Can we do תפילות prayers for:
Mike Clayton and his ministry
That through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?
 | | October 29, 2010 |
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TEACHING THE HEBRAIC PERSPECTIVE OF FAITH IN AND OBEDIENCE TO THE ONE TRUE GOD
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| Chayei Sarah "Sarah's life" Genesis 23:1-25:18 1 Kings 1:1-31 *Archived teaching from 2009*
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| Torah Commentary |
| Chayei Sarah "Sarah's life"
Genesis 23:1-25:18
1 Kings 1:1-31
Joshua 13-15
When He Saw the Nose Ring
This week's Torah portion has such a sad beginning. It is called "Sarah's Life," but is really about her death. Sarah and Abraham had seen many things in their lives. There is no doubt that Sarah did not just live. She really lived. Her life had been full of challenges. Just imagine what it must have been like to follow Abraham out of the comfort of the known and into the unknown. Through good times and bad, through successes and failures, Abraham had been one real adventurer. They walked with purpose toward a higher calling, always looking for that city whose builder and maker was Elohim.
After Sarah's burial and the time of mourning, it was time for Abraham to get on with life. After all, he is a young man, still in his early hundreds! His first task is to find a bride for his son Isaac. He sends his servant back to his family's village with specific instructions regarding this task. This week we read the story of the success of this journey and the new wife for Isaac. We also are introduced to a new person in the story. His name is Laban.
The words used to introduce Laban to us should not go unnoticed. Genesis 24:29 says, "When he saw the nose-ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists . . ." These words give us a clue into just what kind of man Laban is and what his motivation is in life. Laban had probably never seen four ounces of gold before, as this stranger had just given his sister. It appears that Laban's real motivation in life is Laban. He is concerned not about his sister, but about what he can get out of the deal. This will be proven further as we continue to meet him in the Book of Genesis. Laban is concerned about building his own kingdom, which is in direct contrast to Abraham, who is always concerned about building Yah's Kingdom.
This attitude of Laban is the same attitude we see Yeshua coming against with the scribes and the Pharisees. As we read through the chapters of Matthew this week, you can feel the frustration Yeshua must have felt. What is wrong with these people? They know the scriptures! They have been teaching of the coming Messiah! They know He will do the miracles Yeshua is doing. What is the problem?
The answer is really very simple. They had the same attitude as Laban. They were out for themselves. The religious leaders of the day had forgotten, if they ever knew in the first place, that they were placed in the positions of leadership by Yah, to build His Kingdom, not theirs. They began to look at the gold of this temporary world instead to the incorruptible gold of the Kingdom to come. Their greed for power and temporary riches would blind them to the point that they would actually crucify the very One they should have been worshipping and leading people to.
Anyone who has heard my teaching long has heard me my favorite quote from Will Rogers, "People change, but not much." (I still think this should have been in the Book of Proverbs.) From the time of Laban until the time of Yeshua, until today, people have changed, but not much. Many so-called religious people to this day are still looking to build the wrong kingdom. Too many are looking to the gold of the nose ring instead of to the preparation of the bride.
It is estimated that 25,000 people per month are leaving Christian churches. Why is this? Is it possibly because organized Christianity has become a religion about gold nose rings and man's kingdoms instead of building His Kingdom? To be fair, I dare say that much of the Messianic Movement has also adopted this same philosophy today. It has also fallen into the same trap of bigger is better, of personalities and funding a machine.
Each of us needs to examine our motives from time to time. We each need to ask ourselves why we do what we do. Do we serve others, regardless of what it costs us or what they can contribute? Do we buy expensive clothes to impress, to enhance our image? Could we dress just as well less expensively, and give the difference to the needy? Is filet mignon really better for us than chicken? What are our motives regarding "witnessing?" Is it for another notch in our spiritual holster, or because we truly care about the people and want them to know the awesome God we serve? What is our motivation regarding our lives of obedience to Torah? Yes, even this can be perverted into something about ourselves. Instead of living Torah out of love for Him, it can become centered in rebellion to what others are doing. We begin to live Torah to prove something instead of obedience out of love.
Let's face it, we all have the fallen nature which desires to look upon the nose rings and forget about the bride who is wearing them. In these last days, may HaShem keep us from the spirit of Laban and give us the spirit Abraham's servant possessed, a spirit of humbly knowing that life is not about us and our kingdom. Life is about Him and His Kingdom.
Shabbat Shalom,
Mike
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