Establishing a Biblical Family

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After an overnight flight a mom of many wearily arrived at an Air Base in Germany with eight children all under age 11. Collecting the many suitcases, the nine of them entered the cramped customs area. A young customs official watched the entourage in disbelief, ''Ma'am,'' he said, ''do all these children and this luggage belong to you?''

''Yes, sir,'' my mother said with a sigh, ''they're all mine.''

The customs agent began his interrogation: ''Ma'am, do you have any weapons, contraband or illegal drugs in your possession?''

''Sir,'' she calmly answered, ''if I'd had any of those items, I would have used them by now.''

Too often this joke is the truth. Our living quarters resemble war-zones. And instead of a sanctuary, our home seems to be just a hotel where everyone hangs their hat and then goes on their merry ways. Friend, our homes need an ‘Extreme Makeover’ Biblical style! They need to return to the way they were setup by the Almighty and function within the blessings of YHWH. Consider the words of Rabbi Hayim Donin, “The family is the core of the Hebrew society and a center of its religious life. If the home is strong in Biblical values, stable and healthy, then all of life and all its institutions-religious, educational, social, etc.-will be alive and vibrant.” The power of a Bible based home and its influence affects generations to come with guidance and devotion. Heritage is established in the home.

Just think about two families from the state of New York. These two groups were studied very carefully for many years. One was the Max Jukes family and the other was the Jonathan Edwards family. The major point discovered in this study that like begets like.

Max was an unbelieving man and he married a woman of like character who lacked principle. Among his known descendants over 1200 were studied. Three hundred and ten of them became professional vagrants; 440 physically wrecked their lives by their lifestyle; 130 were sent to the pen for an average of thirteen years each, 7 of them for murder. There were over 600 of them admitted alcoholics, 60 became habitual thieves; 190 public prostitutes. Of the 20 who learned a trade, 10 of them learned their trade in a state prison. This family has cost the state of NY at least $420,000 and they have made no lasting impact upon society.

In about the same era the family of Jonathan Edwards came on the scene. Jonathan Edwards, a religious man, also married a wife of like character. Of his descendants over three hundred became clergymen, missionaries, and seminary professors; 86 became university presidents; 100 became attorneys; 30 of them were judges; 60 were doctors; and over 75 became authors of good classic books. There were numerous giants in American industry that emerged from this family. Three became United States congressmen and one became the vice president of the United States. The influence of family is powerful.

The scriptures are clear from Genesis 1:24, “let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind,” – like begets like. For those who come from a good reputable family, life seems to be paved with success and happiness. (Consider the Bush family) Those with broken families pass along their problems to the heirs. Children mirror their parents’ behavior and repeat the words their parents use. What about the Bible believers? Should the home life of a saint and sinner be different? What role should the family dynamic play in our culture of workaholics, reality television, and color-coded terror warnings? Is there a difference between the family pattern of the Bible and the modern families of today?

The First Family

In the book of Genesis we find the original first family and the plan for all descendants who would come forth. If you want to know how to raise a Biblical family then just keep reading in Beresheet. The very first words, perhaps the very first commandment given to mankind explains YHWH’s will for the family. “And Elohim blessed them, and Elohim said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth,” Beresheet 1:28. This is the key!

YHWH didn’t declare that the family must have a budget or fire escape plan. He originally told them to “be fruitful and multiply.” This was the purpose of family in the Garden and this is the purpose of family today.

Note that YHWH told them to ‘be fruitful’ before He told them to ‘multiply.’ Growth for the sake of growth is not a good thing. Life is not all about numbers and material possessions. Biblically, fruit should abound before growth occurs. Think of a woman with a large growth in her stomach. This could be a child or this growth could be a huge tumor. Growth does not always equal health. Yet, healthy beings grow naturally. A tree that receives water and sunlight will grow on its own. This is the same with our families and our ministries. Growth occurs as fruit abounds.

Be Fruitful

When YHWH instructed Adam and Chavah to be fruitful, He used the word “parah.” This Hebrew term means to “grow, increase, bear fruit like a vine, bring forth, to open.” This word parah is used many times throughout the Scriptures in reference to the fruit of a vine. The family is not the vine, but is to produce life and goodness from the vine. This can be better understood when you reference the words of Yahshua. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” Yochannan 15:4-5.

