Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] One day several years ago, when my family was attending a church to try and bridge the gap between Messianic Judaism and Christianity, my young children came out of Sunday school class looking very troubled. The teacher had asked the kids in the class to raise their hands if they were Jewish. Well, everyone in the class raised their hands except for my children. Even then, the teacher encouraged them to raise their hands as well, saying that if they believed in Jesus, that made them Jewish. But even my young children knew better than that. In the Book of Galatians, Paul made a bold statement about the identity of those who have put their faith in Yeshua. He said, if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise. Well, maybe this passage is what confused the Sunday school teacher. Was Paul trying to say that followers of Yeshua are Jewish? Or was he connecting this idea to an ancient concept about Abraham's ability to make spiritual sons and daughters? If you're interested in finding out more, then stick around for this week's five minute Torah.
[00:01:12] Welcome back to our tribe. You're watching the channel that connects disciples of Yeshua to the Eternal Torah of God. It's great to be back with you here today. I'm very excited about this particular teaching, so I hope you stick around for the rest of it. And if this is your first time to the channel and you're looking for a follow up on what I introduced just a moment ago, then feel free to skip ahead to the commentary. Now for a brief overview of this week's Torah reading. This week we're studying the portion of Leha genesis twelve, one through 1727, and here are the three things that you need to know about it. Number one, avraham. Avinu. The calling of Avram. Out of all the people on earth, god calls a man named Avram to make into a great nation that will make an indelible mark on the world. He promises to give Avram a son whose offspring will be more abundant quote, than the stars in the sky. God tells Avram, go forth from your country and from your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you, and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonored you, I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis twelve, one through three. And unfortunately, since that time, the world has been jealous of that promise and will stop at nothing to destroy the people of Promise. Number two, Melchet, the mysterious priest of God. Avram travels to Canaan with his nephew Lot, but soon there's a quarrel among the herdsmen causing them to split up. Lot ends up settling in the fertile land of Sadom, and not too long after, Lot is kidnapped, when Sadom is attacked by an alliance of neighboring kings. When Avram found out, he pursued them and rescued Lot and the other captives being held. And on his journey home, Melchizedek, the King of Salem, came and blessed Abraham. This mysterious figure has captivated Bible students for thousands of years, especially because Yeshua is compared to him in the Book of Hebrews and number three, circumcision the sign of the covenant. Well, when Abraham was 90 years old, God made a specific covenant with him. He changed Avraham's name from Avram, meaning exalted Father, to Avraham, which means father of multitudes. He also gave Avraham instructions to be circumcised and that he must circumcise every male offspring perpetually as a sign of this covenant. God declares this covenant with Abraham as an everlasting covenant in chapter 17, verse 13. In other words, one that does not end. Therefore, circumcision, being the sign of that covenant with Abraham and his descendants, is also perpetual and continues to this day among the descendants of Abraham. Hey, hey. We're already in the new Torah cycle, but it's not too late to grab a copy of one of my Five Minute Torah commentaries. It will not only enrich your connection to the weekly Torah portions, but it will also help support this channel. Just click on one of the links below to get your own copy. Thanks in advance for your support. This week's tour commentary is called Abraham the soulMaker and comes from my book Five Minute Torah, Vol. Two. At the end of last week's Torah portion, we were introduced to one of the most important characters in the Torah. I've already mentioned him. The patriarch Abraham or Avraham? At this time, however, he's simply known as Abraham or Avram. Avram is the foundational material that the Lord uses to build both a people and a faith. Today he's affectionately referred to as Abraham Avinu. Our father. Abraham. In the Apostolic Scriptures, he's also called the Father of all who believe in Romans 416. In this week's Torah portion, we read about the calling of Avram and how God commissioned him with a special purpose. The Lord also changed his name from Avram to Avraham or Abraham, as we say in the west, as a promise of what the Lord was going to do through him. A curious passage in our Torah portion begs to be explained. However, when God calls Avram to leave his family and his homeland, we read of Avraham's response. It says And Avram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. This