parashah 4- vayera

8/20/2019 Parashah 4- Vayera

1/10

1

Parashah 4: Vayera (He appeared)

Parashah 4: Vayera (He appeared) - Genesis 18:1 through 22:24.

Haftarah (Writings and Prophets): 2 Kings 4:1-37.

B'rit Hadasha (New Testament): Luke 17:26-37; Romans 9:6-9; Galatians4:21-31; Hebrews 6:13-20, 11:13-19; James 2:14-24; 2 Peter 2:4-10.

Summary & Overview

TORAH

o Genesis 18:1 | A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah

o Genesis 18:16 | Judgment Pronounced on Sodom

o Genesis 19:1 | The Depravity of Sodom

o Genesis 19:12 | Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

o Genesis 19:30 | The Shameful Origin of Moab and Ammon

o Genesis 20:1 | Abraham and Sarah at Geraro Genesis 21:1 | The Birth of Isaac

o Genesis 21:8 | Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

o Genesis 21:22 | Abraham and Abimelech Make a Covenant

o Genesis 22:1 | The Command to Sacrifice Isaac

o Genesis 22:20 | The Children of Nahor

This Torah portion deals with the themes of Judgement and Salvation, the samethemes we saw in the previous two Portions; “Noach” with the Judgement of theEarth by water and “Lech Lechah” where we looked at the Covenant made with Abraham regarding Salvation. This Week we see the Judgement and

destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and the Binding of Isaac, depictingSalvation.

This Parashah starts with Abraham sitting in his tent when 3 men appeared tohim.

Abraham’s Character

Gen 18:2-3 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and saw three men standingopposite him. And when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet

them, and bowed himself to the ground, (3) and said, “ י , if I have now

found favour in Your eyes, please do not pass Your servant by.

What did Abraham see when these three men stoodbefore him that he recognise them as YHVH? All thedetail is not described in here, but there must havebeen something “supernatural” about their appearanceor in what they said that would give Abraham theimpression that it was YHVH standing before him. Abraham bowed to the ground before them and this isproof that it was YHVH standing there because they

did not rebuke him for bowing before them. This is a physical representation ofElohim that means; Messenger, Judge and Ruler or King.


2/10

2

Culture:

(from the Latin cultura stemming from colere,meaning "to cultivate")[1] generally refers to patternsof human activity and thesymbolic structures thatgive such activities

significance andimportance. Culture can bedefined as all the ways oflife including arts, beliefsand institutions of apopulation that are passeddown from generation togeneration. Culture hasbeen called "the way of lifefor an entire society."

These are the attributes of Y’shua where He came as Messenger and where Hewill come as the Judge and will rule as our King in the New Jerusalem.

Abraham referred to himself as a servant. The word here for servant is “ebed”meaning bondservant. This is a well-known term used by Paul and the disciplesreferring to themselves as bondservants of Y’shua the Messiah introducing

themselves in their Letters to the congregations in the Berit Chadashah (NT). Abraham revealed himself as a bondservant of YHVH.

Q – What does it mean to be a Bondservant?

Abraham the Bondservant

You will find the first Commandments regarding Bondservants in the Book ofLeviticus, right after the giving of the Ten Commandments and this, in fact, wasthe first Commandment after the Ten Commandments.

A Bondservant is a person who sold himself to someone else because of debt,

and he had to work back for 7 years. After the 7 years he was set free and if hechooses to serve his Master still out of free will, he became a Bondservant.

As a bondservant, he lived in hisMaster’s house, sit atHis table, lives like one of the Master’s children. Livingin his Master’s house, he had to obey the HouseRules and adopt the Master’s way living (his culture). A Culture defines a group of people residing in aparticular area who are like-minded and do similarthings.

Personal Application: This is a beautiful picture ofbeing born again when you choose Y’shua as yourMaster, to serve Him out of free by His work on theStake (cross). What people tend to forget is thatthey have to give away their rights and not to betheir own “masters” of their lives anymore whenthey follow Y’shua. You need to submit under Hisinstructions if you are living in His House.

