Vayeishev

This  Parashas is the ninth Torah Portion, Vayeishev means “and he settled.” After devoting a mere chapter to the genealogy of Esau and his offspring, the Torah now turn to the story of Jacob and his family. As been its practice, the Torah gives short narrative to people who have fallen short of its goal, but speaks volumes of those who have managed to overcome and secure their inheritance.

So it was that great men like Noah, Abraham, and Isaac were discussed in great details, while millions of others men and women since creation, were mention briefly, and some not at all. It is not what is written on my tomb stone that is of concern to me. It is what is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life about me I am concern about.

Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter. The Torah says that Jacob loved Joseph, the second youngest son more than the other, so much so that Jacob gave Joseph a beautiful coat of many colors.

Understandably from a purely human perspective, how the other sons became jealous of Joseph. Adding to the tension, Joseph told his brother his dream, the purpose of his life. Like all who are govern by the selfish Ego, the brothers understand that Joseph would rule over them.

They, like many of us today, we fail to understand the circumstance in which it would take place, and the benefit of Joseph eventuality lordship over his brother. This Parashas was written to instruct believers that we are living in the present, we have no idea of the future. The circumstance that accurs in our lives is to provide us with the necessary tools that when the future arrive we will be ready for it.

If Jacob’s sons and ourselves would only pray for revelation, they as well as us might have understand why we like Joseph was given these dreams. The CREATOR will never leave us without a witness.

The brothers took these dreams to mean that Joseph intend to rule over then, instead, YAHVEH send Him ahead to prepare a way for then as a savior would. It was  a prospect they did not relish, when looking at it from a selfish egotistic point of view. In fact they were so resentful that they made a plan to kill him. Every time an emotion is trigger in our lives, lets pay close attention to our reaction; for with our emotions, our true character is manifested.

Every crime, every antsocial behavior, every misunderstanding is a result of the inner programming of our consciousness on our Ego, which determine our emotion. Human treat these emotion by placing each other in Prisons, ABBA YAHVEH uses these emotions or characteristic traits to show us what we are to change.

By placing people into prisons does nothing to renovate the ego. Prison is an institution that magnifies our already selfish ego. These boys were all sons of the promise; however, the selfishness of their Ego was been exposed. Now is the time to deal with the exposed selfish traits.

Gen 37:¹ Now Jacob settled in the land where his father was a sojourning, in the land of Canaan. - The contract between Jacob settled and Isaac sojourning is very interesting. This analogy seems to imply that Jacob saw Canaan as his final destination, while Isaac was looking for the world to come.

Could it also means that because of the different in the age, contribute in shaping the difference world view of these two righteous men? Isaac who had lives a full life, one who had reach maturity and walk in that spiritual state of perfection, was now looking to the world to came. While the relative younger Jacob with a young family, wanted a secure peaceful environment, one which EL YAHVEH had furnished as the place to reside.

Our world view even from a spiritual mature position, shape the way we view life. This verse gave us an insight into the mind set of two great men at different time in their life. Isaac’s view elucidate that there are too much to accomplish and too few of us are capable of doing it. Knowing that, the righteous are more than willing to sacrifice a bit of the temporary peace, for the sake of eternal elevation; even for their offspring.

 Gen 37:² This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. - This verse start with the phrase these are the Toldot, referring to the offspring, this phrase cannot be rendered, these are the offer spring of Jacob, because Joseph is the only name mention.

Joseph was at the age of seventeen, Jacob was 108, Isaac was 168, and would lived another twenty years. This incident occurred nine years after Jacob returned home. The Torah labeled Joseph as a youth, implies that he was acting immaturely as a believer.

Torah also implied that they were with the sons of Bilhah, implying that they were the ring leaders, the dominant personality among the brothers. This verse also implies that both Bilhah and Zilpah were wives of Jacob. Even though the bride price was not paid by Jacob, they were view by Torah as equal to Leah and Rachel. Therefore, Leah and Rachel were within their right to give both Bilhah and Zilpah to Jacob and Jacob was not required to pay the bride price.

We need to understand how Torah views the family structure; it is not the individual right that Torah focus on, it is our Torah obedient that is of the most important. The situation we are born in is the vehicle to help bring us to maturity. I Corinthians 17:²⁰ Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. ²¹Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. Whatever misbehavior Joseph noted in his brothers, he reported them to Jacob. That was one reason why they hated him. The other reasons are in the following verses. Joseph misinterpreted their actions, although Joseph was sincere in his faulty evaluation, he was at fault because he should have given his brothers the benefit of the doubt and reported all the facts to Jacob, without forming his own conclusion.

This would certainly explain why the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah did not defend Joseph against Leah’s sons conspired to sell him as slave. Immaturity in a believer will always reveals itself in gossip. It is a way to build oneself up at the expense of another. If I tell dad on him, I will not look so bad after all. Immature believers will always create strife among each other; this was where Joseph was at age seventeen. The trials that Joseph would experience in the years to come, were to correct these obvious character flaws and to perfect his obvious strength. The rest of his life story will be, how he got to that illustrious place call spiritual maturity.

Gen 37:³ Now Yisrael loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. - We know from Torah that EL YAHVEH love Jacob more than Esau. We also know that, that love was based on the character of Esau. Our Heavenly Father loves all His children, but not our sins. Jacob loved Joseph with that same devotion as EL YAHVEH.

Jacob’s favoritism was based on Joseph’s spiritual and intellectual desire over his brother. For the same reason EL YAHVEH proclaimed His love for Yisrael over Esau. Torah used the name Yisrael to elucidate the spiritual maturity of Jacob, the name that expresses his highest spiritual nature, therefore implying that his choice of Joseph was a function of his greatness, not his failing.

The mere fact, that Torah mention that Joseph was a child of Yisrael old age, is significant. Old depict wisdom or maturity; at that age Yisrael must have perfected the art of developing sons, this one might have been the very best so far. The one who had the potential to be the priest of the family. Notice that Yahushua is the first to graduate from planet earth with absolute perfection. Joseph is a type and shadow of El Yahushua. The tunic given to Joseph symbolizes a sign of leadership, for after Reuben discredited himself by tampering with his father wife, Joseph was elevated to the status of firstborn.

