Category Archives: Jacob

Jacob Sees Joseph

Jacob Sees Joseph, Yasher 55, Genesis 46Before Jacob sees Joseph for the first time in 22 years he wanted to send His sons back to Egypt for food. However Judah and his brothers refused to go unless Jacob sent Benjamin as well. Listen to how Judah describe this great king of Egypt, Joseph, to his father.

Yasher 52:12 Does thou not know and has thou not heard that this king is very powerful and wise, and there is not like unto him in all the earth? Behold we have seen all the kings of the earth and we have not seen one like that king, the king of Egypt. Surely among all the kings of the earth there is none greater than Abimelech king of the Philistines, yet the king of Egypt is greater and mightier than he, and Abimelech can only be compared to one of his officers.
13 Father, thou hast not seen his palace and his throne, and all his servants standing before him; thou hast not seen that king upon his throne in his pomp and royal appearance, dressed in his kingly robes with a large golden crown upon his head; thou hast not seen the honor and glory which God has given unto him, for there is not like unto him in all the earth.
14 Father, thou hast not seen the wisdom, the understanding and the knowledge which God has given in his heart, nor heard his sweet voice when he spake unto us.
15 We know not, father, who made him acquainted with our names and all that befell us, yet he asked also after thee, saying, Is your father still living, and is it well with him?
16 Thou has not seen the affairs of the government of Egypt regulated by him, without inquiring of Pharaoh his lord; thou hast not seen the awe and fear which he impressed upon all the Egyptians.

Jacob Sees Joseph

Once Jacob discovers that Joseph yet lives, he heads down to Egypt to see him. All Genesis says about their reunion is this.

So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. (Gen 46:29)

Did Joseph go alone to meet his father? He is a king in Egypt who says of himself that he is even like a father to Pharaoh. Is he really going to go by himself to meet the most important man in the world to him?

Yasher covers this reunion well.

Yasher 55:7 And Joseph harnessed the chariot, and he assembled all his mighty men and his servants and all the officers of Egypt in order to go and meet his father Jacob, and Joseph’s mandate was proclaimed in Egypt, saying, All that do not go to meet Jacob shall die.
8 And on the next day Joseph went forth with all Egypt a great and mighty host, all dressed in garments of fine linen and purple and with instruments of silver and gold and with their instruments of war with them.
9 And they all went to meet Jacob with all sorts of musical instruments, with drums and timbrels, strewing myrrh and aloes all along the road, and they all went after this fashion, and the earth shook at their shouting.
10 And all the women of Egypt went upon the roofs of Egypt and upon the walls to meet Jacob, and upon the head of Joseph was Pharaoh’s regal crown, for Pharaoh had sent it unto him to put on at the time of his going to meet his father.
11 And when Joseph came within fifty cubits of his father, he alighted from the chariot and he walked toward his father, and when all the officers of Egypt and her nobles saw that Joseph had gone on foot toward his father, they also alighted and walked on foot toward Jacob.
12 And when Jacob approached the camp of Joseph, Jacob observed the camp that was coming toward him with Joseph, and it gratified him and Jacob was astonished at it.
13 And Jacob said unto Judah, Who is that man whom I see in the camp of Egypt dressed in kingly robes with a very red garment upon him and a royal crown upon his head, who has alighted from his chariot and is coming toward us? and Judah answered his father, saying, He is thy son Joseph the king; and Jacob rejoiced in seeing the glory of his son.
14 And Joseph came nigh unto his father and he bowed to his father, and all the men of the camp bowed to the ground with him before Jacob.
15 And behold Jacob ran and hastened to his son Joseph and fell upon his neck and kissed him, and they wept, and Joseph also embraced his father and kissed him, and they wept and all the people of Egypt wept with them.
16 And Jacob said unto Joseph, Now I will die cheerfully after I have seen thy face, that thou art still living and with glory.
17 And the sons of Jacob and their women and their children and their servants, and all the household of Jacob wept exceedingly with Joseph, and they kissed him and wept greatly with him.

Here is the portion of Genesis and Yasher which we covered today.

Jacob Sees Joseph

2G49 Genesis 45-46 and Yasher 55.1-18
[Click here to download this audio mp3]

Copyright © 2015 Providence Ministries, All rights reserved.

For more teachings like this one (beginning at Genesis 1), visit our Join Us for Sabbath page.

Please Contact Michael to help support his work in building Yehovah’s kingdom on the earth.

