Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Parasha 15: Is There Anything Too Hard for the Lord?

 

Is There Anything Too Hard for the Lord?


-- TORAH   P O R T I O N --

Introduction:

Has God ever done something in your life that seemed impossible?

As Abraham sat at the entrance of his tent in Mamre, God appeared to him. When he looked up, he saw three men standing nearby. He hurried to offer them rest and food, which they accepted. Abraham ran to inform his wife, Sarah, and together they prepared bread, a tender and good calf, butter, and milk.

The men then inquired about Sarah, and one of them assured Abraham that she would bear a son. In Genesis 12:2, God promised Abram that he would become a great nation—perhaps the reason why his name was changed to Abraham, meaning “Father of many nations.” In Genesis 15:4, God assured Abram that an heir would come from his own body. Now, in this week’s Torah portion, the time had come for God to fulfill His promise. Two truths reveal that nothing is too hard for Him:

1. IT'S NOT HARD FOR GOD THAT SARAH WILL BEAR A SON (v.14)

How could anything be difficult for the One who spoke the world into existence? Adonai assured Abraham and Sarah that at the appointed time—on a specific date set by God—Sarah would bear a son.

Genesis 18:10 (NKJV) states:
"And He said, ‘I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.’ (Sarah was listening in the tent door, which was behind him.)"

Notice that the New King James Version capitalizes “He” in verse 10. Could this have been Yeshua? Were these three men angels?

Yaakov Brown, founder of Beth Melekh International, suggests that these men were:

  • Gavriel (Mighty One of God) – Announced the miracle to Abraham, proclaiming that the Almighty would give Sarah a son.
  • Michael (Who Is Like God) – Guardian of Israel, responsible for enacting judgment and overturning Sodom (Genesis 19:25).
  • Yeshua [Raphael] (Healing of God) – Brought wholeness, healed Abraham after his circumcision, and rescued Lot from Sodom—both acts part of a single mission of restoration.

In Luke 1:30-38, the angel told Miriam (Mary) that she was highly favored and would conceive a son. When she questioned how this could happen since she was a virgin, the angel answered:
"The Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. For nothing is impossible with God."

God works miracles even in the most extreme circumstances. He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.

Additional Scripture References

Matthew 19:26 – "Yeshua looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’"

Jeremiah 32:17 – "Ah, Lord God! It is You who have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You."

Job 42:2 – "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted."

2. IT'S NOT TOO HARD FOR GOD TO BE COMPASSIONATE (vv.20-33)

When God destroyed the earth through flood during the time of Noah, nobody interceded. Now, because the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is very grave, God will go down to destroy the cities. During the time of Noah, nobody repented. And repentance was also absent in the time of Sodom. Abraham interceded for the cities to be spared. He began with 50 people to make the punishment needless and finally to as few as 10. Maybe Abraham was thinking of his nephew Lot, that's why he pleaded and the result, God was pleased and became compassionate.


Even when we are false hearted, He remains a God of graciousness and compassion. Let us always remember that It was His compassion that drove Him to send His Only begotten Son Yeshua to save us.

                        
-- H A F T A R A H   P O R T I O N --


We have two chapters in our Haftarah portion. In chapter 33:17-24, prophet Isaiah sees the city of Jerusalem ruled by Messiah Yeshua. After the captivity of Assyria, the people of Israel will experience Yeshua's compassion. The city of Jerusalem will be a quiet home and never again be destroyed under the mighty protection of Yeshua. He will be their Judge, Lawgiver, King and He will save them. Verse 17 says: “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is very far off.” Lastly in verse 24, the people who dwell in Jerusalem, their iniquity will be forgiven (Jer.31:34b). Isaiah gave us a picture of the land of Yeshua as the Majestic King. But there is nothing better than seeing the mercy and goodness of Yeshua in His people.In chapter 34:1-12, Isaiah invited the nations to pay attention because God will judge them because they rejected Him and His instructions. Isaiah used Edom as a representative of the nations. For the indignation of God is against them and the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll and those nations which stood against Israel will be erased. In verse 6, the wicked nations will be the sacrifice since these nations sacrificed God's people, now He sacrifices them.                

            

-- A P O S T O L I C   P O R T I O N --


In Apostolic portion, while Yeshua was on His way to the house of Jairus to heal his 12 year old dying daughter, a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years suddenly touched the border of Yeshua's garment. This woman could cost the life of Jairus daughter because she made a delay. The question is why did Yeshua prioritize the bleeding woman over the dying daughter of Jairus? The answer is in verse 50. Yeshua said to Jairus "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well." We can see here that Yeshua tested the faith of Jairus not like the bleeding woman, she was healed because of her faith(v.48). 


Two lessons that we can learn from our Apostolic portion: 


1.God allows trials for our maturity and to strengthen our faith. 

Often when we face trials, we get discouraged, question God, or maybe lose hope. We forget that trails are also God's means to draw us closer to Him. Let us always remember that Yeshua is a compassionate, merciful and faithful God.


2.Instead of being afraid, let's believe in God's ability in all things. 

Imagine in the case of Jairus’ daughter, the crowd wept because they thought that she's already dead. But Yeshua said: “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.” This may be the painful moment of Jairus being a parent. So it's time for Yeshua to show His power and He just says a simple but powerful words: “Little girl arise.” In the case of the bleeding woman, twelve years is not a joke. Perhaps the woman was broken, hopeless and used everything that she had just to be healed. But just a simple touch of Yeshua's garments, her pain and suffering ended. 


Two women were suffering from different trials. But Yeshua's power was enough to heal them. For nothing is too hard for Him




The connection of our parasha is about the compassion of God to His people and it's not too hard for Him to do that. In the Torah, Abraham negotiated with God and He shows compassion for the sake of the ten to prevent the judgment of the two cities. In the Haftarah, Israel will experience Yeshua's compassion as He will rule in them as their King and He will punish the nations which stood against His chosen people. In the Apostolic, Yeshua shows His compassion with the bleeding woman and the daughter of Jairus by healing them. 



Returning to my introduction...God came down from heaven and was found in appearance as a man to show us that nothing is too hard for Him. He is real, He is powerful. We have a Mighty God whose mighty works are beyond our understanding. So whatever we may be battling in life today, remember God's question to Abraham "Is anything too hard for Me"


Jeremiah 32:27

"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too difficult for Me?" 


"Faith does not make things easy; it makes them possible." — Luke 1:37



Shabbat Shalom,

Topher



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-- S O U R C E S --

torahclass.com 

thetorah.com 

outorah.org 

bible.org 

jweekly.com 

blueletterbible.org 

ligonier.org 

bethmelekh.com

family-times.net 

The MacArthur Study 





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