Genesis 48:1-7
“Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.”
“Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’
And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.
But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
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(Jacob blesses Ephraim and Manasseh.)
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Prologue.
Here, in Genesis 48, we find one of the most prophetic chapters in the entire Bible. Through our study of this and other accompanying scriptures, we’re going to look at what it says about Jesus, what it reveals to us about the Church in general, what is happening in these end times, and what is going on in the world today.
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Nothing Takes God By Surprise!
Aren’t you glad that nothing takes God by surprise? He doesn’t fall off His throne every time you and I do something stupid or when major events or crises happen in the world. He demonstrates to us that He’s in charge time and again through prophetic scriptures like the opening passage.
Sometimes He’ll actually allow evil to prevail for a while that He might show forth His glory. This also results in greater victory for us! Though it can sometimes get a little frightening, HE IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL AND TRUE!
Like the children of Israel standing in front of the Red Sea, sometimes He’ll wait until the armies of “Egyptians” come running up to us. He doesn’t open the sea until it almost seems like it’s too late. But when we call upon Him, our God Is always right on time. Why does He do that?
Well, you see it’s easy for us to take Him for granted. If we only know protection all the time, we’ll never know what deliverance is. He wants to show forth His utter faithfulness when we are both preserved from or delivered out of situations. In either case, we need never be afraid.
With all that in mind, let’s begin our study of Ephraim and the House of Judah.
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(Jesus is hidden in every line of the whole Bible)
Ephraim And The House of Judah: Part 1 of 9.
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Parallels Between Joseph and Jesus.
Bible prophecies, first and foremost, tell us wonderful things about, Jesus. In the life story of Joseph, we see the clearest of all typologies. His story really showcases what a wonderful God we serve. You see, He isn’t content simply to answer our prayers; He OVERanswers them!
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For example: You know that Jacob had been told by Joseph’s brothers that his beloved son, Joseph, was dead, reportedly killed by a wild animal. He could hardly believe his ears when these same sons returned from Egypt years later and told their father Joseph was alive! Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he’d see him again, let alone his offspring. Yet, here they were: Ephraim and Manasseh. Blessing upon blessing! 💖🙌🏻
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(Joseph rejected and sold into slavery.)
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Joseph, years earlier, had been rejected by his brothers. They had thrown into a pit and sold into slavery for 20 pieces of silver to some Midianite traders. He was bought by Potiphar and worked as a slave in his house. God prospered all that he did and soon his master put him in charge of all he owned. When he was falsely accused of assaulting Potiphar’s wife, he was thrown into prison for three years.
But God was with him even in prison, once again prospering all he did. Through a fortunate series of events, he was delivered from prison and elevated to 2nd in command of all Egypt.
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(Asenath bore Joseph two sons.)
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While in this foreign land, he married a Gentile girl named “Asenath.” Interestingly, her name means “Belonging to wisdom.” Apt description! During this time of rejection by his brothers, she gave him great comfort, helping him forget his family’s rejection and his father’s house. She bore him two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim.
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Secrets In The Hebrew Language.
Manasseh means “Forgetfulness.” His Egyptian family helped him “Forget” his rejection and his father’s house. Ephraim is the plural of the feminine Hebrew word, “Ephratha,” which means “Fruitful;” Ephraim means “Double fruitfulness.” Joseph said that God had made him “Doubly fruitful in this foreign land.” Well, He sure did! Joseph ended up second only to pharaoh himself!
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Great Wisdom.
God also gave great wisdom to Joseph, something he lacked as the young boy who told his dreams to his brothers. When he blurted out those dreams to them, it made them jealous and spiteful.
Under his rule, both he and the Egyptians enjoyed great blessings. So great was his wisdom, in fact, that during a time of deep famine, the whole world came to their land for food, including his brothers. Even though Egyptians are non-Jews, they had no lack of provision. The whole earth was blessed because of Joseph.
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Prophetic Of The End Times.
Like Joseph, Jesus was rejected by His brothers, natural Israel. He was crucified (thrown into the “pit”), sold off to the Gentiles (non-Jewish nations) and has been the Savior for 2,000 years primarily to the Gentile world. Like Egypt, the church is predominantly comprised of Gentiles/non-Jews. The Gentile bride Jesus married is You and I, Church!
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We have been blessed because of His great wisdom. Through us, Jesus has been doubly fruitful in “Egypt,” although He, unlike Joseph, has not forgotten His Father’s house.
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During this 2,000+ years of rejection and exile, so to speak, we have given Him comfort and helped Him forget His rejection. Like Joseph, one day soon our Jesus, the greater Joseph, will be restored to His natural family, Israel, and He will reveal Himself to them in power and great glory!
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(Joseph interprets the dreams of the butler and the baker.)
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Pictures Of Jesus’ Death.
Joseph, as you know, was in prison for three years. This is another depiction of Jesus’ death on the cross. During his imprisonment, there were two men with him. Both them had troubling dreams to which God gave Joseph the interpretation. One dreamed he was pressing grapes into Pharoah’s cup, the other dreamed of leavened white bread on his head being picked apart by ravens. The one who dreamed of the grapes lived, the other died, just as Joseph said.
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Typologies.
Wine in Biblical typology is a picture of life and celebration. The idiom there to the Hebrew mind is “Blood of grapes,” depicting our Lord Jesus and His sacrifice. This man was restored to Pharoah’s house.
Leaven, however, depicts sin while ravens typify evil spirits. Leavened bread, therefore, is not good bread. That’s why this man received the sentence of death. These two are a typology of the two thieves that were crucified alongside Jesus: One lived, one died.
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(Every knee bowed to Joseph.)
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EVERY KNEE MUST BOW.
After he became Viceroy of all Egypt, every Egyptian had to bow their knee to Joseph wherever he went. He was the most powerful man in the whole land, second only to Pharoah. The name they gave him, “Zaphnath-Paaneah,”means “Savior of the world” in Greek. But in Hebrew it means “Revealer of secrets.” Joseph did all of those things for his generation. Jesus, the greater Joseph, does that for the whole world!
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Both meanings perfectly describe our Jesus, don’t they? Because the Jewish people rejected their Messiah, Jesus became the Bread of Life primarily to the Gentile world for the last 2,000 years. Just as everyone was to bow before Joseph, At the Name of Jesus, EVERY KNEE MUST BOW.
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You may proceed to part 2 if you wish to continue this series by following the link below. We’ll be discussing who these boys are, what they represent, and what they tell us about the church today:
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