Providence Ministries is NOT incorporated with any kingdom of this world. Providence Ministries is an affiliate of the Director of Ecclesiastical Enterprises, a Washington State acknowledged corporation sole of the ecclesia on file with the Secretary of the State. This charitable ministry is not for profit and maintains its nontaxable status consistent with 26 USC 508(c)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to 501 (c)(3) organizations special rules as a “mandatory exception.

Save

Judah Is Surety For Benjamin

surety, Genesis 43, Judah surety BenjaminThis week in our Sabbath class Judah told Jacob that he would be surety for his brother Benjamin. What is surety? Can it be used for both good as well as bad? Here is what Judah said to Jacob.

Surety Can Be Good

I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. (Gen 43:9)

We will see next week that when Joseph wants to make Benjamin his servant forever that Judah will say that he will take his place so that Benjamin can return to his father.

In Psalms David asks Yehovah to be surety for him for good. He says,

Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, one of those who is surety for debts; if you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you? (Pro 22:26-27)

Or Surety Can Be Very Bad

My son, if you become surety for your friend, If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, you are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth. So do this, my son, and deliver yourself. For you have come into the hand of your friend. Go and humble yourself; plead with your friend. Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.  Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler. (Pro_6:1-5)

This is such an important subject, which we just touched on in our class this week, that  I  included two articles about surety in my Coming Out Of Babylon Series. The 1st on is called “You Are Surety for YOURSELF,” and the  2nd on is called “Deliver Yourself.” I hope you will read them and not continue in the bondage that most live in.

Here is the video to this weeks Sabbath class.

Judah Is Surety For Benjamin

2G47 Genesis 43 and Yasher 51.44 – 53.22
[Click here to download this audio mp3]

Copyright © 2015 Providence Ministries, All rights reserved.

For more teachings like this one (beginning at Genesis 1), visit our Join Us for Sabbath page.

Please Contact Michael to help support his work in building Yehovah’s kingdom on the earth.

Providence Ministries is NOT incorporated with any kingdom of this world. Providence Ministries is an affiliate of the Director of Ecclesiastical Enterprises, a Washington State acknowledged corporation sole of the ecclesia on file with the Secretary of the State. This charitable ministry is not for profit and maintains its nontaxable status consistent with 26 USC 508(c)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to 501 (c)(3) organizations special rules as a “mandatory exception.”

Save

Tamar And The Seed Of Judah

Tamar, Tamar Judah, Genesis 38, Genesis 39, Yasher 44, Potiphar's womanToday in our Sabbath class we talked about two women. The story about Tamar and the seed of Judah, in Torah, is found right in the middle of the 1st year of Joseph’s descent and dwelling in Egypt. Zelicah, the wicked woman of Potiphar tried to get her way, but could not convince Joseph to comply with her desires. Yehovah will have His way in the lives of His righteous men!

Tamar And the Seed Of Judah

In both these stories I see Yehovah’s hand at work. In the house of Judah it is all about being fruitful and multiplying his seed. Tamar was a woman of worth who was taken from her father, Elam, the firstborn son of Shem, for Judah’s first-born son, Er.

Jasher 45:23 And in those days Judah went to the house of Shem and took Tamar the daughter of Elam, the son of Shem, as a woman for his first-born, Er.

But Er was wicked, he spilled his seed on the ground, and Yehovah killed him.

Jasher 45:24 And Er came to his woman Tamar, and she became his woman, and when he came to her he outwardly destroyed his seed, and his work was evil in the sight of Yehovah, and Yehovah slew him.

Judah knew Torah and gave Tamar to Onan his second-born.

“If brothers [אחים, a·chim] dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not come to man [לאישׁ, to a eesh] outside the family; her husband’s brother [יבמה, her ya·bam] shall go to her and take her as his woman, and perform the duty of a her husband’s brotherיבמה, her ya·bam]. And it shall be that the first-born son [הבכור, bek·ore] which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. (Deu 25:5-6)

But Onan refused to raise up seed in Tamar for his brother and he also let his seed fall unto the ground. Therefore Yehovah killed him also.

But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to Tamar, his brother’s woman, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased Yehovah; therefore He killed him also. (Gen 38:9-10)

Now the story gets interesting. Tamar is owed seed and she is going to get it one way or another.  You will have to listen to the story to see what happens.

