SendForth

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is Va-yishlach which means, "And he sent." The title comes from Genesis 32:3: "Then Jacob sent (salah [pronounced shaw-lakh] - go, send forth, stretch out, sow, loose, set free, shoot forth as branches, spread, reach forth, appoint, send a messenger, send words, to command anything of anyone, to stretch as a hand from on high, to send away) messengers (malak - angel, messenger, ambassador, deputy, messenger of God [see also Mal. 3:1-3], king, prophet, priest, one sent) before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom." 

     As we can see from the meaning of the word "sent", or salah in Hebrew as used above, a powerful purpose is ordained, and a powerful result is expected. We will see that what is "sent" to Esau is saves Jacob's life, as well as that of his large family.

     Jacob was sending messengers with words of greeting to let his twin brother Esau know that he was back in the land after being away for twenty years. Before Jacob had left his home, Esau had vowed to kill him. This was a humble gesture on Jacob's part, reaching out to Esau, in order to prepare the way for a peaceful return. The messengers returned from their mission to Esau and told Jacob that Esau was coming to meet him, and he was bringing four hundred men with him, leaving Jacob afraid and distressed. He divided all of the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) people that were with him, including wives and children, so that it would make it more difficult for Esau to attack all of Jacob's people at one time. (v. 6-7).

     Jacob then sent (salah - see above) by his servants word messages and gifts to Esau ahead of his arrival of many goats, sheep, camels, cattle, and donkeys. Jacob told his servants: "I will appease (kapar - atonement, purge, reconciliation, forgive, pacify, to pardon, to cover over, atone for sin, to expiate, merciful, to obtain forgiveness, to make expiation for an offender, to inanimate things which were accounted to be defiled, to receive pardon) him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me." (v. 13-20).

     The gift that Jacob sent to Esau was to act as an atonement for sin and an outpouring of mercy according to the Hebrew word kapar used above. Before we find out the conclusion of the meeting between Jacob and Esau, a very strange but important encounter will occur first.

     After sending his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) two wives, his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) two women servants, his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) eleven children and (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) what he had across the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) brook at Jabbok (yaboq/baqaq - "emptying"/make void, empty, lay waste, pour out, devastate, depopulate; spread out as a fruitful vine, be luxuriant, be profuse and abundant), Jacob was left alone: "...and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day." (Ge. 32:22-24). When the Man saw that He did not prevail against Jacob, He touched the socket of Jacob's hip and put Jacob's hip out of joint. However, Jacob would not let the man go until the Man blessed him.  So the Man told Jacob: "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel (yisrael/sara - "God prevails"/contend, have power as a prince, persist, exert oneself, to set in order, a noble, a prince); for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." (v. 25-28). The King James Version of the Bible states that the Man's description of the name Israel was: "for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." After prevailing over the Man, Jacob was changed. Even his name was changed by to reflect this transformation. After experiencing this encounter, could Jacob then prevail over his brother Esau as well? It won't be a physical wrestling match with Esau, but a spiritual one.

     Jacob named the place of his wrestling, Penuel/Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God (elohim - God, angels, divine ones) face to face, and my life is preserved." Jacob then also crossed over the brook from that place. Jacob understood that he had been wrestling with God. The revelation that Jacob/Israel obtained during this strange wrestling encounter will affect his reunion with his brother, Esau. If Jacob could see God's face and not only survive but prevail, how much more could he prevail seeing Esau face to face?

     The conclusion of the encounter with Esau is that after seeing Jacob's gifts that were sent ahead and seeing Jacob's family, Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept together. (Gen. 33:4). Jacob remained wary of Esau and treated his encounter with him very cautiously.

     We see how his encounter with God at Penuel ("Facing God") gave Jacob/Israel the prevailing strength to face Esau. As Esau intended to refuse Jacob's gifts that had been sent ahead, Jacob/Israel said to Esau: "No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. Please take (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.' So he urged him, and he took it." (Gen. 33:10-11).

     Jacob's new name, Israel, is "one who struggles with God and men and prevails." The kapar atoning, reconciling appeasement gift (see kapar above) that Jacob sent to Esau spared Jacob's life. 

     Paul wrote about the same kind of blessing that was given to Jacob by the Man he wrestled mentioned above, and the power of kapar atoning reconciliation or appeasement in this way: "What then can we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered (paradidomi - incl. the meaning "to give into the hands of another, to give over into one's power or use") Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors (hypernikao/nikao - to gain a surpassing and decisive victory, to vanquish beyond/to subdue, to conquer, to overcome, to prevail) through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:31-39).

     Jesus taught that before we bring a gift/offering to God, we must be reconciled with our brother who has something against us. He said: "...First be reconciled (diallasso - to change the mind of anyone, to reconcile, to renew friendship with one/to change or to transform thoroughly, to make different, to conciliate) to your brother (adelphos - natural brother, countryman, a fellow believer, associate, any man), and then come and offer your gift. Agree (eunoeo - to wish one well, of a peaceable spirit, reconcile) with your adversary (antidikos/dike/deiknyo- opponent, enemy, even arch-enemy Satan/vengeance, punish, judgment/to show or teach, give evidence or proof)  quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge..." (see Mt. 5:23-26, excerpt).

