Archetypes

The definition of "archetype" is: the original pattern or model of which all subsequent things of the same kind are representations or copies. The Greek roots of this word "archetype" in English are "to begin, to rule" + "type". This week's sabbath reading deals with the same thing, and is titled Toledot, meaning "generation(s)". However, the meaning of toledot is really more about "archetypes", and since we are in Genesis, or B'resheit, the Book of Beginnings, we will see the beginning of two archetypes that are still being represented today, even after many generations. Not only is an archetype the beginning of a pattern, as its Greek meaning shows, but an archetype also rules the subsequent copies. The sabbath reading of Toledot starts in Gen. 25 with the account of Isaac, Abraham's son and heir, and his wife and kinswoman, Rebekah. Rebekah had not been able to have children: "Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived." (Gen. 25:20-21). Rebekah noticed that something was strange about her pregnancy. There was a struggle within her womb. so she inquired of the LORD, and the LORD said to her: "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger." (v. 22-23). Rebekah indeed gave birth to twins, Jacob and Esau, who struggled against one another before they were born, and after. Esau was the first born and the older of the two, with Jacob born holding onto Esau's heal (v. 26). The twins' personalities were different also. Esau was described as "a skillful hunter (yada + sayid), a man of the field (ish + sade)". Jacob was "a mild man (tam/tamam), dwelling in tents (ohel/ahel)" (v. 27). Here we have our two archetypes. The descriptions from the Hebrew tell us that Esau was knowledgeable in taking prey, and "making a provision for the journey", a man in contrast to God, husband, attached to the ground. He provided for himself. In the Hebrew words used, Jacob is described as "perfect, undefiled, upright, complete, morally innocent, coupled together, completely crossed over, and an inhabitant of the tabernacle, the sacred tent of Jehovah, clear, shining, and bright". The Word of God presents Jacob as one who is spiritually perfect and complete, and inhabiting the tabernacle of God. Although both men were of the same generation from Abraham because they were his twin grandsons, they were a different kind of generation from each other regarding toledot, or archetypes. Because they were archetypes, there will be copies or representations that proceed from each of these two men. Jesus would also speak regarding the generations, or toledot, of Abraham as we will see. In last week's sabbath reading, we saw that Abraham was referred to as elohim nasi, meaning "the risen God of forgiveness and atonement, who suffered and laid sin upon Himself" (see last week's post titled "Kings"). The New Testament tells us that Abraham, along with Isaac and Jacob, dwelled in tents/tabernacles, and was waiting for the city whose builder and maker is God (Heb. 11:9-10). Abraham was not "attached to the ground", as Esau was, but considered himself as a foreigner and a visitor in it (Gen. 23:4). In this same spirit, Abraham gave his nephew, Lot, his choice of land first, and Lot chose the finest land to the eye (Gen. 13:9-11). Because Abraham showed that he did not covet a place in the earth, God then gave him and his descendants all the land as far as the eye could see (Gen. 13:14-15). It is also mentioned in this part of this week's sabbath reading that the older brother Esau sold his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a simple meal when his own hunting for provision had yielded nothing. Scripture says of this: "Thus Esau despised (baza) his birthright (bekora/bekor/bakar)." (Gen. 25:34). The birthright refers to the inheritance rights of the first born, also called primogeniture. In the Hebrew meaning, "birthright" also includes the idea of being "first fruit, new fruit, to bear early, to rise early". Esau considered being the firstborn of Isaac, who was "the child of promise/covenant", as we are also, to be contemptible and vile, from the meaning of "despised" (see Gal. 4:28). In another portion of this week's sabbath reading, the LORD clearly states: "Yet Jacob I have loved; but Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness." (Mal. 1:2-3). Although the LORD clearly condemned the archetype of Esau, and those who came after him, spiritually modeling themselves after him, He also has a problem with the children of Jacob, whom He favored, and to whom He gave the birthright promises. The LORD said that these generations of Jacob did not regard the LORD with respect and love in return for the love and favor that He had shown them: "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? If I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the LORD of hosts to you priests who despise My name..." (Mal. 1:6). The Hebrew word for "despise" used in this verse is the same word with which Esau despised his birthright - baza. From another of this week's sabbath readings, the Book of Obadiah, a prophetic word regarding the destruction of the land of Esau, or Edom. This destruction comes on "the day of the LORD", and that "...no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau, for the LORD has spoken." (v. 15, 18). As the prophet wrote, future generations modeled themselves after their archetype Esau, in despising the covenant promise of God, the birthright. This would lead to their destruction. As we saw with Esau, birthright is not determined by the facts of the flesh, but by the spirit of a man, and the archetype of Esau is still with us. Jesus spoke about the difference between those who come from "above", and those who come from "beneath". As with Jacob and Esau, there is no similarity between the two. Esau had contempt for the model of Abraham, who was called by the term elohim nasi in scripture (see above), even though Esau was a direct descendant of Abraham. Esau was initially born with the birthright, and while it meant nothing to him, it meant everything to Abraham. The Word says this of another, Jesus, Who came in His Father's name, meaning "God is Salvation", Who laid our sins upon Himself, and became our forgiveness and atonement: "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the power/right (exousia/exesti - power, authority, jurisdiction, strength, permission, to be lawful) to become sons/children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (Jn. 1:10-13). We see more as Jesus said to those who did not receive Him: "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.' Then they said to Him, 'Who are You?' And Jesus said to them, 'Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning..." (Jn. 8:23-25). The account of Jacob and Esau is not about the the assuredness of the covenant and salvation by the flesh. If assuredness in the flesh existed, Esau would not have been able to sell it., because nothing could change the fact that Esau was the firstborn. However, the supernatural birthright of the covenant from "above" given to Abraham, and confirmed through the archetype of Jacob over Esau, speaks of those who are born from "above", rather than "beneath", and of the Spirit, rather than of the flesh. Do we model ourselves after our Archetype, Jesus, Who was born from Above? Or do we despise it, neglect it, and eventually "sell" it, preferring instead those things that are attached to the ground, as Esau did? Paul said to the believers in Galatia: "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth...Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect in the flesh?...Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture...preached the Gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, 'In you all the nations shall be blessed.' So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham." (Gal. 3:1-9, excerpt). If you would like to know more about being modeled after our Archetype from Above, Jesus, and being blessed with "believing Abraham", you can join me in prayer: "Blessed and Great Father, because of Your Son, I have received the birthright of eternal life that comes from You. You sent Your Son, Jesus, to be an Archetype from which many would come. Let me be one who is modeled after Christ. I am so thankful, especially in this season of Thanksgiving, that you gave me the legal right to be called Your descendant, Your son, and I don't ever want to take it for granted, or forget the honor of that gift. Help me to not be attached to the things of the ground, the world, but to have my eyes upon You, and the things of the Above, dwelling in Your tabernacle. Having begun in Your Holy Spirit, keep me from walking after the flesh. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Kings

This week's sabbath reading is titled Chayyai Sarah, or "The Life of Sarah". Sarah was the wife of Abraham, and had miraculously become a mother in her old age, as the LORD had promised her. It is interesting and important to us that the reading portion titled upon "the life of Sarah" begins with her death in Genesis 23. Genesis, or B'resheit in Hebrew, is about "Beginnings", and we will see another important "beginning" established here. I found that this week's reading portion is about two kinds of kings, and therefore two kinds of kingdoms as well. One thing we should know before we look at Gen. 23, is how the LORD changed Sarai's name to Sarah earlier in Gen. 17: "Then God said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 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 by her. Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed..." (Gen. 17:15-17a). Her original name, Sarai, means in Hebrew "princess; ruler, steward, commander; prevail over, dominion, be a prince". All good stuff. so why rename her? As renamed by the LORD, Sarah, she becomes "a queen, the wife of a king". As we go then to Gen. 23 from this week's reading, there are at least two beginnings that we will see with Sarah's death. First of sll, the place of Sarah's death, Hebron/Kirjath Arba, has an important meaning. Hebron means "association, joining, join together, fellowship; to be marked with stripes and blows". It can also mean "charmer, spell, incantation". The other name that Hebron was known by, Kirjath Arba, means a city founded or "floored" on a square, or four-sided. This should remind us of the four-lettered name of God, and the "four-square" city of the New Jerusalem (see Rev. 21:16). Kirjath Arba also means the city founded by Arba - the greatest of the giants, and the father of Anak (Anakim). So whether we call the place of Sarah's death Hebron or its previous name, Kirjath Arba, we can see that this place represents two kingdoms. One of those kingdoms is the kingdom of God, and His Son, Jesus, who was marked with stripes and blows, and the other is a kingdom associated with witchcraft spells, and the giants who continually opposed God's people. In one of our beginnings found in this reading, Abraham will, for the first time, purchase a plot of land in what would become Israel in order to bury his wife: "...Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth ("Terror"), saying, 'I am a foreigner and a visitor (see also Jn. 17:16, 2 Peter 2:11, Heb. 13:14, Heb. 11:8-10) among you. Give me property for a burial place among you...I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there." (Gen. 23:4, 13). At first the sons of Heth did not want to sell, but rather give the place to Abraham. However, Abraham insisted upon buying the land that included a burial cave for his wife. Abraham bought it for 400 shekels of silver - again the presence of a multiple of the number four: "So the field of Ephron ("fawn-like, young goat; to be dust, to throw dust") ...and the cave which was in it...were deeded (qum - accomplished, established; arise, rise up, raise) to Abraham as a possession (miqna/miqne/qana - purchase price, bought/flocks, herds/redeem, recover, of God redeeming His people) in the presence of the sons of Heth ('Terror"), before all who went in at the gate of his city." (v. 17-18). There was a very important shift that took place here, and a vital beginning - Abraham had purchased a place in what would become Israel, and now owned it. Hebron became known as "the city of the friend of God (Abraham)". We also see, by the meaning of the Hebrew words used here, the principle of God redeeming His people. However, that's not all! When Abraham approached the sons of Heth to purchase the field for a burial ground, the sons of Heth addressed Abraham as "a mighty prince among us" (v. 6). In Hebrew, this is written as "elohim nasi" among us. Elohim is the name of God. Nasi/nasa means "prince, ruler, one lifted up, vapors ascending to become a cloud/forgive, bear, endure, to suffer, take away anyone's sin, to expiate, make atonement for sin, to lay sin upon oneself, to marry a wife, to receive anyone's prayer, to lift up, rise up, to look upon". "Mighty prince" or "Prince of God" is not a complete translation into English, as we can see. There is no doubt that the sons of Heth (Terror), identified Abraham with the risen God of forgiveness, suffering and Atonement, tavek: within us, in the midst of us, Whom we know as Jesus. This is the King that the sons of Heth saw in Abraham. However, kingship in God's kingdom is not merely determined by a physical relationship to Abraham and Sarah, but by a spiritual relationship, defined by a likeness to the same King by whom Abraham was called above. In another portion from this week's sabbath reading, we will see two kings. Which king will prevail? In 1 Kings 1, King David, anointed by God, and prophesied as the patriarch from whom the Messiah/Christ would come, is still alive, but very old. One of his sons, Adonijah, appoints himself to be the new king. Adonijah is David's fourth son, and his name means "The LORD is Jehovah (YHWH: "Behold the hand, Behold the nail"). Everything seems to look good for Adonijah to become the new king- after all, his name glorifies Jesus as Lord- but he is not the successor that David named, and he is not of the right spirit to be a king in God's kingdom: "Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, 'I will be king'; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him...And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel; he also invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants." (1 Kings 1:5,9). Adonijah exalted himself. Kings after the spirit of Abraham and Sarah do not exalt themselves, but rather, redeem or exalt others. Adonijah made great sacrifices as Abraham did, which looks good, but he is making those sacrifices at a place called Zoheleth, which means "serpent, afraid, worms, creeping, crawling". David's appointed successor, on the other hand, was his tenth son, Solomon, whose name means "peace, covenant of peace, prosperity, welfare, health, friendship, tranquility, whole, in full number, recompense, restore, restitution, finished". When David was informed