Joseph, Manasseh, and Jacob's Blessing

At 17 years old, he was sold into slavery. He never saw his mother again after that. Think about that, everybody. 17 years old, he never saw his mother again after that. He saw his father again in Egypt, but he didn't see Rachel again. Remember, Rachel died when she had Benjamin, and she died during childbirth. So, think about that. Even Benjamin didn't even meet his mom. Very sad when you think about these things. But yeah, Joseph was 17 years old and never saw his mom again. Sold into slavery. We all know the story of Joseph, most of us. He had, we all know the story of him being out of the dungeon, released on the Feast of Trumpets. He interpreted the vision or the dream of Pharaoh. Pharaoh exalted him to second in command. He gave him a wife to marry, and then he had two sons. And the first son was named Manasseh. And this is what he said about him. And that's why his name is called Manasseh, "for God has made Joseph forget all of his trouble and all of his father's household" because of the brothers and the way that he was treated.

And so, Manasseh excelled in worldly matters. He helped Joseph in matters of Egypt. And then Ephraim, which was last month, Ephraim, he excelled in spiritual matters and he studied the Torah. When Jacob crossed his hands to bless the two children, I'm sure if people aren't familiar with this, this is right before Jacob passed away to the other side. He met with Joseph's two sons and with Joseph, and he wanted to bless Joseph's two sons. Remember, his two sons were half Egyptian. So this goes into what Paul was trying to say to us in Romans 11 and Ephesians 2. Paul would have understood these concepts. He would have understood what Jacob did here. He would have understood what the anointing was with Joseph's two sons, half Egyptians. And that's why Paul would have understood that when he wrote Ephesians 2. He would have understood that in Romans 11, Galatians 3, and all of these areas where our Christian friends need to understand.

He's trying to relate to these stories in the Bible, which we're about to read here. So, with that being said, we'll go through this really beautiful anointing. Joseph's two children, who were half Egyptian: Manasseh, earthly blessings; Ephraim, spiritual blessings and earthly insight. Just as we discovered Joseph's second son, Ephraim, in last month's new moon chapter, this month we will discover the older brother, Manasseh. Manasseh was Joseph's firstborn, birthed by Asenath in Egypt when he was second in command. When Joseph's firstborn was born, he named him Manasseh, "for God has made me forget all my troubles and all my father's household." Last month, we discovered how Ephraim received the firstborn blessing, although he was the second born. However, Elohim knows best. However, Elohim knows best, because as the boys grew, Manasseh excelled in worldly matters and helped Joseph in matters in Egypt.

The younger brother, Ephraim, excelled in spiritual matters and applied himself to the study of Torah. Therefore, when Jacob crossed his hands to bless the two lads, his anointing of both Ephraim and Manasseh would indicate that Manasseh would receive earthly blessings first and then spiritual insight, as opposed to Ephraim, who would receive spiritual blessings first and then earthly insight. As we read this unique yet prophetic story again, let us remember that Elohim knows best, and the Holy Spirit can dictate what we do at any given moment, including the blessing of children. Hallelujah. It is written, "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, Joseph. They will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.'"

So, let's stop there. So again, this is a beautiful story, but look at what he said. He crossed his hands and he said to them that basically Manasseh and Ephraim were just like Reuben and Simeon. Why did he say that? They're just like the firstborn. He said they're mine, and he said they're just like the firstborn. That is very important when we go read the Apostle Paul. So that's what I try to tell people. If our Christian friends, if they don't understand these things in the Torah and the Prophets and the Psalms, especially in the Torah, that's what Paul was writing from. He was writing from that understanding about the Gentiles being included in the kingdom of Israel, just like they were back then.

But they had to obey. They had to cross over. They had to be circumcised. All of these things. Nothing has changed, my friends. That's why Paul wrote Ephesians 2 the way that he did: the circumcision of the heart. "You were once strangers of the covenants. You were once aliens of the kingdom of Israel. But now with the blood of the Messiah, you're not an alien. You're a citizen." And if we could understand that as Christian believers and Jewish believers, we would have a better understanding. The Jewish believers do understand that, the ones who believe in Yeshua. It's just the Christians don't. But the Jewish believers understand the one new body, the one new man. Believing Jews, believing Gentiles, the way it works, celebrating the right way, spirit and in truth. What Jacob said to Manasseh and Ephraim and to Joseph, Paul would have understood that tremendously as he wrote Romans 11, as he wrote Ephesians 2, as he wrote Galatians 3, and many other passages.

