Joy in the Messiah

וַיְחִי
Vayechi / And He Lived
Genesis 47:28-50:26
HafTorah Portion 1 Kings 2:1-12
Brit Chadasha 1 Peter 1:3-9

    This Torah portion is called ‘The closed section.’  In the Torah scroll, there is always a break between the last sentence and the beginning sentence of the next Torah portions.  It is a general rule that each parsha is separated from the previous one by at least one line or a nine-letter space. Vayechi is unique in that there is no extra space between it and Vayigash.  This is why the sages call it the ‘closed’ section. They teach that this has to do with the hearts of Jacob’s children after his death as they were aware of the coming despair.     
     In Vayechi, Genesis 48:17-20, is the blessing of Joseph’s children; Ephraim and Manasseh. When Joseph questions his father, Jacob/Israel tells him; “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.”  He blessed them that day and said, “In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.’ 
      Jacob was adopting them as his own, thereby transferring a double portion to Joseph.  
      This is also in Genesis 48:15-16 when Israel blessed Joseph, ‘Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has delivered me from all harm  —may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.”  
       This last sentence in Hebrew is ‘Vaydgoo la rove b’kerev ha’aretz, translated as: ‘may they grow as multitudes of fish in the midst of the earth.’
     Yeshua references this in Matthew 4:18-20 as He encourages Simon/Peter and Andrew to follow Him and become fishers of men.
     English translators dropped the word ‘fish’ losing the remez that Yeshua spoke and taught. Being Hebrews, Peter and Andrew recognized this in Matthew 4:19 knowing what contained in the Torah in the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh.  This is why they immediately left their nets and followed Yeshua,
    The last sentence is a link to the statements that Yeshua makes in several places in the Brit Chadash.  Fish is referenced to people, as multitudes. In John 21 He tells his disciples to cast their net to the right side of the boat, whereupon their nets were too heavy to pull in.  In Matthew 4:19 He tells His disciples He will make them fishers of men דַּייָּג (fishermen) alluding to catching fish/men. In Matthew 14:13-21 He feeds 5,000 people with two fish. He also alludes to the dispersed one, the multitudes.
     The phrase “Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth” can then be better translated as “Let them increase like fish in the land”.  These are metaphors as in the seas represent the nations, the dry land represents Israel and the fish in the seas represent people in the nations.     
     In Genesis 49, Jacob/Israel blesses his 12 sons. Each son is designated a very specific character and reference. Within the blessing of Judah is the connection to the Messiah; he is referenced to a lion, it is referenced that the scepter shall not depart until the ruler comes, his donkey will be tethered to a vine, and he will wash his garments and robes in the blood of grapes.
     The sentence: He ties ... his donkey’s colt to the choice vine ...’ alludes to him of whom it is written in Zechariah 9:9, ‘Humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” When Yeshua entered the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey, He fulfilled the passage in Zechariah 9:9, “He is triumphant, and victorious, lowly, and riding upon a donkey, even upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
     The sages teach that the “choice vine” is the nation of Israel. Messiah tethering his colt to the choice vine refers to the connection between the Messiah and the people of Israel.
      The blessing given to Joseph references a people, a mighty nation blessed by The Almighty, ‘… because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you…’    
     Vayechi ends with the death of Jacob and then the death of Joseph. After Jacob dies, this Torah portion says that the brothers were once again afraid of Joseph.  In Genesis 50:16-17 it is interesting how they tell Joseph that ‘his’ father requested mercy, rather than saying ‘their’ father, as if to separate them. ‘So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ¹⁷ ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.’
      Once again, Joseph reassures the brothers in Genesis 50:19-21; ^‘But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ²¹ So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.’ 
      Joseph was trying to reassure his brothers that he understood that they had repented.  He was saying: by your repentance, you have written a new chapter in the story of which you are a part. The harm you intended to do me ultimately led to good. If you would have stayed as the brothers who would sell their brother into slavery, none of that good could be attributed to you, but now you have transformed yourself through teshuvah, you have transformed the story of your life as well. By your change of heart, you have understood what repentance and forgiveness is all about.
     We live life forward, but we understand it by looking back. Yet, this can be troubling as Scripture tells us:
Luke 9:62 ‘Yeshua said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Philippians 3:13 ‘Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead…’
Luke 17:32 ‘Remember Lot's wife.’
Isaiah 43:18-19 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
    Genesis 19:26 ‘But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.’
     We can understand by looking back, but that doesn’t define us. Living a life with Yeshua in His Word is what defines us.
     To teshuva is the ultimate act of freedom.  It means that we no longer need the past to hold us into the bondage that we created for ourselves. To teshuva, is to return to a culture, a system, a love, a life that we were never meant to leave.  It is the beginning of our story. 
     Although Vayechi means ‘And He Lived’ this Torah portion highlights Jacob’s closing years, as well as his death and ends in Genesis 50:26 with the death of Joseph. This title alludes to the fact that those of God truly never die but continue to live on eternally.  In fact, it is taught that “Jacob never died.”
     Yeshua eluded to this  when He said in Mark 12:26-27; “Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?  He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
      Yeshua clarifies what is salvation and eternal life. He said that those who would hear His word and follow Him would by their faith have eternal life in John 5:24. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” 
          Chazak! Chazak! V'nitchazek! Be Strong! Be Strong! And May We Be Strengthened!   
     