 Gen 37:⁴ But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. - So great was the brothers’ hostility toward Joseph that they could not carry on a friendly conversation with him even about peaceful matters. What ever he said they interpreted in a negative, contentious way, even when he tried to be friendly. Spiritually immature believers will always see circumstances from the ego perspective.

Verse 5 – 11 Dreams mentioned in Scripture are generally understood to be vehicles of prophecy. Whether dreams have validity, it is clear from Scripture that Joseph’s dream and those of Pharaoh and his officials, that YAHVEH used them to convey revelation of future events. All these dreams came true according to Joseph interpretations.

Joseph’s dream, which indicated clearly, that the one who is spiritually mature would become the leader of the group in the next generation. He would also become a spiritual bridge between the Mighty Ones and the ones on their way to maturity. Joseph’s brothers took the prophecy to mean that he would rule over them.

Vayishlah

This Parashash Vayishlach means to send away,  is the eighth Torah Portion, in the yearly Torah Cycle, it continues on the theme of Jacob spiritual development. We learn in the last Parashas how Jacob worked on his character, his ego. Now we see Jacob in his next stage of development, to be sent away and return one day.

To send away encompasses the energy and consciousness required to let go of something or someone. Often, the unenlightened person have difficulty detaching ourselves from negative people an situations, but this particular story of Genesis gives us the power to o so.

Just like a young man is sent away to bourding school where you work on a project, you will be tested to see if the project becomes apart of you, that you may return to your father a better person. What did Jacob learn in Paddan Aram the last 20 years to make him qualify to return home? What have you learn over the last year to help in your spiritual development or to manifest the Light of the Creator in you.

Jacob had to run away from home, after deceiving his brother negative brother, in which his brother Essa swore to kill him. Sometime it is essential run away from certain people in our lives. The old principle of Cause and effect. Now twenty years later this situation will finally come to a conclusion. Knowing that Esau had developed a hate rage Jacob for having tricked him of his birthright and his father’s blessing, Jacob is understandably apprehensive about facing his brother.

The confrontation between the Esau and Jacob is recorded to illustrate how EL YAHVEH sent an angel to save His servant Jacob from the hand of a stronger evil brother Esau. Furthermore, it shows that Jacob did not rely on his own craftiness as before, but strove mightily to ensure his safety through practical spiritual measure.

It shows that in our battle against the spirit of Esau in our lives, we must be prepared on three fronts: In Prayer, in gifts, and in battle.

The Torah tells us that prior to this meeting; Jacob prayed to ABBA YAHVEH, expressing his humility for all the goodness ABBA YAHVEH has given him. Keenly aware of his good fortune and prosperity, Jacob sends messengers ahead with gifts of assess goats, and sheep. When he approaches Esau, he bowed down seven times before his brother as an act of submission.

The Torah teaches us in this Parasha as Jacob realized the only hope he had of protecting himself and his family was to be generous to his brother, a form of the Messiyah and to diminish himself.

Only when Jacob saw Esau did he realized what he was truly battling against all this time, it was his Anochi, the god within. In that moment, Jacob Yisrael, knew that all of his spiritual works, all his prayers, all his study, none of these spiritual tools was going to help him, for his struggle was within his own ego. Jacob like Yisrael today will not recognize Messiyah Yahushua until they learn that their hope was to lower themselves before Messiyah.

It is Witten that the only way a person can become righteous “tzadik” is to throw themselves down at least seven times in their spiritual life. To understand this belief, we need to understand that most of us like Jacob at the beginning of the story. We all have a spiritual work to accomplish, we have our study to finish, and we have our faith to strengthen. We can prepare all we want for our battle against our flesh, the Esau in us, unless we learn to control our Ego, we will achieve nothing.

In order to overcome our Ego, we must first understand the magnitude of the challenge. The Ego is as great a challenge as the forces of Edom that were arrayed against Jacob. Because most of us are still living like proud Jacob, proud of our spiritual accomplishment, we failed to understand that our only purpose in life is to diminish the influence of the selfish Ego over our lives.

By humbling ourselves daily, we diminish the power of our Ego selfish and awaken the desire to share; it is the only way we can bring the forces of Edom, the flesh, under authority. Jacob tried to organize his family into two groups, to hide them from Esau, but it was not until he humbles himself, by bowing down before Esau, that he overcame. Esau had no choice but to accept Jacob. The spiritual forces of the Heavenly realm race to his rescue, shifting the balance of Power from Esau to Jacob. Humbling ourselves is our only effective to exulting ourselves.

We can achieved this level of Righteousness and create the environment for miracle to happen in our lives. We create the condition for miracles when we reach the spiritual level of Ayin or nothingness, for in nothingness there is no selfish Ego. At the level of Ayin we do not care for or worry about ourselves. This is true mastering of our spiritual selves.

Through true purge of our selfish Ego and is the annihilation of our own selfish desire, we remove the spirit of darkness and confusion from us, as we draw near and nearer to the Light of the CREATOR. That was why Esau the spirit of darkness had no affect on Jacob. The Light of this Torah portion gives us the ability to create miracle, provide blessing, and even grant us redemption.

Even when judgment is meant for us, as the forces of Edom was on its way to Jacob. When we humble ourselves it nullifies the judgment and changes it into a blessing. As believers, if we can move one person, one step closer to perfection, it is a revelation of the Light of the CREATOR, it is more powerful than if we teach a thousand persons who never progress spiritually. This does not mean that we should never teach everyone we meet; it does mean that we should always have the goal of perfection foremost in our lives.

This Parashas illustrate the point that even though we may recognize someone’s negative trait, we must always be open to the potential for transformation. This was the mistake Jacob made when he try to hide his family from his brother.

In addition to encouraging us to diminish our Ego, this portion of Vayishlach reminds us to never lose sight of the possibility of redemption and the potential for drawing

Light goes only with the depth of our physical fall. We are awaken by the example of Jacob to appreciate our humility and extreme care must be take when dealing with ours  and other people’s soul.

