The Lesson of Joseph's Time in Egypt

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ANNOUNCE OCT 1st 2023!

We left off with Joseph setting the stage for Pharaoh of Egypt to have total control over all that is in his land – the friendly pharaoh now, a not so friendly pharaoh later. All a picture of how a people enter into bondage. Early promises of peace, ease, pleasure, and acceptance. Later the threats become ropes. Bottom-line? Serve God or serve sin. Because we are human we will and have served sin or what misses the mark. This is a perfect example of what the emotional choices we make for some things will lead to if we depart from what we called the deontological approach to God. Is He with us? Yes. Did He do with Jacob into Egypt? Yes? The principle lesson is here.

But the power Joseph gives doesn’t stop with taking all the land, cattle, and even their own bodies as we read last week… The people had asked for seed and Joseph gave them seed and now let’s read at verse 24.

Principles of Faith and Salvation

Genesis 48.1-end
September 10th 2023

So, let’s read –

24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. This is the layout of a tax – with 4/5ths going to the people who produced and 1/5th going back to Pharaoh.

25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants. Now, it is very easy to see this set up as good for the people because it did, apparently, “save their lives.” But I can’t help, right or wrong to recall that Yeshua will say in the future:

Mt 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. I don’t mean this physically. Paul made it clear that “if a man does not work, he will not eat.” But, as a principle – what will a person do to save their life – to save themselves?

What will you do to save yourself? Not the flesh – which is one thing? But what about your soul? Do you feed it and cater to your mind, will and emotions HERE and NOW or do you subject such to Him and if so, how much? 5% 50? 75? For those who say 100% all the time remember reality. In our flesh, we will not do His will. By ourselves, without Him, His influence, His invitations, His gentle reminders, we will serve ourselves because that is our natural woman and man.

Salvation and Grace

For believers we are covered by His grace – unmitigated, uncontested, resolute grace. No question. And we recognize that we are saved by such. And having “such a salvation” we also have to admit that we are not saving ourselves through good works thereafter. That salvation is a gift!

The question about what will a person do to save their souls is all about our faith and our love for God after He has saved us. What heart will we live by? What motivations? That is the basis of the question – so how much will (or do) you trust in Him and His promises and how much gratitude do you have for Him (or love) in response? In other words, how much faith and love – is it present to a degree, a small degree, a great degree… or not at all. (verse 26)

26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.

Again, this is the way Egypt gets control over all of YAHAVAH’S people – then – and now.

27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. (As God foretold) A calculation of birthrates make 6-7 million growing from 70 pretty easy if they are prolific in reproducing (like 5 to 6 kids per couple, a number which includes death rates and the like)

28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of

Jacob's Final Days

Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.

29 And the time drew nigh that “Israel” must die: (not a play on words, I submit for the time being as Israel was going to become something very different over their time in bondage) and he (Jacob) called his son Joseph, and said unto him, “If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:”

Based on Genesis 24:2 this appears to be the same thing as making a vow or testifying, which seems to have included in that day the cupping of the testicles while making an oath. Something we have talked about and something Daveed wants us to start doing again. I said not, Daweed, NO!

And Jacob adds:

30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place. And he (Joseph) said, “I will do as thou hast said.”

Because YAHAVAH had promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his posterity, Jacob seems to have considered it a consecrated place and since Abraham, and Sarah, and Isaac where all buried there, He seems to have wanted to be buried there too and not just next to his father and grandfather but even with them in the same tomb as some suggest!

31 And he said, “Swear unto me.” And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.

Faith and Worship

In the Hebrews hall of fame of faith, the writer says:

Hebrew 11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

Because of this rendering, there is debate on what it means when we read that Jacob bowed himself upon the “beds head.”

I am going to go with the Septuagint and suggest that Jacob was now both old and feeble but in the face of dying he blessed both Manassa and Ephraim and incorporated the worship of God in this with the help of his staff.

That is how I see it – could be wrong.

The Name God Almighty

And we come to chapter 48 which we will simply read the first seven verses before we stop for today.

Genesis 48:1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And one told Jacob, and said, “Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee:” and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, “God Almighty” appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

I want to pause here and talk about this term, God Almighty.

It is used six times in Genesis, never in the Apostolic Record but in Revelation where it is used . . . six times. The Hebrew is El (which is the singular name for God, a God, any God) and Shaddai, which is the word that differentiates himself from every other god in the universe. By this name he chose to make himself known to Abraham in Genesis 17 rather than by his name YAHAVAH which will be revealed in Exodus 6:3 to Moses.

Significance of God's Name

He used it to Jacob in Genesis 35:11 and those of the nascent Israel family called him by this name in Genes 28:3; 43:14; and here in 48:3.

It is the name of God that is mostly used throughout the conversations in the book of Job then after Moses it is used much less, in fact infrequently. In terms of Him being God Almighty I see this reference speaking of and focusing mostly on the Oneness of the plural God YAHAVAH and His incomprehensible status as the ultimate God of all things.

