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 first sentence of the different 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 since they were focused on the coming despair.  We also now notice that Vayigash is hidden within the Torah scroll just as Ephraim is hidden within the nations.  
     Vayechi begins in Genesis 47:29-30 with Jacob’s (Israel’s) wish to be buried with his fathers and not in Egypt. Instead of ordering his son to fulfill it, he requests favor, ‘When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” Jacob also requested the same sign of the promise, of the vow, that we read in Genesis 24:2. 
     Finding favor was a common request in the Scriptures. Today it may seem like an odd request since people tend to select prayer requests without hesitation. Yet ‘finding favor’ has deeper meanings, which were even found in Noah’s day.
     Psalm 90:17 ‘Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!’ Psalm 5:12 ‘For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.’ Psalm 30:5 ‘For His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.’ Genesis 6:8 ‘But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.’
     Genesis 48:15-16 is the prayer of the nations, ‘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.”
     The Hebrew is ‘Vay dgoo la rove b’kerev ha’aretz; ‘may they grow as a multitude of fish in the midst of the earth.’ Only in the Hebrew do we see the word ‘fish’ ‘dag’. This Hebrew translation was changed in Matthew 4:18-20 thus eliminating the ability for us to remez when Yeshua spoke about fish, nets and fishers of men. The sea, which represents the nations, is also found in Revelation 17:15-17. 
     When Israel blessed all twelve sons in Genesis 49, he appointed specific character traits to them.  Within the blessing of Judah is the connection to the Messiah. He is referred to as a lion, ‘the scepter shall not depart until the ruler comes… his donkey will be tethered to a vine… he will wash his garments and robes in the blood of grapes.’ Genesis 49:8-12.The part that states ‘He binds his donkey’s colt to the choice vine ...’ alludes to 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 that part of Scripture. 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 in Genesis 49:22-26 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, ²⁵ because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you…’  
     Vayechi means ‘And He Lived’, yet it ends with the death of Jacob and Joseph. Genesis 50:1-12 contains the burial of Jacob. In Genesis 50:15-21 the brothers fall into despair, yet Joseph reassures them: “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? ²⁰ But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. ²¹ Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.’
     In Genesis 50:15 as Joseph is reassuring his brothers, he makes a profound declaration: ‘…for am I in the place of God?’ We are being taught by this simple sentence that:
No man has the authority to take the place of God: Psalm 22:28, Job 12:23, Isaiah 41:2.
Vengeance belongs to Adonai: Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:30. 
Fear God rather than man: Deuteronomy 31:1, Matthew 10:28.
    Vayechi, the last Torah portion of Beresheet, the Book of Genesis, ends with the death of Joseph.

                 Chazak! Chazak! V’nitchazek! Be Strong! Be Strong! And May We Be Strengthened! 

Vayechi / And He Lived           Chazak! Chazak! V’nitchazek!
Genesis  47:28-50:26               Be Strong! Be Strong! And May We Be Strengthened! 
1 Kings 2:1-12
1 Peter 1:3-9 

