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Parasha Chaye Sarah/The Life of Sarah
by Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber
The Torah and Brit Chadesha readings for the Shabbat of November 2/27 Cheshvan are: Bereshit/Genesis 23:1-25:18; M'lakhim Alef/1 Kings 1:1-31; 1 Korintim/1 Cor. 15:50-57. Sign - Oht Bereshit {24:12} He said, "HaSHEM, the G-D of my master Avraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Avraham. {24:13} Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. The daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. {24:14} Let it happen, that the young lady to whom I will say, 'Please let down your pitcher, that I may drink.' She will say, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.' Let the same be she who you have appointed for your servant Yitzak. Thereby will I know that you have shown kindness to my master." This Scripture reminds me of Gideon's fleece. You recall the story! Gideon wanted to know if G-d was going to save Israel by his hand, so he asked Him to give him a sign and G-d did. He gave him two in fact. Obviously, seeing as Avraham's servant preceded Gideon, the request of signs from G-d was a fairly common practice. In fact both Avraham's servant and Gideon are just two of many Biblical examples of people asking for signs from G-d as conformations. Because of what Yeshua told the Pharisees in the Brit Chadasha (Renewed Covenant), many believers today are afraid to ask G-d for a sign. Yet here in Torah we have two examples of men of G-d asking the L-rd for a sign: Mattityahu (Matthew) {12:39} But He (Yeshua) answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Yonah (Jonah): What was the sign of Yonah? In this Scripture Yeshua was referring to Yonah having spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, then being vomited up on dry land; a type of the resurrection. Yeshua was equating this event to His upcoming resurrection, which would definitely be a sign. However in Luke, Yeshua, also referred to Yonah said: Luke {11:29} And when the people were gathered thick together, He began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Yonah the prophet. What was the sign of Yonah the prophet Yeshua was referring to in this Scripture? It was his warning of the impending destruction by G-d, of the city of Ninevah. Thus in this Scripture Yeshua was equating His warning of the impending destruction of Jerusalem to the warning Yonah gave to the Ninevites of the impending destruction of their city. Before we jump to any conclusions about asking for signs, we need to understand the context of what had taken place prior to these two Scripture given by Yeshua. It will help us to understand what prompted Yeshua to say them. Previous to these Scriptures Yeshua had performed numerous public signs and miracles for the Scribes, Pharisees and the general public. He did so in an effort to authenticate His Messiahship, but they had rejected all of them. In fact their final rejection was the blasphemous remark: Mattityahu {12:24} But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. It was this remark that prompted Yeshua to respond as follows: Mattityahu {12:31} Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) shall not be forgiven unto men. {12:32} And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaks against the Ruach HaKodesh, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. That generation had committed the unpardonable sin. Yeshua, G-d in the flesh, was in their presence performing miracles by the power of the Ruach HaKodesh, however they attributed these miracles not to the Ruach but to the devil. The judgement of the unpardonable sin was the impending destruction of Jerusalem. We know this to have taken place a brief 40 years later. Yeshua was not talking against asking G-d for a sign. He had already given that generation all the signs they needed to accept Him as the Messiah. There was therefore nothing left for Him to do to convince them, He had done it all. He was not going to perform any more signs; they were an evil and adulterous generation. However, He was still prepared to give them one last sign; the sign of Yonah. It is therefore appropriate for you, when faced with an important decision or choice, to feel free to ask G-d for a sign, after all Avraham's servant did, Gideon did, and so to did many other Biblical figures. The Bible is evidence, they all got their signs and so will you.Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber is the spiritual leader of Congregation Melech Yisrael in Toronto, Canada. Copyright 2002
- Romans 1:16, NIV |