     Both Jacob and Esau had sinned against each other. While Esau voluntarily sold his birthright to Jacob, from Esau's point of view, Jacob tricked his father Isaac into giving him his paternal blessing instead of the elder and favored son, Esau, as Isaac had planned to do. Esau sinned, speaking and planning the revenge murder of his brother. However, the kapar appeasing atonement gift sent by Jacob to his brother changed Esau's plans thoroughly. Instead of using his four hundred men to attack and kill Jacob, Esau ran to Jacob, hugged his neck, kissed him and wept. In this case, we see that Esau was changed or transformed completely from his original intentions, which is also part of the kapar atonement reconciling appeasement gift (see diallasso above).

      We see this idea in the New Testament also. We also know that Jesus was sent and given by the Father in heaven as a gift of reconciliation and appeasement to the world. (Jn. 3:16-17). Paul also referred to Jesus as a gift: "For the wages of sin is death, but the (free) gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 6:23).  We also see, as part of the process of reconciliation, a thorough change or transformation (see diallasso above): "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled (katallasso - to change mutually, to reconcile) us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation (katallage - restoration to divine favor, reconciliation, atonement), that is, that God was in Christ reconciling (katallasso - see above) the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation/atonement (katallage - see above)...be reconciled (katallage - see above) to God." (2 Cor. 5:17-20, excerpt).

     Reconciliation is directly tied to its root meaning in Greek, which includes atonement. A complete change or transformation in state must also result from and accompany our supernatural reconciliation to God through Christ. As important in the verses above is that this same transforming and atoning gift of reconciliation that we received, now is placed into our hands to minister to others. In Word and prayer, we minister the gift that changes individuals and reconciles them to God through the gift of Jesus Christ. Do we want to see "change" in the world? The ministry of reconciliation that has been given to us is a powerful place to start.

     The following verses use a different but related Greek word for "reconciliation": "For it pleased the Father that in Him (Jesus) all the fulness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless (note the change in condition), and above reproach in His sight - if indeed you continue in the faith..." (Col. 1:19-23). The Greek word used in these verses meaning to reconcile is the word apokatallasso. This word means "to reconcile completely, to reconcile back again, to bring back to a former state of harmony."

     The portrait of the gifts of appeasement which Jacob sent forth to Esau, and the resulting reconciliation between those brothers, to me presents the greater truth of the reconciliation of man back to God through the gift of Jesus Messiah/Christ to all who will accept the gift. Jacob pleaded with Esau to accept his gift, and lives were spared from death that day, and circumstances were transformed. (Gen. 33:10-11). How much more powerful and eternal is the ministry of reconciliation through Messiah/Christ that the Lord has placed into our hands than the sheep, camels, cattle and donkeys which Jacob gave to Esau?

     If you would like to learn more about the transforming, reconciling, atonement gift, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, even while I was separated from You by my sin, You sent forth a gift to me that would save me and change me, which is the gift of Your Son, my atonement and my reconciliation. As I look at a lost and suffering world, help me to see it through Your eyes. You gave Your own and only Son because of Your love for this inhabited world. Teach me and help me through Your Holy Spirit to pray and speak the Word of Reconciliation/Atonement - a Word that changes and transforms those who will hear, believe and receive it - a Word that reunites all creation back to Yourself through Jesus, the Lord of all creation. I ask this in the name of Your Son, 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. 

DrawNear

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is Va-yiggash, meaning "and he drew near". The reading portion includes Gen. chapters 45 through 47. Joseph, who had been rejected and betrayed by his brothers because of their hateful envy of him, was now ruler of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. His brothers came from Canaan to Egypt because, thanks to Joseph's wise leadership, it was the only country that had food available to be purchased in the middle of a severe famine. As his brothers, who would be the patriarchs of some of the twelve tribes of Israel, stood before him, Joseph revealed (yada - to know, show, tell, teach, declare, to see, discern, be revealed, be wise) himself to them, saying: "I am Joseph; does my father (Jacob) still live?" (Gen. 45:3). 

     We see a prophetic parallel here between the events of Joseph's and Jesus' life. Jesus was also rejected by those of His own flesh and blood (Isa. 53:3, Jn. 1:10-11), placed into the pit (intending death), brought up from that pit alive, brought to and accepted by people who were not His own people whom He saved from destruction, and then, as scripture has prophesied, He will be revealed to, and re-united with, His brethren as their own by a prophesied work of the Spirit of God (Zech. 12:10, Rev. 1:7) Even long after he was dead, Joseph's bones were faithfully, lovingly and respectfully brought back to the land of his own people by the descendants of his brothers as they were delivered out of slavery in Egypt (Gen. 50:25, Ex. 13:18-19, Heb. 11:22).

