2023-2024 Raphael ben Levi Page of 1 8 Parasha Toldot (Generations) Gen. 25:19–28:9; Mal.1:1–2:7; Lk.3:1–18 By Raphael ben Levi In this Torah portion we read something puzzling: In Gen.25:21 it states that: “… when Isaac was 40 years old he took Rebekah as his wife… and pleaded to the LORD on behalf of his wife, Rebekah because she was childless and the Lord granted his plea and Rebekah his wife conceived.” (in this instance she didn’t pray but Isaac). To be childless was considered a curse due to sin and ungodliness and Rebecca probably internalised this with self-condemnation in additions to feelings of failure and worthlessness – she was convinced that God was punishing her for something she had done and that her barrenness was all her fault. She had nothing but remorse for something she was not responsible for. It had been no different for Sarai the wife of Abram except that Sarai had faced an even more impossible situation than Rebecca because of her old age. Either way, Rebekah had given up all hope of conceiving, yet God who was always in full control. Sometimes, it is when all vestige of hope has evaporated that God steps in because He wants to teach us something very special and important – that He is always faithful, our all-sufficiency and will never fail us. The name Rebekah means ‘bound up,’ and it describes very well how Rebecca felt due to her barrenness. Isaac also well understood what it meant to be bound up but in a different sense through a memory deeply etched in his mind when many years before his father, Abram, offered him as a sacrifice (Gen.22) in a pivotal moment in Jewish history known as the “Akedah” or “binding.” He understood these things well. Rebecca was bound up in her soul, filled with turmoil and confusion. Isaac had been physically bound and prepared to be sacrificed with absolutely no way of escape yet in both cases God had the last word. Rebecca’s barrenness is not an isolated example. There is mention in Scripture of seven women who were barren (Ex.23:26). The number seven represents Divine perfection so it infers that God never makes mistakes so even when we don’t understand things perfectly, He does. 2023-2024 Raphael ben Levi Page of 2 8 The number 7 occurs 287 times in Scripture. In Hebrew, seven is ‘sheva.’ It is from the root, ‘savah,’ meaning ‘to be full’ or ‘satisfied.’ So, for example, on the seventh day of creation, God rested from His work. What He had created was full, complete and perfect. Nothing more could be added or taken away to make things better. In God’s creative works, seven completes the colours of the rainbow and in music the notes of the scale. In each of these, the eighth is only a repetition of the first part. The opening statement in the Book of Genesis consists of 7 words and 28 letters (4×7): “B’resheet Bara Elohim et Ha Shamyim v’et Ha Aretz” It was an act that expressed God’s complete and tangible perfection where no such thing as barrenness existed. So what then is the underlying meaning of Rebekah’s barrenness? We are imperfect, in word, deed, in our knowledge and understanding of things and in our thinking, but our imperfection does not lessen the perfection of God who is perfect in all things (Ps.18) and who does all things well and is good all the time and perfect in His timings. And when we are confronted with the mystery of barrenness in our lives, whether it be failing health, disappointments, setbacks, or any other manner of negative things that overwhelm us, Scripture reminds us that He uses even the negatives and turns them for good! Countless times God intervenes to confound modern medical opinion in hopeless situations including when it was impossible for someone to bear children as was the case here with Rebekah. God used Rebekah’s barrenness to motivate Isaac to seek God’s face more earnestly for the miracle which was eventually granted. But there are also occasions when He has closed His hands and then opened them again to reveal abundance, but in a different shape and form to what we had expected. God has not ignored or refused our needs in these times but simply provided us with a better solution. A good idea is not necessarily a God idea! Recently we moved into the new month in the Hebrew calendar of Kislev, the 9th month and the number 9 in Scripture represents the period leading to birth following 2023-2024 Raphael ben Levi Page of 3 8 travail. Our spiritual travail will always bear an overflow for those with the commitment, courage and stamina to keep their eyes focussed on Yeshua irrespective of everything, even as Isaac did. This is when we will experience the fullness of blessing that God desires for our lives! The Hebrew root word for blessing (brakhah) means to bring a gift on bended knee, but with a small change in vowel, it becomes breicha—a wellspring of water or even a pool. (Ps 84) “Blessed are those whose strength is in you in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca (tears) they make it a (breicha) place of springs the early rain also covers it with pools.” God transforms the barren places of our lives into wellsprings and