Fathers

      This week's Sabbath portion is titled Va-y'chi, meaning, "and he lived." The reading portion begins in Gen. 47 and continues through the beginning of chapter 50. The title comes from Gen. 47:28: "Jacob lived (haya - live, alive, save, revive, life, recover, be quickened, restored to life, keep alive, remain alive, revive from death, breathing) in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob's life was one hundred and forty-seven years." As we look at the full meaning of the Hebrew word used here for "lived", we can see that scripture is talking about much more than the natural days of a lifespan here on earth. Built into the meaning of the word is the promise of life from the dead, resurrection life, everlasting life. Jesus defined this truth when He said to Martha, the sister of Lazarus who had died: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to Him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." (Jn. 11:25-27). Jesus then called her brother, Lazarus, to come out of his grave, and he came out, and he haya lived.

     What we will see in this week's Sabbath reading portion is the impact of a father's faith and words on his child and on future generations. We have lost this understanding in our modern times. A child is blessed if he or she has a father who understands the importance of imparting eternal knowledge to them. Perhaps this is why the presence of fathers in their children's lives has come under so much spiritual attack.

     Jacob, nearing his time of death, understood the promise of eternal life given to his grandfather, Abraham, when he made Joseph swear solemnly that Joseph would take Jacob's body out of Egypt and back to the specific place in Cannan near Mamre of Abraham's and Isaac's burial. Jacob said to his son, Joseph: "Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place. And he (Joesph) said, 'I will do as you have said.' The he said, 'Swear to me.' And he swore to him. So Israel (Jacob) bowed himself on the head of the bed." (Gen. 47:29-31).

     It was vitally important to Jacob to be buried with Abraham and Isaac. Abraham had received the prophetic knowledge and rejoiced in the promise of Messiah/Christ, which included the promise of resurrection life (see Jn. 8:56-58). Why would we think that the LORD would hide this knowledge from His friend Abraham (Gen. 18:17-19), who later made very special burial provisions for his wife, Sarah, when she died, for himself and for his descendants. Scripture tells us that Abraham even knew about the eternal city of New Jerusalem (Heb. 11:8-10), which would descend from heaven (Rev. 21:1-3). This knowledge was handed down from father to son, and Jacob would have been well aware of it.

     The knowledge of resurrection in the form of a Person was not only delivered to Abraham, but is found in what is called the oldest book of the Bible, the Book of Job. Job declared his resurrection knowledge: "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God." (Job 19:25-27). Job even associated persecution with this knowledge contained within him (see v. 28) as Jesus also taught (see Mt. 5:11, 24:9). Resurrection from the dead was ancient prophetic knowledge passed from father to son, and fulfilled not by false religious rituals, as the Egyptians practiced, but by the Person of the Son of God, Jesus, the prophesied Messiah/Christ, who received His knowledge and authority to give life from His Father in heaven. (See Jn. 5:19-21). This also is the knowledge that today's fathers must pass to their sons and daughters and therefore throughout generations to come.

     Joseph kept his solemn oath to his father Jacob. When Jacob died, a period of mourning was observed in Egypt, and then Pharaoh granted Joseph's request to return to Canaan in order to bury his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) father. All of Pharaoh's court and his chariots accompanied Joseph on this journey and openly wept with (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) mourning (ebel - mourning as for an only son) for Jacob as they came to the border of the Promised Land at the threshing floor of Atad (meaning thorns, to pierce, thorn tree with firmness of roots). Then Joseph and his brothers returned to Egypt. (Gen. 50:6-14).

     Before Jacob died, he also prophesied over his sons. These prophetic words were not for Jacob's sons' present generation, but for thousands of years into the future, even for our time: "And Jacob called (qara - call by name, cry out with a loud voice, summon, proclaim, called out, chosen) his sons and said, 'Gather together (asap - gather in, receive, assemble together, to collect) that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last ('aharit/ahar - end, latter, posterity, after part, latter or future time, the very last/afterwards [of time], delay, tarry, bring late, remain behind) days..." (Gen. 49:1). Jacob prophesied to each son, each to become a tribe of many thousands and settling in the Promised Land. To his son Judah, "a lion's whelp", Jacob prophesied the Messiah/Christ: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (silo - safety, rest, prosperity, tranquility, an epithet of the Messiah/Christ to be born from the tribe of Judah) comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people...He washed His garments in wine, and His clothes in the blood of grapes..." (Gen. 49:10-11).

     What and how do fathers speak to their sons and daughters? A father's words do not only speak to their immediate children, but to all of the children and children's children and continuing generations contained within the son and daughter. It is a father's calling to speak eternal truths that implant the knowledge of eternal promises into their children. Fathers, what are you speaking? A father's words have prophetic impact.

