Praise Yahweh for His Word and for what He shows us!
As we know, Yahweh knows all, and as such He knows the end from the beginning.
One Sabbath morning, as I was reading the Torah portion for that Sabbath (Bereshith – the
Hebrew word meaning “in the beginning”), I was amazed at what I noticed, that I had not seen
before.
In the verses of Genesis 3, I noticed a big part of Yahweh’s plan and purpose for the Son and for
the end, in the beginning!
Genesis 3:14-15 – And [Yahweh Elohim] said unto the serpent: ‘Because thou hast done this,
cursed art thou from among all cattle, and from among all beasts of the field; upon thy belly shalt
thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; they shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise
their heel.’ (JPS Tanakh)
I recalled learning from Bible Studies and sermons that the “woman” is the assembly of Yahweh
under the leadership of Yahshua Messiah. We see a reference to this “woman” and “her seed” in
Revelation 12:17. We also see in Revelation that the devil will be destroyed (Rev. 20:10). This is
the first connection I saw of the end from the beginning, and plan and purpose for Messiah, just
in this Torah portion. …
The weekly Sabbath Reading Torah portions are different from the Bible Portions according to
the 52 Week Reading Plan (which is on a chart in the back of the Restoration Study Bible) that I
follow during the week. Based on the outline in the JPS Tanakh, the portion for this particular
Sabbath was Bereshith – Genesis 1:1-Genesis 6:8. So I continued to read on from Genesis 3. …
The second set of verses that stood out to me from this Torah Portion are in Genesis 5, which is
the genealogy from Adam to the sons of Noah. What stood out to me is how, repeatedly, the
Scriptures mention one man begot one son, stating the names of that man and then his son. Then,
the Scriptures tell us that same man had sons and daughters, but does not state their names.
For example, Genesis 5:3-5 – When Adam had lived 130 years, he begot a son in his likeness
after his image, and he named him Seth. After the birth of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and begot
sons and daughters. (JPS Tanakh)
I thought on the significance of the men named in the chapter of Genesis 5, and asked myself
why were only certain men and certain sons named? In the aforementioned verses, Cain (the first
son of Adam and Eve) was not mentioned, even though the chapter begins by saying “This is the
record of Adam’s line.” (Genesis 5:1, JPS Tanakh)
What came into my mind next was to read the genealogy of Yahshua Messiah in the New
Testament, which we see outlined all the way back to Adam, in Luke 3. I wondered, will I see
the same names as in Genesis 5?
So, while keeping my JPS Tanakh opened to Genesis 5, I opened up my Restoration Study Bible
to cross check those names with the names in Luke 3. And, while reading backwards in Luke 3
from verse 38 into verse 36, comparing those names to the ones I saw while reading forwards
from Genesis 5:1-32, I read the same names!
This is the second connection I saw of the end from the beginning, and plan and purpose for
Messiah, just in this Torah portion.
Yahweh knows the end from the beginning. Yahweh is all-knowing and wise. And so, in the
beginning, immediately after the fall of mankind into sin, we see that Yahweh put into place a
plan and a purpose for His Son: through the seed of the woman would come the one who will put
an end to the adversary (Genesis 3:9-15).
Note for Genesis 3:15: This is a reference of prophetic importance referring to the future
destruction of Satan the devil by Yahshua the Messiah (Rom. 16:20). See Psalm 91:13. (Footnote
in Restoration Study Bible, page 11).
As mentioned above, I am following a 52 Week Bible Reading Plan during the week. So, I had
the opportunity to re-read Genesis 5 (the portion of that day was Genesis 4-7) and meditate on
what Yahweh put into place right after the fall of mankind into sin. As we know, there is mention
of Yahshua Messiah throughout the Scriptures, but this time in my personal reading, I noticed
how early in human history, and how quickly, the wheels were set into motion for the plan of
redemption and salvation through Yahshua Messiah.
In addition, other Scriptures from the New Testament, confirming the plan that was set and the
purpose for Yahshua Messiah, in the beginning, came to mind. We see that Yahshua is the Son
of Yahweh, the salvation of Yahweh (Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31-33). Yahshua has been with
Yahweh since beginning and the creation, is the head of the body of the assembly, and through
him we have redemption (John 1:1-13; Colossians 1:12-18).
How loving, glorious, and wonderful is our Heavenly Father Yahweh! He has a plan of
redemption and salvation for mankind that had fallen into sin, the penalty for that sin being
death, but redemption to life is through Yahshua Messiah (Romans 5:12-15; 1Corinthians 15:22).
HalleluYah!
As a follow-up study, and for more information on the names of the lineage mentioned in
Genesis 5 and the meanings of those names, you can check out the YRM sermon by Lucas Cecil
“What’s in a Name?”. I have heard the sermon, it is very well done, praise Yahweh!
There will be more discussion on Yahshua in a Part 2 article. I’m so excited and looking
forward to completing it!
~Submitted by Judy Stern
Very thought provoking, looking foward to reading part 2