 Gen 32:4 And Ya'akov sent malachim before him to Esav achiv unto Eretz Seir, the country of Edom. - The Hebrew account of this verse says that, Jacob send malachim (messengers) before him. Malachim or messengers are the Hebrew word for Angels. This teaches that mature believers are greater than angels, for when Jacob had need of an emissary, he had the right to summon angels to do his bidding.

The reason for the greater stature of human beings over angels is that angels are static. Human beings, however, achieve their standing through their own striving for perfection. The word malachim can either mean angel or human emissaries, sent ones or Apostles.

Angels cannot change their status, while humans are the only created being, who have this opportunity to do so. How then do we change our spiritual status? It is by our obedience to the Word of EL YAHVEH. Our perfectness is measure by how well we pass the test. The Text book is the Torah! We will be judge by the Written Word of Torah. The angel like the devil cannot improve their status; they can decline from where they are if they are ever found to be disobedient.

Angels are messengers (Rev 7:11), sons are rulers (Rev 3:21), and servants are the ones who do the work (Rev 7:9, 15). After we die, our spiritual position will never change. Ecc 11:5b and if a tree falls to the south or the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie. - As a dead tree does not have the ability to change it size or position, we humans cannot change our spiritual position after we die, we become static. That is why Revelation 7:15 say that those who were standing in front of the Throne had tears in their eyes.

Why? When they found out what they could have achieve while they were here on earth and they did not. They were crying in the spiritual sense. Do not be like one of those my friends; grow spiritually while we are still in this body, or while we are still alive. These emissaries were sent towards the land of Seir, towards the Gulf of Aqaba.

Gen 32:5 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto adoni Esav (My Lord Esau); Thy eved (servant Jacob) Ya’akov saith thus, I have sojourned with Lavan, and stayed there until now; - Jacob wanted his messenger to deliver the message verbatim, including the fact that in his conversations with them he had referred to Esau as my Lord and to himself as Esau’s servant. This was part of Jacob’s tactful approach, because thereby Esau would realize that Jacob truly held him in greatly esteem.

Therefore Jacob meant to convey to Esau, that he Jacob had not become a great prince in the physical sense or have he achieve anything but spiritual status. Something the Esau could not understand, sine spiritual thing are foolish to those who are perishing.

Veyetze

Vayetze, which translates into “and he left or he went out,”  is the Torah portion that tells the story of Jacob’s departure from the Holy Land after many years of living there with his parents.

This story depict our journey from the seventh Heavens to the first, where we begin to learn how to rule and reign in the World to Come. Jacob like all of us went out of the Seventh Heaven to earth and his journey back to the Seventh heaven is what his life story is all about.

Jacob spent the night at a place known as Beit El “House of God.” It was here that he encounter his famous ladder experiencing, where Angels were seen ascending and descending from the Heavens to earth.

Who were these Angels? These Angels were sent to accompany Jacob after he left the house of his father Isaac. According to Torah, before YAHVEH TSEBAOTH destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomarroh, HE sent three angels to Abraham to warn him of the impending destruction. The Angels that Jacob saw in his dream ascending the ladder were the Angels sent to assist Jacob.

In Vayetzel, we see that once a person decides to do the right things, to do whatever it take to connect to the Light of the Creator miracles will occur to support that person. But when the CREATOR saw that Jacob had awakened himself spiritually, He realized his mistake and would take unreasonable measures to correct it, the CREATOR sent miracles to assist him.

One of the miracles that awaits Jacob as it awaits us is love. The Torah says that when Jacob arrived in Charan, he met Rachel and he kissed her. This is one of exceptional moments in Torah where we find an man kissing a virgin before bethroal. It is the only time when we see a glimpse of true romance. Jacob after kissing her went to her father and say he would work seven years for Rachel. Can you ever imagine if we would give a father seven years wages for his daughter?

To many, it may have seen a very long time, but to most of us love is selfish; for it is based on “the desire to received,” what in it for me? This is not a sign of true love. To Jacob and Rachel, the seven years that he had to work is similar to the price Messiyah Yahushua paid for our sins. It cost him something precious. If young woman these days would demand something valuable for their virginity, then maybe marriages would last a life time.

One of the gifts of Vayetze is that on this Sabbath, we can ask young men and women to pray for the assistance to achieve true love in our lives. In its ultimate form, the love Jacob and Rachel achieved is known as the Desire to share. Their love had nothing to do with what either one could received from the other.

The love they shared was an appreciation of what they were both capable of giving. Jacob would give her spiritual guidance, while Rachel would provide him sons to fulfill YAHVEH Will for Jacob. When He saw Rachel, Jacob saw her as a chariot for a Malchut, He saw her Anochi, her godwithin, her soul. He recognized the Light that they could reveal together in the world.

Jacob’s love for Rachel was similar to the love Messiyah have for us. The Torah describe such love as yirat haramemut, love based on appreciation. When we appreciate someone, in this case Messiyah’s love for us and we for Him, this appreciation in and of itself awakens more of our love.

Many of us make a distinction between one kind of love and another, between the love we have for a acquaintance, between the love that we try to awaken for the Light of the Creator and the love we have for our friends or our relatives. But at their purest, all of this form of love are identical.

On this Sabbath, we have a special opportunity to ask the Holy Spirit to open our heart, to let us connect to the Light of the Holy Spirit that the first fruit of the Spirit may manifest in our lives.

The spiritual development of Jacob entered into another phase as it rightly should in the lives of all believers. Jacob had left his father’s house the seventh heaven, the upper world, on a pilgrimage to Laban’s country, the lower world, where he would find more than a wife, he would learn things about himself or should I say discovered himself.

It is always through our trials and testing, that we learn or discover who we truly are. It is when we are stretch to our breaking point that we learn our true capacity. Sitting at home will not do it! Venturing into the unknown with the aid of the Holy Spirit is where we will learn who we truly are.

This pilgrimage would span a total of twenty years, in which fourteen years spend working for two wives. He would be living in Haran, among people who were spiritually challenged at best. This corrosive environment was to be the tool that cemented the principle of Torah in his life.  