     When Joseph made himself known to his brothers as they came before him, he wept aloud (natan - to give, to suffer, to recompense, to bestow, to pour). Joseph's tears were a poured out gift to his brothers, according to the Hebrew meaning above. We see this also in the life of Jesus as He drew near to Jerusalem and wept over it (Lk. 19:41-44). As Joseph wept and revealed himself to his frightened brothers, Joseph said to them: "Please come near (nagas - draw near, approach, to approach one another, joined one to another) to me.' So they drew near." (Gen. 45:4). Jesus also welcomed those who desired to draw near to Him (Mt. 19:13-15), and asked that we allow Him to draw near to us (Rev. 3:20), as Joseph did with his estranged brothers. Again, Joseph would say to his brothers: "...you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children's children...and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine." (Gen. 45:10-11).

     Joseph told his brothers how the plan of God had been established despite their evil plan for him: "And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity (se'erit/sa'ar - residue, remnant, what is left, portion that escapes, final surviving portion , survivor after a slaughter/to remain left alive, to let remain) for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here (by selling him into slavery), but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." (v. 7-8). Joseph was sent by God to preserve a surviving portion of His people from death, in this case, by famine. Eventually, Messiah (Jesus) would come forth from one of these saved sons of Jacob, Judah (see Gen. 49:1, 8-12), and God's prophetic timeline and the events leading to the salvation of men and the renewal of creation would come through His people Israel, the posterity of Jacob and his sons (Rom. 3:1-2, Rom. 11:1, 11-12). In another selection from this Sabbath reading portion, it is written in scripture: "He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, 'To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance..." (Ps. 105:7-11). Israel, the people preserved by Joseph, is still playing its purposed prophetic role.

     As Joseph told his brothers of his purpose from God to preserve a posterity (remnant) of Jacob, scripture promises that God will always have a surviving believing remnant, no matter what evil powers intend (see Gen. 7:1, 1 Kings 19:14-18, Rom. 11:4-5). Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray in order to be accounted worthy to be part of that believing remnant that survives to escape and stand before Him in the terrible day of the LORD (Lk. 21:34-36).

     In another reading portion from this Sabbath, the prophet Ezekiel wrote the Word of the LORD describing the drawing near in proximity, and the joining, of two separate sticks representing the posterities of Joseph and Judah. From this joining, a single kingdom will be restored: "Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. David My servant (meaning the Messiah/Christ) shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them...My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people..." (Ezek. 37:15-28, excerpt). The people of Joseph are just as important to the fulfilment of this prophecy as the people of Judah. It is a moment of drawing near to each other and God, and reconciling.

     This Sabbath reading of Va-yiggash, meaning "and he drew near", falls just before we observe Christmas, the birth of our Savior, Jesus. One of the most powerful details in scripture of this birth, is when heaven draws near to earth, and when God, through His only begotten Son, draws near to us, and invites us to draw near to Him: "Now there were in the same country (near Bethlehem) shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!' So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said, 'Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.'" (Lk. 2:8-15). 

     The shepherds did not just receive a miraculous message, but went to draw near, and see the Babe, Jesus, whose name in Hebrew, Yeshua, means "God is salvation", and rejoiced in seeing Him. They became a necessary part of the miraculous event as the angels of God reached out to them from heaven. I think that they must have driven their flocks there also, hundreds and thousands of sheep, because, as shepherds, they would not have left the flocks behind, unprotected. We also are invited to draw near and see this miracle of God.

     If you would like to draw near to Jesus this Christmas to see the wonderful thing that God has done, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, all heaven broke out in praise as it shared the news of the birth of our Savior with men on earth. As Christmas draws near, my heart's desire is to draw near to You, to look upon Your dear Son, and to be filled with heaven's wonder and joy. I marvel at the small Babe, and my heart is touched with love. You gave this gift to all men to receive, and You gave this gift to me. I give You thanks and praise for this priceless gift of salvation and eternal life, and reconciliation between God and man. In Jesus' name, I pray. AMEN." 

     

