- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on May 6, 2022 13:42:19 GMT -8
This Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Genesis 32:3-33:17
Haftara- Obadiah 1:1-15
D’rash: There is much in this parisha, but I want to focus on just a couple of things.
Gen 32: 28,30 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel [Israel means He strives with God, or God strives] for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” … So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [Peniel means the face of God], saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”
In Christian tradition this is a Christophany, an appearance of ‘Jesus’ in the Old Testament. This matches with scripture. But in Judaism Ya’aqov is thought to have wrestled with the ‘Patron Angel of Esav.’ However malachim (angels) are not depicted as being gracious in scripture. They are given a mandate and they carry it out. And no man can stand against even the lowest of malachim, so I have to go with the Christians on this one.
If he saw God and did not perish, then he saw the person of Yeshua, God appearing as a man. And he was given the title שֵׁם shêm definite and conspicuous position; an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character.‘Israel,’ not a new name. Once renamed a person was never referred to by the old name again in scripture. Ya’aqov is called by his given name several times, the first time being in the passage I just quoted! (And in over three full columns of references in my Strong’s Concordance after Gen 32:28).
Gen 32: 9-12 And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”
Even though God Himself had told Ya’aqov to leave Lavan and return to the land he and his offspring had been promised, Ya’aqov still feared for his life at the hands of his brother. We, looking back on the incident might ask “why?” But if we look discerningly at the text, we are told why: “I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant.” Often we look at our lives and say to God the obvious, “I am not worthy.” Because we genuinely feel this way we then question God and whether His mercy towards us will endure. We forget it is not us, it is the unfathomable love God has for us that prompts that mercy when we repent. And when we fail Him many times over as Ya’aqov, and indeed his fathers before him did, how many times will God forgive us?
Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Yeshua, in saying “seventy-seven times” was actually telling Peter ‘as many times as he repents and asks forgiveness.’ God has forgiven us our sins, the same ones that would place Him on a Roman execution stake (cross); how therefore can we deny our brothers and sisters forgiveness for less consequential offenses? Yeshua went on to tell a parable: Matt 18:21-35 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants [bondservants]. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Not only will God forgive us many times over, but we are expected to do the same for others. Ya’aqov certainly had issues with his brother, Esav. He had neglected his duties as firstborn, leaving Ya’aqov to take up the slack. He had actually sold his birthright, then later accused Ya’aqov of theft and threatened to kill him. It was probably in large part fear of Esav that kept Ya’aqov in bondage to Lavan for twenty years. So there was a lot of healing on both sides that should have occurred at this meeting. All parties seemed willing:
Gen 33: 4-9 But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company [camp] that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”
And yet Ya’aqov still deals treacherously with his brother:
Gen 33: 14-17 Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth [booths].
That, sadly is our nature. We question God, and we tend to deal falsely with each other. I’ve found forgiveness is not a ‘one-and-done” proposition. The old feelings of resentment, of being wronged, and of mistrust resurface again and again and so must be dealt with. The only way I have found to deal with this is to look to God and say “I have given the matter to You, and for my part I have forgiven. I trust You for the rest.” But anger, fear, and mistrust will only destroy us in the end. Forgiveness is more for the one giving than those who receive it. True forgiveness is a difficult thing, but it is the only way to move forward with our halacha, our walk with The Almighty. I think this was what Ya’aqov was trying to do when he prayed in Gen 32: 9-12, because he started and ended the prayer with an appeal to God’s promises. Yet he still took precautions, dividing his camp. That alone I would find no problem with. We are commanded to forgive, not to forget or to act foolishly. However that coupled with his treachery in telling Esav he would meet him at Seir, then going on to a different place (Succoth) tells a different story. We try, but often fail not in our desire but in our ability to go all in; to truly forgive and to trust in God.
There is one curious verse, Gen 33:10 Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me.”
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers has a good note on this which conveys what I was thinking, only much better than I can: For therefore I have seen thy face.—The latter half of the verse would more correctly be translated, inasmuch as I have seen thy face as one seeth the face of Elohim, and thou hast received me graciously. To the Hebrew the thought of God was not terrifying, and so the vision of God’s face was the sight of something good and glorious. There is much of Oriental hyperbole in comparing the sight of Esau to the beholding of the face of Deity, but it clearly conveyed the idea that Esau was using his power as generously and lovingly as is the wont of God; and God was so much nearer to the Hebrew in those simple days than he is to men now that science has revealed to them the immensity of His attributes, that there was no irreverence in the comparison.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV; Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible; JPS Study Bible; Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers: my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 33:18-35:8
Haftara- Nah 1:12-2:5
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
Parashah- Genesis 32:3-33:17
Haftara- Obadiah 1:1-15
D’rash: There is much in this parisha, but I want to focus on just a couple of things.