that Adonijah had already made himself king, he reaffirmed his command before Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, taking an oath, that Solomon would become the king: "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, 'Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place', so I certainly will do this day." (1 Kings 1:28-30). David then had Solomon anointed king at Gihon, while David was still alive, Those who anointed him, according to David's command, blew the horn and proclaimed, "Long live King Solomon!". (v. 32-34). The place where Adonijah tried to take the kingship and kingdom, En Rogel (Spy, backbiter, slandered), was the source of the pool of Siloam, meaning "sent, cast out, put away". On the other hand, David sent Solomon to be anointed at Gihon, a spring outside of Jerusalem, whose name means "bursting forth, to come forth, bring forth, break forth, to issue forth from hiding places". It is also the name of one of the four rivers of the Garden of Eden, a river of paradise. As God renamed Sarah, kings would indeed come from her. Not just any kings, however, but the kings and kingdom that are of the image and likeness of the only King - Jesus Christ, the Anointed One, the King of kings and Lord of lords. These are also the spiritual kings which we are called to be (Rev. 1:6, 5:10), while recognizing our heroine of faith, Sarah, according to Heb. 11:11. If you would like to know more about being one of the kings born from Abraham and Sarah, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You prophesied to both Abraham and Sarah that they would be the father and mother of kings, not as the world identifies kings, but as those who are named after, and are identified with Your son, Jesus. There is no other King, and there is no other kingdom that delivers me from out of darkness and into Your glorious light. Your King, Jesus, has redeemed me from Terror and serpents, has laid my sin upon Himself, and made me His special possession, bought with a price. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit to guide me in the way of my King's truth, forgiveness and atonement. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Appeared

The title of this week's sabbath reading. Va-yeira means "and He appeared", referring to this first sentence of Gen. 18: "Then the LORD appeared to him (Abraham) by the terebinth trees (plains) of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day." (v. 1). There is so much contained in the Hebrew words of this first sentence, that I don't want to present them in a confusing manner. We can start with the word "appeared". This is the Hebrew word ra'a, which means all of the usual meanings connected with the idea of "appearing". However, it also means "to see the face of God- a privilege conferred to few mortals, to be admitted to behold God", and "to enjoy the light, to live", "to see Jehovaah in the land of the living", "to be taught in visions divinely brought as said of the prophets". The terebinth or plains of Mamre in Hebrew refers to a place of great strength, mighty and strong like an oak; a ram as a symbol of the strength of God as a sacrifice, as food, and as dyed skins for the tabernacle, the curled horns of a ram twisted together for strength. One of its root meanings is to be invigorated, to beat the air with wings in order to rise up. The word for "tent" used in this first sentence is ohel/ahal meaning "tent, tabernacle, dwelling/to shine, a shining vibrating appearance". The door, petah, is an entrance or an opening, but also means "to begin, to utter words, to open the mouth to speak". The use of the word "day" or yom, can mean a single day, during daytime as opposed to the night, or it can also refer to "continually as yesterday, today, and tomorrow, perpetually, in all time", If you put all of this information together from just one sentence, we can see that this is not going to turn out to be an ordinary day in Abraham's life! This is a prophetic day, a day of great power and vision. As Genesis is the Book of Beginnings, or B'reishit, we will find a beginning being established here that will bless the people of God, and affect the rest of time. When the LORD appeared to Abraham, He appeared as three men together, which is a Trinity. When Abraham saw the three men, "...he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, "My LORD, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant...".