Haftarah Lekh-Lekha
“Choices That Renew Our Strength”
Isaiah 40:27-41:16
excerpted from TorahScope Haftarah Exhortations
Lekh-Lekha (Genesis 12:1-17:27), our Torah portion for this week, begins by familiarizing the reader with the exploits of the great Patriarch Abraham. In Romans 4 the Apostle Paul later described him as the father of the faithful. While Abraham is noted for his faith in the Almighty, we need not overlook the declared promise of God to bless those who bless Abraham, or contrarily to curse those who curse Abraham. Many of his physical descendants and spiritual onlookers down through the centuries, have claimed to build their personal faith and trust in the God of Creation, based on His dealings with Abraham:
“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3, WMB).
Did you note in this often-quoted phrase, which delineates blessings and curses to Abraham’s respective benefactors or enemies—that God also said how in Abraham how all of the families of the Earth would be blessed? Is it possible that this reference is to the literal Seed of Abraham, who would one day arrive as the Messiah Yeshua Himself? It is absolutely true that Paul appealed to Genesis 12:3 in Galatians 3:8, saying, “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Good News beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you all the nations will be blessed’” (WMB). The ultimate blessing for all of humanity is the Redeemer and His accomplished work at Golgotha (Calvary). About eighteen hundred years after the promise was made to Abraham, the blood sacrifice required to atone for the sin of humanity was completed. There can be no greater blessing for all the families of the Earth!
However, about seven centuries prior to Yeshua’s work on the tree, the words of the Prophet Isaiah to the Southern Kingdom—now considered in conjunction with Lekh-Lekha—were delivered to a people who would be in exile. Isaiah declared the eternal promises of God, and the choice He made to be faithful to His people who follow the patterns established by the life of Abraham. Just consider how the words of Isaiah 40:28-31, another frequently quoted set of verses, are great reminders of the faithfulness of God to His chosen nation of priests:
“Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might. Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall; but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31, WMB).
Isaiah provoked his audience, by asking simple rhetorical questions, which were to force them to remember just who it was they were serving. He is an everlasting God, the Creator of the Universe—One who does not contend with human frailties evidenced in either weariness or being tired. Instead, the Lord actually gives strength to the weary and gives power to the tired. Even the youth who become tired and weary are given new strength. In fact, as Isaiah waxed eloquent with poetic terms, he described people gaining enough strength like an eagle which soared high above, or those who ran without getting tired or walked without being weary.
How many times have you turned to these verses, when you needed a lift, as the challenges of life may have weighed you down? Have you ever meditated about soaring like an eagle above all of your cares and troubles, giving such cares and troubles over to your Heavenly Father?
Likewise, have you also reminded yourself of your inherited blessings promised to Abraham by our Creator? Are there times when you have been subjected to curses or cursing, and you simply remind yourself that because you are one who worships the God of Abraham, that anyone who casts ill intentions your way, will have to contend with the omniscient Creator?
As you read through the balance of our Haftarah portion as it extends into Isaiah 41, you should note that Isaiah repeatedly reminded his audience of just who it was they served. The Lord is the one who is the first and the last:
“Who has worked and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last, I am he” (Isaiah 41:4, WMB; cf. Revelation 22:13).
Notice the similarity to the promise made to Abraham about being blessed in this passage, versus what God will do to those who contend with Israel:
“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham my friend, you whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from its corners, and said to you, ‘You are my servant. I have chosen you and have not cast you away.’ Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded. Those who strive with you will be like nothing, and shall perish” (Isaiah 41:8-11, WMB).
Also be reminded how God continues to admonish His people that they are not to fear. After all, the Holy One is their Helper and Redeemer:
“‘For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, “Don’t be afraid. I will help you.” Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,’ says the LORD. ‘Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I have made you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth. You will thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and will make the hills like chaff. You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. You will rejoice in the LORD. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel’” (Isaiah 41:13-16, WMB).
The concluding statements in this passage, relate how Israel will be like a thresher which will chew up those who oppose them. This is a critical part of Israel’s destiny before the other nations of the Earth. Ultimately in being God’s instrument to declare His glory to the nations, Israel will naturally rejoice and glory in Him.
Of course, the ultimate declarations come when His people went forth after the resurrection of His Son, declaring the good news of the accomplished work of the Messiah. Everything which God has purposed for His people in ancient times, He is accomplishing through them to this very day! Let us rejoice in not only the blessings, but confidently rest in God’s plan for the ages, trusting in His choice. After all, He continues to renew our strength and faith in order to proclaim Yeshua to our family, our neighbors, our fellow workers, and with whomever else we encounter who needs His love.
Let us thank the Lord for not only choosing us, but renewing our strength—so that we can choose to share Him with others!