      

Gen 28:10 And Ya’akov departed from Beer-Sheva, and went toward Charan. - The first action of Jacob, describe that he depart from Beer-Sheva. When a righteous man departs from a place it leaves a spiritual void, much like cutting a major limb from a fruit tree. A long as he lies in that city, he contributes to its glory, its splendor, and its beauty; when he departs, its glory, splendor, and beauty diminished.

Gen 28:11 And he reached a certain place, and tarried there, because the Shemesh(sun) was set; and he took of the Avanim(stones) of that place, and put them for his pillow, and lay down in that place to sleep. – That certain place was Mount Moriah, the site where his Grand fathering Abraham bound his father Isaac on the Altar, the future site of the Temple in Yerushalayim.

The place where a righteous man lay his head is his home, and where is home is, is sanctified. This was to be where Jacob encountered EL YAHVEH. It is also possible that the same stone his grandfather used to build his Altar were the same stone he was to use to build his pillar for the night.

What a refreshing story! Do we as believers use the spiritual achievement of our parents to be our resting place? Do we leave our spiritual Altar for our children to used? Do we leave our wood pile a little higher that we found it. As Jacob quite obviously started his evening prayer as he lay his head down on the Rocks which is a symbol of Massiyah. Is it possible that it was a group of 12 stones that Jacob formed into a pillow?

Gen 28:12 And he had a chalom(dream), and hinei a sullam (ladder, stairway) set up on the ground, and the top of it reached to Shomayim: and hinei the malachim(messenger, angels) of Elohim ascending and descending on it. -  Dreams in Scripture are usually vehicle of prophecy; otherwise the Torah which uses words very sparingly would not used them. Jacob’s dream at Mt Moriah symbolized the future of the Hebrew people and man’s ability to connect himself to EL YAHVEH master Plan.

The angels, Teraphim or earth angels, who are EL YAHVEH’s messengers in carrying out HIS Will on earth, are constantly going up and down to receive His Commands and then come back to earth to implement them. This Labber is also the Ladder that link the First Heaven with the Seventh Heavens, the Ladder which all men who believe may climb at any time.

Gen 28:13 And, hinei (behold), YAHVEH stood above it, and said, I am YAHVEH ELohei Avraham thy av (father), and ELohei Yitzchak; ha’aretz (the earth) whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy zera (seed); - Scripture usually uses this word behold to introduce something significant. It’s frequent use in this vision emphasize the great significance meaning, we must take notice. The land upon which you are laying, to you will I give it.

Since the place where Jacob was, were to be the future Capital of the Land of Yisrael, it is the ideal spot for a prophecy such as this. This dream symbolized that as Jacob sanctified the land, the Temple would sanctify the entire land of Yisrael.

Gen 28:14 And thy zera (offspring) shall be as the dust of ha’aretz (the Earth), and thou shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy zera shall kol (all) hamishpochot ha’adamah (the families of the world) be blessed.  –

This verse seems to be a warning to Jacob, if Yisrael should sink to the level of the nations, Yisrael will be no more, they will be scattered across the whole earth. If Yisrael had not forsaken Torah, the nations of the earth would not be give the opportunity it now have, to be apart of Yisrael. The wild grape vine that was graphed in!

Gen 28:15 And, hinei, I am with thee, and will be shomer over thee in all places where thou goest, and will bring thee back into ha’adamah hazot; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have promised thee. -  EL YAHVEH begins to assured Jacob after the warning on the last verse. Saying I am, I will always be with you, until you have reach maturity. Behold, pay close attention: I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you. He who starts a good work in us is faithful to complete. EL YAHVEH was reaffirming HIS faithfulness to Jacob, as He is doing for us today. I was telling someone the other day that I cannot die anytime soon. He taught that I was arrogant.  I told him that my EL YAHVEH had not finished HIS work in me; therefore I cannot die until HE had finished HIS work.

Gen 28:16 And Ya’akov awoke out of his sleep, and he said, Surely EL YAHVEH is in this place! And I had no da’as(know) of it. -  When Jacob spiritual eyes was closed, he returned to his body, he realizes that his spirit was in communication with EL YAHVEH. Dreams are nothing more than a spiritual communication with the spiritual realm.

Jacob said in this place he had experienced a prophecy, he had seen into the future without having prepared himself for it, he realized that the place was so holy that it was a magnet for prophecy. It was a good thing that he did not know or else he would have tried to help. When we rest our head on the Solid Rock called Yahushua, we will be in the realm of the prophetic, since He is the giver of the Holy Spirit. The spirit of prophecy is a correcting spirit, given to us to show the way back to Torah, back to the land.

Tolos

Parasha Toldos is the 6th Torah Portion in the yearly Torah Cycle, in Hebrew toldos means “generations.” Each of the Patriarchs of old maintained a Yeshivah(Torah study) in which they taught about the existence of EL YAHVEH “יהוה” and HIS Will for their lives. The stories of every Torah Characters are design to show how spiritual greatness or follies were establish in the various live of humanity. 

Today we should be no different; the father of the house is in essence the Patriarch of the family, on his head lays the responsibility to speak or teach to his children, what his father and fathers before him should have done.

          This Parashas provides a clue to the ways in which Isaac’s role diverged from that of his father Abraham. Abraham accepted everyone into his sphere of influence, while Isaac did not.  Like every individual we all have different personality traits, or from a spiritual point of view different talents. These talents determine which road we travel to maturity, and how we travel that road individually.

          Torah devotes less space to Isaac’s life than that of his father Abraham.  Abraham was more of an outgoing personality that his son Isaac, that is why Torah says that Isaac dwell in Tents, he was a mama’s boy. But this story is to show that even if there are differences in personality, the ultimate spiritual goal is still full maturity.

          The life of Isaac seems to be but a bridge between Abraham and Jacob; even though his talents was less than his father and his son, he was still required like all of us, to draw a line between good and evil, right and wrong.

          In contrast to his father Abraham whose primary fruit of the Spirit was strength in kindness (chessed), Isaac’s was kindness in strength (gevurah). In every individual there is a personality, we all have a tendency towards certain trait, actions, and weakness. It is our strength that our Fathers want us to place in His Hands, and our weaknesses He wants us to develop.

