Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Pharaoh was willing to let the adults go. He was even willing to let them worship God. There was just one condition. Leave the children behind. Why was that the line he refused to cross? And what does that reveal about the real battle taking place in our Torah portion? Let's explore what's really at stake here in this week's five minute Torah.
[00:00:25] Shalom and blessings from Shalom Macon, the place where disciples of Yeshua learn, connect and grow. I'm Darren and before I get into the five minutes of my five minute Torah commentary, let's cover a few quick facts about this week's Torah portion. This week we are studying the 15th portion and the third portion of the Book of Exodus. We are in the portion of Bo Exodus 10:1 through 13:16. And here are the three things that you need to know about it. Number one final plagues the ultimate blow. This week's Torah portion begins with the last three of the ten plagues God inflicted against Egypt. The locusts, darkness and death of the firstborn. With the locusts and darkness, Pharaoh refuses to let the children of Israel go yet again. Finally, the Lord has to bring about his final judgment by taking the lives of the firstborn of every house of Egypt. God told Moses about midnight, I will go out in the midst of Egypt and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. From the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the hand mill and all the firstborn of the cattle, there shall be great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been nor ever will be again. This is Exodus 12:4,6. It came about exactly as the LORD had spoken. We read and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. Exodus 12:30. It was the ultimate blow against the ultimate enemy of Israel. Number two, the Passover. A yearly reminder before the Lord cast his final judgment on Egypt. However, he gave the children of Israel instructions for how they could avoid the death of their firstborns. They were to take a lamb and after slaughtering it, use its blood to mark the doorposts of their homes. In order to avoid the Lord's judgment. God said, for I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And on all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgments. I am the Lord. The blood shall be assigned for you on the on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will Pass over you and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This is Exodus 12:12 13.
[00:02:35] God spared the lives of all the firstborn of Israel and that night marked the very first passover. This night would be forever memorialized in a yearly celebration at the onset of the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, with the Passover Seder according to the Lord's instructions. Number three the Exodus Leaving Egypt Once the final blow was struck against Egypt and Pharaoh finally relented to release the children of Israel. We read the Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. This is Exodus 12:33. A great multitude went up from Egypt that night, about 600,000 men on foot besides women and children. This is verse 37. They left in haste, not even allowing their doe to rise before the journey. Quote it was a night of watching by the Lord to bring them out of the land of Egypt. So this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations. This is Exodus 12:42. It was a night of deliverance, a night of salvation that would ultimately lead them to Sinai, where they would receive God's covenant, and to Canaan, the land of promise. The Five Minute Torah series is your guide to uncovering Messianic connections within each week's Torah portion, pulling to together the Torah and the teachings of the apostolic Scriptures. In just five minutes you'll discover how the Torah connects to your life as a disciple of Yeshua with insights that are both practical and deeply spiritual. The Five Minute Torah books are the weekly Torah portion with a Messianic connection in just five minutes. Don't wait. Order yours today.
[00:04:11] This week's Torah commentary is called From Generation to Generation and comes from my book, Five Minute Torah Volume one. With the opening words of our Torah portion, we hear the very heart of God. Then the Lord said to Moses, go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them that you may know that I am the Lord. This is Exodus 10, verses 1 and 2. The entire reason for the battle with Pharaoh is that he wants to create a legacy, a memorial and a devotion to himself that will be passed on from generation to generation among the children of Israel. He says it is so that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson. His desire is that the children of Israel would attach themselves to him forever, and that there would not be a generation in which he is forgotten. It is therefore the responsibility of parents to teach their children the ways of the Lord and to recount everything he has done in our lives so so that they can see his love, his faithfulness, and his greatness. When Pharaoh momentarily relents after the plague of locusts, he asks Moses whom he intends to take out into the wilderness. Moses replies, we will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters. Exodus 10:9 Pharaoh snapped back, the Lord will indeed be with you if I ever let you and your little ones go. Verse 10 the world does not want us to teach our children to serve the Lord. Secular society would like nothing better than for our children to forsake their spiritual heritage. As noted in his biography of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Rebbe of blessed Memory and the seventh leader of Chabad, Joseph Telushkin, shows that the Rebbe understood this probably more than anyone. In a private meeting with the philosophy major, the Rebbe spoke critically of Platonic philosophy on a subject that has rarely been addressed and according to Plato, the family unit is a primary problem of society. Plato believed that children should be stripped from their families and raised by the state without any knowledge of their parents. This would allow them to be programmed properly by the state, to be dutiful citizens who were loyal to the state above their families. The Rebbe considered this philosophy to be cruel, and rightly so. This very thing does happen, however, in communist countries, and it's happening more frequently in our own country. Although we don't live under Pharaoh, we do see his spiritual equivalent in a humanistic attitude in our government and especially our educational system. Pharaoh does not want us to go with our children. He's fine with us leaving on our own, but he wants to keep the children for himself. He knows that if he can raise the children, then he can rule the world. This is why we must do everything within our power to share our spiritual journey with our sons and daughters. And it can't be a private matter. We can't just practice our faith and expect our children to catch it. We have to continually strive to bring them along with us, not through coercion or force, but through consistency, integrity, and inspiration. We want our children to pass on a legacy of faith to their children and grandchildren as well. The best way we can ensure this continuance is by investing into our own children now. We we can't leave them with Pharaoh. We have to take them with us. If you like this video, please take a second to like it and subscribe so you won't miss what's next. At the end of this video, you'll see a recommended teaching Go ahead and watch it and keep building your faith. And please help us spread the message. Share these videos on your social media. The more people who watch, the better they'll understand Yeshua from a Messianic Jewish perspective and together we can begin transforming our world. And hey, join us live at Shalom Making every Shabbat every Saturday at 9am a.m. and 11am Eastern. We would love to grow with you.
