By Joseph Shulam
Last Shabbat in the synagogues around the world, the reading of Genesis ended with Jacob blessing the twelve tribes – his children! The beginning of the reading of the book of Exodus starts with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. This Shabbat's reading now from the second book of the Bible, Exodus in Hebrew, is called Shemot – that is the "names." The first verse of Exodus starts with the following:
"Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already)."
The reading for this Shabbat is from Exodus (in Hebrew Shemot) 1:1-6:1.
From the Prophets, the reading is from Isaiah 27:6-28:13, 29:22-23.
The New Testament reading is from Matthew 2:1-11.
Jumping from Genesis to Exodus makes it clear that there is a change of scenery, and the DNA differs between Genesis and Exodus. Significantly, we are moving from the story of individual heroes of a family affair to something much bigger and more dynamic. God is no longer the God of individuals. He now moves from a patriarchal setting to the challenges of a nation. This nation is made of tribes, but with a coalition of 12 individuals united by a bond of a common destiny, by common collective problems, and by a common savior appointed by God for all the sons of Jacob as one united child of Israel (Jacob). In the first chapter, we find the following phrase:
"And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them." (Exodus 1:6-7 NKJV)
These two verses are the jumping board into a new DNA for the narrative differences between the book of Genesis and the rest of the Bible. The tribes exist. They don't disappear, but they are no longer indigenous; they are individuals inside a national collective, and that is how the text of Exodus treats them as "the children of Israel." Also, the bigger picture changes dramatically. From here on, the tribes are also a collective. The words of Pharaoh in the following verse emphasize the beginning of Israel as a collective that flows and grows and is perceived as a treat to the nations around Israel:
"Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land." (Exodus 1:8-10 NKJV).
The great Pharaoh suddenly wakes up from a nightmare and feels threatened by this group of Hebrew Slaves. Just a few years earlier, these Hebrew enslaved people were welcomed by another Pharaoh for Joseph's sake and supported as guests in the best land of Egypt, the land of Goshen.
What changed the heart of this Pharaoh and turned the tables on the family of Joseph, who was initially received graciously and honored to settle in the land of Goshen on the Nile Delta? The thing that took over this Pharaoh's confidence is called xenophobia or, in simpler language, plain racial prejudice, racism, fear based on an inferiority complex, a fear based on weak self-respect and confidence.
These things are not only connected to the present text of Exodus but also to what I see happening in several countries and international institutions, like the International Court of Injustice in the Haag, in Holland. Antisemitism is the ultimate expression of this same fear that the Pharaoh of Egypt was infected with, the xenophobia based on an inferiority complex, selfishness, and an insecure heart and soul. The King of Egypt at that period was the ruler of about one-third of Africa, from the Gulf of Egypt in the east to Lake Victoria in the south and to Tunisia in the west. But what bothered him most was that a small group of a few thousand Hebrews were living in the west of the Nile delta in the land of Goshen, and they were not Egyptians. For Pharaoh, foreigners can't be trusted because of his fears and insecurity.
We better watch out, dear brothers, because the irrational fears of our leaders could again cause a disaster and injustice and holocaust to some group of people who innocently want to have a life of opportunities and a better future for their children and grandchildren. Pharaoh's solution to his fears and paranoia was the elimination of the male babies born to Israelite families. The method of elimination of the Jewish babies was simple – the midwives appointed to help with the birth of the Hebrew babies were ordered to kill the male babies during the birth process. In this account, dear brothers and sisters, we witness the best part of human nature. The part that wakes up the divine nature of humans – the divine nature of the human soul that says "NO!" – "I will not cooperate even with my government and be a part of this injustice and horror!" "I will do what is right and just and humane and not obey the evil of my government even if I have to pay for this civil disobedience with my own life!"
At the same time, behind the scenes, God is preparing a savior, a deliverer of the Hebrew Children in the house of Levi, a baby born and saved and hidden from the secret police appointed by the minister of the Egyptian civil security office. In the palace of the Pharaoh, God planted a secret agent right from the Pharaoh's own family: the daughter of the Pharaoh. Her name is BAT-YAH – Jehovah's daughter's name. In the King James Bible, the English spelling is Bithyah, the daughter of Pharaoh. So, it is written in the Bible:
"(His wife Jehudijah bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Sochoh, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) And these were the sons of Bathiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took." (1 Chronicles 4:18 NKJV).
One could come to the proper conclusion in a much simpler way: The daughter of Pharaoh went to the Nile River to bathe with her handmaids. She enters the water of the Nile River alone. Her handmaid's walk along the water but don't get into the water. The Nile River is not one of the safest rivers in the world. There are water snakes, big alligators, and other dangerous creatures. Why do the handmaids of the daughter of the Pharaoh stay out of the water, and Bathiah enters the water alone? The answer is only one: she purified herself after her monthly period.
