6.3 Par'shah Tol’dot- Generations

[alon]

This week’s readings:
Date of reading- 10 Nov 2018/ 2 Kislev 5779
Name of Par’shah- 6. Tol’dot- Generations
Par’shah- Gen 25:19 – 28:9
Haftara- Malachi 1.1-27
Brit Chadashah- Romans 9.6-16; Hebrews 11.20, 12.14-17

D’rash:
Genesis 25:29-30 (ESV) Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom [Adom- red]).

And boiled Ya’akov soup וַיָּזֶד יַעֲקֹב נָזִיד va’yazed Ya’akov nazid and came Esav in וְהוּא עָיֵף vehu ayef, tired and hungry from the field. However there is a play on words here that sheds light on Esav’s attitude: the word translated here as a noun, ‘soup’ נָזִיד nazid means literally ‘the boiled thing.’ But he verb נָזִיד nazid can mean ‘to boil,’ or it can mean ‘to presume, to act proudly.’ And indeed, he was not so tired as to not demand haughtily:

מִן-הָאָדֹם הָאָדֹם הַזֶּה min’ha’adom ha’adom hazeh, “give to me some of that red the red (red stuff) to devour.” This is not a request, but a demand.

Genesis 25:31-34 (ESV) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

When we see this, most think of the birthright as the fathers blessing. However those are two very different things. So, just what is this birthright that Esav held in such low regard?

Numbers 3:11-13 (NASB) Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. For all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.”

Ya’akov was bargaining for the spiritual rights of the firstborn here. Now this is a thing established by YHWH-Tsidkenu, God Our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6). This was before Yeshua gave the to Moshe, however they would have known the instructions of God from Adam on. Just because the Almighty formalized His instructions at Sinai does not mean He had not previously told men of them. And there is evidence not only in how the godly lived at the time, but in the pagans borrowing from YHWH-Hose’enu, God Our Creator (Psalm 95:6) in their own rituals that many of those instructions were given long beforehand.

But there was a very important part of the spiritual aspect of the birthright which was specifically for the descendants of Avraham. That was the lineage of the Messiah:

Genesis 22:18 (ESV) and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

Several times Elohim tells Avraham that through his seed all the nations will be blessed. This is always a messianic prophecy. And the only place I know of that says it will be through the rights of the firstborn is when Elohe Yisroel charges the firstborn with the spiritual responsibility of the family.

At any rate, it was prophesied Ya’akov would be heir to the promise. It was established by God already. We don’t know if he was aware of the prophecy, but it is possible he did and was trying to “give God a hand” here. Regardless, Ya’akov sought the things of HaShem, while Esav sought after the pleasures and self agrandization of the world. And this is why:

Romans 9:13 (ESV) As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Of course hate can mean dislike or held in lower esteem biblically. So did God really hate Esav? Our haftara answers that:

Malachi 1:2b-4 (ESV) “Yet I have loved Jacob  but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.”  If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’”

Yes, God hated Esav in the severest sense of the word. And it is important that we understand that God can and does actually hate. We should hate the things He hates for one thing. And to avoid doing those things might be a good idea as well.

Esav remained a man separated from his God. Even his line was cursed. This does not mean that no Edomite could ever be saved. However to do so they would have to, as was the custom of the time completely leave their families and friends, turn their backs on all they knew, and join with Kadosh Yisroel, the Holy One Of Israel (Psalm 78:41). And guess what?

Malachi 3:6a (NASB) “For I am the Lord, I do not change;

This means that salvation is the same today as it was then:

Galatians 3:11b (ESV) “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Habakkuk 2:4b (ESV) but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Like Rachav and Ruth, and those who left Mitzrayim (Egypt) with the Hebrews, we must join ourselves to His people, Israel. We leave all the old ways, our old holidays and feasts and our 1st day worship; adopting instead the commanded feasts of the Lord and Shabbat worship. We change our worship services from the format laid down by pagan Rome and use one more in line with Jewish services. We are not bound to Rabbinical Judaism, and so do not strictly use their format either. We may borrow from it, however we as Meshiachim try to go back, as much as possible to a first century Jewish style of worship. And most importantly, we worship the One true God, El Elohe Yisroel:

Exodus 20:3 (ESV) “You shall have no other gods before [besides] me.

Just like Ya’akov and Esav, we do have the instructions of Elohei Avoteichem, the Lord God of Your Fathers (Exodus 3:15); Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, v’Elohei Ya’akov (Exodus 3:15). In fact, we have the formalized instructions from Sinai. He told us how we are to worship Him. He also gave us examples of how to worship with no Temple during the Babylonian Exile; so those who worship as they see fit are without excuse. May we not be numbered among them.

