Vayechi (And He Lived) Gen.47:28–50:26; 1 Kgs.2:1–12; Jn. 10:1–21
By Raphael ben Levi
“And Jacob lived (Vayechi Yaacov) in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.” (Gen.47:28)
This Shabbat, is the final parasha in Genesis named Vayechi “and he lived” a strange since the bible portion focuses upon the death of Jacob and Yosef. Rabbi Yosi Shalom made the point that, “…every time a Torah portion in the book of Genesis starts with words that speak of life, a major Biblical character dies. The word for life in Hebrew, both ancient and modern, is “Chai” – LIVE – LIFE. The subject of life in the Book of Genesis is a central topic. The book of Genesis is the only book of the Bible that gives the years that the significant characters lived and the age at which they died!” (Rabbi Yosi Shulam)
Jacob was buried in the same cave as Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebecca – the cave of Machpelah. This was near the place where Abraham gave hospitality to the 3 visitors who prophesied that Sarai would bear a son, and also where the conversation concerning the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah took place. According to Jewish tradition, these guests included Gabriel, and Michael, the two archangels who are directly connected to the nation of Israel.
It has been said that if you want to understand what a book is about, look carefully at how it ends. Genesis ends with several significant events. One of them stands out especially if one happens to be a grandparent because where Jacob blesses his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh with a blessing for sons used by Jewish parents on erev shabbat f – “that they may be like Ephraim and Manasseh.”
This is the only instance in the Torah of a grandparent blessing a grandchild. Generally speaking there is nothing between grandparents and grandchildren besides pure love because grandparents no longer hold any responsibility as parents but can simply sit back and enjoy all the benefits whilst leaving the parents to do the hard work!
And this is one of the reasons why God has no grandchildren because He holds the sole responsibility as our Abba father, within a one-parent family to raise His children that includes tough love and holy discipline necessary for our spiritual growth and and upbringing. This thought takes us into the arena of the family of God.
The Book of Genesis displays a candid account of the problems frequently faced by the family of God so clearly illustrated in the life and times of Jacob. The Bible deliberately highlights instances of dysfunctional family relationships and one of the reasons for this is to help us to avoid the same pitfalls that we also can easily to fall into.
When we turn the page to read the Book of Exodus we find that the 12 tribes had to learn to work together as the family of God for the common good, each one uniquely different in character to the other. This is how the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks put it: “…surprisingly Genesis is not about the creation of the world, which occupies only one chapter, but about how to handle family conflict.”
Yeshua provided the remedy in simple terms during His last Passover meal with His disciples, when He told them,“12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this: that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 “I am no longer calling you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing. Now I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” Jn.15,
Our capacity and desirability to walk together authentically in godly love and unity leads us to the next point of what it really means to be a friend of God? Many people who heard Yeshua’s teachings remained spectators rather than earnestly seeking His friendship. They returned home to their daily routine with unresponsive hearts. Yeshua lamented their apathy quoting from Isai.6:10: “For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears and understand with their heart and turn—and I would heal them.”
A true friend is vividly illustrated in the parable attributed to Rabbi Yisrael of Rizhin (1797-1851). In this story, there were two friends whose souls were intertwined with deep brotherly love. Even though they lived far apart from one another, the love between them never waned. In those days, one of them was falsely accused of a crime, convicted and sentenced to death. The ruler issued a proclamation that everyone in the land should attend this criminal’s execution. When his friend came to the execution, he recognised him and immediately cried out in anguish, “Leave that man alone! I was the person who committed the crime.”
The result was mayhem. The execution was stopped and the matter was brought before the ruler who summoned both men and asked them the truth of the matter. Only one of them could have committed the crime, so why was the other one willing to die in vain? The friend of the condemned man answered: “I know that my friend did not commit any crime. I know his character. He could not possibly have done it. Thus, I must conclude that this is nothing but a miscarriage of justice. My life depends on my friend’s life. It is better that I die and not see his death. In fact, if I have received such punishment as having to see my friend’s death, I must myself be deserving of death.” The other man replied in a similar fashion.