DrawNear

The sabbath reading scheduled for this week is titled Va-yiggash, meaning "and he drew near". For the third time in scripture, a severe famine has come upon the land. Both Abraham and Isaac were sustained through famine, and now Jacob and his family will be kept through a famine as well. The nature of a famine is strange. Pharaoh's dreams revealed that in a famine the abundant and healthy are devoured by the blighted and ill-favored. The prophet Joel also describes this same "devouring" by worms or locusts and grasshoppers (Joel 1:16-20 and 2:25). Jo-el makes clear that these devouring creatures are the LORD's army. In Joel, the famine comes before the day of the LORD (1:15), and the outpouring of His Spirit (2:26-27, 3:28-29), which is important to note. Another portion from this week's sabbath reading tells us that the LORD sent the famine during Joseph's time in Egypt in order to raise up Joseph: "Moreover He (God) called for a famine in the land; He destroyed all of the provision of bread. He sent a man before them - Joseph - who was sold as a slave. They hurt (ana - afflict, oppress, humiliate, stoop, mishandle, cry out, testify, witness) his feet (regel/ragal - feet, footstool/slander, make false statements about, defame) with fetters, he was laid (bo - bring into, enter, fall upon) in irons (barzel/birzot - iron, harshness, oppression/to pierce, holes, aperture, wounds, choice olive, "well of olives"). Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him." (Ps. 105:16-19). We can see a connection between Joseph and Jesus through the meanings of the words used to describe Joseph's slavery above. Before the return of Jesus, the Messiah, famine will play a major role in prophetic events (Mt. 24:3, 7, Rev. 6:8). In another of this sabbath's readings, one of the prophets wrote of a different kind of famine, not of food, but of the Word of the LORD: "Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord God, 'That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; They shall run to and fro seeking the Word of the LORD, but shall not find it." (Amos 8:11-12). In this case, great greed had been attached to the purchasing of food, as well as contempt for the provision of God (v. 1-2). The feasts and sabbaths of the LORD that interfered with the selling of anything and everything, including people, were also treated as an inconvenience (v. 5-6). This situation threw Israel into bitterness and mourning "...like mourning for an only son". (v. 9-10). The prophet Zechariah wrote something very similar: "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a first-born." (Zech 12:10). There was a famine for the hearing of the prophetic Word of God, as Amos wrote above, for four hundred years, which covered the period from the end of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Tanakh, to the birth of Christ, and the announcement by the prophet of God, John the Baptist speaking of Jesus at Bethabara (meaning "House of Crossing over, passing over, passing before, passing through"): "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!...I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.' And John bore witness saying, 'I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He (the Spirit) remained upon Him....this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." (Jn. 1:28-34). The prophetic word given to a prophet of God was back after four hundred years of silence, and it was a life and history changing Word! As Christ broke the famine for the hearing of the Word of God, Joseph also broke or ameliorated the famine for bread that had spread across Egypt and Canaan. The prophecy of Amos may see a second fulfillment in the time before Christ's return. The apostles Paul and Peter wrote that in the last days before Christ's return, many will despise the hearing of the Word of God, and prefer lies and fables instead, which we are seeing now (see 2 Tim. 4:3-4, Mt. 24:23-24, 2 Pet. 2:1-2). God said in Psalm 105 above that He brings famine in order to bring forth a chosen servant, like Joseph, and also like Christ, to save the lives of His people, even a remnant. However, Joseph will not only provide for Israel during a famine, but he will seek a reconciliation with his brethren - the same brethren who despised and betrayed him, and sold his life into slavery for twenty shekels of silver. Joseph was so overcome by the sight of his brothers standing before him, as he was now the leader of Egypt under Pharaoh, that Joseph wept aloud. He said to them, "I am Joseph; does my father still live?' But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, 'Please come near to me.' So they came near. Then he said, 'I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here.; for God sent me before you to preserve (sum - set, appoint, set or make for a sign) life....And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity (seerit/sa'ar - remnant, escaped remainder of wrath/be kept alive) for you in the earth, and to save (haya/hava - save alive, be restored to life, revive from death/breathe (see Jn. 20:21-22), declare, show) your lives by a great deliverance (peleta/palit/palat - escape, escaped portion/deliver(er), to bring into safety or security, to cause to escape, slip away, deliver from danger). So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." (Gen. 45:1-8). Jesus also said that He was not sent by men but by God, His Father in heaven (Jn. 7:28-29). As Joseph told his brothers that he was sent to Egypt by God to preserve them, according to the