(v. 2-3). Abraham quickly made arrangements for the Men to rest, wash their feet, and he had his household prepare a full meal, including a tender and good calf which Abraham had run to the herd to select himself (v. 6-8). Abraham stood by them under the tree as they ate: "Then they said to him, 'Where is Sarah your wife?' So he said, 'Here in the tent' (v. 9). We know the rest of the story. The LORD promised to return "according to the time of life", and Abraham's wife would have a son. This was a miracle, because both Abraham and Sarah were old, and had not had a child together (v. 10-11). In fact, Sarah, who had been listening at the tent door, found this prophecy to be very funny, considering their advanced ages, but the LORD wasn't joking. In fact, the LORD said to Abraham, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" (v. 14). Here we are seeing the beginning of something important for us to know, and we will see more in another reading portion from this week's sabbath. In 2 Kings 4, we read about a noble woman from Shunen: "Now it happened one day that Elisha (a prophet with a double-portion anointing) went to Shunem, where there was a notable (gadol - great, high, mighty, important, be magnified, of God Himself) woman, and she persuaded (hazaq - strong, prevail, courage, be resolute, press, be urgent, prevail upon, use one's strength) him to eat some food, and from then on, whenever he was in the area, he would turn in there, or turn aside there, to eat (2 Kings 4:8). Now Elisha's name (el-eeshua) means "God is Salvation". The unnamed woman of Shunem, meaning double portion of rest, practically dragged "God of Salvation" into her house to eat, and wouldn't take no for an answer. She and her unnamed husband even built a chamber (aliya/ala - roof chamber, upper room, going up, light arose, ascent, ascending the steps that went up to the temple/come up, arose, to come up (before God), to be a burnt offering, to raise, recover, restore) onto their house so that the prophet of God could rest there in their home during his travels in the area. There are some similarities here to the story of Abraham above, as we can see. "And it happened one day...he (Elisha) said to Gehazi (meaning "Valley of Vision"), his servant, 'Call this Shunammite woman'...and she stood before him." (v. 11-12). The prophet then asked his servant to ask the woman, '...What can I do for you?' because she had been concerned for him with all of this care. He offered to speak to the king, or to the commander of the army on her behalf, but she told him that she was fine among her own people and didn't need anything from those highest, most powerful earthly authorities. Who would turn down a favor from the king? But there was nothing that she wanted or needed that could be granted by an earthly king. Then the prophet's servant told him that she had no son, "and her husband is old". The prophet called her in to him again, and she stood in the doorway of the upper chamber(v. 14-15). Like Abraham, the only thing the Shunammite woman needed could only be miraculously given to her by God. The prophet said to her, "About this time next year, you shall embrace a son." Like Sarah, Abraham's wife, the Shunammite woman thought that this was absurdly impossible, "But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time (mo'ed/ya'ad - appointed time or season, tent of meeting, appointed sign, set feast, congregation, synagogue, of the feast sacrifices/assemble together, betrothed, to engage for marriage, come together at an appointed time or place) had come, of which Elisha had told her." (v. 16-17). There was a prophesied appointed time set to conceive and bear a child for this woman who had prevailed upon Elisha, "God of salvation", to enter into her house to eat food. This does not end the story of the Shunammite woman and the prophet Elisha. Sometime later "it happened one day" that her miracle son suddenly collapsed in pain. The woman sat the child on her knees (berek/barak - to bless, to adore, to praise, or to curse, blaspheme) until noon (sohar/sahar - midday, window for light (as in Noah's ark), a double light/to squeeze out oil, to make oil, to glisten) when he died. She enclosed the child in the prophet's upper chamber of her house and shut the door. She held that child in the place of blessing, praise and adoration to God, rather than in the place of cursing and blasphemy, until the precious, shining anointing oil had been squeezed out in her prayers. She then immediately left to go to the prophet at Mount Carmel at the greatest speed. The prophet saw her coming, and sent his servant to run to meet her. What she had been speaking up to this point is "It is well." Elisha sent his servant to race ahead. Then he also came to the woman's home because of her insistence, to the chamber that had been set aside for him where the child was now laid, and the child was revived to life by Elisha. The woman fell at Elisha's feet, and bowed to the ground. (v. 18-37). This household, that had prevailed upon "God is salvation", or Elisha, to come in, experienced not only a miraculous birth, but the raising of the dead as well. In another of this sabbath's reading portions, Hannah ("grace, entreaty, prayer, mercy, supplication, favor, pity, implore favor, to be shown consideration, to dwell, to pitch a tent"), who was barren and scorned, went up yearly with her husband and his other wife to worship and sacrifice at the tabernacle of the LORD at Shiloh (1 Sam. 1:1-3). Jewish tradition says that Hannah came with her family to Shiloh to