Torah Commentary
Vayechi (He Lived)
Genesis 47:28-50:26
1Kings 2:1-12
Hebrews 11:21-22
1Peter 1:3-9; 2:11-17
The Multiple Faces of Yeshua
I was in a meeting recently with a number of people who varied in their level of Torah knowledge and observance. Some of these folks had years of experience and had fully embraced the walk, while others had just begun to get their feet wet. Some were were still considering the dangers of the deep end of the pool. During our meeting I asked how many were interested in joining a new denomination or organization. Not a single hand went up! By the looks on their faces I could see that my question had probably struck a few nerves. I then asked if anyone was interested in being a part of a family. The atmosphere changed. Smiling faces responded favorably.
This week we read the ever important sought after “blessings” spoken by Israel over his sons. Notice Israel’s words do not include Levi’s descendants becoming the Southern Baptist denomination, nor does he tell Asher that his tribe will end up being the Charismatic’s. Israel’s words are calling the sons to be a family, not an organization. The family will have a variety of cultural characteristics that do not require them to dress the same or talk the same. They are not to be clones of each other. Each tribe is a family of individuals building relationships while they work toward a common goal of building a house for the family to dwell together to worship our King.
The reason I drew attention to the word blessing by putting it in quotation marks is a key to understanding my direction in the paragraph. As we read these words of Israel to his sons we find that not all of his words are “blessings” in what we normally consider as the definition of the word. Many of the words are of correction. Consider, before we go on that at the proper time the greatest word of blessing we can receive from a person is a word of correction. This is the reason the hard words of Jacob are still considered blessings. (Click to Article)
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