfilling God’s blessing to all people. The chapter underscores the centrality of faith in God’s plan, linking Abram’s belief to the redemptive mission of Israel and the Messiah.

Genesis 14 introduces Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, who blesses Abram. This encounter prefigures Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), who embodies both kingly and priestly roles. Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine parallels Yeshua’s Last Supper, symbolizing His sacrificial covenant. The Epistle to the Hebrews identifies Yeshua as a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, emphasizing His eternal and superior priesthood.