Lech Lecha “Go Out”
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 Norman, Oklahoma, and Arlington, 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.
Lech Lecha is the Hebrew title for “Go Out” and is the name for the weekly Torah portion reading for the Book of Genesis starting in chapter 12 verse 1 and going through chapter 17 verse 27.
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 Isaiah in chapter 40 verses 27 through chapter 41 verse 16.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of John in chapter 8 with verses 51 through 58.
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 name of the third reading from the Torah Portion is Lech Lecha, which in English means “go forth.” The Torah Portion name is derived from the first verse in the readings where it says “Now the LORD said to Abram, go forth.” Lech Lecha is the reading that introduces us to the call of God on Abram, the changing of his name to Abraham and tells the story of his pilgrimage in pursuit of God.
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Genesis 12:1 The call of Abram
Genesis 12:10 Abram and Sarah in Egypt
Genesis 13:1 Abram and Lot separate
Genesis 14:1 Lot in captivity and his rescue
Genesis 14:17 Abram blessed by Melchizedek
Genesis 15:1 The Abrahamic covenant
Genesis 16:1 The birth of Ishmael
Genesis 17:1 The sign of the Abrahamic covenant
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Isaiah 40:1 The comforting of God’s people
Isaiah 41:1 Israel is assured God will help
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
John 8:51 Jesus, calls obedience to the Word
John 8:53 Jesus is greater than Abraham
John 8:54 Yahweh glorifies Jesus
The Book of Genesis “B’reisheet” which means “In the Beginning.”
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 “The Book of Origins” called “Genesis.”
The Book of Genesis is the story of the origin of creation. Through creation, we learn about the nature of God and His intentions for creation. In the book of B’reisheet we learn about the creation of the universe, the creation of human beings, the creation of living creatures, and then the covenants leading to the creation of the nation of Israel before the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.
The first book in the Torah and the Christian Bible also have different spellings that derive from the different sects of Judaism and the Hebrew language. Bereshit, or Bereishith are also common spellings for Genesis “B’reisheet.”
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