When the ruler saw the great love between these two men, he let them both free and requested of them, “You are such great friends I would like you to take me into your circle with that amount of love. I also wish to become that kind of friend to you.””
As I reflect upon the story, I think of the words spoken by Yeshua: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn.15:13) And the Book of Proverbs states that, “…One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother,” (18:24) referring to Yeshua who stated that “I will never leave nor forsake you – even unto the end of this Age.” (Heb.13:5 Matt 28:20)
But, there is a shifting when I measure this against a willingness to lay down my life for Him; the fellowship of His sufferings. And things become more complicated when I translate the practical implications in my relationships with others. Yeshua commanded the impossible: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.” (Jn.13:34-35) I cannot escape or manoeuvre around the simplicity and directness of Yeshua’s words that hold me fully accountable.
When Jacob blessed Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh, He put his right hand on Ephraim, and his left on Manasseh, who was the firstborn, transferring the primary blessing to the younger son: “So he blessed them that day, saying, ‘By you Israel will bless, saying, “May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!”’ And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.” (Gen.48:20)
The amazing thing is that unlike Jacob and Esau, Ephraim and Manasseh walked in true unity without jealousy or resentment even though the blessing of inheritance always went to the older son. Manasseh didn’t feel robbed or cheated or allow jealousy and resentment to mar his relationship with his brother. God was pointing out through the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh that godly unity between people is a pre-requisite for blessing.
Jacob also blessed his other sons (Gen.49) individually according to their character and behaviour. The first blessing to the eldest son, Reuben, was shocking because he did not receive the double portion reserved for the first-born son due to his severe character flaws. Reuben slept with Jacob’s concubine, Bilhah, revealing his lust for power over the family. Taking possession of a leader’s harem revealed an attempt to usurp his authority as we see when David’s eldest son Absalom led a rebellion against his father and flaunted his disdain by publicly sleeping with David’s concubine. For this reason, Reuben’s position of preeminence as the first born was transferred instead to Judah.
Judah’s blessing was very different to Reuben. Jacob describes him as a ‘lion cub’ (‘Gur Ariyeh’) who “…bows down, (and) lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him?” (Gen.49:9) This is the same ‘Lion from the tribe of Judah’ described in Rev. 5 who is also the ‘Lamb of God.’
Jacob’s blessing stated that, “…The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.” (Gen.49:10) The word, ‘Shiloh’ (‘he whose it is’) is understood by the Sages to be a direct reference to the Messiah. According to messianic interpretation: “Jacob’s prophecy — that the sceptre shall not depart from Judah — contains every letter of the Hebrew alphabet except one — the letter zayin (ז), which represents the Hebrew word for weapon. And so we have presented to us a Messiah, who came to this earth as ‘The Suffering Servant’ Yeshua ben Yosef, in His first advent but will return one day as the ‘Conquering King,’ Yeshua ben David.’” Messianic Bible: news@biblesforisrael.com
The Hebrew word for JUDAH (Yehudah – יְהוּדָה) uses all four letters for the name of God – YHVH (יהוה) with the addition of one Hebrew letter dalet (ד), which stands for a door in the ancient Hebrew pictogram. This describes Yeshua who described Himself as the ‘door’ through whom people can be saved from the consequences of sin. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (Jn.10:9)
Yeshua alone is the ‘door’ by whom we can be saved. As Isaac Bashevis Singer (Nobel prize for literature) who yearned to experience God’s redemption said: “We must be free: we have no choice!” Yeshua alone made this possible through His precious blood stating, “…He who the Son sets free shall be free indeed” and is the Divine answer to humanity’s dilemma of sin. (Jn.14:6)
This is what is meant by the three words God told Moses at the burning bush when he asked God for His name. God replied, ‘Ehyeh asher Ehyeh’ often translated as “I am what I am,” but what it really means is, “I will be who and how I choose to be” – I am the God of freedom.
