Tag: Genesis

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Torah reading Vayigash (ויגש): Genesis 44:18–47:27

Studies in Torah

The ancient saying “familiarity breeds contempt” could easily sum up how Yosef’s brothers treated him in his early years and how many leaders of Yisra’el treated Yeshua. The prophetic parallels between Yosef and Yeshua the Mashiakh sharpen further in this week’s Torah section, וַיִּגַּשׁ Vayigash (“he approached,” Genesis 44:18–47:27).

In it, the brothers’ contempt turns to fear when they realize their plots against Yosef have put them at his mercy. It’s also a picture of the Day of the LORD, when Yisra’el then the world must confess, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the LORD” (Psalm 118:26; Matthew 23:39; Luke 13:35).

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Torah readings

Torah reading Miketz (מקץ): Genesis 41:1–44:17

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Have you ever felt like God has abandoned you? Or at least forgotten about what you’re going through? It would have been easy for Yosef to think so. He’d been languishing in prison for a crime he didn’t commit for at least two years. The second installment of the account of Yosef is in this week’s Torah section, מִקֵּץ Miketz (“he settled,” Gen. 41:1–44:17). We see “that dreamer” go from victim of justice to vice president of the mighty empire of Mitzraim, and the prophecy pointing forward to Yeshua the Mashiakh gets fleshed out.

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Torah reading Vayeshev (וישב): Genesis 37:1–40:23

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The accounts of Yosef’s “coat of many colors” or “Technicolor Dreamcoat” and his standing strong amid adversity and oppression in Mitzraim are popular among children and adults. But a scandalous aside in this week’s Torah portion, וישב Vayeshev (“he settled,” Gen. 37:1–40:23), involving his brother Yehudah may not reach many children’s ears. Yet both Yosef and Yehudah provide important “calling cards” for Mashiakh Yeshua (Christ Jesus).

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Torah reading Vayishlach (וישלח): Genesis 32:3–36:43

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In Torah section וַיִּשְׁלַח Vayishlach (“he sent,” Gen. 32:3–36:43), Ya’akov is back at Beit ’El, this time wrestling with Heaven over blessing. He buries the hatchet with his brother, yet two of his sons bury their hatchets into townsmen to avenge their ravaged sister. These three hardly have the makings of “pillars” of the people of Holy One of Yisra’el, right? Not as they are but as they would be after “conversion.”

Have you ever wrestled with your desire to do something that deep down you know you shouldn’t? “Conversion” sometimes get so spiritualized that what’s actually happening to you gets lost. The important transformation to the “new creation” (Gal. 6:15; 2Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10, 15; 4:24; Col. 3:10) is the theme of Vayishlach.

Learn how this Torah passage informs the gospel message.

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Torah reading Vayetze (ויצא): Genesis 28:10–32:2

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A founding father of Israel dreams of a ladder between Heaven and Earth while snoozing in God’s house. He then visits his uncle and gets duped into marrying the oldest sister over his beloved. Then the sisters wage a fertility war, resulting in 12 sons who would be the 12 tribes of Israel. Sprinkled through these accounts in the Torah reading (parashah) וַיֵּצֵא Vayetze or Vayetzei (“he went out,” Gen. 28:10–32:2) are prophetic breadcrumbs leading to the Son of God.

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Torah reading Toledot (תולדת): Genesis 25:19–28:9

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At first glance, the trustworthiness troubles of Abraham, his son Yitzkhak (Isaac) and grandson Ya’akov (Jacob) can be disturbing, considering they are pillars of faith in the Kingdom of God. How can we forget Ya’akov’s “red, red stuff” deal with his brother, Esau?

Rather than a descent into “truthiness,” their legacy for the commonwealth of Israel is growth from faith-fickle to faithful. In this week’s Torah portion (תּוֹלְדֹת Toldot, “generations,” Gen. 25:19–28:9), we follow Ya’akov’s journey to becoming a “new man,” renamed Israel (“struggles with God” or “rules with God”). That “rebirth,” pictured via Ya’akov’s dream of a ladder between Earth and Heaven, is why Yeshua (Jesus) likened that ladder to Himself (John 1:43–50).

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Torah reading Chayei Sarah (חיי שרה): Genesis 23:1-25:18

Studies in Torah

It’s all too easy in today’s crave-the-cutting-edge lifestyle to forget who got us to where we are today. Abraham is called “father of us all” because his trust in God is the model for saving faith in God’s Son, Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ) (Rom. 4:16–5:2). In this week’s Torah portion, חַיֵּי שָׂרָה Chayei Sarah (“Sarah’s life,” Gen. 23:1–25:18), we learn how important Abraham’s wife Sarah is in The Way from our old way of life to our new one in Mashiakh.