The ability to recognize our sin, to take
responsibility for it and to repent is at the core of what is meant by the idea
of a Messiah.
“… the courage to admit guilt, to take
responsibility, to change. This is the lesson that the Messiah will one day
teach the world. Man controls his destiny. No matter what mistakes he has made,
man can fix them.”[1]
The Messiah is a prophet, a prophet who has/will
declare perfectly the will of the Almighty and teach us of His Ways, as per
Psalm 119. Therefore, the Messiah will show us what true repentance is, what it
means to be truly and fully obedient to the Almighty, to truly ‘forgive those
who trespass against us’, to speak into the world in an attempt to heal it
(Tikkun HaOlam), to demonstrate to the point of accepting death that ‘no
greater love hath a man than to lay down his life for his friends’.
This weeks Torah Portion (Genesis 37-40) contains
so much wisdom and is so heavy with prophetic vision and typology.
There is a well known Jewish saying: “the
actions of the forefathers serve as a portent (a sign or warning) for their
descendants." That is, we can learn so much about both how to live today
and about what is coming tomorrow, from studying the narratives of the Hebrew/Jewish
patriarchs.
This Torah portion begins with: “And Jacob
settled in the land in which his father dwelled.” - Gen 37:1
Today, Jacob’s children
have again settled in the land in which his father dwelled.
The next verse reads:
“These are the generations of Jacob; Joseph was seventeen years old ...” -
Gen 37:2
Note how immediately Joseph is brought into the
picture. Joseph’s whole life is such a strong ‘type’ of Messiah. That is, there
is so much of his life that acts as a sign to the future coming of Messiah[2].
Notice also in the very next verse that Jacob is
now referred to by his name Israel.
“Israel loved Joseph more than any of his
sons ...” - Gen 37:3
Perhaps this indicates that the love that Jacob/Israel
has for his son Joseph is a national love, a love that all Israel should share,
a yearning not just for the leadership and wisdom of Joseph to return to lead
the people through Messiah, but a love for their brother, for their neighbor
and for their God, so powerfully declared through the example of Joseph[3].
But much goes wrong first! Much time and heartache
and loss occurs between the birth and exile of Joseph, and the redemption of
Israel’s family through Joseph.
The favourite son is scorned by his brothers. He is
handed over to the pagans and endures much suffering. But ultimately he rises
up to stand at the right hand of the highest authority in the land.
Ultimately, his position of great authority, acting
as the principal agent of the King (the Pharaoh of Egypt) will bring redemption
and salvation to his brothers who rejected him, and to his entire family.
Note that there is an intriguing break in the
narrative though. The last verse of Genesis 37 informs us that Joseph has been
sold into slavery in Egypt.
“Meanwhile
the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the
captain of the guard.” - Gen 37:36
Then in the first verse of Genesis 39 (NOT 38), the
story of Joseph in Egypt and his rise to great authority and ultimate
redemption is begun.
“Now Joseph had been
brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the
guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him
down there.” - Gen 39:1[4]
So what is ‘in the
gap’? The story of Judah and his illicit union with Tamar, which produces the
line of King David and the King Messiah.
Why is this story
placed here as an insert, as a pause in the narrative of Joseph, the great
‘type of Messiah’?
As a ‘portent’, as
a sign for the future consider what it may be telling us.
The son of Israel
chosen by HaShem as the Messiah to bring the redemption and shalom of the
Coming Age, the Kingdom of God, is rejected by his brothers and ‘disappears’ from
view for a time. While he is ‘away’ in a ‘far land’, Jacob grieves for his loss
and much tension and conflict arises between the brothers, especially against
Judah. Ultimately they all leave the Land of Israel to ‘find’ their Messiah,
their savior Joseph dressed and disguised as an Egyptian (Gentile), and through
his efforts they find salvation from the famine and are ultimately returned to
the Land.
At the end of the
story of Judah we read of his repentance. It is then that the story returns to
focus of Joseph and we read of the redemption of the people of Israel; the
restoration of Jacob/Israel with his son Joseph, the restoration of Joseph’s
brothers with Joseph and finally the return of all Israel to the Land of Israel.
We also see during
this time that Joseph is involved in the Gentile world, that the Gentile world
is greatly blessed by his involvement, his leadership and example.
Could this
narrative being a further ‘sign’ that after the last great exile and dispersion
from the Land of Israel (a direct result of the prophetic fiat of God through
Moses on the plains of Moab – see Deut 29-30), the Jewish people will return
and their Messiah will be revealed to them. Jacob/Israel will learn that he was
not dead, that he has been given great authority and that when the time is
right he will bring full restoration and real shalom to Israel and all the
nations of the earth!
May Messiah come
speedily!
[2] See this article for more on this typology
[3] And of course through
the example of Yeshua (Jesus), who a number of famous Rabbi’s and Professors
have called the greatest ethical teacher ever. This was certainly the view of
Prof. Joseph Klausner, of Hebrew University (retired in 1949) who was an
historian of the Second Temple period.
[4] For a great article of this fascinating story I strongly recommend
the article ‘The Light of Messiah’ by Rabbi Ari Kahn at Aish.com - see http://www.aish.com/tp/i/moha/48914512.html
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