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Lekh-Lekha

Get yourself out
“Trials, Faith, and Blessings”

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

excerpted from TorahScope, Volume I

Our Torah portion for this week, Lekh-Lekha, begins with some very important words, which will guide a great deal of the Biblical story and narrative from this point onward:

“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’” (Genesis 12:1-3, WMB; cf. Galatians 3:8).

After the first two Torah readings have jumped through multiple millennia of human history, Lekh-Lekha begins to focus on Abraham, the father of faith (Romans 4:12-16). In this reading, we encounter how that God chose one man and his descendants to be either a blessing or a curse to the rest of humanity. We read that Abram experienced trials, exercised faith, and received the blessings of faithful obedience. His life, in many ways, exemplified a standard of how each of us should approach our loving Creator. We ultimately discover how in Abraham, “all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you” (Genesis 12:3, NJPS).

As you will recall, we were briefly introduced to Abram as last week’s Torah portion, Noach, concluded. Interestingly, as you read about Abram’s immediate family, you might conclude that it was actually his father Terah who was called out of Ur:

“Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur-Kasdim, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there” (Genesis 11:31, WMB).

Abram, his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot, were supposed to go to the Land of Canaan. But as the text indicates, they went as far as Haran, which was the crossroads in the upper Euphrates east of Assyria, and part of the trade route which connected Egypt with those in the Tigris and Euphrates River valleys. They all settled there until the death of Terah. In a cursory reading of these statements, it appears that Terah “took”[1] Abram and his other relatives. However, the Scriptures provide us three specific testimonies of how the call to come out, from among the people and circumstances of Ur, was definitely made to Abram.

First, we read Nehemiah’s testimony, summarizing how God chose Abram, bringing him out of Ur, and later renamed him Abraham:

“You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, brought him out of Ur-Kasdim, gave him the name of Abraham, found his heart faithful before you, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it to his offspring, and have performed your words, for you are righteous” (Nehemiah 9:7-8, WMB).

Second, the testimony of Stephen includes more specific information regarding Abraham’s departure from Ur:

“He said, ‘Brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, “Get out of your land and away from your relatives, and come into a land which I will show you [Genesis 12:1].” Then he came out of the land of the Kasdim and lived in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, God moved him into this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. He promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his offspring after him [Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 15:18; 17:8], when he still had no child” (Acts 7:2-5, WMB).

Here, the martyr Stephen said that Abraham himself had the “God of glory” appear to him when he was in Mesopotamia, “before” he lived in Haran. The command that he was to “Depart from your land and from your kindred and go into the land which I will show you” (RSV), was spoken to Abraham when he was living in Ur.

Third, the author of Hebrews completes our Scriptural understanding of this great “father of our faith,” as it relates to the mission that God gave to Abraham:

“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10, WMB).

With this confirming evidence, we discover that the Holy One was most concerned about His choice of Abram/Abraham to be the recipient of His blessings. The Lord knew that this man would exhibit a heart of faith and the proper obedience to Him which was required. As the words of Prophet Isaiah indicate in our complementary Haftarah reading, He has called for men and women to be used by Him from the very beginning:

“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).

As you read this week’s narrative, it begins with Abram hearing a command from the Most High, which appears to be a repetition of the first appearance which occurred while the family lived in Ur. This time, Abram heard the voice of El Shaddai and obeyed, after the death of Terah. After reading Stephen’s statement in Acts 7:4, it appears that Abram did not continue on his journey into Canaan until after his father’s death:

“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’” (Genesis 12:1, WMB).

Abram heard the command to “Get thee out” (KJV) or “go forth.” The Hebrew is lekh-lekha, the title of this Torah portion. This was not only a command for Abraham to get out of the place where he lived, but also to remove himself from his countrymen and his own relatives. Here in this parashah, the trusting Patriarch began his walk of faith. As we will learn, Abram soon realized that representing the One True God among people would be filled with trials. But because he listened, believed, and obeyed, his obedience to this God was realized by blessings he would later experience in his lifetime.

Faith Trials

As I have pondered the opening chapters regarding the life of Abraham, I am struck by the fact that he, just like the rest of his “faith-filled” descendants, was not spared the trials of life we all must endure. Perhaps there is a direct connection between faith and trials? After thinking about it, it dawns on me that perhaps there really is a direct correlation between faith, trials, and the blessings of responding to life’s trials by faithful obedience to our Father. After all, the walk of faith we are transversing is certainly beset with personal and corporate trials. Is it possible the Lord gives us trials so that we can exercise our faith, in order to receive more of His blessings?

These concepts are so elementary, yet so profound to our faith in practice. After all, are not tests, trials, and even tribulations, designed by the Lord to see if we are living and walking by faith? And does not God respond by blessing us, when we react to trials by faithfully following His instructions? Certainly, when one considers the inevitability of trials, many Scripture passages come to mind. One of the most quoted of them brings a smile to my face:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4, WMB).

James the Just encouraged his audience in the midst of the trials they were facing. He stated that responding with faith would produce an endurance which would have its perfect result among them. Talk about a blessing! Can you imagine the blessing of lacking in nothing? This is not a bad reward for joyfully considering the trials of life, and how God often uniquely uses them for each person, as he or she is being perfected in faith.