Sadly, many prefer to remain a prisoner in exile, estranged from God than to place their trust in the One who can set us free. God is calling back the spiritual captives through Yeshua: “Whosoever the Son sets free shall be free indeed.” (Jn.8:36) When we allow God to transform the deepest depths of our existence we can never remain the same again. Martin Buber explained it this way:
“Every lock has its key which fits into and opens it. But there are strong thieves who know how to open locks without keys. They break the lock… God loves the thief who breaks the lock open: I mean, the man who breaks his heart for God.”
What Buber was referring to is the person who allows nothing to block his entrance into a full and meaningful relationship with the living God – ‘the man who breaks his heart for God’ echoed by Paul whose ambition in life was to, “…know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering…” (Phil.3:10)
A young student went to his rabbi and asked him, “Teacher how can I truly find God?” The rabbi asked the student to accompany him to the river which ran by the village and invited him to go into the water. When they got to the middle of the stream, the rabbi said, “Please immerse yourself in the water.” The student did as he was instructed, whereupon the rabbi put his hands on the student’s head and held him under the water. Presently the student began to struggle. The rabbi held him under still. A moment passed and the student was thrashing and beating the water and air with his arms. Still, the rabbi held him under the water. Finally, the student was released and shot up from the water, lungs aching and gasping for air. The rabbi waited for a few moments and then said, “When you desire God’s presence as truly as you desired the air you just breathed, then your heart’s desire will surely be fulfilled!’” No longer will we pay homage to the gods of this world or to the second-hand cast-offs of theological mediocrity; they are gone forever! God is in full control and everything is good! This simple truth is engraved in the lives of all who embrace it and nothing will quench our eternal debt of thanks to the Author and Finisher of our faith!
You may think wrongly that you have nothing to give God. There is a story of a Jewish peasant boy who came to the big town to participate in a synagogue service. He didn’t know how to pray. He could not even read the Hebrew letter ‘Alef.’ He only saw that people were gathering to participate in the holy prayers. He thought, “If everybody is going to town I must go too!”
He arrived at the town’s synagogue with his father and watched the congregants crying and singing together swaying to and fro. He turned to his father and asked, “Father, what is this all about?”
His father turned to him and said, “The Holy One blessed be He, sits enthroned in the heavens and we pray all year long to Him.”
The son responded, “Father, what am I to do since I do not know how to pray?’”
His father replied, “All you have to do is be quiet and listen to the other Jews praying. That is enough for you.”
“Father, if I don’t know what these people are saying how is being silent going to help me?”
His father became unnerved and blurted out, “Listen, you should be quiet so no one will know you’re just an ignorant peasant!”
The son stood still for a couple of minutes as his father and the rest of the congregation continued praying, and then the young boy stood up and spoke loudly.
“I am going to pray to God in the way I know best. I will whistle to God as I whistle to my flock of sheep.”
He began whistling the sweet calling as most shepherds know. His father was enraged but the boy continued whistling with all his might not caring what other people thought because he understood that God’s approval is infinitely greater than the world’s applause.
In closing let us never forget that the highway of God is not for the fainthearted. (Isa.35:8) It is narrow and strewn with many obstacles yet none who have walked it arrive at its destination disappointed! It is a highway for all those who put aside everything for the reward that lays before them.
In these days where we are facing barrages of demonically inspired onslaughts of evil manifestations throughout the world that are manicured to perfection, where unprecedented waves of deceptions are digging their claws into many a brave-heart’s arms causing them to hang limp in the face of impossible odds – God is seeking out people whose eyes remain steadfast in the face of impossible odds and place their trust in the Living God. He always has the final word and His eternal purposes will prevail, unveiled in the fullness of time even as we see in the story of Yosef.
