Jerusalem, A Cup of Trembling – VaYera – Nov. 8

Jerusalem is hanging in the balance once again. Yesterday on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, the streets of Jerusalem were quiet and the light rail that shuttles back and forth between east and west Jerusalem seemed empty compared to any other Thursday. The reason for the stillness in the air was the terrorist attack the day before when a Hamas terrorist drove his car into a light rail station killing one and injuring others. This was the second incident of the same type in two weeks. In the middle of these two incidents there was a shooting of a religious Jew, Yehuda Glick, by a Palestinian gunman. On top of these horrific acts there has been numerous riots by Muslims throughout east Jerusalem. Public trust in the security situation in Jerusalem is hanging on a thread.

What has brought Jerusalem to this critical point?

There is much finger pointing and accusing of different leaders on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides and the US and the UN are drawing their own conclusions. Added to this is the internal struggle in the Land of the Palestinians blaming Israel and Israel blaming the Palestinians with everyone trying to get to the source of the problem. Some are saying that the attacks and Palestinian unrest were caused by the Israeli decision to build homes in “East Jerusalem.” Others blame the lack of a Palestinian State.

Dr. al Akari, the brother of one of the terrorists, gave this reason for his brother’s murder of innocent Israelis:

“The events at al-Aqsa Mosque hurt us all. It is not we who are the terrorists, but rather those who harm Muslim holy sites, and who forbid the entrance of worshipers to the mosque. We have no problem with any Jew in the world, but those who intend to harm holy places and step on our honor, must be punished.” (www.ynetnews.com, click here to read full article)

The Jerusalem police have had to close access to the al-Aqsa Mosque, which is located on the Temple Mount, because of the continual unrest in the city. Dr. al Akari believes this to be trampling on the holy site of Islam and justifies his brother’s actions.

What is the cause of the unrest and hostility in Jerusalem?

I believe the answer is found in this week’s Torah Portion: Gen. 18-22. This Torah Portion begins with the LORD (Yahweh) visiting Abraham with two angels. It is an amazing encounter where the LORD appears to Abraham as a person, a man (Gen. 18:1, 8, 16, 33). During this encounter the LORD tells Abraham again that Sara will bear him a son in one year’s time. Sara laughs in unbelief and God reminds Sara that nothing is too wonderful for the LORD (Gen. 18:14). The promise to Abraham and Sara is fulfilled just as God had spoken and Isaac (which means “laughter” or “he will laugh”) was born (Gen. 21:1-3).

In Isaac all of the promises of God to Abraham would be fulfilled. God promised to bless Abraham and make him great. God promised to bless all of the families of the earth through Abraham and to give him the Land of his dwelling (Gen.12:1-7). These promises could only be fulfilled through the seed of Abraham as God spoke in Genesis 12:7 and later confirmed in Genesis 15:4. And to make this matter crystal clear, God told Abraham that the heir of the covenant that God made with Abraham would not be Ishmael but Isaac, the son through Sara (Gen. 17:15-21). Isaac was the son of the promise of God and the son of the covenant of God. God had a plan and it would not be changed. Isaac would be the one to carry on the promises of God.

When Isaac (“he will laugh”) was born Sara proclaimed, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh (“Isaac” or “Yitzak”) with me” (Gen. 21:6). God was faithful to Abraham and Sara. God brought life from a dead situation. God brought hope out of hopelessness. God gave laughter to those who laughed in unbelief but now God would turn their laughter into a cause for mourning.

When God first appeared to Abraham at the age of 75 He told him to leave (“Lech Lecha”) his homeland, his family, and everything he knew and to enter into the land that He promised to give him as an inheritance and Abraham obeyed (Gen. 12:1-4). God spoke to Abraham and told him that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him, and he believed. God promised to give Abraham a son through Sara and although they both laughed at the thought of becoming parents in their old age, they trusted God and He fulfilled His promise to them.

