In parashat Yitro (last week) we read that exactly seven weeks after the Exodus from Egypt (i.e., 49 days after the first Passover), Moses gathered the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai to enter into covenant with the LORD. In a dramatic display of thunder, lightning, billowing smoke and fire, the LORD descended upon the mountain and recited the Ten Commandments to the people. Upon hearing the awesome Voice of God, however, the people shrank back in fear and begged Moses to be their mediator before God. The people then stood far off, while Moses alone drew near to the thick darkness to receive further instructions from the LORD.

In this week’s Torah portion (i.e., Mishpatim) we learn about these additional instructions Moses received on the mountain. The Jewish sages traditionally count 53 distinct commandments in this portion of the Torah, easily making it one of the most “legalistic” (i.e., law-focused) sections of the entire Bible. Civil laws, liability laws, criminal laws, agricultural laws, financial laws, family purity laws, Sabbath laws, and holiday laws are all given in this portion. These various social and civil laws are called “mishpatim” (מִשְׁפָּטִים), a plural word that means “rules” or “judgments.”

• Exod. 21:1 Hebrew page (pdf)

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Mishpatim Podcast:

The fifth section of the book of Exodus (Exod. 18:1-20:23) begins with the account of how Moses’ father-in-law “Jethro” (Yitro in Hebrew) met up with Moses near Mount Sinai, giving him advice and direction about how to establish a judicial system for the Israelites, and then goes on to provide the account of the revelation of the Ten Commandments by God at Mount Sinai. This event, called mattan Torah, or the giving of the Torah, is central to the entire account of our redemption as the children of God, since it provides revelation not only about our basic spiritual and moral obligations, but also provides the vision of the altar of the lamb of God that was to be offered every day both in remembrance of the Passover redemption and also to foretell the coming our Yeshua our Messiah, the sacrificial “Lamb of God” who takes away the sins of the world.

In this audio podcast, I discuss the basic narrative of parashat Yitro and explore some of the more prominent themes regarding the giving of the Torah at Sinai, the meaning of the imperative language and the idea of a commandment, the importance of a heart connection with God, and more.

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Exod. 19:5 Hebrew page (pdf)

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Parashat Yitro Podcast:

Our Torah reading for this week, parashat Vayechi (ויחי), recounts how the great patriarch Jacob adopted Joseph’s two sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) as his own children. When Jacob blessed the boys, however, he intentionally reversed the birth order by putting the younger before the older, signifying that the old struggle he had faced as a child was over, and he now understood things differently. And note Ephraim and Manasseh’s reaction: the older did not envy the younger, nor did the younger boast over the older. The family had apparently learned that blessing from God is for the good of all, and that there is no real blessing apart from genuine humility that esteems the welfare of others.

Following this, Jacob was ready to summon his family to hear his final words. Among other things, he foretold how the Messiah would come from the line of Judah and then instructed his sons to bury him only in the promised land, and not in Egypt (Gen. 49:10-12; 49:29-32).

After his death, Joseph and his brothers, with various dignitaries of Egypt, formed a funeral procession and returned to Canaan to bury Jacob in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. After the funeral, they returned to Egypt, but Joseph’s brothers feared that he would now repay them for their former betrayal and threw themselves on his mercy. Joseph reassured them that they had no reason to fear him and reminded them that God had overruled their earlier intent by intending him to be a blessing to the whole world (Gen. 50:20).

The portion ends with the account of the death of Joseph, who made the sons of Israel promise to take his bones with them when the LORD would bring them back to the land of Canaan (alluding to the great Exodus to come). Joseph’s faith in the Jewish people’s return to the Promised Land is summarized by his statement: “God will surely remember you” (Gen. 50:24). He died at age 110, was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt, full of faith that he would be raised from the dead in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Vayechi Audio Podcast:

In our Torah portion for this week, parashat Vayigash, Benjamin stood before Joseph accused of the theft of a chalice, while Judah “drew near” (vayigash) and vicariously offered to bear the penalty for his brother, pleading with Joseph to spare his father the loss of yet another son. Joseph was so moved by Judah’s act of mesirat nefesh (self-sacrifice) that he decided the time had finally come for him to reveal his identity to his brothers. After clearing the room, he began speaking in Hebrew and said, אֲנִי יוֹסֵף הַעוֹד אָבִי חָי, “I am Joseph, is my father still alive?” When the brothers drew back in shock and dismay, Joseph said, “Draw near to me, please” (from the same verb nagash) and then explained how God providentially brought him to Egypt to save the family’s life….

