Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: DNA, the building blocks of life. It's the molecule that carries genetic information for the development and function of an organism. Every living organism depends on this foundational element. It not only stores the genetic information needed for an organism to develop and function, but also to reproduce. But what happens if that DNA is damaged? What if it mutates? How does that affect the subsequent generations of that organism? Will the offspring resemble the parent? What if that DNA is continually corrupted in every generation? If you're wondering how all this connects with this week's tour portion, stick around for this week's five minute tour.
Shalom and welcome back. I'm Darren. I'm excited to be with you again for another weekly tour portion video. Before I get into my five minute tour commentary, here are a few quick facts about this week's Torah portion. This week we're studying the portion of lech Lechad Genesis 12:1 17:27 and here are the three things that you need to know about it. Number one Avraham Avinu the Calling of Avram out of all the people on earth, God calls a man named Avram to make into a great nation that will make an indelible mark on the world. He promises to give Avram a son whose offspring will be more abundant than the stars in the sky. God tells Avram, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you, and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you, I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis 12:1 3 and unfortunately, since that time the world has been jealous of that Promise and will stop at nothing to destroy the people of Promise or deny their heritage. May we always support the children of Promise, the Jewish people. Number two Melchizedek the mysterious priest of God Avram travels to Canaan with his nephew Lot. But soon there's a quarrel among their herdsmen, causing them to split up. Lot ends up settling in the fertile land of Sodom. Not too long thereafter, Lot is kidnapped when Sodom is attacked by an alliance of neighboring kings. When Avram finds out, he pursued them and rescued Lot and the others being held captive. On his journey home, Melchizedek, the King of Salem, came and blessed Avraham. This mysterious figure has captivated Bible students for thousands of years, especially because Yeshua is compared to him in the book of Hebrews 3 Circumcision the Sign of the Covenant When Avram was 90 years old, God made a covenant with him. He changed his name from Avram, meaning exalted Father, to Avraham, which means father of multitudes. He also gave Avraham instructions to be circumcised and that he must circumcise every male offspring perpetually. As a sign of this covenant, God declares his covenant with Avraham as an everlasting Covenant. See chapter 17, verse 13:1 that does not end. Therefore, circumcision, being the sign of that covenant with Avraham and his descendants, is also perpetual and continues to this very day among the descendants of Avraham. You've made it to the new Torah Cycle. Congratulations. Now all you need to do is grab a copy of one of my five Minute Torah commentaries. With three volumes to choose from, you can't go wrong. Help promote Messianic Judaism and Shalom Makan by picking up your own copy and sharing it with your family and friends. Once they see the depth and beauty of the Torah from a Messianic Jewish perspective, you might end up with a new study partner. Grab your copy today using the link in the description below this video this week's Torah commentary is called Changing the Future and comes from my book, Five Minute Torah, Volume 3. At the beginning of our Torah portion, we learned about the calling of a man named Avram. The Lord would eventually change his name to Avraham, but while he was still called Avram, the Creator of the universe summoned him out from among his people and into a service. He immediately left a city named Haran and headed toward Canaan, the land God would eventually give to him and his descendants. When he reached Canaan, however, the Torah details Avram's encampments, naming them individually, beginning with Shechem. As it says, Avram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh.
Ramban or Nachmanides, takes note of this and asks why the Torah records these encampments. He answers his own question by saying that the Torah is teaching us a valuable lesson. A principle of the Torah that states ma seavot Siman labanim, the deeds of the fathers are portents or signs for the children. Avraham, the father of the Israelite nation and the father of faith to all who believe, sets the pattern for those who would come after him. His actions set in motion this spiritual principle. Everything he did became a blueprint for both his natural children and his spiritual children. We see this principle play out in the lives of Abraham's children and grandchildren. Both Isaac and his son Jacob often retrace the steps of Abraham and imitate his actions. For instance, when Abraham settles in the land of the Philistines, he tells Abimelech that Sarah is his sister, so the king takes her for himself. When Isaac journeys to the same area, he repeats the same ruse with Rebekah with the same results. We can see this on a national scale. Also, Abraham fled to Egypt to escape a famine, and his wife was taken captive, finally to be released because God's judgment came upon Pharaoh in the form of a plague. Later, Israel went down into Egypt to avoid famine and was enslaved, only to be released when God brought judgment upon Pharaoh in the form of plagues. Rambam mentions the pattern found in our Torah portion. Just as Abraham first came to Canaan by way of Shechem and then encamped between Bethel and AI, when Joshua led the children of Israel into the Promised land, they first conquered Shechem and then conquered AI. See Joshua 7 and 8. We can clearly see this pattern revealing itself throughout the Torah, not only in the life of Abraham, but also in the lives of all the patriarchs. And if we're honest, we can also see this pattern established in our own lives. Both our choices and our actions have generational repercussions. If children look closely at themselves, they will see similar patterns to their parents being played out in their lives. These even extend to events that happened in the lives of parents long before their children. Knowing this simple principle is empowering. At the same time, it's a frightening thought. What patterns have we unknowingly established for future generations? They're probably a combination of good and bad ones. Once we have this knowledge, however, we should become more intentional in our actions and begin working to establish better patterns that will produce the fruits of righteousness in subsequent generations. We must be ever mindful of the fruit of our actions. Whether we see it in our lifetime or not, our actions have ramifications. If we all understood this principle and made life choices with this in mind, then each generation would draw nearer to God rather than becoming more distant from Him. We have the power to change the future, but that change has to begin with us. We can't teach one thing and practice another. This was the issue that Yeshua had against the leading Pharisees of his day. They preach, but do not practice. They do all their deeds to be seen by others.
We will reap all that we have sown in the generations to come. The deeds of the fathers are Indeed, signs for the children and our deeds will set the course for our future generations. Whether we realize it or not, we're planting for the next generation. Through our own actions, we can pass down seeds of righteousness or seeds of hypocrisy. Going back to my intro when I was talking about DNA, we are either passing down healthy spiritual DNA or damaged spiritual DNA to the subsequent generations. Unlike physical DNA, we have the ability to alter our spiritual DNA, even though we may try to hide it. Our spiritual genetics will come out in our children, our grandchildren, and those we disciple because they will inherit these spiritual genes. So if we want to change the future, we need to begin by changing the present in ourselves. I've said a lot of hard things here. Do you agree or disagree with me and why? What have you seen to be true in your life? I would love to hear your thoughts and I'm sure others would as well. Let me hear your story in the comments below. Also, we're back in our series Repaving the Romans Road, starting this weekend at Shalom Macon and you won't want to miss it. If you missed any other previous lessons, you can check them out right here. I'll see you next week for another messianic insight into the eternal Tour of God. Blessings from Shalom Macon, the place where disciples of Yeshua learn, connect and grow.
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