This reading is contained in Genesis/Beresheit 35:9-36:43. I’ve been led to title this discussion “When we Look in the Mirror of Scripture, we see we are all Jacobs.“

Yehovah Appears Again to Ya’achov and Reaffirms to him that He is the Son of the Covenant

Our Reading this Shabbat is a continuation of the story of Jacob or Ya’achov, who’d previously worked for Laban, his uncle, living in Paddan Aram, for 20-years, in exchange for Laban’s daughter Rebekah to become his wife. And so, while Laban was away, Ya’achov packed up his wives and servants, as well as his cattle and flocks, and set out on the long journey back to Canaan to be reunited with his parents. Along the way, he is confronted by his uncle Laban because he abruptly left Paddan Aram with his daughters without giving him notice. As well as meets up with his once outraged brother Esau, who he tricked out of his birthright. Both encounters Yah miraculously resolved peacefully on Ya’achov’s behalf. Also, during his journey back home, Ya’achov wrestles with an unnamed divine entity. That interaction set into motion a renewal of the covenant between Yah and Ya’achov.

Upon his arrival in Shechem, his only daughter of record, Dinah, is raped by one of the patriarchs of that city. This tragic incident led to the slaughter of every male of Shechem at the hands of Simeon and Levi. The slaughter of the men of Shechem led to Ya’achov and his family’s rapid departure. The family would settle in Bethel for a period.

Moshe records here in our reading that Yehovah (1) appears to Ya’achov upon his arrival at Bethel, and (2) Yah blesses Ya’achov by reaffirming him to be the son of the covenant (35:9). So, the immediate questions that come to my mind about this verse are: (A) How did Yehovah appear to Ya’achov? and (B) how did Yah bless Ya’achov?

Scholars refer to physical and visual manifestations of Yehovah to His people as “theophanies.” A theophany, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is a visible manifestation of God to humankind. Unfortunately, our text does not describe how Yah appeared to Ya’achov. What specifically those previous theophanies might have looked like is subject to interpretation and speculation. Regardless, because Yah inspired Moshe to write, despite our not knowing all the nuances he has been led to mention in his narrative, we must accept it at face value unless otherwise noted. But it is a likely bet that Yah appeared to Ya’achov in human form. Yah can do those sorts of things, you know.

Well, Moshe indicates that Ya’achov witnessed and experienced at least one previous theophany. Could Moshe be alluding to the wrestling encounter Ya’achov had with the divine being back in 32:28-29. Or could Moshe be referring to the conversation Ya’achov had with Yah when he had the vision of angels ascending and descending on a ladder in 28:10-22? The Jewish sage Rashi states that “God appeared again to Jacob for a second time in the same location (i.e. Bethel), once when he left (i.e. during the time he was fleeing from the face of his brother Esau) and now, again, when he returns to Bethel. Nevertheless, this encounter with the Creator of the Universe was greater in significance than any previous encounter he’d had with the Great I Am.

The Pinnacle of Ya’achov’s Life: Yah Reaffirms and Confers His Covenant Blessing Upon Ya’achov

Yah identifies himself to Ya’achov as El-Shaddai (aka Yah Almighty) and officially changes his name to Yisra’el. And then the Almighty renews and reiterates Yisra’el’s rightful place within the framework of the Abrahamic/Avrahamic Covenant (35:10-12) which certified that: (1) He and his descendants would be fruitful and multiplied; (2) he would become a nation as well as an assemblage of nations from which kings would emerge from his loins; (3) and Yisra’el would inherit the same Land that Yah promised Avraham and Yitschaq. Here, Yisra’el is confirmed as the true son and perpetuator of the [Avrahamic] Covenant or Promise. No longer was Ya’achov to be identified as the trickster he once was in his younger days, but rather, Yisra’el, as “the one blessed of Yehovah” (Matthews, Kenneth A., NAC Commentary on Genesis). With this name change, Yehovah confers upon Ya’achov a national identity as well as a royal pedigree. Halleluyah!

Many have embarked upon extensive studies into the potential meaning of Yisra’el/Yasharal. Unfortunately, there is little to hang our intellectual or spiritual hat on as it relates to the meaning of Israel. Thus, we will not consider aspects of its meaning here today.

