Category: Torah Portions

Lech Lecha/Go forth!

Genesis 12:1-17:27

Isaiah 40:27 – 41:16

This week’s reading is filled with great promises made to whom we call “our father of faith” and to our great fortune; this great man of faith is much like us.  God visits him and says, Genesis 12:

²”I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Drink deeply oh Abram, the promises of God ‘go in’ so easily; let’s see how you walk in them.  The first stop on Abe’s ‘great journey of faith’ is helped along by a famine. His ‘great faith’ solution is to go to Egypt and essentially sacrifice his wife’s safety and morality: fail number one!

Next is what you might call a “conflict because of abundance” that Abram had with his nephew Lot.  Next was a chance to function in the promises of God to our “father of faith” and help direct his uncle within those promises, toward God’s ends. In what on the surface seems like humility, he actually gives up his responsibilities and let’s nephew Lot make the call (which of course has a bad outcome in Sodom): fail number two! A little note here would be to consider when we are given promises from the Living God; we might consider how He meant them to impact our daily lives.  Then God comes to Abram’s rescue and blesses his ‘choice’;

Genesis 13¹⁴ And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; ¹⁵ for all the land which you see I give to you and your ^[c]descendants forever. ¹⁶ And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. ¹⁷ Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

Oh how thankful we can be for the sovereignty of God!

Next up is Lot living in Sodom (it’s not clear if much is known yet about how dark Sodom was at that time; but we can assume it’s not a great place for Lot to grow in the knowledge of the One True Living God of his uncle Abram). War ensues in that region; Lot and his household and all their goods get taken.  Abe comes to the rescue with his personal army; so, he is looking pretty good, after his latest encounter with God.  Isn’t it amazing how much we can all benefit from a little personal ‘God-time’ (even if you don’t have your own personal army)?  To add either a little depth or confusion to this section: Melchizedek (score 10 extra points for spelling his name without looking).  We have a friend that has at least 13 sessions he teaches on Melchizedek and we aren’t sure if he just has an active imagination or a great deal of revelation, which seems to somehow have passed me and others by.  This guy Mel however leaves Abram blessed and encouraged along the way, after his good deed in rescuing  his nephew. 

Now time and the ‘delay’ in the fulfillment of God’s earlier promises take their toll on Abram. He starts leaning on his own understanding to help God bless him as the father of many nations, since he has no offspring of his own…can you really blame him?  God even speaks to him to help our father of faith’s unbelief:

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

I know how much we would all like to get an audible word from God, but Abram is in the ‘school’ of developing father-like faith, so his response is still ‘relatable’ for us:

² But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless…

At this point, Abe is ready to claim an heir; Eliezer of Damascus as a possible candidate; we don’t even know if this is a blood relative; he is really going down the tubes here (even as we are all so prone to).  God to the rescue:

⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 15:4 “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 

The God we serve and know is so much bigger and better than we can even imagine; He doesn’t stop with that part of the promise; but adds technicolor to it; even 3D:

⁵ Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 

This helps Abram move his piece a little further on his checkerboard of life:

 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Finally, some ‘faith’ progress! Yet followed by:

⁸ And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” 

He is trying so hard to be like the rest of us; maybe he is…!

Next God realizes that this guy needs more help; so, He puts him to sleep and makes an incredible covenant with him. God makes Himself responsible to fulfill it; but let’s not party yet.  The ink is barely dry on this covenant thing and Abram looks at his past child-bearing aged wife and the two decide to use the younger, fertile maidservant as the solution…I don’t think I need to mention the heart ache and upheaval this choice has caused much of the world.  Could we be this dull ourselves?  I don’t want to point any fingers, but maybe so. 

I’m not trying to write a book here, so I better cut to the chase; the Living God needs to ‘move into’ Abe and Sarai’s lives at another whole level!

Genesis 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. ² And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” and ⁴ “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.

But now the ‘cavalry’ arrives:

⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. And ¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶ And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”

Do you see what happened here?  God didn’t just change the spelling of their names; He added His breath; His Holy Spirit to their very being and nature to accomplish His promises!  I hope this sounds familiar to all of us who name the Name of Jesus our Lord!  We all have promises that are as big as Abram’s were to him; and we are as prone to wander and not walk in faith as he; but the Lord God Almighty knows Whom; not what, we need and He always delivers!  He has given us Holy Spirit when we believed in Jesus, as a Helper to believe in the rest of His plans and purposes for us.  So be encouraged today, oh great man or woman of faith; we are His and He is pleased with us; probably even brags about us to the angels; but knows our weaknesses and has granted us the very One we needed to be able to walk in faith.  Walk on! by john eisner