We will learn from this Parashas, how ABBA YAHVEH used the circumstances in our lives to maximize our strength and developed our weaknesses. The life of Isaac even though, it was different from his father, he walk faithfully in the character he was predisposed to, or what he was required to walk in.

In the Hebrew scheme of life, kindness and strength must go together; either one without the other can be dangerous. Kindness if not tempered by strength can lead to self-denial, abstinence, frugality; strength without kindness can lead to selfishness and cruelty.

The study of Kabbalah continually reminds us of the value of looking below the surface for life many meaning. When we as believers in Messiyah do so, we may find that we have to revise our initial impressions of the meaning of the various stories in the Torah. For example the story of Toldot, and the complex relationship between Isaac and his son Jacob and Esau.

In this Torah Portion Esau trades his birthright as firstborn son to his brother Jacob for a bowl of soup. Later we see Jacob poses as Esau to gain the blessing of his elder father. It is easy to read this story or Midrash and see Esau purely as a villain, however, the Torah says, Isaac loved Esau, which gives us a reason to look deeper into this story. 

The family tree of Jacob and Esau begin with their grandfather Abraham who was followed by their fathe Isaac. According to the Midrash, when Isaac spoke with his father, Isaac talked about lofty matters like the details of fulfilling ones spiritual life. Most people in reading this midrash will think that Esau was just some liar,  that he wanted his father to think that he was a good man, when in fact, he was not. However, even if Esau had been a liar, Isaac was too mature a person to be fooled by mere words.

Intially, Jacob and Esau start life with the same parents in the same environment. Each were a favorite of one parents, and both were given the same spiritual training. There was one significant difference, Esau wanted his father not just to favor him, but to recognize how spiritual he was. This was the reason why He got into such a rage when he discovered that Isaac had given his blessing to Jacob. This seams to me that he craved the praises of man more than anything.

Jacob’s Ego was very different. Jacob separated himself from any need for his work to be acknowledge by his father; instead, he put his certainty in the Word of the CREATOR. Jacob understood if he did the right things, the CREATOR would make sure that the right things would happen to him at the right time.

Regrettable, many of us can relate to Esau: we want what we want, when we want, for what we want, and we get very upset when we do not get it. This Torah portion of Toldot helps us to understand just how powerfull the Desire to Received is. Our spiritual goal is to refurbish our Ego, from a Desire to received, to a Desire to give without condition.

Our spiritual work must take place between the CREATOR and ourselves. We must also keep those who are not directly involve from knowing too much about our spiritual life, for anonymous good deeds reveals the most light.

How could Isaac have not known the truth about Esau? Isaac had the Divine Inspiration, the Holy Spirit with him all the time. It seems to me that the true blessings that Jacob and Esau sought could not come from Isaac, it could only come from the CREATOR. Isaac was only the conduit, but he could not give the blessing, because if he had done so, he would have limited their blessings. The CREATOR in HIS Wisdom arranged a complicated set of deception and mistaken identity in order for the blessings to reach Jacob.

Kabbalah teaches us that the day of the blessing by Isaac, was unique in the history of mankind, because on that day, the Gates of the Heavens were open to reveal to his world the entirety of the Light of Redemption. Isaac knew that this Light of Redeemption needed to be brought down to their world, but Jacob could not handle it dispite his knowledge of and desire for Torah.

The revelation of Light in this world has three requirements. First, there is the source, the perfect Light in the Endless World, which is inaccessible to most of us. Secondly, we must have a pure conduit to draw down this Light and to allow it to be received properly. Isaac drew down the Light of Redemption for Jacob, so when He is ready to receive the Light, it would be ready for him.

When Isaac was ready to bless Esau, he told his son to prepare food for him. Rebecca the flesh overheard this conversation, she knew the CREATOR had chosen Jacob over Esau, she took Esau’s clothes or vessel and dress Jacob in them, Rebecca explain to Jacob who was still listening to the flesh, that on this day there was to be a great revelation of the Light of the Gemar HaTikkum, or the Final Redemption for that generation.

She told Jacob that he was not ready to received the Light. having been so immersed in his Torah studis, Jacob had not yet experience the pain that this world. To do this he had to take on the the clothing of Esau.

The Spirit of Rebecca was sharing with Jacob as she is sharing with us on this Sabbath, that to the degree that we take upon ourselves the pain of the world, to this degree, we have to take upon ourselves the clothing of Esau, the pain of this world.

On this Sabbath of Taldos, we can come to Isaac for blessings. He is here to give then to us, and with them the ability to help bring about the final Redemption in our generation. We can only receive this tremendous infusion of Light, once we have truly accepted the truth off Messiyah which lies beyond our studies. Only to the degree that we dress ourselves in the pain of this world can Isaac gives us the blessings of the Gemar HaTikkum. Now the rest of the Story.

           

Genesis 25:¹⁹ This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac. ²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebecca as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. - Rebecca the daughter of Bethuel a wicked woman, she was an offspring of the wicked people in Aram; however, Rebecca did not emulate their evil ways. The principle we are been taught here is that, even if we are surrounded on every side by wickedness, our Heavenly Father will send a Eliezer, a redeemer to take us out from among a wicked nation, to prepare us to be the bride of the Master’s Only Son.  We will see in this verse the same principle playing it-self out over and over again.

This narrative says that Isaac took a wife at forty. We know that Messiyah Yahushua died on the cross at 33 years old, we know that one year is like a thousand year. Will Messiyah Yahushua return for His bride at age 40 also? Just thinking!

Chayei Sarah

This Torah portion is the 5^th in the cycle it is called Chayei Sarah meaning  “the life of Sarah.” In the previous Parashas, we learn about the binding of Isaac. This Midrash tells us that  Abraham did not tell Sarah that he was going to sacrifice Isaac. When Sarah learned that Abraham was about to sacrifice their son, she died of grief.

This however does not make any spiritual sense. Someone of Sarah’s spiritual maturity would have obviously understand that her husband would never do anything that the CREATOR did not ordained. She would have understood that that something beyond the physical event was taking place, something of great spiritual significance.

