This last Sabbath, my wife and I were privileged to support an effort to unify Hebraic believers. The message was presented by Jimmie Black a musician with a heart for Yahweh. In recognizing the tremendous Light of the World, we worshipped the Name and Power of Yeshua our Messiah. It was indeed a wonderful experience. Dance, prayer, and song for well over an hour.
Throughout the service, I had one question running through my mind. Wouldn’t it be great if people prayed and sang together all the time?
This week’s title is VaYigash, “and he drew near.” The word for this phrase is nagas (H5066). The context in this case is to bring forth, offer or present. Which lends the question, “what was brought forth from Judah to Joseph and were there any relationship changes due to the action?”
The words “drew near” are given in many other places in Scripture. Let’s look at just a few:
Gen. 18:23 Abraham “drew near” to plead for the lives of the righteous.
Gen. 19:9 The Sodomites “drew near” to destroy the house of Lot, yelling, “who makes this man judge?
Gen. 27 Jacob “drew near” to present himself falsely in order to gain his father’s blessing.
Gen. 44 Judah “drew near” to protect Jacob and to begin the process of coming clean.
In the above examples, where do see yourself? When you draw near to Yahweh, do you draw near to plead for strangers, tear down families, present falsehood for gain, or to protect and begin truth telling?
When Judah whispers into the ear of Joseph, he begins a new journey of ridding himself of private sin and takes on instead a mantle of humbleness and sacrifice. It’s from this point forward we begin to see Joseph’s embrace towards his brothers.
I don’t know about you, but I want draw near to the Savior to know Him. The Hebrew context to “draw near” is slightly different than “drew near.” Draw near means to become intimate. This is what I loved about my time with Jimmie and worshipping our Creator. There was no agenda other than to continue to worship until all the “outside agendas” ceased, bringing to light or life the issues of the heart.
Have you ever asked how the dry bones in Ezekial 37 will come to life—allowing Judah and Israel to be restored? Eventually, both Judah and Israel will wrap their arms around each other, just like the story of Joseph and his brothers. They (we) will be tested in order to introspect ourselves. They (we) will be given an opportunity to be honest about our sin. They (we) will be welcomed at the table of Messiah rejoicing in the truth and joy of being set free.
Luke 6 and Luke 24 in this week’s study demonstrates Messiah’s love as he chooses his disciples, as he presents himself at the tomb and Emmaus, and how He gives the command to do likewise. Dear friends, it is impossible to have intimate worship if there is no love.
A spirit contrary to love cannot become a disciple of Yahweh. A spirit unwilling to come clean hinders His embrace. So, draw near. Rid yourselves of giving or receiving words of malice or division. Step away from accusations that tear down. Instead, draw near to Him and ask Him to change not only your heart, but the hearts of those around you. In doing so, true relationship begins.
Be blessed this Sabbath,
Rollyn
This week’s article is an excellent reminder for us to draw near, first to Yahweh, and then others. It reminds me of how our forefathers would draw near to accomplish all manners of business in the gates of the Israelite communities they lived in. As trustees in the Kingdom, they were responsible to to carry out scriptural mandates in regards to community affairs. The “gates” provided a setting where brothers could bring disputes in order to receive judgment. Even the parents of rebellious children were commanded to bring them to the elders at the gate of their town (Deut 21:18). Here, judgment would be passed and all the men of their town were to stone the rebellious son. Through much of Scripture and history, we see the city gates, or the town square if you wish, used as a platform for discussion, problem solving, and even judgment. The town square has taken many shapes throughout history. Lately, the town square has taken the shape of digital platforms such as Facebook, You Tube, and even websites like this.
Some of us remember the distant days of covid, when dissenting voices were being pushed out of the town square by platforms such as You Tube. You Tube routinely shadow banned, or flat out deleted those channels that were dissenting from the authorized narrative. You Tube became notorious for even deleting users’ comments in what they thought was an open platform. Obviously You Tube had an agenda at play, and no amount of facts to the contrary would be tolerated. Even to this day, this writer could show photographic evidence of his own comments being deleted from You Tube’s town square. Even though this is likely being perpetrated by artificial intelligence, would we not all cheer if the employees of such digital platforms stood up and told their employers that no amount of money will compel them to silence open discussion? Even if such discussion is dissenting? Doesn’t it make one ask why You Tube has a comment section at all if they just delete comments they don’t like? It appears You Tube does not embrace our desire to draw near to one another.
Thankfully, the town square is still alive and well in some places. Through both physical and digital town squares, such as this, believers in the Way can draw near to encourage, debate, and even pass judgment if necessary. Brothers like Jay can expose, without fear of being deleted, the conspiratorial actions of evil trustees that are trying to oppress us and obfuscate matters so that we cannot gain a clear understanding of issues affecting many aspects of our lives. Without risking deletion, Rollyn can offer teachings and exhortations that would most likely be deleted by the likes of You Tube and Facebook. Thankfully there are such town squares where open discussion is valued, agendas are exposed, and unpopular dissenting voices are protected with the same zeal as the consenting voices. Praise be to Yah.
Endre