“Deborah’s Drash”
“Sitting at the feet of
Yeshua”
A Study in
Messianic Jews/Hebrews 11 –The Faith Chapter
Torah and Haftarah and
Brit Hadasha Readings (For those who study Torah)
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Collosians
1:4 Amplified Translation
4 For
we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [the leaning of your entire human
personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and
goodness] and of the love which you [have and show] for all the saints (God’s
consecrated ones),[2]
Quote Of The Day:
Everyman’s
Talmud
“We are
informed that “men of faith” were highly esteemed in Israel. They were men who placed implicit trust in
God at all times and in all circumstances.
The fact was deplored that since the Temple was destroyed, men of faith
have ceased (Sot ix,12) What was understood by such faith may be gathered from
the remark “Whoever has a morsal of bread in his basket and say “What shall I
eat tomorrow?” belongs only to those who are small of faith.” (Sot 48b)
Deborah’s Drash Commentary:
Faith that looked forward not backward
Hebrews 11:20-22
20
[With eyes
of] faith Isaac, looking far into the future, invoked blessings upon Jacob and
Esau. [Gen. 27:27–29, 39, 40].
27 So he came close and kissed him; and when
he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said,
“See, the smell of
my son
Is like the smell
of a field which the Lord has
blessed;
28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,
And of the fatness
of the earth,
And an abundance of
grain and new wine;
29 May peoples serve you,
And nations bow
down to you;
Be master of your
brothers,
And may your
mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who
curse you,
And blessed be
those who bless you.”[3]
21
[Prompted]
by faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in
prayer over the top of his staff. [Gen. 48].
Genesis/Bereshit 48
1 Now it came about after these things that Joseph
was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and
Ephraim with him.
2 When
it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel
collected his strength and sat up in the bed.
3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at
Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me,
4 and
He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make
you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you
for an everlasting possession.’
5 “Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt
before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as
Reuben and Simeon are.
6 “But
your offspring that have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their
inheritance.
7 “Now
as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died, to my sorrow, in the land of
Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and
I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?”
9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom
God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless
them.”
10 Now
the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see.
Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
11 Israel
said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me
see your children as well.”
12 Then
Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground.
13 Joseph
took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh
with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him.
14 But Israel stretched out his right
hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand
on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn.
15 He
blessed Joseph, and said,
“The God before
whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has
been my shepherd all my life to this day,
16 The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
And may my name
live on in them,
And the names of my
fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And may they grow
into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father
laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s
hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.
18 Joseph
said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place
your right hand on his head.”
19 But
his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a
people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater
than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
20 He
blessed them that day, saying,
“By you
Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,
‘May God
make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’ ”
Thus he put
Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Then
Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you,
and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
22
“I give you one
portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with
my sword and my bow.”[4]
Ephrahim’s Name means -669 – Hebrew 669 'Ephrayim ef-rah'-yim
dual of masculine form of 672;
double fruit; Ephrajim, a son of Joseph; also the tribe descended from him, and
its territory:--Ephraim, Ephraimites.
Manasseh’s Name means 4519 –
Hebrew 4519 Mnashsheh men-ash-sheh'
from 5382; causing to forget;
Menashsheh, a grandson of Jacob, also the tribe descended from him, and its
territory:--Manasseh.
Alfred Edersheim – Bible History
Before settling him in
Goshen, Joseph presented his father to Pharaoh, who received him with the
courtesy of an Eastern monarch, and the respect which the sight of age, far
exceeding the ordinary term of life in Egypt, would ensure. In acknowledgment
of Pharaoh’s kindness, “Jacob blessed” him; and in answer to the question about
his age, compared “the days of the years” of his own “pilgrimage” with
those of his fathers. Abraham had lived one hundred and seventy-five, Isaac one
hundred and eighty years; while Jacob was at the age of only one hundred and
thirty, apprehending the approach of death. Compared to theirs, his days had
not only been “few” but “evil,” full of trial, sorrow, and care, ever since his
flight from his father’s house. Yet, however differing in outward events,
the essential character of their lives was the same. His and theirs were
equally a “pilgrimage.” For, “these all died in faith, not having received the
promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the
earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country,
… a better country, that is, an-heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called
their God: for He hath prepared for them a city.” And in such wise also must
each of our lives, whatever its outward history, be to us only a “pilgrimage.”
