Deuteronomy 33:16 16 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. Why did God choose to bestow the birthright blessing to Joseph? Deuteronomy 33:16 provides the key to the answer. Moses writes, Let the blessing come on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. God honored Joseph because he was separate from his brothers. He was separate in that he alone remained faithful to his God. Conspicuous by their absence are the names of Josephs brothers from the Faith Chapter. Hebrews 11 does not mention Reuben, Judah, Dan, Gad, or any other of Jacobs sons. Verse 22 emphasizes Josephs faithfulness: By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones (Genesis 50:22-26) Allaying his brothers fears of retribution and revenge, Joseph explained his understanding that God had placed him in power in Egypt to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance (Genesis 45:7). To his dying day, he never broke faith with his brothers: As recorded in Genesis 50:20-21, he reassures them of their well-being after their fathers death: But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones. Nor did he ever break faith with his God. Dying, he reminded his brothers that God would bring their posterity out of Egypt, restoring them to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob (Genesis 50:24). The two sons of Joseph received the birthright blessings because their father was separate, ethically and morally, from his perfidious, scheming brothers. His brothers exhibited few scruples concerning killing Joseph, forswearing murder only when they saw the opportunity to profit from selling him into slavery. Compounding their despicable and abject turpitude, they darkened their fathers days by sustaining the ruse of Josephs death for more than a decade. See Genesis 34 for a fine example of cunning deception, ruthless murder, and rapacious greed on the part of Simeon and Levi in the affair of their sister Dinah with Hamor, a Hivite prince living in Canaan at that time. What a paradox! Today, Ephraim and Manasseh have used the wealth and influence God gave them because of Josephs faithfulness to push on Gentile nations a way of life totally contrary to Gods way. Rather than separating from the ways of this world, as their father Joseph did, modern-day Ephraim and Manasseh push globalism, another term for the Babylonian system of get, on the whole world. Sifted among the nations, Joseph subverts those around him rather than serving as an example of godliness to the Gentiles.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 08:50:38 +0000
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