ISAAC

In this study I would like to look at the life of Yitzchak (Isaac) from a remez perspective.

The Cast of Characters:

NAME ROLE

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Abram People of HaShem

Isaac Yeshua

Eliezer Comforter

ten Camels Ten Commandments

Rebecca The whole House of Israel

Lets start at the beginning:

Bereshit (Genesis) 11:26 After Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram (Father to Aram [the highland]), Nahor (snorer) and Haran (mountaineer).

The family moved from Ur to Haran:

Bereshit (Genesis) 11:31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (veil or covering) son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai (the dominant one), the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur (flame - the region of light) of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan (humiliated). But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

Abram leaves "His country"

Bereshit (Genesis) 12:1 HaShem had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

Abram makes another intermediate stop:

Bereshit (Genesis) 12:4-6 So Abram left, as HaShem had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh (teaching - Tree of life or synagogue?) at Shechem (place of burdens). At that time the Canaanites (the merchants) were in the land.

G-d makes a promise. The sons of G-d will receive the land of Israel:

Bereshit (Genesis) 12:7 HaShem appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring (sons of G-d?) I will give this land." So he built an altar there to HaShem, who had appeared to him.

Abram then goes to his "home" and built an altar:

Bereshit (Genesis) 12:8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel (House of G-d - Jerusalem? first Temple?) and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai (the ruin) on the east. There he built an altar to HaShem and called on the name of HaShem.

Abram then goes to the Negev and from there to Egypt:

Bereshit (Genesis) 12:9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev (parched place). Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt (twice besieged place - the world?) to live there for a while because the famine (for the Word of G-d?) was severe.

Abram returns to his "home":

Bereshit (Genesis) 13:1-4 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier And where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of HaShem.

Abram checks out the land and returns to:

Bereshit (Genesis) 13:14-18 HaShem said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you." So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre (The Great synagogue) at Hebron (the seat of association), where he built an altar to HaShem.

Abram is renamed to Abraham when he is 99:

Bereshit (Genesis) 17:1-6 When Abram (Father of Aram) was ninety-nine years old, HaShem appeared to him and said, "I am G-d Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." Abram fell facedown, and G-d said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham (Father of many nations), for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

Sarai gets renamed too:

Bereshit (Genesis) 17:15-16 G-d also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai (the one who dominates); her name will be Sarah (Queen). I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

The child of promise is promised:

Bereshit (Genesis) 17:17-21 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" And Abraham said to G-d, "If only Ishmael (G-d will hear) might live under your blessing!" Then G-d said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year."

Since it was Passover it was very appropriate that this is the day that Abraham and his household were circumcised:

Bereshit (Genesis) 17:23-27 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as G-d told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, And his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

How do we know it was Passover? Well, Isaac was promised a year from now:

Bereshit (Genesis) 18:10 Then HaShem said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.

And notice that Sarah baked the bread in haste

Bereshit (Genesis) 18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."

even as the Israelites in Egypt baked theirs. Notice, too, what Lot served the angels on that very same day:

Bereshit (Genesis) 19:3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.

The Rabbis indicate that Isaac's birthday was the starting point for:

Bereshit (Genesis) 15:13 Then HaShem said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

And since we know that they came out on the very day that they went in:

Exodus 12:41 At the end of the four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, all HaShem's divisions left Egypt.

And since we "know" that they came out on Passover, it stands to reason that Isaac was the Promised One for Passover. Note also that He was born at the "appointment time" (moed):

Bereshit (Genesis) 21:2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time (moed) G-d had promised him.

From the time of Isaac's birth, Ishmael is never mentioned while he was in his Fathers house. The dross is not mentioned with the gold.

When Isaac was weaned his Father gave a feast. Rashi indicates that this was on Isaac's second birthday. Some have indicated that this was his Bar Mitzvah:

Bereshit (Genesis) 21:8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.

Abraham and Isaac go to Mt. Moriah to offer an elevation offering. Bereshit (Genesis) 22

Isaac carries the wood even as Yeshua carried His "wood" (the cross):

Bereshit (Genesis) 22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,

Yeshua is the atonement for the Gentiles (the world). In this way He plays the role of Yitzchak (Isaac) when he was bound by Avraham. In the same way that Yitzchak was an atonement for the Jews, so also was Yeshua an atonement for the Gentiles. He was the Lamb of God, He was the sacrificial offering required of all Gentiles as part of the conversion process. He is therefore a replacement for the lamb of conversion which can no longer be brought because the Temple was destroyed. Jews do not need this lamb because they converted at Mt. Sinai in the days of Moses and thus have no need of the conversion lamb.

I received the following question:

How can this be possible when Yeshua said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel”? The "lost sheep" would obviously be the lost 10 tribes of Israel.

I answered:

There are two separate issues here:

Atonement
Restoration

Yeshua was the atonement for the Gentiles – in His death, but His life mission was to begin the restoration of all things.

