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Parsha Page
Torah, Genesis 15:1 - 16:16
Some time later, the word of the Lord
came to Abram in a vision. He said, “Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you; your
reward shall be very great.”
Chapter 15 begins with God’s
reassurances to Abram, the promise that he will have an heir from his own body,
and again the promise of the Land, Eretz Israel.
In verse 6 we are told that Abram trusted Adonai, and that trust was credited to
him as righteousness. But when Abram asked for a sign of assurance, Adonai has
him bring a calf, a goat, a ram, a turtledove and a young bird. Abram cut these
in half. When the sun began to set Abram felt a great dark dread, and Adonai
told Abram that his offspring would become enslaved in a foreign land four
hundred years, but Adonai will execute judgment upon that nation, and His people
would go free with great wealth, and return to the Land in the fourth
generation. In His statement “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete”
would in general cover all the Canaanite nations, and indicates that they lost
their possession of the land because of their own sin. The Lord made a covenant
with Abram as He passed between the pieces of the animals that Abram had placed
before Him, and described the ideal borders of Eretz Israel. He specifically
named the nations of peoples that Israel was to drive out of the Land.
The birth of Ishmael from Abram
and Hagar is recounted in chapter 16, beginning with Sarai’s continued
infertility at the age of 75. When Sarai offered her maid, Hagar, to Abram to
bear a child, that was a routine practice in that area. When Hagar became
pregnant, she began to treat Sarai with less esteem, and Sarai in turn treated
Hagar so harshly that Hagar ran away. But a malach, and angel of Adonai, came to
Hagar and directed her to go back to Sarai, promising the make a great nation
out of her son. He would be a wild and strong man, who will contend with
everyone around him. The malach told Hagar to name her son Ishmael, which means
“God heeded”. Abram was 86 when Ishmael was born.
Qeriath, Isaiah 1:1-8
In the traditional Haftarah
readings, the first chapter of Isaiah is read as part of the last of 3 Haftarah
of affliction proceeding Tishah B’Av – or the ninth of Av.
Tradition has it that on this day a number of tragedies occurred to Isra’el,
including the rebellion in the case of the 12 spies, destruction of the first
and second Temples. It is a day of
mourning, just as in our reading as Yeshiyahu (Isaiah) mourns over the fate of
Isra’el in his vision. His message describes a nation that has abandoned their
trust and reliance on God for their existence. In turn, the nation is destined
to be sent into exile, to have their home become desolate. But Yeshiyahu mourning is not just for the destruction that
is to come, although it will be terrible.
No, Yeshiyahu is mourning because of the underlying causes of that destruction –
the attitude of the people. Later,
Yeshiyahu tells the people that they have a chance to change the vision, through
teshuva (repentance), and tells of the eventual return the remnant, preserved by
Adonai, to Zion with righteousness.
Da'ath, 1 Peter 1:17-2:3
Kefa (Peter) is telling the Messianic
believers in the Diaspora to live in fear of Adonai, who is an impartial judge.
We should all recognize that the ransom that was paid for our way of living was
the bloody sacrificial death of Messiah, the perfect sacrifice. Through Messiah
we trust in God, who raised Yeshua from the dead. When we obey the truth as we
put our trust and hope in God, we are born again through the eternal living Word
of God. So, we are to be done with all kinds of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy
and slanderous talk about each other, so that we may grow into our salvation.
Igarath, Hebrews 7:1-10
This section is in part a
discussion of tithing. The author reminds us that even Avraham gave a tenth of
all his spoils of war with the kings to Malki-Tzedek. In turn, Malki-Tzedek
blessed Avraham. Through this act, the tribe of Levi, who received tithes, also
paid tithes. This Malki-Tzedek is called the king of righteousness, and the king
of peace. So, bringing the tithe is in a way connected to righteousness and
peace. The author also ties together the righteousness of Malki-Tzedek with the
greater righteousness of Yeshua, who is our cohen gadol for eternity.
Conclusion
In Torah, Abram is promised a great nation, but Adonai
also predicts the oppression in Mitzrayim (Egypt). Qeriath prophesies the exile
from the Land because of the peoples turning from God. Da'ath shows Yeshua to be
eternal, the Word of the Lord that spoke the promises to Abram. Igarath
tells that this same Yeshua is our King of Peace
and our salvation.
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Shalom