The Scriptural Concept of Blessings

Scripturally speaking, humans may confer blessings upon another human. In such cases, blessings comprise “wishes; verbal or actionable expressions; or [material] gifts” of some type; all of which are meant for the wellbeing of the one receiving the blessing (Logos Cultural Concepts). However, in cases of “Divine Blessings” or of “Yehovah” blessing His people, they are acts of divine favor that are directed towards and conferred upon the receiver of those blessings. Ya’achov, in the reading before us, received Yah’s glorious favor, a favor that extended beyond his own life to his 12 sons and ultimately to all humanity through Yeshua Messiah’s person and ministries.

This is the blessing that Yah confers upon Ya’achov. And Yah confers this blessing upon Ya’achov face-to-face. In Person as El or Al Shaddai. Thus, Yah reiterates to Ya’achov the elements of the original Avrahamic Covenant and the irrevocable promises that are embedded in that covenant.

We who belong to Yahoshua Messiah are blessed — favored of Yah — in that we are privy to the same covenant promises that were lavished upon the patriarchs of old. Through the auspices of Yah’s renewed covenant and the work of Yahoshua our Mashiyach, we are engrafted into the commonwealth of Yisra’el/Yasharal, whereby we have the divine opportunities to receive the inheritance, the salvation, the shalom, the royal and priestly partnership that is embodied in the covenant Yah cut with Ya’achov (Romans 11).

Two Historical Events of Consequence

Two historic events occurred after Yehovah affirmed His covenant promises with Ya’achov (aka Yisra’el): (1) Rachel dies after delivering Ya’achov’s youngest son, Benyamin/Benjamin, and (2) Rueben, Ya’achov’s oldest, has sexual relations with Bilhah, one of his father’s two concubines (35:16-22). Ya’achov realized this at some point. But our text does not reveal nor describe how Ya’achov reacted to this serious infraction. But the incident between Rueben and Bilhah, however, would ultimately lead to Reuben losing his birthright at the end of Ya’achov’s life (Gen 49:3-4).

The Nation of Yisrael/Yasharal

In chapter 35, beginning at verse 22, Moshe lists the sons – soon to be tribes of Yisra’el: ( (22) Now the sons of Ya’achov were twelve: (23) The sons of Leah: Reuven, Ya’achov’s bachor (i.e. Ya’achov’s firstborn), and Shimon or Simeon, and Lewi/Levi, and Yahudah/Judah and Yissachar and Zevulon; (24) The sons of Rachel: Yoseph and Benyamin: (25) And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid: Dan and Naphtali: (26) And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid: Gad and Asher: these are the sons of Ya’achov, who were born to him in Padan-Aram. (RSTNE)

Record of the Death of Yitschaq — Ya’achov’s Father

The remaining 3-verses of chapter 35 briefly describe the end of Yitschaq’s life. Within the storyline of our reading today, ultimately, Ya’achov and his troupe arrive and settle in Mamre or Kiriath-Arba, all of which are early names for the city of Hebron. Here, Ya’achov returns to his home and the home of his Grandfather Avraham and Father Yitschaq. Yah indeed kept His promise to Ya’achov that He would return him to his father’s house (28:15-21). Moshe makes a point to mention that both Avraham and Yitschaq were both “aliens” or “ger” in the Land. This Hebrew term “ger” is also rendered as “sojourners” in some English translations. The concept of Yah’s chosen ones being sojourners/aliens/ger in a Land that Yah promised they would possess is significant. For each of them died without ever truly realizing this covenant land promise (26:3).

It wasn’t that Yehovah failed to deliver on His promise to the patriarchs. But rather, the promise of taking physical possession of the Land was to be realized by their descendants centuries later. However, each of the patriarchs possessed the Land in essence during their lifetime as each one of them was exceptionally prospered in the Land despite their alien/sojourner/ger status. In fact, the patriarchs were prospered beyond any of the natives of the Land. They may not have held physical possession of the Land during their lifetimes, but the natives of the Land viewed them with awe, and they were acutely aware that they were exceptionally blessed servants of El Elyon/Al Alyon.