Yehovah Used Potiphar’s Woman, Zelicah, To Bring Joseph To Where He Wanted Him

In Joseph’s descent into Egypt Yehovah has now used his brothers, the Midianites, the Ismaelites, the Medanites, Potiphar, and now Potiphar’s woman (Zelicah) to test, mold and bring Joseph to the next phase of his journey.

Torah does not do this story justice. Zelicah was ruthless in her pursuit of Joseph.

Yasher 44:15 At that time whilst he was in his master’s house, going in and out of the house and attending his master, Zelicah, his master’s woman, lifted up her eyes toward Joseph and she looked at him, and behold he was a youth comely and well favored.
16 And she coveted his beauty in her heart, and her soul was fixed upon Joseph, and she enticed him day after day, and Zelicah persuaded Joseph daily, but Joseph did not lift up his eyes to behold his master’s woman.

Please join me as we learn about these two women.

Tamar And The Seed Of Judah

2G44 Genesis 38 – 39 and Yasher 44:11-80
[Click here to download this audio mp3]

Copyright © 2016 Providence Ministries, All rights reserved.

For more teachings like this one (beginning at Genesis 1), visit our Join Us for Sabbath page.

Please Contact Michael to help support his work in building Yehovah’s kingdom on the earth.

Providence Ministries is NOT incorporated with any kingdom of this world. Providence Ministries is an affiliate of the Director of Ecclesiastical Enterprises, a Washington State acknowledged corporation sole of the ecclesia on file with the Secretary of the State. This charitable ministry is not for profit and maintains its nontaxable status consistent with 26 USC 508(c)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to 501 (c)(3) organizations special rules as a “mandatory exception.”

Save

Jacob received the blessing, Genesis 27, Yasher 28, Yasher 29, Jacob stole the blessing,

Jacob Received The Blessing

The search engines tell me that if I had called this blog “Jacob stole the blessing” instead of “Jacob received the blessing” I would receive more hits, but only at the expense of the truth.

Jacob received the blessing, Genesis 27[Note: Jacob and Esau are 63 years old when Isaac, at 123 years of age, blesses Jacob. Isaac lived 180 years.]

Genesis 27 is the story of the Isaac’s spiritual blessing. Did you hear that? Issac’s blessing is spiritual and it had to go to the spiritual man, Jacob; it would have been an abomination to have Esau who Yasher calls “a designing and deceitful man, one who hunted after the hearts of men and inveigled them” had received this spiritual blessing. Augh, may it never be!

Genesis 27 begins this way.

Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old  and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, … (Gen 27:1)

I think it was more than Isaac’s eyes that were dim, it appears that Isaac may have become dim spiritually also; he wanted to give his spiritual blessing to the son who lived in the flesh. Was he blind as to what was going on in his own household? Consider these facts.

  • Rebekah received a prophecy from Shem, Eber and Abraham saying.” The greater shall serve the younger”

And Yehovah said to her: “Two peoples are in your womb, two nations shall be separated from your body; and a nation from a nation shall be stronger, and elder shall serve younger.” (Gen 25:23)

Yasher 26:10 And she said unto them, Why am I alone in this amongst all the women that were upon earth? And she went to the land of Moriah to seek Yehovah on account of this; and she went to Shem and Eber his son to make inquiries of them in this matter, and that they should seek Yehovah in this thing respecting her.
11 And she also asked Abraham to seek and inquire of Yehovah about all that had befallen her.
12 And they all inquired of Yehovah concerning this matter, and they brought her word from Yehovah and told her, “Two sons are in thy womb, and two nations shall rise from them; and one nation shall be stronger than the other, and the greater shall serve the younger.”

  • Esau was a man of the flesh, a man who was completely disinterested in spiritual matters like knowing Yehovah and His ways.

Yasher 28:18 At that time Isaac sent his younger son Jacob to the house of Shem and Eber, and he learned the instructions of Yehovah, and Jacob remained in the house of Shem and Eber for thirty-two years, and Esau his brother did not go, for he was not willing to go, and he remained in his father’s house in the land of Canaan.

  • Esau was a “designing and deceitful man” who “hunted” the hearts of men.

Yasher 26:17 And the boys grew up to their fifteenth year, and they came amongst the society of men. Esau was a designing and deceitful man, and an expert hunter in the field, and Jacob was a man perfect and wise, dwelling in tents, feeding flocks and learning the instructions of Yehovah and the commands of his father and mother.

