Time For A Break?

Genesis 41:1-44:17, Miketz, “The End”

Once again, this week’s Torah portion is packed full of concepts and ideas that could lead to a wonderful discussion and challenging concepts that would facilitate an opportunity for God to speak into our lives.  As such, this has been a week of incredible opportunity for me as I have allowed the circumstances of life to reveal where I am at in relationship to each.  Because there are so many, I was really being challenged in where to go with this blog.  As I moved through my morning prayer time the concept of “breaking points” came to me.  Then I read the title “The End”.   This seems to be a good confirmation as “the end” and the point at which we are “broken” tend to come about at the same time.  Interestingly, there was another concept that I was feeling very led toward in my time of prayer and was contemplating the relationship between the two concepts.

The second concept stems from some emotions relative to how various characters of the bible are glorified to the point that their thoughts, beliefs, and actions are used as a road map for the lives of those who read about them.  I have talked with people who were justifying thoughts and behavior based on portions of the psalms being “Godly instruction” because “they are in the bible”.  In several instances, the scriptures referenced were simply the author expressing their own deeply human and flesh led feelings.  These psalms are wonderful and serve an amazing purpose.  It is a purpose that is fulfilled when we can see the fallen/flesh led nature of these characters to the point that allows us to relate to them.  On the other hand, it is an abuse of scripture when we allow the fallen/flesh led patterns of these individuals to become a road map that leads us deeper into our own fallen/flesh led lives.

Ultimately, the tying together of these two concepts comes in the brokenness.  The stories of the biblical characters, the psalms, and even the journey of Israel ultimately become an opportunity for us to relate and use their spiritual journeys toward brokenness (The End) to become a testimony that speaks into our lives.  The reality is, the vast majority of the “testimony” we find in the bible is NOT in the form of doing as they do, thinking as they think, or living how they live.  Sure, there are opportunities, but all in all, the greatest lessons for us come in seeing the points of change, the points of transition, and the points of brokenness.  Very often both lessons can be drawn from the very same experience.  If we are careful not to overly glorify the characters, but instead, pick up on the hints and clues that the bible offers, we can be led toward deeper insight into the mindset of the individuals.  In this case, we may see how to behave or respond in a particular situation through their example, while also learning how not to allow flesh led tendencies to be the driving factor in our decision to do good.

Overlaying the story of Chanukah (which just ended) with this week’s readings led me to seeing some very interesting parallels that have become the foundation of where I am ultimately going to go with this blog. 

As the Greek empire conquered the region, they imposed a Hellenistic way of life that is idol centered and flesh led.  As this influence increased, led by a physical and real pressure to acclimate, the vast majority of the nation of Israel fell to the pressures and were “broken” away from a life dedicated to Torah.  These “pressures” included the seductive nature of temptation alongside the threats of persecution, torture, and death. 

There were some who held out and were martyred through their resistance.  One of the these hold outs was an old priest by the name of Mattityahu.  Ultimately, he called his sons together to fight the Greeks and to defend God’s Torah.  One of the sons was named Judah.  He was known as “Judah the Strong” and “Maccabee”.  “Macabee” was selected to lead the warfare under the wise council of his brother Shimon.  (https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102978/jewish/The-Story-of-Chanukah.htm)

Through the revolt, the temple was liberated and re-dedicated to God.  This is when the miracle of Chanukah took place.  But this is not the end of the story. 

By the end of the war, Simon was the only one of the five sons who survived the conflict.  He and his family, called the Hasmoneans, claimed the throne of Judah and the post of High Priest.  “This assertion of religious authority conflicted with the tradition of the priests coming from the descendants of Moses' brother Aaron and the tribe of Levi.  It did not take long for rival factions to develop and threaten the unity of the kingdom. Ultimately, internal divisions and the appearance of yet another imperial power were to put an end to Jewish independence in the Land of Israel for nearly two centuries.”  (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-and-overview-of-the-maccabees)