At the end of this week’s Torah Portion God came to Abraham to test him.  God told him to take his only (unique) son, his beloved son Isaac and go (“Lech Lecha”) to the land of Moriya and offer him up as an offering on one of the mountains which God would show him (Gen. 22:1-2). Abraham is now over a hundred years old and had been faithfully walking with God all of his life. Now God tells him to offer up as a sacrifice the very gift and promise that God Himself had given him.

How could God ask Abraham to do such a thing? God had given Isaac as the promised son to Abraham and Sara to bless them and be a blessing to the world. How could God now ask Abraham to offer him up as a sacrifice? How could the son of promise be killed?

We all know this story, however, its significance and prophetic foreshadowing cannot be underestimated. Abraham set out early on the next morning in obedience to God, went to the land of Moriya, and arrived at the mountain, which the LORD showed him. Abraham told his servants that were with him to wait for them while he and Isaac would go to worship and return to them (Gen. 22:5). Abraham spoke in faith that they would both return, knowing that God had told him to offer up Isaac as an offering (Hebrews 11:17-19).

Abraham took the wood and the fire and continued walking with Isaac. Isaac being familiar with the protocol for offering up a sacrifice turned to his father and asked a most natural question, “Behold, the fire and wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Gen. 22:7) Abraham responded to his son, “God will see to Himself the lamb for the offering my son” (Gen. 22:8). And then they continued to walk on together. Abraham comforted his son with the knowledge of the Sovereign hand of God and at the same time, unbeknownst to him, Abraham began to reveal God’s eternal plan for mankind by stating that God would one day be that lamb who would be offered up.

Abraham and Isaac arrived at the place, which God showed him, and in obedience to the word of God he built an altar, bound Isaac his son, and laid him on it. Abraham then took the knife to slaughter his son but the angel of the LORD called to him, stopped him, and said to him “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only (unique) son from me” (Gen. 22:12). Abraham passed the test and God provided a ram to sacrifice in place of his son Isaac (Gen. 22:13).

The very next verse is probably the most prophetic verse in this whole chapter. It states, “And Abraham called the name of that place ‘the LORD will see,’ as it is said this day, ‘on the mountain the LORD will be seen” (Gen. 22:14)*. In the naming of this particular place by Abraham, God is marking this place with His name and giving us a picture of the future sacrifice of the beloved Son, who would not be spared in the future but would be sacrificed for all of mankind (John 3:14-18).

This mountain, in the land of Moriya, is the place where God led King David and his son Solomon to build the Temple and offer sacrifices to Him (2 Chronicles 3:1). Not far from this place, and most probably on the same mountain ridge, is where Yeshua was offered up as the final Passover sacrifice (John 19:17-20). In this culmination of the offering up of the Messiah, the Son of God, the LORD Himself is literally seen on the mountain and “sees for Himself” the offering for the sacrifice. God has given us the perfect picture of His love for us through His Son and through the story of Abraham and Isaac.

Just like any good movie, there is still more to the story. God still has a plan for “this place” that He has chosen. The Temple Mount sits on Mt. Moriya, which is in Jerusalem. The Word of God tells us that God will make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around and a heavy stone to all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured (Zechariah 12:2-3).

The current rioting and terrorist attacks in Jerusalem are directly connected to God’s choosing of Isaac and the Jewish people to be in covenant relationship with Him, along with the Land of Israel, with Jerusalem at its center. God has a plan which will come to fulfillment, however, the sons of Ishmael (including all Muslims) are working against this plan, according to the prophecy of Ishmael (Gen. 16:11-12).  It is only through faith in the Messiah that the sons of Ishmael can join the plan of God.

The turmoil in this world, and especially in Jerusalem, can only be reconciled through the sacrifice of Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of God (Rom. 5:8). There is peace in no other name and neither is there salvation in any other name (Act. 4:10), but the name Yeshua. Let us be faithful to declare the message of Yeshua and to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).

Shabbat Shalom!

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Torah Portion: Gen. 18:1 – Gen. 22:24

Hafatara: 2 Kings 4:1-37

*Most English translations of this verse (Gen. 22:14) mistranslate the word “see” or “to be seen” as “provide” or “will be provided.”  The Hebrew clearly reads as printed in the article above.

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