The Torah portion Vayishlach, which means “he sent,” covers Gen. 32:3-36:43.
In this study, we explored how God calls us by name, transforming our identity from who we were to who He wants us to be. Through passages in Genesis, Isaiah, and Matthew, we see God’s covenant invitation to find rest in the leadership of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus). Just as God renamed Jacob as Israel, we’re called to shed our old nature and embrace a new identity, taking on Yeshua’s light yoke of divine purpose and instruction, and experiencing true spiritual rest.
This study explores spiritual growth through struggle, using biblical examples like Jacob’s wrestling with the divine messenger and apostle James’ instructions for encountering and conquering difficulties in life. The key themes include trusting God during trials, maintaining faith amid challenges, and understanding that struggles refine our character. These passages highlight how believers in Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah are transformed through perseverance, seeking wisdom and clinging to God’s promises, ultimately preparing for the fullness of redemption.
This study on Torah reading וַיִּשְׁלַח Vayishlach (“he sent,” Gen. 32:3–36:43) discusses the importance of living according to God’s will and obeying His laws. The biblical lessons of biblical stories of Dinah, Jacob, Simeon/Levi, Esau and King David teach us that the Body of Messiah must beware of toxic elements in the community. There are disastrous consequences to the spiritual health of individuals and the community of ignoring evil within and shirking personal responsibility for competently and lovingly dealing with it.
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.
God hates divorce — schism in what should be a supportive whole. But Heaven also brings division to separate truth from falsehood — good from bad — for the sake of all humanity. That’s a key lesson from the Torah reading וַיִּשְׁלַח Vayishlach (“and He sent,” Genesis 32:4–36:43) that shows why those who live like Eysau (Esau) can’t be part of the legacy of Israel: Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus).
One would think that a direct encounter with Heaven would have made Ya’akov (Jacob), an ancient founder of Israel, more bold in how he acted in life. But what we see recorded in the Torah reading וַיִּשְׁלַח Vayishlach (“and he sent,” Gen. 32:3–36:43) looks more like fear than faith. After all, he sent his stuff and those closest to him on ahead in a meeting with his enraged brother Esau.
But one key lesson from this division and many others in the Bible is why God separates the righteous and the wicked. Yet we learn from the Prophets, Gospels and Apostles is that this separation is more about what’s happening with development of the open-hearted character than on external appearances.
“Love is a verb.” That couldn’t be truer than in the Hebrew of the Bible. And we see that lived out in Jacob’s heartfelt and wallet-open reconciliation with his brother, Esau, as recorded in the Torah section וישלח Vayishlach (“he sent,” Genesis 32:3–36:43). This study will explore the parallels with the teachings on reconciliation by Yeshua (Jesus) in the Sermon on the Mount and the prophetic warnings about unforgiveness that echo down to the Day of the LORD in Revelation 18.