Fruit is nothing more than the life giving seed source of a plant. The primary point of the family is to bear the fruit, or life, of the Almighty Vine. The family is to produce the same life as the Savior. Remember that the book of Yochannan calls Yahshua the ‘word made flesh,’ so the Savior is the Living Word or Living Torah. Therefore to bear the fruit of the Vine Yahshua is to bear the fruit of Torah. To resemble Yahshua is to live His life and resemble the Torah. To put it plainly, the family is to live out the Divine Will as revealed in the first five books of the Bible given to Moshe. The home is to provide an enviorment where this can occur. To be fruitful a family is to be established within the Savior and His Word.

And Multiply

So, when YHWH told Adam and Chava to ‘be fruitful’ He was telling them to connect to the Vine and establish their home as a place where the Almighty would be honored and therefore bring forth life. This wasn’t all though. The family is also to ‘multiply.’

The word for multiply here is “rabah.” This Hebrew term means to ‘increase, excel, enlarge, continue, nourish, store, to shoot out like an arrow, to cast together, to multiply, ten thousands.” First the family is to bear the fruit of Torah and then the family is to pass on the Biblical heritage to children and grandchildren. We are to multiply the fruit of Torah in the families that are to follow. The culture of Torah is to ‘shoot out like an arrow’ throughout the generations.

We have to connect our faith to our children and give them a positive sense of who they are and where this world is heading. There must be generational transmission in our homes.

Many commands throughout the Bible, like using the Name YHWH and keeping the set apart feasts, are to be performed ‘throughout their generations.’ This is the essence of the Biblical faith which was to be established in the home and then reproduced or multiplied. It is through reproduction that the family lifestyle is passed on. There are generational curses and generational blessings. Think about Adam for a few minutes. Adam and Chavah were to obey the Creator, model obedience to their children, and raise their kids to follow YHWH. The problem is that sin entered the world and the sins of the fathers soon become the sins of the children.

Because of Adam’s disobediance death came into the world. Following his father, Adam’s son Kain killed his own brother Hevel. Again, like begets like. Death brought death and wickedness increased. “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth…and Elohim saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And YHWH said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them,” Genesis 6:1,5-7.

Now, the family of Noach has the opportunity to bear fruit and reproduce the life of the Vine. Through faith, Noach takes his family into the ark and he and his household are saved from the flood. “And Noach went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: And Elohim blessed Noach and his sons, and said unto them, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,’” Beresheet 8:18 & 9:1. Notice that Noach’s faith was not personal. He believed and his whole household was saved.

The same words spoken to Adam are repeated to Noach. The same purpose given to Adam is now given to Noach. Also, here with the story of Noach is the first mention in the Torah of two Hebrew words of great importance. These terms that will shed more light on our subject are “mishpachah” and “bayit.”

Family and House

“Mishpachah” is the Hebrew term for family. It literally means a ‘circle of relatives, family, tribe or people.” This term is used throughout the Scriptures in reference to the people YHWH chose to bring about His will in the earth. The word mishpachah was used to describe the larger patriarchal clan which included those persons related by blood, marriage, slaveship, and even strangers or sojourners.

“Bayit” is the Hebrew term for house. This word speaks of the physical place where the family, the mishpachah resides. It also literally means the ‘household’ or clan of people, temple, or residence. “Central to this household was the oldest male relative who was viewed as the ‘father, master, and ultimate authority, thus signifying the family as the father’s house. All who belonged to him were similar in beliefs and values. In Genesis 7:1 Noach and his household were directed to enter the ark. Beyond the household was the larger clan, the tribe, and the nation which were descendants of Abraham, the origin of the people of Yisra’el,” says the Holman Bible Dictionary.