observe Passover, but this is not written specifically in scripture. Her husband repeatedly asked her to eat the meal, which could have been the Seder meal, if it was indeed Passover, but her soul was too sorrowful. Hannah's husband, Elkanah (meaning "God has created") provided her with a double portion offering to give to God. She finished eating and drinking, and approached the tabernacle where Eli (ala- see above root for "chamber" - ascension, going up, etc.), the priest, was sitting "on the seat by the doorpost (mezuza/ziz - doorpost upon which the hinges turn/abundance, fulness, moving creatures or any moving thing) of the of the tabernacle of the LORD". (1 Sam. 1:1-9). There before Eli and the door of the tabernacle, Hannah wept bitterly and prayed because of her barrenness. Hannah vowed to the LORD that if He would remember her and give her a male child, she would offer that child back to the LORD in His service (v. 11). The priest, Eli, had at first thought that Hnnah was a drunken worshipper of the false god Belial because of her behavior. When Hannah told him that this was not so, Eli agreed with her prayer that the LORD would grant Hannah her petition, and told her to go in peace (v. 12-17). In any case, Hannah did indeed conceive and bear a son, who would grow to be the prophet and judge of Israel, Samuel. Hannah also went on to have additional children. In fact, 1 Sam. 2:21 says, "And the LORD visited (paqat - to visit, attend to, to pay attention to, to be watched over, to observe, to care for) Hannah, so that she conceived, and bear three sons and two daughters." So this week's sabbath readings titled Va-yeira, or "and He appeared", introduces us to a special phenomenon, when we join the LORD in a place where "He appears", and miracles, and answered prayers occur. We make a place, a tent door, an upper chamber (see also Lk. 22:7-8, 12-14, where Jesus keeps the Passover with His disciples in an upper room), where we meet the Salvation of God, not for everyday earthly needs, which your heavenly Father already knows you have need of (Mt. 6:30-32 - Don't pray as the Gentiles do!!), but pray there instead for the "impossible". God also spoke to Moses at the door of the Tent of Meeting: "All the people saw the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses." (Ex. 33:9-11). Jesus talked to a lukewarm church about meeting Him in this special spiritual place, and inviting Him in: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." (Rev. 3:20). That lukewarm, self-satisfied church, Jesus said, would go from being ineffective to being "overcomers" with Him. Jesus, the Salvation of God, also said, "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately...Blessed are these servants...Assuredly I say to you that he (the master) will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them." (Lk. 12:35-37). And, as Judas (not Iscariot) asked Jesus how He would manifest Himself (emphanizo/emphanes - to show oneself, appear, make known/God giving proof of His saving grace and thus manifesting Himself) to His disciples, but not to the world, Jesus answered: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." (Jn. 14:22-23). We see another example when Jesus is constrained (parabiazomai - to compel by employing force or by entreaties) to come in and stay, when He would have continued on, in a way similar to the Shunammite woman with Elisha, above. Jesus then sat at the table with them, and broke bread with them, and their eyes were "opened", and they knew Him (Lk. 24:27-35). Sadly, in the last sabbath reading portion for this week, the prophet Jeremiah wrote of how the people of God mis-used and abused this special and intimate spiritual place of meeting with the LORD, mixing in their worldly and profane beliefs, yet still expecting the LORD to manifest Himself as He did with Abraham, the Shunammite woman, and Hannah. This profane mis-use of the house called by the name of the LORD had turned it instead into a den of thieves. They received judgment when they could have received the appearing of the LORD, and "the impossible" from their prayers. (Jer. 7:1, 11, 20). Jesus also cleansed the temple, the place for meeting God, from being a den of thieves, and immediately afterwards, "...the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple; and He healed them." (Mt. 21:12-14). If you would like to learn more about the place where the LORD appears to us, and dines with us, you can pray with me: "Dear Father, God of our Salvation, do not pass by here, but come in and dine with me. Help me to understand how to prepare an upper chamber for You in my heart, which is the door of my tent, where the impossible becomes possible, because You have said, "Is there anything too hard for the LORD?" Let me prepare for You the finest things that I have, and then run to answer Your knock, and receive Your appearing. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Foundation

