Sermon Tone Analysis

*Chayei Sarah - life of Sarah*

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*Bereisheet-Gen.

23:1-25:18*

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*Malichim-1 Kings 1:1-31*

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*Philippians 2:5-11*

\\ Sarah dies at the age of 127.

Avraham purchases a burial place for her in Hebron in the cave of Ma'arat HaMachpela.

Avraham sends his servant, Eliezer, back to the "old country," his birthplace Charan, to find a wife for Yitzhak (Isaac).

Eliezer makes what appear to be very strange conditions for the matrimonial candidate to fulfill in order to qualify for Yitzhak.

Rivka (Rebecca) unknowingly meets the conditions.

Eliezer succeeds in getting familial approval, though they were not too keen about Rivka leaving her native land.

\\ \\ Avraham marries Keturah and fathers six more sons.

He sends them east before he dies at 175.

Yitzhak and Ishmael bury Avraham in the Ma'arat HaMachpela near Sarah.

The portion ends with the listing of Ishmael's 12 sons and Ishmael dying at age 137.

\\ \\ *Bereisheet-Genesis 25:7-10 \\ \\ /7/*/ Now these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: a hundred years, seventy years, and five years.

*8* And Abraham expired and died at a good old age, mature and content, and he was gathered to his people.

*9* His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre.

*10* The field that Abraham had bought from the children of Heth, there Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.

\\ / \\ Despite what we hear today about the relationship between the Arabs and the Jewish people it is obvious from this passage of Scripture that Isaac and Ishmael had some sort of relationship that brought them together at their father's death.

Yes I am sure that Ishmael was hurting when Abraham sent he and his mother away, but remember that God had promised to bless Ishmael, though not with the blessing of the promise given to Abraham and then to Isaac.

\\ \\ Ishmael would be the father of twelve sons, mirroring Jacob becoming the father of twelve sons, and from his sons would come many nations evident in what we see in the Arab world today.

But it was also said that his hand would be against the nations of the world and in this we can see the animosity that has arisen between the descendants of Ishmael and those of Isaac.

\\ \\ What we see in the sons of Ishmael is a picture of the world and in the sons of Jacob a picture of God's people - Israel.

Even though Ishmael is a son of Abraham, he was not the son of promise or of the covenant, that was given to Isaac through Abraham and Sarah not through Abraham and Hagar.

Though when one reads the Koran, the Islamic bible, they have reversed the situation and made the son of promise Ishmael.

While I can understand why the Arab people might feel the way that they do in the fact that at Sarah's urging Ishmael was sent away, the fact of the matter is that God told Abraham to listen to the voice of Sarah and do as she told him.

\\ \\ God knows what is going to be and in that foresight knew that if Ishmael and his mother were allowed to remain that under the customs of the day the eldest son would be Ishmael even though his mother was not Sarah.

The custom of the day allowed the wife to use a stand-in, so to speak, to have children.

You could think of it much like the use of a surrogate mother today.

But in this case Hagar retained control of her child and not Sarah.

But in God's knowledge we see the groundwork being laid for the battle that was to come between the children of Abraham and ultimately between God and satan.

And yet in what happened, if it was not for Sarah's original suggestion of Abraham sleeping with Hagar, and Abraham's agreement to do so the problem would not have arisen.

Once again it shows us that when man tries to help God fulfill His promises we usually mess things up.

\\ \\ In this story of Abraham and Isaac and Ishmael we see a picture of the Two Houses because if Ephraim had remained true to Torah and to God there would have been no need for this battle between Jew and Messianic Jew and the Church and with Messianic Israel.

But God allows us to work out our lives here in the physical with little or no interference.

Ultimately we will have to choose which side we will line up with - God's or the world, which is satan's realm for now.

\\ \\ *Malichim-1 Kings 1:28-31 \\ \\ /28/*/ King David answered and said, "Summon Bathsheba to me."

She came before the king and stood before the king.

*29* The king swore and said, "As Yahweh lives, Who has redeemed my life from every trouble - *30* as I have sworn to you by Yahweh, the God of Israel, saying, 'Solomon your son will reign after me and he will sit on my throne in my place,' so shall I fulfill this very day."

*31* Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and prostrated herself to the king; and she said, "May my lord, King David, live forever!" \\ / \\ In the last verse of this passage we have Bathsheba making the statement that David should live forever.

Here we have David lying on his deathbed - literally and Bathsheba is giving him this statement.

But in this statement we see the prophetic in that it would not be King David who would live forever, nor his son after him nor any of his descendants, save one.

That one would be Yeshua.

He is from the line of Judah through not only His mother Miriam but through his adopted father Joseph.

When one is adopted that individual is given all the rights and privileges of a native born son.

And so Yeshua becomes the inheritor of one who is of the line of Judah through which tribe and line comes the kingship through Jacob's blessing over Judah.

\\ \\ But there is one very important fact that we need to keep in mind here.

Yeshua's actual Father is none other than Yahweh and in Yahweh the Kingship of all of the universe resides and through this line passes to His Son Yeshua the rights of the firstborn and more importantly comes the Kingship of Yahweh's people - Israel.

So more than the Kingship of Judah is at stake here.

What is involved is the Kingship of all of Israel and even more so the Kingship of all of creation.

\\ \\ *Philippians 2:5-11 \\ \\ /5/*/ And think in your nefeshot (souls) that which also Yeshua the Messiah [thought], *6* who as He was in the likeness of Eloah did not consider it presumptuous to be an equal of Eloah?

*7* But He emptied His nefesh (soul), and took on the *likeness of* a servant, and was in the *likeness of* the sons of men and was found in fashion *like a son of man* [Daniel 7:13].

*8* And He humbled His nefesh (soul) and became obedient unto death, even the death of the gallows.

*9* Because of this, Eloah also highly exalted Him, and gave Him a name which is greater than all names, *10* that at the name of Yeshua *every* *knee will bow* that is in heaven and on earth and that is under the earth, *11* *and* *every tongue will confess* [Isaiah 45:23-24] that Yeshua the Messiah is *Yahweh* [Psalm 2:11], to the glory of Eloah His Father.

\\ / \\ Here Shaul-Paul is making the very significant statement that Yeshua is equal to Yahweh.

In making that observation Shaul is saying much.

In this statement he is assuming that God is more than one because he is saying that Yeshua is equal to God so therefore God must be more than one.

This flies in the face of our finite minds and understanding but it is a fact.

And he even goes on to say that Yeshua gave up that equality with the Father to become like us, His creation, and to forsake any and all rights to His Godhood so that He could sacrifice Himself for us and through that sacrifice He would be elevated above all others and return to take His rightful place at the right hand of the Father who will one day take up the throne that Yeshua, His Son, will secure for Him.

\\ \\ And the name of Yeshua will be lifted up above all other names and all of creation will bow before the true King of Judah and of Ephraim - the King of Israel.

And even more important than any of this is the fact that Shaul states from Scripture that all of creation will confess that Yeshua is Yahweh and in doing so we will be honoring not Yeshua but the Father.

Yeshua, unlike satan, does not desire to become Yahweh because all things have already been given into His hand by the Father.

Yeshua serves the Father as we should serve Yeshua.

Yeshua and Yahweh are one and the day is coming when we - Israel - will be united as one in Yeshua and with Yeshua - joint heirs!

\\ \\ */When the storm is loud and the night dark, I look to You; when the soul is sad, and the heart oppressed, I look to You; let me see the light of Your love, and by that light let me go on, and on, and on./*