Our families come from Noach and are blessed by Avraham. “I will bless those that bless you, curse those that curse you, and all the mishpachah will be blessed through you,” YHWH spoke this to Avraham in Beresheet 12:3. How are we blessed through Avraham? Through the Elohim of Avraham! Just remember that the first function of the mishpachah is to be fruitful in abiding in Torah and then reproduce that life in other generations. YHWH revealed Himself to Avraham, then to Yitz’chak, then to Ya’acov and consequently has become known throughout time as the Elohim of Avraham, Yitz’chak, and Ya’acov. YHWH is not just Avraham’s Master, He is also Yitz’chak’s Elohim, and the receipient of Ya’acov’s worship. Faith and obedience in YHWH was passed down from generation to generation.

YHWH is the Elohim of the family of Avraham, his children, and his grandchildren. Avraham was indeed fruitful when it came to imparting belief to his children! “For now YHWH hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. And he went up from thence to Beersheba. And YHWH appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the Elohim of Avraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Avraham's sake,” Beresheet 26:22-25. And to Ya’acov, “Elohim said unto him, I am Elohim Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins,” Beresheet 35:11. The same family mission given to Adam is passed to Noach and to Avraham, Yitz’chak, and Ya’acov.

The destiny of Ephraim

This call was also given to Yisra’el, “And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For Elohim hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction,” Beresheet 41:52. Unfortunately because of sin and assimilation Ephraim has failed to impart the faith to younger generations. The ten tribes of Ephraim Yisr’ael have been ‘lost’ to their identity and heritage. They did multiply but they were not fruitful in their Torah observance. All of this leads us to today as YHWH regathers His people and restores true worship.

In this time of restoration YHWH is re-establishing the Hebraic home to walk in the destiny Ephraim. To all who obey Torah, “All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which YHWH sware unto your fathers,” Devarim 8:1. To today’s generation Yermiyahu 23:3-8 says, “And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.” To rebuild the nation of Yisra’el YHWH is first rebuilding the homes of Yisra’el. Let’s return our families to how they were created to be by being fruitful in Torah and passing this faith to our children.

The end is like the beginning

To be fruitful our bayit has to go through many changes. It must stop being modern and be Biblical. It must become the dwelling place of YHWH’s spirit. In these end days, we are all like the first generation of Yisra’elites who were called first out of Egypt.

We too have been called out of a ‘house of bondage.’ We too have been given the Torah for the first time in our lives. We too are struggling with obedience. Like the Yisraelites who fumbled with the mitzvot in the wilderness, we also struggle with how to ‘exactly’ walk in the Word. We will never fully experience the Torah lifestyle as we earnestly desire. We are all at different places when we come to the truth. Some of us have grown up in the church or are lay people. Others are children who have been to Sunday School for years or celebrated Christmas and Easter. We are all at different steps. Yet it is our children and our grandchildren who will inherit the Promised Land. They will not have to unlearn the false teachings of a pagan worship system. The next generation of our kids will never have to struggle with speaking the name of YHWH. For those coming along in the years to come, walking Torah will be as natural as breathing because they will grow up in it as a lifestyle. Devarim 30:5-6, “And YHWH thy Elohim will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And YHWH thy Elohim will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love YHWH thy Elohim with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”

The purpose of the family in the Gan Eden was to know YHWH and pass this knowledge down to future generations. It is the same today. “I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, and I will multiply the number of people upon you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will increase the number of men and animals upon you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am YHWH,” Ezekiel 36:9-12. Here it is again as a prophecy yet to be fulfilled. Our families and our faith will be “fruitful and numerous.”

YHWH is “turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the YHWH,” Luke 1:17. Restoration to the families is making way for restoration of Yisra’el. The promises for our families are coming to pass during these days of restoration.

Consider the words from Yermi’yahu 30, “And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith YHWH. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your Elohim.”

For this to come to pass we must first recognize the home as the epicenter of the faith, we must learn to honor our father and mother, and we have to establish our home as a shalom bayit. These actions and truthes are like using fertilizer to strengthen our family and multiply our fruit. Read “Part Two” for how to spread some fruit fertilizer on your mishpachah.

Your family is your first place of ministry. It is the avenue YHWH has chosen to influence the faith and the world. For Biblical changes to take place in our lives the changes should first take place in our bayit.

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