Messianic Education Trust
		Living in Exile     Vayetze   (Gen 28:10 - 32:2)

B'resheet/Genesis 28:15   Behold, I am with you and I will guard you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land

View whole verse and interlinear translation ...

As Ya'akov leaves the land of Canaan, to return to Haran to seek a wife from "the daughters of Lavan" (B'resheet 28:2), the brother of Rivka his mother, he spends his first night out away from home under the stars near a town called Luz. He is leaving his country of birth, his kinsmen - after all, Esau, his elder brother, is just waiting for the opportunity to string him up - and his father's house. That sounds familiar; he is going into exile: a voluntary exile including at least a measure of geographic relocation, for what - although he doesn't know it now - will turn out to be "twenty years" (31:38). In the process, he will acquire two wives and two concubines - rather more than he currently expects - eleven sons and a daughter, plus much wealth in herds and flock, servants and maid-servants; in fact, a whole household.

During that first night under the heavens, with his head on a stone for a pillow, Ya'akov is given a vision - a regular theophany - during which he hears The Name ...

HaShem: literally, Hebrew for 'The Name' - an allusion used to avoid pronouncing the Tetragrammaton, the so-called 'ineffable' name of G–d
HaShem identity Himself and repeat for him the promises originally given to Avraham his grandfather and then to Yitz'khak his father. On the cusp of exile, as he walks away from home towards the sunrise and a predicted but in practice completely unknown future, HaShem encourages Ya'akov that he is the chosen heir of the covenant and the promises of land and progeny. HaShem then speaks the words of our text - "Look, I am with you. I will guard you wherever you go and I will bring you back into this land, because I won't leave you until I have done what I promised you" (28:15, CJB) - and Ya'akov responds by making a vow before Him: "If G-d remains with me, if He protects me on this journey that I am making, and gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return safe to my father's house -- the L-RD shall be my G-d" (vv. 20-21, NJPS). Bruce Waltke comments that "in addition to promises for the remote future, G-d graciously grants immediate assurances to Ya'akov to sustain his faith."¹

Leon Kass comments that "beyond [the] grand (any by now familiar) covenantal promise for the distant future, G-d offers a full personal promise of protection, no doubt of greater immediate interest to the newly vulnerable Ya'akov: a personal G-d, promising safekeeping, safe return and constant divine presence until the gifts of land, progeny and a blessed name will be delivered."² Our text contains a threefold promise: accompaniment, protection and homecoming.³ It starts with the assertion that HaShem commits Himself to the empty-handed fugitive. Not only has the fugitive not been abandoned, but HaShem will accompany him. "Ya'akov's G-d is willing to cast His lot with this man, to stand with him in places of threat." Rabbi Who Is ...

Hirsch: Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888 CE), German rabbi, author and educator; staunch opponent of the Reform movement in Germany and one of the fathers of Orthodox Judaism
Hirsch paraphrases: "I am with you and although you take nothing with but your staff, you have Me."

Starting with "אָנֹכִי עִמָּךְ I am with you", this first promise is repeated in Scripture: to another man, the prophet Jeremiah, "They will attack you, but they shall not overcome you; for I am with you -- declares the L-RD -- to save you" (Jeremiah 1:19, NJPS); to the community of Israel in exile, "But now thus said the L-RD -- who created you, O Ya'akov, who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I will redeem you; I have singled you out by name, you are Mine. When you pass through water, I will be with you; through streams, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be scorched; through flame, it shall not burn you" (Isaiah 43:1-2, NJPS); and about Yeshua Himself, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel (which means, G-d with us)" (Matthew 1:23, ESV). The Who Is ...

The Radak: Rabbi David Kimḥi (1160-1235 CE), rabbi, biblical commentator, philosopher and grammarian; born in Narbonne, France; best known for his commentaries on the Prophets, he also wrote a philosphical commentary on Bresheet that makes extensive use of the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel; influenced by a strong supporter of Ibn Ezra and Maimonides
Radak says that this promise "means that He would not leave him ever, since the promise extended to his descendants after him."

Gordon Wenham points out that the promise of HaShem's presence, "I really am with you", is characteristic of the Ya'akov cycle, although it is also found elsewhere in Tanakh.⁴ When it is time for Ya'akov to return to Canaan, "the L-RD said to Ya'akov, 'Return to the land of your fathers where you were born, and I will be with you'" (B'resheet 31:3, NJPS); later when HaShem releases Ya'akov to go down to Egypt to see his son Yosef, He says, "I Myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I Myself will also bring you back; and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes" (46:4, NJPS). The What Is ...

The Mekhilta: The earliest known halakhic midrash or commentary on (parts of) the book of Exodus; formally named for Rabbi Ishmael and therefore set around 100-135CE, it was redacted some years after his time; quoted many times in the Bavli Talmud as "Rabbi Ishmael taught ..."
Mekhilta de Rabbi Yishmael uses that last verse to assert that "when Israel went down to Egypt the Shekinah went down with them and when they came up from Egypt the Shekinah came up with them" (Shirata, 3). The Sages of the Talmud go further, saying that "to every place to which they were exiled the Shekinah went with them. They were exiled to Egypt and the Shekinah was with them ... they were exiled to Babylon, and the Shekinah was with them ... and when they will be redeemed in the future, the Shekinah will be with them" (b. Megillah 29a).

