Vyatze- And He Went Out

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Breshiyth 28:10-32:3

Haftarah Hoshea 12:13-14:9 Brit Chadasha Yochanan (John) 1:43-51 Here we begin this weeks teaching chronicling the story of Jacob fleeing his brother Esaus wrath at the behest of his mother Rebekah and his father Isaac to his mothers brother, Labans house in Haran. In the Complete Jewish Bible translation we begin in Breshiyth 28, verse 10 where we read Yaakov went out from Beer-Sheva and traveled toward Haran. 1

There the word for and he went out is our Torah portion title, or Vayetze. In the Hebrew, the root word is yat-sah.

=Yod-Tsadi-Alef,

S#H3318, meaning to go or to come out.

Pictographically however, again there is so much more we can extract from this three letter root word. Yod=

Hand

Alef= First, Father, Strength, Leader If we simply examine the first and last letters of this word we see taken together it means the Hand of God! Tsadi=

To lay on ones side, to hunt, to follow after, to ambush.

Used in light of the root word Yatsah, strung together pictographically we see that As Jacob goes out, the Hand of the Father is at his side There is an interesting point Brad Scott brings up about the tsadi , as it refers to hunting. Typically we see hunters almost always portrayed in a negative light. The reference is not to portray those who hunt in a negative way at all, but what it IS saying, is that like Ishmael, like Nimrod, and like Esau, these men were hunters who allowed their belly, or more accurately their physical appetites to be their god, and their lives were consumed by the pursuit of the hunt which is to imply that they would reject God and spend their lives searching out for everything but God. And so it represents a person who spends all their time filling up with whatever they can in this life, as opposed to being filled with The Spirit of Promise (Eph.1:13), that is the life of Messiah in you, to live the life that The Father has prepared for you. But once youve received the promise, and entered into covenant with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then one 2

no longer needs to hunt per se because theyve found what it was they truly lacked. So here in the Torah portion we have YHWH using the picture of chasing or following as how He will be with Jacob as he departs to Haran. And to recap and give just a bit of back-story. Esau is enraged, and full of murderous thoughts toward his brother, because as Jacobs elder brother he feels betrayed by having been deprived the blessings and the birthright of the firstborn. But to give proper perspective here let us remember that it was GOD who prophesied to Rebekah while both Esau and Yaakov were still unborn that the elder would serve the younger; and later we observe Esau devalue his birthright, selling his birthright to Jacob for a meal, and then upon rising and leaving he despises the birthright. It was only after having the blessing given to Jacob that Esau then became interested, which in many ways fulfills the time-worn saying, you never know what you got til its gone. Another essential point we need to cover before proceeding any further is clarifying the principle of the seed. This is how we see GOD working in mankind since the garden and into our day. Brad Scott does an excellent teaching on this, for more details it would bless you to get his teaching on The Principle of the Seed. But for today we just want to identify this pattern before we resume our walk with Yaakov to Haran. We read again in the Complete Jewish Bible in Breshiyth 3:15 YHWH judges, I will put animosity between you and the woman, and between your descendant and her descendant; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel. And so here we learn that The Father is going to operate through the SEED of the woman, which at first glance one may thinkwait, man has the seed, woman has the eggcorrect. But the verse is telling us that through the woman will come GODs SEED, which according to Luke 8:31 reveals "Now the parable is this: the seed IS (emphasis mine) the word of God. (Luke 8:11 NAS). 3

The opposite side of this revelation then reveals in Genesis 3 that every teaching that is contrary to the seed of the womanwhich is the Word of GOD, IS of the serpent! Notice the verse again in Genesisanimosity. It was only when I read Genesis 3:15 in this translation that I finally understood what The Father was trying to say! Have you ever looked up the meaning of the word animosity?? It means A feeling of ill-will arousing active hostility! in the King James the word there is enmity. And it is even more direct when we examine the Hebrew