The revelation of Joseph and his reconciliation with his brothers is a prophetic picture of the acharit hayamim (end of days) when the Jewish people will come to understand that Yeshua is indeed the One seated at the right hand of the majesty on high as Israel’s Deliverer. At that time Yeshua will speak comforting words to His long lost brothers and restore their place of blessing upon the earth. Indeed, the entire story of Joseph is rich in prophetic insight regarding our Lord and Savior. Vayigash (וַיִּגַּשׁ) means “and he drew near,” referring first to Judah’s intercession for the sins of his brothers, and then to Joseph’s reciprocal desire for the brothers to draw near to him (Gen. 44:18, 45:4). Joseph initiated the reconciliation by saying, גְּשׁוּ־נָא אֵלַי / g’shu na elai – “Please draw near to me,” and indeed there is a play on the verb nagash (נָגַשׁ), “draw near,” throughout this story.

Yeshua is depicted both in Judah’s intercession (as the greater Son of Judah who interceded on behalf of the sins of Israel) and in Joseph’s role as the exalted Savior of the Jewish people in time of tribulation. When Joseph disclosed himself and asked, “Is my father alive,” we hear Yeshua evoking the confession of faith from the Jewish people: “I am Yeshua: do you now understand that My Father is alive?” Upon His coming revelation, all Israel will confess that indeed God the Father is “alive” and has vindicated the glory of His Son.

Vayigash Audio Podcast:

• Parashat Vayigash Torah Summary

Last week’s Torah (i.e., Vayishlach) recounted how Jacob had wrestled with a mysterious Angel before returning to the Promised Land to be reconciled with his brother Esau. No longer named Ya’akov (“heel holder” [of Esau]), but Yisrael (“prince of God”), a transformed Jacob finally returned to Hebron to see his father Isaac, nearly 34 years after he had left home. However, on the way back home his beloved wife Rachel died while giving birth to his twelfth son Benjamin.

This week’s portion (i.e., parashat Vayeshev) begins with Jacob living back in the land that God had promised to give to Abraham and Isaac with his 12 sons, but the narrative quickly turns to Jacob’s “favorite” son Joseph, who was seventeen years old at the time. The Torah states that Jacob loved Joseph more than all his other sons since he was “the son of his old age” (בֶּן־זְקֻנִים) and he was the firstborn son of his beloved wife Rachel. Indeed, Jacob made him an ornamented tunic to indicate his special status in the family.

As the favored son, Joseph’s job was expected to oversee the activities of Jacob’s other sons (i.e., Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher) and to bring “reports” about their activities back to Jacob. However, this role as the overseer and “favored son” was too much for the other brothers, and they became jealous of him and hated him.

To make matters worse, Joseph related two prophetic dreams (חֲלֹמוֹת נְבוּאִים) to his brothers that foretold that he was destined to rule over them, increasing their envy and hatred of him (the implication of the dreams was that all of Jacob’s family would become subservient to him). Jacob rebuked Joseph for arousing his brothers’ hatred, but he inwardly took note and waited for the fulfillment of the dreams.

The portion then records that one day the brothers went out to pasture their herds but when they saw their brother Joseph coming to check on them, they conspired to kill him, though later they reconsidered and decided to sell him to some slave traders instead. After Joseph was taken away, the brothers sought to deceive Jacob by staging his son’s death – dipping his special tunic into goat’s blood and telling him that he had been maimed and killed by a wild animal…

Meanwhile Joseph was taken into the land of Egypt and sold as a slave to a man named Potiphar (פּוֹטִיפַר) who was a captain of Pharaoh’s guard. The LORD was with Joseph” (יְהִי יְהוָה אֶת־יוֹסֵף) however, and blessed everything he did. In fact, he was soon promoted to be the head of Potiphar’s entire household affairs.

Unfortunately Joseph caught the eye of Potiphar’s wife (“Zuleika”), who then began enticing him to have an affair with her. Though he steadfastly refused her advances, she became indignant over her rejection and falsely accused him of attempted rape. Potiphar was understandably outraged (at his wife?) and threw Joseph into the royal prison, but again God showed him favor there and soon was appointed to a position of authority within the prison administration.

The reading ends with two prophetic episodes in Joseph’s life that eventually would bring him to the attention of the Pharaoh himself. While in prison, Joseph met Pharaoh’s wine steward and chief baker, both of whom were incarcerated for offending the king (according to Rashi, a fly was found in the goblet prepared by the butler, and a pebble was found in the baker’s confection). Both men had disturbing dreams which Joseph correctly interpreted: in three days, he told them, the wine steward would be released but the baker would be hanged. Joseph then asked the wine steward to advocate for his release with Pharaoh. Joseph’s predictions were fulfilled, but the wine steward forgot all about Joseph…

Note that this Torah reading is prophetic regarding Yeshua the Messiah. Joseph’s jealous brothers stripped him of his “coat of many colors” and threw him into a pit — a providential event that eventually led to the deliverance of the Jewish people by the hand of a “disguised savior.” Indeed, the life of Israel’s chosen son Joseph foreshadowed the two advents of Yeshua our Messiah: the first as the LORD’s Suffering Servant (עֶבֶד יַהְוֶה), and second as the Great Deliverer (הַגּוֹאֵל הַגָּדוֹל) of the Jewish people during tribulation…

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