meaning of the word (see above), this was also set to be a sign. This encounter between Joseph and his brothers, and their preservation through him, was to be a sign declaring something to all of us. We are in the Book of Genesis, or B'reshiet, "Beginning", and a beginning principle of God is being revealed through this sabbath's reading selection. Not only do we have a prophetic image of Christ in Joseph as one who "preserves, saves, and brings a great deliverance" to God's people, Israel, but we also see a prophetic reconciliation that will carry the promise of God for thousands of years, even to this present time. The title of this sabbath's reading is Va-yiggash, or "and he drew near". Upon seeing his brothers standing before him, Joseph was overcome with emotion. and said to them, "Please come near to me." (Gen. 45:4). Joseph, a leader of Egypt, had the authority and every reason to judge and condemn his brothers for their betrayal of him years before (see Gen. 37:4, 8, 18-28). However, Joseph "...fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brother's talked with him." (Gen. 45:14-15). Joseph provided food and safety for his father, Jacob, and his brothers' families in the best land in Egypt, Goshen, meaning "drawing near" (v. 10, 18). Even Pharaoh and all of his servants were pleased that "Joseph's brothers have come" (v. 16), and Pharaoh wanted to meet and speak with them, and told Joseph: "Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen..." (Gen. 47:5-6). The fact that Joseph held an almost kingly position of authority in Egypt plays a large role in the reconciliation. This beginning principle of God regarding the reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers, who despised and abused him, will have far-reaching prophetic significance concerning the joining of Israel and the half-Gentile children of Joseph under the subsequent rulership of a kingly figure, and later still, the reconciliation and restoration of Jewish and Gentile branches in the olive tree, in faith, by the Word of God. We also must remember that the Joseph/Jesus figure in our reading immediately, and with tears of joy, received back his brethren who had despised, abused and unjustly treated him. In another reading portion from this sabbath, the power and eternal significance of Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers is seen again in Ezek. 37. By the prophetic Word of God, the two separate sticks that represent Judah/Israel and Joseph/Ephraim (half-Gentile son of Joseph), are joined together in the hand of the prophet, as the LORD declared: "...and I will make them one nation...and one king shall be king over them all...nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile themselves anymore...but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them, and I will be their God. David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd...My servant David shall be their prince forever." (Ezek. 37:22-25). Because King David had already been dead for many centuries when this prophecy was given, the reconciling factor between Joseph and his brethren in this prophecy is the Messiah, the eternal David, the Son of David, and King forever (2 Sam. 7:12-13, 16, 25, 29, Isa. 9:6-7, Lk. 1:30-33, Lk. 18:35-43, Lk. 19:35-38, 1 Tim. 6:14-16, Rev. 19:16), the one Shepherd and King of the one reconciled people. Paul also wrote of this miraculous but again prophetically guaranteed reconciliation between the Jewish branches and the Gentile branches into the same holy root, the Olive Tree representing the olive oil of anointing, or the Anointed One, the Messiah, Christ (Rom. 11:5, 15-18, 23-27, 29). In fact, the Word and ministry given to the Church of believers is the Ministry of Reconciliation, through Christ, between men and God, and between all creation and its creator (2 Cor. 5:17-21). We see in this Ministry given to us the ultimate manifestation of the Genesis principle of kingly preservation, salvation, great deliverance and reconciliation introduced to us in this week's sabbath reading. Finally, as we look again at the title of this week's sabbath reading portion, "and he drew near", various scriptures tell us to "draw near" to God (incl. Heb. 10:19-22, James 4:8-10, 1 Peter 2:3-4). Often, when Jesus healed and blessed, the people drew near, or came near, to Him (see Mk. 3:7-8, Mk. 10:13-15, Lk. 18:40-42). So great was His desire to draw Jerusalem near to Him in reconciliation, that Jesus wept over that city, because without that reconciliation and His preservation and deliverance into safety, terrible destruction awaited that city (Mt. 23:37-39, Lk. 19:41-44). History noted that this destruction occurred in 70 AD by the Romans. God has raised up His King and Deliverer if we will draw near to Him. If you would like to learn more about our King and Deliverer, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, I draw near to You through the preservation and reconcliation provided by Your Son, Jesus. He is the ever-reigning King over all creation. He is the Author and Finisher of all life. He, like the example provided to us by Joseph, desires above all things for His brethren to be reconciled to Him, and through Him, I am kept from destruction by His great deliverance. I pray also for the reconciliation of Judah/Israel and Joseph/Ephraim together into one, under one King and Shepherd from the line of David, and the restoration of the Jewish and the Gentile branches united together in our Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Reconciliation

