Tol'dot (Generations)
6) Genesis 25:19-28:9
Welcome back to the 6th week of this annual cycle. The name of this week’s portion is Tol'dot which comes from Genesis 25:19 and means “generations.” So far in the book of Genesis, we've been introduced to 7 tol’dot so far:
Heaven and earth (2:4) is the account of the beginning of heaven on earth.
Adam (5:1) is the account of these “beginnings” going south.
Noah (6:9) is the account of re-creation to restore heaven on earth.
Seventy Nations from Noah (10:1) is the account of God’s protecting us from ourselves through scattering.
Shem (11:10) is the account of the relational bridge from one son of Noah to the father of Abram.
Terah (11:27) is the account of the beginning of God’s rescue mission for all families of the earth.
Ishmael (25:12) is the account of Abram’s physical firstborn son who God did NOT choose to serve as the relational bridge for heaven to be restored to earth.
Now, introducing…Isaac! Notice how Isaac was born in chapter 21 but his tol’dot is not described until here in chapter 25. What do you think this entire tol’dot structure is communicating?
Remember in last week’s post I mentioned Chayei Sarah (Life of Sarah) could be called “Abraham 2.0”? Similarly, because the opening verses in this portion describe Isaac and Rebecca’s relationship, it could be called “Abraham and Sarah: Act 2” as God continues to build a relational bridge to bring heaven back to earth.
Remember…legacy. In last week’s portion God carried on the matriarchal life through Rebecca and this week He raises up Rebecca in this role to walk with Isaac—the son of promise.
As we are getting deeper into God’s foundational story, I want to ask you a question. How deep are you going into God’s word? Which word best describes your habits: reading, skimming, browsing, avoiding…or feasting? God has a feast for you and the feast is Him! Crazy, I know but somehow our Heavenly Father wants to meet us through our relationship with His son through the power of the Holy Spirit and He uses the Bible to guide us deeper into relationship with Him.
“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Messiah Yeshua my Lord” (Paul’s encouragement to believers in a major Greek city; Philippians 3:8)
While all of our earthly fathers are limited, God’s love is lavish and perfect. He wants you to be able to cry out from your heart, “Abba, Father” with a Spirit wrought testimony declaring to your spirit that you are indeed a beloved child of God (Romans 8:15-16).
So, even if you have not slowed down enough to feast in any of the first five portions, I really want to encourage you this week to give it a try. Slow down and take a few minutes to click on one of the two links below to go to the Parashah Project and let the structure reinforce and support you in going deeper with God.
God’s love is better than life…and stronger than death.
Remember, this is about Relational depth not textual breadth. In other words, the goal is less about reading the breadth of commentary (or even the breadth of Bible reading) but about letting the commentary lead you deeper into your Bible that will “set the sail” for the Spirit of God to lead you deeper into your knowledge of God and His irresistible and illuminating love.
Readings for the Week:
Torah: GENESIS 25:19–28:9
Prophets: MALACHI 1:1–2:7
Apostolic Writings: ROMANS 9:1–13
Click HERE for the online Parashah commentary.
Shalom,
Thomas