- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Jan 28, 2022 18:58:24 GMT -8
This Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Genesis 21:1-34
Haftara- 1Samauel 2:1-36
D’rash: This parashah deals with the difficult idea of election, that God chooses some for an office or task over others. As Messianics we have no problem with the idea a sovereign God can choose which of us to fill certain offices or perform certain tasks. However the “difficulty” comes with how contemporary Christianity sees the idea of election:
election- Predestined salvation, especially as conceived by Calvinists and Armenians.
The choice by God of individuals, as for salvation. Calvin believed individuals are chosen for salvation without reference to their faith or works. The Arminians say that God chooses for salvation those who, by grace, persevere in faith and works. We see both of these at work in the AoG doctrine of election, where they define it as: “an act of God before creation in which He chose some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of His sovereign good pleasure.” They, unlike Calvinists believe salvation can be lost if we do not “persevere in the faith.” It’s no wonder so many people have trouble with this doctrine!
In this week’s parashah we see election as it was meant to be understood. God chose Yitzach to be the one through whom the spiritual blessing would be transferred:
Genesis 21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.
God, as is His right chose through which boy to pass on the Lineage of His Moshiach. That is election at work. It is not (to my understanding) about salvation but rather about office. We’ll soon see this played out again when Ya’akov is chosen over his brother, Esav. And in a bit different context when Bezalel is chosen to oversee the building of the Mishkan. Again, in yet another context we see it in our haftarah:
1 Samuel 2:7-8 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low and he exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and on them he has set the world.
And again slightly different:
1 Samuel 2:30-31 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.
In all these the common idea is that a sovereign God can choose who He wants to place in a particular office, or position, and for how long and what purpose. It is not about salvation.
Genesis 21:9-10 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing*. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.”
The footnote for laughing* says “Possibly laughing in mockery,” which is the traditional understanding. And it may have some merit. However she and Avraham name their son יצחק; Yitzhaq, saying, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh יצחק; yitzhaq over me” Genesis 21:6.
There are better terms for “mock,” such as תהל tahal (1 Kgs 18:27) or תעע ta’a (Gen 27:12). So there may be another way to understand this. Ishmael may have been imitating Yitzhaq, pretending to be him, or exhibiting behavior that would suggest the promise rightfully belonged to him. This would make more sense of Sarah’s words in vs. 10, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.”
Continuing with our theme of election, what of the unelect- those not chosen by God? In a world of universalism and ‘wokeness’ this may be a tough question. But God has an answer:
Genesis 21:11-18 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
Ishmael was also blessed, and similarly to his brother Yitzhaq. So to not be elected by God does not mean you will not be blessed. In fact, through Isa’ac and his continuing the lineage of Avraham all the world will be blessed:
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Genesis 22:18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
And by the way, the phrase “because you have obeyed my voice” here gives lie to the doctrine of election without any effort on our part.
God is not unjust, to give to one for no reason and punish another without cause. He wishes all men to become part of the covenant. To worship Him and receive eternal life:
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
But there is the problem. We are not simply handed our salvation because God decided it was to be so before He created the world. We must repent. The Hebrew teshuvah implies more here than simply being sorry. It is a return to the state of friendship and walking with God Adam had in the Garden. That means turning from sin and becoming obedient to God, walking holy, separated before and to Him. He cannot walk with us if we are practicing sin:
Isaiah 59:1-2
Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened,
that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
This is the point we must get across to both Christians and the unsaved, and sadly some calling themselves Messianic as well. Without understanding God’s Torah they risk eternal judgement (in the case of the lost this is assured). I won’t say at what point salvation becomes forfeit. I will say the farther one is from Yeshua and His Torah the more they place themselves at risk.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; Drs. Schasser, Parker, and Eli of the IBC; Dr. W. Grudem; my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 22:1-24
Haftara- Is 33:7-22
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
Parashah- Genesis 21:1-34
Haftara- 1Samauel 2:1-36
D’rash: This parashah deals with the difficult idea of election, that God chooses some for an office or task over others. As Messianics we have no problem with the idea a sovereign God can choose which of us to fill certain offices or perform certain tasks. However the “difficulty” comes with how contemporary Christianity sees the idea of election:
election- Predestined salvation, especially as conceived by Calvinists and Armenians.
The choice by God of individuals, as for salvation. Calvin believed individuals are chosen for salvation without reference to their faith or works. The Arminians say that God chooses for salvation those who, by grace, persevere in faith and works. We see both of these at work in the AoG doctrine of election, where they define it as: “an act of God before creation in which He chose some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of His sovereign good pleasure.” They, unlike Calvinists believe salvation can be lost if we do not “persevere in the faith.” It’s no wonder so many people have trouble with this doctrine!
In this week’s parashah we see election as it was meant to be understood. God chose Yitzach to be the one through whom the spiritual blessing would be transferred:
Genesis 21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.
God, as is His right chose through which boy to pass on the Lineage of His Moshiach. That is election at work. It is not (to my understanding) about salvation but rather about office. We’ll soon see this played out again when Ya’akov is chosen over his brother, Esav. And in a bit different context when Bezalel is chosen to oversee the building of the Mishkan. Again, in yet another context we see it in our haftarah:
1 Samuel 2:7-8 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low and he exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and on them he has set the world.
And again slightly different:
1 Samuel 2:30-31 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.
In all these the common idea is that a sovereign God can choose who He wants to place in a particular office, or position, and for how long and what purpose. It is not about salvation.
Genesis 21:9-10 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing*. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.”
The footnote for laughing* says “Possibly laughing in mockery,” which is the traditional understanding. And it may have some merit. However she and Avraham name their son יצחק; Yitzhaq, saying, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh יצחק; yitzhaq over me” Genesis 21:6.
There are better terms for “mock,” such as תהל tahal (1 Kgs 18:27) or תעע ta’a (Gen 27:12). So there may be another way to understand this. Ishmael may have been imitating Yitzhaq, pretending to be him, or exhibiting behavior that would suggest the promise rightfully belonged to him. This would make more sense of Sarah’s words in vs. 10, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.”
Continuing with our theme of election, what of the unelect- those not chosen by God? In a world of universalism and ‘wokeness’ this may be a tough question. But God has an answer:
Genesis 21:11-18 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
Ishmael was also blessed, and similarly to his brother Yitzhaq. So to not be elected by God does not mean you will not be blessed. In fact, through Isa’ac and his continuing the lineage of Avraham all the world will be blessed:
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Genesis 22:18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
And by the way, the phrase “because you have obeyed my voice” here gives lie to the doctrine of election without any effort on our part.
God is not unjust, to give to one for no reason and punish another without cause. He wishes all men to become part of the covenant. To worship Him and receive eternal life:
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
But there is the problem. We are not simply handed our salvation because God decided it was to be so before He created the world. We must repent. The Hebrew teshuvah implies more here than simply being sorry. It is a return to the state of friendship and walking with God Adam had in the Garden. That means turning from sin and becoming obedient to God, walking holy, separated before and to Him. He cannot walk with us if we are practicing sin:
Isaiah 59:1-2
Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened,
that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
This is the point we must get across to both Christians and the unsaved, and sadly some calling themselves Messianic as well. Without understanding God’s Torah they risk eternal judgement (in the case of the lost this is assured). I won’t say at what point salvation becomes forfeit. I will say the farther one is from Yeshua and His Torah the more they place themselves at risk.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; Drs. Schasser, Parker, and Eli of the IBC; Dr. W. Grudem; my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 22:1-24
Haftara- Is 33:7-22
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