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Lk. 2:13-14). Today is Christmas day. Christmas is full of miracle messages. One of the miracles associated with Christmas is the above declaration of the angels in heaven: the outreach of reconciliation from God to man by the child who had been born, Jesus. This miracle of reconciliation is so great, that a multitude of angels cried out aloud from heaven in praises because of it. We are separated from our God in the first place because of our sin. The word of the LORD to the prophet Isaiah said, "Behold the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lipe have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity." (Isa. 59:1-3). The same sin also separates and divides us from one another. Our nations are divided with hostility, our communities are divided, our families are divided. However, the child born on Christmas is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29, 34), and reconciles the world to God. The blood of the Lamb also reconciles us with each other, if we will allow it to do so. This is the ministry that was given to Christ, and to us - the reconciliation of man to God: "Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God." (2 Cor. 5:18-20). As we know, the world is in desperate need of being reconciled to God. Everywhere we look, there are divisions and estrangements, even within the household of faith. We have this powerful ministry of reconciliation, created for us by the Father through Christ Himself. This is the perfect time of year to revive ourselves in the meaning and timely importance of this ministry of reconciliation. The Sabbath readings this week also carry the same message. They are from Gen. 45 and Ezek. 37. This group of readings is called Va'yigash, meaning "And he drew near". That title has a wealth of meaning to us, especially at this time of year. In Gen. 45, Joseph is miraculously reunited with his brothers, and afterwards, with his father, Jacob. These same brothers plotted to kill Joseph because they resented him and the prophetic dreams he had. They ended up selling him into slavery instead. They lied to their father, Jacob, and told him that Joseph had been killed. Joseph ends up as a slave in Egypt, but by the favor of God (the meaning of reconciliation includes "restoration to favor"), he was elevated into the second highest position in Egypt. Only Pharaoh was of higher rank. Rather than being offended, angry and bitter during the unexpected reconciliation with his brothers, Joseph was overcome with emotion at the reunion. In order to comfort them, Joseph told his brothers that all had worked out for him according to God's purpose. The reconciliation work of God causes us to be able to see His purpose, even through painful trials and rejection. Because of this reconciliation of Joseph with his family, the seed of Jacob would have provision and safety throughout the famine. The second miraculous reconciliation is found in this Sabbath's haftarah reading found in Ezek. 37. It is the reconciliation prophesied to the divided nation of Israel. The reconciliation taking place in this chapter takes place on several different levels. Israel had been divided into two separate kingdoms. God prophesies through Ezekiel that they would be joined together again. On another level of reconciliation, God promises that Israel would be one nation with one King, one Shepherd, even David, for ever. Here in this level of reconciliation, God is promising Israel the Kingdom of Messiah. On the third level of reconciliation, the Jews and the half-Gentile tribes, represented by Ephraim (Joseph's son by his Egyptian wife), would be joined together like two sticks or branches becoming one in God's hand. This same promise is given to the Church in the new covenant through Christ's ministry of reconciliation: "For if their (Israel) being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?...blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins." (Rom. 11:11-21, excerpt). From Ephesians we read, "...that at that time you (once Gentiles in the flesh) were without Christ being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and wiithout God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation..." (Eph. 2:12-14). The miraculous work of reconciliation, announced on that long ago night in Bethlehem at the birth of Christ, is still working miracle reconciliations as promised by our Father. May we walk faithfully in that ministry in the image of Christ, Who reconciled the world to His Father, because our Father has given us the ministry and word of reconciliation. If you would like to draw nearer to Jesus as He reaches out to draw near to you, you can begin with this prayer: "Lord Jesus, You have reconciled me to the Father in heaven by cleansing me of my sins. I believe you died for me, and that You rose again from the dead. Fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I may minister this same reconciliation to others in Your name. Amen."