Gen 32: 28,30 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel [Israel means He strives with God, or God strives] for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” … So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [Peniel means the face of God], saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”
In Christian tradition this is a Christophany, an appearance of ‘Jesus’ in the Old Testament. This matches with scripture. But in Judaism Ya’aqov is thought to have wrestled with the ‘Patron Angel of Esav.’ However malachim (angels) are not depicted as being gracious in scripture. They are given a mandate and they carry it out. And no man can stand against even the lowest of malachim, so I have to go with the Christians on this one.
If he saw God and did not perish, then he saw the person of Yeshua, God appearing as a man. And he was given the title שֵׁם shêm definite and conspicuous position; an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character.‘Israel,’ not a new name. Once renamed a person was never referred to by the old name again in scripture. Ya’aqov is called by his given name several times, the first time being in the passage I just quoted! (And in over three full columns of references in my Strong’s Concordance after Gen 32:28).
Gen 32: 9-12 And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”
Even though God Himself had told Ya’aqov to leave Lavan and return to the land he and his offspring had been promised, Ya’aqov still feared for his life at the hands of his brother. We, looking back on the incident might ask “why?” But if we look discerningly at the text, we are told why: “I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant.” Often we look at our lives and say to God the obvious, “I am not worthy.” Because we genuinely feel this way we then question God and whether His mercy towards us will endure. We forget it is not us, it is the unfathomable love God has for us that prompts that mercy when we repent. And when we fail Him many times over as Ya’aqov, and indeed his fathers before him did, how many times will God forgive us?
Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Yeshua, in saying “seventy-seven times” was actually telling Peter ‘as many times as he repents and asks forgiveness.’ God has forgiven us our sins, the same ones that would place Him on a Roman execution stake (cross); how therefore can we deny our brothers and sisters forgiveness for less consequential offenses? Yeshua went on to tell a parable: Matt 18:21-35 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants [bondservants]. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Not only will God forgive us many times over, but we are expected to do the same for others. Ya’aqov certainly had issues with his brother, Esav. He had neglected his duties as firstborn, leaving Ya’aqov to take up the slack. He had actually sold his birthright, then later accused Ya’aqov of theft and threatened to kill him. It was probably in large part fear of Esav that kept Ya’aqov in bondage to Lavan for twenty years. So there was a lot of healing on both sides that should have occurred at this meeting. All parties seemed willing:
Gen 33: 4-9 But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company [camp] that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”
And yet Ya’aqov still deals treacherously with his brother:
Gen 33: 14-17 Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth [booths].
That, sadly is our nature. We question God, and we tend to deal falsely with each other. I’ve found forgiveness is not a ‘one-and-done” proposition. The old feelings of resentment, of being wronged, and of mistrust resurface again and again and so must be dealt with. The only way I have found to deal with this is to look to God and say “I have given the matter to You, and for my part I have forgiven. I trust You for the rest.” But anger, fear, and mistrust will only destroy us in the end. Forgiveness is more for the one giving than those who receive it. True forgiveness is a difficult thing, but it is the only way to move forward with our halacha, our walk with The Almighty. I think this was what Ya’aqov was trying to do when he prayed in Gen 32: 9-12, because he started and ended the prayer with an appeal to God’s promises. Yet he still took precautions, dividing his camp. That alone I would find no problem with. We are commanded to forgive, not to forget or to act foolishly. However that coupled with his treachery in telling Esav he would meet him at Seir, then going on to a different place (Succoth) tells a different story. We try, but often fail not in our desire but in our ability to go all in; to truly forgive and to trust in God.
There is one curious verse, Gen 33:10 Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me.”
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers has a good note on this which conveys what I was thinking, only much better than I can: For therefore I have seen thy face.—The latter half of the verse would more correctly be translated, inasmuch as I have seen thy face as one seeth the face of Elohim, and thou hast received me graciously. To the Hebrew the thought of God was not terrifying, and so the vision of God’s face was the sight of something good and glorious. There is much of Oriental hyperbole in comparing the sight of Esau to the beholding of the face of Deity, but it clearly conveyed the idea that Esau was using his power as generously and lovingly as is the wont of God; and God was so much nearer to the Hebrew in those simple days than he is to men now that science has revealed to them the immensity of His attributes, that there was no irreverence in the comparison.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV; Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible; JPS Study Bible; Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers: my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 33:18-35:8
Haftara- Nah 1:12-2:5
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
