PARASHAH VAYIGASH STUDY NOTES
(Genesis 44:18-47:27) Week 11 “And he drew near…”
VAYIGASH: “And he drew near”
JUDAH: “Praise” (See how Jacob ADVANCED Judah in the lead as they processed into Egypt!)
NIVALU: Great Fear
HINENI: “Here I am!” Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses responded to God’s call this way!
THE COUNT OF 70: Jacob’s family who traveled to Egypt to meet Joseph (The presence of Adonai makes 70!)
22 Years of Separation: Jacob and Joseph’s long separation!
GOSHEN: The region of Goshen is northeastern Egypt where the Nile meets the Mediterranean Sea
20% Tax: Joseph set up the 20% tax during the famine…this is still in effect TODAY in Egypt!
Tax Exemption: Only the Priesthood was exempt from this 20% tax on land, they could not own land. Adonai was their inheritance!
GOY ECHAD: “United Nation” Remember the Hebrew word ECHAD means “ONE”
We see the courageous act of benevolence in Judah, to approach Joseph as the Viceroy of Egypt, not as his brother, to plead for Benjamin’s freedom. We see the compassion in Judah for his father Jacob’s tender heart toward his youngest son, from Rachel. This vulnerability was balanced by great courage to do the right thing.
Judah’s willingness to be the sacrifice for Benjamin’s freedom tore away the façade of Egypt from Joseph, and he was able to see with the eyes of his heart, the new ‘beating hearts of flesh’ of his estranged brothers.
It was Judah’s humility and courage, as he stepped into the lead position as the ADVOCATE that enabled the family to “CROSS OVER” into their COVENANT promises! Each life matters in the heavenly BLUEPRINT of God’s Plans!
We see the supernatural physical and emotional restoration of Jacob’s family, because of Joseph’s position in Egypt, but also because of Joseph’s heart to forgive and extend love. Joseph IS a foreshadow of the coming Mashiach Ben Joseph! We KNOW by the eyes of our heart that God’s will is for all of our families to live in peace with one another. So as much as it depends upon us, may we be like Joseph, extending grace which has been extended to us by the Messiah, towards restoration which needs to take place in our own families.
See how the Ruach (Spirit or breath of God) can turn the heart of any King? Pharaoh was inspired by the Ruach to bless Joseph’s family with gifts of land and wagons laden with the finest riches in Egypt, set atop twenty donkeys for Jacob’s family. The “God of our fathers” is FOR US! May we take this story and etch it on our hearts for the days when we must pray with more boldness than ever before, to the God of all provision and promise! It is written that His plans for us are to bless us, not to curse us, and to give us HOPE and a FUTURE!
HAFTARAH (Old Covenant) READING: Ez. 37:15:28
“Finally bring them together in a single stick, so that they become one in your hand. When your people ask you what all this means tell them that Adonai Elohim says this, ‘I will take the stick of Yosef, which is in the hand of Ephraim, together with the tribes of Israel who are joined with him and put them together with the stick of Y’hudah and make them a single stick so that they become one in my hand.’”
The prophet Ezekiel was called by Adonai during the time of the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple and the Exile of the Jewish nation (586 BC), to bring hope and vision to God’s chosen people who had fallen into apostasy (unbelief and idol worship).
Ezekiel prophesied that Adonai would once again reunite a divided Israel, into GOY ECHAD, a United Nation! This is the prophetic story of the restoration of Israel as a nation, the restoration of the Temple, and the Millennial reign of Mashiach ben David in Jerusalem. Remember, Adonai is the COVENANT MAKER AND THE COVENANT KEEPER! Adonai will NEVER break His covenant! For He alone is able to keep every promise He has ever made, for eternity! Ezekiel prophesied to the divided nation of Israel, that the coming Messiah would establish his Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, forever. He will come again as Mashiach ben David, to rule and reign in justice.
This is a perfect parallel to the story of Joseph and the reuniting of his family. There were 12 brothers, and 12 nations of Israel! The reunification of the 12 nations of Israel IS promised in Ezekiel, and the re-establishment of the Temple where God will “SUKKOT” or “DWELL” with His people, forever.
BRIT CHADASHAH (New Covenant) READING: Eph. 2:1-10
“But God is so rich in mercy and loves us with such intense love that even when we were dead because of our acts of disobedience, he brought us to life along with the Messiah – it is by grace that you have been delivered.”
By the grace of the Lord we are declared righteous based solely on the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah, (Messiah Ben Joseph) not on anything we can or will ever do to earn this gift. It is a gift which requires ACCEPTANCE to be valid for our lives.
These parallel verses also uphold the prophetic truth in Torah, that the divided nation of Israel will be reunited under the rule and reign of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Yeshua Ha Mashiach, (Messiah Ben David) THROUGH the grace extended first, by Mashiach ben Joseph
Shema Israel, Adonai Elohenu Adonai Echad!
The English translation of the Jewish daily prayer, the SHEMA: Hear and obey oh Israel…our Lord and our God are ONE!
“And so, all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, ‘There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer who shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob’”. Romans 11:30