pools of water: (Isa 41:18) “I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.” God’s love is not uncritical but it is unshakable and unconditional. His intention is always to draw us closer to Himself which He does with precision and purpose. Who dares refuse all discouragement and deterrent that seeks to prevent us from entering into the fullness of God’s destiny for our lives! Scripture teaches us that no matter what circumstances we may face, God will make a way where there seems to be no way! The question is how we respond, and perhaps our worst enemy is to do nothing because procrastination is the thief of time that leads to eternal forfeit. Isaac was 40 years old when he married but he had to wait a further 20 years before Rebekah became pregnant. It’s not an easy thing to wait patiently for God to act but God always has His perfect timing in all things, something that the psalmist describes beautifully: “I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path.” (Isai. 40:1-2) The underlying cause of Rebecca’s barrenness is pure speculation but the underlying meaning is not. Scripture teaches us that no matter how great our 2023-2024 Raphael ben Levi Page of 4 8 imperfections are, it can’t nullify the perfection of God who undertakes to supply ALL our needs according to His riches in Messiah Jesus. So, when in our lives we are confronted with the mystery of barrenness – failing health, disappointments, setbacks, etc, God will use even the negatives for His glory! (Rom. 8:28) How many times can we bear witness how God, the Author of Creation, makes the impossible, possible, as in the case with Rebekah. He makes a way where there seems to be no way. Barrenness is a physical expression of the spiritual, a shadow of different expressions of reality. Many of Yeshua’s statements and parables focus upon spiritual barrenness, something that occurs when we neglect to walk in relationship with Yeshua. This is a situation no-one need experience. God has equipped us to engage the enemy and be more than conquerors through Him who loves us when we surrender our lives to Him, trim our lamps, and allow Him to take full control. In a sense we all have areas of barrenness because we are a work in process which is why God desires to transform us by His Holy Spirit. The Master Potter uses every circumstance to lovingly mould and shape our lives. He is able to transform the barren places of our lives into wellsprings, even as His Word declares: “I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.” (Isai 41:18) A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well. God desires to birth within us a deeper walk with Himself, a deeper knowledge, a deeper relationship. May God propel us to places beyond imagination as we allow Him to have His perfect way in our lives! In early biblical times it was a shameful thing to be barren and a reason why polygamy emerged and frequently practiced. It ensured the preservation of future generations which superseded all other moral considerations. However, this is not what God originally designed it to be, otherwise He would have made four “Eves” instead of one: Eve, Eva, Evita, and Christmas Eve! 2023-2024 Raphael ben Levi Page of 5 8 If we fast track to the very end times when God’s wrath will fall upon the earth, Yeshua warned that those who are barren will be considered blessed (Isai.54:1, Luke 23:29). This is a statement of comparison, meaning that the joy of having children will be like deep mourning in comparison to the judgements which mankind will be facing in those days. A 2nd theme I would like to touch upon from our Torah passage is Isaac and Rebecca as flawed parents. The identical twins were ironically opposites physically, emotionally and spiritually. We read that, “…The boys grew up. Esau became a skilful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a mild man who stayed at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob” (Gen. 25: 27-28). Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob but Rebekah loved Jacob more than Esau. Parental favouritism is a snare yet strangely with Rebecca it came as a result of a word from the Lord: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” (25:23). Since Jacob was the younger, Rebekah understood that Jacob and his line would continue the lineage through God’s covenant and become heirs of His promises, not Esau. Not that Jacob (meaning ‘deceiver’ was necessarily more righteous than Esau – at least early on). The difference, as we see the lives of both brothers unravelling was that Jacob allowed God (albeit painfully) to transform his life from Jacob (deceiver) to Israel (‘Prince of God’). Esau remained Esau. As we know, biblically, a change of name is hugely significant and signified the equivalent of being ‘born again.’ Esau was an outdoors person who enjoyed hunting with little time for things spiritual. He left that for the home makers. The real question is why Isaac blindly sought to entrust his legacy to Esau even though he knew he had despised his birthright for a bowl of soup. (Gen.25: 29-34) And if that wasn’t enough another incident should have raised alarm bells: “When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah” (Gen. 26: 34-35). 