Fusion

fusion- the process or result of joining two or more things to form a single entity.
      - the merging of diverse, distinct, or separate elements into a unified whole.
      - the union of atomic nuclei to form heavier nuclei resulting in the release of enormous quantities of energy when certain light elements unite.

Above are some definitions of the word "fusion". I found that the definitions added clarity in our topic today. There are people for whom I am currently praying that desperately need a healing miracle. The situation is literally "life and death". Perhaps you also have people in your prayers who desperately need a miracle. I wondered, "Where are the miracles of Christ?" I have indeed seen miracles, and received them myself, but I cannot say that miracles, signs and wonders are routinely pouring from my life as I would hope to see. As I once again began to pray, I thought, "But healing isn't a thing...He's a Person."
Fundamental truths that I learn regarding salvation, healing, everlasting life, resurrection, atonement, sacrifice, life, holiness, righteousness, faith itself, prosperity, deliverance, peace, joy, prayer, and many other parts of our walk, are thought of as "blessings", "promises", "works", etc. Thinking of them in that manner though makes all of those powerful fundamental truths become "things". However, all of these are an aspect or quality of a Person. I create a distance from the Person when I think of these aspects as things to be achieved or received. Saying,  "I need healing", "I need provision", "I need a miracle", "I need deliverance", in a way de-Personalizes, making an aspect of the Living God into a thing we receive from Him. I hope I am explaining effectively what I am feeling in a way that it can be understood.
Our Father has always been a very personal God. Although He is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present in character, God has always dealt very personally with the individual: from the greatest kings to lowliest leprous outcasts; from small children, even children who have not yet been born (Ps. 139:13-16, Jer. 1:4-7, Lk. 1:41-44), to people who were very old; with sinners, and with those whom He called righteous.
From the beginning, God walked and talked with Adam in the Garden, and was personally connected to him. God knew immediately when His preciously created man fell.
When God introduced Himself to Moses, He spoke the very personal "I AM...". He used His personal relationship with men, to identify Himself to other men: "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
When God provided His salvation, He didn't send a thing, He sent a Person, whose very name IS "Salvation", Yeshuah, Jesus.
Salvation isn't a concept, or even a miracle. He is a Person. Healing isn't a doctrine or an answer to prayer, He is a Person (Ex. 15:26) . Peace and joy aren't just things we all desire, but a Person (Jn. 14:27, Neh. 8:10). The provision of everything we need for our lives is a Person (Jn. 6:35, 48, Gen. 22:14, 2 Pet. 1:3).  Resurrection and everlasting life isn't a goal, promise, place, or thing. He is a Person (Jn. 11:25). Faith isn't just a thing we should try to have and speak. He is part of a Person, as in "the faith of the Son of God" (Gal. 2:20). The force of life in all men isn't a thing to be debated regarding "when" or "how". He is a Person (Jn. 1:4). Even light is not a thing, but a Person (Jn. 1:9, Jn. 8:12). Truth is not a thing, but a Person. Our daily spiritual walk and progress is not an effort we make, but a Person: "I am the way (road; journey; course of conduct; a manner of thinking, feeling, deciding; a progress; a mode or means), the truth, and the life" (Jn. 14:6). Is it possible to "become" what we are called to become if we think of all of this as doctrines, tenets, blessings, works, things, rather than Christ, Himself? 
The victory of Christ is not to make "things", even miraculous things, available to me. The victory of Christ is to reconcile me (bring back a former state of harmony: definition-pleasing combination of elements in a whole) with Himself, and His Father, my Father (Rom. 5:10-11, 2 Cor. 5:18-19, Col. 1:19-22, Eph. 2:13-18). The victory of Christ is to make me one with the Persons of the Godhead. Jesus prayed to His Father:
"...for those who will believe in Me...that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one. and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." 
                                                                                                           Jn. 17:20-24
The commands, "Be thou holy as I am holy", and "Be thou perfect as I am perfect", are not for the purpose of demanding that I attain some sort of spiritual goal I don't think, but to call me to a fusion with the Person who is holy, with the Person who is perfect (2 Cor. 5:21, Col. 1:21-22) until it can no longer be differentiated where I end and He begins. Then I become holy also, and then I become perfect also. The Father wants us to find Christ and cling to Him, meld into Him. We understand that scripture tells us that we have received Christ, that it is "Christ in us, the hope of glory", and "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation...", but our walk is often about ourselves, and what we do, and who we are, rather than this fusion with Christ. There is no "us" or "me" if I am one, fused, with Him. There is only Him. Jesus also said:
"Abide (Grk-meno-remain, not to depart, to be held, kept continually, to remain as one; Heb.-yashab- dwell, remain, to sit down, seat, marry) in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing. If  anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." 
                                                                                                         Jn. 15:4-6
The fruit comes with abiding in and with Christ, as a branch is one and the same with a vine. Jesus also said:
"If I do not the works of My Father, do not believe Me: but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Jn. 10:37-38,  AND
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."   Jn. 14:10-14
Usually we read these verses with the emphasis on the works. However, I am now reading them here with the emphasis on that to which the works point: the fusion relationship. The "works" came from Christ's fusion with the Father, His inseparable relationship and identity with His Father. He said even if we don't believe Him, believe the works that He does, because the works are His Father's.To Jesus, the words and works were evidentiary of the fusion with His Father. Even His own identity was secondary to this fusion relationship: Believe Me or not, but  believe the works of the Father in Me.
We look for the works apart, but do not sacrifice ourselves to the necessary fusion into the Father's identity, as Jesus did. Jesus speaks above about going to His Father. We accept that the greater works that Jesus spoke of would result from His bringing His blood offering to His Father. It is also the result of the even greater fusion accomplished once His flesh body was cast off. That last separation, that veil, which was His flesh, is rent, and the way into the reconciling unity that He provided for all of us with the Father is completed (Mt. 27:51, Heb. 10:19-20).
In John 17, Jesus prayed that the world will come to the knowledge and belief that Christ was sent to us from God because we are one in Christ and the Father. We wonder why we seem to see such indifference of the world toward the Christian faith, even its disgust. Is it because they have not seen the Christian faith as it has been intended all along? Trying to bring the world to Christ when we have not been willing to come totally to Christ ourselves is futility, and would seem also hypocritical. The Holy Spirit has come to us for the purpose of fusing us into Christ, but we, perhaps unaware of the opposition of our natural mind, desire to keep the distance and separation, and retain our separate identity. If we want to see His glory, if we want to be "Exhibit A" to bring the world to belief, if we want to see the "works" as they were always intended, then it will require fusion with the Person of Christ.
What is the beginning point of this process? Perhaps just the acknowledgement of the depth expected in our relationship with Christ, and the Father. Keeping this at the forefront in our minds, which tend to pull us the opposite way. Having my focal point as entering into Christ, and He into me, growing into the unity, the knowledge, the perfect, the measure of the stature of His fullness, growing up in all things into Him-Christ (Eph. 4:13, 15). Saying as John the Baptist said, "He must increase (become greater, cause to grow, enlarge), but I must decrease (make less or inferior in dignity, make lower, to lesson in rank, influence, authority, or popularity, smallest, least)." (Jn. 3:30). Perhaps understanding that the real meaning of taking up my cross daily and following Him is not only about others persecuting me for my faith as He was persecuted, but that I lay down my own life, my own identity, freely- no man takes it from me - in order to enter into Christ and the Father:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..."
                                                                                                              Gal. 2:20
Look at what we have been called to do according to the above verse. This is the standard that has been set for our relationship with and in Christ. Are we prepared to enter into Him in such a way? Is the world seeing Christianity in its intended fullness as stated above? Or have they only seen people who talk, but are not being? Are those coming with prayer requests who are perishing, either spiritually or physically, receiving that above effective standard of care from me? It is a standard in which I cease, and He lives instead. This is where I can, from this experience, also be directing those who have needs: "Come, fuse into Jesus and into the Father with me."
These are going to be my first steps in understanding.
I've had it all wrong. Healing isn't a thing, He's a Person. As we pray for needs, whether for ourselves, or someone else, let us, as a first step, seek a deeper fusion with the Person who IS all in all (1 Cor. 12:6, 15:28, Eph. 1:23).