Secondly, "וּשְׁמַרְתִּיךָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־תֵּלֵךְ I will guard you wherever you go", using the verb שָׁמַר, to keep or guard. This promise "refutes the notion that Israel is left to its own resources. The keeper of Israel guarantees the lives of those who are exposed and defenceless",FootNoeRef(5) says Walter Brueggemann. We should note that the Aharonic Benediction starts "The L-rd bless you and keep you ..." (B'Midbar 6:24) and Psalm 121 uses the root שָׁמַר no less that six times in just eight verses:

¹  I turn my eyes to the mountains; from where will my help come?
²  My help comes from the L-RD, maker of heaven and earth.
³  He will not let your foot give way; your guardian will not slumber;
⁴  See, the guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps!
⁵  The L-RD is your guardian, the L-RD is your protection at your right hand.
⁶  By day the sun will not strike you, nor the moon by night.
⁷  The L-RD will guard you from all harm; He will guard your life.
⁸  The L-RD will guard your going and coming now and forever. (Psalm 121:1-8, NJPS)

HaShem is the guardian who guards and keeps His people even - perhaps particularly - when they are in exile. Unlike the pagan deities of the ANE, HaShem is not territorial; He is not limited to a particular land. No matter where His people are to be found, HaShem is there with them: where they go, He goes; wherever they are, He is!

Lastly, the third promise - "וַהֲשִׁבֹתִיךָ אֶל־הָאֲדָמָה הַזֹּאת I will bring you back to this land" - speaks of a homecoming. The verb שׁוּב, to turn, return, turn back, suggests a homecoming to a rightful place, a place that is known, owned, prepared and committed. The sense of belonging and having a home to which to return is powerful for those in exile. Brueggemann again: "The themes of exile and homecoming can touch the experiences of many persons in a world of displacement. The experience of Ya'akov makes contact with others in the community of this tradition who are also fugitives. For that community of fugitives, the good news is the promise of homecoming."⁶

Now, in a time of increasing exile for believers, those promises still stand for G-d's people today: G-d will accompany us into exile, stand with us during exile and will bring us back to our land - His kingdom. How do we know this? How can we apply those promises to ourselves in this day? The incarnation starts the story: the angel gives the name by which the Messiah child will be known: Emmanuel - עִמָּנוּאֵל, עִמָּנוּ אֵל - G-d with us! John tells us that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14, ESV); Yeshua came and tabernacled with us, taking human flesh to join us in our exile in this world. When He ascended to heaven, He promised, "I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20, ESV); He will never leave us or abandon us. Yeshua also promised the disciples that there would be a homecoming for them: "I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also" (John 14:3, ESV). We will be home with Him in the place He has prepared for us.

Rav Sha'ul is clear in his mind that our connection with G-d through Yeshua is unbreakable. He tells the congregations in Rome, "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of G-d in Messiah Yeshua our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39, ESV). In his letter to the congregations in Corinth, under the heading of being unequally yoked with unbelievers, he quotes G-d saying of His people: "I will make My dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their G-d, and they shall be My people" (2 Corinthians 6:16, ESV), a nice blend of two verses from the Torah: "I will dwell among the people of Israel and I will be their G-d" (Shemot 29:45) and "I will make My dwelling among you ... and I will walk among you and will be your G-d, and you shall be My people" (Vayikra 26:11-12). This demonstrates that G-d dwells in the Body of Messiah just as He dwells among the people of Israel. He is in our exile now; He dwells among us each and every day, sharing our exile and waiting to take us home to be with Him for ever.

1. - Bruce K. Waltke with Cathi J. Fredricks, Genesis: A Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), page 391.

2. - Leon R. Kass, The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis (Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press, 2003), page 414.

3. - Walter Brueggemann, Genesis, Interpretation, (Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1982), pages 245-246.

4. - Gordon Wenham, Genesis 16-50, Word Biblical Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1994), page 223.

5. - Brueggemann, page 246.

6. - ibid.

Further Study: 1 Kings 8:56-58; John 12:24-26; Philippians 4:6-7

Application: Stand firm in the promises of G-d today. Just as Yeshua is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8), so G-d's promises in Yeshua are always true and always apply to us as His disciples in this and every age. Be encouraged and grasp hold of that truth; hold it close to your heart in these days of exile and bless G-d for His grace to us in Messiah Yeshua.

Comment - 03:00 01Dec24 Bonnie: This was so wonderful! Such a blessing! Thank you. I just learned the word "devakut" and am putting it into practice as you said. "Grasp hold of Truth and hold it close to your heart."

Comment - 11:53 07Dec24 Kelila Hunter: Just a wonderful drash as always. The connection between the past, present and future for us all, is so beautifully shown in your writing.

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© Jonathan Allen, 2024

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