= S#H342, Alef-Yod-Bet-Heh, eybah, ay-baw, Hostility

enmity, hatred, from = S#H340, Alef-Yod-Bet, ayab, aw-ab; a primitive root, to hate (as

one of an opposite tribe or party); hence, to be hostileenemy. Now, when we very first look at these Hebrew letters there may be some confusion initially as we inspect each of them. At first none of these letters seem to indicate anything ugly, hateful or evil, which is understandable until you put them in context. Alef= First, chief, strength, or father. Yod= hand, work, throw, make Bet= house, in, family. We see the Alef and the first thing that comes to mind is GOD. But taken in context of the word ayab which is to hate as one of an Opposite tribe or party, we begin to see how subtle it truly is. Cain killed his brother Abel, Ishmael tried to kill Isaac, Esau wanted to kill Jacob, the Pharisees wanted to kill Messiah. What we find in this word is not pointing to YHWH, rather it is directing our attention to anotherthe father of lies. 4

They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham.
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"But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.
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"You are doing the deeds of your father." They said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God."
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Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
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"Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
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"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
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(Joh 8:39-44 NAS)

I want us to take another look at fateful meeting between the serpent, and Adam and Chava. We read. Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field (Gen 3:1 KJV) If we look at the word in Hebrew there for what has been translated as subtil it comes from Strongs #6175

=aruwm, and it means cunning.

And this then triggered to my memory of the birth of a particular child who is described in such phenomenally similar terms. In Genesis chapter 25:27 5

And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; I promise I am not attempting to go backward here but it has to be brought to our attention here, that Esau grew up to become a cunning hunter, a man of the fieldjust like his daddy, the father of lies, who IS the original hunter of man in the field. And remember, the field was a picture representing a life out in the world. The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; (Mat 13:38 KJV). Which is outside the protective walls of the camp, and represents a picture of a life void of Torah, The WORD. But getting back to Genesis 3:15 I will put animosity between you and the woman, and between your descendant and her descendant; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel. Hes saying those who reject my Teachings, My Torah, MY WORD, are rejecting MY SON! And are NOT of ME! Because if the seed is The Word, and The Word is the Messiah (Rev.19:13), then those who reject the birthright, which is identified as The SEED!!!, are Rejecting Messiah, so they must then be of the serpent! Because it says in the book of James in the New Testament that Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (Jam 4:4 KJV) And so here we see beginning with Cain, and then down to Nimrod, then on to Ishmael and then to Esau and we see how the seed of the serpent who is a picture of hasatan (the devil) constantly works to corrupt the seed of the womanbut YHWH always makes a way! We see it coming through Noah, then through his son Shem, passed down through Abraham, then in his son Isaac and now we are seeing it take root in the heart of Yaakov. In last weeks parsha, Toldot or Generations, we examined and learned of a young man that grew up in a home nourished with the truths of Torah from birth under his mother Rebekah, and later in the tents of Shem 6

and Eber, ever learning Torahbecoming that man of integrity. A man groomed and taught in the things of the inner man, with a heart compass pointed towards the things of YHWHand yeteven after having been divinely ordered by YHWH to carry on the Promise to future descendents Jacob we will discover is not quite as simple as we might have originally thought. We may have dodged a few critical questions in the last portion; some due simply in part that much of the scant information available in rabbinic commentary professes Jacob a mild mannered man, a meek man, even a mamas boy. Perhaps I chose not to challenge certain questions since GOD had already ordained it so; and finally because maybe I knew if we moved in for a closer look we would discover the ugly truth that many of us and the sages of old have simply glossed over, giving Jacob a pass; Even closer to the truth we might find that every hero is never without his own flaws. It would come too close to home. It would tell my story, and reveal that we all have a little bit of Jacob in all of us and it started with a kiss We read in the book of Proverbs that Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. (Pro 27:6 KJV).