For some, this title is Him as an avenger, a holy power that can lay waste all that get in His way. In fact, there are some biblical references that appear to suggest that this name was developed before or at the deluge (Isaiah 13:6 and Joel 1:15)

That said, others appeal and see God as El Shaddai as a source of ultimate benevolence and sufficiency, as in He and He alone is enough or sufficient for all our needs.

Put these together, this name then, when embraced by believers, says that

God is enough to us in all provisions and is our protector and guide against all

The Identity and Role of LORD GOD ALMIGHTY

Enemies.

But the title drops off in use after Genesis, it uses a couple times more in the rest of the Old Testament. And never in the New Testament – except at the other end – Revelation. Interestingly, in Revelation (but nowhere else in all of the Apostolic writings) God is AGAIN called God Almighty – just like in the first book. What is super intriguing is the term is prefaced in Revelation with the word, LORD, so before God Almighty there, which is never used anywhere before, LORD is added four to the six times where God Almighty and reads LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.

I suggest that this is because in Revelation Yeshua has overcome all things, has returned to the Glory He had with His Father before becoming incarnate, and God Almighty then became LORD GOD ALMIGHTY who sits on the throne above forevermore.

(So back to verse 4 where Jacob continues speaking to Joseph about what God Almighty said to him)

4 And said unto me, “Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.”

Jacob's Adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh

The land spoken of was, of course, Canaan not Egypt. Jacob continues.

5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. In other words, Israel says, “I now adopt them into my own family, and they shall have their place among my twelve sons, and be treated in every respect as those, and have an equal interest in all the spiritual and temporal blessings of the covenant.” We will talk about them in a moment.

(verse 6)

6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, (any other kids you have hereafter, Joseph) shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. Meaning, they will be in line like brothers in your line, Joseph, not in mine.

The Twelve Tribes of Israel

How does this work the incorporation of Ephraim and Manassa into the twelve sons. Do we now have fourteen tribes? No. We have twelve. And to be frank this all confuses the heck out of me because I get fumbled up in my head over it. But consider this, which was explained to me this way by brother Grady.

Let’s start by identifying the 12 Tribes of Israel. Jacob, called “Israel”, had twelve sons by four different women. Two wives, Leah, and Rachael and two concubines the first of whom was Zilpah, Leah’s servant and the second was Bilhah, Rachel’s servant. The names of the 12 sons were (by order of birth) … Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. Now traditionally the firstborn son would receive a double portion of inheritance and the firstborn son of Jacob/Israel was Reuben. However, Ruben played “hanky panky” in some form or another with his stepmom, Bilhah and so Jacob punished Reuben by taking away his double portion.

Reubens double portion instead ended up going to Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers and ended up in Egypt. Long story short, Josephs double portion of inheritance (warranted to Him as the first born of Rachel) was divided between his two sons, Ephraim, and Manassas. The Tribe of Joseph was the Tribe of Ephraim and the Tribe of Manassas each of whom received one portion of Josephs double portioned inheritance. Here is where there is a key to keeping this straight – the Tribes of Ephraim and Manassas did not replace the Tribe of Joseph, instead the Tribes of Ephraim and Manassas “constituted” the Tribe of Joseph. So, what Jacob/Israel essentially says here is I now adopt them into my own family, and they shall have their place among my twelve sons, and be treated in every respect as those, and have an equal interest in all the spiritual and temporal blessings of the covenant.

Okay, back to Jacob talking to Joseph in Genesis 48:7

7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel (Joseph’s mother) died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.

Interestingly, Micah will prophetically write of Yeshua the following many years later:

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall

The Blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh

And he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Anyway, Jacob desires to be buried with Rachael and not in Egypt. And here the attention shifts to Joseph’s boys. So let’s read on . . .

8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? 9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. I love how Joseph describes his boys, created with a non-Israelite woman, as having been given to him by God – which is Elohiym in the text.

The Moment of Blessing

Now Moses narrates the story saying – 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he (Joseph) brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11 And Israel said unto Joseph, “I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.” In other words, I never thought I would see you again and now God has allowed me to even see your children or seed. 12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. This is oddly written but appears to describe Joseph pulling his two boys back and away from his aged father as they were standing between his knees, and once he did this he did this, Joseph himself lay prostrate before his father with his face to the earth as if to beckon a blessing.

What a picture of humility in Joseph. He was right hand Egyptian with the very power of life and death in his grasp, and yet he willingly bows himself before his elderly old father in respect. Love his. And it will be meaningful in the near future. Then . . . 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.

The Significance of the Younger

I don’t know about you but if this was fiction why go to all the detail here of things that flow forward with some much legitimacy and realism? Anyway . . . 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. Laying hands on the head was always used among the Jews in giving blessings, separating or designating men to an office, and in the consecration of solemn sacrifices. This is the first time we find the act mentioned in scripture, but it will pop up in several places hereafter.

