10.14.26 – Ayecha: Where Are You? Part 4

Our opening study of Genesis began with seven Tovs—seven mentions of good—but it ends depressingly with the first time that God declares that something is Ra (evil). Vayar Hashem ki rabah ra'at ha'adam ba'aretz v'kol yeitzer machshevot libo rak ra'ah kol hayom—"God saw that the evil of man was great in the land and that all of his thoughts were only evil" (Gen. 6:5). Consequently, the text tells us that God became sad and regretted having made man (Gen. 6:5, 7). In the span of just one parsha, we are presented with an ideal world and its rapid decline into destruction.

In this week's parsha, Noah, things get worse before they get better, but God has a plan to turn it all around. The themes we uncovered in last week's parsha appear all over the Torah. They present challenges that future generations need to deal with—challenges that maybe even we, in our time, need to deal with. The Torah acts as a guidebook to teach us the way back to closeness in the relationship between us and God.

Our journey through the book of Genesis is a lifelong process. And with every story and every instruction, the question remains the same: Ayecha? Where are you?

Are you living the shame of your past? Are you stuck in the doldrums of life? Are you wearing yourself out resisting the pull of the world? Are you pressing on toward the prize of the high calling in Messiah Yeshua? We are all somewhere. Where are you, Ayecha?

Physically, I am safely back in Kansas City after a thirty-eight-hour "flat bottom syndrome" road trip (transmission issues).

Spiritually, I am diligently pressing on toward the prize with consistent effort while gaining strength from those of you who are doing the same daily.

Shalom!
Alan

www.lightintorah.org

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12 21 25 – At the End

Then it came to pass, at the end   (miketz)   of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream (Gen. 41:1) I have often said that before you begin a project, you have to finish it. That is exactly how the Lord our God is. Before He begins a project, He already has the blueprint completed, the funding necessary, and everything is prepared before He sets the timetable in motion. We see here at the beginning of the Torah portion,  Miketz  ("at the end"), after thirteen years of stagnation, the Lord brings about an end to Joseph's wait. And we should all have hope in the extremity ( ketz ) of something. We should all have hope that the Lord will finish what His preparation works and proceed with it with a blessing. This is the Hebrew understanding that when God brings an end to something, when He cuts something off, He actually has something in store for us—often a blessing, the paradise of our inheritance. And whatever that time of awaiting has been, it always proceeds with ...
Read more

7.16.25 ~ New Heights and Depths

Good morning! I am back in Michigan and have access to the internet again. Good morning! Though you haven't received studies over the past week, you have been prayed for and I hope your passion for the Lord is daily rising to new heights. The first generation of the wilderness journey were passive; recipients of God's goodness around every bend. Since their passing, the second generation has been called to action! The final temptation before entering into the Land has come and gone. Some passed the test and 24,000 failed. Prior to Phineas heroic gesture, in stopping the plague, the sexual and idolatrous debacle had already been active through the encounter at Baal-Peor, the Moabite women, and Balaam's suggestion initiated, where God commanded Moses to take the heads of the leaders and hang  the heads of all the participants towards the sun so that God's wrath will be turned away (Num. 25:1-5). The average person would think that adverse response to Israel's rebellio...
Read more

4.4.26 ~ Can You Count to Three?

Image
Today, Saturday 4/4/26, many will celebrate the day that Yeshua was visibly seen risen from the grave (John 20:1; Matt. 28:1–10; Luke 24:1–10)! The day after His resurrection, Yeshua would be out ministering to the doubts of His disciples, helping them realize that He is alive and that the purpose of His resurrection would be catalyzed by their lives. For the disciples closest to Yeshua and those who stood at a safe distance away, it was a time of doubt. The enemy was in hot pursuit. They were fearful for their lives, but just at the God-appointed time, their salvation appeared.  Does that sound vaguely familiar? It should. Earlier this week, on the day after Passover—the 15th of the first month—the natural-born Israelites and those who joined them through the blood of the Lamb exited Egypt and headed toward the sea. In just a few days, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pharaoh would not be happy that he let the Israelites go; he felt betrayed, and he was hot (Ex. 14:5–9). Mose...
Read more