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God, Who is faithful to start the work of deliverance in us, also is trustworthy to finish it too, when we walk through life like we trust we can overcome our old life of slavery.
In the Torah reading ויצא Vayetze (Genesis 28:10–32:2), Jacob spent 20 years in his uncle’s house, slowly transforming from a cowardly younger brother, who had to sneak away after taking his brother’s birthright and covenant blessing, and only caring about himself, to a strong patriarch of a large family who had to think of others before himself. God took away Jacob’s reproach.
His transformation from Jacob the deceiver to Israel the overcomer took a lifetime to complete. So will those of us who answer Heaven’s call to be adopted into the commonwealth of Israel.
Highlights of Vayetze
- Genesis 28:10–22: Ladder between Heaven and Earth
- Genesis 29:1–14: Ya’akov meets Rakhel
- Genesis 29:15–30: Laban dupes Ya’akov into working 14 years for Rakhel
- Genesis 29:31–30:24: Le’ah and Rakhel battle over babies
- Genesis 30:25–31:16: Ya’akov sheepishly rope-a-dopes Laban
- Genesis 31:17–32:2: Ya’akov flees, and Laban overtakes him
Pattern shows the purpose: Transformation of Ya’akov
Rabbi David Fohrman’s lesson “The Secret Meaning Behind Joseph’s Name” reveals what seems to be a chiasm in the Vayetze reading. A chaism is a literary structure that pairs portions of a passage together thematically, pointing the astute reader toward a key insight. In Hebrew, it’s known as an אתבש ATBaSh structure, based on the first letter of the Hebrew alephbet (א) pairing with the last letter (ת), the second letter (ב) with the penultimate letter (ש), etc.
Jacob’s character changes profoundly from the time he leaves his father’s house to Haran and then when he returns to his family home from Haran 20 years later.
According to Fohrman’s take, a point of this passage seems to be that Yosef (Joseph) is key to removing the shame of the family of Israel proper.
A. Ya’akov leaves for Kharan, encounters angels and names the place (Gen. 28:10–17)
B. Pillar erected to mark the “covenant” between Heaven and Ya’akov (Gen. 28:18–21)
C. Tithe (Gen. 28:22)
D. Ya’akov encounters three flocks of sheep at the well (Gen. 29:1–3)
E. Wages: Rakhel, for seven years of work (Gen. 29:15–20)
F. Give me my wife, Rakhel (Gen. 29:21)
G. Rakhel’s shame of being bypassed in front of the אסף osef (“gathering”) (Ge. 29:22–30)
G’. God gathered (i.e., took away) Rakhel’s reproach (אָסַף אֱלֹהִים אֶת־חֶרְפָּתִי) in the birth of יסף Yosef (“increase”) (Gen. 30:22–24)
F’. Give me my wives and children (Gen. 30:25–26)
E’. Wages: Providential selection of livestock (Gen. 30:28–35)
D’. Flocks separated by three days (Gen. 30:36)
C’. Wages changed 10 times (Gen. 31:7)
B’. Pillar erected to mark the covenant between Ya’akov and Laban (Gen. 31:43–55)
A’. Ya’akov leaves Kharan for Eysau, encounters angels horizontally and names the place
Genesis 29–31: Leave the ‘comfort’ of slavery for the hard work of freedom
We see here a recounting of Jacob’s journey to Haran and his working in the fields to earn Rachel as his wife, but we know that Laban tricked him. It’s interesting 20 years later, when Jacob asks Rachel and Leah if they were ready to leave, the women answer that Laban had wasted away all the income he had earned from Jacob’s work for them and they now had no inheritance with Laban. They were all in with Jacob and tied themselves to him completely.
We also see that when God told Jacob that he needed to leave Laban’s house, Jacob and his family left in haste. It does make one wonder if Laban had planned some kind of evil against Jacob, especially in light of Laban’s comment later when Laban claims that Jacob’s wife’s and children are actually his and that he could take them if HaShem hadn’t warned him not to do so.
What Laban may have intended for evil, God turned into good, because Jacob was a little too comfortable in Haran and needed to return to the Promise Land and claim his rightful inheritance from Abraham and Isaac.
Hosea 12–14; 2Peter 1: Dual loyalty is not loyalty at all
Hosea also shows us how Israel’s relationship with HaShem descended into syncretism and then blatant spiritual adultery against Him.
The Promised Land was not intended to be a land of war for the children of Israel but when they refused to follow HaShem’s directives to the letter, and they did not clear out the land of all the Canaanites, the people that the children of Israel allowed to remain became a thorn in their side and a snare and temptation to apostasy and God’s wrath.
The children of Israel allowed some of these Canaanite peoples to live amongst them and the children of Israel followed in their evil footsteps away from what was right and turned to evil instead.
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ways of the LORD are right,
And the righteous will walk in them,
But transgressors will stumble in them.
Hosea 14:9
Children of God walk the walk and talk the talk. I find it interesting that the unrighteous or the transgressors “stumble in them.” God’s words cause the unrighteous to stumble because they read His words, but they don’t internalize it or understand it.
Apostle Peter wrote about the difference between the moral sure-footedness of the righteous versus the moral stumbling of those not diligent to pursue the teachings of Heaven.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
2Peter 1:2–11 NASB
If you speak with people who are going through faith-based recovery programs, they are taught to discern what their particular pitfalls are and prepare to fight them.
Revelation 2–3: Perseverance in overcoming
We also need to exercise spiritual reconnaissance so we know what your enemy planning, see the enemy coming and to be ready for his attack. It comes about because of the change HaShem is making in you. We see that overcoming sin is not a one-time experience but it happens over the course of a lifetime. It happens when we are in communion with the Holy Spirit.
What I find to be most helpful as we read Revelation, that there are always references back to the TaNaKh (Hebrew Bible). The Bible interprets itself much of the time. The lessons that we have learned before we will learn again.
Some of the congregations Yeshua (Jesus) a addresses have few problems while others have a lot of problems. Look at the introductory messages to each of them, such as the message to the church of Ephesus, the prefaces always gives light to what Yeshua warns of them later.
To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: “The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place — unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'”
Revelation 2:1–7 NASB
Just as Rachel stole and hid the family idols, we see that Laban had dual loyalties. Laban was not 100% loyal to HaShem. Laban tells Jacob not to take any wives other than his daughters, yet he took other gods besides HaShem. Laban also taught his daughter, particularly Rachel, to be double minded in a similar fashion. His syncretism was an insidious cancer in Rachel’s psyche and it takes a lot of discernment and insight to pluck it out.
This same kind of hypocrisy, disloyalty and adultery that Yeshua warns the Ephesians against pursuing. What the Ephesians were facing was a very insidious doctrine that would pull them away from the true faith if they don’t pull the promoters and instigators of the congregation. Heresy grows in a congregation like weeds. No matter how good you are, evil can rub off on you and spread if you are not humble before God and diligent in understanding God’s word.
Summary: Tammy