Nevertheless, when Sarah died, Avraham purchased a field and a burying place from the sons of Heth in Hebron (Gen 23 & 25), which would serve “as the center of the family’s heritage and claim on the land” (Matthews, Kenneth A., NAC Commentary on Genesis). Yet despite each patriarch’s alien status during the time they dwelt in the Land, Yah blessed and prospered them exceptionally. And they all lived full lives. In fact, our text informs us that Yitschaq lived 180 years of age and “was gathered to his people, old and full of days,” having both his sons, Esau and Ya’achov, there to bury him (35:28-29).

Spiritually speaking, we who are beloved and disciples of Mashiyach, are currently “ger” in the land in which we dwell. We should not consider the countries, cities, states, and such that we presently dwell in as our home. For, as Shaul wrote to the Messianic Assembly in Corinth:

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor 5:1; KJV).

Master Yahoshua declared unto us through His disciples turned apostles that in His Father’s house are many dwelling places, of which He would go and prepare such a place for us (Joh 14:2).

We are destined for the Kingdom, which will be headquartered in the Land of Promise – Yisra’el. The final redemption of Yasharal will include her receiving and dwelling in peace in the Land of promise once and for all. And we who are His will also share in the promises contained in the original covenant.

Jubilee’s Account of our Reading Specific to Ya’achov’s Interaction with His Father Isaac/Yitschaq

If the Book of Jubilees is to be believed, we find a little more details added to the story of Ya’achov returning to his father Yitschaq’s and mother Rivkah’s home in the Book of Jubilees. According to the Jubilee(s) authors, upon Ya’achov arriving at his parents’ home, Ya’achov took Levi and Yahudah with him to meet his mother Rivkah/Rebecca and father Yitschaq/Isaac (Jub 31).

At this meeting, Yitschaq kisses and embraces Ya’achov, Judah, and Levi. In particular, the Jubilee text notes that Yitschaq hung tightly to Ya’achov’s neck and wept.

The text furthermore notes that a “Spirit/Ruach of Prophecy” came down into Isaac’s/Yitschaq’s mouth as he took Levi and Yahudah/Judah by their respective hands. And Yitschaq/Isaac then blesses both of Ya’achov’s sons. He foretells of Levi, assuming a priestly role over Yisra’el/Yasharal. As for Yahudah/Judah, Yitschaq/Isaac foretells that through Yahudah would come the Yeshua (i.e.the salvation of Yisra’el/Yasharal). Yahudah’s seed would be that of royalty. And the Holy One that would emerge from his loins would bring great peace for all the sons of the beloved.

After this blessing event, Ya’achov, along with his two sons, and his mother Rivkah, depart Hebron for Ya’achov’s home-base of Bethel. Ya’achov was intent on sacrificing and worshiping Yehovah at the altar/pillar he’d erected there. His father, Yitschaq/Isaac, declined to accompany his son and grandsons back to Bethel because of his advanced age and lack of stamina. But upon arriving back in Bethel, Levi has a dream. He learns from that dream that he was to be ordained and made a priest unto El Elyon. He and his sons, forever (Jub 32).

And so, as Ya’achov proceeded with giving a tithe of all he possessed unto Yah, according to the Jubilees text, Levi fell to that portion belonging to Yehovah. Thus, Ya’achov clothed Levi in priestly garments and filled Levi’s hands (i.e. Ya’achov gave Levi a full slate of tasks to perform as a priest unto Yehovah on behalf of Yisra’el).

