3rd Portion
[22-28 Oct 2023]
Theme of the Book of Genesis:
Desire for life, to choose life and to create!
Meaning of "lech lecha" = "go forth"
This week's Torah portions:
Sunday: Genesis 12:1-13
Monday: Genesis 12:14-13:4
Tuesday: Genesis 13:5-18
Wednesday: Genesis 14:1-20
Thursday: Genesis 14:21-15:6
Friday: Genesis 15:7-17:6
Shabbat: Genesis 17:7-27 & Isaiah 40:27-41:16
Apostolic Writings:
Romans 4:1-25
Galatians 4:21-5:1
Hebrews 7
Daily Bread for Busy Moms portions:
Joshua 14-20
Psalm 14-19
Matthew 12-15
To "go forth" (lech lecha) requires action. In this portion we read about Abraham's calling. And it's still to this day important for us as believers as well. Because we worship the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob!
Abraham is called to leave the land that he knew, to leave the people that he knew and to go to the place where the Lord would lead him. And if he did it, God said that He would make him a great nation. God said in Gen 12:3 to Abraham that He will bless those who bless Abraham and curse those who curse Abraham. What an encouragement to move forth!
We continuously see that Abraham reacted from his flesh when life's circumstances became hard. He didn't have to do it because God would have provided for him. In the same way God would provide for you and me - if we allow Him to guide our lives. God is a promise-keeper, He'll never go back on His Word!
Lot, Abraham's nephew, left the land which they knew with Abraham. At a certain point, Abraham told Lot that they should go their separate ways because strife arose between Abraham's men and Lot's. Abraham cared so much for Lot that he told Lot he could choose which way he wanted to move into and then Abraham would move on into the opposite direction. Lot choose and he then settled in Sodom. And we read how Abraham went to battle to save Lot. After saving Lot, Abraham's paths crossed with Melchizidek. Melchizidek was the king of Jerusalem at that stage. God reconfirms His promise to Abraham again.
God gave Abraham an eternal inheritance. At this stage God already gave them the promise that Sarah would fall pregnant and bring a son into this world. However, both Sarah and Abraham were old in age. Sarah didn't believe that she would fall pregnant so she told Abraham to go and sleep with her maidservant, Hagar - so that Abraham could have an offspring. Abraham then slept with Hagar and she fell pregnant with Ishmail.
After Ishmail was born, Hagar and Sarah didn't get along anymore so Abraham sent them (Hagar & Ishmail) away. Thirteen years after Ishmail was born, God again spoke to Abraham and told him that he would no longer be called Abram but Abraham from thereon forward. Abraham means "father of a multitude." And Sarai's name was changed to Sarah which means "princess" or could also mean "mother." God promised them again that a son would be born to them and that they should call him Isaac - which means "to laugh" - because Sarah laughed when she first heard that she would bring a child into this earth in her old age.
In this Torah portion we also read about the instruction of the circumcision of Abraham and all the males with him - as a sign of the covenant between God and them. This portion of the Torah starts and ends with a willingness to do God's will - whatever He asked of Abraham. However, through Abraham's journey we can clearly see how we can stand in the way of our own breakthrough and delay receiving our promises if we continuously keep our eyes focused on our natural circumstances and try to take matters in our own hands. Our hearts should be totally committed in faith - believing what God says and knowing that it would come into fulfilment.
In parashat Bereshit (1st portion) we read how God "said" and He "saw".... He "said" let there be light. And He "saw" that it was good, etc. In the same way we notice this concept in parashat Lech Lecha - what do we see?
When God reveals His plans for our lives, we might not always be able to "see" what He has in store for us immediately. But what we have to remember is that our words create images. When God spoke words, He created things with His words. In the same manner the words we speak have power. The words we speak, creates images in our minds (see) of those words which we have spoken. An image of something tangible which we can experience in the physical.
When we don't "see" the promises which God has in store for us, we delay entering into those promises. When Abraham started calling Sarai, Sarah and she started calling him Abraham (instead of Abram) - they started "seeing" the promise. There was a change of mindset in them and they started believing the promise which God gave them and they could go forth (lech lecha) on that promise.
