“Are we a sharer, or a shearer?”
Premises
1. The “word of AD-NAI came to me, asking, Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah), what do you see?” — Jeremiah 1:11. [Remember — Jeremiah means “G-d will elevate”]. Jeremiah answered, “I see a branch from an almond tree” (Hebrew: almond=shaked=”see”). Verse 12 — Then AD-NAI said, “You have seen well, because I am watching [Hebrew: watching = shoked] to fulfill my word”.
2. It was Aaron’s rod that sprouted/budded, and also had produced ripe almonds, for all Israel to see that AD-NAI had chosen the tribe of Levi for the priesthood.
3. Part of the interpretation and farsightedness of the children of Israel looking/seeing upon the serpent lifted up on the pole, and thus being healed from the poisonous snake bites in the desert, was fulfilled when our Messiah was lifted up on an execution pole (tree). “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me”, was His loving instruction to us, both for healing and for salvation.
4. It was Messiah who was wounded, and bruised, plucked, beaten beyond recognition. He was the righteous branch (the tree), who was “peeled” in our place, the one we are to look/see upon, and obey. Reference to Ya’akov peeling the branches for Ya’akov’s flocks, not Lavan’s.
Gleanings
1. Today we see/look upon The Tree of Life = The Living Torah which is Messiah Yeshua! We see/come to the Living Water (John 19:34) = “Mayim Chayim”, Who is also Messiah Yeshua, to produce His Living Water within us. We see/look upon Him Who was pierced/peeled and cry “Baruch HaBa Bashem Ad-nai”/”Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the L-rd (Zc 12:10, John 19:37). The Torah = Yeshua = produces life within us, within His flocks!
2. According to the account of Ya’akov in B’resheet 30: 29-43: Who might be the speckled, spotted and brown flocks? Answer: The remnant, which by ingrafting, includes the “fullness of the Gentiles”. As more and more people of the nations come to the fullness (“tamim”) of Torah, there is now worldwide Messianic expansion, to the Jew first, then to the Gentile…”to the lost sheep of Israel”, and all those who will come into the sheepfold through the door of Yeshua. John 10:16 — “Also I have other sheep which are not from this pen; I need to bring them, and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
Conclusion
So — What do you see? Do we see the account of Ya’akov’s flock expanding, as the fullness of both Jew (chosen) and Gentile (ingrafted) see and obey the stripped One = Yeshua and His living Torah? THE EXPANSION THEME OF THIS ACCOUNT, WITH YA’AKOV’S PROPHETIC FLOCKS, “WAGES”, AND GENERATIONS THROUGH THE AGES, IS ALL THE FULLNESS SEEING YESHUA! The weaker ones, which belonged to the idol-worshipping, and pagan nation around, Lavan, have no fullness or long-term generational perpetuation, without “teshuvah”/repentance. Lavan was not interested in “sharing”, but “shearing” — short term gain for greediness/worldliness.
Ya’akov saw the “sharing expansion” as prophecy, which is all directed by AD-NAI — He has brought about the increase! BARUCH HASHEM !
Shalom,
Hines and Cecelia