The Kingdom of G-D Realized Through Love

A Drash on Parashat Vayera: The Kingdom Pursued through Chessed

Genesis B’resheet 18:1-22:24

Baruch HaShem! Blessed is the Name!

Shalom, chevrei (friends) ! This week we read Parashat Vayera—“And He appeared”—where HaShem reveals Himself to Avraham at the oaks of Mamre. This portion is rich with revelation about the nature of G-D’s Kingdom, the very Kingdom that our Messiah Yeshua proclaimed had drawn near.

 The Kingdom Made Visible Through Chesed

The parasha opens with a profound image: Avraham, still recovering from his brit milah (circumcision), sits at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. When he sees three visitors, he runs to meet them, bows low, and pleads with them to stay. “Please, my lord, if I have found favor in your eyes, do not pass by your servant” (Genesis 18:3).

Here is the Kingdom of G-D in action! Avraham doesn’t wait for the visitors to ask—he runs, he serves, he offers the best he has. This is the upside-down Kingdom that Yeshua taught about, where the greatest is the servant of all (Mark 9:35).

When Yeshua walked the earth, He consistently spoke of the Malkut Shamayim—the Kingdom of Heaven. He said, “The Kingdom of G-D is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the Kingdom of G-D is in your midst” (Luke 17:20-21).

Where was the Kingdom? It was present wherever chesed (loving-kindness) was practiced, wherever the image of G-D in humanity was honored, wherever strangers were welcomed as angels—because sometimes, as our parasha teaches, they are! (see also Hebrews 13:2)

 Righteousness and Justice: The Foundation of the Kingdom

After the angels announce that Sarah will have a son, we come to one of the most remarkable passages in Torah. HaShem says, “Shall I hide from Avraham what I am about to do? For Avraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. For I have known him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of HaShem by doing tzedakah and mishpat—righteousness and justice” (Genesis 18:17-19).

This is the very essence of the Kingdom! The Kingdom of G-D is built on tzedakah and mishpat—righteousness and justice. Not ritual alone, not merely correct theology, but the active practice of justice and righteousness in the world.

Yeshua stood in this same prophetic tradition. When the Pharisees questioned Him about the greatest commandment, He didn’t hesitate: Love HaShem with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). And in Matthew 23:23, He rebuked the religious leaders who tithed their herbs but neglected “the weightier matters of the Torah: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.”

The Kingdom comes when we, like Avraham, are known by G-D for commanding our households to practice tzedakah and mishpat (justice).

Avraham’s Bold Intercession

Then comes Avraham’s incredible chutzpah before HaShem! As G-D reveals His plan to judge Sodom and Gomorrah, Avraham approaches and says, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city… Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do justly?” (Genesis 18:23-25).

Here we see the Kingdom principle of intercession. Avraham stands in the gap, pleading for mercy, bargaining with G-D from fifty down to ten righteous people. He appeals to G-D’s own character—His justice, His mercy.

This is the prayer life of the Kingdom! Yeshua taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). But this isn’t passive resignation—it’s active intercession! Like Avraham, we boldly approach the throne of grace, asking G-D to show mercy, to spare, to redeem.

And yet, Yeshua took this even further. Where Avraham could find no ten righteous people in Sodom, there was ultimately only One Righteous Man who could stand in the gap for all humanity. Yeshua didn’t just intercede—He became the intercession, laying down His life as the Tzaddik who died for the unrighteous (Romans 5:6-8).

The Akeidah: The Ultimate Kingdom Paradox

The parasha culminates with the Akeidah—the “binding” of Yitzchak. HaShem commands Avraham to offer his beloved son, the son of promise, as an olah—a burnt offering. Avraham rises early, takes Yitzchak to Mount Moriah, and prepares to obey.

Yitzchak asks, “Father, here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Avraham responds with prophetic words: “G-D will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:7-8).

This is the great paradox of the Kingdom! To receive the promise, Avraham had to be willing to give up the promise. To gain his life, he had to lose it. Yeshua said, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it” (Luke 17:33).

The Akeidah points us forward to the greater sacrifice on another hill—Golgotha, not far from that same Mount Moriah. There, the Father provided the Lamb—not a ram caught in the thicket, but HIS own Son, the Lamb of G-D who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

In the Kingdom, death leads to life. Sacrifice leads to blessing. The cross leads to resurrection. As Yeshua taught, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).

Application: Living as Kingdom Citizens

Chevrei, what does this parasha teach us about living as citizens of G-D’s Kingdom today?

First, practice radical hospitality and compassion. Welcome the stranger. Serve generously. You never know when you might be entertaining angels—or the Messiah Himself, who said, “I was a stranger and you welcomed Me” (Matthew 25:35).

Second, pursue tzedakah (righteousness) and mishpat (justice). The Kingdom isn’t just about correct belief; it’s about right living. Feed the hungry, care for the widow and orphan, stand up for the oppressed. This is how we make the Kingdom visible in a broken world.

Third, be bold in prayer. Like Avraham, approach HaShem with confidence, interceding for your city, your nation, your world. Yeshua has given us direct access to the Father—use it!

Fourth, hold your blessings with open hands. Like Avraham with Yitzchak, be willing to surrender even your dearest promises back to G-D. This is the pathway to resurrection life—"His Kingdom come, His will be done.”

Conclusion

The Kingdom of G-D that Yeshua proclaimed is not some distant, future reality alone. It broke into history when He walked among us, saying “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of G-D is at hand; repent and believe in the Good News” (Mark 1:15).

Every time we practice chesed like Avraham, every time we pursue justice, every time we intercede boldly, every time we surrender our will to the Father’s—the Kingdom comes. Not yet in fullness, but truly present, transforming us and our world.

As Avraham named that place “Adonai Yireh—the L-RD will provide,” so we trust that our Father has provided everything we need for Kingdom life, above all in Yeshua our Messiah.

May we, like our father Avraham, be known for keeping the way of HaShem, doing righteousness and justice, until that day when Messiah returns and the Kingdom comes in all its fullness. “…Seek first the Kingdom of GOD and HIS righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33)

Baruch HaShem! Blessed is the Name of the L-RD

Ken yehi ratzon—may this be HIS will. Amen v’Amen.