Genesis 41:1-44:17
Zechariah 2:14 (10)-4:7
Introduction
Jacob refuses to allow Benjamin to go to Egypt. Only when their food is gone does he bow to his sons’ demands, for he now has no alternative but to relent and hope that the fate of Joseph will not be repeated with Benjamin. It is here, that once again, Judah rises to the occasion, giving us a glimpse into the future.
Genesis 43:8-14 8 And Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9 I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice." 11 Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14 May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." (ESV)
Within the story of Joseph we have another story as well. It is the story of Judah and how he stepped up to become the man who would fulfill the blessing his father Jacob would pray over him when Jacob was on his deathbed. Too often we focus only on the Messianic implications of the story of Joseph, but an even deeper story is to be found in the brief mentions of Judah. In the first encounter, Judah is with his brothers when they are deciding what to do about Joseph, because they are deeply resentful of him and the special relationship Joseph has with their father. Judah has already given a poor report to their father about his brothers, and now he has come at the insistence of his father to once again see what they are doing. This takes place after Joseph shared with his brothers and father the dreams depicting them bowing down to him. Joseph has not endeared himself to his brothers, and while Jacob expresses his own dissatisfaction over what Joseph has shared, he keeps his thoughts in the back of his mind to ponder them.
Genesis 37:19 They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams." 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life." 22 And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him"--that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. 29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes. (ESV)
Reuben wanted to save his brother, and apparently had left after Joseph was thrown into the cistern. When Reuben returned and found Joseph was gone, he was beside himself with grief. It appears his brothers did not tell him what they had done, but conspired to cover their crime. Judah had persuaded his brothers not to kill Joseph, but to sell him into slavery. It would appear Judah wanted Joseph out of there, just in case his brothers decided to change their minds and kill him after all. The journey Joseph would take was one orchestrated by the Almighty, and Joseph came to hold no bitter feelings towards his brothers once they were reconciled. In this story of Judah, we see how he rises to the occasion, and in our passage from the Torah portion for this week we again see Judah rise to the occasion as he persuades his father to allow him to take Benjamin with them to Egypt, when they have to return to buy more food. Jacob does not want to let Benjamin go, because he is the last child left (so he believes) from his late, beloved wife Rachel. At first he is adamant about not allowing Benjamin to go when Reuben asks him, but relents when Judah asks him. It should be noted Reuben is the eldest son and by rights would receive the birthright, but from everything we see taking place here and previously, it would appear Judah is stepping up to the plate, and will be the one whom the Almighty will call out to the forefront of his brothers, and ultimately before all Israel and the world.
The deeper picture we can see here is how Judah is willing to place himself at his father’s mercy in the event Benjamin is not allowed to return for some reason. We know that Judah will once again step up when Joseph says he will take Benjamin into slavery for “stealing” his special cup, a test for his brothers to see if they have changed from what they had done to him years ago. In our Torah portion Judah is willing to offer himself up on Benjamin’s behalf, something Reuben apparently did not do. To me this is a picture of the Messiah Yeshua, who was willing to offer himself up on our behalf and not just for a nation, but for us as individuals. It would be through the line of Judah the kings of Israel would come, and ultimately the Messiah Yeshua.
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Messiah who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. (NKJ)
Judah set the tone for us, and Yeshua brought it to fruition through His own sacrifice. Judah was willing to step up, and through everything that happens we see him becoming a more mature man of God. He was not willing to see his own brother’s blood shed at the hand of his other brothers, and later he is not willing to see anything happen to his brother Benjamin, because he knows what will happen to his father if anything happens to Benjamin. Judah loves his father and shows this love by taking full responsibility for Benjamin, and being accountable to his father for him. In this we see Yeshua, who has made Himself accountable to His Father for us. The Holy One desires that all should be saved.
1 Timothy 2:3 This is what God, our Deliverer, regards as good; this is what meets his approval. 4 He wants all humanity to be delivered and come to full knowledge of the truth. 5 For God is one; and there is but one Mediator between God and humanity, Yeshua the Messiah, himself human, 6 who gave himself as a ransom on behalf of all, thus providing testimony to God's purpose at just the right time. (CJB)
Judah paves the way for us to see Yeshua’s purpose. He is a picture of Yeshua in offering to “save” his brother, becoming his brother’s keeper, the opposite of what Cain said when the Lord asked him where his brother Abel was. There are so many types and shadows of the Messiah in the Tanach. We all need to take our time when we read the Tanach to see Him in its pages. It was through the Tanach that all the early Believers came to see Yeshua and accept Him as their Messiah, so there has to be value in the Torah, Prophets, and the Writings. Therefore, we should be very careful not to place it into oblivion in preference of the Apostolic Scriptures. What we need to become mature in our walk with Messiah is found deep within the pages of the Torah, which in turn leads us to the rest of Scripture to see the unfolding story of Yeshua. It hurts me when I see someone toss the Torah aside because they believe they are no longer “under the law.” The fallacy of this way of thinking is we have never been "under the law" to begin with. We have been in accordance with God’s covenant. Within His covenant He gives us the Torah, which is not law, but His instructions and teachings in order that we may have life, since the Torah brings us to Messiah Yeshua, who was the Word made flesh, and came to give life. If we are to please God, exactly how do we do this, so we can show our love for Him? We do this first and foremost by keeping faith in Yeshua, and also by following His teachings and instructions, the Torah.