But seventeen more years
were granted to Israel in his quiet retirement of Goshen. Feeling that now the
time of his departure had really come, he sent for Joseph. It was not to
express weak regrets, nor even primarily to take such loving farewell as, under
such circumstances, might be proper and fitting. Israel, as he is here again
characteristically named, was preparing for another great act of faith.
On his dying bed, he still held fast by the promises of God concerning the
possession of Canaan, and all that was connected with it; and he exacted an
oath from his son to bury him with his fathers, in the cave of Machpelah.
Having obtained this solemn promise, it is said, “he bowed himself in worship
over the head of the bed.”
One thing still remained
to be done. As yet the sons of Joseph had not been formally adopted into the
family of Israel. But the two oldest of them, Manasseh and Ephraim, were to
become heads of separate tribes; for Joseph was to have this right of the
firstborn—two portions in Israel. Therefore, when, shortly after his
interview with his father, Joseph was informed that the last fatal sickness
had come upon him, he hastened to bring his two sons that they might be
installed as co-heirs with the other sons of Jacob. In this Joseph signally
showed his faith. Instead of seeking for his sons the honours which the court
of Egypt offered them, he distinctly renounced all, to share the lot of the
despised shepherd race. For the first time we here find the blessing
accompanied with the laying on of hands. But Jacob’s eyes were dim, and
when Joseph had brought his two sons close to his father, placing Manasseh, as
the eldest, to his father’s right hand, and Ephraim, as the younger, to his
left, he ascribed it to failure of sight when Israel crossed his hands, laying
the right on Ephraim and the left on Manasseh. But Jacob had been “guiding his
hands wittingly.” In fact, he had done it prophetically. The event
proved the truth of this prophecy. At the time of Moses, indeed, Manasseh still
counted twenty thousand men more than Ephraim. But this comparative
relationship was reversed in the days of the Judges; and ever afterwards
Ephraim continued, next to Judah, the most powerful tribe in Israel. What,
however, chiefly impresses us is, to see how intensely all the feelings,
remembrances, and views of the dying man are intertwined with his religion. No
longer does he cherish any hard thoughts about his “evil” days in the past. His
memory of former days is now only of the gentleness and the goodness of God,
Who had led him all through his pilgrimage. His feelings come out most fully in
the words of blessing which he spake: “The God, before Whose face walked my
fathers, Abraham and Isaac; the God Who pastured me from my existence on unto
this day; the Angel Who redeemed
me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name, and the name of my fathers,
Abraham and Isaac, be named upon them, and let them increase to a multitude in
the midst of the land.” In this threefold reference to God as the covenant-God,
the Shepherd and the Angel-Redeemer, we have a distinct anticipation of the
truth concerning the blessed Trinity.
The blessing having been
spoken, “Jacob gave to his son Joseph,” as a special gift, “that parcel of
ground” by Sychar, the ancient Shechem, which he had originally bought of “the
children of Heth;” but which, as he prophesied, he—that is, his
descendants—would have to take again with sword and bow out of the hand of the
Amorite. In this possession of Joseph, many centuries later, rested the
Redeemer-Shepherd, when, even in His weariness, He called and pastured His
flock. But as for Jacob, the last assurance which he gave to his son was
emphatically to repeat this confession of his faith: “Behold, I die: but God
shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.” For men
pass away, but the word and purpose of the Lord abide for ever! :[5]
23
[Actuated] by faith Joseph, when nearing the
end of his life, referred to [the promise of God for] the departure of the
Israelites out of Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his own
bones. [Gen. 50:24, 25; Exod. 13:19].[6]
Genesis
20:24-25
24 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to
die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to
the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.”
