 10-20-2007, 9:19 PM
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LovingNeighbor
 
Joined on 02-10-2006
Washington
Posts 397
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Blessings from Difficulty - The cost of following Torah
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Blessings from Difficulty
For Parasha Lech Lecha
By Lovingneighbor 10-20-2007
This weeks Parasha is in the book of Genesis also called B'reisheet, and is called Lech Lecha which means 'Go Out'. In this weeks parasha:
- Avram told to leave his country and go to the place YHWH will show him and He will make him a great nation and bless him
- Avram, Sarai, and Lot take their stuff and leave Charan
- Avram builds an altar in Moreh
- Avram Pitched his tent East of Beit'el and built an altar there
- Avram journeyed South to Egypt because of the famine in the land
- Avram asks Sarai to say she is his siter instead of his wife so the men of that place don't kill him to take her
- Pharoah treats Avram well because he like Sarai
- Pharoah sends them away when he finds out Sarai is Avram's wife because YHWH plagued Pharoah
- Avram is rich and travels back to East of Beit'el where he built the altar
- Lot went with him but they could not dwell together because they had so much animals and wealth
- The herdsmen of Avram and Lot fought so Avram said lets seperate in peace
- Lot went East to the plain of Yarden and Avram went West to Sedom but the men of Sedom were evil
- Avram showed the land North, South, East, and West and told it will be given to him and his seed forever and to walk the border of it
- Avram came to Mamre and built an altar there
- The 4 kings of Shin'ar, Ellasar, Elam, and the nations made war with the 5 kings of Sedom, Ammorah, Admah, Tzevoyim, and Tzo'ar
- The 4 kings smote the Refa'im, Zuzims, Emim, Chori, and the Amori
- The 4 kings slew the 5 kings in the valley of Siddim
- The 4 kings took the spoil of Sedom and Lot and his family and departed
- One escaped and went and told Avram that they took Lot his nephew as spoil
- Avram armed the men of his household 318 men and went and smote them in the night
- Avram brought back Lot and the captives to Sedom
- Malki-tzedek priest and King of Salem brought bread and wine and Blessed Avram
- The king of Sedom offers Avram all the goods and spoil
- Avram said he wouldn't take anything from the king so he couldn't say he made Avram rich
- YHWH comes to Avram in a dream and tells him He is his shield and great reward
- YHWH promises the land and commands Avram to take animals and divide them on the altar
- Avram slept when the sun went down and saw a vision
- Fire passed through the pieces and YHWH made a covenant to give Avram the land
- Sarai tells Avram to take Hagar her maid as a wife to bear children because she could not
- Once she had a child Sarai was less esteemed in Hagar's eyes
- Sarai complained to Avram
- Avram said she is still your maid do with her as you will and Sarai treated her harshly and Hagar fled
- An angel of YHWH found her by a well on the way to Shur and asked her where she was going
- The angel tells her to return and submit to Sarai and promises she will greatly multiply
- She is told she will have a son and shall call his name Yishma'el and he will be a wild man
- At 99 years old YHWH appeared to Avram and changed his name to Avraham
- Avram promised the land and commanded to circumcise his male children as a sign of the covenant
- The uncircumcised child shall be cut off from his people
- Elohim changed Sarai's name to Sarah and said hHe would give her a son
- Avraham laughed and said shall he who is 100 years old or her that is 90 bear a son, please let Yishma'el live before you
- Elohim said you will indeed bare a son and shall call his name Yitzchak and I will establish an everlasting covenant with him and his seed
- As for Yishma'el he shall be a great nation and shall father 12 princes
- Avraham at 99 years old circumcised himself and his whole household
- Haftarah YHWH promises to be there for His people and strengthen them and put them over their enemies
In this weeks parasha we have a common theme going on that is shared in all the points. That is the blessings from difficulty. It starts off with Avram having to leave all he knew to follow Elohim. Many people like the rich man in the new testament may not be ready to leave behind all they have. I know I experianced this when we started obeying torah. Many people just aren't willing to do it if it means they have to suffer or change. This I see is one of the biggest hurdles for a new believer to overcome and even for people as they grow in torah. Now don't get me wrong you don't need to lay it all on them when your sharing with them as many do and then they get overwhelmed, but they should be aware that as soon as they decide to start following the Elohim of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'akov they will be put to the test. I know it happend for us and sometimes those first few tests are the hardest.
I don't know how many times I've heard, you aren't taking away my christmas, or I couldn't do that I love lobster. Trust me if these are the things you can't give up then Torah is more than you want. Like the rich man these people in may cases want to get something not give something up. Compare this to many followers of Messiah whether christian or Messianic. Most are motivated by the blessings. Because of this they may not be willing a few steps in to start giving up their old sinnful ways. Things get to tough and people fall away or deny they have any responsibility. I went into a chat room and they were talking about buisness markets and reading newspaper clips about money markets claiming it was relevant to bible prophecy. I mentioned we may not want to talk about the housing market on shabbat and was asked to just listen and another person asked me to leave. Shame on the 100 plus people in there who none stood up and said maybe we should not do this. But they were used to it and so even if it might violate torah they weren't giving it up. But as we see in the whole sacrificial system that giving something up is commonplace when following YHWH. The further you learn the more you may need to give up. Look at Messiah who in the end gave up all he had even his life. Avram essentially did what most would never want to do, he moved around, left his comfort, didn't have the surety of knowing where he was going, had to lead his family when he himself didn't know what was going on, and he was continually put in difficult situations and could only trust in Elohim to save him. Then when he was successful the world again tried to entice him and he had to reject those things holding on only to the blessings Elohim would give him. This also reminds me of Mashiach who would not have the cup taken from him of what was coming, neither would he run or save his life or even take poison to end his suffering. This is similar to Avraham not taking money from the king of Sedom and David saying he would not offer to Elohim that which cost him nothing. These costs and prices paid, suffering, and testing is like currency in my opinion. Like the widow who gave all she had, she gave more than the other.
The pattern with Avraham was continually he had to endure the hard things before he received the blessings. Look at circumcision. This I think would have been a very unusual request to Avraham. This pain would not go away in an instant. Yet this is a sign of the covenant between him and Elohim. It's one thing to do this to yourself, but how easy would it be to tell all the men with you they had to do it also. This reminds me of the phrase if I could only be a servant in my father's house. What others see as hard things and things they want to avoid, some count as blessings because they have experianced it and made the choices and count the tough things as blessings. I know for us some of our toughest choices have also made us strongest in many areas. When we had to be willing to give up our only income to keep the sabbath it was one of our biggest blessings, yet I hear people say well I have to work on the sabbath or I can't keep the sabbath because of work. They just aren't willing to give up and trust in Elohim. These things prepare us for other choices that we might not have been able to do otherwise. It's not so hard to not eat pork if you would also go into poverty for Elohim. Each choice like working a muscle strengthens us either to good or bad. Most people love the things of the world and comfort and yet the day will come when no one will have such comfort, even the ones who trust in Elohim may have to go through dificulty before they inherit the promised and blessings of YHWH. So next time you suffer, may it be for righteousness and not your own wickedness. Learn to endure and bless YHWH not just in your plenty but in your want also. Because these blessing have weight and the suffering of the righteous is of great value.
Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Php 4:12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Mashiach which strengtheneth me.
Shalom!
A disciple should diligently search for the truth and humbly deny and reconsider it's possession.
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