What Path Should I Take?

Do you struggle to know God? Maybe you want to know Him more because you are experiencing certain circumstances in your life that seem unresolvable. Maybe you have stress in your home.  Or maybe, you just want to know He is real.  No matter what the reasons, this Torah section is for you.  Are you ready to seek Him out?

The first part of this Torah Section (VaYetze-And He Went Out) begins with saying, 

“Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went towards Haran.”  

Sounds pretty straight forward. Right?  But, what is “then” referring too?  “Then” implies that something happened before the action to leave.  What could it be?

If we look at the prior verses, we find Jacob’s older brother Esau looking into a certain matter:

  “Esau saw the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac and that Jacob obeyed his father and mother.  So, Esau went to Ishmael’s family to take a wife.” (Gen. 28:8-9)

This text may seem nothing more than Esau making another poor choice in his life.  Though in reality, it paints a more serious battle between Esau and Jacob when it comes to family blessings.  From the perspective of Esau, Jacob stole the “birthright” (Gen. 27:34), in that the inheritance typically goes to the eldest and the one who establishes a family.  

At the end of Genesis 27, we read about Esau’s two wives bringing grief to Rebekah.  Esau had started a family, though this family is not to the liking of Rebekah and Jacob.  Consequently, we see Esau trying to gain greater authority and favor.  He does so by finding a wife from Abraham’s son Ishmael.  Esau does this after overhearing Isaac telling Jacob to find a wife from the tribe of Laban.  It’s from this point (the “then”) that Jacob goes to Haran. 

If you think you have family dynamics to deal with, consider the pressure Jacob is now under:  A jealous brother wanting the birthright taken from you.  A family who needs you to marry well.  And of course, the obvious problem of leaving the comforts of home, to find your own way.  Would this make you want to cry out for a bit of assistance? 

It’s at this point, I want to stop to remind us of a very important text found in Romans 8:26:

“Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;” 

After Jacob leaves to Haran, the infamous dream of a ladder descending from Heaven is given.  Did Jacob cry out for this dream?  It’s not stated.  It only states that Jacob laid his head on a stone.  (Many believe this is a direct reference to the Cornerstone Yeshua.)  What we do know for sure, is that the dream is given to Jacob as prophetic assurance.  Why does YHWH intercede like this?  Does He want us to know His declarations?  Does He want us to know He hears our heart? 

 Yet, even after building a pillar of importance and blessing it with oil, Jacob makes a vow to follow YHWH God only if his earthly needs for clothing, food, and safety are met.  Surely, Jacob is a deeper person then this.  Isn’t he?  Rather than judging him, we might want to consider how long it takes to develop a faith walk.  Would we ask for something similar?   

Fast forward to the two wives gathered by Jacob:  Leah the unloved wife and Rachael the loved wife. They also have a need to develop a faith walk.  

“Now when Rachel saw that she had not borne Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister; 

and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I am going to die.” 

Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”  Gen. 30:1-2

It’s pretty easy to recognize Jacob’s response.  In short, he has grown to recognize that every person must deal with YHWH God directly.  Many times, we like to blame others for our circumstances.  But yet, we must all learn the concept of dealing directly with our Creator.  But, Rachel moves forward in the best way she knows how—to take matters into her own hands and tells Jacob to lay with her servant.  

“And Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.  So, Rachel said, “With mighty wrestling I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” 

And she named him Naphtali.” Gen. 30:7-8

Let’s take a moment to understand the phrase “I have wrestled.”  It’s found in H6617 and it means patal (paw-thal) to struggle, morally tortuous, (to be twisted myself).  Have you ever been twisted to such an extent that you feel tortured?  When we operate outside of YHWH, this happens rather easily.  The way of Yah may seem challenging at times, though I don’t believe we can call His Ways torture.  

Does YHWH still care for Rachel even though she moved out on her own?  I believe He still meets us at our need—waiting for us to humble ourselves.  How do I know this? 

Naphtali also means, “My Struggle” and is commonly understood to come from the verb פתל (patal) meaning to twist:  The verb פתל (patal) means to twist or contort, or even to be cunning or crafty. 

There was a famous man from Naphtali’s line who was named Barak.  He became a general under Deborah the judge, and defeated the army of Sisera (Judges 4:6).  He had been chosen by God to lead a military force of 10,000 of his tribe against their Canaanite oppressors. However, when the time came for action, Barak responded in fear and cowardice, agreeing to fight against King Jabin’s army only if Deborah the judge would accompany him. Deborah consents, but she prophesies that the honor for the victory would go to a woman and not to Barak.

But over the years, YHWH through His Son Yeshua shows compassion on the genealogy of Naphtali.  When the time came for David (the genealogy of Yeshua Messiah) to assume the throne, the tribe of Naphtali provided “1,000 officers, together with 37,000 men carrying shields and spears,” along with a caravan of food, to help him (I Chron. 12:34,40).  When King Solomon was building the temple, he hired Huram, a man whose mother was a Naphtalite, to do the bronze work.  Do you think Naphtali is learning a new faith walk? 

But probably the greatest lesson we can take from Naphtali is that God exalts those who have learned the lesson of being humble. Naphtali (as part of Galilee) was despised, and Nazareth was the lowest of the low. Yet Nazareth was Yeshua’s hometown, and Galilee was exactly where Yeshua chose to begin His ministry. For our sakes, Yeshua became “despised and rejected by men” in order to save those who grew up a “bit twisted or tortured” from sin. 

To close out, let’s go back to Esau and Jacob to find the “root of the problem.”  In Genesis 25:22 we read: 

“The children (Esau & Jacob) struggled together within her.”

The phrase “struggled together” is found in H7533  as rasas (raw-tsats’)  It means to be crushed, oppressed and to be broken.  Wow!  Have you considered what this means?  The man of flesh Esau seeks to “crush or oppress” the man of the tent—Jacob.  And of course, the man of the tent seeks to “break” the man of pride or fleshly desire.  Sound familiar with your own life?  

We all struggle.  Though what are you going to do with the struggle?  The choice belongs to you.  How will you come to “know” Yeshua, your Messiah? 

Be blessed this Sabbath,

Rollyn