In this story, I see a repetitive pattern being developed.  Let’s go back to the “pressure” that the Greek’s were imposing on the land.  One side of the “pressure” simply appealed to the flesh and as such was a temptation to follow where the flesh wants to go in its desire to be rebellious to the ways of God.  The other side of the “pressure” was a real threat of persecution including imprisonment, torture, and death.  These “pressures” also speak to the flesh, but in a way that is a bit less obvious.  In the first case, the temptations are obviously in opposition to the ways of God.  They are unholy, His ways are holy.  The second form of “pressure” also speaks to the flesh but not until we see the second level. At the first level we could argue that the threat of harm makes us run from what the flesh does not like.  But, if this is true, then isn’t the flesh still running toward what it does like?  In the threat of harm, it runs to where it is going to find peace, comfort, and well-being.  If the only place this can be found is in a life that is less than holy, well, so be it.  The flesh desire for comfort wins out at the sacrifice of the spirits dedication to God and His ways.

Ultimately where I am going with this, is to see how these two forms of “pressure” and “temptation” reveal themselves in the lives of the people of Israel, the Hasmoneans from the Chanukah story, the lives of Judah and Joseph in our Torah portion, and in other characters of the bible that we tend to glorify.  In and through this discussion we will resist the temptation to either demonize or glorify these characters.  This will allow us to find rest in our companionship with them in their humanity while we seek to allow the testimony of their “breaking point” moments, and the spiritual experience of those moments, to speak deeply into our being.

As noted above, the Chanukah story exposes us to several groups of characters.  We have those that allowed the simple temptation of fleshly living to “break” them from a dedication to holiness and “end” their lives of Torah observance.  Later we learn about those who, under the threat of persecution, “broke” and “ended” their journeys in the very same way as the first group.  At the end of the day, the reality is that this group really isn’t that much different than the group that came before them as the truth is, they too allowed a promise of flesh desires (safety and comfort) to “break” them.  The third group is those that held out and fought.  They remained strong and were used by God to “break” the enemies hold on the Temple.  However, in their victory, the Hasmonaeans allowed themselves to be appointed into positions of religious authority and priestly roles that they were not eligible for.  This ultimately led to the “breaking” up of the nation and the “end” of the Jewish independence forfeiting all that had been accomplished only a few years earlier.

As I think of these three groups, I can’t help but wonder what they each thought as different things unfolded around them.  How did those who chose the Hellenistic life feel when the revolt succeeded?  Did God use this to “break” them and lead them back to Him?  How did the Hasmoneans feel when God showed them that it was their own misappropriation of power that led to the destruction of everything they had worked so hard to restore?  Did God use this revelation to “break” them of some aspect of pride?

Looking back at last week’s reading we go back to Judah.  In all honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if Judah didn’t put much faith in the institution of marriage.  Afterall, he was one of Leah’s sons.  Leah was not favored by Israel who had children from two wives of his own choosing.  He also had children from two maid servants who were given to him as wives from Rachel and Leah as they competed with each other in the race to produce more sons for Jacob (Israel).  Ultimately, Judah reached his “breaking” point when he came to the “end” of the story with Tamar where he noted that “she is more righteous than I”.  By the end of this week’s parsha we see Judah willing to offer himself and all of his brothers as slaves to Joseph in exchange for letting Benjamin return to his father’s house.  I wonder what God showed Judah in that experience with Tamar that led him to such a dramatic change of character.  I wonder how many experiences God showed him where if he would have had eyes to see and ears to hear he could have been “broken” so much sooner?

As all this was going on, Joseph was going through his own journey.  Joseph’s story is somewhat unique in that he does have a deep relationship with God and as such he is one of those characters that is commonly glorified.  I have some issues with this and will share why.  For me, I think there is a lot of evidence that Joseph had a lot of growing up to do.  It is true that he loved God and that he did have a strong sense of morality and resolve.  At the same time, it appears to me as though he looked to use the gifts God gave him to bring glory to himself.  Again, just like I can understand why Judah lived the way he lived; I can understand why Joseph might have looked to use the gifts God gave him for his own glory. 

