Parashat Lech Lecha 5765/2004
EJD
The weekly reading for the week of 8 Heshvan, 5765 - October 23, 2004 Parashah: Lech Lecha Genesis 12:1 to 17:27; Haftarah: Isaiah 40:27 to 41:16; Mei Kituvim: 2 Chronicles 14:1-15; 15:1-8; Brit Chadashah: 2 Corinthians 11:16-33: 12:1-10
The Bagel: Odds are. When it comes to the activities of Elohim there are usually odds stacked against that activity. "Odds are 4 to 1 that you'll lose!" becomes a calculation of outcome. "Odds are" can determine if an activity should even be attempted. The readings speak of the odds in several different and difficult situations. Elohim has to be factored into such equations when there is clear mandate from Scripture for a given course of action.
Torah:
Genesis 12:1 to 17:27. In Parashat Lech Lecha, the remarkable life of Abraham commences with odds stacked against him. The command "Lech Lecha" "Get going!" entailed great risk. Abraham had to pull up stakes and go to an uncertain place. Odds are that he wouldn't make it. The highwaymen would rob and kill his small band of a family. He did get there, because of the "Elohim" factor.
Odds are that he wouldn't make it in the not-so-fruitful highlands in chapter thirteen. He shouldv'e chosen the lush valley of Sodom like Lot. But his herds enlarged and he prospered. He chose Adonay and was blessed in turn in spite of the odds.
5 to 1 were the odds in chapter fourteen. The five kings came and beat the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah in battle. It was one Abraham against five kings and Abraham chased after them to save his nephew Lot. It would be interesting to know the size of each of the five kings' armies. We don't know, but we do know the size of Abraham's fighting force - 318 men. Odds are that such a small attack force should fail miserably. Abraham and Lot should've been forcibly returned to their homeland of Ur by the five kings. But G-d! Abraham didn't wager, but he did thank G-d by paying the tithe of the spoils to Malki-Zedek, a priest of El-Elyon.
Odds are that Abraham couldn't keep his side of the covenant in Genesis 15. The covenant of the Brit-bin-Ha B'tarim (the Covenant of (Severed) Pieces) should've failed just like the covenant of the Torah failed. It was the party that agreed to the covenant of the Torah that failed to live up to its requirements. It looked like this was going to happen when Abraham severed the animals and made a pathway between them so he and Adonay could walk between those animals and complete the covenant-making process. But G-d put a deep sleep upon Abraham and walked in the midst of the pieces alone. There are no odds stacked against this covenant, Elohim will never fail to uphold the terms of the covenant. This is why Am Yisrael Chai, the people of Israel live!
The odds were not in favor of Hagar and Ishmael. G-d wasn't in that equation. Nevertheless, G-d did intervene because of the mistreatment of Hagar by Sarah. The Hagar equation should never have existed. But the odds were stacked against the fulfillment of G-d's promise of a child through Sarah in the minds of Abraham and Sarah. They grew impatient with the promise. The odds were impossible. Sarah simply couldn't have children. Odds were zero to infinity that they could produce a child in their physical condition. They shouldv'e calculated more carefully the "Elohim" factor in the equation. Adonay had to hand Abraham the correct formula in Genesis 17:19 "You will have a son through Sarah" when Abraham insisted on turning the Ishmael equation into the Isaac solution.
Haftarah:
Isaiah 40:27 to 41:16. In the Haftarah reading, there is a suggestion that Israel (Jacob) has the odds stacked against it. Odds are that the nations where the Jews would be scattered would destroy them. Odds are that Israel will cease to exist. Indeed, there were such wagers in history. Hitler had his own version of the odds. His equation threw out G-d and brought in Satan. Odds are that the "Final Solution" shouldv'e worked. But Elohim was not in that equation. Instead, in just a mere three years after the demise of that equation on May 8th, 1945, the Jewish people resurrected their ancient homeland on May 15th, 1948. G-d was in that equation. Check out Ezekiel chapter 37 to verify that. It is really quite a simple formula: "For I the LORD am your God, Who grasped your right hand, Who say to you: Have no fear; I will be your help" (Isaiah 41:13.Tanakh JPS). Odds are very good indeed!
Mei Kituvim:
2 Chronicles 14:1-15; 15:1-8. In the reading of the Kituvim, is a literal ratio. It was a 2 to 1 odds that the Ethiopian forces would crush Judah/Benjamin under the leadership of King Asa. The surrounding nations probably didn't like Asa's non-conformist reforms for Judah. He destroyed the Bamot in the land. A Bamah (Bamot is plural) is an idol platform, a high place where an image could be set up and worshipped. It was unpopular for Asa to censure this form of worship. All other nations were doing it. "Everybody does it!" was the slogan in those days. Everyone thought it was cool to have a place to properly worship the various national deities. But using computer jargon, Asa uninstalled Baal 5.1 and reinstalled Heavenly Windows Yod-Yod.*
Because Asa took an unpopular stance meant that Judah/Benjamin would have to go it alone. Odds are that some nation will conquer them and restore the popular deities. Sure enough, Zerah started from far away, from the head waters of the Nile. He scooped up more and more mercenary troops as he went along. Perhaps, he got a lot of warriors from the Egyptians as a concession on their part, so that Zerah could pass through and bother some other country instead of Egypt. By the time Zerah arrived at Mareshah, the doorstep of Judah/Benjamin, a million troops had been amassed. Judah/Benjamin could only muster .58 million (did you see the decimal point that's about ½ million), which was a two-to-one odds in favor of Zerah. The "Elohim factor" was added to Asa's equation and the result was that the Ethiopian army was defeated overwhelmingly by the aegis of Adonay. It was, in election lexica, a "landslide victory" for Asa. How the equation changes when G-d is in the formula!
Brit Chadashah:
2 Corinthians 11:16-33: 12:1-10. When we get to the Brit Chadashah, a rather unusual version of the G-d equation emerges. Odds are that a very saintly man who has suffered greatly and is hindered in his work by a debilitating illness should have his pleading prayers answered. But G-d was not in that equation. He said "No!" Adonay had another formula in view. He handed him another equation: "My grace (Chesed) is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness!" (from 2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul calculated the odds and said " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of the Messiah may dwell in me" (12:9b NASB adapted). Odds are extremely good that those who call upon Yeshua to be their Goel, their Redeemer, that they will find forgiveness and a home in heaven. They will also find strength to live out this formula of suffering and finding grace and help in time of need.
Cream Cheese:Odds are infinite to zero that the soul that trusts in Yeshua will be saved. The ratio is Yeshua = infinite vs. sin = zero.
* Yod is a Hebrew letter that when doubled forms an acrostic for Adonay, the sacred Tetragrammaton (Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey). No endorsement positive or negative of any software product is intended by this pun.
The weekly reading for the week of 8 Heshvan, 5765 - October 23, 2004 Parashah: Lech Lecha Genesis 12:1 to 17:27; Haftarah: Isaiah 40:27 to 41:16; Mei Kituvim: 2 Chronicles 14:1-15; 15:1-8; Brit Chadashah: 2 Corinthians 11:16-33: 12:1-10
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