The is Parashas tell us not to interpret this and other stories in Torah in a literal way. In fact, Sarah might have known that Isaac was not going to die, since he was the promise seed. She knew that a tremendous Light was about to be revealed at Mount Moriah, the site where the Temple would eventually be built.

As Sarah represent the flesh, the flesh had to die, and we learn that she did die in this Parasha. In order for the Spirit to prosper, the flesh have to die, Abraham the spirit prosper by sacrificing the Soul “Isaac” the product of both the Spirit and the flesh. It was this Sacrifice by the Spirit that the CREATOR find great favor in.

The binding of Isaac by Abraham, is the binding of the Soul by the Spirit, with the exclusion of the flesh, Sarah. There is a reason why Torah  says that Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, which literally mens the Town of the Four. She died with a complete connection to the Name of YAHVEH “יהוה”. Sarah the flesh achieved total connection by relinquishing all selfish attachments in her relationship with other people, she freed herself of the desire to receive for the self alone.

Sarah is the only matriarch whose death, funeral, and burial place spark the kind of debate we see in this Parashas, underscoring her spiritual significance. This Parashas also goes into considerable length to describe the process by which Isaa’s wife Rebecca, was selected. The man who conducted that process on behalf of Abraham the Spirit was his closest and most brilliant student. According to the Parashas, his name is Dammeseq Eliezer, which means Eliezar from Damascus.

Not only was Eliezer able to understand the wisdom of Kabbalah, he was also capable of conveying it to other people. Many students throughout history have had this ability, such student such a those of the Greatest Kabbalah of them all Messiyah Yahushua. I the case of Eliezer, we finf someone who attained a level of wisdom far beyond what we can ever imagine today.

The Torah says that Eliezer travelled to a city of Nahor, where Rebecca lived, and asked the ABBA YAHVEH to give him a sign to identify a future wife for Abraham’s son, Issac. The Torah devote many words to this narrative, but it repeats them when Eliezer recounts the event in detail for Rebecca’s family.

Since we knew that the Torah is very intentional in its use of words, there is no wastage of words in it. In reply to this statement, greater are the words of the stories of the servants of the patriarchs than is the study of their children.

When Eliezer went to Nahor to find a wife for Isaac, he carried a signifant amount of wealth to redeemed a wife, but when Eliezer introduced himself to Rebrcca and her family, he did so saying ‘Eved Avraham anochi’ I am the servant of Abraham. He could have introduced himself as Abraham’s closest friend or as his most promising student, which would have been equally true. He chose to describe himself as eved Avraham, the servant of Abraham.

WE know that the purpose of life is to transform our Desire to Receive to the Desire to Share. We can share by helping another person, or we can share at an even higher spiritual level by sharing as a servant. When the Torah describe the great heights that Moses achieved spiritually, the words used to are “Moshe Avdi” or Moses MY serant.

When we no longer feel that we have a choice about whether to give or not to give, our consciousness become that of a servant, not in the sense of lowering ourselves, but in the sense of elevating ourselves spiritually.

As we strive to understand how this works in everyday life, we need to differentiate between being a servant and being a victim. There are many people who give to their children, spouse, or friends, because they feel obligated to do so, even when they do not like; these are victims of sharing. There is no need for them to be servants, yet they choose to take on the role. This is the way to the highest level of the soul. In order to grew this  consciousness in our Egi, we have to use it every day, which in this case meant the effort to give regardless of the feeling.

      

Many of us share, but how many of us share with the Ego of a servant? I believe that if we are truly honest with ourselves, our answer would be almost never. It is possible that anyone of us will attain this level of Spiritual maturity today, but by awakening a desire for it, we are taking an all important first or even second step, depending on what day of Creation we are experiencing.

Like  Eliezer an Rebecca in the Parasha of Chayei Sarah, we can achieved continuous growth in our connection to the Light of the CREATOR. We can achieve the elevated spirit of Sarah, the flesh, the women who chose to leave the influence of her body, that selfish desire, when she wanted something more important. The attend the unveiling of the Messiyan, the Lamb slaying from the foundation of the world at Mount Moriah.

This Parashas is the fifth portion of the Torah Cycle. In this Parashas we should pray for the development of the servant attitude.

Parashas Sarah is a narrative on the life of Sarah, the mother of a nation, a type of people who strive for perfection “”Yisrael. An essential concept of Judaism, it does not reject the past like Christianity, nor does it forget what is to come. The narrative up for discussion, begins with the death of Sarah and her husband‘s intense desire to give her a proper burial, one worthy of her greatness. We see Abraham looking ahead, turning to the responsibility of finding a suitable wife for his son Isaac.

Here is, 

I. Abraham a mourner for the death of Sarah verse 1, 2.

II. Abraham a purchaser of a burying-place for Sarah.

1. The purchase humbly proposed by Abraham verse 3, 4.  

2. Fairly treated of, and agreed to, with a great deal of mutual civility and respect verse 5–16.

3. The purchase-money paid verse 16. 

4. The premises conveyed and secured to Abraham verse 17, 18, 20.

5. Sarah’s funeral verse 19.

Genesis 23:¹ Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. - The number of cycle she endures before accomplishing all that she had to accomplish was 127 years or cycle. These cycles span three periods in her life, as it does for us today. Ur of the Caldeese where she start her journey, Param Haram the mid way journey to perfection, and finally Canaan the promise land.

Genesis 23:² So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. - She died in the land that she was destined to posses. Abraham came to eulogize his beloved wife by emphasizing the noble traits that had become associated with her name. Sarah represent her as the princess of all mankind, she fulfilled her name prophetically.

Genesis 23:³ Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, -   At this most painful time in Abrahams live, in his deep sadness, he asks a fovor from the world, he hardly knows; Abraham speaks from the deepest part of his godself, the god-within because this is where his greatest godlike grace and compassion reside.

Genesis 23:⁴ “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. - A Hebrew is always a foreigner and a visitor in this life. We are created in the image of our Creator, therefore this world is not our home just a temporary dwelling place.

