This weeks Torah Portion is Chayie Sarah, The Life of Sarah. Genesis23:1 to 25:18. Haftarah is 1 Kings 1:1-31. And the Gospel reading is from Matthew 11 & 12.
Sarah was righteous and the glory of God was with her and it was said that a cloud rested at Sarah's tent and when she died the cloud left.
Genesis 24:67 KJV “And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.”
The midrashic legend is that when Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother’s tent, the cloud of glory returned, the Sabbath lamp kindled, the blessing returned to the dough, and the curtains were once again open to receive visitors.
“You find that as long as Sarah lived, a cloud hung over her tent, when she died, that cloud disappeared, but when Rebekah came, the cloud returned. As long as Sarah lived, her doors were wide open; when she died that liberality ceased, but when Rebekah came, that openhandedness returned. As long as Sarah lived, there was a blessing on her dough, and the lamp used to burn from evening of the Sabbath until the evening of the following Sabbath; when she died, these ceased, but when Rebekah came, they returned.” (Genesis Rabbah 60:16)
There is a definite Messianic interpretation and metaphor here. Isaac is a type of Messiah and Sarah symbolizes Jerusalem and the Temple (her tent). Who is the young woman, Rebekah, bearing Sarah’s image? Taking residence in her tent and continuing her legacy? Who is the bride of Isaac, but none other than a type of Bride of Messiah!
Jewish tradition draws heavily on the likening of Sarah to Jerusalem and the Temple. See Isaiah 54. Paul seems to have recalled the same midrashic material in his letter to the Galatians.
In this midrash, Sarah’s tent (Jerusalem and the Temple) is restored when Isaac (Yeshua) meets his bride (Believing Israel and those grafted in) and brings her into it. This is a foretelling, in fact a portent, of the return of Messiah and the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple. She is the living Temple of Revelation 21, the “bride adorned for her husband”
שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart
Brenda and I are going to Israel next June 19th to 29th. You can join us in the land promised to Abraham for a special tour where you will see the promised Messiah of Israel like you have never seen Him before! We will visit places off the beaten path and follow in the foot steps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Join us as we also explore the people, culture, politics and conflict that is today’s Israel and a special Sabbath day in Jerusalem. For details on the tour visit www.theheartofisrael.com .
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