(Numbers 27:18,23; De 34:9; Mt 19:13,15; Ac 6:6; 1Ti 4:14). So, Jacob laid his right hand on the head of the younger, and it says that he did it wittingly, meaning he knew full well what he doing for even though Manasseh was the first-born. Apparently, by the Spirit of prophecy because we do not have any sort of words recorded from God, Israel knew that Ephraim's posterity would be more powerful than that of Manasseh or, at least, he blessed him with this expectation. Interestingly, if you will, we see that from very early on God appears to prefer the younger to the elder.

So, it was with Abel before Cain; Shem before Japheth; Isaac before Ishmael; Jacob before Esau; Judah and Joseph before Reuben; Ephraim before Manasseh; Moses before Aaron; and David before his brothers. Perhaps this plays into Yeshua’s words when He said that “the last shall be first and the first shall be last.” I don’t suppose that there is any sort of pre-destinational factors playing into this but the fact is intriguing. Anyway, notice what Jacob says here at verse 15

15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my father’s Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, 16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

A Connection to the Pre-Incarnate Christ

Now, admittedly, it seems – yes EVEN TO ME – that this blessed Angel was the pre-incarnate Christ – in fact I think that this is one

Jacob's Blessing and Its Significance

One of the biggest Old Testament references to Yeshua, and a truly intriguing one, is how Jacob describes the Angel as the Redeemer. Jacob asks this Angel to act, saying, "The Angel which redeemed me from all evil," a fitting description of Yeshua, the Redeemer of Israel. Jacob further implores this angel to "bless the lads" and let "his name (which is Israel) be upon them," along with the names of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac. He wishes for "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" to be on the two sons of Joseph through all God promised them, allowing them to grow into a multitude "in the midst of the earth." This blessing signifies what God would do through His Son spiritually, for all adopted into this house founded on faith, as stated from the beginning within both the material Kingdom and the Spiritual.

The Spiritual and Material Foundation

There's often a debate among religions about whether God's acts are first spiritual and then material. Paul addresses this in 1 Corinthians 15:46, stating, "Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual." This reflects the foundational order of God’s work, from natural to spiritual.

Verse 17 narrates an incident where Joseph's honor before his father, Jacob, is tested when Joseph tries to correct his father.

17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. 18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

Despite Joseph’s attempts, it was customary in Egypt due to his status, but Jacob held his ground. The Hebrew word for displeased, Yaw-rah, implies more than sadness, suggesting even the potential for violent action.

19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: Jacob reassures Joseph amidst his frustration that Manasseh will still become a great people, yet Ephraim will exceed him; his descendants will become a "multitude of nations."

The Fulfillment of Prophecy

This prophecy later manifests, with tribal numbers featuring striking differences when a census is taken in the wilderness. Despite Manasseh’s larger land in Canaan, Ephraim maintains dominance, often being named collectively with ten tribes following their separation from Judah.

20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Numerous theories surround Jacob’s words, largely understood by Joseph, pointing to events we may not fully know. This leads into the next chapter of Genesis –

1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves.

The Last Days in Biblical Prophecy

Together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. What do you see? A reference to the last days, right? Right off the bat what Jacob is going to say to each son describes NOT what will happen to them in their present, or even immediate future. How on earth can I say this? Because Israel says it. Right here. Let’s repeat it: And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

Where else do we hear this phrase? Well there are all sorts of references to the last days, the Latter-days, the day of the Lord, but the big one comes when Peter stands up at Pentecost and explains to over 3000 men looking on at a scene of the Holy Spirit having fallen and misinterpreting what they were seeing as them being drunk, Peter says:

Acts 2:15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

References in the New Testament

We see these same last days referenced by the writer of Hebrews who says in the first chapter of his epistles:

Hebrew 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

In fact, we have dozens of references in the Apostolic Record that speak to them then being in the Day of the Lord or the last days then – and so what Israel is describing here, all the way back in Genesis, is the state of His Sons offspring, from each tribe, and what they will actually look like then. So, again, these prophecies given to the twelve sons of Jacob had very little concern to them personally.

Now, recall that YAHAVAH blessed Jacob in ways that He didn’t even bless Abraham or Issac in terms of specifics. What I mean by this is Jacob was told the following by God when he dreamed of the ladder with angels going up and down upon it in Genesis 28:12-15:

12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: (FIRST BLESSING TO JACOB and his fathers) the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

Unique Blessings to Jacob

SECOND BLESSING TO JACOB AND HIS FATHERS

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south:

THIRD BLESSING NOT GIVEN TO ABRAHAM OR ISAAC

and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

FOURTH BLESSING NOT GIVEN TO ABRAHAM OR ISAAC IN THE SAME WAY

15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

The land promised to all three of them he might divide among his children as he pleased but the blessing that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed would be confined to just one of his sons and their tribe – Judah.

Jacob's Words to His Sons

These things play out literally in and through the tribes of each of these sons. I have not looked into how much of what Jacob says is inspiration that comes to him as a Father versus as the Father of a Nation; I cannot really say.

Verse from Genesis

So, Jacob continues and says at verse 2:

2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

Looking Ahead

We will discuss the specific words next week as we sojourn forth from verse 2.

ANNOUNCE OCT 1st 2023
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