     In another reading portion from this Va-y'chi, "and he lived" Sabbath, King David, when he grew old, imparted words and instructions to his son and successor, Solomon: "Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged (sava - command, give orders, appoint, commission, ordain) (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Solomon his son, saying: 'I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) charge (mismeret - watch, safeguard, preserving, custody, observance) of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; that the LORD may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,' He said, 'you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel." (1 Kings 2:1-2).

     Solomon was appointed above by his father to keep charge of, to safeguard, to preserve "the LORD your God." David said this is done by observing and doing the Word of God in all of its purposes. As King Solomon, known as one of the wisest kings in the world, would later write the knowledge, wisdom, understanding and prudence of the LORD God in the Book of Proverbs, he would address the writing to his own son: "My son, hear the instruction (musar - instruction, correction, chasten, doctrine, discipline, restraint, check, correction of children by their parents, admonition) of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother." (Prov. 1:8). Throughout Proverbs, Solomon addresses his words to "my son." Solomon also wrote that he received his instruction from his father, David: "When I was my father's son, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, he also taught me, and said to me: 'Let your heart retain my words; keep my commandments and live. Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not turn away from the words of my mouth." (Prov. 4:3-5). The words Solomon received from his father would preserve him, keep him, and bring him honor. (v. 6-9). While Solomon would become careless in his walk with the LORD, he later returned to God, perhaps because of the eternal words his father, David, imparted into his life. As Solomon himself would write in the Book of Proverbs: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." (Prov. 22:6). 

     This week's Sabbath reading portion also tells us that not only did David charge his son to keep the ways of the LORD, he also gave his son the greatest vision and purpose from the LORD to be achieved during Solomon's reign. The LORD said to David: "It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father." (1 Chron. 28:6). Solomon did build the house of the LORD, as his father had charged him to do - a magnificent temple in Jerusalem.

     The way of passing musar instruction (see above) from father to son as David and Solomon practiced, came directly from the ancient pattern established by God for the musar instruction of His sons and daughters. This week's Sabbath reading brings us again to the Book of Job: "Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening (musar - see above) of the Almighty...He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you. In famine He shall redeem (pada - ransom, rescue, deliver, redeem, to sever, release, preserve, to loose, set free) you from death (mavet - death, dying, realm of the dead, place of death), and in war from the power of the sword...You shall laugh at destruction and famine, and you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth....You shall know that your tent is in peace; you shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss...You shall come to the grave at a full age, as a sheaf of grain ripens in its season. Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear it, and know for yourself." (Job 5:17-27, excerpt). 

     In the Father - son/child instruction from God, our lives are preserved. In the same pattern of earthly father - son/child instruction, if we will follow it, lives are also preserved even to the redeeming or setting free from death. In these dangerous days, there is nothing more important for our children than the role and instruction of a godly father.

     If you would like to learn more about the importance of a father's role in imparting eternal things to his son/child, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father of all, You have shown us by example the way to pass on eternal knowledge of the things of God to our children in order to preserve their lives. Teach me Your Word and fill me with Your Holy Spirit of wisdom, knowledge, understanding and prudence so that I am able to equip my children and my children's children with the way of life, including eternal life in Jesus Messiah/Christ. I pray for the fathers. I pray for those fathers who need to receive the heart of God towards their children, and I pray for those fathers who desire and sacrifice to give their children the very best in life. Bless the fathers and guide them, Lord. I ask this in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

