September 16, 2023: Parashat Torah Portion Yom Teruah
This week’s Parashah Torah Portion Yom Teruah is taken from Genesis 21:1-4. Join Dr. Jeffery Myers, as he reiterates about the hope and resurrection found in Yom Teruah! Connecting the hope of Yeshua with the “The Binding of Isaac”, a promised heir!
Follow along in the AUDIO PODCAST, by clicking on the play button below, and reading along with the notes, as you listen to today's Parashah Torah Portion:
Lion of Judah Speaks: Parashah Torah Portion Yom Teruah - Genesis 21:1-4
Yom Teruah is about hope and resurrection! The hope of Yeshua’s return and our resurrection, as He gathers His people, this is the hope of our salvation. In this special Parashah we connect the hope of Yeshua with the “The Binding of Isaac”, a promised heir to Abraham. The connection of this narrative to this first fall feast has to do with the timing. We do not know when Abraham was told to sacrifice his son. The traditional date of this awesome command from Elohim is the first of Tishri or Yom Teruah.
We see Abraham’s faithfulness to Elohim’s word to the point of offering his son as a sacrifice to Adonai. Abraham saw things through the eyes of our Father and was willing to yield to what Elohim desired no matter the cost. It is especially at this season, Yom Teruach, when the hearts of the people are most sensitive to Elohim’s perception of them, that the imputation of these merits is sought. The Akedah, the binding of Isaac, is deeply woven into the fabric of the Jewish consciousness.
In this narrative we see the promise given to Abraham, a miraculous birth, even though up until then, Sarah was barren and Abraham was “as good as dead “, the Scriptures tell us. We see the willingness of Abraham, his love for his son, Isaac, and his willingness to sacrifice his son—the foreshadow of Elohim’s own sacrifice on behalf of the world.
Isaac- a foreshadowing of Yeshua; like Isaac’s birth, the birth of Yeshua was a miracle. The child Yeshua was conceived through the power of the Ruach HaKodesh (Luke 1:35). In the same way He made a promise to Abraham, Elohim promised to send His Son to be the Redeemer of Abraham’s seed and of the whole world. The Scripture’s prophecy the very coming of Yeshua in Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6-7, Ps. 2 and Prov. 30:4, just to name a few.
Isaac was certainly a type of the greater Son whose coming would fulfill the hopes of all people. However, Isaac was more than merely a type, for it was from his own loins that the future Son of Promise would be born. Yeshua the Messiah was a direct descendant of Isaac. The promised son of Abraham leads us to the promised Son of Elohim in whom all is fulfilled—the promises to Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, Israel, and all the world.
Like Isaac, Yeshua is portrayed by Scripture as perfectly innocent and without sin: Isaiah 53:9 says, “He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.” Isaiah 53:6 tells us, “He died for the sins of the ungodly who deserved the penalty instead.” Like the substitute ram Elohim provided for Isaac, Yeshua was the perfect substitute for us. We can rejoice with Abraham. Elohim has “provided for Himself the Lamb for the burnt offering” (Gen. 22:8). Yeshua is the Lamb of Elohim.
Isaac accompanied Abraham, never expecting that he himself was to be the burnt offering. When he questioned his father about the sacrificial lamb, he was readily answered by Abraham that Elohim would provide the animal at the right time. Isaac must have been terrified as his father took the rope, wound it around him, and placed his bound body upon the altar. Yet he lay without struggle. In obedience to his beloved father and to Elohim, Isaac allowed himself to be prepared for sacrifice.
Abraham stretched out his arm, gathering the courage to plunge the blade into his son’s flesh. Suddenly, he heard a voice, “Abraham! do not stretch out your hand against the lad…for now I know that you fear Elohim, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (Gen. 22:11-12). Abraham’s thankfulness to discover the substitute ram was beyond description. But what of Isaac’s feelings? Was he not justified in resenting Elohim who demanded his life for no apparent reason? NO! Throughout the rest of his life, Isaac continued to be an obedient son and a faithful follower of his Father’s Yah. What an example of faith and obedience!
The obedience of Yeshua was much greater still. In agony, He cried out to Elohim to be delivered from the bitter cup of death, yet obedience to His Father’s will propelled Him to His destiny, to fulfill the mission for which He had come. Even though He was the Son of Elohim, “He learned obedience from the things which He suffered” (Heb. 5:8). The Scripture recounts Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac as he held the knife poised. Yet, Elohim stayed his hand and Isaac’s life was spared. In Abraham’s heart however, the sacrifice had been made, and that was sufficient in the eyes of Adonai.
Elohim offered His Son on Calvary’s altar knowing that Yeshua would rise from the dead. That, however, did not diminish the torment of His sacrifice, for Yeshua still had to endure the indiscernible path of death. Abraham believed Elohim could raise Isaac from the dead. When he told his servants that he and Isaac were going up to the mountain to offer the sacrifice, he said, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship and return to you” (Gen. 22:5). Abraham said, “we will return.”
Resurrection hope must have been central to Abraham’s faith. How else could he resolve the conflict between Elohim’s command to sacrifice his son and the divine promise that was rooted in Isaac? By slaying his son, he was not only slaying the desire of his heart but seemingly frustrating the promise of Elohim. His hope in the resurrection enabled him to obey Elohim, even when it seemed that all would be destroyed.
It is especially significant, then, that the offering of Isaac took place on Mount Moriah. The name Moriah is comprised of two words, one meaning “to see” and the other being the name of Elohim. The name literally means “the shown of YHVH” or even “the manifestation of YHVH.” Abraham called the mountain “YHVH provides.” Little did he know that the same mountain would provide substitution for multitudes of his descendants. Mount Moriah would be the site of Elohim’s Holy Temple—the one place on the earth where acceptable sacrifices could be offered and where His Shekinah Presence would dwell.
Mount Moriah will again be the center of something powerful and miraculous. It is the place of Yeshua’s return, where His feet will stand on His mountain – the dead will be resurrected. A new age will begin – the messianic age; the Kingdom of Elohim – a new beginning! The sound of the shofars are ready to be heard… a sound of joy, anticipation and excitement for the return of our King. As we celebrate this festival in anticipation---may the blasts of our shofars cause Elohim to rise from His Throne to show us mercy and compassion as we serve Him and love Him with all of our hearts, soul and mind. L’shanah tovah Mishpocha…See you at the altar!
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Have a great Sabbath and a blessed Yom Teruah! Blow the trumpet in Zion and sound the alarm on His Holy Mountain! Resurrection is coming so let us make ourselves ready for King Yeshua.
Shalom Aleichem