Dan C

[alon]

From a conversation with Rav S on this weeks par'shah:

Though it is true that the word "hate" in Hebrew can mean loves less, this clearly not the case with Esau. Here's what it says about him... "For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears." And also... "turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.’” Malachi 1:3. This is a curse on Esau and his descendants. So what's the big deal? Why should we push that HaShem can actually hate?

If HaShem hated someone do you think the Adversary would want us to hate him too? Or would he rather we loved him? The Enemy WANTS us to like or love those who HaShem hates. Understanding the hatred of HaShem also brings us closer to Him. That may sound odd at first, but after you think about it, it makes perfect sense. As we learn to live the things He loves and hate the things He hates, we begin to appreciate Him more and that brings us closer to Him. We become closer to Him because we understand Him  deeper level. If we put Him in a box and ignore one of His emotions because we are not comfortable with it, it limits our understanding yet another another part of His personality. What if it wasn't His hatred we ignored but His happiness? Can we imagine would He would look like to us if we thought He had no happiness? I think it's just as important that we understand His hatred too. Where to start that understanding? I think perhaps to understand that whatever His hatred may look like, it's perfect. It's a perfect hatred. It's hard to grasp but we certainly shouldn't deny it.

This is why a long while back, before I was a moderator I was so hard on a couple of people who came her and wanted to convince us that anywhere the Bible did not say "God is love," or any part that talked about His anger, wrath, or especially His hatred should be cut out of the Bible. We must understand HaShem as a well rounded personality. For us to cut any part of His description out is to say we do not believe in Him; who He is or what He can and will do. And if He doesn't get angry, why worry about keeping those silly mitzvoth? If He does not hate, why try to live as He said? Without these negative emotions, why shine the light of truth on anything? I mean, there would be no consequences.

No, God hates. He hates sin, for sure. He hates people who just will not repent even after they are shown the truth; those who reject His spiritual blessings and opt instead for the accolades of men and the pleasures of doing it their own way. Those who would sell their spiritual blessings for the temporary blessings of men.

Dan C

[Elizabeth]

"Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated" Malachi 1:2-3

He directed this towards Israel when they were questioning His love for them. Then He goes on to show His justice and truth by rightfully showing their lack of fear or love for Him. The Priests were dishonoring Him with polluted sacrifices, and the last verse explains that He was angry mainly because Israel is meant to show the world the fear and honor of Him.

Yes G-d hates, but His hate is about salvation and people adversely effecting the ability of others to see Him so that's a tricky line for us. Hate the things G-d hates, but I think we have to be very mindful of hating people in the Name of G-d. This verse gets over-relied upon by some people I think to disregard or justify unholy attitudes.

We are not G-d, and He provides for the wicked and the good. We just don't have the wisdom He has. We can hate what He hates simply by accepting and being grateful for His judgment, and doing what He says in our own lives. There's probably more than enough sin to hate in our own lives to keep us busy, and if we just do what He says to do there, we'll become examples. Jacob blessed Esau and sought peace with him. Meanwhile, G-d hated Esau but loved Jacob. So He didn't criticise Jacob for showing love to someone He hates. I think there is freedom and safe guard for us in showing mercy and hope to people just trusting G-d to act, judge, and protect.

Meanwhile, His issue with Israel in that chapter was about their feelings toward Him, not their feelings toward Esau, but both of those are dealt with through proper worship and regard for Him. So if Yeshua is first in our heart and mind, then I think a lot of these issues would take care of themselves.

I think we're better off assuming He loves whoever He puts in front of us in wisdom because He died for them. Now whatever is between Him and them is complicated, but how can I know it? He prophecied this to Rebekah, then they lived life together, and after it's said and done He gives us understanding and acts. I just think we ourselves have been given freedom and protection in that because of the world He knows we're going to have to live in. We can't know what's in a person's heart; if there's any hope or not. But we can trust Him to hate what needs to be destroyed. How could I do that myself when I see so much that needs to be done away with or will be in my own life? Get the plank out of my own eye so to speak. Meanwhile, there is hope for people just in time which we've all shown and are living.

It's also interesting to note that it was Yeshua and not Esau that Jacob became physical with. It shows where Jacob focused his own priorities. It was G-d Who he strives with and for. It's almost like Esau became less of an issue and took less of a role in that Jacob chose not to fight with him. We can have enemies without making them more of an enemy or giving them more of a place than they should have in our life by just seeking G-d and trusting Him; making Him the goal and priority.