We as “Christians” today, pray the pr ayer andmake a choice because of our preferences. Weexpect YHVH to help us sort out our messy lives

within our current culture. We are not willing tochange and conform to His “way of living – Hebrew Culture”. We treat Him asa “Tool” or a “Magic Word” to speak to make our problems disappear. Mostpeople who believe in “Jesus” (Y’shua) today, do not understand the conceptof a Bondservant and never serve Him the way a Bondservants should, butexpect to be “served” by YHVH because of their rights as His children. Thisorder is the wrong way round, and you must realise that you are theservant and He is the Master. In other words, you don’t have “a life” anymore and He is not your support system. Your life belongs to Him and ifyou serve Him out of free will, then He will look after you as one of His ownchildren. This is what the concept of adoption that Paul mentioned in the Berit

Chadashah (NT). Adoption only happens through becoming a Bondservant.

Q - Why a Bondservant?


3/10

3

In verse 3 we see the seriousness of being a bondservant; “… please do not pass Your servant by”.. You become a bondservant so that wouldn’t passyou by in the time when you need Him. What does it mean: to pass us by?

Pass by - “ abar ” rbi - means; to cover, to set apart (holiness), to passover (Pesach), to provoke to anger, to perish and to turn away (Judgment).

Hebrew Study Tip

As in many Hebrew words, they have “positive” and “negative”meanings and the context reveal the interpretation and in some casesbut in others you can apply both positive and negative meanings. Inthis case both meanings are applicable.

To be a bondservant means “to be covered, to be set apart”, so that“His anger may pass you over ” so that He will save you and not turnaway from you. This gives us a deeper understanding of a

Bondservant should be like; humble, submissive, obedient, set apart.Having the attitude of a Bondservant results in being; covered, saved, receivemercy and not being judged. This is the amazing thing about the Hebrewlanguage, the rhyming thoughts supports each other and gives substance andthe deeper meaning.

Abraham is our father of faith (Rom 4:16) and he set the example to us asbelievers, what it means to be a Bondservant (adopted) and what it means to beborn again.

The Promise of Isaac

When YHVH visited Abraham and Sarah and revealed to them that they wouldhave a son, Sarah laughed because it was "impossible" for her to bear childrenat the age of 90 and not only that, Sarah was barren her whole life. BecauseSarah laughed she named him Isaac, because Isaac means laughter. Nothing istoo hard or impossible for YHVH; He can do miracles and create something outof nothing.

Sarah Lied and Abraham Lied Again

When YHVH appeared to Abraham and Sarah and told

them that they will have a son, she laughed. YHVHconfronted her and asked why she laughed and thenshe denied it, lying because she was afraid. In theprevious Parashah we saw the same happening with Abraham when he was afraid, he lied to Pharaohregarding Sarah being his sister and not his wife.Q – What can we learn from this?

Fear is the number one motive for lying, and we sawthat both Abraham and Sarai fell into the same trap. Abraham supposedly beingthe father of faith definitely did not portray faith, but rather being described

himself as the father of fear influenced by the father of lies (Satan). Thisconnection proves that Satan rules by fear and fear is the enemy of faith.


4/10

4

YHVH will periodically test His set-apart people to see if they had build characterand grown spiritually. Another test came Abraham’s way when he wasconfronted by king Abimelech. For a second time, Abraham told the king thatSarah was his sister and not his wife. Abraham failed the second time, and thismeans that there will face another test in the future until he proves that he hasovercome his fear and grown in faith.

Interestingly enough, Isaac got exactly the same test as his father Abraham inGen_26:9 and said that Rebecca was his sister and not his wife - he failed thesame test his father failed.

Q - What do we learn from this?

It shows that Abraham did not teach Isaac on the mistakes he has made andIsaac repeated the same mistake his father did. We should teach our childrenfrom our experiences so that they can avoid making similar mistakes.

