Commentary - Year 1 Sabbath 25

Genesis 27:1-29   -   Isaiah 46:3-6   -   Psalm 22   -   Hebrews 11:20
 

Elul 27, 5761 / Sept 15, 2001

Elul 25, 5764 / Sept 11, 2004 

Elul 25, 5767 / Sept   8, 2007

Elul 25, 5770 / Sept   4, 2010

Elul 25, 5773 / Aug 31, 2013

Elul 28, 5776 / Oct  1,  2016

Elul 28, 5779 / Sept 28, 2016

Elul 28, 5782 / Sept 24, 2022

Zaqen Yitzchak  / Isaac had become Old   SCRIPTURES should be read first

On this Sabbath before Yom Teruah – the rehearsal for the return of Yeshua, the subject is the son coming to receive the blessing. Why is the Psalm about the crucifixion? When Yeshua returns, we will see Him with the marks of crucifixion!

Genesis 27:

Isaac was 123 years old – the year was AM 2171. His eyes were dim – in God’s providence so that he would not give Esau the blessing. Though his thoughts were on dying, he actually lived another 57 years.

According to the midrash, there are seven things hidden from even the greatest prophets: (1) the day of one’s death, (2) the time of Messiah’s arrival, (3) when Edom (the current dominant power) will fall, (4) the depth of the Torah, (5) the source of wealth, (6) the thoughts of other people, and (7) the sex of a pregnant woman’s child.

Isaac sought Esau’s game in order to be in a joyful state in giving the blessing. We are to be joyful givers – blessing must come from the soul.

An ancient teaching says that Isaac conferred the blessing on Passover, when the treasurehouses of heaven are open for blessing. The first goat is seen as the Passover sacrifice, and the second for the delicacy (v. 10). This would be in keeping with the inclusion of Psalm 22, which concerns the crucifixion at Passover time.

Rebecca had received the prophecy that the elder was to serve the younger, therefore she set out to prevent Isaac from subverting it. This is not to imply that the end justified the means – lying. God will fulfill His promises to us without us having to sin to bring them to pass.

Jacob was concerned about the means of receiving the blessing. But Rebecca allayed his fears with this idea: the blessing was of God’s intent, and Isaac was only the conduit – thus Isaac’s intent was irrelevant. However, for this deception Jacob paid heavily: he hid for years out of fear of his brother.

In English translations it appears clear that Jacob lied. However, in the Hebrew, we can see that Jacob chose his words very carefully, deceiving without technically lying: “It (is) I who bring this to you; Esau (is) your firstborn.” His other statements are similarly ambiguous. Still, deceiving one’s father is considered akin to idolatry. (Based on the first five commandments, through “Honor father and mother,” falling under loving God; the last five fall under loving your neighbor.)

“The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s hands.” Jacob’s voice showed his strength to be spiritual, but Esau’s hands showed his strength to be in the physical realm. When our voice is strong in prayer and Torah teaching, then “Esau” (Edom/Rome) will have no power over us.

Here’s a wow:

Isaac’s blessing is in contrast to the curse in Genesis 3:18 [thorns and thistles / abundant grain and wine; by the sweat of your brow / peoples will serve you; dust you are (humiliation) / be a lord]. “In blessing Jacob, it was Isaac’s intention to annul the curse placed upon Adam after his sin, and thereby to restore the world to its former beauty” – Artscroll Tanach, based on Zohar.  Remember, Isaac himself was a prophetic type of the Passover sacrifice (Yeshua) that would annul the curse for sin.

_________

Genesis 27 and Psalm 22 – Isaac had been bound to the wood for sacrifice, as a prophetic type of Yeshua. The Philistines had surrounded him and struggled with him over wells. Now he was dying,

Psalm 22 – original title: ¹ My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?

And about the ninth hour Yeshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” – Matt 27:46, Mark 15:34. Yeshua was crying from the cross, “Psalm 22! Psalm 22 is being fulfilled before your eyes!”

Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. ² O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; and by night, but I have no rest. ³ Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. ⁴ In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. ⁵ To You they cried out and were delivered; in You they trusted and were not disappointed. ⁶ But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. ⁷ All who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, ⁸ "Commit yourself to Yahweh; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in him."

“He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we shall believe in Him. 43 "He trusts in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He takes pleasure in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God’ ” – Matt 17:42.

⁹ Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother's breasts. ¹⁰ Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother's womb. ¹¹ Be not far from me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help. ¹² Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. ¹³ They open wide their mouth at me, as a ravening and a roaring lion. ¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted within me. ¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and You lay me in the dust of death (Yeshua’s burial). ¹⁶ For dogs (gentiles) have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.

And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?  "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."  And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. – Luke 24: 38-40. 

¹⁷ I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; ¹⁸ they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. – Matt 27:35. Mark 15:24.

¹⁹ But You, O Yahweh, be not far off; O You my help, hasten to my assistance. ²⁰ Deliver my soul from the sword, my only life from the power of the dog. ²¹ Save me from the lion's mouth; from the horns of the wild oxen You answer me. ²² I will tell of Your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You. ²³ You who fear Yahweh, praise Him; all you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel. ²⁴ For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help, He heard. ²⁵ From You comes my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him. ²⁶ The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise Yahweh. Let your heart live forever! ²⁷ All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to Yahweh, and all the families of the nations will worship before You. ²⁸ For the kingdom is Yahweh's and He rules over the nations. ²⁹ All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship, all those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, even he who cannot keep his soul alive. ³⁰ Posterity will serve Him; it will be told of Yahweh to the coming generation. ³¹ They will come and will declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has performed it.

Readings:

"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King of the Universe,

Who chose us from among all peoples by giving us Your Torah.

Blessed are You, Yahweh, giver of the Torah."

Reader 1* Amen ¹ Now it came about, when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, "My son." And he said to him, "Here I am." ² Isaac said, "Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. ³ "Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; ⁴ and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die."

Reader 2* Amen ⁵ Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, ⁷ 'Bring me some game and prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of Yahweh before my death.'

Reader 3* Amen ⁸ "Now therefore, my son, listen to me as I command you. ⁹ "Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young goats from there, that I may prepare them as a savory dish for your father, such as he loves. ¹⁰ "Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death." ¹¹ Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, "Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. ¹² "Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing." ¹³ But his mother said to him, "Your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me."

Reader 4* Amen ¹⁴ So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savory food such as his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ She also gave the savory food and the bread, which she had made, to her son Jacob.

Reader 5* Amen ¹⁸ Then he came to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?" ¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me." ²⁰ Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because Yahweh your God caused it to happen to me." ²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come close, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not." ²² So Jacob came close to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau."

Reader 6* Amen ²³ He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him. ²⁴ And he said, "Are you really my son Esau?" And he said, "I am." ²⁵ So he said, "Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son's game, that I may bless you." And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank.

Reader 7* Amen ²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, "Please come close and kiss me, my son." ²⁷ So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said, "See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which Yahweh has blessed; ²⁸ Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine; ²⁹ May peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you; be master of your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you."

"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King of the Universe,

Who in giving us Yeshua, the Living Torah, has planted everlasting life in our midst.

Blessed are You, Yahweh, giver of the Torah."

______________________

"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King of the Universe,

Who selected good prophets, delighting in their words which were spoken truthfully.

Blessed are You, Yahweh, Who chose the Torah, Your servant Moses, Your people Israel,

and the prophets of truth and righteousness."