Parashat Bereshit (1st portion) is about having a desire for life. Parashat Noach (2nd portion) is about having a willingness in our hearts to follow Abba's instructions. And Parashat Lech Lecha (3rd portion) is about "seeing" the promises of God in our lives. Our mindsets have to change. Our outlook on life has to change. Our words have to change. We have to fill our minds with that which God has promised. If we want to live in the promises which God has available for us - we need to change our mindsets - so that those promises could go into fulfillment! Our minds have to constantly be renewed! If we want to see the promises of God come to realisation in the physical, we first have to "see" them in the spiritual. The Word says that whatever exists on earth first existed in the spiritual realm.
The theme of this portion is about not only having a desire for life and a willingness to be obedient - but about to have a mind filled with the images of the promises of God! Only then we will be able to start walking into the promises God has for our lives!
God wants us to have LIFE! But through our sins, we have gone astray and we miss out on life because we don't know Yeshua, who IS Life! If we don't know Him we can never walk into the promises He has in store for us. The more we get to know Yeshua, the more the desire and willingness will grow in us to be obedient to His Word and His instructions - the more we would be able to see His promises over our lives go into fulfillment.
We have to ask ourselves if we truly have a desire to see God? If we don't, we won't be able to walk into the promises which He has in store for us.
Abraham had to wait a VERY long time for Isaac to be born. Just because the blessings and promises which have been spoken over our lives haven't realised yet, don't mean that they won't go into fulfilment. It might just take time.
When we work from a place of our fleshly desires instead of having a desire for being obedient to God - we are nothing better than those who built the tower of Babel. They built the tower to make a name for themselves. But when we are like Abraham, obedient to God's instructions - He will make our names great - just like He promised Abraham He would and did!
What is important to realise is that after God told Abraham that He would make his name great, Abraham didn't go off getting all haughty and arrogant. NO! His reaction to God's promise was to build an altar to God! The focus wasn't on himself but on God!
In Gen 15:6 we read that "Abraham believed in God and it was accounted to him as righteousness." There is this continuous theme of righteousness that we see in Scripture. Throughout Abraham's life, he walked in righteousness and it should be an inspiration to all of us!
This parashat ends off with the circumcision of Abraham and the men who were with him. We know that we are under the New Covenant and the physical circumcision is no longer required. Through the Blood of the Lamb our hearts are circumcised.
In Gal 3:29 we read "And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." Which proves that the covenant which God has made with Abraham is still applicable on our lives to this day! But if we want to live in the fulfillment of this blessing, we must do the same as Abraham. And that requires a life of obedience. A life that's surrendered to Abba. Coming to the place where we can truly say that it's not about ourselves any longer but about God and making His Name known.
It's because Abraham was righteous that he could receive this promise. The same thing goes for us! It's because of our faith in Yeshua - the righteousness we receive through our faith in Him, we could also receive these promise!
But it will require something from you. Remember that lech lecha means " go forth" which we started of by saying it requires action. To receive these promises of God and live in the fulfillment thereof will require something from you! It requires a life led by the spirit and not by the flesh!
A life led by the flesh is a life of bondage. A life led by the spirit is a life of freedom!
Abraham left the land that he knew and the people that he knew to go to a place he didn't know. He didn't know what was coming. He was simply being obedient. Abraham wasn't a perfect man. He made mistakes. Such as sleeping with Hagar and lying about Sarah, saying that she was his wife and not his sister. God doesn't expect of us to be perfect. He only ask us to be obedient to His call. Righteousness comes through faith. Faith is about following God even when you cannot see what the future holds.
Abraham is a good example for us. But he wasn't perfect. Yeshua came and fulfill (not abolish) the Torah. And He was The PERFECT example for us! He was obedient until His death! We don't have to understand everything or know the future. We simply have to obey.
Are you willing to trust God and follow His instructions even when you don't know what lies ahead?
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Portion 3: Lech Lecha (The blog you are reading now)