Our Father has sent a Person, Jesus, for our reconciliation and fusion into Him.

Reconciliation

Scripture in 2 Cor. 5, tells us that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away and all things have become new. Yes, we have become new, but this scripture says "all things" have become new with us. How is this accomplished?
Verses 18-21 in the same chapter continues the thought:

"Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word (logos-living voice, decree) of reconciliation..
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Paul is writing to a church of believers in Corinth, yet he is pleading with them to become reconciled with God (verse 20). Aren't believers already reconciled with God?
The meaning of the word "reconciliation" in Greek, refers to the exchange of currency. Unlike coins are made equivalent by a rate of exchange. Although the coins may have nothing in common, they are made to relate to each other, and to equal one other.
If we use this understanding of currency exchange, we might be able to say that man's sinful and dying nature is being exchanged or made equivalent, to the holy, everlasting nature of God by the application of Christ's sacrifice. As it says above "that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
This exchange is an ongoing application of the blood of Christ, and the person of Christ to our souls. If anyone is IN Christ, he is a new creation. Jesus said to abide IN Him (Jn. 15:4).  To abide means to remain, continue, to be held, kept continually, to remain as one, not to become another or different.
The importance of this reconciliation between ourselves and our Father, is that this same reconciliation that the Father desires with us, He also has desired with the world, with "all things". In that same desire, He has imparted to us a ministry of that reconciliation. We apply a "living voice, a decree" from our mouths of the reconciliation between our Father and the created world through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As we become reconciled with our Father, so does all creation - "ALL things have become new".
In 1 Thessalonians 1:8, the Apostle Paul tells the church:

"For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything."

This church might have expected or hoped to impact their immediate surroundings, mentioned in the above verse, but they were probably unaware that the Word of God spoken from that place affected ervery place in the world. The Word of God is Spirit. It is alive, and cannot be bound nor fettered (2 Tim. 2:9). It is not limited to the human ears of listeners, but reaches beyond to "every place".
As we speak the Word, as we sing the Word, as we pray the Word of Reconciliation, we are operating in the Ministry of Reconcilation between God and His creation. That which has been broken is repaired. Where there is a gap between God and man, we spiritually stand in it, to make the connection again:

"Those from among you shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In."
                                              Isa. 58:12

A "breach" as described above, is something that has been broken open, broken apart, or broken in pieces, sometimes with the use of violence. The relationship between our Father and man, was broken into pieces by our own rebellion and rejection of Him. He has made a way to repair what was broken by us. We, who understand what He desires to do, can be repairers of that destruction.
Sometimes we view the destroyed spiritual condition of our nation, and we judge it, and we despair over it. But our Father has instructed us to repair it.
Moses is described as a man who stood before God in the breach between God and His people, who had turned away from Him (Psalm 106:23). In doing so, Moses prevented the judgment that the people deserved for their rebellion.
This is the ministry with which we also have been entrusted. As we have heard and read many times in 2 Chron. 7:14,

"If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land."

The reconciliation begins with us. We are to be newly reconciled with our Father every day. Why must it be done every day? Isn't once enough? No- the scriptures tell us that the mercies and compassions of the LORD are NEW every morning (Lam. 3:22-24). This newness means "refreshed, renewed, repaired". The renewing and repairing are available to us every new day, not just once.  As we live, and walk in that reconciliation, it doesn't just affect our own lives, but it will be sounded in every place, even to the healing of our land.
Having been given this ministry of reconciliation, we must now walk in it. How sad it would be for our Father to say over our lives'

"So I sought for a man among them , that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none."
                                                                        Ezek. 22:30

It is the heart of our Father to be reconciled with His creation, so much so that He paid with His own blood to do it. We cannot doubt, despite the wickedness we see, that this is His desire. We need to be reconciled to His desire, and speak forth the Word of Reconciliation.

Our Father is Reconciliation.



"A Beautiful Exchange"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-bUZj1bkoE

"We'll Stand in the Gap"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5jKnP8sKXc

"Song of Reconciliation"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzSbbldJ488

"Take Me to the King"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8TAr9jgA9A