Yasher 28:19 And Esau was continually hunting in the fields to bring home what he could get, so did Esau all the days.
20 And Esau was a designing and deceitful man, one who hunted after the hearts of men and inveigled them, …

  • Esau sold his birthright, which was an extra 1/3 of the wealth of his family, for one meal after he killed Nimrod.

If Esau despised his fleshly birthright, why on earth would Isaac give him the spiritual blessing? Jacob was the spiritual man who dwelt in heaven and always sought to know Yehovah and His ways.

  • The “blessing” is “Yehovah’s blessing” on those who will lead His people, and it did not always go to the eldest son.

Shem was Noah’s middle son and it is clear that Noah put Yehovah’s spiritual blessing on him; not Japheth (the elder) and certainly not on Ham!

And sons were born also to Shem, the father of all the sons of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder. (Gen 10:21)

Jacob Received The Blessing

Jacob received the blessing; he had to! If Esau had received this blessing, Yehovah’s word would not have come to pass. The older HAD to serve the younger. What Yehovah says, MUST be done!

When I listen to these recorded teachings, even I am amazed by what I saw and how I presented it. You need to hear what I have to say; these videos will bless your life. Please listen to it now or download it to your mp3 player and listen to it as you go through your day. You will be glad you did.

Jacob received the blessing

2G33 Genesis 27 & Yasher 28-29.24
[Click here to download this audio mp3]

Copyright © 2015 Providence Ministries, All rights reserved.

For more teachings like this one (beginning at Genesis 1), visit our Journey Through Torah page.

Please Contact Michael to help support his work in building Yehovah’s kingdom on the earth.

Providence Ministries is NOT incorporated with any kingdom of this world. Providence Ministries is an affiliate of the Director of Ecclesiastical Enterprises, a Washington State acknowledged corporation sole of the ecclesia on file with the Secretary of the State. This charitable ministry is not for profit and maintains its nontaxable status consistent with 26 USC 508(c)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to 501 (c)(3) organizations special rules as a “mandatory exception.”

Save

Save

Esau Died Preventing Jacob’s Burial

Few have ever heard about how Jacob’s twin brother Esau died. I think of Jacob as the man of the spirit and Esau as a total man of the flesh; and find it interesting that Esau died shortly after Jacob. Here is why.

The actual death and burial of Jacob (147) is recorded in the last chapter of Genesis (Genesis 50); but it is hardly anything more that an outline for what happened at that time in the history of Yehovah’s people.

Here is yet another case where the book of Yasher gives “the rest of the story.”

Jacob was buried with great honor like a king and his sons carried his bier for all to see. I love how Jacob told his sons to carry him, it was exactly the same way that Israel was told by Yehovah to camp in the wilderness (with 3 sons on each side).

Israelite camp, Esau died when Jacob was buriedYasher describes Jacob’s funeral procession this way.

Yasher 56:33 And Pharaoh commanded that it should be proclaimed throughout Egypt, saying, Whoever goes not up with Joseph and his brethren to the land of Canaan to bury Jacob, shall die.

34 And all Egypt heard of Pharaoh’s proclamation, and they all rose up together, and all the servants of Pharaoh, and the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt went up with Joseph, and all the officers and nobles of Pharaoh went up as the servants of Joseph, and they went to bury Jacob in the land of Canaan.

35 And Jacob’s sons carried the bier upon which he lay; according to all that their father commanded them, so did his sons unto him.

36 And the bier was of pure gold, and it was inlaid round about with onyx stones and bdellium; and the covering of the bier was gold woven work, joined with threads, and over them were hooks of onyx stones and bdellium.

37 And Joseph placed upon the head of his father Jacob a large golden crown, and he put a golden scepter in his hand, and they surrounded the bier as was the custom of kings during their lives.

38 And all the troops of Egypt went before him in this array, at first, all the mighty men of Pharaoh and the mighty men of Joseph, and after them the rest of the inhabitants of Egypt, and they were all girded with swords and equipped with coats of mail, and the trappings of war were upon them.

39 And all the weepers and mourners went at a distance opposite to the bier, going and weeping and lamenting, and the rest of the people went after the bier.

40 And Joseph and his household went together near the bier barefooted and weeping, and the rest of Joseph’s servants went around him; each man had his ornaments upon him, and they were all armed with their weapons of war.