     *NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

Fathers/Sons

We are all seeing turbulent conditions in the earth, and the nations of the earth. The same trying conditions that we see taking place in the bigger picture of earth are also being seen within the smallest unit of the picture, families. Households are under stress, and children, especially, are suffering the brunt of the upheavals facing today's world. Even before they are born, some children face an attack upon their lives. God, however, cares especially for children. Jesus, from His personal and direct knowledge of heaven, taught that the disregarding of children is in opposition to the mind of God: "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven." (Mt. 18:10). We have seen increasing problems in our children, as we have chosen to remove from our societies the wisdom and Word of God in this important area. We have relied upon schools to play the major role in raising our children. However, the life-giving, life-changing, and life-guiding raising of a child begins and remains within a much smaller unit, as we will see. One of the themes that runs through this Sabbath's reading portion brings this truth to our families. We have read previously that Jacob and his whole household of 75 persons relocated to Egypt during a great famine, to live and thrive under the favor given to Jacob's son, Joseph, who had become a ruler in Egypt (see Gen. 46:1-7). Now, at this point in our Sabbath reading, Jacob has lived in Egypt for what will be the last 17 years of his life, and his life is about to end (Gen. 47:28). As Joseph knew that his father would not live much longer, he brought his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, who had been born in Egypt to an Egyptian mother, before Jacob for his blessing (Gen. 48:1-5). "Then Joseph brought them near him, and he (Jacob) kissed them and embraced them... So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face toward the earth." (v. 10, 12). It was important to Joseph that his sons should have the paternal blessing of his father, Jacob. Interestingly, the blessing of Jacob over his two grandsons, was recorded in scripture as a blessing over his son, Joseph (v. 15-16). Jacob also prophesied over his own sons, from whom the twelve tribes of Israel would be named. His words over his sons before he died were of such importance that scripture says that the words also established what would come to pass in the last days (Gen. 49:1). In another portion of this sabbath's reading, King David told all of the leaders of Israel the things that would be established after his death. He also commanded the principles of God to His son, Solomon: "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it. Then David gave his son Solomon the plans...for all that he had by the Spirit...of the house of God..." (1 Chron. 28:9-12). As the time came for David to die, he again called his son, Solomon, saying: "I go the way of all the earth; be strong therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the LORD your God to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; that the LORD may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,' He said, 'you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel." (1 Kings 2:1-4). We know that as Solomon aged, he was inspired by God to write the Book of Proverbs to guide his son (Prov. 1:8). Today, manhood is defined and practiced by the world in a way that can lead to destruction, but in this case, as David told his son to "prove yourself a man", it had everything to do with Solomon's relationship with God. While all members of a family have a special role in the raising of children, for instance, there is also "the law of your mother" (Prov. 1:8), there can be no denying that there is a special purpose established between a godly father and his son. Destinies are set before God. Blessings are passed that will affect future generations. Often, we have been negligent in revealing to fathers the God-given, life-impacting, destiny establishing words that are meant to pass from father to son. We have relegated fathers to the sidelines of broken families as a society, parsing out fathers' contact with sons (and daughters), to so many hours or days of the week, but it becomes evident that our children need their Spirit-filled, God-honoring fathers to guide them now more than ever. We have not understood the spiritual importance of the God-believing patriarch, not only in the life of his child, but, as we read of Jacob, even having an impact on the events of the last days. The father/son spiritual relationship is not limited to adult and child. Aged fathers still have the opportunity to share their walk with God with their adult children. Jesus gave us the example of His regard for His Father, and the fruit of that special relationship. His connection to His Father in heaven was so complete, that He would only say or do what He heard or saw His Father doing: "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak." (Jn. 12:49-50). And: "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will." (Jn. 5:19-21). Jesus' whole purpose, words, and works, were based on the relationship He had with His Father, until He even revealed to us, "I and My Father are one." (Jn. 10:30). I do not want to criticize fathers of today at all, but to bring to our attention the tremendous importance they have as fathers in the kingdom of God, and in this world. Scripture, and specifically this Sabbath's reading, is pouring out the wisdom of God in this. Mothers and daughters have their special place in God's plan as well, which I would like to learn more about in the future, but this Sabbath's readings dealt with fathers and sons. There is a man I know, who is a man of faith. He travels to various parts of the country on types of spiritual journeys for spiritual purposes. When he goes on one of these travels, he always takes one of his sons with him. He did this even when they were very young. He was aware that what he was sharing with his son was more than a trip, or some "one-on-one time". He was filling his son with a knowledge of God, with a purpose, and a destiny. He allows his son to experience his father's way of life in God. I'm sure this father shares times of play with his sons as well, but he considers his sharing with his son of his own active life of faith has far greater importance. We will not always be in control of the choices our children will make as they grow, but if a child has had the experience and guidance of a godly father in his life, he has a rich treasure indeed, and the man he grows into may become the godly head of a family of his own, and a world-impacting spiritual blessing. Knowing the glory, beauty and power of the Spirit-filled father/son relationship, God has always desired this kind of relationship with each of us: "But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave to right to become sons of God, to those who believe in His name...born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God...For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus...For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God." (Jn. 1:12-13, Gal. 3:26, Rom. 8:19). If your earthly father never shared the ways of God with you, or if he was absent from your life, your heavenly Father is eager to begin a conversation with you, and you will never be the same. If you would like to learn more about being this kind of father, you can join me as I pray: "Heavenly Father, You gave us the powerful example of Your relationship with Your Son, Jesus. You have called all of us to have a Father/son relationship with You. Guide me by Your Holy Spirit to create this kind of relationship with my children, my sons. Let our families be examples of the manifestation of the Word and Spirit of God in this world. Let there be a difference made in the lives of our children, and in their children after them. Let hearts be healed, and lives changed as a result. I ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen."