- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Dec 24, 2021 20:21:44 GMT -8
This Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Genesis 16:1-16
Haftara- Isaiah 63:19-64:11(12)
D’rash: This weeks parashah is a short one. However it does have some good lessons:
Genesis 16:1-2 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
Sarai, aware that God never mentioned her to Abram in His promise to him offers her Egyptian servant Hagar to her husband. Being barren she, knowing God’s promises always come to pass decided to help God out. But faith is trust, and trust is patient:
Hebrews 6:12b imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Knowing God has a plan, we must also trust His timing. This is a lesson Hagar was about to learn as well:
Isaiah 63:4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
Genesis 16: 3b-6 Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes]. And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.
Whenever we step outside God’s plan, strife and suffering is usually the result. When things go wrong we generally blame others and make plans to hide, or to correct the problem as Sarai and Avram did. And as so often happens, their scheming has serious consequences. Here we see the tension mount in Avram’s household to the point Hagar ran away into the desert. She must have felt frightened and alone, and might have died; however a heavenly messenger meets her there and she realizes that one is never alone or out of God’s sight:
Genesis 16:7,14a The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. … Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi [the well of the Living One who sees me];
The ‘well of the Living One who sees me.’ God’s watchful eye is felt strongly, especially in ha’eretz Yisroel:
Deuteronomy 11:11-12 But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
Genesis 16:9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.”
Alas, our problems do have a way of returning to us. As we read on (in later parashot) we will find the strife won’t leave Avram’s household for another seventeen years. However the messenger did leave Hagar with a prophecy of hope:
Genesis 16: The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, [God hears] because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God [who sees me],” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
So Hagar was to return to Sarai, where she would bear a son she would call Ishmael. Her descendants through him would be without number. Hagar obeyed and, in due time gave birth to Ishmael:
Genesis 16:15-16 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
The strife continued in Avram’s house long after. Had he and his wife Sarai waited on the Lord, it all could have been avoided. God intervened and blessed Hagar, however the messenger (possibly a pre-incarnate Yeshua, but we are not told) instructed her to return and submit to her mistress, Sarai. Sarai and Avraham had exceedingly wronged Hagar, so this could not have been easy. But she obeyed and as we will see in later parashot God took care of her; and He did bless her and her son, Ishmael.
The sixteenth benediction of the Sh’monei Esrei (18 Blessings, the Amidah) reads: FOR THE ANSWERING OF PRAYER:
Hear our voice, O Lord our God; spare us and have pity on us. Accept our prayer in mercy and with favor, for you are a God who hears prayers and supplications. O our King, do not turn us away from your presence empty-handed, for you hear the prayers of your people Israel with compassion. Blessed are you, O Lord, who hears prayer.
Why should God hear the prayers of His people? Because they are in need? Because they are behaving; or because they are they just good people? No, but because “you are a God who hears prayers and supplications.” It’s who He is. We trust Him because it is His nature to hear our prayers. And recall that in Jewish thought to hear is to act! Throughout the prayer, especially in the first half there is a constant give and take between God as King and God as Father. As King He knows His plan for us, but as Father He has compassion and mercy. He loves us and wants to provide. But as we see in our reading we must wait on His timing, trusting that He will provide. This prayer also asks for basics, necessities; but for those in abundance (plenty, not excess), while always acknowledging His sovereign right to act in our lives. The prayer basically asks God to be Himself! The worshiper as he says the prayer trusts that God knows what is really best for us and wants to give it. This, I think is the greatest lesson to be learned in this parashah.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; Jewish Publication Society; Dr W Wiersbe; Dr Eli of the Israel Bible Center; FB Meyer; my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 17:1-27
Haftara- Is 63:1-19
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
Parashah- Genesis 16:1-16
Haftara- Isaiah 63:19-64:11(12)
D’rash: This weeks parashah is a short one. However it does have some good lessons:
Genesis 16:1-2 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
Sarai, aware that God never mentioned her to Abram in His promise to him offers her Egyptian servant Hagar to her husband. Being barren she, knowing God’s promises always come to pass decided to help God out. But faith is trust, and trust is patient:
Hebrews 6:12b imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Knowing God has a plan, we must also trust His timing. This is a lesson Hagar was about to learn as well:
Isaiah 63:4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
Genesis 16: 3b-6 Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes]. And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.
Whenever we step outside God’s plan, strife and suffering is usually the result. When things go wrong we generally blame others and make plans to hide, or to correct the problem as Sarai and Avram did. And as so often happens, their scheming has serious consequences. Here we see the tension mount in Avram’s household to the point Hagar ran away into the desert. She must have felt frightened and alone, and might have died; however a heavenly messenger meets her there and she realizes that one is never alone or out of God’s sight:
Genesis 16:7,14a The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. … Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi [the well of the Living One who sees me];
The ‘well of the Living One who sees me.’ God’s watchful eye is felt strongly, especially in ha’eretz Yisroel:
Deuteronomy 11:11-12 But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
Genesis 16:9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.”
Alas, our problems do have a way of returning to us. As we read on (in later parashot) we will find the strife won’t leave Avram’s household for another seventeen years. However the messenger did leave Hagar with a prophecy of hope:
Genesis 16: The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, [God hears] because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God [who sees me],” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
So Hagar was to return to Sarai, where she would bear a son she would call Ishmael. Her descendants through him would be without number. Hagar obeyed and, in due time gave birth to Ishmael:
Genesis 16:15-16 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
The strife continued in Avram’s house long after. Had he and his wife Sarai waited on the Lord, it all could have been avoided. God intervened and blessed Hagar, however the messenger (possibly a pre-incarnate Yeshua, but we are not told) instructed her to return and submit to her mistress, Sarai. Sarai and Avraham had exceedingly wronged Hagar, so this could not have been easy. But she obeyed and as we will see in later parashot God took care of her; and He did bless her and her son, Ishmael.
The sixteenth benediction of the Sh’monei Esrei (18 Blessings, the Amidah) reads: FOR THE ANSWERING OF PRAYER:
Hear our voice, O Lord our God; spare us and have pity on us. Accept our prayer in mercy and with favor, for you are a God who hears prayers and supplications. O our King, do not turn us away from your presence empty-handed, for you hear the prayers of your people Israel with compassion. Blessed are you, O Lord, who hears prayer.
Why should God hear the prayers of His people? Because they are in need? Because they are behaving; or because they are they just good people? No, but because “you are a God who hears prayers and supplications.” It’s who He is. We trust Him because it is His nature to hear our prayers. And recall that in Jewish thought to hear is to act! Throughout the prayer, especially in the first half there is a constant give and take between God as King and God as Father. As King He knows His plan for us, but as Father He has compassion and mercy. He loves us and wants to provide. But as we see in our reading we must wait on His timing, trusting that He will provide. This prayer also asks for basics, necessities; but for those in abundance (plenty, not excess), while always acknowledging His sovereign right to act in our lives. The prayer basically asks God to be Himself! The worshiper as he says the prayer trusts that God knows what is really best for us and wants to give it. This, I think is the greatest lesson to be learned in this parashah.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; Jewish Publication Society; Dr W Wiersbe; Dr Eli of the Israel Bible Center; FB Meyer; my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 17:1-27
Haftara- Is 63:1-19
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