But when Esau heard that Jacob’s sons were coming to bury him in the cave of Machpelah, which their Fathers were buried in, Esau and his sons stood against them. The battle that follows helps us understand great enmity between Jacob’s sons (the men of the spirit) and Esau’s sons (the men of the flesh). Here is how the battle begins.

Yasher 56:49 And Joseph and his brethren brought their father Jacob from that place, and they went to Hebron to bury Jacob in the cave by his fathers.

50 And they came unto Kireath-arba, to the cave, and as they came Esau stood with his sons against Joseph and his brethren as a hindrance in the cave, saying, “Jacob shall not be buried therein, for it belongs to us and to our father.”

We saw that Jacob and his sons received all the land of Canaan, and the cave in particular, at the death of Isaac as their inheritance; the transaction was witnessed and recorded at the time and the document were now in Egypt. We then sent our fastest runner (Naphtali) to fetch them and that is when the fighting began.

Yasher 56:60 And when Esau saw that Naphtali had gone to fetch the records, he and his sons increased their resistance against the cave, and Esau and all his people rose up against Joseph and his brethren to battle.

61 And all Jacob’s sons and the people of Egypt fought with Esau and his men, and Esau’s sons and his people were smitten before Jacob’s sons, and Jacob’s sons slew of Esau’s people forty men.

Esau died in the first battle

It was at this time that Dan’s son, a man who could not speak or hear, walked up to Esau and severed his head from his body.

Yasher 56:63 And Chushim was dumb and deaf, still he understood the voice of consternation amongst men.

64 And he asked, saying, Why do you not bury the dead, and what is this great consternation? And they answered him the words of Esau and his sons; and he ran to Esau in the midst of the battle, and he slew Esau with a sword, and he cut off his head, and it sprang to a distance, and Esau fell amongst the people of the battle.

65 And when Chushim did this thing Jacob’s sons prevailed over Esau’s sons, and Jacob’s sons buried their father Jacob by force in the cave, and Esau’s sons beheld it.

After Esau died his sons ran away with his body but left his head. There is so much that happened in these two chapters of Yasher; alliances are formed, battles are fought, men are captured, and an entire race of men is wiped out and their land taken forever by Esau’s sons.

Here is the rest of the story.

Esau Died Preventing Jacob’s Burial

2G51 Genesis 50 & Yasher 56
[Click here to download this audio mp3]

Copyright © 2016 Providence Ministries, All rights reserved.

For more teachings like this one (beginning at Genesis 1), visit our Join Us for Sabbath page.

Please Contact Michael to help support his work in building Yehovah’s kingdom on the earth.

Providence Ministries is NOT incorporated with any kingdom of this world. Providence Ministries is an affiliate of the Director of Ecclesiastical Enterprises, a Washington State acknowledged corporation sole of the ecclesia on file with the Secretary of the State. This charitable ministry is not for profit and maintains its nontaxable status consistent with 26 USC 508(c)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to 501 (c)(3) organizations special rules as a “mandatory exception.”

Save

Jacob’s Last Words

Jacob's last wordsJacob is now 147 and has lived 17 years in Egypt after being reunited with Joseph, but now his eyes have failed and he is weak and dying.  Torah and Yasher covers Jacob’s last words to his sons and grand-sons (his seed). Some of Jacob’s last words are blessings, some are rebukes, and some are instructions to his sons for after he is gone.

In Jacob’s last words to his grand-sons (who appear to be twins), and against the wishes of their father Joseph, he sets the younger over the elder. I believe that this is a shadow picture of the second born, spiritual man ruling over the first-born, man of the flesh which we find so often in the scriptures. Here are a few examples.

  • Able replaces Cain
  • Isaac replaces Ishmael as firstborn
  • Jacob replaces Esau as firstborn
  • Joseph replaces Reuben; Joseph received the “double blessing” which usually goes to the 1st born.
  • Ephraim replaces Manasseh as firstborn
  • Kohath replaces Gershon (Gen 46:11)

Ephraim and Manasseh learned the ways of Yehovah in the house of Jacob, and in Genesis 48 Jacob even seems to claim them as his own sons.

Yasher 55:35 Ephraim and Manasseh, remained constantly in the house of Jacob, together with the sons of the sons of Jacob their brethren, to learn the ways of Yehovah and his law.

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. (Gen 48:5)

Why else would the twins be listed with Jacob’s sons and become the fathers of two of the twelve tribes who inherit land in Canaan? Continue reading Jacob’s Last Words