3/15/2014 – Torah Insights – Passage: Genesis 21:1-3
Genesis 21:1-3 NKJV 1] And the LORD [YHWH] visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD [YHWH] did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2] For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3] And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him–whom Sarah bore to him–Isaac.
Important major life-changing truth is laid out before us …
If we apply this truth in our lives, we will live in peace without much stress no matter what happens in our lives.
KEY TRUTH TO EMPHASIZE: “As YHWH has spoken …”
If YHWH says it, It will certainly happen … Believe it and act upon it.
One of the greatest tragedies in our world today is that we pay more attention to WHAT PEOPLE SAY
RATHER THAN WHAT GOD SAYS …
Every action we take, especially those actions that are “public”, We are always asking, “What will people say”?
We are interested in what the columnist say in the newspaper …
We listen intently for “talk shows” …
We believe the reporters more than God …
We believe in the opinion of the talk show host more than God …
Scripture, on the other hand, emphasizes what YHWH says …
Genesis 21:1-3 recalls what YHWH had spoken to Abraham in the previous chapters:
Genesis 17:15-22 NKJV
15] Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16] And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” 17] Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18] And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” 19] Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac: I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.20] And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21] But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” 22] Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
In chapter 18 of Genesis, YHWH once again repeated His statements about Isaac:
Genesis 18:10-15 NKJV
10] And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah you wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11] Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12] Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” 13] And the LORD [YHWH] said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14] Is anything too hard for the LORD [YHWH]? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15] But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”What is our reaction to what YHWH says?
Like Abraham and Sarah, OUR reaction to what YHWH says is we laugh.
We say “impossible”. We do not believe …
Why is this? Because we have been trained to believe what others say and anything outside of our culture, we do not believe.
This is especially true with religious beliefs.
Think about your religion? How did you get into it?
By assimilation, right? You were born into it.
You were a little child when you were “baptized” … incapable of using your mind and thinking about it —
Think back to when you were a child … what were you taught?
Santa Claus … Superman … Batman … superheroes …
Fairy tales … lots of superstitious beliefs … The “boogie man” will get you … Friday the 13th is a bad day …
Even when we discover that these were fairy tales and not true what do we do? — We pass them on to our children as our parents did with us …
Our culture determines what we believe … it is passed on from one generation to another …
If one grew up in Communist China, what would he believe about God?
If one grew up in India, who would be their God?
If one grew up in the Philippines, who would be their God?
Question is who is right?
Proverbs 14:12 NKJV
12] There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.Proverbs 12:15 NKJV
15] The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.Proverbs 3:7 NKJV
7] Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD [YHWH] and depart from evil.Proverbs 16:25 NKJV
25] There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.We believe what we learned as children because it was the first thing that we were taught …
Proverbs 18:17 NKJV
17] The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him.The problem is we never bother to EXAMINE OUR BELIEFS …
We never bother to examine the EVIDENCE or lack of it …
We say “Basta, that is how we grew up and that is how we will die …”
This is not very smart or intelligent … this is a closed mind …
It would not be good to teach this close-minded attitude to our children …
We want our children to be “educated” to learn the truth …
Here is what Yeshua (Jesus) said to people who put man’s teaching /tradition above God’s word:
Matthew 15:1-9 NKJV (Yeshua’s words in red)
1] Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,
2] “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3] He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?
4] For God commanded, saying, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘HE WHO CURSES FATHER OR MOTHER, LET HIM BE PUT TO DEATH.’
5] But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”–
6] then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no ef ect by your tradition.
7] Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8] ‘THESE PEOPLE DRAW NEAR TO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HONOR ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME.
9] AND IN VAIN THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.’ “
Several things to note about this New Testament passage from Matthew:
1] Yeshua confirms that GOD IS THE ONE WHO COMMANDED “honor your father and mother” as found in Exodus 20:12. If these are God’s commands, then why do most people teach that these “old Testament” commandments are no longer in effect? Yeshua shows no hint of these commandments being replaced!
