Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.1MB)
This week’s Parasha is entitled, Vayera, meaning “And He Appeared.” It covers Genesis Chapters 18 to 22.
In addition to the Lord informing Abraham of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, this Parasha also contains the promise of a child to the great Patriarch and his barren wife, Sarah; and God’s great test of faith, the request for Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
Chapter 18 opens with Abraham resting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day when suddenly three men appear. Showing great hospitality to the men, Abraham asks them to not pass by, but instead to come and relax with him, wash their feet and have a bite to eat. Now 99-year old Abraham did not just gingerly stroll to the visitors when he first caught sight of them, he hurried, he ran to meet them. This show of generosity and kindness to strangers is a beautiful example of how we are to love our neighbors as ourselves and how we should strive to serve our Lord…without hesitation or reservation…to RUN to Him!
Now it becomes very obvious during this meeting that Abraham understands who is standing before him. The Lord Himself informs Abraham that his wife would soon bear a child the following year which he will name Isaac, meaning laughter, since Sarah laughed at the thought of having a child at her age.
As Abraham’s guests turned toward Sodom, he walked with them a ways. The Lord then revealed to Abraham His plan to destroy the city for its wickedness. And thus begins one of the most popular and debated question and answer sessions of all time. Most of you may know the story. Abraham’s first request of the Lord is found in Verse 23 when he asks, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city?” The Lord responds and says, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Well, this probably gets Abraham thinking that he may have given Sodom just a little too much credit for the number of righteous inhabitants. He asks about 45 righteous, then 40, then 30, and then 20, and each time, the Lord accepts his requests and states after each that if he finds that number, He will not do it. This leads Abraham to his final appeal stating, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” The Lord answers, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” Now we will be coming back to this point in just a minute, so keep a mental note and ask yourself one question, did Abraham change God’s mind about destroying everyone in Sodom?
In Chapter 19 we find the two angels that were with the Lord and Abraham arriving in Sodom. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, sees them enter the city and extends hospitality to them. Suddenly, men from all parts of the city, young and old, surround the house and demand that Lot send out the two men that are in his home for their sexual desires. Lot begs the men not to do this wicked thing and instead offers up his daughters in order to protect his guests. Now, though it was his responsibility to safeguard his two guests who had been invited into the protection of his home, don’t be misled to believe that offering up his daughters was a necessarily a righteous move. The sad truth is that when Lot first parted ways with Abraham, he chose to live in Sodom because it was pleasing to his eyes. He had lived there for some time and had obviously grown accustomed and okay with many of its practices. This is how many Christians today live…accustomed and okay with the ways of our world. We begin to embrace and make excuses of why sin is acceptable. We should all strive to be the righteous few…that 10, if you will, that Abraham requested.
In Verse 9, the men attempted to break into the house past Lot, but the angels intervened, saving Lot and striking the mob with blindness. They then instruct Lot to gather any other person in the city that belongs to him and get them OUT. The city was about to be destroyed. Lot went to certain family members and they didn’t take him seriously, they blew him off, they were happy where they were…in this city of sin. He takes up his wife and two daughters and leads them out of the city as quickly as he can, but the angels had warned them saying, “Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain. Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” As the city began to be destroyed by the Lord with fire and brimstone, Lot’s wife looked back and was instantly turned into a pillar of salt.
This is where we backtrack a bit. Now in our last discussion regarding how many righteous people it would take to save the city of Sodom, Abraham had offered up the nice round number of ten. Ten and God would spare them all. Obviously, from reading the word of God, that did not happen as only three walked out of Sodom unscathed that day. But, was there ever the possibility of ten walking out? Did Abraham’s request ever have any chance to change God’s mind about Sodom and Gomorrah? Did Abraham have the power to make God say, “Well, I guess they can continue on with what they’re doing here…you win.” The simple truth is, no, he didn’t. Abraham made a humble request. God loved him for it and was delighted in his pure heart and his love for mankind. Just how He loves us and enjoys answering our prayers and hearing us pray for others. However, when we pray and ask God for something, we wait on Him to answer according to HIS will, not ours. We cannot order or direct Him to do anything. We cannot trick Him or make something be. He had chosen for three to walk out of that city that morning prior to Abraham’s request and three were exactly what walked out.
In Chapter 20, Abraham and Sarah moved south to the city of Gerar. Abraham instructed his wife to pretend to be his sister, afraid of the unbelieving Philistine king, Abimelech. Abimelech attempted to take Sarah as part of his harem but the Lord warned him in a dream to do no such thing. Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, along with gold, silver, and livestock.
Briefly summarizing chapter 21, we have the casting out of Hagar and Ishmael due to a jealous Sarah with her new son Isaac. The Lord saves them both and promises to make a great nation from Ishmael since Abraham was his father.
In Chapter 22, God tests Abraham. The Lord tells him to take his only son, whom he loves and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. Wow. Imagine that if you can…could you have passed this test? Your son? Your daughter? What conflict that must have been for Abraham, but Abraham was faithful. The next morning, Abraham gathers Isaac and places the wood for the offering on his son’s back. After a while, Isaac questions his father about the offering. After all, the wood and the fire were there, but he saw no offering. His father replies, “God Himself will provide the lamb…” And that He did in a way more than any of us ever could have ever imagined. Upon arriving, Abraham bound Isaac, placed him on an altar, and raised his knife to strike down his only son. At the last second, the angel of the Lord called out and stopped him from completing the action. Instead, God provided a ram caught in a thicket as the sacrifice.
As believers, we understand that Isaac carrying the wood toward his own sacrifice to foreshadow the ultimate sacrifice that the heavenly Father would give in our Lord Yeshua, as He carried his cross to be sacrificed on our behalf. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” We are so greatly blessed and that is an awesome thought, isn’t it? Whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but live with Him for eternity!! Every day with the Lord, for eternity. The Lord declared to Abraham, “Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you,” and that…He did.
In conclusion, I’ll simply end with some questions for all of you. When you are approached by the Lord, will you walk or run? Will you look down to the world or fix your gaze upon Him? Will you attempt to “fool” God in your everyday life, embracing the ways of Sodom and Gomorrah while claiming to serve Him? When you pray, will you be eager to accept His will versus your own? Can you do that? And when your faith is tested, will you follow through with His test or fall short?
I pray blessings upon you all on these matters and ask that the Lord’s will and only the Lord’s will be done. Shabbat shalom.