All this time we had been more than happy to point at, accuse and fault find with Esau because we know how his story ends. He was a man enamored with the world, he was a man of the moment. He was profane in that he despised his birthright, and sought to establish his own reputation, as a self-made man. We relieved our hearts happy to allow Esau to be the obvious target of well deserved contempt. But Esau as I turn my attention to Jacob now, almost appears as a sideline issue in light of the gaping fatal flaws apparent in our beloved Patriarch Yaakov. Its easy to point at blatant wickedness, but much of what makes wickedness, wellso wicked, is its subtlety. Its when we put our lives up against the backdrop of Torah that we begin to cringe and 7

squirm, for all the things we thought we had either dealt with or hidden well enough now appear like the proverbial pink elephant in the middle of the living room. So much Rabbinic commentary glosses over Jacob Rebekahs scheme to ensure that Jacob received the blessing of the firstborn. DECEPTION To borrow from Nathaniel Lawrences parsha outline, the world is comprised of only two types of people on the earthEsaus and Jacobs. Hanging on a cross on either side of Yeshua is an Esau, and a Jacob (Read Luke 23:39-43) Esau was an obvious sinner, a man whos god was his belly; consumed with the temporal, sensual pleasures with no eye to eternal things, a man of the world. Jacob was perhaps less obvious, at least where outer appearances are concerned, but was worthy of judgment just like his brother. Arent we all experts at fault-finding? I am always looking for the guilty one, who are we going to assign the guilt to? I want to make certain I have the right target before I cast the first stone (that was sarcasm). But in a convincing way I am bent upon wanting to find someone elses flaw, exposing their shame and then use their disobedience to draw attention away from my own. I know this is wrong, but in that part of me that wars against my inner man, its always there.but the truth iswhen we identify flaws in others, its only because we suffer the same disease! We read in last weeks parsha, And Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, "Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, THEN I SHALL BE AS A DECEIVER in his sight; and I shall bring upon myself a CURSE and NOT A BLESSING." -It just doesnt get much clearer than that huh? 8

But his mother said to him, "Your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me." (Gen 27:11-13 NAS) We read the verse and my immediate thought is, See? Jacob is a good man! He knows Torah, he wants to walk in ithes demonstrating wisdom, my hero, right? Because truthfully, Jacob knew what was later inscribed on stone tablets, that says "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today; 28 and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known. (Deu 11:26-28 NAS)
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And he had to have known what another righteous man spoke so long ago that Paul even alludes to in the New Testament; "According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it. (Job 4:8 NAS) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. (Gal 6:7-9 NAS) But later we find Jacob not only becomes a willing participant by way of obedience to his mother Rebekah, but he becomes the lead role. We read And Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your first-born (lie); I have done as you told me (lie). Get up, please, sit and eat of my game (lie), that you may bless me." 9

And Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because the LORD your God caused it to happen to me (lie)." (Gen 27:19-20 NAS)
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And again Then his father Isaac said to him, "Please come close and kiss me, my son." 27 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said, "See, the smell of my son (lie) Is like the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed; (Gen 27:26-27 NAS) Not to cut Esau some slack, but this entire incident is one big hail-mary pass, taken straight out of the devils playbook! 1. Jacob knows this will bring a curse upon him but agrees to do it anyway is an open act of rebellion. 2. The fact that Jacob L-I-E-S to his Father is a dishonorable and shameful sin. 3. The fact that he makes GOD the reason why he was able to prepare the meal so quickly is an obscene lie. 4. And the fact that he kisses his father to seal the deception is only heaping sin upon sin. Jacobs actions against the backdrop of Truth paint a very grim profile of his character. Deception Disguise, Dishonest words, bringing God into the conversation and then Casting doubt upon HIS Word. Where else have we read of another very similar strategy being played out? Gan Edan with the serpent!

