𝗩𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗶/ "𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥"
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝟰𝟳:𝟮𝟴–𝟱𝟬:𝟮𝟲
This week our Portion will wrap up the book of Genesis. What a study this has been! From the creation to the fall to the redemption (which will repeat throughout the coming months as we continue our journey!) - all of it, a marker of His amazing Grace! I have learned so much over these last few months as I have dived deeper into these stories than ever before, and I pray what little I have shared has inspired you to dive deep yourself! There is so much gold to be mined my friends! For now, let me share what this last weeks Torah portion has revealed to me, but first let me back up just a bit to some pieces from last weeks, which I didn't share then.
We finally get to see the arrival of Jacob and all of his family in Egypt, under the care of Joseph. Jacob is reunited with the son whom he thought was long dead, now realizing that he had been 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 for the saving of the world. Along the way, however, its interesting to note that Jacob stops to offer sacrifices to the LORD in Beersheba. Beersheba is the place where Abraham made an oath with Abimelech over the well he had dug and later is the place where Isaac (father of Jacob, son of Abraham) has an encounter with the LORD and thus builds an altar. The LORD reveals to Israel (Jacob) that He is going to do for him that which He had promised to Abraham and Isaac.
So Israel (Jacob) set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. I will go down with you to Egypt, and 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻; and Joseph will close your eyes.” - Gen 46:1-4
As we start this weeks portion we find that Israel has lived in Egypt now for 17 years and at the age of 147, he wants Joseph to promise him that when he dies he will not bury him in Egypt. Instead, he is to take him back to the 'promised land', to the cave where Abraham / Sarah / Leah are buried. Joseph confirms he will do as his father has asked. Later we see that Israel is sick, and Joseph takes his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to see him. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣, “𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶,” 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥. (Gen 48:2). And this is where things take a very interesting turn. Vs. 5 - 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦; 𝘌𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘶𝘣𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦. Jacob/Israel tells Joseph that his two sons, born in Egypt, shall now be counted among his own sons!
𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩, 𝘌𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭’𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘮, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘩’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥,
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘤 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥,
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺,
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭,
𝘽𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙨;
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙢𝙮 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢,
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝘼𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙝𝙖𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄𝙨𝙖𝙖𝙘;
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝.” - Genesis 48:13-16
𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻! But not just any adoption - an adoption into the promises of GOD!! WOW!
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘮’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘌𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘮’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘩’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, “𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰, 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯. 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.” 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸; 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.” (note: this text most literally means, "𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀") 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨,
“𝘉𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨,
‘𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘌𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘩!’”
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘌𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘩. - Genesis 48:17-20
Ephraim becomes the picture for the 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 (gentiles) which are able to enter the same covenant given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!! And once the fullness of those who will accept the invitation have come in, all Israel will be saved! But note, its not 𝗮𝗹𝗹 who happen to descend from the patriarchs (or who live in the land) - but its 𝗮𝗹𝗹 who believe and 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁, thereby becoming part of the spiritual Israel. 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗬, 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦! When you read the Scriptures understanding WHO YOU ARE IN HIM, WOW what a shift!! Goodness gracious, we should have a praise break right here!!
Romans 11:25-27 says it this way:
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺—𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣; 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙙; 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯,
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙕𝙞𝙤𝙣,
𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙤𝙗.”
“𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙈𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢,
𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙨.”
𝗕𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 in Yeshua, we put to death the 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵 and instead walk in the newness of a resurrected life, with a new heart - one of flesh and not stone! Thank you Holy Spirit!! Sealing us until the final day of redemption. (Eph 4:30) Shew. Where is your faith at, friends?!?!?! 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. (James 2:18)
Oh how blind I was!! I carried His Word - read His Word - studied His Word, yet all through the wrong lens. I didn't know who I was in Him. Until you understand your 𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗬, you won't either. I pray that even now, you are beginning to see behind the veil. That the hand of the enemy would be crushed before you, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴. (𝘌𝘱𝘩 6:12). While men slept he came in and planted tares among the wheat! (Matt 13:25) But I believe, with all my heart, we are going to see, in greater measure, the 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 returning to 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁, by faith. And what a glorious day that will be, friends.