We are still in the Book of Genesis, or B'reshit: The Beginning, in the sabbath schedule of readings, and we will see another beginning this week. This week's Sabbath portion deals with a beginning of a people, a nation, a line of kings, a faith, and even principles of the Church, all accomplished through one man. An eternal, earth-shaking, history-changing foundation was established, and it was established by God out of nothing, and from nowhere. It starts with God saying to a man, "Go, leave!", or Lech L'cha, the title of this sabbath's assigned reading. The man receiving the order to "Go!" was, of course, Abram, who would later be renamed Abraham by God, meaning "Father of a multitude". This man who had no children at the time, would become the patriarch of multiple millions over many generations, because of a promise from God. Abram is described in scripture as having originally come from out of the Chaldees, which is geographically located at the end of the Tigris-Euphrates River system, at the head of the Persian Gulf. The Chaldeans were reportedly made up of Aramaic speaking tribes that had migrated there from the Levant (Middle Eastern area). The Chaldeans were under the rule of Neo-Babylon, which was under the rule of the sprawling Assyrian Empire. As we can see then, Abram was well "buried" in "the back of beyond" obscurity, but God knew him, found him, and called him out. This is the beginning of our foundation as God commanded Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 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.' So Abram departed (yalak/halak - go, go away, walk, to die, live, manner of life, carry) as the LORD had spoken to him..." (Gen. 12:1-4). The Hebrew word that is translated "departed" here also means "carry". Abram did not leave alone, but carried his wife, his nephew, all of the servants of his household, and the future generations within him that he never thought he would father (including all of us) with him as he began this walk into the unknown land to which the LORD was leading him. At one point in his relationship with God, Abraham was taken outside by the LORD to view the night sky, and the LORD said to him: "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them...so shall your descendants be." (Gen. 15:5, Heb. 11:12). Abraham believed this promise although his wife, Sarah, was barren, and, like himself, of advanced age. In order for a true foundation of God to be established, it is written that Jesus is, and must be, the Chief Cornerstone of that foundation of God's living temple of faith and salvation (Mt. 21:39-44, Eph. 2:19-22), 1 Pet. 2:4-8). We will soon see how Jesus was indeed the Chief Cornerstone of this foundation established by God in Abraham. From another of this sabbath's readings, the LORD reveals how He called the generations, including the generations of Abraham, before they ever appeared: "Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first; And with the last I am He." (Isa. 41:4). As this verse refers to God as "the First" and "the Last", we can see Christ emerge because this was the name that identified Him to us (see Rev. 22:13). Many generations later, the descendants of Abraham would be told by the prophet how to be restored back to God from their rebellious ways: "Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him." (Isa. 51:1-2). From this prophecy in Isaiah, which is also part of this sabbath's reading, while the LORD points Israel back to its foundation in Abraham, He also seeks to comfort Zion with the mention of His salvation in the same passage: "Listen to Me, My people; and give ear to Me, O My nation...My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth...The earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell in it will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be abolished." (v. 3-6, excerpt). The LORD speaks of His foundation in Abraham and connects it to His salvation here. We see Jesus make the same connection, as He admonished a generation who had not truly looked back to their foundation, their father, Abraham: "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you...If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this...Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad...Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." (Jn. 8:37-58, excerpt). Abraham, who, it is estimated, lived 2,000 years before Christ was born, "saw" Jesus' day of salvation, and rejoiced in it! Jesus, as the slain Lamb of God, existed in eternity with the Father before Abraham, and before the creation itself (see Rev. 13:8). The foundation that God built from Abraham definitely included Jesus as its Chief Cornerstone! The sovereign prophetic power of the foreknowledge of God is awesome to behold as He reveals it to His prophets and apostles (Eph. 2:20), as He did with Abraham. The Book of Hebrews tells us that the heroes of our faith, which included Abraham, saw the promises afar off, were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth because of them (Heb. 11:13). The promises