A very sad by-product of learning about our Hebrew, or Jewish roots is some feel unfulfilled. They come into the Messianic Movement, but ultimately leave it and turn to Judaism or become Noahides. They come to accept the traditional Jewish position on Yeshua, that He is not the Messiah, and that we do not need anyone to save us. They believe all we need to do is follow what the rabbis teach, which is prayer, doing good deeds, and following Torah. In this case, the Torah would also include the Oral Torah, which are the teachings of the rabbis. Somehow they believe they are more fulfilled in turning away from Yeshua, when they should be doing the opposite and holding tighter to Him. The Jewish people, those who do believe in a messiah, look to the Messiah to save them as a nation, not as an individual savior. Why would anyone in their right mind follow the teachings of the rabbis, when we are told in Scripture Judah has been blinded to the truth of Yeshua, so the message of Yeshua could be taken to the nations? The day is coming when Judah will once again see Yeshua and accept Him as Messiah. So, to allow oneself to be persuaded about the deity of Yeshua and His place in our lives is against everything we know and believe as His people. We are a people called out by the Holy One of Israel into a relationship with His Son Yeshua, who stood up for us in the face of Satan’s accusations. Judah made himself accountable for his brother Benjamin the same way Yeshua made Himself accountable for us.
Zechariah 3:7-10 7 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. 8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. 9 For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree." (ESV)
Strong's 06780 tsemach {tseh'-makh}
Meaning: sprout, growth, branch, growth (of process), (of Messiah from Davidic tree)
In our haphtarah portion we are shown the Messiah as a branch who will come to gather His people together. It should be pointed out here that Joshua in Hebrew is Yehoshua, and the formal rendering of the name Yeshua which is usually attributed to Aramaic, the spoken language of the Messiah’s day. There are those in the Messianic world who do refer to Yeshua as Yehoshua and there is nothing wrong with doing this. The importance is to maintain your focus on the Branch, so you can hold onto your place in the nation of Israel. My friends don’t let anyone or anything turn you from your faith in Messiah Yeshua. There is nothing more important than holding onto your faith. It cuts me to the heart when I see friends, co-laborers in the Messiah, and congregants forsaking faith in the Messiah of Israel. I have seen them lose the joy they once had, and exchange it for the bondage they gain by placing themselves under the rabbis and the yoke of a Torah made by man.
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (CJB)
Yeshua does not desire to place a weight on you through Torah. By following the Torah the way it was meant to be followed, as the teachings and instructions of the Holy One of Israel, instead of the “law”, you truly will find His yoke is easy and His burden is light. It means being different from most of the people in the world, but sometimes being different is not so bad, especially when it influences where you spend eternity. Standing out from the rest of the crowd causes people to ask questions, and it opens up the door for you to be able to share your faith in Yeshua and why you follow Torah. Why do you keep the seventh day Shabbat and the Moedim (Appointed Times) of the Lord, the dietary instructions, etc.? Do you know how many get asked why they are trying to be Jewish because they do not eat pork, shellfish, lobster, etc.? It is not about being Jewish, but following God’s Torah. In doing this we are pleasing Him, because we do not do it out of an obligation or because we have been told we have to do it. We do it because we love Him, and He tells us if we do indeed love Him, we are to keep His commandments.
John 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. (NKJ) John 15:10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. (NKJ)
Commandments in their strictest interpretation are part of the Torah, but not all of Torah. The Torah is comprised of statutes, precepts, judgments, and commandments, though over time all of the Torah’s teachings have come to be known as the commandments. To believe in Yeshua is to believe in the Torah, because He is the very embodiment of Torah in a physical sense, as the Word of the Lord. The Apostle John said it the best:
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (ESV)
Blessings,
Mordecai Silver
Torah Man says: “We child-proofed our home three years ago…and they are still getting in!”
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