Vayishlach, וַיִּשְׁל - And He Sent
Genesis 32:4-36:43
Haftarah: Hosea 11:7-12:12, Obadiah 1:1-21
Apostolic Scripture: Matthew 2:13-23
Shabbat Reading #7 - Genesis 36:20–43
My Thoughts:
Here we have a history of Esau’s descendants, Kings and Chiefs. For some reason this history and particular names are important. In today's world we don’t pay much attention to ancestry or the recording of names and family trees (some people do). I tried to go back just to my grandparents and their parents -- and it took me years to find names and cities of birth. And quite honestly, because my great grandparents were in Poland, I have very little information about them. It has been impossible to get details. But, then we read the Torah and we see great detail given to names in ancestral lines. Maybe we should try to do this also. You can start today and record all the relatives -- by name -- that you know about.
Challenge:
Today you can start making a family tree. Start with those you know. And start researching. Go to ancestry.com and sign up. It is worth every penny. And usually you can get a lot done in a month’s time. It is so important to do this for your children and your grandchildren. Our ancestors have interesting and some life-changing stories. It’s time you recorded them!
Reading #7 - Genesis 36:20–43
36:20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs who came of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The children of Lotan were Hori and Heman. Lotan’s sister was Timna. 23 These are the children of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he fed the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the children of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the children of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These are the children of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs who came of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, and chief Dishan. These are the chiefs who came of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.
31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the children of Israel. 32 Bela, the son of Beor, reigned in Edom. The name of his city was Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zerah of Bozrah, reigned in his place. 34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 Husham died, and Hadad, the son of Bedad, who struck Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his city was Avith. 36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth by the river, reigned in his place. 38 Shaul died, and Baal Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 Baal Hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
40 These are the names of the chiefs who came from Esau, according to their families, after their places, and by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 43 chief Magdiel, and chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession. This is Esau, the father of the Edomites.
THIS WEEK’S HAFTARAH:
My Thoughts:
In Obadiah 1:15 we read a fearful admonition, “For the day of Hashem is near all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head.” Nations and the people within them believe that they can cheat, kill and steal -- without repercussion. Simply not true. A nation may get away with sin for a while, but not for long. Every deceitful nation has been brought down throughout the centuries. Now the country I live in -- the United States of America -- is also in trouble. For almost 50 years we have legalized abortion and over 60 million babies have had their lives terminated in the womb. The womb is supposed to be the safest place in the world, now it is truly unsafe. There will be (and has been) a severe consequence from Hashem for what we have done. We have blood in our land and that is one of seven things that Hashem detests (Proverbs 6:16-19). Only sincere, heartfelt prayer and repentance will save us. Let’s begin this process today.
Challenge:
Take a minute to reflect on what you have done to others that you most certainly would NOT like to be done to you. Write them down. Repent and make amends. If you are unable to make amends directly to the people you have hurt, then go to Hashem and do it through Him. Otherwise, be fearful for your “deeds will return upon your own head.” And that would be just awful. Let’s avoid that if we can.
Haftarah: Hosea 11:7-12:12, Obadiah 1:1-21
11:7 My people are determined to turn from Me.
Though they call to the Most High,
He certainly won’t exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboiim?
My heart is turned within Me,
My compassion is aroused.
9 I will not execute the fierceness of My anger.
I will not return to destroy Ephraim:
for I am Elohim, and not man; the Holy One among you;
and I will not come in wrath.
10 They will walk after Hashem,
who will roar like a lion;
for he will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like a bird out of Egypt,
and like a dove out of the land of Assyria;
and I will settle them in their houses,” says Hashem.
12 Ephraim surrounds me with falsehood,
and the house of Israel with deceit.
Judah still strays from Elohim,
and is unfaithful to the Holy One.
12:1 Ephraim feeds on wind,
and chases the east wind.
He continually multiplies lies and desolation.
They make a covenant with Assyria,
and oil is carried into Egypt.
2 Hashem also has a controversy with Judah,
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
according to his deeds he will repay him.
3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel;
and in his manhood he contended with Elohim.
4 Indeed, he struggled with the angel, and prevailed;
he wept, and made supplication to him.
He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with us,
5 even Hashem, the Elohim of Armies;
Hashem is His name of renown!
6 Therefore turn to your Elohim.
Keep kindness and justice,
and wait continually for your Elohim.
7 A merchant has dishonest scales in his hand.
He loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich,
I have found myself wealth.
In all my wealth they won’t find in me any iniquity that is sin.”
9 “But I am Hashem your Elohim from the land of Egypt.
I will yet again make you dwell in tents,
as in the days of the solemn feast.
10 I have also spoken to the prophets,
and I have multiplied visions;
and by the ministry of the prophets I have used parables.
11 If Gilead is wicked,
surely they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls.
Indeed, their altars are like heaps in the furrows of the field.
12 Jacob fled into the country of Aram,
and Israel served to get a wife,
and for a wife he tended flocks and herds.
Obadiah 1:1-21
1:1 The vision of Obadiah. This is what Hashem Elohim says about Edom. We have heard news from Hashem, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let’s rise up against her in battle. 2 Behold, I have made you small among the nations. You are greatly despised. 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ 4 Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh. 5 “If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, what disaster awaits you—wouldn’t they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some gleaning grapes? 6 How Esau will be ransacked! How his hidden treasures are sought out! 7 All the men of your alliance have brought you on your way, even to the border. The men who were at peace with you have deceived you, and prevailed against you. Friends who eat your bread lay a snare under you. There is no understanding in him.”
8 “Won’t I in that day”, says Hashem, “destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mountain of Esau? 9 Your mighty men, Teman, will be dismayed, to the end that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter. 10 For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever. 11 In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you were like one of them. 12 But don’t look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don’t rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don’t speak proudly in the day of distress. 13 Don’t enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don’t look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity. 14 Don’t stand in the crossroads to cut off those of his who escape. Don’t deliver up those of his who remain in the day of distress. 15 For the day of Hashem is near all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head. 16 For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so will all the nations drink continually. Yes, they will drink, swallow down, and will be as though they had not been. 17 But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions. 18 The house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble. They will burn among them, and devour them. There will not be any remaining to the house of Esau.” Indeed, Hashem has spoken.
19 Those of the South will possess the mountain of Esau, and those of the lowland, the Philistines. They will possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria. Benjamin will possess Gilead. 20 The captives of this army of the children of Israel, who are among the Canaanites, will possess even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev. 21 Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be Hashem’s.
THIS WEEK’S APOSTOLIC SCRIPTURE:
My Thoughts:
Dreams in this reading are very important. An angel warns Joseph to take his family into Egypt to avoid being killed. And another angel comes to him other times to direct their paths. I don’t know if we take our dreams as seriously as people in Scripture. Maybe we should. They say it is important to write your dream down as soon as you wake up. To have a pad of paper and pen, right by your bedside. You can forget a dream within minutes of waking up. It is important we write down our dreams that we know mean something. Pray and ask Hashem what they meant and ask for Scripture that might reveal and confirm them. It just may be Hashem is trying to tell you something very valuable, maybe even life saving!
Challenge:
Have you ever had an angel speak to you in a dream? Or has another person ever given you a “message” in a dream? I believe we are in a time of a special release of angels -- especially if the Mashiach is returning soon. Pay attention to those dreams, and ask Hashem to interpret them for you. It may change your life!
Apostolic Scripture: Matthew 2:13-23
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of Hashem appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”
14 He arose and took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Hashem through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Hosea 11:1)
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation, weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she wouldn’t be comforted,
because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15)
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of Hashem appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20 “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.”
21 He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee, 23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets that he will be called a Nazarene.
