Vayeitzei (and he departed)
Gen. 28:10 - 32:3=
Haftorah for Today
Hosea 11:7 - 14:10
=
T=
here is
an old song that many people know called Stairway
to Heaven. The song is an appeal to look beyond materialism to an easte=
rn
form of religion that will ultimately unify the mind and the world. According to the song, the real “stairway
to Heaven” is a new way of thinking in which, as the song says…=
There walks a lady we all know Who shi=
nes
white light and wants to show How everything still turns to gold And if you
listen very hard The tune will come to you at last When all are one and one=
is
all.
<=
o:p>
<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The “stairway to
Heaven” seems to be defined as the road to peace, satisfaction and tranquillity
. To some, this is found in a rejection of materialism =
and an
embracing of a “higher consciousness.” There are those =
who
say that =
climbing
a beautiful mountain is considered to be a stairway to heaven. Other people
have said that “the stars are your stairway to heaven”.
<=
o:p>
<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Our Torah portio=
n for
this week, talks about a stairway to heaven. Jacob escapes the wrath of his bro=
ther
Esau. He is told
to go to Haran
and to find a wife there. Haran is located =
outside
of the land of promise - a faraway place where Jacob had never been. If you=
put
yourself for a moment in the shoes of Jacob, you would find yourself in a s=
cary
place. Running for your life;=
being
separated from your family and headed for land in which you know no one. This is the situation at the begin=
ning
of the portion. We read that when Jacob left his home he traveled all day, =
then found a spot to sleep. We read that while sleeping he has
a dream of a stairway to heaven=
on
which angels were going up and down. In the dream God is standing at the to=
p of
the stairs reiterating the promise that he had had made to Abraham and Isaac
about the land the seed and the blessing.&=
nbsp;
Jacob understood that the stairway to heaven with angels going up and
down from heaven to earth and back again, with God standing at the top was a
sign of God’s protection - despite his actions - and that he would in=
deed
return home again and inherit the covenant blessings. It was the will of Go=
d.
<=
o:p>
<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The Haftorah builds on this theme, retracing the sins of =
the
nation back to Jacob. And jus=
t as
God promised that Jacob would inherit the covenant, in Hosea he promises th=
at
even though the nation is in sin, God would forgive them when they repent a=
nd
then finally fulfill the covenant promises to the children of Israel.=
He says, I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, For My anger has tu=
rned
away from them. (Hos. 14:4). He is the “stairway to
heaven”.
<=
o:p>
<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> When we turn to =
the
New Covenant, we read of the final, indispensable and most important aspect of the
true, stairway to heaven. Yeshua Himself is the Stairway to Heaven. In the
Gospel of John we read, And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to yo=
u,
you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and
descending on the Son of Man."
Yeshua identifies Himself as the ladder in Jacob’s dream. He is the only way from earth to H=
eaven.
He is the only way from the promise to its fulfillment. Today the belief in
angels is very popular. Many =
people
believe in guardian angels and other types of angelic beings. It is true th=
at they
exist and that they certainly play a role in the spirituality of human bein=
gs.
However, it is the repentance of people and the forgiveness of God are necessary in the relationship of mankind with God.
Without repentance&nbs=
p;
it is impossible to relate to God. Angelic beings cannot =
secure
salvation for people. Angelic beings do not assure salvation from
sin. The tr=
ue
stairway to heaven is Yeshua Himself. In Him is forgiveness. He is the brid=
ge;
He is the stairway. We must not assume that knowing about him is enough. We
must trust in Him alone. He says in John 14:6 "I am the way, and the
truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” Literal=
ly
he is saying that he is the “highway” to heaven. The point is the same. He is the stairway or highway to h=
eaven
because he is the truth and in Him is life. We must identify with Him to appro=
priate
the promises of God. When we
identify with him, we confess our sins and realize that it is His righteous
life and nature that transport us to the presence of God. There are many roads to take in li=
fe but
only one leads to satisfaction in life and to heaven. It is the road of t=
he
Messiah. if you receive Him today you will be on=
the
road. Finally Isaiah describes it this way in 35:8. And a highway will be there, a roadway, And it
will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, =
But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools w=
ill
not wander on it. No lion wil=
l be
there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; T=
hese
will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, And
the ransomed of the LORD will return, And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlas=
ting joy
upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And<=
/span>
sorrow and sighing will flee away.&nbs=
p;
The road to peace, joy and safety in the Lord is the road of
Messiah. Messiah is the road =
of
deliverance for Jacob, for all of Israel and for the world. Walk in Messiah and you will find =
life.
Shabbat Shalom!
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