The waterproofed basket with a Hebrew baby is floating by, and she, Bathiah (God's daughter), takes the basket, reveals the content of this floating basket, and immediately says: "This is a Hebrew Baby!" How could the daughter of the Pharaoh identify the baby boy as a Hebrew baby? I doubt that she went running around the camps of the Hebrew enslaved people to take a peaceful stroll just for fun! But the evidence is that she found opportunities to visit these Hebrew enslaved people to help them or maybe to learn more about them and their faith in One God, Creator of Heaven and Earth! The text of Exodus doesn't give a clear answer to this question. The Hebrew Bible jumps from the book of Exodus to the last book in the Hebrew Bible, the book of Chronicles, to reveal to us what happened to this Egyptian princess called "God's daughter" Bat-Yah. According to Jewish tradition and ancient literature, such as Josephus Flavius's History of the Jews, Pharaoh's daughter joined the children of Israel in their Exodus from Egypt. She crossed the Red Sea on dry land like the rest of the Israelites. The name that this Bat-Yah gave to this baby is clear: Mo (water) Ses, "son of" = The son of the water!
Another significant event that changes the history of salvation is Moses's experience after he runs away from the palace of the Pharaoh. He escapes to the Sinai Desert and becomes a fugitive from Egypt, a shepherd for the flocks of Jethro, and a pagan priest of Median. While shepherding Jethro's flocks, a sheep runs away up to Mount Horeb. Like a good shepherd, Moses leaves the 99 sheep and runs to save the one little sheep running away in a dangerous, steep, mountainous terrain. Here, Moses sees a strange phenomenon: a bush burning fully engulfed in fire and not being consumed. Moses' curiosity brings him close to this burning bush. He wants to see what it is and understand how this burning bush is not being consumed.
Here in the harsh desert of Sinai, God reveals Himself to Moses one-on-one, personally, and commissions this former prince of Egypt, now working in the profession most hated by the Egyptians, being a Shepherd of Sheep. Moses doesn't lightly accept the commission that the Almighty God of Israel is commanding him: go down to Egypt and deliver His people from slavery to freedom and return them to the land given to the fathers of the Hebrew nation, a promise of the land of Canaan, from the river of Egypt in the south to the top sources of the river Jordan in the north. Moses reluctantly accepts the commission and takes two powerful tools: a wooden staff and an imperfect stutterer. Moses is given his older brother Aaron as an aid and a partner in delivering the Hebrews out of Egypt. With these two tools, Moses stands in front of the Pharaoh, who ordered the killing of the male babies of the Hebrew children in Egypt.
Another short note from our reading of the Torah portion of Shemot (Exodus): the methods of God to function among the nations are very interesting to me, and I have read and studied the meaning and implications of God's methods for years. In English, the ways and means that God uses are called plagues. In Hebrew, they are called MAKOT "strikes" – "hits" – or, as I call them, "aspirins." Like when I had to educate my son with my belt!
In God's immutable nature, true love is not possible without discipline. Because God loves His world so much, He sent His especially beloved Son to save us sinners by choosing to be a sacrificial lamb for our sake.
We all must never forget the following text from the book of Hebrews!
"Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?" (Hebrews 2:1-4 NKJV)
Learn from Pharaoh's mistakes and obstinate attitude about what not to do and how not to resist God and His commands!
Like Abraham, even when God requested that he sacrifice his son, Isaac, he always said to God, "HINNENI—Lord, Here I am ready to obey your command!" the only winning formula for a blessed life on Earth and a secure everlasting joy in God's presence in Heaven!
This week has been a difficult and painful week for the body of believers in Israel. Mordechai & Meira Wisman are sitting shiva for their son Staff Sergeant Aviel Yosef Wiseman who was killed in Gaza on Sunday when a building his unit was in collapsed from an explosion. I remember Mordi and his brother and family. The cost of keeping the enemy's of Israel is high with the lives of young men and women. Please keep then Wiseman family in your prayers.
At the time I am writing this prayer list the news outlets in the USA are announcement that that partial hostage release will take place on Sunday. Hamas has not shared which of the hostages will be alive or dead. Please pray for a return of all the hostage to families. Please pray for the assimilation back into society to be guided by the hand of God.
The California fires are remind us that all that we own is temporary. Please keep the families in CA in your prayers and that the rains come and the winds change direction. I am working on finding out if there are specific families that I know that need assistance in the body of believers.
Your prayers for brothers and sisters you don't know personally are pure love and building of the Body of the Messiah. It is Agape Love since you are doing this without any selfish interests and casting a vote in Heaven for someone who is your brother. Still, you don't know them, and God looks at these prayers that are unselfish and genuine expressions of love and care for another link in the long chain of love and faith that binds us together even though we might not know each other in this world.
When we all get to Heaven, it will be a joy to meet people we prayed for and sometimes even cried for. Brothers and sisters who are physically strangers but spiritually a part of the same body of Christ, I believe that one day we will have the privilege to sit together and share: "I remember praying for you to be healed!" "I remember praying for you to be safe when you were fighting in Gaza to free the hostages from the cruel hands of the terrorists of the Hamas in Gaza."
Pray for the following brothers and sisters who need divine grace and the gentle touch of the hand of God for healing and strength.
