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Toldot

History
“Moored to the Rock”

Genesis 25:19-28:9
Malachi 1:1-2:7

excerpted from TorahScope, Volume I

Our parashah for this week begins with the word, “This is the history of the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac” (Genesis 25:19, WMB). Just consider a few of the thoughts in your mind when you hear the names “Isaac” and “Abraham,” and what these two figures of our faith are commonly known for. Do you at all consider some of the trials they endured, or when presented with difficult situations, how they had no choice but to place their complete trust in the Holy One?

Sometimes the Father gives each of us personal challenges and trials to test us, forcing us to remember where our anchor must be secured: in Him. Born again Believers have been firmly moored to the Rock of Salvation, Messiah Yeshua, and what He has accomplished via His sacrificial atonement. And, since He is the Word made flesh, I believe that it is quite beneficial that we strive to see what we can learn about the Messiah from the weekly Torah and Haftarah readings (cf. Luke 24:44), parts of the Bible which too often get overlooked by many people.

Consider the possibility that our Heavenly Father is like a huge transmitter in the universe, broadcasting His blessings which can be gleaned through a consistent study of the Torah portions on a weekly basis. I have certainly experienced the blessing of committing myself to a discipline of reading the weekly parashah for many years, meditating upon these passages of the Bible and integrating their distinct messages into my heart. With the added discipline of actually putting words to paper—with my TorahScope reflection commentaries—the process of delving into where He has my heart as Shabbat approaches becomes an exciting process. Of course, I do not want to be the only person blessed by examining the weekly parashah, and so one of my distinct prayers is that someone who might read these thoughts would be ministered to in a special way.

Perhaps some of the circumstances in which you presently find yourself—even some testing you might be enduring at this moment in time—needs clarity and understanding. Hopefully, you will be inspired to turn to Yeshua, the Living Word, for the answers to all of life’s circumstances. We know that we can rely upon the Lord and Him alone, because His answers to our prayers and supplications will be the perfect anecdote for seasons of consternation and affliction. James the Just summed up the trials and tribulations of life very succinctly:

“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. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For that man shouldn’t think that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position; and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away. For the sun arises with the scorching wind and withers the grass; and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So the rich man will also fade away in his pursuits. Blessed is a person who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord promised to those who love him” (James 1:2-12, WMB).

The life of faith is indeed one which includes many tests, trials, and tribulations. We know from our reading of Scripture that we should endure through whatever we face. One thing which is clear, from reading through Toldot this week, is that we have an intimate record of the details of a very traumatic time in the history of Abraham’s descendants. In this Torah portion we see the struggle between Esau and Jacob,[1] and how Isaac and Rebekah acted and reacted to their two sons.[2]

Great lessons about God’s sovereignty and human responsibility can be weighed in our meditations. Why did the Holy One select Jacob for His blessings? Why was Esau hated? Considerable theological debates have emerged from the accounts recorded in our portion. These, and many other questions, should simply drive us to our knees when we recognize that God is ultimately in control of His Creation. He chooses whom He will choose, to do whatever He has predestined them to do. And while I do not believe we are necessarily robots or mindless pawns, because personal human responsibility does have a role in this incredibly complex dichotomy of actions, we are eventually subject to the will of our Creator. We are often reduced to the dirt from whence we came, when we realize that the finite cannot even begin to comprehend the Infinite. But we must try, because He clearly states that if we seek Him, He will reveal Himself to us and we will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29; Isaiah 51:1; 55:6; Jeremiah 29:13; Psalm 9:10; Hebrews 11:6).

I would submit that Paul adds a little clarity to this complex question about Divine sovereignty versus human responsibility. In his letter to the Romans, he explained his pain over the unbelief of his fellow Jewish brethren, appealing to the account of Jacob and Esau:

