Beshalach “When He Sent”
It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.
As Christians who profess our faith in Jesus, we study the Old Testament to understand the historical, cultural, and contextual background of the history of our heritage in Jesus. This is commonly known as the Messianic teachings of Christianity and is a part of our Saturday Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Dallas, TX.
While customs are not commandments, there is beauty for believers in Jesus (Yeshua) to understand their identity as grafted into the covenants with Israel. As descendants of Abraham, all Christians are heirs according to the promise given to Abraham even before Sinai. Christians should study and learn the Torah and show respect for their Jewish brothers and sisters. It is through the study of the law that we see another level of greatness in Jesus who is the lawgiver and the greatest Torah teacher of all time.
Beshalach is the Hebrew title for “When He Sent” and is the name for the weekly Torah portion reading for the Book of Exodus starting in chapter 13 verse 17 and going through chapter 17 verse 16.
It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of Judges in chapter 4 verse 4 through chapter 5 verse 31.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Matthew in chapter 14 with verses 22 through 33.
As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.
Torah Portion Overview-
The sixteenth Torah Portion reading is named Beshalach. Beshalach means “when he sent.” The Torah Portion title comes from the first sentence of the first verse in the Torah reading when it says “And it happened when Pharaoh sent out the people.” The Torah Portion follows the Israelites as they leave Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the miracles God pours out in the wilderness, and the first challenge of an enemy.
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Exodus 13:17 The cloud and fire pillars
Exodus 14:1 The Red Sea crossing
Exodus 14:26 The Egyptians drowned
Exodus 15:1 The song of Moses
Exodus 15:20 The song of Miriam
Exodus 15:22 Bitter waters turned to sweet
Exodus 16:1 Manna from Heaven
Exodus 17:1 Water from the rock
Exodus 18:1 Amalek is defeated by Israel
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Judges 4:1 Deborah and Barak
Judges 5:1 The song of Deborah
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
Matthew 14:29 Jesus commands Peter to walk on water
Matthew 14:33 Jesus is the Son of God
The Book of Exodus “Misrayim” which means “Departure from Egypt”
The Old Testament is commonly referred to as the Torah. It is the most sacred of all of Israel’s Scriptures. Most of our modern Bibles include the Old Testament “Torah” as the first five books in the Bible. The name in Hebrew of the first book of the Bible (Genesis) is B’reisheet. The name “B’reisheet” comes from one of the opening phrases in the book of Genesis which means “In the Beginning.”
The Greek Septuagint is where we find the English name for “Departure from Egypt” called “Exodus.”
The English name for Exodus comes from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. Exodus means "Departure from Egypt." The term Exodus is abbreviated from Exodus Aigyptou. The book of Exodus gives us the story of the children of Israel. It outlines their enslavement, their deliverance, through the idolatry of the golden calf, the giving of the Torah, and the Tabernacle. As we study the book of Exodus, we will learn a great deal about God but even more about ourselves. After all, this is the story of our ancestors. When properly understood, the story of our ancestors journey with God we see glimpses into how God works with us today.
As Messianic Christians, we find the book of Genesis and the stories therein, as a historical account of how we as believers are grafted into the covenants and promises of God with our forefathers and how we can learn to walk and learn from their actions.
To Watch an overview of this week’s Torah Portion CLICK HERE