is Genesis Twelve five. The Torah tells us that Avram and Sarai left with Lot, their possessions and the people they had acquired. A hyper literal reading of the original Hebrew text, however, says that avram and Sarai set out with, quote, the souls they had made. The midrash questions this particular phrasing. It says, if all the nations assembled to create one insect, they could not endow it with life. Yet the Torah says, and the souls that they had made in Haran. And then it concludes by saying, this refers to proselytes. This is from Genesis Rabba 84 four. The minoraj tells us that the people that AV and Sarai made were actually proselytes. In other words, Abraham didn't just acquire slaves or servants in Haran. He actually made disciples. We can see evidence of this just two chapters later in Chapter 14, when Abraham sets out to rescue Lot from his captors. It says that he took 318 of his, quote, trained men who were, quote, born in his house into battle. The Hebrew word here for his trained men is hanikav, which means follower and has the basic meaning of something that is dedicated or devoted. It's the same root that we get the word hanukah from meaning dedication. These dedicated men were somehow born into Abraham's house. Later on in Genesis 1723, the Torah distinguishes between Abraham's slaves and his disciples. When it lists those whom Abraham had circumcised. It says that he circumcised, quote, all those born in his house or bought with his money. The slaves were bought while the disciples were born. Those who were born to Abraham were those who had experienced a spiritual rebirth. The midrash says that a person who converts a pagan from his idolatry is like one who has created him. Rambam, in his Mishnah Torah, says that the honor due to one's teacher is greater than the honor due to one's father. Why? Because a person's father brings him into the life of this world, while his teacher the one who teaches him wisdom. In other words, the Torah brings him into the life of the world to come. Abraham's investment into his disciples gave them the dedication to follow him even into death. It was for this reason that the Almighty specifically chose Abraham to be called out from among his people. The Lord said, For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice. Genesis 1819. It says that Abraham will teach not only his children, but also his household. Abraham proved these words to be true not only with Isaac, but also with his 318 disciples. All of this lets us know that Abraham invested into others. Abraham was a disciple maker. How did Abraham make disciples? He and Sarah were known for their hospitality. They would continually have people in their homes, feeding them and teaching them and telling them about the one true God. They invested their time, their energy and their resources into those whom they were discipling. Are we following in the footsteps of our father Abraham and making disciples as he did? If not, it's never too late. Just take time to invest in others, loving them and teaching them how to live out the principles of Scripture. Better late than never. Let's be soulmakers like our father. Abraham. I'd like to make one final appeal to you on this topic. Now more than ever, we should be following in the footsteps of Avraham Avinu, our Father Abraham. The world is being brainwashed by leaders and influencers from every continent, and they were all promoting one agenda. They are inculcating in their disciples the belief that the Jews are little more than animals. Israel is an illegitimate entity, that evil is truly good and that good is truly evil. They are trying to indoctrinate the youth on our college campuses, swaying churches and even entire denominations of these things, and succeeding. We have a great vacuum of leaders who will take discipleship seriously and intentionally train up men and women who can go toe to toe against the evil in this world. I desperately urge you to take up that mantle. Invest into someone starting today. A lone candle shines bright in the darkness of night. But a thousand candles can transform the night into the brightness of day. As I mentioned last week, I'm working on a video about Israel anti Semitism and how we should be responding to the situation in the Middle East. Please pray that I'm able to complete this project, because every time I get started on it, I'm overwhelmed with not only the emotions, but also the sheer volume of information that needs to be sorted through and communicated in order to help people understand this critical situation. So please keep this in your prayers for the upcoming video and help promote this channel to make it available for others to be able to see it. First, make sure you're subscribed. Second, if you can, please show your support by clicking on one of the contribution links below. Your contributions go a long way in helping me to create these videos. And last, be sure to share these videos on your social media network so people can be aware of them as well. Thanks in advance. I look forward to seeing you next time with another messianic insight into the eternal Torah of God. Blessings from Amet Tatorah.