This restoration begins with Israel, specifically the lost sheep, the ones who are estranged from God and His Torah. The lost tribes are only tangentally included as there were virtually no members of the lost tribes in Israel at that time. Yeshua was teaching Jews who became lost because they could not stand up to strict justice – they were being lost to God and His Torah – they were giving up.

Yeshua came at a transition point in the degradation of the world due to our sins. The famous debates between Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Shammai are the inflection point in this transition.

Shammai was the original perspective of the world – strict justice.

Hillel was the compromise perspective of the world – loving-kindness layered on top of strict justice.

We were no longer able to stand up to strict justice and we were perishing. The ways of the world were over-coming the Jewish world and many were becoming secular and were forgetting Torah.

Yeshua brought a message of loving-kindness that was given to attract the world to the Torah. This message was to the Jews first. Later this same message was brought to the Gentile world by Paul of Tarsus.

The two separate issues are accomplished by two phases in Yeshua’s mission:

In His life – bringing back the lost sheep of Israel.
In His death – bringing atonement to the Gentiles.

The manifest result of Yeshua’s death is that many Gentiles began turning to God and His Torah. The Gentile world became radically transformed from a very pagan perspective to a more Torah (Christian) perspective. The Gentiles were manifesting their atonement.

This has become manifested in the world by two phenomena as a result of Yeshua’s life mission:

The Baal Teshuva movement with the ingathering of the lost sheep – estranged Jews.
The spread of Torah (aka the gospel) to the Gentile world.

Thus Yeshua’s life mission is being accomplished by a spiritual awakening throughout the world – to the Jew fisrst and also to the Gentile.

Thus Yeshua’s death has brought atonement to the Gentiles by giving them time to repent and turn to God. This is being accomplished with the renewed ferver of the Jews in their desire to draw near to God. As they draw near they desire to teach Torah to the Jews and Gentiles. This is easily seen by attending many different shiurim where there are Gentiles in attendance, as well as Jews. The Rabbis know the Gentiles are there. They are teaching them – this was the Jews mission to become priests to the Gentile world. (The primary task of a priest was to teach Torah.)

*** End of question and answer. ***

Abraham and servants return. No mention of Isaac.

Bereshit (Genesis) 22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba (well of an oath). And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Eliezer (Comforter) goes to get a bride for Isaac:

Bereshit (Genesis) 24:1-4 Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and HaShem had blessed him in every way. He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by HaShem, the G-d of heaven and the G-d of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, But will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."

Eliezer takes the best things of Abraham to Rebecca:

Bereshit (Genesis) 24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master's camels (The ten commandments?) and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor.

Eliezer (the Comforter) finds Rebecca . Eliezer (the Comforter) gives her a down payment:

Bereshit (Genesis) 24:47 "I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' "She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel (destroyed of G-d) son of Nahor (Snorer), whom Milcah (Queen) bore to him.' "Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms,

Eliezer (the Comforter) increases the down payment:

Bereshit (Genesis) 24:53 Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah (fettering by beauty); he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother.

Eliezer (the Comforter) takes Rebecca to Isaac:

Bereshit (Genesis) 24:61 Then Rebekah and her maids got ready and mounted their camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

After the sacrifice at Moriah (Calvary – Mount of Olives), the next time that we see Isaac is:

Bereshit (Genesis) 24:62-67 Now Isaac (Laughter) had come from Beer Lahai Roi (well of a living (One) who sees me), for he was living in the Negev (parched land). He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. Rebekah (fettering by beauty) also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel And asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?" "He is my master," the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

So, we see that when the Comforter comes to escort the bride to the Groom, the bride will be taken to the land of Israel!

Finally, let’s examine the genealogy of Avraham as found in:

Bereshit (Genesis) 11:27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. 29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

In this genealogy we have a very interesting background to Megilat Ruth. If one were to map out who’s who, one would find that Terach is the patriarch of both the paternal and maternal lines for the messianic genealogy.

It is mind-boggling to see that Terach was the progenitor of Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaaqob, and the twelve tribes; while at the same time he was also the progenitor of the matriarchal line including Sarah, Rivka, Leah, Rachel, Bilha, Zilpa, Ruth, and Naamah. All these righteous men and women were descended from Terach!

If one were to map out who’s who, one would find that Haran is the patriarch of the matriarchal line and also of the special women in the messianic line, including Ruth.

It is mind-boggling to see that Haran was the progenitor of Sarah, Rivka, Leah, Rachel, Bilha, Zilpa, Ruth, and Naamah. All these righteous women were descended from Haran!

This suggests that the paternal and maternal ‘genes’ of Mashiach were passed down from Terach, Avraham’s father.

This also suggests that the maternal ‘genes’ of Mashiach were passed down from Haran. The following genealogical chart shows the patriarcal (square cornered rectangular boxes) and matriarchal lines (rounded corner rectangular boxes) of Mashiach:

End of Days