resting in the promises of god

​​At the beginning of Parashah Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26) we find our Patriarch Ya’akov (Jacob) living the final 17-years of his life in Mitzra’im (Egypt), away from the promised and of Canaan. Before his death, he asks his son Joseph to not allow his body to be buried in a foreign land … in the land of “slavery,” but instead he pleads. carry my body back home to be buried in the Holy Land. At this setting, he blesses Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and by doing so they are elevated to the status of his own sons as progenitors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel and as God’s Chosen People! As was promised to Abraham and Isaac, now we find Jacob extending the blessings of God to those who will now out distance him and proclaim God’s Word after he’s gone!
 
This is comparable to Rav Sha’ul (Paul), who near the end of his life declared,

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith [and] All that awaits me now is the crown of righteousness which the Lord, ‘the Righteous Judge,’ will award to on that Day….” (2 Timothy 4:7-8a, CJB)

Therefore, form this weeks Torah reading, our Patriarch knows that not only does the rewards of Adonai soon await him, but that he is assured that God has been faithful in every generation and that He will continue to fulfill all He has promised! This is an assurance to us today as well, knowing that in every generation - Adonai has been and will continue to be faithful to the Nation and People of Israel, the Apple of His eye!
 
We today are further reminded that in our generation, despite the visceral attacks which fly against God’s people, the Lord has never forsaken Israel and that He will always protect and be with His Messianic Community, Yeshua has never broken a single promise and His covenant stands forever!

Dear friends, from these promises we can REST this Shabbat in the Goodness of God, knowing that He alone is Good and His Mercy Endures Forever! Rejoice in the Lord - Beit Hallel! Rest in the Lord O Servants of Adonai and Sing His Praises all you Peoples -

We serve a God who is Faithful and True and He is for us and never against us!

Rabbi Mark Rantz
Beit Hallel Messianic Congregation 
Shabbat, January 2, 2021, 18th of Tevet, 5781