“This week, we conclude our study of the book of B’resheet (Genesis) with Parashat Vayechi, he (Ya’akov/Jacob) lived. Actually, we will read about the death of Ya’akov in this parashah; likewise, our study on Yosef will draw to a close with his death at the end of B’resheet. During this study about the most famous son of Ya’akov, I have attempted to show how the Torah masterfully used his life to portray the life of our Messiah, Yeshua. In no way did I intend to minimize the significance of Yeshua’s divinity by using Yosef as a type and shadow. In fact, what I have done has been done elsewhere, using many other Scriptural characters, including a man of whom we shall quickly become familiar with in our next parashah, by the name of Moshe.

I believe that the Torah was written so that we might attain to the goal that HaShem has set forth for us, namely the righteousness that is found when we place our trusting faithfulness in his Son Yeshua. Remember that according to a proper translation of Romans 10:4, the goal that the Torah is aiming at is (our knowledge of and placing our trust in) the Messiah! Moreover, in defining what “sin” is, in the Hebrew word, its fullest definition is conveyed as “missing the mark.” So as we study the pages of God’s Torah, let’s not lose sight of the fact that we are to be conformed into the image of his Son (Romans 8:28-29), which is the “righteousness of HaShem!””