Breisheit
Genesis 1:1 - 6:8

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

      Here we are once again. This past Thursday evening we celebrated Simchat Torah. We rolled the Torah back to the beginning and today our Torah portion is Breisheit - “in the beginning”.   While the book of Genesis is the “book of beginnings”, the theme of the book is the uniqueness of God.   The book is written to the second generation of Israelites in the wilderness. Moses describes for them the nature and character of God. He also describes the calling of Israel . This was necessary for them as they were about to enter the land of Canaan . The book of Genesis gives them an understanding of the power of God, his care for his people and a moral justification for entering the land of Canaan .

     The creation account encouraged the people then (and now) that the God of Israel is not one among many but the one and only. Other nations understood the sun, moon and stars to be gods. Genesis 1-2 explains that the God of Israel created  the sun, moon and stars.  Most of us do not appreciate the uniqueness of this belief. At the time of the composition of Genesis, there was no known belief in one God as the creator of everything. Today the “three great world religions” believe in one God. The beliefs of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all based on the revelation of the God of Israel.

     Rashi asked why the Torah begins with creation rather than with the beginning of the   commands. The answer given is that if the Jewish people are challenged with their living in the land of Israel , they can say that the creator of the universe gave it to them. When the children of Israel entered Canaan they knew that it was the creator of the universe who was guiding them.  We take for granted that our understanding of God is that He is the King of the universe. As I said, thousands of years ago, this was a new concept. 

     Many Jewish prayers begin with “Blessed are you O Lord our God King of the Universe…”  This helps us to remember whom we are addressing every time we pray.  We should treat Him with respect and awe.  This means that we must always make sure that we are not worshipping “other gods” and that we are living holy lives.  It also reminds us that the whole world is accountable to God.  He is not only the God of believers - but of every human being.  This should motivate us to be telling people of the need for the Messiah. Yes, he is the God of Israel. but Israel is called to be a light to the nations.   In fact this week’s Torah portion records the first messianic promise.  It is the promise of a savior for the world. Later in Genesis, God calls out Abraham and his descendants to be a blessing to the nations.   God desires that his creation be blessed. This also is unique about the God of Israel.  In the ancient world, people viewed their gods as needing to be appeased. They were afraid of their gods. The Bible is clear that God created man in his own image and likeness and desires to bless us.  Therefore we understand that God is benevolent. Today’s haftorah portion makes this very point:

    Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it,  ⁶ "I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,  ⁷ To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.  ⁸ "I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images. (Isaiah 42:5-8).  "You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. (Isaiah 43:10).

 We see quite clearly in the haftorah that God is the one and only; that He has called out Israel to proclaim this truth to the nations - because the nations are accountable to God.  He also says here that he “watches over the nation”. He cares about people. By the same token, the church is called to bring the message o salvation back to the Jewish people. Since there is only one god and one Messiah, the Jewish people need to understand that Yeshua is the promised Messiah. Romans 11:11 says that believers are to make Israel jealous for the good news. We look forward to the day when all of the nations will come to Jerusalem and worship the king the Lord o Hosts.  The bible says in that day     And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.(Zech. 14:9)

     May the reminder of God being the creator of everything cause us to walk in holiness; to remember that our God is all powerful and that He loves all people very much   - so much that He has provided a Messiah to give us salvation.  May God bless you as you remember these great truths. Shabbat shalom!