YHVH came to Abimelech in a dream and revealed to him that Sarah was

Abraham's wife. Abimelech was shocked because he did not sin intentionallyand he knew that YHVH would destroy him and his nation for committing such agrievous sin.

We read in Gen_20:7 that Abraham functioned in the office of a prophet and thathe can intercede for the sin of the King so that the King and his kingdom may bespared. This is the first place in Scripture where the concept of the Guilt Offering

is mentioned. Guilt Offering or "asham" ,sa was performed when a personmight have committed a sin, but was not sure or when the person committed anunintentional sin. If this was the case, then the person could bring an asham or

Guilt offering, rather than a chatat

taux or sin offering.

Offering is the word “qorban” ]brq and means 'to present a gift', unto YHVH.It also means to “draw near” and this is why prayer is related to offerings wegive towards YHVH. Our prayers are 'gifts' unto YHVH that so that we can drawnear to Him.In this case, Abraham's intercession prayer was to draw near to YHVH in orderto present a gift, in this case, an “asham” or Guilt Offering on behalf of king Abimelech.

Personal Application: When we cause someone else harm or offendedsomeone that causes them to sin, that we can intercede for them, offering an“asham” or Guilt offering on behalf of them.

We see in Gen_20:12 that Sarah was Abraham’s half-sister so he did not lietechnically, but he did conceal the truth that she was his wife that misled theKing. He deceived the King by not giving him all the information and did notcorrect the King’s response and wrong perception. This is called 'creative lying 'or telling a half-truth to create a false impression in the minds of people. This iswhat Satan did to Eve in the Garden; he just asked a question “has Godsaid…?” and she created the lie in her own mind. With this technique, youtechnically do not lie but you sin by misleading people. The danger of this is thatyou cause the other people to sin by acting on the miss-information you gave

them.


5/10

5

Sodom & Gomorrah Destroyed

The two Messengers or Witnesses were sent toSodom by YHVH to meet Lot at the gates ofSodom, When Lot saw them coming into thecity, he met with them and offered hishospitality and his home, just like his uncle, Abraham.

They went to Lot’s house where he washedtheir feet and prepared a meal with unleavenedbread. This is very similar to what Abraham didin the previously.

Q – What does Unleavened Bread represent?

Unleavened Bread is used at the Passover and connected to the message ofthe Passover where you need to be ready to leave the “Place of Bondage” in

haste. Back then it was Egypt, here it is Sodom, and in the future, it will be theSystem that is called Babylon.

Q - What can we learn from this?

Personal Application: We should always be ready to receive the truth (Twowitnesses). You should accept the truth and act on it as you see it beingconfirmed with what is happening in the world. YHVH will send the Truth inthe form of Two Witnesses in the End times as described in Daniel 11:12stating; “…when you see the Abomination of Desolation set up in the HolyPlace …” AND see the daily Sacrifices being stopped, then according toMat_24:15-16 and Mark 13:14, you should leave the System and flee to themountains.

These were the “messengers” or “two witnesses” that were sent to rescue Lotfrom the city that would be destroyed. We see similarities regarding theseTwo Messengers and the Two Witnesses in Revelation; they had the powerto strike these men with blindness and the witnesses in Revelation spoke andcaused the Judgements to come upon the earth, both cases doing signs andwonders. This shows that YHVH will rescue His people just like He rescuedLot when He will come to destroy Babylon. Rev_11:3-8

The Messengers of Elohim took Lot and his whole house, (his wife and

unmarried daughters) out of the city just before destroying Sodom. Lot’srighteousness not only saved himself but also saved his whole house, thoseunder his “covering”. Or, will it? Everybody has the opportunity to be saved, butnot everybody will hold on to the end. In this case, Lot’s sons-in-law and hisdaughters who were under their husbands’ covering, chose to ignore thewarning to “come out” and they perished. Later on, after leaving Sodom, evenLot’s wife made a wrong choice at the very last minute and lost her salvation.

