RR Lech Lecha Genesis 12-17 By Jeffery Freeman

Shabbat Shalom,
 
This week’s Parshah is Lech Lecha. The name comes from Genesis 12:1 Then ADONAI said to Abram, “Get going out (lech lecha) from your land, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
 
In unpointed (no vowel markers) Hebrew these two words appear identical – lamed kaf, lamed kaf. These are from the Hebrew word halak, to walk. Only when these words are read in context or with vowel pointing do the differences in pronunciation and individual word meaning become obvious. In a literal translation, these words mean “go” lech, “go for yourself” lecha.
 
This is an imperative phrase, strongly telling Abram to “go!” Kind of like “go now!” or “get moving” or maybe even “Hurry up!”  
 
In this reading, there is also a fair bit of “wait.” Like 25 years of waiting for the promised son for a 75-year-old man whose wife is already 65 years old.
 
Genesis 12:4 So Abram went, just as ADONAI had spoken to him. Also, Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.)
 
Had the LORD immediately fulfilled his promise of a son for Abram it would have been a great wonder. 65-year-old women just don’t have babies. Even today that would be considered a medical wonder. Yet the LORD wanted this birth to be more than just a curiosity, a very rare, unusual event, or in human terms a nearly impossible occurrence – the LORD wanted to be sure that this event was so spectacular that everyone would know beyond all doubt that Isaac’s birth was a true miracle made only possible through the LORD.
 
To make the waiting even more poignant, the LORD later told Abram that he would not possess the land. Nor would his son, not even his grandson, but a future generation many years away.
 
Genesis 15:13-15 Know for certain that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and that they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years…Then in the fourth generation they will return here…
 
Many of us have also experienced times of “hurry up and wait” in our lives. Mom and Dad hurry the kids, getting them loaded in the car, only to have to wait for Dad after Mom sends him back into the house to check to be sure that the lights are all off, or the toaster is unplugged, or the coffee pot turned off. Now the trip can begin…hurry up, get into the car, then wait for Mom and Dad to be sure that everything in the house and car is safe before the journey can begin…
 
There are plenty of Scripture verses reminding us to “wait on the LORD.” But “hurry-up” verses rare. Perhaps this is a reflection of the LORD’s character.
 
Could you imagine what it would be like if the LORD was not patient with us? If he were not long-suffering? Perhaps waiting is part of our training. Perhaps the LORD is teaching us the importance of being patient, not just with waiting for him but in our dealings with others.
 
Psalm 27 starts out with ADONAI is my light and my salvation – whom should I fear? ADONAI is the stronghold of my life – of whom should I dread?
 
The Psalmist then goes on to describe various troubles and challenges, and petitions for the LORD to intervene.
 
Psalm 27 ends with Surely, I trust that I will see the goodness of ADONAI in the land of the living. Wait for ADONAI. Be strong, let your heart take courage and wait for the LORD.
 
As we go through our lives, we often face challenges, pains, and suffering. Yet this Psalm is telling us not to be afraid, ADONAI is my light and my salvation and ADONAI is the stronghold of my life. But we are also reminded to be patient and wait on the LORD.
 
Waiting on something earnestly desired is very difficult. Sadly, we are often unprepared to play the waiting game. In our society instant gratification is more the norm than patiently waiting. Credit is far too easy – buy now, pay later – no money down, low monthly payments – use plastic money. The busiest restaurants are fast food joints and buffets where there is no or very little waiting involved. We order huge amounts of goods on the internet – expecting delivery within a couple days.
 
When we must wait, we get bored, distracted, and often irritable. Even in the “waiting room” we get grumpy if we are not seen within a few minutes of our appointed time.
 
Isaiah 40:30-31 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but they who wait for ADONAI will renew their strength. They will soar up with wings as eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
 
James (Jacob) 1:2-4 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
 
I must admit that the trial of the slow starting driver at the traffic light, the line cutters, or slow service at a restaurant used to test my perseverance. I seem to have mellowed in this regard a little. But I certainly have not progressed far enough in my faith to be able to claim that these events are joyful! While I may no longer toot the horn or otherwise voice my displeasure aloud, I certainly am not shouting for joy either!
 
Yet James is telling us that we must practice waiting to perfect our faith. So maybe we should view delays in our lives, regardless of the cause, to be God-sent opportunities to perfect our faith. If we can do that enough for this to be our habit, perhaps we will grow our faith, and maybe even lower our blood pressure! And perhaps we will have arrived at a perfected faith when we can bless the LORD and sing for joy when we face delays, even those caused by someone else.
 
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Messiah also forgave you.
 
Shabbat Shalom

Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sat      24-Oct-2026             13th of Cheshvan, 5787 Parashat Lech-Lecha
Ge 17:7-27                Isa 40:27-41:16       Ro 4:1-12