PARASHA: “Va’era” (and I appeared) EXODUS 6:2-9:35
YHVH speaks to Moses saying that when he appeared to Abraham, he revealed himself as “El Shaddai” which means “God Almighty” or “God all-powerful, yet he did not reveal himself as he did to Moshe. To Moses he revealed himself with the more personal name; YHVH (Yod Hey Vav Hey) These letters stem from the word; “HaVaYaH” which means “To exist” (we re-arrange the letters) one could say that the name YHVH means “the God who exists from time past, present, and future) “Haya=the past” “Hoveh=the present “Yiyah”=future” As one can see, these words are a mixture of the letters YHVH. We can also say: "I will Be"
YHVH plans to take his people out of Egypt and return them to Canaan, the promised land, and at the same time, “judge the Egyptians” using a series of judgments leading up to the slaughter of the “Passover lambs” a very important “Moed” which we know so well. This year, Passover starts on the eve of April 12th. We can look forward to this time as we do every year. A "Moed" and "Moedim" are the "set aside times when we are to celebrate God's sanctified festivals. Passover is the first "Moed" or "appointed time"
The judgments are directed against the false deities of Egypt and Pharaoh himself. Egypt was pretty well destroyed and left in ruin afterward, and never did regain the power and military might it once boasted of.
From verses 6 to 9, YHVH makes 8 “I will” promises to his people and I want to look at these promises in light of how they affect us as believers in Messiah Yeshua today;
1. I WILL bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
2. I WILL rescue you from their bondage.
3. I WILL redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
4. I WILL take you as my people.
5. I WILL be your God.
6. I WILL make myself known to you as your GOD who brings you out from under the burdens of Egypt.
7. I WILL bring you to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
8. I WILL give it to you as an inheritance.
How do these promises affect us as believers?
1. I WILL bring you out from under the burden of SIN (already done)
2. I WILL rescue you from the bondage of SIN (through Yeshua) (already done)
3. I WILL redeem you with “Two outstretched arms, which received two nails” and “judged” Satan (already done)
4. I WILL take you as part of my people through Yeshua. You are part of the Commonwealth of Israel, you have been “grafted in”
5. I WLL be your God; Adonai-Elohim YHVH. Yeshua, God incarnate.
6. I MADE myself known to you through my Torah! And through YESHUA. The whole Bible is before us to read, and study, and through God's
anointed Word, we come to know God.
7. I WILL bring you to my land. Many have moved to Israel to live, others to visit and get involved with volunteer programs to support Israel.
8. I WILL give you as an inheritance ETERNAL LIFE, and you will be part of MY KINGDOM. If you have already come to Yeshua, you already have it! We can look forward to eternal life in the New Jerusalem, the Heavenly city which will someday, come down to Earth. All believers will be part of His 1000-year reign. We all have a rich inheritance in HIM! who has set the captives free.
A quick look at the plagues that Adonai brought down upon the Egyptians. All were directed against the pagan Egyptian gods.
The staff of Moshe, which was thrown down and became a serpent, the serpent (Cobra) was the emblem of power in Egypt, the symbol of Pharaoh, in this case, the staff of Moshe, (the staff representing the power and authority of Adonai, through Moshe and Aaron) turned into a serpent, and quickly devoured the serpent-staffs of the magicians of Pharaoh. Result? The power (serpent) of Adonai overpowers the authority (serpents) of Pharaoh, case closed! The serpent was judged in the Garden of Eden already.
The Nile was worshipped as a goddess who gave life. The Torah teaches that the life of the flesh is in the blood, yet in this case, the “bloody Nile” symbolizes death. Again, Adonai triumphs over "Anuket" the goddess of the Nile. Only in Goshen was there freshwater. Yeshua, who is the “Living Water” gives life to those who seek Him and are on “His side”.
Frogs are cute yet slimy, a few are OK, but too many are bad, especially when they all start to sing and croak together. The Egyptians could not kill them since they considered them gods. The goddess “Heket” was the goddess of fertility and had the head of a frog! And boy did they ever reproduce! Too many frogs! There were too many “Heketim!” yet Adonai got rid of them, and the land “stank!”
The plague of lice and boils made the Egyptian priests “unclean” to serve. Again, two strikes against Egypt’s religious order.
The plague of the death of the cattle, a strike against the Egyptian god “Apis” (the bull).
The hail from the sky, a strike against "Nut", the goddess of the heavens.
Darkness, a strike against Ra, the sun god. The list goes on. It is a war against the gods of Egypt against the ONE true God, Adonai-Elohim. We know who’s winning, and who won. Yeshua gave HaSatan the death blow at Calvary. The death blow of the firstborn in Egypt was the blow against Osiris, the god of death and the underworld. In Yeshua, life triumphs over death. That is why it is important to be “born again” then we go from death to life;
…..Before being “born again”, accepting Yeshua/Jesus as our LORD and Savior, Messiah, we are under the burden and bondage of “HaSatan” the deceiver, father of Lies, and we do “his bidding” whether we know it or not, maybe a lot of us were not involved in crime, drugs, murder, etc., but we were hell bound and just did not give God a second thought, If Yeshua/YHVH is not our Father, LORD, redeemer, then, we are of our father, “the devil”, there is no other choice, we are either on one side of the fence or on the other side, there is no “in-between” fences. We are under the bondage of sin, and its burden until we are redeemed.
Yet Yeshua DID rescue us from the bondage and burden of sin with “HIS OUTSTRETCHED ARMS” He stretched out his arms and hands to receive the nails of Calvary. He allowed the Roman soldiers to nail him to that rugged cross that Passover day, to pay the price of sin for us all. That day, he “judged” sin and death with his blood.
From the moment we accept HIM as LORD and Savior, we are taken by him as HIS PEOPLE, we join the great Commonwealth of Israel, being grafted into the Olive Tree. We are now HIS PEOPLE and part of HIS FAMILY of redeemed. He is OUR GOD, and he made himself known to us through his WORD. His WORD has been taught to us through his faithful ministers, preachers, rabbis, teachers, etc.
We are now living in different lands, in the USA and in other countries, yet someday, we will go to live in HIS glorious city “The New Jerusalem” which is now in the Heavenlies, yet will one day come to rest on earth. This is our inheritance as believers in Messiah Yeshua, Eternal life in his glorious kingdom. We can rest assured that we all have a glorious future to look forward to. (Yes, I tend to repeat myself).
Shalom to all, from down south.
We are the sheep of HIS pasture. Let's be faithful and follow the Good Shepherd.
YHVH speaks to Moses saying that when he appeared to Abraham, he revealed himself as “El Shaddai” which means “God Almighty” or “God all-powerful, yet he did not reveal himself as he did to Moshe. To Moses he revealed himself with the more personal name; YHVH (Yod Hey Vav Hey) These letters stem from the word; “HaVaYaH” which means “To exist” (we re-arrange the letters) one could say that the name YHVH means “the God who exists from time past, present, and future) “Haya=the past” “Hoveh=the present “Yiyah”=future” As one can see, these words are a mixture of the letters YHVH. We can also say: "I will Be"
YHVH plans to take his people out of Egypt and return them to Canaan, the promised land, and at the same time, “judge the Egyptians” using a series of judgments leading up to the slaughter of the “Passover lambs” a very important “Moed” which we know so well. This year, Passover starts on the eve of April 12th. We can look forward to this time as we do every year. A "Moed" and "Moedim" are the "set aside times when we are to celebrate God's sanctified festivals. Passover is the first "Moed" or "appointed time"
The judgments are directed against the false deities of Egypt and Pharaoh himself. Egypt was pretty well destroyed and left in ruin afterward, and never did regain the power and military might it once boasted of.
From verses 6 to 9, YHVH makes 8 “I will” promises to his people and I want to look at these promises in light of how they affect us as believers in Messiah Yeshua today;
1. I WILL bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
2. I WILL rescue you from their bondage.
3. I WILL redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
4. I WILL take you as my people.
5. I WILL be your God.
6. I WILL make myself known to you as your GOD who brings you out from under the burdens of Egypt.
7. I WILL bring you to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
8. I WILL give it to you as an inheritance.
How do these promises affect us as believers?
1. I WILL bring you out from under the burden of SIN (already done)
2. I WILL rescue you from the bondage of SIN (through Yeshua) (already done)
3. I WILL redeem you with “Two outstretched arms, which received two nails” and “judged” Satan (already done)
4. I WILL take you as part of my people through Yeshua. You are part of the Commonwealth of Israel, you have been “grafted in”
5. I WLL be your God; Adonai-Elohim YHVH. Yeshua, God incarnate.
6. I MADE myself known to you through my Torah! And through YESHUA. The whole Bible is before us to read, and study, and through God's
anointed Word, we come to know God.
7. I WILL bring you to my land. Many have moved to Israel to live, others to visit and get involved with volunteer programs to support Israel.
8. I WILL give you as an inheritance ETERNAL LIFE, and you will be part of MY KINGDOM. If you have already come to Yeshua, you already have it! We can look forward to eternal life in the New Jerusalem, the Heavenly city which will someday, come down to Earth. All believers will be part of His 1000-year reign. We all have a rich inheritance in HIM! who has set the captives free.
A quick look at the plagues that Adonai brought down upon the Egyptians. All were directed against the pagan Egyptian gods.
The staff of Moshe, which was thrown down and became a serpent, the serpent (Cobra) was the emblem of power in Egypt, the symbol of Pharaoh, in this case, the staff of Moshe, (the staff representing the power and authority of Adonai, through Moshe and Aaron) turned into a serpent, and quickly devoured the serpent-staffs of the magicians of Pharaoh. Result? The power (serpent) of Adonai overpowers the authority (serpents) of Pharaoh, case closed! The serpent was judged in the Garden of Eden already.
The Nile was worshipped as a goddess who gave life. The Torah teaches that the life of the flesh is in the blood, yet in this case, the “bloody Nile” symbolizes death. Again, Adonai triumphs over "Anuket" the goddess of the Nile. Only in Goshen was there freshwater. Yeshua, who is the “Living Water” gives life to those who seek Him and are on “His side”.
Frogs are cute yet slimy, a few are OK, but too many are bad, especially when they all start to sing and croak together. The Egyptians could not kill them since they considered them gods. The goddess “Heket” was the goddess of fertility and had the head of a frog! And boy did they ever reproduce! Too many frogs! There were too many “Heketim!” yet Adonai got rid of them, and the land “stank!”
The plague of lice and boils made the Egyptian priests “unclean” to serve. Again, two strikes against Egypt’s religious order.
The plague of the death of the cattle, a strike against the Egyptian god “Apis” (the bull).
The hail from the sky, a strike against "Nut", the goddess of the heavens.
Darkness, a strike against Ra, the sun god. The list goes on. It is a war against the gods of Egypt against the ONE true God, Adonai-Elohim. We know who’s winning, and who won. Yeshua gave HaSatan the death blow at Calvary. The death blow of the firstborn in Egypt was the blow against Osiris, the god of death and the underworld. In Yeshua, life triumphs over death. That is why it is important to be “born again” then we go from death to life;
…..Before being “born again”, accepting Yeshua/Jesus as our LORD and Savior, Messiah, we are under the burden and bondage of “HaSatan” the deceiver, father of Lies, and we do “his bidding” whether we know it or not, maybe a lot of us were not involved in crime, drugs, murder, etc., but we were hell bound and just did not give God a second thought, If Yeshua/YHVH is not our Father, LORD, redeemer, then, we are of our father, “the devil”, there is no other choice, we are either on one side of the fence or on the other side, there is no “in-between” fences. We are under the bondage of sin, and its burden until we are redeemed.
Yet Yeshua DID rescue us from the bondage and burden of sin with “HIS OUTSTRETCHED ARMS” He stretched out his arms and hands to receive the nails of Calvary. He allowed the Roman soldiers to nail him to that rugged cross that Passover day, to pay the price of sin for us all. That day, he “judged” sin and death with his blood.
From the moment we accept HIM as LORD and Savior, we are taken by him as HIS PEOPLE, we join the great Commonwealth of Israel, being grafted into the Olive Tree. We are now HIS PEOPLE and part of HIS FAMILY of redeemed. He is OUR GOD, and he made himself known to us through his WORD. His WORD has been taught to us through his faithful ministers, preachers, rabbis, teachers, etc.
We are now living in different lands, in the USA and in other countries, yet someday, we will go to live in HIS glorious city “The New Jerusalem” which is now in the Heavenlies, yet will one day come to rest on earth. This is our inheritance as believers in Messiah Yeshua, Eternal life in his glorious kingdom. We can rest assured that we all have a glorious future to look forward to. (Yes, I tend to repeat myself).
Shalom to all, from down south.
We are the sheep of HIS pasture. Let's be faithful and follow the Good Shepherd.