Vayigash
(He Approached): B’resheet 44:18-47:27; Haft: Yechezk’el (Ez.) 37:15-28; B’rit:
Lk.6:6-16, Acts 7:9-16
The Awakened Dreamer
This week’s parasha is called
Vayigash, or ‘And he approached’. At first it was Joseph who approached. We
read “And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto
them, they conspired against him to slay him.[1]”
The word used in this instance is the word Qarab which is found in the word for
the book Vayikra. Vayigash comes from the word naw-gash', comprised of the three letter
root of a Nun, a Gimel and a Shin. By the way, in this week’s portion who
approached this time, or drew near might be a better definition? It was Judah,
the brother who planted the seed of selling his brother to conceal their own
guilt? But this time he draws near to offer himself, to take the debt of his
brother Benjamin; which is interesting when we consider the word naw-gash'. Like most well behaved three
letter Hebraic roots this one reveals a wealth of understanding as it applies
in this portion. If we address the first and last letter, which would be the Nun
and the Shin, it forms a two letter root—nosh’. Pictographically
we have the picture of a seed, meaning continuance, and the shin meaning
pressing. Strung together they mean a ‘continual pressing’, suggesting
‘a debt or deception which causes oppression.[2]’ Now,
when we introduce the Gimel which returns us back to the original three
letter word which sits in between the Nun and the Shin we form an
even clearer picture. Pictographically the Paleo Hebrew letter Gimel is
a picture of a foot and therefore contains the meaning of ‘to walk, to gather
or to carry’. So, if we want to understand in context of this parsha what it
means to draw near, we can begin to appreciate it’s greater meaning when we
understand it has something to do with ‘carrying a debt’. Keep that in
your hip pocket. We’ll come back to this momentarily.
So do we understand that it was
part of our Creator’s design to fill our heart and mind with dreams? Dreams are
beautiful because they defy the ordinary and dare to hope, they dare to believe
in the impossible, the unrealistic, and the improbable. Dreams grab
unflinchingly to the faith in which we’ve been called to steadfastly continue. However,
we began this story some portions ago with a well favored, albeit young and
naïve boy by the name of Joseph. Joseph was a dreamer and Jacob’s elected
firstborn. Oblivious to much of the harder knocks that come from coping with the
disappointments and hurts common to living, he sets out hoping in the great things
God has planned for him just ahead. How little did he know then the critical
part he would play in such a great deliverance just a few years into his
future! Dreams however tend to thrust us forward to the moment where the
curtain rises, beauty is revealed and the blessing follows, failing to reveal
the countless hours of preparation, sweat and sacrifice involved that lead to
that one breathtaking and revelatory moment in history. Perhaps that’s not necessarily
a bad thing. Had Joseph known ahead of time the numerous difficult trials that
lay ahead, he might have pursued a less arduous path.
Being the Redeemer that He is, YHVH
is THE consummate writer of the most beautiful of redemption stories throughout
eternity, so it is His nature to construct such a beautiful picture of
redemption in the lives of a brother, a father, some rival siblings, and even a
benevolent Pharaoh. Yes, a benevolent Pharaoh. Maybe your mind isn’t stuck but
my brain filter is clogged here, fixated on a hardened heart of a man, a
sinister and cruel tyrant bent on the genocide of YHVH’s people who went by the
name of Pharaoh. But remember, Pharaoh is just a title; meaning ‘Great House’
it was commonly used ‘[a]s a circumlocution used to specify the king, the
phrase ‘per a’o’ may be analogous to the phrase ‘the white house.[3]’
And just like Pharaohs who came and went, so did Israel garner its own checkered
roster of kings who fared more akin to greedy idolaters pursuing the illusion
of control rather than the righteousness and the kingdom of God. Truth be told,
Joseph was favored of God; and because he was filled with the Ruach Ha’Kodesh
(Pharaoh admitted it himself![4]),
the palace of Pharaoh too, at least for the time that Joseph lived in Egypt, was
also filled with The Spirit of YHVH and had indeed become a very “Great House”.
The pressing issue at hand has
boiled to a tipping point right out of the cup in M’ketz, or ‘At the End’.
We observed Joseph’s ease of aligning circumstances to bring his beloved little
brother Benjamin to his door. The one thing Jacob spoke as an absolute
prohibition, Joseph made become that very reality. As peculiar as it was that the
brothers had been seated for supper according to their birthright was now the
even more precarious plight of losing Jacob’s only vestige of his beloved
Rachel—Benjamin. The little brother who was never to be jeopardized had now
been so easily shifted to the forefront of our attention and duly plucked from
Jacob’s life; which was said to be ‘bound up in the lad’s life[5]’.