25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying,
“God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.”[7]
Exodus 13:10
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the
sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and
you shall carry my bones from here with you.”[8]
These men by faith
called those things which be not as though they were. They spoke blessings by faith over their children fully expecting
what they confessed would come to pass…..
Joseph knew that Israel would enter the promised land and made them
promise to bury his bones there, he spoke it by faith and it was done. Are we keeping His Words before our eyes,
His promises for our future? These men
of faith did, what they spoke and believed in their heart was more real to them
then what they saw with their natural eyes, because through the eyes of faith
they looked forward to the promises of Yahweh.
Hebrews
11:1 Now faith is the
assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.[9]
“Genesis 48:18; As foretold, outwardly, the Ephraimites became
“goyim” they became “foreigners” or “Gentiles”. In “The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim wrote,
“The great mass of the ten tribes was in the days of Messiah, as in our own,
lost to the Hebrew nation” Edersheim calls them: “Those wanderers of the ten
tribes who’s trackless footsteps seem as mysterious as their after fate.” In his study of rabbinical thought regarding
the lost tribes, he concludes: As regards the ten tribes there is this truth
underlying…that, as their persistent apostasy from the God of Israel and His
worship had cut them off from His people, so the fulfillment of the Divine
promise to them in the latter days would imply, as it were a second birth to
make them once more Israel.”[10]
O House
Of Ephraim Israel
And house of Judah…
The Father called your name
A green olive tree, beautiful in fruit
And form. But because of
your sins, He
Pronounced evil against you.
Yet take heart,
O house of Israel, take heart O house of Judah, for
The Father has promised: “It will come about after I
Have uprooted and scattered them, after some have become like
Degenerate, foreign vines, then My compassions will again be
Kindled and I will re-gather them. I will bring them back, each
One to his own inheritance, each one to his own land. Yes this is
My promise to them. For
these two olive branches are My
Two chosen witnesses. And I will grant authority to them
For they are the two sons of fresh oil who are
Standing by the LORD of all the earth.
Jeremiah 2:18-21
Jeremiah 11:10,16
Hosea 1-2
Zechariah 4:11-14
Revelation 11:3-4
Are we speaking
blessings over our children, are we prophesying over their future that they
will be like Ephrahim and Manasseh, faithful to the G-d of Israel? It doesn’t matter what things may look like,
are we speaking the blessings that we want to come to pass in our children’s
lives or are we confessing curses upon them by speaking negatively instead of praying
the Word.
Every Shabbat we have an
opportunity to lay hand and speak blessings over our children with these
words….
May you be
like Ephrahim and Manaesseh Who, even
though they were raise in Egypt never forgot the G-d of Israel. May the Lord
bless you and keep you, May the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be
gracious unto you. The Lord turn His
face toward you and give you peace. SO
you will put HIS name upon the Children
of Israel; that HE will bless you. May
the Spirit of the Lord rest upon you , the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of Counsel and of power the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the
L-rd, and may you delight in the fear of the Lord.
(For the
girls) May you be like Sarah and Rachel and Leah and Ruth, who raised their
children to know the one true GOD..
There is power in
blessing our children and prophesying over them regarding their future role in
the Kingdom of Messiah. Are we looking
far into the future with the eyes of faith and seeing our children becoming
great and mighty one’s of Israel for the glory of G-d? We should!
When Isaac and
Jacob/Israel pronounced the blessing, it could not be taken back, that is how
powerful their words were and the faith that was behind it. Once they spoke the wheels were already set
it motion for the blessing to come to pass, not matter how long it would take,
when they spoke they considered it done because they were confessing what
Yahweh had promised them according to the Covenant.
Our words, what we speak
over our children are powerful. If we
really got a hold of that truth in our spirits we would be very careful about
what we speak over them. Are we
speaking faith filled words over them and are we speaking blessings over our
children?
What does it mean to bless?
Bless according to Noah
Websters Dictionary
BLESS, v.t. pret. and ppr. blessed or
blest.
1. To pronounce a wish of
happiness to one; to express a wish or desire of happiness.