Abraham had to plead and negotiate with the Hittites to sell him a burial place plot after some many promise that he would be given this land. When someone is promise that something will be given to them it does not mean it will be free. It mean that he will posses it one day weather by working for it, conquering it, or inheriting it. Here is a principle worth our obedient; freeness is never a good idea. It will never be appreciated.

Abraham emphasized the dual role that ever Hebrew or believer must play. On one hand, he is a resident of his country, and as such he must work and pray for its welfare, as Jeremiyah 29:7 urges his people on the threshold to do. On the other hand, the Hebrew in this world is always an alien, for his allegiance is to the Kingdom of Heavens, whose goal is set forth by the Torah.

A believer must always be ready to be a lonely alien, resisting the carnal culture that surrounds him, maintaining his set apart responsibility.

Genesis 23:⁵ And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, - 

Genesis 23:⁶ “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” -  The Hittites the world will always treat the believers with the utmost respect. Compare to Abraham modest description of himself as only an alien and a resident, they address him as prince among men. So respectful will we be, that they will offered to surrender to us even personal real estate for burial purposes.

Veyera

This Torah portion of Veyera is the Hebrew word for ‘He saw’, is the 4^th of the cycle, we find that after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the daughters of Lot, lay with their fathers and conceived children by him. The explanation given by some of the Hebrew sages, for the apparent violation of the Torah restriction of incest is that Lot’s daughters believed that they and their father were the only survivor left on earth.

The Torah tells us that Lot’s daughters said, “We will make alive, from our father, a continuation, a zerah.” The daughters use the word zerah, or seed, rather than the word child.  The choice of word indicate their motives for lying with their father. It was not primary for bearing a child, but for accomplishing something far greater, it was to plant a seed, that would one day producer the Messiyah.

This seed would revealed the Messiyah, the revelation of the Light of bila hamavet lanetzach, of victory over death, and Techiyat haMetim, the Resurrection of the dead. 

In every stage of our spiritual development, our Heavenly Father revealed more of Himself to us. Let us now investigate the cause by which EL YAHVEH appeared to Abraham.

We have an account in this chapter of another interview between YAHVEH and Abraham, probably within a few days after the former, as the reward of his cheerful obedience to the law of circumcision. Here is, 

I. The kind visit which YAHVEH made to Abraham, and the kind entertainment which he gave to that visit, verse 1-8. 

II. The matters discoursed of between them. 

1. The purposes of YAH’s love concerning Sarah verse 9–15. 

2.           The purposes of YAH’s wrath concerning Sodom. 

(1.) The discovery YAHVEH made to Abraham of HIS design to destroy Sodom verse 16–22. 

(2.) The intercession Abraham made for Sodom verse 23, etc.

Gen 18:1 And יהוה  appeared to Abraham by the terebinth trees of Mamrĕ, while he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.  So he lifted his eyes and looked, and saw three men standing over him. And when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, “יהוה , if I have now found favor in Your eyes, please do not pass Your servant by. - After every significant application of obedience, the Glory of YAHVEH makes an appearance. What significance stage did Abraham complete? Could it be circumcision? The last part of Parasha Lech Lecha, we heard of Abraham and his household being circumcised.

My spirit is in agreement with this interpretation; Torah did not give us a time line between events. Abraham was in His tent resting from the effect of this Divine impose surgery.

Did the removal of the flesh, that separate us from our carnal nature, create in Abraham the ability to see into the Spiritual realm? We know that the Hebrew’s ability to remove this barrier to his spiritual growth transcends the natural order of their life.

How did Abraham know whom the visitors were, to make him run during a time when he would be obvious in pain? Was it his ability to act enhance by his newly formed spiritual nature?

With maturity comes a outpouring of the Fruit of the Spirit; one of the fruits of the spirit is Humility. In humility Abraham bowed himself and asked, if he had found favor in YAHVEH eyes, do not past me by. The Men had not identified themselves to Abraham, yet he recognizes them.

Is it possible that those angels were there all along and Abraham eyes were just open that he could see them? When spiritual maturity is achieve, it will be like seeing beauty for the first time, that beauty, that Angel that were there all along.

Another attribute of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is the ability to discern; discerning friend from enemy, wolf in sheep clothing from the real sheep. Abraham was able to discern from a far the Divine nature of the three Men. Have you ever seen someone who you just feel uncomfortable with; even though that person has never given you a cause to think so? That is the feeling I am talking about.

“Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.  “And let me bring a piece of bread and refresh your hearts, and then go on, for this is why you have come to your servant.” And they said, “Do as you have said.” Aḇraham ran into the tent to Sarah and said, “Hurry, make ready three measures of fine flour, knead it and make cakes.”  And Aḇraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hurried to prepare it.  And he took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

Even mature believer, such as Yahushua and Abraham offered to wash the feet of others. Yahushua in John 13:6-7 He wash His disciple’s feet. Our home should be and must be a place where other can come and have their feet washed. The spiritual implication of washing a person feet, has to do with our walk. Too often in our daily journey our feet becomes contaminated by the building block of the flesh, who is better able to help than a mature believer.

The washing of feet is essential to our spiritual development, as Yahushua says in John 13: ⁶Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?  ⁷ Yahushua (Jesus) answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shall know hereafter. ⁸ Peter saith unto him, Thou shall never wash my feet. Yahushua answered him, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

 If our feet, your walk do not get wash daily, if we do not visit the Laver, or wash ourselves in the Water that flows from Yahushua’s side, we can have no part of Yahushua.

Abraham was exercising the Altar called the Laver, or the Blood and Water that flow from our Messiyah side. It is at this Altar, that we help people on their journey to perfection, become perfect. Whom did we meet today that we could have help on their spiritual journey? Whom could we have helped today to overcome the desire of the flesh? Abraham obviously recognizes the journey of the three men, he offered to wash their feet and feed them with the Word.

Notice how Abraham offer the three Men milk and meat. I though that it was not permitted to eat meat and drink milk during a meal: or is this one of the man made commandments. It is a man made commandment.

In our spiritual journey to perfection, it is essential for us to stop, have a Sabbath rest to refresh our selves. Abraham offered his Visitors, Let us recline ourselves under this tree to refresh ourselves then you may continue on your way.