All of this is leading to the
culmination of something far greater. The plot in this drama is unfolding
according to the mind of YHVH, and what we learn is that Joseph, as understandable
as it might have been was not bent on revenge or to take justice into his own
hands. Call to mind…
“For the vision is yet for an
appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry,
wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.[6]”
Did not YHVH provide Joseph early on with a true
prophetic vision that Abba would bring to pass at the end? Look the vision,
or dream is for an appointed time, or mo-ade', this is a specific reference to walking according to
YHVH’s calendar, His Time and not man’s. Joseph had a vision, a dream, and it was to lead him to
finally speak at the end… ‘Qets’—at the end (last week’s parasha) of God’s
appointed time!
‘But at the end it shall speak.’ God’s
visions speak with power. The word used here for ‘speak’ comes from Strongs
#6315 or poo'-akh and it means
Poo’-akh
A primitive root; to puff,
that is, blow with the breath or air; hence to fan (as a breeze), to utter, to
kindle (a fire), to scoff: - blow (upon), break, puff, bring into a snare,
speak, utter.
We see the
same word used in the negative when describing the greatest thing that God
hates found in the book of Mishlei or Proverbs chapter 6 verse 19
that reads
“A false witness that speaketh
lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”
Now this is where we’re pointing the bow of our boat
during the course of this study. The word used in this Mishlei reference for ‘speaketh’
is the same word we observed used in the reference to the prophet Habbakuk for ‘speak’.
What does speaking lies do? Look back the definition. In the negative sense it puffs
up—what also puffs up? Pride. It kindles a fire and can bring one into a snare.
When we speak lies we sow seeds of discord and division that separate
brothers. When Judah orchestrated the placing of Joseph in the pit and
selling him it was a lie born to protect an even greater sin—Pride. But in the
positive sense we get a totally different picture. When God’s vision comes to
pass it kindles a Holy Fire that brings light to the blind. Purpose,
passion and heat to those who previously were cold in the faith. It brings a
breeze to them slaving under the heat and exhaustion of strongholds that seek
to make us grow weary and despair, and it also breathes life!
It shall not
lie. So, in
order for YHVH’s people to experience the vision they must first be willing to
1) Stop
believing the lies of the enemy, that includes a ceasing of allowing lies to
rule in your mind, allowing lies to alter your perception of reality, to create
fear that paralyzes our life, and
2) Stop
joining in the proliferation of things that are contrary to God’s truth, i.e.
lies, i.e. claiming to walk in truth and yet still joining in pagan
celebrations that grieve the very heart of God (we are called to abide by His
Appointed Times), i.e. claiming to walk in truth and yet speaking lashon hara
against those who have been created in the very image of YHVH, i.e. claiming to
be a servant of Messiah when you, in truth may actually be serving your own
devices to suit your
own end.
“And my speech and my preaching was not with
enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God.[7]”
It shall surely come. A large part of Joseph’s preparation was refining him to the point that he
no longer attempted to put his faith in man. We read in the book of Yasher that
the two years Joseph was left to remain in the prison house after the cup
bearer had been restored were ‘from the
Lord in order to punish Joseph because he had trusted in man.[8]’
The greater reality is that YHVH used Joseph’s brother’s
rejection to bring salvation to the known world at that time. Joseph as we
already know was a type and shadow of Messiah. As Joseph was rejected by his
own, so was Yeshua…
“And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious
words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's
son? And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician,
heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy
country. And he said, Verily I
say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.[9]”
See, just as Messiah was to be rejected, so was Joseph in order that he
actually for a time could be separated from his brothers in order to bring
salvation to the whole world!
But I would like to submit to you that when we
are willing to stare at lies and the motivation behind telling them we will
find fear or pride to be the leading cause. We fear our record will be
tarnished in the eyes of—who? Right, men. So if it’s not fear, then it’s pride.
Pride says, ‘I’m above that and it applies to my neighbor, not to me’. When
pride and fear are stripped away and we come with a willing heart then God can
free us from the bondage grown out of years nurturing the seeds of discord, but
just know that to be free of it you have to first want it!
In the book of Luke chapter
six we read the story of a man Yeshua healed on the Sabbath while at the
Synagogue.
“Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one
thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save
life, or to destroy it? And looking round about upon them all, he said unto
the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole
as the other.[10]”
The Art of Saving A Life
Before we close I want to
address a final point in conclusion, and that is the art of saving a life.
Beloved, ask yourself where you currently stand at in your relationships with
the body of Messiah. Are you involved? Do you know their burdens? Do you care?
Is it even a priority in your life? Because what we’re whittling this down to is
exactly that—life! Currently in my limited experiences and observations I see
within both the church and the Messianic roots movement are broken people
walking with a restoring Savior, but unwilling to go and do the first works.
This subject is something very dear to my family and is a crucial lesson I
sometimes need to learn again and again. Beloved, do we want to be right? Or do
we want Restoration?
There is a difference. Being a
married man I know fairly well what it feels like on the rare occasion to be
‘right’. Let me just say for all the posturing, defense tactics and downright
grumpiness expressed at the end of it all I am left alone…and right. Truly, how
self-defeating is it to be king of the hill and no one to share it with? When
we argue for the sake of being right we sow these seeds of discord that are
fueled more by pride than a love of YHVH’s truth. The truth is, Judah loved his
father so much, and knowing it would kill him to be separated from Benjamin, he
was willing to draw near and offer
himself and take his place—to save a life. Judah who finally began to
understand was willing, as defined at the beginning of our study, to carry and
pay the debt for his brother Benjamin. Beloved this is what drawing near is all
about! Joseph wanted restoration with his family as well. Which is why after
being convinced that Judah and the brothers had undergone change, he ordered
all of the Egyptians out of the room to reveal himself.
Why did he do that? He did it because he wanted to reveal
himself to his family! He wept aloud and exclaimed who he
was—could we stand to do a little more of that with one another? How many of us
teeter weekly with the frustrations we suffer within the body of Messiah
because for one reason or another we feel slighted, rejected or looked down
upon and made to feel less by a ‘brother’ or ‘sister’? It’s unfortunate, but
can be turned around beloved if only we will learn the art of saving a life!
In B’resheet 45:7 Joseph said “God sent me before you to
preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great
deliverance.[11]”
The word
used in Hebrew here for the phrase ‘save your lives’ comes from Strongs #2421
and is the word khaw-yaw' and it means to live, whether literally or
figuratively; causatively to revive: - keep (leave, make) alive, give (promise)
live, nourish up, preserve (alive), quicken, recover, repair, restore (to
life), revive, be whole.
² Yeshua said, “I am come that they might have life, and
that they might have it more abundantly.[12]”
And how did He bring us to life? Remember that old and great
verse taught since a child, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.[13]”
² “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because
we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.[14]”
² “But
whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up
his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?[15]”
² “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he
is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he
love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he
who loveth God love his brother also. [16]”
So how do we save a life? Can
we? Yes mishpocha, like Yeshua who reached out and touched the man with the
withered hand, we can extend ourselves in love to one another. It’s the act of
self-sacrifice and doing it for the sake of restoring. And when we offer
ourselves to one another in love to serve and meet the needs of one another, it
will bring healing. When we ‘Draw Near’ to one another and offer ourselves in
service this act is akin to the priests who approached the altar. For we read
“When they go into the
tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not;
or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made
by fire unto the LORD:[17]”
Let us Draw Near to the altar that we too can be used by The Father as He did Joseph. Judah
‘drew near’ to offer himself to Joseph as a slave, and
Joseph when revealing himself to his family told them to ‘draw near I pray you’ and see that it was he their long lost brother
who truly had been used to save all of their lives! This is what Saving a Life
is about and this is how it is to be done. Today, as we go out, and as we come
back to our homes, let us seek opportunity to let Abba use us to ‘draw near’ and bring life into one another. Shalom
Alecheim.
[1]
B’resheet 37:18
[2]
Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible, Benner, Jeff. A.H.L. #1320 p.191
[3]
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament #1825, p.737
[4]
Gen.41:38
[5]
Gen.44:30
[6]
Hab.2:3
[7]
1Cor.2:4-5
[8]
The Book of Jasher Referred to in Joshua & II Samuel; chapter 46 vs.19
p.137
[9]
Lk.4:22-24
[10]
Lk.6:9-10
[11]
B’resheet 45:7
[12]
Jn.10:10
[13]
Jn.3:16
[14]
1Jn.3:14
[15]
1Jn.3:17
[16]
1Jn.4:20-21
[17]
Shemot (Ex.)30:20
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