Sabbath Keepers Fellowship and Prison Ministries
Min Hazaqen Torah Study Group on Facebook
Christi Banks
Yochanan Ben Yisrael
14 Va’eira – Day 2
Sh’moth 6:14-28
These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Re’uḇěn, the first-born of Yisra’ěl: Ḥanoḵ and Pallu, Ḥetsron and Karmi. These are the clans of Re’uḇěn.
And the sons of Shim‛on: Yemu’ěl, and Yamin, and Ohaḏ, and Yaḵin, and Tsoḥar, and Sha’ul the son of a Kena‛anite woman. These are the clans of Shim‛on.
These are the names of the sons of Lěwi according to their generations: Gěrshon, and Qehath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Lěwi were one hundred and thirty-seven.
The sons of Gěrshon: Liḇni and Shim‛i according to their clans.
And the sons of Qehath: Amram, and Yitshar, and Ḥeḇron, and Uzzi’ěl. And the years of the life of Qehath were one hundred and thirty-three.
And the sons of Merari: Maḥli and Mushi. These are the clans of Lěwi according to their generations.
And Amram took for himself Yoḵeḇeḏ, his father’s sister, as wife. And she bore him Aharon and Mosheh. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven.
And the sons of Yitshar: Qoraḥ, and Nepheḡ, and Ziḵri.
And the sons of Uzzi’ěl: Misha’ěl, and Eltsaphan, and Sithri.
Aharon took to himself Elisheḇa, daughter of Amminaḏaḇ, sister of Naḥshon, as wife. And she bore him Naḏaḇ, and Aḇihu, El‛azar, and Ithamar.
And the sons of Qoraḥ: Assir, Elqanah, and Aḇiyasaph. These are the clans of the Qorḥites.
And El‛azar, Aharon’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Puti’ěl as wife. And she bore him Pineḥas. These are the heads of the fathers of the Lěwites according to their clans.
This is Aharon, and Mosheh, to whom YHWH said, “Bring out the children of Yisra’ěl from the land of Mitsrayim according to their divisions.”
They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Mitsrayim, to bring out the children of Yisra’ěl from Mitsrayim. This is Mosheh, and Aharon.
Sabbath Keepers Fellowship and Prison Ministries
Min Hazaqen Torah Study Group on Facebook
Ovadyah Ben Yisrael
Shalom Chaverym,
This week’s Torah portion is: Va’eira – ואוא – “And I appeared”
Torah reading: Sh’moth 6:2-9:35
Haftarah reading: Yechezqel 28:25-29:21
Ketuvim Hatalmidym reading: Yochanan Aleph 2:1-5
Shalom aleykhem, achym, b’shem YHWH Elohey Haivrym ~ Peace to you, my brothers, in the name of YHWH, the Elohym of the Hebrews.
Koh amar YHWH: shelach et amiy v’ya’avduniy ~ “Thus saith YHWH: Send out My people, and they shall serve Me.”
The above quoted pesuk from our parasha is most often translated: “Thus says YHWH: Let My people go that they may serve Me.” This is not the most accurate of translations. The words “let” and “may” seem to indicate passivity and an asking of permission. But the words in Hebrew are shelach et amiy, which means “Send out My people”; and v’ya’avduniy, which means “and they shall serve Me.” Even the preface to these words, koh amar YHWH – “Thus saith YHWH,” is only used in scripture when YHWH is speaking in the strongest of terms. This is not a request but a clear command.
It is written that the greatest of all commandments is, “Hear O Yisrael: YHWH is our Elohym, YHWH is One, and you shall love YHWH your Elohym with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” This command is the ultimate acknowledgement of YHWH as our Creator and the Master of all.
It is also written that “Sin is the transgression of the law,” which is the intentional breaking of the commandments. Therefore, it follows that the greatest of all sins is to deny that YHWH is Elohym and that He is One, to refuse His commands, and to hate Him. Distilled to its essence, this denial and hate of YHWH with its consequent refusal to obey His commandments can be summed up as: to look one’s Creator in the eye and tell Him, “No. And I do not know You.”
Pharaoh denied YHWH and refused His commands. He did so not only once but hardened his heart and refused Him many times. YHWH is compassionate, merciful and longsuffering. However, even though Pharaoh feigned repentance at times when things were going badly for him, YHWH knew it to be only mockery, because Pharaoh continued to break the same commands again and again with no real intention of stopping. Moreover, Pharaoh not only denied YHWH and refused Him, he even went so far as to say, “Who is YHWH that I should hearken unto His voice to send out Yisrael? I know not YHWH, and also I will not send Yisrael out.”
Ah, that dastardly Pharaoh! How dare he deny and refuse the Master of all creation! But Pharaoh is not the only one who hardened his heart and said “no” to YHWH’s commands. Not much later, His own people did so as well. And we have been doing so ever since.
It is written, “By this we know that we know Him – if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” My brethren, do you know Him?
It is further written, “But whomever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohym has been perfected in him.” Yehoshua even said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” My brethren, do you love Him?
Then listen: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me, proved Me and saw My works forty years. Therefore, I was grieved with that generation and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart and have not known My ways.’”
B’Shalom, Ovadyah Ben Yisrael
Someone Experiencing Grief or Loss
References
Isaiah 53:4 (AMP) / Isaiah 61:1 (AMP) / Hebrews 13:5 (AMP) / Galatians 6:2 (AMP) / James 1:22 / Romans 12:15 (AMP) / Philemon 7 (AMP) / John 14:26 (AMP)
Abba, in the Name of Yeshua, we approach Your Throne of Grace, bringing ………. (person’s name), before You. We know that grief is a human emotional process, and we give him/her the space that he/she needs to enter into the rest that You have for him/her. Abba, Yeshua bore ……….’s (person’s name) griefs and carried his/her sorrows and pains; we know that Your Spirit is upon Yeshua to bind up and heal ………… (person’s name) broken heart. May he/she be gentle with himself/herself, knowing that he/she is not alone in his/her grief. You are with him/her, and You will never leave him/her without support. Give us, ……….’s (person’s name) friends and prayer partners, discernment, sympathy, and understanding so that we may bear his/her burden of loss. We trust You guide him/her and we respect his/her decision awaiting the manifestation of Your healing. Abba, we desire to be doers of Your Word and not hearers only. Therefore, we make a commitment to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. We pray that our love will give ………. (person’s name) great joy and comfort and encouragement, because he/she has cheered and refreshed the hearts of many of Your people. Thank You Abba for sending Ruach HaKodesh to comfort, counsel, help, intercede, defend, strengthen and stand by ……… (person’s name) in this time of grieve and sorrow. In Yeshua Name we pray, amein.
THIS WEEK
Vaera וָאֵרָא
And I Appeared
TORAH Exodus 6:2-9:35
PROPHETS Ezekiel 28:25-29:21
GOSPEL Luke 11:14-22
Portion Outline
TORAH
Exodus 6:14 The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron
Exodus 6:28 Moses and Aaron Obey God's Commands
Exodus 7:8 Aaron's Miraculous Rod
Exodus 7:14 The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood
Exodus 8:1 The Second Plague: Frogs
Exodus 8:16 The Third Plague: Gnats
Exodus 8:20 The Fourth Plague: Flies
Exodus 9:1 The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased
Exodus 9:8 The Sixth Plague: Boils
Exodus 9:13 The Seventh Plague: Thunder and Hail
PROPHETS
Eze 28:25 Future Blessing for Israel
Eze 29:1 Proclamation against Egypt
Eze 29:17 Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt