Genesis 50 – Fear
Genesis 50 Fear
Dear Family and Friends, thank God for the learning opportunities we have shared this past year. Our cycle of learning The Book of Genesis concludes today for 5781 FC (From Creation). I have enjoyed learning with each of you. It would be incredibly wonderful if we could continue learning together. Our new cycle for learning The Book of Genesis for 5782 FC begins today.
Israel dies and is buried in Canaan in the cave of Machpelah in the land of Canaan where Adam and Chavah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and his wife Leah were buried as he expressed to Joseph. (Genesis 47.30) shares Israel’s request to Joseph,’ I will lie with my fathers, and you shall carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place.’
(Genesis 50.12) says,’ his sons did to him according as he commanded them; For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying place of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.” After the burial of Israel, his descendants and other members of the burial party returned to Egypt.
Reality began to set in with Joseph’s half-brothers. (Genesis 50.15) informs us, ‘And when Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Joseph will perhaps hate us, and will certainly pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.” So what do they do? Joseph’s half-brothers concoct another lie. They plan another scheme. They gave Joseph and the impression they discussed The evil they perpetrated on Joseph. Genesis 50.16 – 19) discloses, ‘[Joseph’s half-brothers] sent a messenger to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded before he died.” He said, So shall you say to Joseph, Forgive, I beg you now, the trespass of your brothers, and their sin; for they did to you evil; and now, we beg you, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. And his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, Behold, we are your servants.’
Why did Joseph weep? Some suggest Joseph felt great emotion at the mention of his father’s name. Others indicate it was because Joseph avoided discussing how he ended up in Egypt with his father. He didn’t want to speak Loshon Hara, i.e., evil about his half brothers as he did prior. (Genesis 37.2) says, ‘Joseph brought an evil report to his father’ (Bereishit Rabba 87.3) when he was a youth. Joseph was a mature, righteous man and ruler in Egypt. He learned his lesson about speaking Loshon Hara, Even though it was true. He was not about to rat out his half-brothers for what they did to him. So when he heard the alleged comments supposedly made by his father, ‘they did evil to you; and now, we beg you, forgive their trespass,’ Joseph wept. He was saddened to learn his father was aware of his half-brother’s sins. When Joseph heard the unfortunate news, He did not retaliate. He did not mistreat his half-brothers, their wives, or young ones. Instead, he comforted and nourished them. (Genesis 50.19) says, ‘Joseph said to them, תִּירָאוּ Tee Raw Voo Fear not’ even though they intended to do evil to Joseph. God caused it to turn out good. Again Joseph tries to reassure his half-brothers. (Genesis 50.21) says, ‘Now, therefore [regardless of the evil you intended] תִּירָאוּ Tee Raw Voo Fear not; I will nourish you, and your little ones and he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.’
Fear is the heart of the issue.
Joseph’s half-brothers feared. Fear is real. We do things because we fear. We don’t do something because we fear. Fear is common to everyone. Abraham feared! (Genesis 15.1) teaches us that, ‘The Word of The Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am your shield אַל־תִּירָא אַבְרָם Aw Tee Raw – Abram, means ‘Fear, not Abram’ or ‘Do not fear Abram.’ Abraham chose to trust in Ha Torah over fear. That is precisely what we should be trying to do. תּוֹרָה Torah and תִּירָא Tee Raw ‘Fear’ are both the Gematria of 611. Adam, the first man, hid from the Lord. (Genesis 3.10) says, ‘[Adam] said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid.’
Joseph’s goal was to alleviate his half-brother’s fears, so he immediately responded. ‘I will nourish you and your little ones.’
There is one theme of my teaching and one goal that I try to focus on all the time. I encourage my study partners to read Ha Torah, listen to Ha Torah, study Ha Torah, learn Ha Torah, memorize Ha Torah, and observe Ha Torah because Ha Torah is the answer to everything. Ha Torah is The Word of God. Ha Torah is the revelation of The Observances in God’s Word. (Mishna Nezkin Avot 1.1) says, ‘Moses received the Torah from Sinai and handed it down to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets delivered it to the men of the Great Synagogue.’ (Michah 4.1) Informs us, ‘In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow to it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in his paths; for Torah shall go forth from Zion and The Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.’
(Exodus 24.7) says, ‘[Moses] took סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית Safer Ha Bih Reet’ The Book of The Covenant,’ i.e., Ha Torahand read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, All that the Lord has Said will we do, and obey.’
(Genesis 9.12) ‘God said, This is the sign of הַבְּרִית Ha Bih Reet – ‘the covenant’ which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for everlasting generations.’ Is anyone fearful of the entire world being flooded completely again, like in the days of Noah? Probably not. Why? In Noah’s day, there was ample warning the world’s residents didn’t heed. The Ark was provided for those who trusted the Word of the Lord. Our Ark is Ha Torah. Our shield is the words written in Ha Torah. The Everlasting Covenant God M ade with all living beings is only recorded in Ha Torah. Study Partners, our discussion concludes our cycle of learning The Book of Genesis together for 5781 FC (From Creation). Would you please join us as we begin a new learning cycle for 5782 FC?
Gematria 617
Fear תִּירָאוּ Tee Raw Voo is countered by trust in the הַבְּרִית Ha Bih Reet – ‘the covenant’ between God our Creator, Blessed is His Holy Name and The People of Israel as recorded in Ha Torah.
May we labor in learning the good, pure, and rich Words flowing freely from Ha Torah.
Dr. Akiva Gamliel Belk
JewishPath.Org
http://www.jewishpath.org/bookpage.html