And Isaac called Jacob and blessed
him. Gen 28.
2. To make happy; to make
successful; to prosper in temporal concerns; as, we are blest with peace and
plenty.
The Lord thy God shall bless thee
in all thou doest. Deu 15.
3. To make happy in a future life.
Blessed are the dead who die in
the Lord. Rev 14.
4. To set apart or consecrate to
holy purposes; to make and pronounce holy.
And God blessed the seventh day
and sanctified it. Gen 2
5. To consecrate by prayer; to
invoke a blessing upon.
And Jesus took the five loaves and
the two fishes, and looking up to heaven he blessed them. Luke 9.
6. To praise; to glorify, for
benefits received.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all
that is within me. Psa 103.
7. To praise; to magnify; to
extol, for excellencies. Psa 104.
8. To esteem or account happy;
with the reciprocal pronoun.
The nations shall bless themselves
in him. Jer 4.
9. To pronounce a solemn
prophetical benediction upon. Gen 27. Deu 33.
10. In this line of Spenser, it
may signify to throw, for this is nearly the primary sense.
His sparkling blade about his head
he blest.
Johnson supposes the word to
signify to wave or brandish, and to have received this sense from the old rite
of blessing a field, by directing the hands to all parts of it.
Bless in Spenser for bliss, may be
so written, not for rhyme merely, but because bless and bliss are from the same
root.
Blessing according to
Noah Websters Dictionary
BLESS'ING, ppr. Making happy; wishing
happiness to; praising or extolling; consecrating by prayer.
BLESS'ING,n. Benediction; a wish of
happiness pronounced; a prayer imploring happiness upon another.
1. A solemn prophetic benediction,
in which happiness is desired, invoked or foretold.
This is the blessing wherewith
Moses--blessed the children of Israel. Deu 33.
2. Any means of happiness; a
gift,benefit or advantage;that which promotes temporal prosperity and welfare,
or secures immortal felicity. A just and pious magistrate is a public blessing.
The divine favor is the greatest blessing.
3. Among the Jews,a present; a
gift; either because it was attended with kind wishes for the welfare of the
giver, or because it was the means of increasing happiness.
Take, I pray thee, my blessing
that is brought to thee. Gen 33.
2Co 4:13
We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I
believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
Bonus: Prayers of The Bible – Prayers From The Life
of Yeshua
Torah Nuggets:[i]
Click
link for
Torah Portion Teaching:
Messianic
Israel Ministries Torah Study
Halacha – The Way One Walks or Goes- Derived from
the Hebrew word “Halakh” which means “To Walk”. The Way to follow the Torah/Word of God.
In this weeks Torah Portion, what is God
saying to me today about my walk with Him?
How can I apply this Torah Portion with
my walk with Yeshua this week?
Bible Study Nuggets From Daily Bible Reading:
Golden Nuggets From Gods Word: (Write the
Revelations and Insights you have received from Him today)
Word from the Lord (Write out verse,
quote or anything that was spoken to you by the Ruach HaKodesh/The Holy Spirit.
Today I
will…. (write down how you will apply what the Lord has spoken to your heart
through His Holy Word to your daily walk with Him in your Journal.)
Worship Time - Psalm 100:4
“I will adore you Adonai” Put in your favorite Worship CD or Tape and Praise
Adonai-See Amidah #1-4 Below and Shema
Waiting Time - Psalm
62:5 – I will wait in Your presence and surrender my thoughts to you! Clear
your mind of the clutter and focus on Ha Shem.