“But it is not as though the word of God has come to nothing. For they are not all Israel that are of Israel. Neither, because they are Abraham’s offspring, are they all children. But, ‘your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac [Genesis 21:12].’ That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as heirs. For this is a word of promise: ‘At the appointed time I will come, and Sarah will have a son [Genesis 18:10, 14].’ Not only so, but Rebekah also conceived by one, by our father Isaac. For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls, it was said to her, ‘The elder will serve the younger [Genesis 25:23].’ Even as it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated [Malachi 1:2-3].’ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? May it never be! For he said to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion [Exodus 33:19].’ So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I caused you to be raised up, that I might show in you my power, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth [Exodus 9:16].’ So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires. You will say then to me, ‘Why does he still find fault? For who withstands his will?’ But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Or hasn’t the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor? What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory—us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles? As he says also in Hosea, ‘I will call them “my people,” which were not my people; and her “beloved,” who was not beloved. It will be that in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” there they will be called “children of the living God [Isaiah 10:22-23; Hosea 1:10]”’” (Romans 9:6-26, WMB).

This passage should humble us with the understanding that the Holy One of Israel is in total control of His Creation, and those He has chosen to be a part of His family. Whether one thinks that God has predestined the events of every second from eternity past, or thinks that God knows the decisions people are going to make given His Divine foreknowledge—or you simply throw your hands up in the air and consider yourself a small mortal and do not really know what to think about this passage—further study into the Tanakh passages Paul alluded to is probably in order.

The Apostle Paul lamented over the fact that in his day, there was a widescale Jewish rejection of Messiah Yeshua, using some foundational accounts seen in the Torah to teach the Romans. How this intertexuality actually plays into Paul’s argument, is something which has to be taken very seriously, and may require you to not only read Romans a little closer, but also each of the series of verses he quoted from. Romans chs. 9-11 are undeniably one of the most important sections of the Bible for today’s Messianic movement.

As this passage continues, Paul not only described how those of the nations have had the opportunity to experience God’s grace through their trust in the Messiah of Israel—but are those who would be largely going benefitting from it, given how the Jewish people had largely decided to reject Him:

“What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who didn’t follow after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith; but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn’t arrive at the law of righteousness. Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, even as it is written, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense; and no one who believes in him will be disappointed [Isaiah 28:16]’” (Romans 9:30-33, WMB).

The Apostle Paul summarized his thoughts about his fellow Jewish brethren and their zeal, without knowledge of Yeshua as the Savior. This passage clearly speaks to the need to demonstrate the good news of Israel’s Messiah to the people from whom He came:

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God is for Israel, that they may be saved. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they didn’t subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Messiah is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness of the law, ‘The one who does them will live by them.’ But the righteousness which is of faith says this, ‘Don’t say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Messiah down); or, “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead.)’ But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart [vs. 6-8: Deuteronomy 9:4; 30:12-14];’ that is, the word of faith which we proclaim: that if you will confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes resulting in righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed [Isaiah 28:16].’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him. For, ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved [Joel 2:32].’ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a proclaimer? And how will they proclaim unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim the Good News of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things [Nahum 1:15]!’ But they didn’t all listen to the glad news. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report [Isaiah 53:1]?’ So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:1-17, WMB).

A few of you might be asking, what does this specifically have to do with the Torah portion Toldot? Well, as stated earlier, the intention of these writings is to reflect upon our weekly readings in the Torah and Haftarah, and a principal part of the modern Messianic movement is to connect these texts with the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament), and let the Holy Spirit minister to the personal needs of individuals. Sometimes my writings might take tangents into areas which need deeper meditation for personal repentance and reflection, and to probe where our understanding of some passages needs improvement or more investigation. May His words have their perfect work in all of our hearts!

This week, I would also encourage you to take a look at what the Sages for centuries have seen as an appropriate parallel passage to Toldot. This week’s Haftarah selection is Malachi 1:1-2:7, and details some of God’s dealings with the descendants of Jacob and Esau:

“A revelation, the LORD’s word to Israel by Malachi. ‘I have loved you,’ says the LORD. Yet you say, ‘How have you loved us?’ ‘Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?’ says the LORD, ‘Yet I loved Jacob; but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness.’ Whereas Edom says, ‘We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places,’ the LORD of Hosts says, ‘They shall build, but I will throw down; and men will call them “The Wicked Land,” even the people against whom the LORD shows wrath forever.’ Your eyes will see, and you will say, ‘The LORD is great—even beyond the border of Israel!’ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, then where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is the respect due me?’ says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise my name. ‘You say, “How have we despised your name?” You offer polluted bread on my altar. You say, “How have we polluted you?” In that you say, “The LORD’s table is contemptible.” When you offer the blind for sacrifice, isn’t that evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, isn’t that evil? Present it now to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? Or will he accept your person?’ says the LORD of Hosts. ‘Now, please entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With this, will he accept any of you?’ says the LORD of Hosts. ‘Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you,’ says the LORD of Hosts, ‘neither will I accept an offering at your hand. For from the rising of the sun even to its going down, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations,’ says the LORD of Hosts. ‘But you profane it when you say, “The LORD’s table is polluted, and its fruit, even its food, is contemptible.” You say also, “Behold, what a weariness it is!” And you have sniffed at it’, says the LORD of Hosts; ‘and you have brought that which was taken by violence, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring the offering. Should I accept this at your hand?’ says the LORD. ‘But the deceiver is cursed who has in his flock a male, and vows and sacrifices to the Lord a defective thing; for I am a great King,’ says the LORD of Hosts, ‘and my name is awesome among the nations. Now, you priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not listen, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to my name,’ says the LORD of Hosts, ‘then I will send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and will spread dung on your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it. You will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant may be with Levi,’ says the LORD of Hosts. ‘My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might be reverent toward me; and he was reverent toward me, and stood in awe of my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity. For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts’ (Malachi 1:1-2:7, WMB).

This section of Scripture, from the last of the Prophets, no doubt left many Jews in quite a quandary. They knew that the Holy One of Israel loved them unconditionally, but they also knew that there were obvious consequences should they sin and disobey. How many people simply go through religious motions without their hearts being in the right place? How easy was it for the ancients to promise a choice lamb to God, but bring a blemished one instead? After all, who was really going to know or care as long as the appearance of godliness was evident to one’s neighbors and family?

Considering these questions from Malachi, how easy is it for modern-day followers of the Messiah to do just the same with their offerings? How many do not give what they should to those who minister to them? How many Believers do not strive for spiritual maturity? Should we be examining our heart intentions? Just how are we guarding the utterances from our lips? As an assemblage of those who serve God, our actions, words, and the mediations of our hearts should be pure and holy. Remember how the Lord is looking at our hearts and He is not impressed with our outward appearances. King David understood these challenges intimately:

“Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be upright. I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, LORD, my rock, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:13-14, WMB).

Now imagine this reality: Do you remember that there are books which record the history of humanity in Heaven? These are recordings which go into much greater detail than this week’s Torah portion of Toldot about the lives of Isaac, Rebekah, and their twin sons Esau and Jacob. Here is a glimpse as to some of what will transpire at the final judgment, when those records are considered at the Great White Throne judgment presided over by Yeshua Himself:

“I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them. I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Sheol gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works. Death and Sheol were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15, WMB).

For 3,500/3,300 years, God’s people have had the testimony of the Torah to be used as an instructional tool for life. The Lord has used the lives of the Patriarchs to reveal the reality of the human condition. If we do not learn from the previous examples of those recorded in the Scriptures, will we face condemning judgment from the King of Kings? Or will we learn, and not have to face the damnation of the Great White Throne?

Esau made choices which he regretted years later. Jacob also made some choices he probably questioned over time, but for some reason, the Most High made a choice and He decided to love Jacob more than Esau. To the carnal mind this does not seem fair and equitable. And logically speaking, it is not impartial. Paul stated the following in Romans 9:18-23:

“So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires. You will say then to me, ‘Why does he still find fault? For who withstands his will?’ But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Or hasn’t the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor? What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:18-23, WMB).

The bottom line to this holy one/saint with clay feet, after the whirlwinds of trial and testing, is a simple plea:

Please, Heavenly Father, do not discard this lump on the trash heap of worthless clay. Instead, mold me into a vessel which has usefulness in Your Kingdom’s work. You are the Potter and I am the clay. Let me be more moldable in your hands. Please, let me persevere so that I will receive the crown of life. Please, let my name be found in the Book of Life. Please have mercy upon me! And for those who choose to follow the inclinations of sinful flesh—have mercy on them too—and may they see the light of Your salvation.

I Bless You O Lord, my King of Kings, my Protector and my Shield! For You alone are worthy to be praised! Amein!