He would have, of course, known what Jacob did. That would have been on one of the forefronts of his mind of how he wanted to understand that, wanted us to understand that through his writings. So, friends, it's very important to understand these concepts that Paul and the New Testament writers would have understood. And if we don't understand that, then we're just not going to have that. Then Israel, or Jacob, saw Joseph's two sons and said, "Who are these?" And Joseph said to his father, "These are my sons whom God has given me in this place." And he said, "Please bring them to me, and I will bless them." Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph, "I had not thought to see your face, but in fact, God has shown me your offspring." So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth.

And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. The firstborn always received a blessing with the person's right hand. Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph and said, "God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all the day all my lifelong to this day, the angel Yeshua, who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads. Let my name be upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." Amen. Amen. And amen. Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him.

So he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh. And Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head." But Jacob refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he shall be great. But truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." The Gentiles. So he blessed him that day, saying, "By you Israel will bless, saying, 'May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.'" The one new body and the one new man, everybody. And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh. Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back into the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to you one more portion above your brothers, a double portion, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow."

This prophetic and awesome story highlights the power of the Holy Spirit to guide Jacob, whose eyes were dim with age, to Yah's will for Ephraim and Manasseh.

The overall message of this story is that both children will become great and be like the firstborn to Israel. Amen. Which symbolizes the one new body and the one new man in Yeshua, Jew and Gentile. Amen. And amen. And amen. Jacob testifies to this as he closes his blessing, declaring, "By you Israel will bless, saying, 'May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.'" In other words, Jacob is prophesying that Israel, the kingdom of Israel, the one new body and the one new man, will be descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, which symbolizes Jews and Gentiles. Jacob's and Moses' blessings are to Joseph, which include Ephraim and Manasseh, as he received a double portion of the inheritance. We will also see in these blessings a double witness on Joseph's blessings, as both testify, "They shall be on the head of Joseph and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers."

In Moses's blessing, we find the understanding of Jacob's blessing to each son and why he put Ephraim above Manasseh.

Moses writes, "Together with them he shall push the peoples to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh." Both blessings give us beautiful images to meditate and pray upon as we receive the anointing of the tribe of the month. Again, I'll say it again: when we look at the blessing and Moses's blessing together, "Together with them he shall push the peoples to the ends of the earth." This is the second coming events, the millennial kingdom. That has not happened before. Deuteronomy 33: "They are the 10,000s of Ephraim." That has never happened again. And there are the thousands of Manasseh with Yeshua. Both blessings give us beautiful images to meditate and pray upon as we receive the anointing of the tribe of the month. Genesis 49:22-26 says, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall.

The archers bitterly grieved him, shot at him, and hated him, but his bow remained in strength, and his arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. From there is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel, by the God of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breast and of the womb, blessings of the father have prevailed above the blessings of my ancestors up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph and on the crown of him who was separate from his brothers."

And now here's Moses's blessing in Deuteronomy 33: "And of Joseph he said, 'Blessed of the Lord is his land, with the precious things of heaven, with the dew and the deep lying beneath, with the precious fruits of the sun, with the precious produce of the months, with the best things of the ancient mountains, with the precious things of the everlasting hills, with the precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.

Let the blessing come on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. His glory is like a firstborn bull, and his horns like the horns of a wild ox. Together with them he shall push the peoples to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.'" Amen. And amen. And amen. So now we'll say the prayers of the month. Whoever would like to join us, I will say the prayers of the month and the priestly blessing before we go to the questions in the comments. And here's the prayers for the month. So we want to wish everybody a beautiful month ahead of blessings, of provision, of righteous rendered verdicts, and we just want to say this in your favor: "Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who created the skies with His word and all of heaven's hosts with the breath of His mouth.