Lech Lecha

SEPARATE FROM SIN

Parashah Noach ends with the men’s desire to live independently of God’s ethics by thumbing their noses at Him in building a tower designed to reach the sky with the intent to “make a name for themselves.” God stops their project by confusing their language and disperses them throughout the earth giving rise to the seventy nations. But there was one family that it was singled out to continue Noach’s legacy, the family of Avram.

This new Parashah begins with Yehovah telling Avram: Lech lecha me’aretzecha “Get yourself out of your native land.” Bereishit (Genesis) 12:1 The Bible does not record why God chose Avram or what was Avram’s verbal response, but his response was with an action in obedience. “Speak little but do much” was the conclusion of the rabbis in the Pirkei Avot, “Ethics of the Fathers,” a collection of rabbinic wisdom.

After the introduction of sin by Adam, sin dominated the life of men. Murder was introduced by Cain, idolatry, perversion, and disobedience became the norm throughout the world; ten generations had been washed away by the Flood, and the ten generations from Noah to Avram had fallen also into sin. But with Avram began a profound change in the spiritual nature of mankind. God asked Avram to separate himself from sin and his actions become an example to humanity of what it means to live a righteous life.

God revealed Avram’s character by subjecting him to some tests of faith. A heavenly test is one that forces a person to choose between God's will and his own understanding of what is right or wrong. These trials were meant to display faithful obedience, but God does not impose trials that are beyond the capacity of the individual. Thus, all Torah's trials are for the benefit of those being tested, even though the benefit may not be realized for a long time. Avram passed the tests and he was renamed by God, Avraham, to reflect God’s intention for his life, to be the father for a multitude of nations.

Believers must understand that following God is an unpopular lifestyle, but the choices we make when we are being tested strengthen our faith because faith without works is useless and our faith is measured by our good actions not by our good intentions (please read the entire chapter two from James). “Show me your faith from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” James 2:18

In the same time we have to understand that God will never test us beyond our abilities to endure as it is written in the first letter to the Corinthians: "No temptation has overtaken you, except that which is common to Bnei Adam, but Yehovah is faithful, who will not let you be brought into temptation beyond what you are able, but will make with the temptation also the escape as a way out for you to be able to endure. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

Yeshua did not ask us to separate from this world but to separate from sin, to flee from it, and be light and salt to the unbelieving world but not part of it. Just as Avram was asked, as a first step, to get himself out from an idolatrous country, so too we are asked by Yeshua to separate from sin. “But now I come to You, and I say these things in the world, that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You would take them from the world, but that You would keep them from the evil one.” John 17:13-16

Avraham was the first person to be called a Hebrew "Ivri," from the word which means "from the other side." Literally this means that he came to Canaan from the other side of the Euphrates, but in a spiritual sense he crossed a moral divide and came into the Promised Land, Eretz Yisrael, which would become the heritage of his family and of all believers. In the spiritual sense, we become the sons of Avraham if we do the deeds of Avraham which begin with obedience to God. We will be blessed if we follow his example, and, if we push God aside, our life will seem like a curse.

In this Parashah God gives Avraham the covenant of circumcision, and He calls it My covenant. But in other places circumcision is also called "the sign of the covenant," implying that a commandment consists of two parts: one, the physical act and two, its underlying moral or spiritual teaching — and neither is complete without the other. Just as it is not enough to perform the commanded deeds if they are removed of their moral content, so it is not enough to philosophize on the commandments and seek moral improvement without actually performing the commandment.

This Parashah also contains the greatest promise ever made to mankind: "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Bereishit (Genesis) 12:3

This promise was fulfilled through Avraham's Seed, Messiah Yeshua, in which the entire world is blessed. It gives added revelation and confirmation of the promise of the Adamic Covenant - concerning the Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15). The Avrahamic Covenant reveals the sovereign purpose of God to be fulfilled through Avraham and his physical descendants, Israel, to provide a Savior for all who believe. The ultimate fulfillment is made to rest upon the divine promise and the power of God rather than upon human faithfulness.

God did His part, He sent His Son to die for our sins on that Roman cross to fulfill all requirements for cleansing from sin, even before we have sinned. God loved us so much that He gave His Son to die - that we might live. The love of God is beautiful, gracious, holy and merciful. A love that went to such terrible and heartbreaking depths to redeem us from our sins must cause an appropriate response from our hearts. Yeshua said, “If you are Avraham's children, do the deeds of Avraham" John 8:39

But what are Avraham’s deeds? The principle of faith without works being useless is at work here, for Avraham who had the faith to offer up Isaac, his son, on the altar, began by doing small deeds, by giving to God in the form of the tithe and rely completely in God to provide for his needs.

In chapter 14 Avraham was met by a very unusual person named Melchizedek. Melchizedek is called King of Salem and a priest of God Most High, which is a typology of Messiah, as revealed in Psalms 110 through David where God the Father speaks with God the Son, Yeshua: “The Lord [Yehovah} says to my Lord [laAdoni], “Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool. Yehovah sends Your mighty scepter from Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people offer themselves willingly on the day of Your battle, in the majesty of holiness, from the womb of the morning, when the dew of Your youth was upon You. Yehovah has sworn, and will not change His mind, You are a priest forever, after the manner of Melchizedek.”" Tehilim (Psalms) 110:1-4

Avraham gave this Melchizedek a tenth of all his possessions because in his heart was love for God which was expressed by thanksgiving. By these simple acts his faith was being strengthened so he could indeed trust God and offer up Isaac.

Rav Shaul also teaches that faith works through love. If we love Yeshua, then our faith will perform its work, and that is the reason God has taught us to tithe continually. Our faith must be tested. The Hebrew word for giving is “tzedakah,” which also means “righteousness,” which implies that our righteousness is tested in our giving. Avraham deeds were reckoned to him as righteousness because by his deeds his faith was perfected. “But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? Wasn't Avraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Yitzchak his son on the altar? You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected.” James 2:22,23

Avraham’s faith was working. He walked before God and his trust was in God and because of this trust his heart was responding to His love. “When Avram was ninety-nine years old, Yehovah appeared to Avram, and said to him, ‘I am El Shaddai. Walk before Me, and be blameless.’“ Bereishit (Genesis) 17:1 In Chapter 17 of this Parashah, verse 1, for the first time God introduces Himself as El Shaddai — literally "He Who is Sufficient," He Who has sufficient power to give us the strength to overcome all opposition and to give us all that is necessary to live a righteous life and be blameless.

Avraham made a conscious decision to distance himself from sin and walk before God; he trusted El Shaddai, the God who is all sufficient. If we claim to be the spiritual sons and daughters of Avraham, let us also do the deeds of Avraham.

Shabbat Shalom!