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The kiss should hearken our memory to the fateful night when that treacherous traitor of a disciple, one Judas Iscariot, sold out The Savior of the world for a bag of silver. Which we read, because it was considered blood money, of which Judas never spent a dime, became unacceptable for use in the Temple treasury. So it was used to purchase a potters field, which was purposed to bury STRANGERS. remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. (Eph 2:12 NAS) How precipitously close to separating himself from The very hand that was guiding and protecting him he must have come at that moment; And if we start to examine our own choices, how we too will groan at the innumerable close-calls birthed out of defects of character we refuse to address. The diagnosis at the end of all of this is Jacob suffers from the same thing many of us doimpatience. Along with his like-minded mother, the two of them agree to HELP GOD bring about His planwhere is the faith in that?

Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. 6 And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. (Psa 37:3-7 NAS)
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Rather than react based on the outward appearances of our circumstances we must submit our lives to The One who we are in covenant with, and allow Him to bring about His will for our lives according to His Way, not through an arm of flesh, or the schemes of man. Remember beloved, we reap what we sow Please Turn in your Bible to Hoshea 12:1-13:4 and Read: This is only a small bite of our Haftarah portion that goes along with this weeks Torah portion. But its opening lends itself beautifully to illustrating how THE LORD uses The Patriarchs to not only teach us today for our learning, as echoed in the New Testament, For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Rom 15:4 KJV) It faithfully foreshadows what is to be expected in the coming generations from Jacobwho is Josephwho is Ephraimwho is also most often referred to as ISRAEL. Now Please Turn Back to Genesis 28:10-16: Jacobs name means heel catcher; a tripping up of the heels. I can only imagine what must have been churning in Jacobs spirit as he fled for Haran. Perhaps it may have remotely sounded like this.. Mother told me I was chosen by Adonai, so why then is this happening to me? Why did we have to deceive Father? I feel gross! Why did I do that?? Why is my brother so wicked? Why should I have to run in fear? How come I have nothing to show, as being Firstborn should receive a double portion of our Fathers inheritance? This so unfairhow did things get so turned all upside down? These are just a few possible ideas that may have been in the mind of Jacob as he has now essentially been cast out of as an exile , a poverty stricken, marked man, began making his way to the sons of the eastto Babylonthe great fallen city that had become the habitation of devils, and 12

the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird; (Rev 18:2 KJV) (Probably not exactly what Yaakov had in mind for his future), and into the town of Charan,

to glow, lit. to melt, burn, dry up, angry.

=S =S#H2787 khaw-rar; a primary root;

#H2771 kaw-rawn,parched; From

And it is here we find as dusk approaches, Jacob stopping to sleep in a town known as Luz. I find it peculiarly similar, although not possessing the exact same outcome, but Matthew Henry offers excellent commentary but in reference to Hagar and Ishmael after they had been exiled from Abrahams camp, perhaps we might obtain some potential insight into Jacobs situation through the insights of Matthew Henry who says, By abusing our privileges we forfeit them. Those that know not when they are well off, in such a desirable place as Abraham's family, deserve to be cashiered, and to be made to know the worth of mercies by the want of them. Like one under the power of the spirit of bondage, she despairs of relief, counts upon nothing but the death of the child (v. 15, 16), though God had told her, before he was born, that he should live to be a man, a great man. We are apt to forget former promises, when present providences seem to contradict them; for we live by sense. Much the same can be said of our lead character and exile Jacob, who after having sown iniquity was forced to hard lodging in the land of Luz, while still enroute to the dry land of Labans house in Haran. But as the title of our parsha reminds usThe Hand of Adonai went with Jacob, beside him. Jacob, arrives in Luz at sunset and we read that he gathered up a stone under his head as his pillow and he slept there. Hebrew scholars and 13

Messianic teachers alike agree that Luz, which Jacob later renamed Beit-El, or House of GOD is the same location as Mount Moriah where we witnessed The Akeidah, or better known in English as The Binding of Isaac, who is a prophetic picture of Messiah, laying his life down willingly becoming a sacrifice for his Father. And many also concur this is the same location that became the temple Mount where the Tabernacle in Jerusalem was constructed and likewise was the same location where Yeshua (Jesus) hung between Heaven and Earth on a cross, or tree in order to reconcile man to GOD. Let us Read Genesis 28:10-16 The Hebrew word for Ladder here is found in the three letter root salal.

ladder, a heap or mound, to lift up, to cast up.