Spiritual Take-Aways to our Reading

Many of us have this almost mythological perspective that the patriarchs were, from the start, these paragons of virtue, righteousness, and holiness. But if there is anything to be recognized from our reading, it’s the fact that the patriarchs were anything but these things. In fact, Ya’achov was a felonious “trickster” who seemed to always be on the lookout for ways to get over on the people in his life. Turns out that Ya’achov was self-absorbed and somewhat selfish. For a time, he permitted his household to maintain their idolatrous ways despite knowing better. He possessed a felonious lack of control over his children in that his only recorded daughter ventured out into Shechem unchaperoned, probably looking for a good time, and was raped as a result. His sons, seeking to avenge their sister’s rape, not only murdered the rapist and his father, but all the men of Shechem. As Torah teacher and author Tim Hegg of Torah Resources so astutely notes in his commentary on this passage, Ya’achov, despite being the son of the covenant, he and his family were transgressors of Torah. Sure, Torah had not been codified in Ya’achov’s day. But if the apocryphal book of Jubilees is to be believed, Torah mandates were known, and for the most part, followed by Yah’s people well before the Sinai Revelation. Yah’s ways and His Words were passed down from father-to-son. At the very least, Avraham would have schooled Yitschaq/Isaac, and Yitschaq/Isaac would have schooled Ya’achov in the ways of the Almighty.

But the point to be made here as it relates to the patriarchs’ personal flaws is that Yah did not withdraw Himself, nor did He annul the covenant He’d cut with them. Despite their misgivings, Yah reached out to each patriarch, verbally and personally, and certified His covenant with them. And He blessed each of them abundantly.

Yah Does the Choosing and the Using

The other thing to glean from our reading is that Yehovah unilaterally intervened into the affairs of man at this juncture of human history. Men did not coax Yehovah into engaging with them. Yah unilaterally sought to work out His redemptive and Kingdom plans through the individuals He chose. It wasn’t the man who sought Him out. And this is the way it has been since the “Great Fall.” And it then falls to Yah’s human target to respond, either in a positive or negative manner. As it relates to the reading that is before us today, Yah approaches Ya’achov to affirm the continuance of the covenant He’d previously cut with Avraham and Yitschaq/Isaac. And in response to Yah’s call and affirmation, Ya’achov says yes and he obeys Yah by returning to the Land of Promise.

Yah, through His Son Yahoshua, called, and continues to call us even today to offer us a stake in His coming Kingdom. And it then behooves us to positively respond to His call by unmitigated obedience.

Ya’achov, of course, was undeserved of the glorious privilege that the Creator of the Universe put before him. Yet, despite his many faults, Yah persisted in his intention to perpetuate His redemptive and Kingdom rule through flawed Ya’achov.

Is not Ya’achov, then, like most of us? I, of anyone, flawed beyond reason I might add, would not be before you today, beloved, if Yah did not persist in His investment in me to do my part in the Master’s Great Commission: To allow His Spirit/His Ruach to transform me into the image of Master Yahoshua so that I may image Him — YHVH — wherever I may go on this earth. To walk in the very same covenant calling that He — Yah — passed on to Ya’achov in our Reading today.

Yes. Yah rescued me from the sinking sand that once defined my life. He rescued me from the muck and mire that I allowed myself to wallow in for much of my adult life. And He placed me on a firm, solid, and eternal foundation or bedrock that is Yahoshua HaMashiyach.

What about you, beloved? Are we not all, in a sense, Ya’achovs/Jacobs?

Despite his many deficits, Yah, for whatever reason, chose Ya’achov, before him Yitschaq/Isaac, before Him Avraham, from all the souls to have inhabited this earth, to perpetuate His redemptive and Kingdom plans. Ya’achov was His man, flaws and all. There was no one else He wanted for the job. And that speaks volumes for each of us. Once Yah has chosen us, we can rest in His investment in us. We are His, and He becomes ours. Praise Yah from Whom all blessings flow! There was and is no one else He wants for the job.

For as far as the Almighty was concerned, He was intent on doing a great transformative work in the life of Ya’achov, just as He is doing in us today through the transformative work of His Ruach HaQodesh operating within each of us. He would take the raw material that was Ya’achov, which if we were in Yah’s shoes, we likely would discard, and make him into that paragon of virtue, righteousness, and holiness He desires of His elect ones. Yah was, and still is today, happy to do the heavy lifting in the life of His chosen ones.