Noach/Noah

Genesis 6:9-11:32

Isaiah 54:1-10

Whenever I sit down to write my weekly post for the torah and haftorah portion, part of my ‘exercise’ is to still the voices or thoughts in my head of all the teachings I have heard about those verses or just the most obvious themes.  I desire to find the ‘hidden’ gems or threads that might move and encourage our hearts; or just make us think.  This week’s reading was like a gigantic mountain in my mind to overcome: Noah and the flood…I told myself there is no way I’m going to do the typical Noah themes and especially anything that even leans toward building an ark!  Sadly, I need to inform you that I can’t get away from it and I’m going to write about building an ark; please forgive me, and try to overcome your disappointment in me and force yourself to read on.  You can decide whether to forgive me or not, later.  Where shall I begin so I can possibly ‘take’ us someplace new’?  First thing I noticed is that God didn’t tell Noah to study meteorology or become a weatherman. He said, “build an ark”.  How tempted we are to become ‘weather experts’ and see building an ark as secondary.  By being an expert, we are kind of saying to everyone else that they need to build an ark, while we sit somewhere above it all and observe, thinking we will get a ‘pass’ from the One and Only True Living God, when it starts to rain. It’s kind of like valuing being right instead of the humility of obedience.  Do we really think that He is impressed with us being ‘right’, or cares about all of our different theologies?  We often act like there is a ‘quiz’ at the end of time, the score of which somehow saves us; as opposed to the blood of Jesus.  I suggest you go for the ‘blood test’ and quit working on meteorology!  Anyway, back to building the ark.  No matter when you might be reading this, we live in a fallen world full of conflict, hurt, and disappointment. We tend to live with an inner pressure or temptation to explain it all or somehow insulate ourselves from the effects of the fall.  Get over it for now; sometimes life sucks, even for those bought by the blood of the Lamb!  So, what’s the point of building an ark; or for that matter what does that look like in a practical way.  I believe the ark has a twofold purpose: the building of it in your life connects you in a vital way with the Lord and secondarily it prepares you for the coming ‘storm’, that we have no real grid for or way of surviving.  A brilliant songwriter has a line in one of her songs, “when it begins to rain; it’s too late to build the ark”.  I will let you dwell there for a few moments; I don’t need to comment.  So, what does it mean to build the ark, or your ark?  I believe it very personal and intimate with the One that loves you beyond your wildest imaginations.  He wants to spend time with you, to involve you with His personal plans for your life and future; plans that could also involve your family and friends.  Your ark won’t be finished in a weekend, and it could take a lifetime (and it probably will).  The idea isn’t to have it finished, but to be in relationship with the Holy One of Israel every day, and to resist the temptation to become either an expert on building arks for others or a weatherman to predict what’s coming. Stay innocent and close to the Lord!  He has the ‘plans’ all worked out for you to be ‘ready’ for what lies ahead.  Have you ever thought about the fact that He too, in a sense is also building an ark? Remember when He said,

John 14: “I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

That whole idea of a mansion is so distracting; think more in the way a Jewish Bridegroom is thinking: “I’m going to prepare a place (a chuppah) where I can take you to fulfill my promises to you as a bride; a place to consummate our marriage…let your mind be blown!  This is more than good theology; it’s the passion of our Savior!  What if He in a sense is building the ‘ultimate’ ark for the ‘ultimate’ storm, that will visit the earth sometime in the future? He has plans to meet us in the clouds; in the ark He is preparing for His bridal people, when His Father says it’s done and time!

So, in the meantime; let’s begin asking the Lord what it looks like to begin building an ark in our lives and even compare notes at times.  Don’t worry about your ‘carpentry skills’ or the breadth of your knowledge in the word of God…He has left His Master Builder with us: Holy Spirit!  Just turn to Him and the two of you will build a worthy ark for your life and the storms that are up ahead. Ironically, He is preparing us for the ark that is being built in the heavenly realm for our wedding day!  Just say yes and we will all be amazed as the ark for our lives takes form. by john eisner

Bereishit/In the beginning

Genesis 1:1-6:8

Isaiah 42:5-21

Oh my, how can we even begin to process the heights and depths of the first six chapters of Genesis…our minds and hearts are taken from unimaginable glories of intimacy with the Living God; the Creator of All; to the utter dregs of unredeemed flesh!  If this were a movie, it would be hours long and would be such an emotional roller coaster that when the lights came up, we would be ‘glued’ to our seats. Today’s haftorah comes to the rescue: Isaiah 42: 5-21!  He puts things back in perspective and helps us to continue on with life, through His promises to the children of Israel and the nations upon the earth. 

Is.42:5 Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out,

Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it:

God, thank you for reminding me that You created this earth, and you meant for us to live upon it…You have not only given us breath; but have endowed us with a spirit to give us a sense of being more than mere bodies existing in our surroundings. And now on to God’s ‘secret weapon’ to restore what was lost in the Garden of Eden…His first born, the Jewish people:

Isaiah 42:6-7: “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness, And will hold your hand; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, ⁷ To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

If you have ever wondered why there seems to be such a demonic assignment against the Jewish people and Israel, you might note how much of an antidote they are to what ails our world and condition.  It is so inconvenient in many ways that The True and Only Living God has invested such promises and responsibilities in a people that are so weak and small in number; and yet as the enemy schemes to overturn His plans; He sits in the heavens and laughs! Oh, what a God we serve!

Is 42:9-10 Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth, I tell you of them.” ¹⁰ Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, 12-14 Let them give glory to the Lord, And declare His praise in the coastlands. ¹³ The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. “I have held My peace a long time,

I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once.

This week we would do well to take in the entire ‘screen play’ of Genesis 1-6, but get out of our seats to sing and shout; knowing we have a God Who didn’t just leave us here to endure what seems like a failure to His original intent.  He wants to include us with His first-born, Israel in the redemption of all things, as He has called us and equipped us through what Jesus has done for us.  We are part of another ‘screen play’ that is unfolding before our very own eyes, and it is full of the glory of the Lord.  Let us rejoice together in advance and not only be personally encouraged today; but help those around us that have lost their vision and way. by john eisner

Ps. I would like to put in a little addendum this week: As believers we make much of going to heaven as a result of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, but we might be missing a fuller understanding or revelation of what He did.  I believe we have missed the significance of what the earth was created for and what the ‘fall’ cost. I will try to give you a taste or at least a morsel to consider and ponder. If we consider that the earth was meant to be a place of fellowship with God in a perfect world, and the ‘fall’ disrupted that…what if Jesus coming to earth was not just about heaven, but the restoration of the whole creation. The restoration of the place that was meant for living fellowship and intimacy with the Living God…? That the millennium period is that time of restoration so the throne of God could return again to a perfect earth (Eden restored)… Let that thought blow your mind and move your heart!!!