Matthew 24 tells us not to go back and grab clothes or anything from your houseand leave the System immediately. When our time comes, we can’t go back, notfor our family or friends or anybody! You have to make a decision to leavebeforehand so that you are ready to act and need not be convinced when thetime comes.


6/10

6

Lot’s wife looked back. Her connection with the world and with her family thatwere left behind was too strong and she was destroyed with them. The “fear ofYahweh” was not in her so that she could overcome her flesh. All of us will haveto make our own decision, whether to go, stay behind or turn back.

We read in Gen_19:17 that the Messengers told Lot and his family to escape to

the mountains. This is similar to Matt 24:15-16 where Y'shua tells us to flee tothe Mountains. Do you see the parallels between the story of Lot and the futureEnd time events that may become your reality? This is why it is wise to study theWord and the End Times so that you can know what is coming and what to lookfor so that you can connect the Truth with Reality and act on it when the timecomes.

We are just like Lot living in Sodom today, and the Messengers of YHVH willcommand to "come out" and flee to the mountains and leave the System ofBabylon as we read in Rev 18:4; "come out of Her My people…" Lot means"chance" or "fate determined" and "casting lots" and we have a “chance” to have

our destiny determined by YHVH so that we can be saved just like Lot, and notleft to chance the time of Judgement.

Looking at the sequence of events in a prophetic end-time perspective:

1. YHVH revealed Himself to His people – Met with Abraham2. He affirms His promises; there is laughter and joy – Promise of Isaac3. YHVH reveals His Plan of Judgement - 3 men visited Abraham4. His people pleaded and interceded for the lost – Abraham interceded5. YHVH save the righteous among the lost (those in the system) – Lot saved6. YHVH judges the System and the wicked is destroyed with it – Sodom

destroyed

Revelation teaches us the YHVH will destroy Babylon and those that are in theSystem at that time; they will receive the same plagues as prepared for Babylon.His Word commands His people to come out of Babylon so that they might besaved.

Matthew tells us when to come out of the System, and I believe YHVH will raiseup people or leaders during that time that will lead the people after they have leftthe System, jut like He rose a leader like Moses when they left Egypt.

Hebrew Study Tip

Every Hebrew letter has a number, and every word represents a

number by adding the numbers of each letter of that word. Words arethen connected when they add up to the same number. The meaningsof these words can then be brought into the thought process to revealdeeper aspects of the passage the word is found in. This is anotherform of Hebrew Poetry where thoughts rhyme but through theconnection of numbers.

There are fascinating insights looking at the conversation between Abraham andYHVH where he interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah on behalf of his family:

1. If there were 50 righteous - 50 is the same number for the words: Fifty is the

numeric value of the letter “Nun ” (fruitful) which equals the numerical number forthe word “Kingdom” or “Heir to the Throne”. Fifty also equals the numeric value of“dumah” or “His blood” and “Yovel” or the “Jubilee”. YHVH does indeed hold


7/10

7

back judgment when the Blood of the Heir to the Throne who is part of theKingdom and those will be set free (Jubilee).

2. If there were 5 less or 45 - Five is the numeric value of the letter “hey” whichmeans “revelation”,“light” or “breath of l ife”. Five also represents the Five booksof Moshe, or Torah, in Scripture. This implies that YHVH would not destroy thosewho have the “Revelation of the Torah” and His “Breath of Life” that is His Spirit .45 - forty-five is numeric value of “Lot” and also “ Adam” or “mankind”. WhileYahweh didn’t find forty-five righteous souls, He has indeed provided salvation forall “mankind”, those who will obey like Lot will be saved.

3. If there were 40 righteous - Forty represents “trials” and “testings” inScripture; such as the 40 years in the wilderness and the forty days that Y’shuaspent in the wilderness to be “tested”; just to name a couple. Forty is also thenumeric value of “lu'e” or “mine” or “for me” as well as two phrases in Leviticus25:25 “ga'aloh”, “his kinsman” and “v'ga'al”, “and shall redeem" Those whobelong to Him wil l be tested as He was tested but wi ll be saved by the KinsmanRedeemer”.