In Jerusalem:
Joseph & Marcia Shulam
Nancy is at home with Mom and Dad. we are thankful for her friendship and encouragement. Please be thankful for her safe travels and arrival.
Ilana Ahijervie is a dear sister who is 98 years old and suffering from memory problems.
Please pray for our dear sister, Lea Kurkey.
Pray for Adam's father and mother, Barry and Dalia. They have some health problems and challenges.
Pray for Miriam a dear sister old age dementia.
Pray for Um Mahmud Abu-Eid, Jimmy Abu-Eid, and all of the family. This is a dear family of old friends that needs healing and wisdom for the children and for their work.
Please pray for the Romero family, who live deep in the Negev desert. It is hot there, and they are far from our congregation, and we miss them.
in Italy:
new Roberto has reached out on behalf of his friend Nicoletta B who is sick and asking for healing. its such a special and touching request when friends asks for prayers.
in India:
new Diu G. has been sick with meningitis and he and his family are all in need of prayers for strength and healing to help him.
In the U.K.:
Pray for Deborah Isaiah. I pray for the Lord to find Deborah Isaiah and lead her to a blessed life, family, and a solution to her problems.
In Finland:
Mauno Lemponen has been diagnosed with cancer in advanced stages. We are asking for God's Will to be done, giving him healthy days with family—prayers for Hilka, Miika, and Ester, who support each other.
Pray for Keijo and Salme, our dear partners and fellow workers in God's flock. Both Keijo and Salme have some challenging heart issues.
Pray for Satu-Maria, Sinni Tuuli, Anne Mirjami, our dear sisters
Pray for Eva H., Patty, Andrea, Julia, Victor, Aaron Tani, and Hillel.
In Brazil:
Max is anxious waiting for a court decision regarding documentation on his families jewish roots. Please keep Max and the courts outcome in your prayers.
Pray for a dear young man, Paulo, from Curitiba, Brazil, who seriously needs our prayers for sanity and mental health.
Pray for a dear sister named Claudia Rita Souze Arau. She has cancer and needs God's healing hands to touch her with healing.
Pray for Fatima Maria Docarmo Guimararaes - pray for her health and her granddaughters' twin babies.
Guilherme Antonio Nothen Becker is suffering from back problems.
Aratuza de Oliveira and his wife. Pray for their 3-year-old child, Caique de Oliveira Becker, who has severe problems with his eyes, and ask the Lord to give healing to his eyes.
In Asia:
Pray for Pastor TJ in Taiwan.
Pray for Deborah Ruth, a dear sister from China.
Pray for Sister Yoko Nagumo in Japan.
Tony Tam, his wife Luisa, and his son Marco need special prayers for their situation.
We continue to pray for Zhou Wenrian, the Abe family, Toru San, Yumi Ohara, and her family: Deborah Ruth, Ayla, Daniel, and their daughter.
Pray for Dr. Song and his wife, Sister Harriet Kim and the KIBI Ministry.
In the United States of America:
Shirleyann called to say thank you and share good new. still has health issues, please remember her need for healing of her kidney failure and other health needs.
Jose needs your prayers for a blessing on his marriage to grow stronger and prayers for the birth of a Son.
Aida Ramirez is 98 years old and suffering from first stages of dementia. Also her daughter Aida Gonzalez needs prayer for strength and Gods grace and protection as she is taking care of her mother.
Pat S needs prayers as she is suffering memory loss, Philip her husband is a dedicated man of God who is caring for her diligently - please keep them both in prayers.
Jerry Rogers - a long time prayer warrior and supporter in Dallas has been diagnosed with cancer. he is starting treatments and we lift up his doctors and medical team & family in prayer.
Larry is asking for prayers for his grandchildren. I would say most of us that have grandchildren are concerned about the states of the world. The state of intolerance. The temptations out there. Please pray for the holy sprit to guide them in making good choices.
update Bill C. is down to the last treatment. Please pray a thanks to God and continue to ask for success of the treatments.
Juli's scan results were clear. Please give a prayer of thanks.
Brother Philip Slate and his wife. She is suffering from several physical and mental health challenges.
Barbra and Angie in Alaska. Barbra has some pains and discomfort related to old age. Please lift them in prayer for strength and reduction in pain.
Please pray for Danah, my daughter's health issues. I pray for the Lord to give Danah wisdom, peace, and calm in life and her work.
Aaron Hook, Nancy Hook's oldest son, needs our prayers for wisdom and healing from past life issues.
Lift for blessing and healing Jonathan B., his wife Aviva, their new baby, his mother, and his brother Daniel.
Pray for these important men of God: Rabbi Salt, his family, and Rabbi Hasselblad. They are both older and need protection and blessings.
pray for Ilana Avramov, who is married to my cousin Nissim and lives in New York City. Ilana is home now. We pray for her full recovery. She and Nissim both need our prayers.
Pray for Steve Mock - His cognitive condition has declined, and we ask for the grace of God and His Healing and strength. Steve and Josie's son Joseph has received a wonderful and glorious report. After the last bone marrow transplant, the report is that the doctors didn't find any leukemia in his body! Praise the Lord!
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