     Vayechi , the final parsha of Beresheeth, Genesis, ends with some very significant scenes. First, in Genesis 48:28 Jacob, the patriarch asks his son, Joseph to bury him out of Egypt, if he finds favor with him. This is a strange thing for a father to say, ‘if you have found favor with me’. Ordinarily, the parent would simply make the request. 
     In chapter 48, Jacob blesses the sons of Joseph, reversing the roles by switching his hands. ‘So he blessed them that day, saying, ‘By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh! And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.’   Genesis 48:20. 
     Before this blessing, Jacob is questioned by Joseph, at which point Scriptures say: ‘But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.’ Genesis 48:19
    Second, in Genesis chapter 49 Jacob blesses his twelve sons and he blesses all twelve together in the same room at the same time. This is also a first in the Torah. There is no record of Abraham blessing Ishmael or Isaac and later on Isaac blesses Esau and Jacob separately.  This blessing is astounding and important, as we will see in Shemot, the book of Exodus, that Jacob is able to gather his sons to bless them.  In Shemot, the Israelites are, for the first time, described as a people, as a unit, a whole.  The twelve brothers become the whole. 
     Third, at the end of Vayechi, Genesis 50:15-20 after Jacob’s death, the brothers ask Joseph to forgive them, which he does, as he had also done so earlier. Evidently, the brothers have fear he was merely biding his time until their father died, as Esau at one point resolved to do. It seems in those days that the sons do not take revenge within the family while the father, the patriarch, was alive. Joseph speaks directly to their fears and puts them at rest. “You intended to harm me but God intended it for good,” he says.
     Jacob’s blessings to his twelve sons are known as Birkot Yaakov.  These blessings are revealing the tasks that each of the twelve tribes of Israel are destined to fulfill in the future. In these blessings, Jacob chooses Joseph as his first born to receive a double inheritance and appoints Judah as the tribe that will serve as leaders and the future kings of Israel.
     As Jacob imparts his blessings on the twelve sons, the twelve tribes, he reveals the character that each demonstrated in their life and each will carry. 
the Unstable water of Reuben
the Division of Simeon and Levi
the Lion of Judah
the Harbor of Zebulon
the Strong-boned ass of Issachar
the Viper of Dan
the Warrior of Gad
the Prosperity of Asher
the Deer of Naftali
the Fruitful Bow of Joseph
and the Hungry Wolf of Benjamin
     But what exactly are blessings and can people bless people?  It is taught by some Christian sites that a: “Blessing is the projection of good into the life of another. It isn't just words. It's the actual putting forth of your will for the good of another person. It always involves God, because when you will the good of another person, you realize only God is capable of bringing that. So we naturally say, "God bless you." You can bless someone when you will their good under the invocation of God. You invoke God on their behalf to support the good that you will for them. This is the nature of blessing. It is what we are to receive from God and then give to another.”
     Is it scriptural to want to invoke my will on another? Willing their good under the invocation of God? Invoking God on their behalf? This is the ideology that God is there for me, myself and I.
     The Hebrew mindset of blessings are relational, reflecting the connection between people and God, mostly expressing gratitude for life.  Every Jewish blessing begins with Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam …Blessed are You O Lord Our God King of the Universe…
    Blessings come from Adonai…
Psalm 115:12 ‘The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron.
Jeremiah 17:7 ‘Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord.’
Psalm 33:12 ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.’
Psalm 103:2 ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits…’
Deuteronomy 28:3 ‘Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.’
Psalm 24:5 ‘He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.’
Psalm 21:6 ‘For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence.’
     Blessed is His Name; Psalm 113:2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever.’   And those that have His Name; Psalm 118:26 ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord; we have blessed you from the house of the Lord.’
       Can a person who is not walking in the will of God, bless another person who is not walking in the will of God? This would be making the blessing common, because such persons are walking in their own will.  We see in the above Psalms that His Name is blessed, His will is blessed, He is to be Blessed, and He does bless us, according to His will.  It is God who blesses people as He sees fit.  
     In the Scriptures as we read them today, we must remember that people at that time were walking in the ways of Adonai as Yeshua exhorted. Those that were coming into the Way, came into The Way! 
      Psalm 129:8 is blessing in The Name: “Nor do those who pass by say; The blessing of the Lord be upon you; We bless you in the name of the Lord.” 
     In the Brit Chadasha, the Renewed Testament, Yeshua and Peter are speaking to those that are following The Way. Luke 6:28 “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
     1 Peter 3:9 ‘…not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.’
    We can bless others by acts of forgiveness, by acts of love, by asking God to impart His will, by praying that the person sees, listens to and hears the will of God. 
     We can not distinguish who is blessed and who isn’t, for we judge by earthly standards - who has the most, who is happy, who is healthy. Blessings aren’t necessarily measured in the earthly realm, but rather in the spiritual realm. In fact, Yeshua seems to show the opposite of what our flesh would desire and term as blessings.  In Luke 6:20-23 He declares who is blessed and in Luke 6:24-26 He declares who is not.  This defies our educated standards of blessings and confounds the wise as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:27 ‘But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…’
    David in Psalm 109 speaks of the wicked man, who showed no mercy, who lied and plundered, who loved cursing and did not delight in blessing.  Doesn’t this show that those who delight in evil can not receive or understand the blessings of Adonai?