[alon]

Nov 10, 2018 6:36:29 GMT -8 Elizabeth said:

"Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated" Malachi 1:2-3

He directed this towards Israel when they were questioning His love for them. Then He goes on to show His justice and truth by rightfully showing their lack of fear or love for Him. The Priests were dishonoring Him with polluted sacrifices, and the last verse explains that He was angry mainly because Israel is meant to show the world the fear and honor of Him.

Yes G-d hates, but His hate is about salvation and people adversely effecting the ability of others to see Him so that's a tricky line for us. Hate the things G-d hates, but I think we have to be very mindful of hating people in the Name of G-d. This verse gets over-relied upon by some people I think to disregard or justify unholy attitudes.

We are not G-d, and He provides for the wicked and the good. We just don't have the wisdom He has. We can hate what He hates simply by accepting and being grateful for His judgment, and doing what He says in our own lives. There's probably more than enough sin to hate in our own lives to keep us busy, and if we just do what He says to do there, we'll become examples. Jacob blessed Esau and sought peace with him. Meanwhile, G-d hated Esau but loved Jacob. So He didn't criticise Jacob for showing love to someone He hates. I think there is freedom and safe guard for us in showing mercy and hope to people just trusting G-d to act, judge, and protect.

In the case of both Israel and Esav, they loved the things of this world more than God. Ya'akov did not try to take the material part of the blessing of the firstborn, only the spiritual. And Esav never sought the spiritual blessing (until the end), which carried with it much responsibility. Israel in the haftara was shirking their spiritual responsibilities, offering polluted sacrifices which said to the world their God was not as important as the pagan gods the world worshiped. And yes, this adversely effected their witness to the nations and thus those peoples chances of salvation. 

We are not God, that is correct. This is why we must learn to hate what He hates, as well as why he hates certain people. We should understand too that had Esav came to Him in true repentance, He'd still have been forgiven. So should our hatred of men be the kind of consuming hatred the world sees in others? I don't think so. Let me give an example.

I hate Islam. It is one of, if not the darkest religion ever known. Wherever they finally take over all other religions, especially Judaism and Christianity are violently eradicated. Right now in parts of Africa there is a genocide occurring which pales even the Shoa, and it targets mostly Christians. In many Muslim countries Christians are arrested on the flimsiest of excuses and imprisoned in conditions we cannot even imagine, awaiting trial for years. Asia Bibi was just freed after 9 such years in Pakistan, and that only because of the international attention her case drew. But her acquittal caused rioting in the streets and a serious threat to her and her families lives. So yes, I hate Islam the religion in absolute terms, and pray against it in all its forms because they all lead eventually to this. But what about the people who practice Islam?

You are right, I cannot know their hearts, who may or may not accept the truth and abandon their faith in the demon Allah. So when I pray for salvation for the Jews or condemnation of Islam, I also pray for Muslims that as many as would change might hear the word and respond favorably. I pray for them because they were raised in darkness, not given the light as we were. But am I reminding God of this, or myself? I'm the one that needs to temper my hatred and not allow it to consume me.

Would I support military solutions to what is happening now in Africa and the mid-east? Yes. But would I refuse to witness to a Muslim just because of their faith? No. There might be other reasons to refuse. If in a Muslim country and I thought I was being set up, then yes, I might not even though the person was put in front of me as an opportunity. Would it bother me? Sure, I'd always wonder if I made the right decision. But sometimes we must use discernment and good judgement, make our decision and live with it. But the point is my hatred of even Muslims should not be absolute. However those involved in torture, rape and murder, whether on an individual scale or on a massive scale should be killed. It's that simple. Unless and until they show evidence of real repentance they should be treated like any enemy or any murderer. Just keep in mind Rav Shaul fell under this description until he met Yeshua in a blinding light. Imagine if the early Nots'rim would have not forgiven him for killing their friends and relatives. So if our "hatred" ever approaches the point where we cannot forgive, where it is absolute and consuming, then it is we who need to repent as well.

Elizabeth said: Meanwhile, His issue with Israel in that chapter was about their feelings toward Him, not their feelings toward Esau, but both of those are dealt with through proper worship and regard for Him. So if Yeshua is first in our heart and mind, then I think a lot of these issues would take care of themselves.

