PARASHAT VAYERA 'AND hE APPEARED...'

Friday 18 October 2013                                                    Cheshvan 14 5774

Parashat Vayera              ‘and He appeared..’                                     by Shelley Wood Gauld

Genesis 18:1-22:24; 2 Kings 4:1-37; Luke 1:26-38, 24:36-53

Many Scriptures and images in the Tanakh (OT) take on new meaning when they parallel truths found in the Brit Khadashah (NT). This association of historical figures and events in the Hebrew Scriptures with the spiritual principles or events of the Brit Khadashah reinforces our understanding of the sublime truths conveyed in the Scriptures as a whole. For those prepared to study, making these associations discloses the very mind of the God of Israel, whose wisdom undergirds all. The more the Bible is studied, the more luminous the interconnecting strands become. In gentile theological circles, this method of comparison is called “typology.” Among the Jews, it is ‘akedahor “binding.” However, in Judaism a more important and specific use of the term ‘akedah relates to the binding of Isaac — ‘Akedat Yitzkhak — and to the concept of sacrificing one’s dearest. (The Talmud teaches that because Avraham had been willing to sacrifice his son, God viewed this as an act that had actually been performed. It is also interesting to note that when Avraham descended from Mount Moriah, there is no mention of Isaac at all. He next appears when Eliezer returns with his bride, Rebekah; adding credence to the Rabbinic view that Isaac might have died on the altar.)

The story of the (near) sacrifice of Isaac is read on a daily basis in synagogues throughout the year, but particular emphasis is placed on this account during the ten Days of Awe that lead up to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). In terms of Messianic belief, the focus on the sacrifice of a dearly beloved only son by a loving father occurs at precisely the right time in the Jewish calendar. During the Days of Awe, although conscious of the need to makeT’shuvah (return to God in repentance) in order to start the new sacred year with a clean slate, sincere believers in Yeshua give thanks… For them it is a matter of rejoicing in the forgiveness of sins that has already been accomplished through Yeshua Messiah; HaShem’s atoning ‘Azazel’ (the ‘scapegoat’ of Yom Kippur).

‘Akedat Yitzkhak presents us with a very clear picture of Messiah; the one who, in Isaiah 53, is described as being “wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities …..on whom the chastisement for our peace fell and by whose stripes we are healed”. With the (near) sacrifice of Isaac, the father who was prepared to make the offering was Avraham; with Yeshua, the Father who actually carried through with the sacrifice of his Son was HaShem.

The similarities in these two accounts are astonishing: Both Isaac and Yeshua were physical descendants of Avraham. (Gen. 21:3 and Matt. 1:1) Both were “sons of promise.” (Gen. 22:2, 17:19 and John 3:16; Luke 2:29–32) Both were cherished by their fathers. (Gen. 22:2; Matt. 3:17) Their miraculous births were foretold by angelic beings.(Gen. 8:10–13 and Luke 1:26–35) Both carried their “wood of sacrifice” to a hill of sacrifice (Mt. Moriah and nearby Golgotha). (Gen. 22:2–6 and John 19:17) Both went willingly to their deaths, like lambs led to the slaughter. (Gen. 22:9 and Acts 8:32) Neither was deserving of death. The rabbis teach that Isaac was approximately 33 years of age at this time, and Yeshua was also approximately that age when He died. Both survived to see their progeny: Yeshua’s “children” being his followers; Isaac’s being Esau and Jacob. (Gen. 25:21 and Heb. 2:10) Through both, “all nations of the earth have been blessed.” (Gen. 22:18 and Heb. 2:10)

Between the first “Lekh L’kha” – “Get yourself out” of Genesis 12:1 and the second “Lekh L’kha” – “Get yourself to” of Genesis 22:1 we see Avraham, a man after God’s own heart, being trained in righteousness. The rabbi’s say that he was tested ten times; the first test being the command to leave all that was familiar to him in Haran, and the last being the command to sacrifice his precious son. Much has been written about the latter, but one explanation of‘Akedat Yitzkhak is that Avraham was being taught that his relationship with HaShem had to remain paramount; that anything or anyone more important to him than his God, constituted a form of idolatry. 

A long awaited firstborn son, born in one’s old age, a son of promise, a ‘miracle baby’ – could easily have become something of an idol to his parents… In fact the first time the word ‘love’ (ahavah) is used in the Scriptures, is in the context of Avraham’s feelings for Isaac. What kind of love was this? Was the bond so strong that it was necessary for HaShem to challenge Avraham’s priorities? He obeyed God in letting go of Ishmael; could he obey Him in letting go of Isaac too? Was he willing to trust God with his child; because he had certainly not trusted God in the matter of Sarah, his ‘sister’, and Avimelech. Did not Avraham have to be taught, in a way that he understood within the context of that generation, to utterly trust and obey God, and to put Him first in all things? (HaShem’s request to sacrifice Isaac was not as appalling as it appears to us today. At that time, children were frequently sacrificed to the pagan god Molech. The concept was not foreign to him.) Avraham was being trained to assume a pivotal role in history; he would be the ‘father’ of a ‘holy nation’.

Therefore not even the love for an only child was permitted to come between him and his God… his merciful God… “Now I know that you are a man who fears God, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me”. (Gen. 22:12)