Parashat Vayigash: When Faith Doesn’t Make Sense

Gen 44:18-47:27

Ezek 37:15-28

Matt 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-21; Phil 2:5-11

Main Points:

Judah’s intervention for Benjimen.

Joseph reveals himself to his brothers.

Joseph brings his father’s house to Egypt to provide for them in the famine.

Jacob and his family settled in Goshen.

Joseph deals grain in the famine and saves the people.

On the surface, Joseph’s life did not make sense. He was thirty years old before his prophetic dream was realized. Every trial, trouble, and trick were allowed by God to prepare him for the responsibility he was to shoulder as he came into his prophetic place. He was given a new name, Zaphnath-Paaneah which means “God speaks and he lives.” He was given an aristocratic wife, Asenath, the daughter of an Egyptian seer. It is thought that Asenath came to faith in the one true God and adopted the beliefs of her husband.  Jacob (Israel) accepted her and blessed their two children Ephraim and Manasseh, incorporating them as part of the Covenant.

Faith always seems to abide next to something adverse to it. It is that part of our hope in God’s purpose that continues despite fear, falsehood, failed humanity. It sees past the despair of the present and into a promise that God weaves intricately through our lives. We cannot control everything that happens in our lives, but what we can control is how we respond to it. Joseph did not take vengeance on his brothers but was looking for a heart change. God had not only changed Joseph as a person, but he had also performed a work on his brothers. Joseph’s ability to respond to bad circumstances in a godly way was a consistent message of his life. From it he left a legacy of godliness that shaped the thinking of Pharaoh who saw him as both faithful and prophetic. His given Egyptian name, Zaphnath-Paaneah “God speaks and he lives” is a strong testimony of the presence of God in the life of a simple faithful person. We can complicate our walk with God with a lot of unnecessary things and personal baggage, even to the point of complicating our faith. But Joseph’s simple life teaches us that God blesses, protects, and guides the righteous according to his word. Even if everything else around us fails. In the end our testimony of faith will outlast the wickedness in the world, and we will see the healing and reconciling power of God at work.

Seeing the power of God at work in others always gives us hope to persevere. It is easy today to find a faith story. How many times have you heard how God has worked in or through someone else and something inside of you cried out, “He can do it for me as well”. That cry of faith reminds me of the words of David in Psalms 18:29, “for by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.”

Testimonies of faith are made one day at a time, sometimes minute by minute, situation by situation, and response by response. Every godly response plants the love of God somewhere in a person’s life. Remember that the Israel we see today is a product of God’s promise and a nation’s everyday expression of faith. If your faith is at a low point and you are struggling, try proclaiming the promises of God. Partner your faith with the testimonies of your sacred community and draw from the rich experience God had given to others. It is not long before strength comes, and your faith is lifted. Joseph was not complete until he was reunited with his family and the greater purpose of God began to be visible.

Shalom, Rav Calv

Apostolic Messianic International

Next Feasts:

Purim begins at sundown on March 13th and ends at sundown March 14th.

Hebrew words to know:

Redemption of the Firstborn- Pidyon HaBen

Religiously Observant- Frum-Yiddish, meaning something or someone is religious (Jewishly) or Torah observant.

Righteous Person- Tzaddik (Hebrew) or Mensch (Yiddish)

Righteous Woman- Tzidkanit/Tzidkaniyot or the feminine form of Tzaddik which is Tzadika.

Sacred Service- Avodat Hakodesh

Sense of Regret- Charatah

Sense of Shame- Halbanat panim (lit, whitening of the face)