The Laver is only one of the Altars on the road to perfection, it is only a temporary rest area; and then, on we go. So is the Sabbath, we take a rest, then we continue on the journey. Abraham was in his Canaan, full maturity; he is now offering help to those who he sees on their journey. Abraham feed them and encourages them to continue their Journey.

Abraham called his wife, his helpmate to participate in ministering to the travelers. Abraham was showing the three travelers that he was aware of the pattern of ministry. When we act according to the Divine Pattern, as Moses did in building the Tabernacle, the Shechinah Glory will manifest it self.

Gen 18:9 And they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “See, in the tent.”  - Abraham past the test that Adam failed! Where is your wife? At least He was able to give an accurate account to the Three Men as to where she was: Adam could not make that same statement. Now that the Angels were satisfied with his answer, they proceed to make him a promise.

Men if you do not know where your wife is spiritually and physically, you will not be able to receive the promise. Notice the Angel reply: And He said, “I shall certainly return to you according to the time of life, and see, Sarah your wife is to have a son!” And Sarah was listening in the tent door, which was behind him. 

Previously, the prophecy of a son had been given only to Abraham. Now it would be reveled to Sarah as well. The angel inquiring about her was no coincident: As Abraham knew where Sarah was physically, he also knew where she was spiritually; she was in her Tabernacle listening.

Why did the Angel in all His Wisdom not ask Abraham to bring Sarah by his side to receive the promise? Was Sarah not equal to Abraham or wasn’t she? Why weren’t there three women angels, or one man and two women, or even two men and one woman? When there is a strong Torah male leadership, women play a supporting role. As Yahushua is the head of the Messiyanic Assembly so is the man the head of the woman. YAHVEH will permit women leaders, where there are no suitable men. I want to live in YAHVEH Sovereign Will, not His Permissive will.

In the Church, the head will always receive the promise, the body will also hear the promise been given and adjust its self to help or support the head.

Now Aḇraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age, and Sarah was past the way of women. And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “Each day in a person’s life carries with it its own challenges. What is supposed to be achieved today should not be left for tomorrow; because tomorrow carries its own burdens. In the normal course of events, everyone goes through life with his or her own spiritual curriculum: However, too often those events are marked fail or failed again in the lives of majority of humans.

Only great men such as Abraham and great women like Sarah, come through these experiences with pass, pass, and rewrite. This is the significance of the expression , literally, they came with days: Psalms 39:⁵ YAHVEH  let me know my end, the number of my days that I may learn how frail I am. ⁶ You have given my days a very short span; my life is as nothing before you.

A mature believer like Abraham and Sarah knew how to maximize every single opportunity, to squeeze ever ounce of opportunity out of every situation. The incident with the three Angels, they milk it for all its worth. A mature believer will take the opportunity to maximize every Parasha to learn the do’s and the don’ts of the Kingdom.

After I have withered shall I again have delicate skin, my master being old too?” In the literal sense, this is simply a simile for the return of the fountain of youth that would enable her to give birth. When a woman gets pregnant, the cells in her ovaries are in there most youthful stage, those embryos are linked to the mother by an umbilical cord, the liquid that the embryos is submerge in, is of the same essence as the mother and the child.

Women who today spend a great deal of money on plastic surgery could maintain a more youthful appearance by having more children. All women are born with a set amount of eggs, by having more children they would extend their productivity by nine month every time they get pregnant.   

 And יהוה  said to Aḇraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I truly have a child, since I am old?’  “Is any matter too hard for יהוה ? At the appointed time I am going to return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah is to have a son.”  But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!” The appointed time or YAHVEH’s day, are found in Leviticus 23. Every significant event about Isaac like Yahushua is marked by these days. These appointed days are as the time of life when our Lord requires us to come into His Presence.

Sarah is to have a son according to these appointed time, a true son of the promise is to live according to the appointed time. Christianity says that these days are nailed to the Cross, how sad for them when they realize that EL YAHVEH does not change.

           

            Gen 18:16-21 And the men rose up from there and looked toward Soḏom, and Aḇraham went with them to send them away. And יהוה  said, “Shall I hide from Aḇraham what I am doing,  since Aḇraham is certainly going to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? “For I have known him, so that he commands his children and his household after him, to guard the way of יהוה , to do righteousness and right-ruling, so that יהוה  brings to Aḇraham what He has spoken to him.”  And יהוה  said, “Because the outcry against Seḏom and Amorah is great, and because their sin is very heavy,  “I am going down now to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me, and if not, I know.” - Mature believer will always rise early in the morning to accomplish the task set before them. This is another Kingdom principle and a character of a mature believer.

The three messenger (Angels) was about to depart from Abraham on their way to destroy Sodom. They delayed their departure to give Abraham a chance to intercede on there behalf. All mature believers will always intercede on behalf of the lost soul: they understand the importance of every living person who was created in the Image of the Creator.

          I said before, that I believe that Abraham was a prophet; here we see EL YAHVEH revealing His plans to His servant the prophet Abraham. Since Abraham is destined to become a great nation, he has to teach his descendant the value of kindness and justice to all his future generations. It is appropriate that EL YAHVEH informed Abraham about His plan to deal with the wicked.

YAHVEH wanted Abraham to learn that the opportunity for repentance should be always open to sinner, even at the last minute. He also wanted Abraham to know that if there had been some righteous people in Sodom, even if the majority of the population was unsaved, the righteous few would spare the other.

The implication of verse 19, imply that the root of Sodom’s wickedness lay in its failure to abide by the principle that Abraham would instill in his offspring. The cruelties of Sodom had become part of the language as the archetype of selfishness, callousness, insensitivity, and depravity: the root of their evil was greed.

Sodom was a very rich and fertile land, as such; it became a magnet for people seeking their piece of the pie. The citizen of Sodom wanted to maintain their own prosperity on the backs of the new immigrants. However, the wealthy and well-connected Lots of the world were welcome with open arms.

The sexual perversion for which Sodom is notorious was employed to keep visitors away. Such selfish act manifests it self in cruelty and perversion and a civilization that elevates such behavior by using the law, forfeits its right to exist.