The Apostle Peter had a similar approach to handling trials:

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved in various trials, that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes, even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah—whom, not having known, you love. In him, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:6-9, WMB).

Peter understood that the trials of life should be handled joyfully by Believers, because they have faith in Yeshua as the Messiah. The ultimate blessing of this is that it will result in the consummation of one’s salvation. Hopefully, you can readily see that there is a direct correlation between the trials you encounter, how you respond by faith, and the blessings associated with a proper faith-based response.

As I consider this spiritual axiom, I think about the magnitude, severity, and frequency of trials. Is it possible that the greater the trials we encounter, and the more faithful the response we demonstrate, the greater the blessings we will receive? I hope this serves as encouragement for you to continue through whatever difficulties you may be facing.

Certainly, the trials endured by Abraham as narrated in the Torah, and his faithful responses, were definitely rewarded with huge blessings. Is it possible to detect some parallels in the balance of Scripture which might confirm this observation?

The entire Bible is replete with testimonies about how people have been challenged with various trials, and have responded by faith. You can go to Hebrews 11 and read about just some of the champions of faith, who were blessed in a variety of ways as a result of responding to trials, tests, and tribulation. But even the author of Hebrews would tell his audience how there was a “cloud of witnesses” too numerous to try to humanly list:

“What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets—who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked out righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, grew mighty in war, and caused foreign armies to flee. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Others were tried by mocking and scourging, yes, moreover by bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth. These all, having been commended for their faith, didn’t receive the promise, God having provided some better thing concerning us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:32-40, WMB).

The Biblical axiom of experiencing trials, responding in faith, and receiving the blessings of the Almighty, is foundational in both Judaism and Christianity. As I reflect on this truth, I am also reminded of the trials and persecutions the Apostle Paul endured during his walk of faith. He wrote the Corinthians, encouraging them to endure some trials, listing some of the afflictions he had endured in his ministry:

“Seeing that many boast after the flesh, I will also boast. For you bear with the foolish gladly, being wise. For you bear with a man if he brings you into bondage, if he devours you, if he takes you captive, if he exalts himself, or if he strikes you on the face. To my shame, I speak as though we had been weak. Yet in whatever way anyone is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Messiah? (I speak as one beside himself.) I am more so: in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, and in deaths often. Five times I received forty stripes minus one from the Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been a night and a day in the deep. I have been in travels often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brothers; in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness. Besides those things that are outside, there is that which presses on me daily: anxiety for all the assemblies. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is caused to stumble, and I don’t burn with indignation? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that concern my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, he who is blessed forever more, knows that I don’t lie. In Damascus the governor under King Aretas guarded the Damascenes’ city, desiring to arrest me. I was let down in a basket through a window by the wall, and escaped his hands” (2 Corinthians 11:18-33, WMB).

As I think about all of these trials, and Paul’s faithful response to his accusers and those who personally abused him, I am again reminded of the blessings which he received. The Apostle Paul, as a faithful servant of the Most High, will be receiving his rewards for eternity for how his writings have been used by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to bring untold millions to a saving knowledge of the Messiah Yeshua! Once again, we see how a correlation between trials, faith, and blessings are all interrelated.

Personal Application

While thinking through our Torah portion this week, and these verses I have referred to, another viable form of trial kept coming to my mind. This was the inevitability of the persecution which comes with the walk of faith which has been exercised by people like Abraham, and many other faithful followers of God throughout the ages. We know from Scripture how God’s people have been persecuted throughout the ages, and many have remained steadfast to Him, resisting temptation.

But now that the revelation of His Son and His completed work on the tree have been accomplished, belief and proclamation of the good news is guaranteed to bring persecution and trials. After all, if you are going to walk by faith in the knowledge of Yeshua as the Savior of the world, you will be persecuted, according to the very words of the Messiah Himself:

“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12, WMB).

Yeshua encouraged His followers to “Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven” (HCSB). So have you been enduring any trials lately? Do you consider them to be great trials of the magnitude experienced by Paul, Peter, James, or any of the other Apostles? How about trials which rival the persecution experienced by the Prophets of old? Have you been stoned, filleted with a sword, or sawn in two?

For the most part, many of us have to endure an occasional mocking or putdown, but life-threatening events are few and far between for most (Western) Believers. And yet, we all do experience some tests and trials during our Earthly lives. Is it possible that those trials are specifically designed by our Creator to give each of us an opportunity to exercise our faith?

When the trials or tests come, do we exercise our faith by turning to the Scriptures to find the prescriptions for the trials? Do we follow God’s Word, as opposed to the inclinations of our flesh? If we do, then according to the patterns established by Abraham, we will receive the blessings of faithful obedience. I think we definitely ought to look at these tests and trials as an opportunity to exercise our faith. We should examine just how well we respond, to what we might perceive as great tests or trials, gauging them against what we read in the Scriptures.

Do we follow God’s instructions given to us in His Word? If the answer is yes, then His blessings should flow. And do you know what else? Rejoicing will follow in due course. When you realize that you have been chosen to endure certain trials and tests, and that by your faith you choose to follow the admonitions of His Word—you truly have something to rejoice about!

We should each be rejoicing that our faith results in the salvation of our souls. Salvation is the ultimate blessing which follows the walk of faith originally established by Abraham. May we be found thankful for the trials, and rejoice with the blessings of the faithful!