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TEACHING THE HEBRAIC PERSPECTIVE OF FAITH IN AND OBEDIENCE TO THE ONE TRUE GOD
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| Streaming Video |
| Due to our difference in the dates we observed Sukkot we must skip a week to catch up with the Torah schedule. Lech Lecha "Go out" Genesis 12:1-17:27 Isaiah 40:27-41:16 *Archived teaching from 2009*
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| Torah Portion "Noah" |
| If you would like to watch the video on Torah portion "Noah", it is available be clicking the link below or pasting this link in your browser.
http://wms18.streamhoster.com/hineni7/102409b.wmv
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| Torah Commentary |
| Lech Lecha "Go out"
Genesis 12:1-17:27
Isaiah 40:27-41:16
Get Out!
It is said that "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." This was no doubt true for Abram as we learn this week.
About the background of many people in scripture, we are not told volumes. Instead it seems that life begins for them with an encounter with the voice and person of Elohim in their lives. Many of us can relate to this concept though, because we can look back and also see how life really had nothing to write about until we met Him.
Abram was given some quite clear words about what to do in his life. He was to leave his past behind and begin a journey. He was not told specifically where the journey would take him nor was he told about the trials he would have to face along the way. He was not told how he would succeed and fail, but rather he was simply told to leave.
The beginning of verse 4 gives much insight into the man Abram when it states, "So he went." That seems to be a very simple and direct statement, does it not? But was it as simple as the scripture seems to paint? Was it as easy as we tend to read it?
Though Abram and Sarai did not have children at this point, remember they were still people just like you and me. They had family and a life. Abram is seventy-five years old when he leaves and Sarai is no spring chicken either! They had lives and families they had to say goodbye to, not knowing if they would ever see them again in a day without phones, Face Book and email. Departure in that day was truly cutting off everything of the past and stepping out into the great unknown. It was quite a task, one which should gain Abram a place of great respect in each of us today.
"So he went." These are words which deserve a bit more comment because they contain a great message to us today. Notice it did not say, "So he considered his options," or that he "talked it over with his neighbor." We do not read that he consulted with his boss, father, mother, pastor or even his wife. Abram knew what he was told to do and he did it!
What a lesson those three short words have for us today. Hear His voice, get up, and move on should be words that resonate within our spirits. But some would say they have not heard his voice. I challenge you to read 2 Corinthians 6:17 before you read one more word of this commentary. What do those words say? Are they not the same words as Abram heard so many years ago? Maybe the problem is not with our hearing, but rather our desire to take the first steps of the journey.
Let me clarify a point though. I am not writing about leaving a country or a home physically, though in the end that may very well be, but rather making the steps of leaving attitude and lifestyle.
Today there continues to be much talk about a greater exodus patterned after the exodus of Abram's eventual family in Egypt. Historians wrote that in the exodus only twenty percent of the Hebrews actually left Egypt while eighty percent would not leave, no matter what HaShem had done in the land. Whether or not these numbers are true, knowing a bit about human nature makes me believe that they are certainly plausible. If this fact is true however, what is the difference between Abram and the people who stayed behind in Egypt? Furthermore, what can we learn today from the event?
I believe the key to Abram's quick departure is that he never counted the place he was living as home. Yes, while he may have had a house, a two-car garage and a dog in the backyard, he never considered anything outside of Canaan, or can we say Israel, as a place to call home. In fact the Book of Hebrews tells us that he would never even consider Canaan home until the Kingdom would be established and there would be a city whose Builder and Maker was YH VH Himself. The difference in the life of Abram was simply that he never desired or allowed himself to be physically or emotionally attached to the things of a fallen world. Abram knew that home could only truly be when all things had been restored. That is why he so quickly took the first step of his journey. He knew his first step was not only leading him to Israel, but was leading him to a Kingdom!
So what can we learn from the actions of Abram? More importantly what should we do with these thoughts in our own lives? Maybe first we should take an honest look at just how tied down to this world we are. Do we use words like "Dream Home," "Job I always wanted," or "Success in life?" What are our attitudes and emotional attachments to our current lifestyle and surroundings? These are simply the first in a long list of questions we should be asking ourselves today.
Given some honest soul searching, most of us would have to admit that we are not quite as ready as Abram was to leave it all behind. But maybe just coming to that conclusion is the first step in preparing ourselves for the journey that lies ahead.
One closing thought. Let us take a look around us this Shabbat, not only at the physical possessions, but also at the emotional and religious ties we have in life. Is there anything or anybody which would stand in the way of our walking out the words, "So he went?"
Shabbat Shalom,
Mike
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