“Family History”                                      

    Toldot 2006

    Genesis 25:19-28:9

     Malachi 1:1-27

      Matthew chapters 13-15

Two things stand out this week in the “family history,” strife and wells. Meditating on that for several days, I wondered if they are connected, for wells seem to be in the background of many of the decisions of the patriarchs.

Last week the Torah used two words translated as “well.” First, we had “beer” which means, literally, a “hole in the ground.” Then we had “ayin,” which means “eye” and “fountain”, alluding to the presence and power of God. As the plot unfolded, and the text made use of the latter word seven times, we saw Rebecca performing a superhuman feat, filling her jar over one hundred times, running to water ten camels, confirming to Abraham’s servant that she was the chosen bride. Arriving back home with the servant, Rebecca encounters Isaac, who “had been the way of Beer Lahai Roi” (Genesis 24:62), the same well where, a few weeks ago, we saw Hagar receive comfort and instruction.

This week, in between the story of Esau selling his birthright, and Rebecca convincing Jacob to deceive Isaac into believing he is the elder son, we find a story that seems out of place. Isaac, like his father before him, faces famine. He is instructed by God not to go to Egypt; but to dwell in Gerar, the root word of which means to “chew the cud.” It is as if God says, “Don’t worry about the lack of food. I am going to bless you because of your father’s obedience. In the midst of the famine, I have prepared a place for you to go and rest and meditate.” In addition to demonstrating to Isaac the blessings of the obedience of Abraham, it appears God wanted to give him some “time out”, perhaps to ruminate on the struggle between his two sons, of which, oddly, no mention is made in this account.

“So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.” (Genesis 26:6). Speaking of odd things, the first thing that Isaac encounters is Abimelech lusting after Rachel. No doubt Isaac had often heard the stories of his mother being taken, first by Pharaoh, and then by Abimelech. Why do we have a repeat in Isaac’s life? One commentator points out that these stories demonstrate that in each generation, Abimelek, (the numeric value in Hebrew equaling “I want to be king”) wants to steal the glory of God, represented by Sarah and Rebecca, for his own selfish quest for power and pleasure. He suggests that this is a picture of satan deceiving believers both into sin and away from their calling to be light in this world of darkness. This is certainly true. Satan wants to dilute or remove the presence and power of God in our lives intended to influence others to follow Him. I submit that we have to boldly declare our “marriage” to the Holy Spirit, rather than trying to hide beneath the skirts of our “sister” when it seems prudent.

The first well in the family history is introduced by the struggle between Hagar and Sarah (Genesis 16). Moving outside of God’s plan, and upon Sarah’s insistence, Abraham took Hagar as his wife. She became pregnant and despised Sarah. Life became very hard for Hagar and she fled from her mistress. But a merciful God met Hagar at a well to explain what was happening and what she should do.

He instructed her to return and submit herself to Sarah. He promised to greatly increase her offspring. He told her what to name her son and He revealed what Ishmael’s character would be. Evidently, Abraham also recognized the Source of wisdom for he named their son as the LORD instructed; and we see no argument from Sarah. Hagar named the well, Beer Lahai Roi, literally, “Well of the One Who Lives and Sees Me.”  This, then, is the well of Torah, the root word of which means “teaching and instruction.” Immediately afterwards, God instructs Abraham to “walk before Me and be blameless” (17:1). If you study the word “blameless”, you will discover that it is interchangeable with “righteous.” In Scripture, only those obedient to God’s commandments, statutes, and ordinances were given these accolades. Elizabeth and Zachariah are one example (Luke 1:6).

The next well is mentioned after Abraham obeys God’s command to send Hagar and Ishmael away. “Early the next morning,” Abraham, bondservant of the LORD, obeys this heart-wrenching command. This test behind him, we then read, “And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, ‘God is with you in all that you do’” (Gen. 22:22). (Don’t you think that Abraham, still grieving over the separation from Ishmael, was thinking, “If God is with me, why is there so much strife and why am I hurting so much?”) The same king who took Sarah into his harem, and who watched God immediately close all the wombs in his household, perhaps even all the orifices, as hinted in a previous commentary, now says, “God is with you in all that you do. Let’s make a deal.”  The fear of Abraham had come upon Abimelech, just as it would later come upon the citizens of Jericho when the descendants of Abraham entered the land.

Before Abraham agrees to covenant with Abimelech, he rebuked the king because of a certain “well of water” which the king’s servants had “seized.” When Abimelech denies any knowledge of the matter, Abraham proceeds with the peace treaty; but makes it clear that he owns the well. He gives seven female lambs to the king, saying, “Take these seven ewe lambs from my hand that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.” He called the name of the well Beersheba or “Well of the Seven” (21:31).

The seven female lambs represent the Holy Spirit, or Ruach HaKodesh, which, in Hebrew thought, is feminine. Four times the Bible mentions “seven spirits”; all of them contained in the book of Revelation. The number “four” always points to Messiah. Seven, of course, refers to completeness.  So, the “seven spirits” are the complete wisdom of God found in Messiah, the Living Torah. This is what Abraham tapped into when he dug “the well of the seven.” It is significant that Abraham’s ownership of this well was firmly established at this point, for he would surely need it when he received his next command. “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him…’Take now your son, you only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a brunt offering…’” (Genesis 22:1-2).

If Abraham had any doubts before that God was with him and loved him, what did he think now? Can you imagine receiving such a message? What sustained Abraham? What increased his faith to the point that he could get up “early the next morning” and go to Moriah?

Two weeks ago I inserted the words of a creed entitled “Others May, You Cannot.” I was hesitant to insert this “Bondservant’s Creed,” as I call it, into Torah commentary. But, again this morning, the Spirit is bringing it to mind. Those who would finish their race must “settle it then, that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit. It is His option to tie your tongue, chain your hands, or close your eyes in ways that He does not seem to use with others.” This, then, was Abraham’s secret. And it is the secret of all who have brought glory to God. In dying to themselves, to human reasoning, to the voices of people, and the call of the world, one surrenders to this “peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship” and finds “the vestibule of heaven.” Once you have been to this place of intimacy, my friend, no matter the cost, nothing else will do. No praise of man, no earthly reward. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can touch it. If one is to be salt and light in the darkness, able to block out every voice but One, much wisdom, encouragement, and inspiration are needed. This, I’m certain, comes only from the “wells” of which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob drank.

What gave Abraham the ability to close his ears to everyone else but the Voice of Almighty God? What inspired him to look beyond his fears to the future fulfillment of the promise that Isaac’s descendants would be as the sands of the sea?  I submit that Abraham not only drank, he soaked in “The Well of Seven,”  receiving from the Holy Spirit the revelation of God’s plan for man and the role of Abraham and his descendants in its fulfillment. When the ordeal was over, Abraham returned and “dwelt at Beersheba” or “lived with the Well of the Seven.”(22:19). Sarah, however, left Beersheba, and according to the Sages, died on the way to Mount Moriah. What if she, too, had “dwelt at Beersheba,” soaking in “The Well of Seven”?

Last week we saw Abraham’s servant at another “well of water,” praying for success for his master. God answered mightily and the servant soon departed with the bride-to-be. (Gen.24:61). Approaching the bridegroom, they see Isaac coming from “ the way of Beer Lahai Roi”, literally, “the way of The One Who Lives and Sees Me”, the exact same place where Hagar had earlier met the Lord and been given teaching and instruction, or Torah. As the portion came to a close last week, Abraham died, “and Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi” or, literally, “lived with the Well of the One Who Lives and Sees Me.” This week we see Isaac, between the stories of Esau selling his birthright and Jacob’s usurping the blessing, being sent out for a time to think, where he would encounter many “wells.”

During Isaac’s “time out,” he must have meditated on God’s words, “I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” (26:4-5). He must have meditated on his father’s life, and now that he had children of his own, he must have marveled at the inner strength of his father to set his face toward Mount Moriah. He must have realized God’s awesome presence and power in his father’s life and desired that his own legacy would be to obey God’s voice and keep His charge, His commandments, His statutes, and His laws.

“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous...so the Philistines envied him” (26:13). Strife on every side! Isaac seeks for wisdom to deal with the envy of his neighbor; but “the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug…and they had filled them with earth. And Abimelech said to Isaac, ‘Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we’” (26:12-16). Could it be that the famines that both Isaac and Abraham experienced were an indication of their spiritual need to draw closer to God? The strife between his sons and the strife in the land drove Isaac to search diligently for his father’s wells. Is that the reason God allows strife in our lives, to drive us to seek Him?

What we see next is the frantic digging of wells and contention over their ownership. Isaac knew he had to possess the source of his father’s unwavering faith and devotion. But, the other “wells” failed to deliver the sustenance that Isaac so desperately sought.

At last, Isaac goes up to the city of Beersheba where his father’s servants had dug “The Well of the Seven.” There Isaac built an altar and called on the name of the LORD, surely crying out to God for his own source of spiritual strength. Abimelech comes to Isaac, and, exactly as years before to Abraham at this very place, says, “We have certainly seen that God is with you. Let’s make a deal.” Once again, God gives his bondservant the power to live in peace in the land of his enemy. On that same day Isaac’s servants informed him that, finally, his great desire had been granted, “The Well of the Seven” had been uncovered. God answered Isaac’s prayer, and not just for him, for it would be at this same well that Jacob, years later, would hear these words: “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.” I will go down with you to Egypt and I will surely bring you up again…” (Gen. 46:1-4).

The “Well of the One who Lives and Sees Me” and “The Well of the Seven” have once again been “seized” and “filled in with earth” by those who say Torah has been done away with. It is the responsibility of every generation to re-dig these wells and claim ownership. Those who are digging now are discovering a source of strength, inspiration, and wisdom previously unknown, in addition to unparalleled intimacy with the Father and His Son, confirming the words of Yeshua. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (John 14:21,23).

But, practically speaking, how do we re-dig the wells?

From my own experience, I can say that hearing and doing are powerful well-drilling equipment. Previously, it has been demonstrated that obedience is God’s primary love language. It is to those who obey that God pours out revelation (subterranean wisdom) represented by these wells. Abraham’s obedience was radical, severing himself both from his past and his expectations. Elisha burned his plow and sacrificed his oxen upon hearing and obeying the call of the LORD (1 Kings 19:21). He was thus freed to hear one Voice, to be nourished and satisfied only from the well of Torah, and thus strengthened to carry out difficult assignments. We see this same radical obedience in every true prophet, and every true disciple of Yeshua. The revelation that poured forth as a result of their obedience enabled them to overcome their fears and the negative influence of others.

After I began to keep Sabbath (in the face of great opposition), revelation of Torah began to pour forth like a river. I had always been puzzled by Nehemiah’s seeming compulsion over the Sabbath; but after I personally experienced the blessings of it and from it, I understood. (Read Isaiah 56 and 58:12-14). When I applied for my job at Belk, I prayed earnestly that God would honor my desire to keep Sabbath; and I can report that in the two years that I have been there, I have never been asked to work between sundown on Friday and sundown on Saturday. A few weeks after my roommate began to keep Sabbath, a man who lives behind us came to inquire as to whether she “would mind” if he mowed the grass. Since July of 2005, the lawn has been faithfully maintained and this man will not accept any money. Further, this relationship opened the door for us to share Yeshua and Torah. Now, this man, who is not a church member, is reading his Bible every week, digging into the Torah portion, and sharing with his family.

When, by faith, I began as an infant to crawl into the keeping of the LORD’s feasts (Lev. 23), the river widened and deepened. I lost all desire for Christmas and Easter, the roots of which are pagan. This year, Elizabeth and I quietly made our employers aware in the spring that we would not be available for work certain days the rest of the year. We made plans in advance to keep not only the Festivals of the LORD; but Hanukah, the Feast of Dedication which Yeshua kept (John 10:22), and also sanctifying the new moon each month. Last year, when the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) arrived, we took the first and last days off from work, as the Torah instructs. We studied the Feast; but, hungry for more, we cried out to the LORD that He would enable us to attend a gathering of His people in for Sukkot 2006. Not only did God do just that, He provided, free of charge, a fully-equipped RV for the weeklong camping experience and an unexpected sum of money so that we would not have to be concerned with unpaid days off from work. As we have obeyed, revelation and resources have sprung forth from the Rock.

Fasting and periods of solitude are other ways to re-dig the wells. Since having my own encounter with the LORD in 1995, I have often needed periods of “time out.” When circumstances did not match up with my expectations, I had to go back to the “well” to make sure I was indeed on God’s path. These periods of drawing near to God have frequently been accompanied with fasting, sometimes for a day, several days, or periods of several weeks. At times I would go completely without food, other times with juice and thin soup, or vegetables and fruit only. This discipline enabled me to focus on One voice, to access subterranean wisdom and feed on hidden manna. 

Blessing comes from obedience to Torah. There is no other promise of blessing in the Scriptures. The enemy has sought to keep us from this wonderful Way, has tempted us and deceived us to drink from other sources. But these will never satisfy the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! In fulfillment of His promise to Abraham, our merciful Father is restoring His people to the wells that empowered our forefathers.

Until next week, may the LORD bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you. May He be gracious unto you and give you peace.

Cathy Helms