וַיְחִי
Vayechi / And He Lived
Genesis 47:28-50:26
HafTorah 1 Kings 2:1-12
Brit Chadasha 1 Peter 1:3-9

   Chazak! Chazak! V'nitchezek! Be Strong! Be Strong! And May We Be Strengthened!

    Vayechi is the closing parsha of Beresheet. The parsha opens with Jacob/Israel's soon death, but before he passes, he has Joseph make a vow by placing his hand under the thigh, the sign of the covenant, as did Abraham and Eliezer. Jacob will not be buried in Egypt, and after Joseph makes the vow, Scripture says that Jacob/ Israel worshiped. 
     In Genesis 48 Jacob blesses Ephraim and Manasseh, yet the blessing was according to Joseph.  Genesis48:12-16  ‘And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. ¹⁴ Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. ¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day, ¹⁶ The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.’
     Some translations use the word fish: Genesis 48:16 ‘…May the angel who redeemed me from all harm bless the youths, and may they be called by my name and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, and may they multiply abundantly like fish, in the midst of the land."
     Fish in Hebrew is ‘d-a-g’ וְיִדְגּ֥וּ
     Was the word fish left out on purpose?  By negating the word ‘fish’ we lose the remez from Yeshua in Matthew 4. Peter and Andrew knew exactly what was Yeshua’s point, as they were familiar with the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh.  Therefore, they immediately left their nets and followed Yeshua.  ^‘As Yeshua was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ “Come, follow Me,” Yeshua said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” ²⁰ At once they left their nets and followed Him.‘ Matthew 4:18-20.
     In the Brit Chadash, Yeshua references fish. In John 21:6 He tells his disciples to cast their net to the right side of the boat, and their nets became too heavy to pull in.   In Matthew 14:13-21 He feeds 5,000 people with just two fish. The fish increased, as the people in the nations increased. 
     The phrase “Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth” alludes to “Let them increase like fish in the land.” Seas represent the nations; dry land represents Israel and fish represent God’s people. 
     In Genesis 49, Jacob/Israel blesses his 12 sons. Each son is designated a particular character. Genesis 49:1 ‘And Jacob called to his sons, and said, “Gather yourselves together, so that I may tell you what you will encounter in the latter ha-yamiym days (years).” He calls his sons, asking them to gather together because although he will pronounce prophetic words specific to each of them, he wants the brothers to understand that their futures are connected. The suffering of one will be the suffering of another, and the success of one will be the success of another. Israel’s tribes are to be echad /one.
    The connection to Messiah in the blessing of Judah is seen in Genesis 49:8-12;  ‘he is referenced to a lion, the scepter shall not depart until the ruler comes, his donkey will be tethered to a vine, and he will wash his garments and robes in the blood of grapes.’ 
     The sentence: He ties ... his donkey’s colt to the choice vine ...’ alludes to Him of whom it is written in Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. When Yeshua entered the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey, He fulfilled this verse.
     The sages teach that the “choice vine” in Genesis 49:11 is the nation of Israel. ‘Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine’, is the connection between Messiah and the people of Israel.  
     Matthew 21:1-5 ‘Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. ³ And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”⁴ All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ⁵ “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ 
     In Genesis 49:22-26 the blessing given to Joseph references a people, a mighty nation blessed by The Almighty. ‘Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.
²³ The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. ²⁴ But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)…’  Genesis 49:22-24.
     Scripture is abundantly clear who is our Rock.