Thus, Yah renews the covenant He cut with Avraham, with Ya’achov. And He extends those same covenant promises to bene Yasharal — the sons and daughters of Yasharal. That includes you and me, beloved. For we, through the Person and ministries of Yahoshua, are engrafted into the commonwealth of Yisra’el (Rom 11). And we stand to inherit all of the promises contained within the covenants Yah cut with each of the patriarchs of our illustrious Faith. Halleluyah.

Yah’s Persistent Keeping of Covenant Despite our Failures is not Indicative of His Tolerance for Lawlessness

Given all that we just discussed as it relates to Yah doing His transformative work within the patriarch Ya’achov, we should not presume that Yah is okay with His people continuing to operate outside Yah’s expectations for righteousness, holiness/set apartness, and obedience to His voice/Words/instructions. Absolutely not.

Truth be told, beloved: Yah wholly expects and requires His elect ones to fear and obey Him (Ecc 12:13). Failure to comply with this whole duty of man in relation to the Creator of the Universe, will ultimately result in curses overtaking the chosen one’s life and potentially the lives of their family members, as detailed in Deuteronomy/Devarim 27 and 28.

And so, at some point in our persistent disobedient state, just as was the case with Ya’achov, Yehovah is going to get our attention. And if we are indeed in a true covenant relationship with Yehovah, He won’t abandon us. But rather, our resistance will incite challenges to erupt throughout our lives until we straighten up and fly right.

When we say “yes” to Him, as Ya’achov did, and we obey the terms of the covenant we have with Him, and we obey His Word, Yah will do the heavy lifting on our behalf and His spirit that is operating within us will transform us, over time, into the image of our Master Yahoshua (Rom 12:1-2):

I call upon you, therefore, brothers, through the compassion of Elohim, to present your bodies a living offering—set-apart, well-pleasing to Elohim—your reasonable worship. (2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing and perfect desire of Elohim. (The Scriptures, 3rd edition; Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009).

18And we all, as with unveiled face we see as in a mirror the esteem of יהוה, are being transformed into the same likeness from esteem to esteem, as from יהוה, the Spirit (The Scriptures, 3rd edition Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009, 2 Co 3:18).

6being persuaded of this, that He who has begun a good work in you shall perfect it until the day of יהושׁע Messiah (The Scriptures, 3rd edition; Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009, Php 1:6.).

29“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your beings. 30“For My yoke is gentle and My burden is light.” (The Scriptures, 3rd edition Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009, Mt 11:29–30)

The Start of Something New

Ya’achov’s spiritual transformation at this juncture of his life was marked by (1) Yah changing his name from that of Ya’achov to that of Yisra’el/Yasharal. And (2), his returning to Canaan — specifically to Bethel — as well as to his father’s house in Hebron. This has and continues to be about a select people, a covenant, and a Land. These actions, as Tim Hegg described, “mark the Divine acts of election” (Hegg, Tim; Commentary on Genesis; Torah Resource; p. 264).

At this juncture, Ya’achov has become a new man — the true son of the covenant — which the prophet brilliantly captures as such:

Ephrayim is feeding on wind, and pursuing an east wind. All the day he increases falsehood and ruin. And they make a covenant with Ashshur, and oil is sent to Mitsrayim. 2And יהוה has a controversy with Yehuḏah, to punish Ya‛aqoḇ according to his ways, to repay him according to his deeds. 3He (Ya’achov) took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he strove with Elohim. 4He strove with the Messenger and overcame, he wept and sought His favour. He found Him in Běyth Ěl… (The Scriptures, 3rd edition, Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009, Hos 12)

Ya’achov’s journey and transformation serves as the planned means by which Yehovah would extend and perpetuate His eternal Kingdom here on earth. This through one man who started off as a “supplanter” and transitioning to a “prince” of “uprightness and integrity before Yehovah” (Hegg, Tim; Commentary on Genesis; Torah Resource; p. 265)

Thus, we add to our prayers each day: “May Your Kingdom come; Your Will be done; [here in our lives] and here on this earth, as it is in heaven” (Mat 6:10).

Ya’achov’s Worship Points us to our Worship of Yehovah Today

Ya’achov responded to Yah’s call and renewal of the covenant in and through his erecting “a pillar at the place where Yah had spoken with him” (35:14) — i.e. Bethel. And upon that pillar, Ya’achov poured out a drink offering and anointed it with oil (35:14).

