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Lekh-Lekha

Get Yourself Out
“Go Forth and Receive Blessings”

Genesis 12:1-17:27
Isaiah 40:27-41:16

excerpted from TorahScope, Volume II

Perhaps one of the most often quoted and well known Torah passages, about the unique relationship between the Eternal Creator and Abraham—often considered to be the “father of faith” (cf. Romans 4:11-16)—is found in the opening passage of the parashah we are considering this week:

“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 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.’ So Abram went, as the LORD had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran” (Genesis 12:1-4, WMB).

Here in the command to “Go forth” (NASU), Abram was called out of the relative luxury of Ur, as he was one who was firmly embedded in the local culture with his extended family. We get the impression that he was a well-to-do businessman, living in a city adjacent to the lower Euphrates River (modern-day Iraq) as it flowed into the Persian Gulf.

Without any apparent or recorded hesitation, Abram was commanded by the Holy One to leave his home and relocate to a more remote location, at the age of seventy-five and without a physical heir to his estate. When we encounter God’s request as Bible readers, we think that this must have been met with some skepticism, or at least curiosity. Yet, Abraham responded obediently, and for the next century from the Torah’s record (cf. Genesis 25:7), it is abundantly clear that Abram/Abraham was a unique man whose impact upon the future generations of those who have sought the Creator is immeasurable in human terms.

Great lessons for God’s people today can be appropriated, as we read about and significantly consider the exemplary life exhibited by Abraham. Throughout his experiences with God, he was asked to simply follow Him, and step out in complete and total trust and faith. Unlike those of later times, who had the collective wisdom and communal history of hearing about how the Lord had interacted with their people in the past, Abraham was having to chart unknown territory. God simply interjected Himself into Abraham’s life, and he had to place his total confidence into this unseen Deity. The Holy One was undoubtedly testing Abraham’s heart to confirm that he was going to be entirely loyal to Him. His wholehearted belief in the words and promises of God is summarized in how his trust (Heb. verb aman) was considered to be righteousness:

“He believed in the LORD, who credited it to him for righteousness. He said to Abram, ‘I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur-Kasdim, to give you this land to inherit it’” (Genesis 15:6-7, WMB).

This critical juncture in Abraham’s life describes that he absolutely believed in the Almighty and took Him at His word. His confidence to recognize that the Creator had his best intentions in mind, in transplanting him from his home country to a relatively unknown and unseen Promised Land, had to be immense. It is not like when any of us has to move from one city to another city, or one region to another region, when already we have a fairly good idea about the place we are relocating to. Abraham knew nothing about where he was going, except what God had told him. He heard the voice of the Lord and believed without any hesitation.

Time and again throughout the course of history, followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have had to respond to whether or not they are truly going to serve Him. They face various tests and trials permitted by Him, as they are forced to demonstrate their loyalty and obedience to the Lord and His ways. The examples of how this works are seen throughout the Scriptures, and are too numerous to list—but just about everyone who has expressed a belief in God has had to go through some kind of testing at one point or another in their life. The challenge for each of us is to simply pass the tests, just like Abraham—because having to repeat a test because of unbelief, or even disobedience, is never something which anyone wants to do. Therefore, it is critical for God’s people to develop an inherent faith component which gains encouragement and fortitude from examples like that of Abraham.

In Genesis chs. 15-16 we read about how Abram’s trusted servant Eliezer of Damascus would not be his heir,[1] the agreement struck with God between the animal pieces,[2] the cohabitation with Hagar giving birth to Ishmael,[3] and God’s announcement that Sarah will give birth to a son.[4] Genesis 17:1-8 summarizes what has become known as the Abrahamic Covenant, including God’s promises to multiply Abraham’s seed, making him fruitful, and giving Him the Land of Canaan for perpetuity:

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.’ Abram fell on his face. God talked with him, saying, ‘As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you. I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God’” (Genesis 17:1-8, WMB).

Genesis 17 is doubtlessly loaded with so many things to digest, that all I can do is stand amazed at its future implications for the generations which followed! When we study the life experiences of Abraham, and the others who came after him, I am greatly encouraged that I am doing the right thing when I consider what the Torah teaches me about faith. The author of Hebrews later asserted how Believers in the Messiah of Israel have a tremendous cloud of witnesses behind them in history, whose previous life examples were to serve as a testimony of how they continued the legacy which they began:

“Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Yeshua, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who has endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, that you don’t grow weary, fainting in your souls” (Hebrews 12:1-3, WMB).

The life of faith is not often something easy for any generation to demonstrate. Even today, knowing that the Savior has come and has been sacrificed for human sins, each of us still has to step out in total confidence and place ourselves in the Lord’s hands. As important as it is to live forth the proper actions of faith, it is ultimately our belief in Yeshua’s accomplished work at Golgotha (Calvary) which ultimately reckons us righteous:

“But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life” (Romans 5:8-10, WMB).

When the Sages considered an appropriate Haftarah selection for this Torah reading, they focused on some words from the Prophet Isaiah. Here, in another often known and beloved passage, Isaiah spoke about how God provides strength and vigor to those mortals who look to Him for deliverance. God’s people are to wait upon Him, as they seek after Him for provision and steadfastness:

“Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me is disregarded by my God’? 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 40:27-31, WMB).

I find this to be a beautiful passage, which gives those pursuing God hope that there is a way and a time for everything! May we be found trusting, faithful, and patient when we need to go forth in order to receive the blessings of our faith and obedience to Him. Perhaps more importantly, may we be able to pass on a positive legacy to those who come after us, that they should likewise seek the Lord in all things.