of God that they received by faith separated them from the earth and its other inhabitants. Their home became not this world, but the heavenly realms. Hebrews 11 continues that Abraham specifically knew to wait "for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (v. 10). Abraham shared in the promise of the salvation of Christ by faith, because he had to wait for its fulfillment in us. (Heb. 11:39-40). In fact, many prophets saw and desired to receive the fulfillment of this promise of salvation through Christ in their lifetimes, but had to receive its fulfillment by faith as it was not yet time for Christ to appear (see Lk. 10:23-24). This is the purpose of this part of the foundation of faith that God established in Abraham - many additions would be built, and elevations added upon this foundation, of generations in Christ not yet born, in order to build that living city of God for which Abraham waited (Rev. 21:2-3). There is another interaction between God and Abraham included in this week's sabbath reading that will again mysteriously connect Abraham to Christ, and to the Church of believers. In Gen 17, the LORD appeared to Abraham and said: "I am Almighty God (Shaddai/saday- most powerful); walk before (halak + panim - come away, walk, depart, die, live, carry + face, presence, turn oneself to look at anything) Me and be blameless/perfect (tamim/tamam - without blemish, complete, whole, entirely in accord with truth/ finished, to be completely crossed over)...As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations...I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you, and to your descendants after you." (Gen. 17:1-7). As God called Abraham to walk before Him and be perfect, we also are called to do the same (see Eph. 4:11-13, Eph. 5:25-27). These are principles established by the foundation created by God in Abraham. Again God called Abraham to "depart", but this departure would be with God's presence in covenant. "Covenant", meaning alliance, is the Hebrew word berit, meaning "create, birth, something new, cut, separate, cause to eat, cut in order to choose and separate". The word, berit, is composed of the Hebrew letters beth, reysh, yod, and tav. The meanings of these letters put together could be: "The house, body or family by the Highest's hand on the cross". There is no covenant made between God and man except through Jesus Christ, who is present in the very word "covenant", whether it was made before or after His physical appearing. Abraham was told of a token or sign that he and his generations must carry as part of this "cut" covenant. The sign or token, which is the Hebrew word ot, formed by the letters aleph, vaw, and tav, meaning "Adonai God nailed to the cross", is circumcision (mul - cut down, cut in pieces, cut off, destroy). Circumcision is meant to distinguish one from uncircumcision, which means "uncircumcised of the lips and heart, to remain unharvested, to regard as profane or unpure". Paul wrote that circumcision, rather than an outer, fleshly work, is truly fulfilled as an inner, spiritual work in the heart (Rom. 2:28-29). This is not just a New Testament concept, but this inner circumcision was also expressed clearly by Moses (Deut. 10:12-17, Deut. 30:6). In this week's sabbath reading, the prophet Jeremiah also repeated this truth: "For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem... 'Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your hearts...lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." (Jer. 4:3-4). However, Paul went even further regarding inner circumcision, writing: "For we ARE the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Phil. 3:3). We, as the circumcision, are the sign or token of God's covenant of eternal life through Jesus, His Salvation. This was established in the foundation that God created in Abraham. God's encounters with Abraham are too numerous to be detailed here, but, as we read the words of Jesus, we can see that His words are life for the children of Abraham, Jew and Gentile, for Abraham was the father (ab- founder of a household, group, family, clan) of many nations, and a hero of faith. The children of Abraham are built upon his apostolic and prophetic foundation, with Christ as its Chief Cornerstone, who do as their father Abraham did. If you would like to know more about this foundation that was established by God in Abraham, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You called Abram out of the world and its empires, and into Your Presence. You revealed great mysteries of Christ to him as Your apostle and prophet for future generations. You gave him a new name, and separated him as You cut covenant with him, and all of his household. You have given him to us as a reminder of Your foundation, and the work of Christ in him, and in his descendants. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that the work of Christ may be perfected and completed in my heart also. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."