2023-2024 Raphael ben Levi Page of 6 8 Esau had made himself at home among the Hittites and married two of their women, something strictly forbidden by God. This led to the eventual total assimilation of Esau’s ancestors to embrace pagan culture, religion, and moral values. Esau disregarded any desire to fulfil his godly responsibility to carry forward the promises and covenants of God which he despised. Yet, Isaac was blind to these things because he viewed his son through speckled sunglasses. To Isaac, Esau could do no wrong. When Isaac instructed: “Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die” he did not do so because he was hungry. Rather he desired to be filled with the smell and taste he associated with Esau, his older son before he blessed him because he was now blind both spiritually and literally. All the amazing things he had experienced in his relationship with God had somehow fallen along the wayside. This is the measure of deception that even someone like Isaac could fall prey to. When Isaac and Esau realised how they had been deceived by Jacob, Isaac “trembled violently” and Esau “burst out with a loud and bitter cry.” It is interesting that the Torah generally says little about people’s emotions which is why when we read how Yeshua wept by the tomb of Lazarus, it was something hugely significant. In contrast, during the incident with the binding of Isaac, there is not the slightest indication of how Abraham or Isaac felt in one of the most alarming episodes in the Bible. So here, the depth of feeling revealed in the Torah, describing Isaac and Esau at that moment is something rare and overwhelming. Both father and son had felt betrayed yet were helpless to do anything about it. Isaac never reproached Esau for selling his birth-right to Jacob and Esau never blamed his father for not taking sufficient care to avoid blessing Jacob instead of himself. All bitterness was directed towards Jacob. The bond with our children may become damaged but never broken beyond repair as with our relationship with God. He never gives up on us, His love is unconditional and unbreakable though not beyond reproach. 2023-2024 Raphael ben Levi Page of 7 8 The phrase, “And the older shall serve the younger” in Hebrew is: “ve-rav ya’avod zayer” which can be translated as, “The rabbi will serve the disciple.” It relates directly to John 13 at Yeshua’s last Pesach when He washed His disciples feet: “So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, (Rav) have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.’” v’s 12-14: We are commanded to wash one another’s feet as believers even with the Esau’s of this world. And as we see the whole scene in John 13 unravel, it connects with the prophetic promises given to Rebekah. Although Issac prayed for Rebekah at a low point in her life, eventually God used her, not Isaac to pave the way to establish the ten tribes of Israel from whom would be born the Saviour of the world, through Jacob not Esau. Rebekah may have had a shaky start in life, but she was the person who paved the way for God’s blessing to fall upon Jacob to establish the ten tribes of Israel. No matter how many false starts we may have experienced in our lives, what matters the most is how well we finish. In Ex.17, the Israelites were battling against the Amalekites and Moses stood close by interceding for them with his hands raised in prayer. But when his hands began to droop from tiredness, the tables turned in favour of Amalek. It was at that moment when Moses had insufficient strength on his own that Aaron and Hur came to support him and the Israelites prevailed and won the battle. ‘Lifting up hands’ to the Lord is a symbolic act displaying our total surrender to the perfect will of God in the best and worst of times and not least in our spiritual warfare – it can be a powerful expression of worship. When we ‘stand’ let’s stand together and having done all, to ‘stand.’ (Eph.6:13) We can do no better and must do no less. So we press forward to ‘know’ Him and refuse all obstacles that are presented. Knowing God is entirely embedded in relationship not head knowledge. No matter how much biblical knowledge we acquire it is meaningless outside of relationship 2023-2024 Raphael ben Levi Page of 8 8 with the living God! Yeshua made that startling clear in His sombre warning found in Matt.7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’” In Ps.14 we read that “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God” (i.e., a knowledgable person without knowledge (relationship with God) is a fool! Again in Hos.4:6 states that, “people perish through lack of knowledge” a verse often misquoted to refer to academic knowledge. But in fact it is explaining that “People perish through lack of relationship with God.” God wants to birth within us a deeper walk with Himself, a deeper knowledge, a deeper ‘yadah’ (relational knowledge) through a diligent thirst for more of Him in our lives. www.mekudeshet.co.za