See below for Personal Word Confessions to build up your Faith and
Spirit and to plant the Word in Your Heart
Intercession Time –Ezekial
22:30-31 I will stand in the Gap for
the world and for others as Yeshua is doing for us as our High Priest at the
right hand of The Father
31 Day Cycle of Prayer for the World…(Use a
World Atlas to help you pray for the World)
Today’s Countries to Pray for are:
Click Here For Map of World and Countries
*Daily Prayer Reminders: See
Amidah #11-12, 14-17 Below
1 Timothy 2:1 1 First
of all, then, I counsel that petitions, prayers, intercessions and
thanksgivings be made for all human beings, 2 Including kings and
all in positions of prominence; so that we may lead quiet and peaceful lives,
being godly and upright in everything. 3 This is what God, our
deliverer, regards as good; this is what meets his approval.[11]
President,
Government Leaders, Family, Friends, Church, Ministers, Spouse, Children,
Ministries, Schools, Salvation, Missions, World Revival – See 40 Day Prayer
Focus Below
Petition Time – My Abba
Father hears me when I pray and answers when I pray in faith/trust and
according to His Word. Write down personal petitions for today. See Amidah #7-8 Below
Watching
Time – Colossians 4:2a – I will
keep watch in the spirit and be alert to what & who I need to pray
for. See
Amdiah #13
Prayer Alert: Today
Adonai has specifically laid these people upon my heart to pray for: Write it
down in your Prayer Journal
Listening Time: Psalm
85:8 Write down what Ruach HaKodesh/The Holy Spirit has revealed to you today
in Prayer.
Praise, Waiting, Confession, Singing,
Watching, Intercession, Petition, Thanksgiving, Devotions, Meditation,
Listening and Praise
Suggested Prayer
Books: Prayer’s That Avail Much Volumes
1,2 and 3 by Germain Copeland[ii] and The Artscroll Seder Series[iii].
Click on
the Links for Daily Prayer and Bible Study helps
Torah/Bible
Study Helps
Lots and Lots of Study Helps, Concordances,
Commentaries, Various Translations Etc.
First
Century Judaism/Christianity
Eddie Chumney’s Hebrew Roots Website
The Sabbath and
Biblical Festivals
Learn about the Sabbath and Feasts of YHWH
Eddie Chumney’s Hebrew Roots Website
Learn about the Tabernacle
Eddie Chumney’s Hebrew Roots Website
Recommended Reading For Further Study
Messiah Volume 1, 2 and 3 Avi Ben Mordachi
http://www.millennium7000.com/
Restoring the Two Houses of Israel- Eddie Chumney
The Feasts of Messiah – Eddie Chumney
Who is The Bride of Christ-Eddie Chumney
Who is Israel – Angus and Batya Wooten
Restoring Israels Kingdom – Angus and Batya Wooten
First Fruits of Zion – Torah Club Volume 1,2,3, 4
and 5
Prayer Helps
Shemoneh
Esreh-Amidah and Ha Adonai Tefillah/The Lords Prayer
Traditional
Jewish Prayers and Blessings
(Jewish
Website by D’vorah, Click here for more insights into Jewish Prayer)
(Daily
Petitions to Yahweh)
(to
build up your faith)
Who I am In Messiah
Scriptures
(What
Yeshua did for you)
Click Here
to Return to Index Page
Lots more to See and Read !
Baruch HaShem Adonai –
Shalom B’Shem Yeshua Ha Mashiach
Deborah
All Rights Reserved ã2003-2004/5764-5765 Deborah’s Messianic
Ministries/Debra E. Brandt
[1] An excellent Torah Devotional is the Walk Series, Walk Genesis, Walk Exodus, Walk Leviticus, Walk Number, Walk Deuteronomy , by Jeffery Enoch Feinberg, PHD by Lederer Books, a division of Messianic Jewish Publishers. Easy to read, with Hebrew nuggets, and illustrations. Also FFOZ Torah Club is a more detailed study, and worth enrolling for.
[2]The Amplified New Testament, (La Habra CA: The Lockman
Foundation) 1999.
[3]The New American Standard
Bible, 1995 Update, (La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation) 1996.
[4]The New American Standard
Bible, 1995 Update, (La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation) 1996.
[5]Edersheim, Alfred, Bible
History: Old Testament, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)
1998.
[6]The Amplified New Testament, (La Habra CA: The Lockman
Foundation) 1999.
[7]The New American Standard
Bible, 1995 Update, (La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation) 1996.
[8]The New American Standard
Bible, 1995 Update, (La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation) 1996.