I think we're better off assuming He loves whoever He puts in front of us in wisdom because He died for them. Now whatever is between Him and them is complicated, but how can I know it? He prophecied this to Rebekah, then they lived life together, and after it's said and done He gives us understanding and acts. I just think we ourselves have been given freedom and protection in that because of the world He knows we're going to have to live in. We can't know what's in a person's heart; if there's any hope or not. But we can trust Him to hate what needs to be destroyed. How could I do that myself when I see so much that needs to be done away with or will be in my own life? Get the plank out of my own eye so to speak. Meanwhile, there is hope for people just in time which we've all shown and are living.

It's also interesting to note that it was Yeshua and not Esau that Jacob became physical with. It shows where Jacob focused his own priorities. It was G-d Who he strives with and for. It's almost like Esau became less of an issue and took less of a role in that Jacob chose not to fight with him. We can have enemies without making them more of an enemy or giving them more of a place than they should have in our life by just seeking G-d and trusting Him; making Him the goal and priority.

Our feelings may be dealt with by proper worship, which would include proper understanding. But actual evil, whether in a person or an ideology such as Islam must be dealt with physically and arbitrarily, otherwise we are complicit in the murders committed by those we refuse to confront and, if necessary eradicate. Hitler could have been easily dealt with early on had the world not bowed at the alter of pacifism. But they did and six million Jews were murdered, not to mention countless millions more killed in a world war which acted as cover for atrocities wherever the Axis and some Allies (Russia) were involved.

And yes, while it is still safe to do so here we should witness to whoever God puts in front of us. However few have the spiritual discernment to go into a Muslim country and witness. Still, if called by God to go then that is what you should do. Remember Yonah, the reluctant witness to Ninevah. Look at all he went through and still had to do as commanded. And then he got angry with God after they repented! But God gently instructed Yonah. For myself, I need only think on my past and I am glad I serve a God who is long suffering and able to forgive. And if God forgives even the worst of us, then that person is forgiven. I often pray for those who have wronged me, some very egregiously, that they would repent and be forgiven. And I say if He forgives, then so do I. Because that is what I should focus on, not my anger or hatred for them. In the end, we'll all stand before God and give an accounting. If they have not repented, then they will answer to Him. And that is much worse than any revenge I might extract from them. If they have, well He forgave me as much and more, so should I not forgive them?

Both Yonah and Ya'akov struggled with God. One would not let go until he received a blessing. Ya'akov always sought God's blessing. He was always after the spiritual things God had to bestow. Yonah struggled to withhold God's blessing from a cruel, warlike people who had plagued his own and were in fact prophesied to exact God's judgement on the Jews. If they were wiped out by divine judgement now well, I can see how that might be the outcome he desired. But it was not the one God desired. He always gives us that one last chance. We can repent any time before His judgement falls and we are killed. Ninevah repented, but they later fell away. We always have that chance too. But it is my duty to oppose Ninevah when they attack my people. It is not my place to withhold God's grace from them, even after they have savaged my people. Nor is it my place to withhold His love from my brother. God's hatred, like His love is perfect. In both repentance is made perfect, and is honored by Him, so it should be by me. That means I give my enemy and my brother alike the chance to repent. 

Righteous hatred is not absolute. It doesn't blind us nor lead us to commit atrocities on the enemy even though they do so to us. Neither does love restrain us from acting to defend ourselves and/or others. In fact, real love demands it, but tempers our response. 

Just my views on and understanding of the topics of hatred and repentance.

Dan C

[Elizabeth]

Islam is doomed already so I don't honestly think or worry about it too much. I just pray for people being victimized by it, and pray for my kids and I to depend on G-d and His Spirit if we're ever in similar circumstances. G-d's going to do away with Islam, but He's also going to do away with people of other religions in the same way. It just reminds me to look at people more individually and not get overly focused on what's not good for me to focus on. I think that's what Yeshua did because He prayed and focused on G-d. satan, His accusers, and the evil around Him wasn't His focus. That's at least some of how He didn't give into it, and at least one proclaimed Him the Son of G-d upon His death. I don't know it just helps me to kind of assume Islam is ultimately a non-issue, but individuals still possess hope and then purpose. Call evil, evil, but it comes from so many sides that I've found it more helpful to address it from a more personal individual stand point to prepare myself. I can't do much more then that and praying anyway. I'm not the One Who can defeat Islam, but maybe I can make a difference in one lost person's life, whether they be Muslim, Jew, Hindu, atheist and so on. This is just where I'm at now for my own spiritual sake.