Ultimately, Joseph is given the opportunity to truly benefit from his giftings and he takes it.  Some would argue that he was only doing what he had to do.  This leads me back to the Chanukah story and the two groups that were led into the Hellenistic lifestyle.  Some were led by being tempted one way, the others were tempted another.  Ultimately, both groups were “broken” by the temptations and moved away from the life God had called them to by their flesh desires.  

I would argue that God gives us some real clues to Joseph’s heart.  In naming his two children Joseph tells us that he believes “God has made him forget all his toil and all of his father's house” and that “he has become doubly fruitful in the new land where he has come to live”.  Later, in his discussion with Judah, he reveals that he no longer credits God with his insights, but that he “practices divination”. (Genesis 44:15).  I would argue that the “toils” of his past were a set up that allowed his promotion under Pharaoh to become a “breaking” point in his life.  He married the daughter of the High Priest of a pagan culture, he completely assimilated, rode around in a chariot, had the people bow down to him, and allowed himself to be glorified by them as “savior”. 

Toward the end of this week’s parsha we find Joseph weeping (Genesis 43:30).  I would argue that this is another “breaking” point moment for Joseph.  I would argue that in the blink of an eye he was hit with all that he had not understood, that he had not understood what God was showing him in his dreams of a youth, that he had gone astray, and that he had fallen to the temptation of being led away from the very purposes God had destined for him and his life.  I wonder how much of this was in his mind when he told his brothers not to feel bad about what had happened because he had come to see that God had orchestrated the events for good, possibly understanding that he needed to go through the brokenness to become all that God had called him to be.

Ultimately, we can look at Solomon and all his wisdom and wealth in a similar way.  We can glorify him in all his accomplishments, accolades, psalms, proverbs, and wisdom.  At the same time, there is an opportunity to move into companionship with him and his testimony.  We can do this when we read Ecclesiastes and discover how God used all of those things that we use to glorify him as a catalyst to “break” him and move him into a deeper relationship with Himself.

We can do the same with King David.  There is no doubt that David was a great warrior, and that he was always willing to talk to God, to hear His voice, and to move into repentance and accept whatever rebuke God put before him.  At the same time, there are moments like when he was dancing and exposing himself to all the women and children, were we find an opportunity to see David in his fallen/flesh led nature.  We could argue that he was justified in praising God, or that his relationship with Michael was fractured and as such, she was rebuking him from a place of self-righteousness.  At the same time, we have to ask, how might have things been different if David would have been able to allow the rebuke, even if it wasn’t presented properly, to speak into his life and walk the long road of self-reflection.  Maybe he would have seen an aspect of his sexuality, been “broken,” and “ended” a cycle that instead was not dealt with until years later.  

I can't help but wonder how many lives would have been impacted if David could have moved beyond his personal feelings and allowed God to speak to him through Michael?  I wonder if God took him back to this experience when he was praying that Bathsheba’s first son would live?  Or, maybe when his own son violated his wives as Nathan told him would happen as a result of the affair with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of Uriah her husband.

Ultimately this is where I am going here.  The point isn’t to prove what each of these characters was thinking, where they were right, where they were wrong, if they were or were not of good moral character, or what discussions God had with them during these pinnacle moments of life.  The point is, if we move beyond demonizing those who were weak, or glorifying those who were strong, we can approach their lives in a new way.  As they walked through life, they had no ability to see where God would have to use later events to “break” them and “end” various patterns of brokenness in their lives.  We have the advantage of knowing the whole story and seeing what could have been.  We also have the advantage of an indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  If we allow ourselves to move into relationship with these people and open up our minds to the voice of the Holy Spirit, maybe we can see how we can tend to respond in the same ways they did.  Maybe we can let the Holy Spirit show us how the experiences that “broke” them are given as an example to “break” us, and maybe in and through this, we can protect our families and our loved ones from being the focal point of our future “breakings”.

I pray that each of us grow in our ability to have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that are willing to change.  I pray that we each continue to grow in our ability to become broken, and that in and through the process we each move beyond self-destructive patterns and into more wholesome and God honoring lives.  I pray that each of us grow in all these things to the point that none of us see a day where God uses the pain and suffering of others to “break” us of the patterns He is attempting to set us free from.  I pray that this has been a blessing and an encouragement.