11 VAYIGASH (and came near); Gen 44:18-47:27, Mat 23-25

[Bruce Bertram]

Judah starts off this section by pleading with the Egyptian leader (Joseph) concerning Benjamin. Interesting, because Judah was the one who convinced the other brothers to sell Joseph into slavery (Gen 37:26,27), both a good thing (mercy instead of killing) and a bad thing (selling a brother into slavery). Now the shoe is on the other foot.

Joseph cannot keep up the play acting any longer, breaks down and reveals himself to his brothers. He encourages them to return to the family homestead and bring back the whole gang to live with Joseph in Egypt. This idea pleases Pharaoh also. Joseph sends some gifts back with the brothers, and after some surprised reluctance Jacob goes to Beersheba to speak with the Lord. God gives His okay to the plan to relocate and promises to bring them back to the land He promised. Jacob brings all his household to the section of Egypt called Goshen where Jacob goes to meet him. We are told that Jacob brought 66 people with him, and along with Joseph and his two sons the total number in Jacob's household that went to Egypt was 70.

Joseph has a tearful reunion with his father, Jacob meets Pharaoh, and the Israelites settle in Goshen. Joseph continues with his plan to save Egypt from the famine, and ends up buying all the land, livestock, and finally people in Egypt and Canaan.

Jesus in Matthew 23 starts off by saying that people should do what those who "sit in Moses' seat" say, but not what they do, because they don't do what they are saying. This seems to be an oblique way of saying that as long as the leaders say what Moses says, that is what we should do. There are several places where Jesus does not do what the leaders say He should do, but that is because the leaders are not speaking the Word of God. Jesus goes on to pronounce woes on the religious leaders of the day because they "shut off the kingdom of heaven from people" (verse 13) but do not enter themselves or allow others to go in. Jesus calls them "blind guides" "hypocrites" and "whitewashed tombs" among other things. It is worth noting here that Jesus saves His strongest comments for the people who should know better and who claim to be leaders in the kingdom rather than people who don't know better, such as pagans.

In chapter 24, Jesus foretells the destruction of the second temple. So the disciples ask Him when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Jesus' coming and of the end of the age? It looks like Jesus answers them in reverse order, starting with signs of the end of the age. One indicator of the end is that 'lawlessness will increase,' meaning that God's Word will increasingly be ignored. And we find it so even now.

11"Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. (Matthew 24:11-12 NASB95)

Jesus mentions another major sign, that of Daniel's 'abomination of desolation.' Some people think this was a man called Antiochus Epiphanees, but Jesus is speaking after that person had already come and gone. There are a number of other signs mentioned by Jesus, such as the sign of the Son of Man appearing, false Christs multiplying and using signs to deceive, and the sun being darkened the moon not giving its light stars falling from the sky and powers shaken. He wraps up this description of the time of the end with warnings to watch and be ready.

Shalom

[Cindy in Wisconsin]

I get a weekly newsletter with Torah commentary in it from JoinedToHashem.org, written by Mike Clayton. I thought his commentary on this week's Torah portion was so right on that I had to share it with you here, so here it is...

[quote]Vayigash “And came nearâ€

[Bruce Bertram]

In Matthew 23, Jesus uses some pretty hard language to characterize the religious leaders of His day. We need to remember that, even though it is Jewish leaders He is chastising, it is not just Jews who have the problems Jesus is talking about. Any religious leader who leads in such a way as to block access to the Word of God is included here. Sure, the Jews were given much, and much was expected, and perhaps should’ve been taken to the verbal woodshed by God. Unfortunately, not only were they taken to the verbal woodshed, later on they had to physically go, too. All people who fancy themselves religious leaders should take this admonition to heart, because it could happen to you. Bad shepherds are mentioned in other places in the Word also.

1Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? 3“You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. 4“Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. 5“They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. 6“My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.” ’ ” 7Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8“As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; 9therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 10‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.” ’ ” (Ezekiel 34:1-10 NASB95)

In Matthew 24 Jesus mentions a number of signs. This is not the first time signs like these have been spoken. In Zechariah 14:5, Ezekiel 38:19 and Isaiah 29:6, for instance, a great earthquake is mentioned. ‘No light’ is mentioned in Zechariah 14:6 and the time of Jacob’s distress is mentioned in Jeremiah 30. The point is not that signs have been around and will be around, but Jesus is not going to come the second time like He did the first. When Jesus was born it was quietly and with little fanfare. His family had to go on the run to Egypt, and when they moved back to Israel it was also quietly. At the start of Jesus’ public ministry some people thought they knew Him and thought they knew where He originated (but they didn't). Others couldn't figure out where He came from. The second time Jesus appears here, it will not be so quiet. There will be the signs Jesus mentioned, but at that time His coming will be very noisy and very public. And there will be no doubt at all where He comes from.

Matthew 25 gives us several parables, one of the main ones being the parable of the talents. Servants are given some money according to their ability (one is given 5 talents, another 2, and the third is given one), and return to the Master some profit when he comes back. Except for the last guy.