2] Yeshua quoted from the prophet Isaiah, proving that Yeshua had a very high regard for what we call “Old Testament.”
Isaiah 29:13-16 NKJV
13] Therefore the Lord said:“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But I have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward me is taught by the commandment of men, 14] Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.” 15] Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD [YHWH], And their works are in the dark; They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?” 16] Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
3] It is clear that worship of God [YHWH] is in vain if it is based on the teachings of men.
4] Here are some interesting facts about book of Isaiah from about.com
In summary, the message of Isaiah is that salvation comes from God—not man. God alone is Savior, Ruler and King.
Author of the Book of Isaiah: Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz.
Date Written: between (circa) 740-680 B.C.,
Therefore, even if Isaiah wrote his prophecy approximately 700 years before Yeshua was born, the fact that Yeshua was quoting it clearly says that YHWH’s words are still in effect. They never are made obsolete.
Yeshua confirmed that YHWH’s words are always in effect in an earlier chapter of Matthew where he gave us an important LIFE-PRINCIPLE in Matthew 4:4 as he quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3.
Matthew 4:4 NKJV
4] But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.’ “
It is amazing that the so-called followers of Yeshua do not abide by this great principle that their master quoted. Very few people even know what are the words that come our of the mouth of YHWH much less live by it …
Here is a nice film that summarizes this major truth: show video about center of Bible … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5qgHtIlD0w
Psalms 118:4-16 NKJV
4] Let those who fear the LORD [YHWH] now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 5] I called on the LORD [YHWH] in distress; The LORD [YHWH] answered me and set me in a broad place. 6] The LORD [YHWH] is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7] The LORD [YHWH] is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. 8] It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man. 9] It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in princes. 10] All nations surrounded me, But in the name of the LORD [YHWH] I will destroy them. 11] They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the LORD [YHWH] I will destroy them. 12] They surrounded me like bees; They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the LORD [YHWH] I will destroy them. 13] You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the LORD [YHWH] helped me. 14] The LORD [YHWH] is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. 15] The voice of rejoicing and salvation Is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD [YHWH] does valiantly. 16] The right hand of the LORD [YHWH] is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.KEY PRINCIPLE TO REMEMBER
It is better to trust YHWH’s words rather than man’s. His thoughts / ways are different from ours:
Isaiah 55:8-11 NKJV
8] “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD [YHWH] . 9] “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10] “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11] So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.APPLICATION TO US:
It is time that we examine our beliefs. What is the basis for them? God’s word or man’s.
While the world around us put their trust in man and man-made teachings, let us have the courage to believe and act upon the words that YHWH has given us through Scriptures (Old Testament). Yeshua, all his apostles, and all the writers of the “New Testament” believed in Scriptures (Old Testament) and it was their standard for evaluating all teaching.
Neither Yeshua nor his apostles ever read or quoted the “New Testament”, which was put together by the Roman Catholic church over 300 years AFTER the death of Yeshua.
The apostle Paul praised those in Berea as they searched the scriptures (Old Testament) daily to check if what Paul was teaching was in accordance to standard.
Acts 17:10-11 NKJV
10] Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11] These were more fair-minded than those in Thesalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
Side Note on Acts 17:10-11 – The Book of Acts depicts events that happened after Yeshua had supposedly risen from the dead and ascended into heaven. Notice that even the apostle Paul was going to the “synagogue of the Jews”. These synagogues are open only on Sabbath. These were the place of worship for the Jews before Yeshua was born and after he ascended into heaven.
Is your religious beliefs in line with Scriptures or are they in conflict with Scriptures?
Here are some encouraging promises from the Torah for those that observe carefully all of YHWH’s commandments:
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NKJV
1] “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD [YHWH] your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD [YHWH] your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2] And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD [YHWH] your God:Deuteronomy 29:9 NKJV
9] Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.If you have any comments or need clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Ricky Samson
soYsbg – “servant of YHWH saved by grace”
skype: rickysamson
email: help.others.ras@gmail.com