Upon fleeing before the face of his brother Esau many years prior, Ya’achov took the stone upon which he’d rested his head in the same place of Bethel — where he dreamed of a stairway that touched earth and extended up to heaven, having Yah’s holy angels ascending and descending upon it — and placed it upon a pillar he’d erected. And upon this stone structure he poured oil (Gen 28:12-22).

Of course, Ya’achov’s libation/drink offering and anointing the erected pillar with oil in our present reading carries with it interesting spiritual applications such as the libation/drink  offering representing the joy Ya’achov now possessed in his renewed relationship with Yehovah.

The oil application could be an act of “consecration and memorialization” according to Tim Hegg. The pillar and its location would be considered holy — set apart — sacred. The pillar would have become a sacred monument. Of course, the oil also represents Yah’s Spirit/His Ruach — His abiding presence in the life of the elect one. Thus, Ya’achov’s naming of the place as Bethel is most fitting here: that being “House of God.”

These all were solemn and acceptable acts of Yah-worship. (Watch or listen to my teaching on True Biblical worship According to the Original Covenant.) And so, what these worshipful acts possibly indicate was Ya’achov submitting himself to Yah and acknowledging Yah’s sovereignty over his life and him recognizing that Yah is the source of his happiness; his wellbeing; and his prosperity. Ya’achov in this worshipful act recognizes/acknowledges before the court of heaven that Yah is his everlasting portion — Yah being the fount from which all of his life flowed.

Despite Having Joy in Yehovah, the Chosen One will Invariably Endure Sorrow

Despite this being a season of shalom and joy for this juncture of Ya’achov’s life, the patriarch’s life would continue to be punctuated by a series of challenges and tragedies. In fact, soon after his joyous, covenant affirming encounter with Yehovah, Ya’achov would lose his beloved wife Rachel (35:16-22). Later on, Ya’achov would face even more life challenges, including the death of his father Yitschaq/Isaac (35:25-29) and of course, he would face additional family strife and hardships in his later years.

The Descendants of Esau and the Kings of Edom

Chapter 36 details the descendants of Esau and the Kings of Edom. Given the difficult history and strife that has always existed between us and Esau and Edom, why would Yah devote an entire chapter to their descendants?

This thorough coverage of Esau’s posterity — his descendants — by Moshe here in our reading shows how Yah deals justly and righteously with even those souls who fall outside the boundaries of the covenant He’s established with His chosen ones. Just as He chose to be in covenant with Ya’achov, Yah chose to prosper his wayward brother Esau in accordance with Yah’s Will and Purpose.

This says to us that despite our being in covenant with the Creator of the Universe and receiving all of the blessings that are inherent with that covenant relationship, it is not our place to criticize Yah about or concern ourselves with the prosperity that our enemies may receive in this life. You see, Yah often operates at levels beyond our wherewithal to comprehend. He knows what He’s doing at all times. At times, Yah’s treatment of the unrighteous defies righteous sensibility. But In the end, Yah will be justified and He will receive the glory, honor, and praise He so just deserves.

In Closing

So, in closing beloved: We are most blessed of Yehovah that He’s given us His Torah and the history contained therein, to learn from and to help inform our upright walk in Yeshua Messiah. Of Torah, the apostle wrote:

11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. (The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009, 1 Co 10:11–15)

Let us use that which is contained in our weekly Torah Readings to correct our faults and order our walk in Messiah. May this and all of the other readings Yah has gifted us serve as mirrors, in that we see ourselves and see just how far we’re missing the mark of the high calling in Messiah. But more importantly, to correct our faults and to operate in covenant in an upright and holy manner as we await our Master’s glorious return.

Of this very thing the apostle wrote to the Messianic Assembly in Philippi:

I even consider all things to be loss because of the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for the sake of whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and consider them dung, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and may be found in him, not having my righteousness which is from the law, but which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith, 10 so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, 11 if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already received this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on if indeed I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have laid hold of it. But I do one thing, forgetting the things behind and straining toward the things ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Php 3:8–14)