The thing is, is a talent just money? It could be, but it could also be other things like intelligence, health, children, a spouse, the Word, place of birth, or other similar items. What we do with whatever God gives us will need to have some profit added to it and an accounting given to Him. If we see God as ‘reaping where he doesn’t sow’ and ‘a hard man’ then it will not help us. He will still point out where we could’ve at least done some minor thing and returned to Him what He gave with some interest.

Joseph used the talents (using the word in its more modern sense) God gave him to great effect. He rose to a prominent position in three different houses (Potiphar’s, the jail, and Pharaoh’s palace) under three different sets of circumstances. Each time what God gave Joseph was used to perfection to gain not only private wealth but also wealth that could be shared with his brothers. Joseph knew that God was moving him, telling his brothers that they ‘meant it for evil’ but that God turned it to good. In many ways God wants us to use our gifts and talents to the best of our ability and the highest of His standards, and He will make the difference between success and failure.

Shalom

[Bruce Bertram]

Vayeegash Genesis 44:18 – 47:27; Ezekiel 37:15-28; Matthew 23 – 25; Luke 6:9-16; Acts 7:9-16

It’s hard to read this section without noticing Jesus really hammers the religious leaders of the time. Matthew 23 starts off with His comment on the leaders “seat(ing) themselves” in the seat of Moses. It seems like a direct slam to me, and prefaces the rest of our Matthew section this week. Jesus doesn’t mince words either, letting us plainly know what He thinks of people who claim leadership yet block the way to God. Some leaders put themselves in leadership positions, and some are put there by God.

Joseph is one of those leaders put in place by God. In Genesis 45:8 he tells his brothers that it wasn’t them who arranged for Joseph to be in Egypt at that time; it was God. Joseph was a humble boy when he was sold into slavery, and he continued in humility to obey God and make the best of his life. When he found himself in power second only to the Pharaoh, he didn’t abuse it any more than he abused his power in Potiphar’s house. He didn’t seek position, and he stayed submitted to God when he found it. Joseph cared for his people even when the biggest chunk of those people had wronged him. He followed through on God’s plan, shown to him in dreams from when he was 17.

The Pharisees and Sadducees on the other hand sought out their positions, and having gained authority immediately sought to mistreat their people in the name of God. Leaders in the church nowadays do the same. What is different is that they twist the words of Jesus and misapply them so they don’t look like they are doing exactly what leaders of the past did. They preach the Word of God supposedly, but they don’t practice God’s Laws. They just dismiss the Law as ‘old’ or a ‘shadow’ or ‘for Jews only.’ That way they can “preach, but they do not practice.” The heavy burdens, hard to bear, that they tie up on shoulders, not lifting a finger to help, are the teachings of men they substitute for God’s Word. They love the places of honor, the titles on the business card, the parking space near the door of the mega-church, the greetings in the malls, and being called ‘pastor’ (minister, reverend, rabbi, etc.) by others. They travel over land and sea to make a proselyte, and then make him twice as much a child of hell. Oh yes, leaders of the modern era have much in common with leaders of yesteryear. Not much has changed in 2,000 years.

The Pharisees taught the Word, supposedly, but they added and subtracted through their own pet doctrines. The burdens they tied on then are the same opinions of men as are tied on now. These are much harder to bear than the pure oracles of life that come from God. The leaders then and now claim to have the education to ‘interpret’ God’s Word because the average person (according to them) cannot. But they use the education to reinterpret the plain meaning so they can appear to be righteous when in fact they are not. Leaders of both ages tithe religiously, but neglect the weightier matters of justice, mercy and faithfulness. They shower before they come to a meeting, but inside are full of greed and self-indulgence.

The new age leaders want to replace Israel with the church? Then the same penalties for disobedience and hypocrisy will be exacted. Leaders who won’t go into the kingdom of heaven, and try to prevent others from entering also, will be subject to the penalties outlined in this section and others. They might say that they wouldn’t do the things done by leaders in the past, but in doing so they witness against themselves that they are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Even now prophets and wise men and scribes are being sent to the church, and they are being killed and persecuted from town to town. Just like before.

12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:12 ESV)

Jesus says that we should do what the hypocritical leaders who grab authority say, but not what they do. The meaning is clear – when they relay the Word, we should follow the Word. When they relay their own disobedience, we should not do that. Instead of hypocrisy and lip service, we should offer God a humble heart willing to do whatever He commands or even suggests.

Jesus is a pattern for leaders everywhere. He had the power and the glory, but laid it aside to walk in our shoes and wash our feet. The blood from His torturous death, which He humbly submitted to, cleanses us from sin for no other cost than to humble ourselves and accept it. As faithful and wise servants we should give food to others as our Father directs – the food of His Word (as well as physical food if needed). As wise virgins we should have extra oil for our lamps – the oil of the Spirit and good actions, using our talents in wisdom so we can hand back to God a return on His investment.

Joseph knew he was being used by God to save his family. We for whom service is more than play acting, more than tradition learned by rote, and more than lip service, are being used also to save as much of our family as can be saved. Speak out boldly, and do not let the more educated silence you. We might not have lots of letters behind our names on a business card, but our humble obedience will draw others in ways that men’s opinions cannot. Continue to live His Word and share it with others – whoever is hungry and thirsty, seeking truly satisfying food and drink.

1 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:1-3 ESV)

Shalom