=S#H5549, meaning a staircase, a

Interestingly the Theo. Wordbook of the O.T. reveals its denominative from Akkadian sulu highway. The theme of casting up a highway is utilized by the prophets. The figure, derived from building a road higher than the adjacent terrain is natural. In Jeremiah 18:15 he laments that Israel (who is Jacob) had left Gods highway to follow false bypaths. 'For My people have forgotten Me, They burn incense to worthless gods And they have stumbled from their ways, From the ancient paths, To walk in bypaths, Not on a highway, (Jer 18:15 NAS) Isaiah 57:14; 62:10 foresaw the time when all obstacles would be removed from the path of a repentant Israel, returning on the Highway to Zion. And it shall be said, "Build up, build up, prepare the way, Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people." (Isa 57:14 NAS)

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Go through, go through the gates; Clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway; Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples. (Isa 62:10 NAS) Prophetically it points to the highway of the returning remnant (Isa.11:16). And there will be a highway from Assyria For the remnant of His people who will be left, Just as there was for Israel In the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt. (Isa 11:16 NAS) Metaphorically it describes the way of the upright (Prov.16:17) The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life. (Pro 16:17 NAS) Whats actually fascinating is taking a second look at the pictographic meaning of the root word for staircase, or ladder, salal. What we find in the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon is in this word is a two letter root, the Samech and the Lamed. Taken together they mean Lift up. The Lamed by itself is defined as the shepherd staff, the authority of the shepherd, the shepherd himself, moving towardas the shepherd uses his staff to direct and guide his sheep toward the pen. So, viewed this way one rendering of the ladder means To Lift up The Shepherd Taken individually the Samech can mean to grab hold of, thorns used as a shield as the Shepherd used thorns and thickets to lay over top the sheep fold to protect the flock from predators, and it also means to pierce, as a thorn can pierce. And taken this way gives us the pictographic meaning of The Pierced Shepherd is the ladder used to draw closer to YHWH Both of these interpretations square with scripture because its later we read in "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." (John 12:32 NAS) 15

We read earlier that the angels, or messengers, ascended and descended up and down the ladder to God and back to the earth upon this ladder. The Ladder is a figure of Messiah. If seen as indicated earlier as a highway we only have to turn to John 14:6 where we read, Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. (John 14:6 NAS) But to further draw the connection and eliminate all doubt from the reference, it was our Master and King Yeshua Messiah who spoke as recorded in the book of John, And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." (John 1:51 NAS). He is The WAY, The Ladder, The Staircase, the Tree of Life, The Torah Scroll, and The Highway of Holiness that all men must walk in order to Return (Shuwb=to return, to repent) and to be reconciled unto The Father as prophesied back in Yeshayahu (Isaiah 11:16). And again, Jacob awakes realizing how awesome this place is as this is identified as his first real encounter with Elohim, he sets up a memorial stone, anoints it with oil and calls the place Beit-El, or House of GOD, which is one of the names used interchangeably for The Tabernacle, or Mishkan when it was constructed in Jerusalem. Jacob continues until he reaches the well near Haran and we read from here is where Jacob first encounters Rachel, who he is said to have fallen in love with, and as the Haftarah chronicles as well, becomes a humble bondservant in the house of Laban, shepherding his flocks in service to him for Rachel to become his wife. After 7 years though Jacob, the deceiver, is deceived himself waking up after the honey-moon to find that Leah has been given to him in marriage. So here we see Jacob learning, and being refined out in the world in the 16