4. If there were 30 righteous - Thirty, the numeric value of the letter “lamed” or“shepherd’ s staff ”. 30 is also the numeric value of “ba kaha” or “in power ” and “vacheet ah” or “He will puri fy” and “va ah chayeh”, “and I make alive”. He will notdestroy those He purified and made alive through His Power (Spirit) and followedthe Shepherd (Y'shua).

5. If there were 20 righteous - 20 is the numeric value of the letter “kaf ” or “palmof the hand” or “covering”. It is also the numeric value of “Yadah” or “His hand”and “abib” or “the first month” in which Passover occurs. He will not destroythose who are covered and protected by His hand and who entered into thecovenant partaking in the Passover Covenant.

6. If there were 10 righteous – 10 represents the letter “yud” meaning “Spirit ofYHVH” or "hand o f YHVH" , also the word phrases “v’hoveh’, “and I came” and“ Avoh ”, “I will come”. YHVH came and wi ll come again and save those who haveHis Spirit (Eze_14:13-20)

Q - Who are the people that will be saved during this Judgement of YHVH?

All of those mentioned here better known as Bondservants of Messiah, thosewho actually serve and follow YHVH through His Spirit and His Commandments.

Sarah cast Hagar and Ismael out

Gen 21:16 And she went and sat down across fromhim, a good way off, about a bowshot. For she said, Letme not see the death of the boy. And she sat across fromhim, and lifted up her voice, and cried.

Ismael was not the son of promise and therefore a “mistake”and the way Sarah dealt with her mistake was to ask Abraham to cast her and her son out of their care into thedesert.

Q – Was this mistake trying to rectify the first mistake?

No, YHVH confirmed to Abraham this was the right thing todo and that He will look after them and make Ismael a greatnation. After leaving, Hagar used all the water for her and


8/10

8

her son and sat down and cried bitterly because she knew that she and her sonmight die in the desert.

From Hagar’s perspective, everything was lost, and she and her son is going todie in the desert.

Q – Do you feel like this some days when things do not seem to work out?

Just remember YHVH’s promises that He will look after you and provide for yourevery need. Everything that we received belongs to YHVH anyway.

Matt 6:25-34 So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat,drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes?

26 “Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or gather the harvest intobarns. Yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more thanthey? 27 “Can any of you add a single hour to your life by worrying?

28 “And why worry about clothes? Notice how the flowers grow in the field. They never work or spin yarn for clothes. 29 But I say that not even Solomon in all his majesty was dressed like one of these flowers. 30 That’sthe way God clothes the grass in the field. Today it’s alive, and tomorrowit’s thrown into an incinerator. So how much more will he clothe you

people who have so little faith? 31 “Don’t ever worry and say, ‘What are wegoing to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going towear?’ 32 Everyone is concerned about these things, and your heavenly

Father certainly knows you need all of them. 33 But first, be concernedabout his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things willbe provided for you. 34 “So don’t ever worry about tomorrow. After all,tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

YHVH heard her cry and the cry of her son and sent an Angel to comfort her.

YHVH looked after Ismael and his mother as he grew up and he became askilled archer in the desert of Paran where he married an Egyptian woman andbecame a great nation as YHVH promised Abraham.

The Binding of Isaac We saw previously how YHVH tested Abraham and how he failed miserably addingconsequences to his life. This time the test iseven more challenging and will Abrahamovercome his fears and succeed?

Q – What tests did Abraham face in this onetest?

This is another test YHVH send over Abraham’s life to test if he hasovercome his fear of death. The onlydifference is that Abraham was not theone who could lose his life but his sonIsaac. What made this test even morechallenging was that Abraham had tobe the one who will take his son’s life, not someone else.

Abraham had to prove that he feared YHVH more than death itself.


