At the end of last week’s reading, we read in Shemot / Exodus 6:1 וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה עַתָּ֣ה תִרְאֶ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֖ה לְפַרְעֹ֑ה כִּ֣י בְיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙ יְשַׁלְּחֵ֔ם וּבְיָ֣ד חֲזָקָ֔ה יְגָרְשֵׁ֖ם מֵאַרְצֽוֹ׃ (ס) Then the LORD said to Moses, “You shall soon (now you will, עַתָּ֣ה תִרְאֶ֔ה) see what I will do to Pharaoh: he shall let them go because of a greater might; indeed, because of a greater might he shall drive them from his land.” The rabbis connect this to the Akeda (the binding of Isaac) when Abraham was called to sacrifice his only son to the Lord on the mountain of Moriah. (see Rashi on Shemot / Exodus 6:1, Part 1, and Bereshit / Genesis 22) What we see here in the Torah portion for this week, is the rabbis connecting the words of the Lord to the Akeda, the Lord was saying to Moshe that when He subjected Abraham to a test of his faith, he did not question His commands as it is related to faithfulness as opposed to Moshe questioning the Lord sending him to Egypt to deliver Israel from bondage. The Lord was extending His authority to Moshe to deliver His people from bondage. Moshe however questioned that authority. Sforno speaks of Pharaoh and the Lord God delivering His people in the following way: Sforno on Shemot / Exodus 6:1 Part 1, . עַתָּ֣ה תִרְאֶ֔ה, now that you have seen yourself the sin of Pharaoh who has the nerve to hold on to the Israelites with the authority of his office, you will see that he will not only release them voluntarily, but בְיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙ יְשַׁלְּחֵ֔ם, not only will he release them, but he will be forced to get rid of them post haste due to the problems he will have while they are still in his country. The Hebrew text states with a powerful hand (בְיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙) he will be forced to send them (יְשַׁלְּחֵ֔ם) out of his country. This is the way the text speaks of the Lord working powerfully on behalf of His people. Sforno speaks of the difficulties Pharaoh will have due to his not submitting to the will of God, and remaining in his abstinence against the command of the Lord. It is interesting that if Pharaoh had obeyed the command of God all of Egypt would have been spared…
Parashat Va’era
BTT, Parashat Va’era 2017 The Lord wants to use You in the midst of Your brokenness and Imperfection
This week’s Torah portion opens with the Lord revealing himself in a new way saying, ב וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים אֶל-מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲנִי יְהוָֹה: ג וָאֵרָא אֶל-אַבְרָהָם אֶל-יִצְחָק וְאֶל-יַעֲקֹב בְּאֵל שַׁדָּי וּשְׁמִי יְהֹוָה לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם: 6:2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, ‘I am the Lord; 6:3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them. (NASB, Shemot / Exodus 6:1-2) Based upon this text, the Lord called upon the memory of how He had worked in the lives of those He had called previously, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ramban on Exodus 6:3 states “By My ineffable name expressing the essence of all existence (I AM THAT I AM) I was not known to them to introduce innovations changing the natural course of events. Therefore tell the Children of Israel that I am the Lord and let them know My great name (El Shaddai) through which I shall perform for them wonders that they may know that I am the Lord who does these things.” The idea here is that the lord is revealing His ability to do unnatural things, to turn both our lives and this world upside down in order to bring glory to His name, to fulfill His promises on earth, and to bring redemption to His people. As the Lord called Moshe to go to his people and to Pharaoh, we are told in Shemot / Exodus 6:9, ט וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה כֵּן אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְֹרָאֵל וְלֹא שָׁמְעוּ אֶל-מֹשֶׁה מִקֹּצֶר רוּחַ וּמֵעֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה: 6:9 So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage. (NASB) According to the account of Moshe being sent by God to His people, we learn that the peoples burdens were so great they had trouble believing, and so they could not hear from the Lord. Is your burden so great that you cannot hear the Lord or have trouble having faith? According to the Apostolic Writings, the eleven disciples had just witnessed the Messiah risen to life after having given his life upon the cross. All seemed lost until hope was restored on seeing Him again, yet some still doubted (see Matthew 28). What Yeshua did, instead of dismissing those who had doubts, He commissions them to go and change the world! This is exactly what the Lord God our Father in heaven did with Moshe, following the rejection of the people, telling him, 6:10 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6:11 ‘Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.’ 6:12 But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, ‘Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled in speech?’ 6:13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a charge to the sons of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt. (NASB) Yeshua said, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go…” Found within the Torah and Yeshua’s statements are several significant insights. Our own doubts do not negate the Lord’s calling on our lives. For example, you may never be the most talented person in a given area of your life. This should not be a reason for resisting to serve the Lord. Consider this that “others will always be elevated above you in this world.” This is the perspective of being humble, and is how Yeshua taught according to Matthew 23:11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant. (NASB) Moshe had doubts about himself (6:11) but yet the Lord called him and He still calls you, and He desires to use you in your brokenness and imperfection just as He sought to use Moshe in his. We must be completely dependent on Him for the outcomes of our lives and ministry. While Yeshua is commissioning the disciples in this passage, the call also goes out to everyone who are called His children by faith. We are called to make disciples in this world, to demonstrate the power of God working in our lives, and to lead others in truth, to live in His righteousness, and to seek His righteousness all the days of our lives. Realize that the Lord has led you to this moment in your life for the purpose of serving Him. This is who we are, and the descriptions that we are given according to the Torah.