school of hard knocks learning to become the honorable prince that he will soon become. All in all Jacob ends up serving Laban for 22 years. In which course of time he becomes husband to both Leah and Rachel, and each of their handmaids and as such is the case with multiple wives, it generated a great controversy and competition for who would be more favored by Jacob. We all know Jacob favored Rachel, but it was Leah who bore Jacob more children. All this aside, the picture we have here is of Jacob, in exile, producing fruit, that becomes 11 of the 12 tribes that comprise the House of Jacob. This again mirrors the prophetic story of GOD scattering Ephraim in exile, during which time they remain fruitful while at the same time learning humility, being humbled and refined as it says in Hebrews, and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; 6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives." 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. 11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. 12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. 14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
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See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; 16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. (Heb 12:5-17 NAS)
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Pulling from Nathaniel Lawrences parsha commentary we see the Gospel story tucked in the names of the children of Yaakov. 29:3230:24 Here is another example of this in the meanings of the names of the sons of Jacob. They are: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin (who was not born until Gen 35:18). Translated their names mean: Reuben/See, a Son, (this points to Yeshua), Simeon/Hearing (hear the Son or gospel/good news), Levi/Joined (referring to the union by which the Set-Apart Spirit makes us one with the Son through the hearing of the gospel), Judah/Praise (the response of the redeemed upon being joined to Yeshua and becoming regenerated spiritually or born from above), Dan/Judgment (the believer, though worthy of judgment for his sin, has passed from judgment to life through the atoning blood of Yeshua, Naphtali/Wrestling (this speaks of the believers life as he struggles against the world, flesh and the devil endeavoring to walk righteously), Gad/Troop, Company (this speaks of the fellowship of believers in the household of faith), the result of fellowship is Asher/Happiness,

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Issachar/Hire (once a part of the spiritual body of believers, one is equipped for works of service in advancing the kingdom of Elohim as a bondservant), Zebulun/Dwelling, Exalt, Honor (we are to occupy until Yeshua comes again while we honor and exalt him before the Gentiles), Joseph/Adding (can refer to adding to the body of believers in Yeshua through outreach or to rewards in YHVHs eternal kingdom for a job well done laboring in YHVHs spiritual field), and Benjamin/Son of My Right Hand (a reference to Yeshua who sits at the right hand of YHVH and to believers who are seated with Yeshua in heavenly places, by faith). It starts with Yeshua and ends with him. He is the Aleph and the Tav (or Alpha and Omega), the Beginning and the End, the Author and Finisher of our faith! Give him glory! So the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys. (Gen 30:43 NAS) Moving into Genesis Chapter 31 we read that Laban, a subtle, sly, cunning cheat, has been used as GODs refining fire for our Patriarch Yaakov. When it was time for him to depart Laban promised him wages and mutually agreed with Yaakov that all of his striped and speckled flocks would belong to Yaakov. The problem as we found out was shortly after the agreement was struck, Laban gave all his striped and speckled flocks to his sons and then sent them on a three days journey. Here we see Yaakov in need of a miracle. And he gets it! God does a new thing. We read, "And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mottled. 11 "Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob,' and I said, 'Here I am.'

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"And he said, 'Lift up, now, your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 'I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.'" (Gen 31:10-13 NAS)
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And so we have a The Father blessing Yaakov as he has faithfully served as a bondservant to Laban for 22 years, but now it is time to go. Because much like Abimelech did to Abraham, and unto Isaac, as Cain did unto Abel, Ishmael to Isaac, Esau to JacobLaban has turned and become envious of him and his wealth because all that was his, GOD has now given to Yaakov. Regarding Labans chase of Yaakov, Matthew Henry concludes, Lastly, After all this angry parley, they part friends, v. 55. Laban very affectionately kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them, and then went back in peace. Note, God is often better to us than our fears, and strangely overrules the spirits of men in our favor, beyond what we could have expected; for it is not in vain to trust in him. Note: When God designs his people for extraordinary trials he prepares them by extraordinary comforts.

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