9/10

9

Abraham had to demonstrate that he loved YHVH more than he loves hisonly son.

Abraham was challenged if he still would believe YHVH promisesregarding a son, the Nation and a Land that YHVH promised him, wouldall of this still come to pass without Isaac.

Personal Application: Do you love the Promises of YHVH (Isaac) more thanyou love your exceedingly Great Reward (YHVH)? Are you willing to looseeverything you love in order to gain YHVH? Is YHVH the most important aspectof your life and do you put Him first? Will you obey YHVH even if you face deathor the death of a loved one? This gives us the conclusion that our love can onlybe proven through obeying the One you love the most. That is why John wrotethis passage quoting Moses:

Joh 14:15 If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Exo 20:6 and showing mercy to thousands of those that love Me andkeep My commandments.

In an End Time perspective we read in the context of the final Judgement:

Rev 12:17

The serpent became angry with the woman. So it went awayto fight with her other children, the ones who keep YHVH’sCommands and hold on to the testimony of Y’shua.

To love YHVH above all things means to hold on to His promises, keep HisCommandments no matter what. Sometimes you have to sacrifice somethingvery dear to you or make a decision that does not make sense in the natural buthas significant positive consequences in the spiritual. Sacrificing something forYHVH does not look logical and will not make sense to people in the world, but it

is worth it at the end as we have seen through the life of Abraham.

Abraham loved YHVH more than he loved his son and through that he achievedthe greatest accomplishment in his life, and he became the Father of Faith. Paulaspired to the same level of faith as Abraham when he said that everything isworthless compared to Messiah and he is willing to lose everything in order togain Y’shua.

Php 3:8 But no, rather, I also count all things to be loss for the excellencyof the knowledge of Messiah Y’shua my Master, for whose sake I havesuffered the loss of all things, and count them to be dung, so that I may win

Messiah

Just like Isaac's life was spared by a Ram that was caught in a thicket,(Gen_22:13) so Y'shua is the Lamb of YHVH Who died in the place of everysinner bearing all the sins of all humanity throughout all ages. Joh_1:29,Rev_7:17, Rev_19:9, Rev_22:1 That is why His Blood has more value than thatof animals or even humans and makes it the “currency” or payment for all sin.

Hebrew Study Tip

Every Hebrew word has multiple meanings, and every meaning can beread into a “sentence” to tell a “story”, describing certain aspects ofthat word within each of the meanings. These meanings can then be

connected to passages elsewhere found in Scripture to support themeaning.


10/10

10

This is another form of Hebrew Poetry where thoughts rhyme connectingthoughts of each of the meanings of a word, to passages or ideas foundelsewhere in Scripture.

The Ram’s horns were entwined in a thorn bush. Y’shua wore a crown of thorns.The word for horns is "keren" that means - corner (of the altar), the peak of a

mountain, a ray of light and power.Y'shua is the Lamb of YHVH, the “ ray of light (truth)” that was sacrificedas on the "Altar" and stand down His "Power" so that He could save us.Doing this, He received the Name above all names and the Authority torule as King of kings (peak of a mountain).

Q - What were the consequences of Abraham’s Obedience?

We saw earlier what the “disobedience” or sins of Abraham brought to life;Hagar came on the scene, Ismael was born, they were cast out into the Desertand Ismael became a great nation and enemy of Israel. Abraham received

livestock that caused a quarrel amongst his and Lot’s herdsmen and resultedthen the separation of Abraham and Lot. Lot settled at Sodom and had to besaved when YHVH Judged Sodom by fire, all of these events because of thesins of Abraham and Sarai.

Through Abraham came the Seed that would save all humanity. Abrahamreceived the name and honour becoming the Father of Faith. Abraham wasdeclared Righteous through this great act of obedience, similar to what YHVHwent through when He Sacrificed His only Son.

Imagine the consequences if you believe YHVH’s Word and promises and obeyHis Commandments.

parashah 4- vayera

Documents