Jacob 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.
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→
Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” (Gen 47:8-9)
Jacob, like Isaac, Abraham, Shem and probably even Noah (the son of Lemech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch) has been on his pilgrimage since the day he was born. He has always served Yehovah and dwelt in His eternal kingdom.
I, on the other hand, was a late bloomer; I did not begin my pilgrimage on the earth until 2000 when I was about 45. It was then that I gave up all my connections/covenants and came out of the kingdom of my birth, made myself 100% Yehovah’s man and then began my pilgrimage, my journey in His kingdom. Since that time I have learned what it means to dwell in the heaven instead of earth. Every man who fails to learn to dwell in heaven will perish, just as they did in the antediluvian world. Noah survived because he learned to walk in his pilgrimage with Yehovah. And when Nimrod ruled and reigned on the earth, Noah, Shem, Eber, and Abraham did not serve him even though they lived in what most folks would have thought was Nimrod’s kingdom.
“From whence comes the purpose of a person’s life? Come it by chance, a casting of the lot, or does a call of destiny beckon to each of us?‖ From the movie ‘One Night with the King’.
It is my firm belief that the Creator has a destiny, an eternal purpose for each of our lives and it is my wish to effect those around me to embrace all that the Creator has for them. But until they (I am really talking to men) begin their pilgrimage, their destiny is on hold.
In this passage Jacob is talking to Pharaoh; but Jacob knows and understands the words of Yehovah that were given to Abraham and to himself.
So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and slaughtered slaughters to his father Isaac’s Elohim. Then Elohim spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” So He said, “I am Elohim (THE lawmaker and judge), the Elohim of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of 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 put his hand on your eyes.” (Gen 46:1-4)
This is destiny, the leading of Yehovah in the life of His men, in order to fulfill His word.
And when Jacob meets Pharaoh for the first time he understands that the provision that he is receiving is NOT from Pharaoh, even though Pharaoh may think so; the provision is from Yehovah for Jacob’s continued pilgrimage on the earth.
For more teachings like this one (beginning at Genesis 1), visit our Join Us for Sabbath page.
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When Joseph’s brothers return, they bring Benjamin and a message from their father, Jacob. Joseph is twice moved to tears and is forced to remove himself from their presence. But Joseph has decided that before he can trust his brothers again they must be tested. Will Joseph’s brothers now fight for their brother?
Yasher 53:8 And Joseph read the letter and knew his father’s writing, and he wished to weep and he went into an inner room and he wept a great weeping; and he went out.
9 And he lifted up his eyes and beheld his brother Benjamin, and he said, Is this your brother of whom you spoke unto me? And Benjamin approached Joseph, and Joseph placed his hand upon his head and he said unto him, May Elohim be gracious unto thee my son.
10 And when Joseph saw his brother, the son of his mother, he again wished to weep, and he entered the chamber, and he wept there, and he washed his face, and went out and refrained from weeping, and he said, Prepare food.
Few people understand that while Benjamin is the youngest of Joseph’s brothers, he (30) has 2 women of worth and 10 sons.
Yasher 53:17 And Joseph said unto him, Hast thou begotten any children? and he said, Thy servant has ten sons, and these are their names, Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Achi, Rosh, Mupim, Chupim, and Ord, and I called their names after my brother whom I have not seen.
Yasher 45:21 And Jacob sent to Aram, the son of Zoba, the son of Terah, and he took for his son Benjamin Mechalia the daughter of Aram, and she came to the land of Canaan to the house of Jacob; and Benjamin was ten years old when he took Mechalia the daughter of Aram for his woman.
22 And Mechalia conceived and bare unto Benjamin Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, five sons; and Benjamin went afterward and took for a woman Aribath, the daughter of Shomron, the son of Abraham, in addition to his first woman, and he was eighteen years old; and Aribath bare unto Benjamin Achi, Rosh, Mupim, Chupim, and Ord; five sons.
The Benjamin’s sons were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. (Gen 46:21)
In Yasher Joseph reveals himself only to Benjamin before he tests his brothers.
Yasher 53:21 And Benjamin said unto Joseph, I can see by this that Joseph my brother sits here with me upon the throne, and Joseph said unto him, I am Joseph thy brother, reveal not this thing unto thy brethren; behold I will send thee with them when they go away, and I will command them to be brought back again into the city, and I will take thee away from them.
22 And if they dare their lives and fight for thee, then shall I know that they have repented of what they did unto me, and I will make myself known to them, and if they forsake thee when I take thee, then shalt thou remain with me, and I will wrangle with them, and they shall go away, and I will not become known to them.
Well, “dare their lives and fight for thee” is a vast understatement! We all have read the story of how Joseph had his silver cup hidden in Benjamin’s grain sack and how he planned to take Benjamin from his brothers and make him his slave. What we do not see in Genesis is the brouhaha that these mighty men of Elohim cause as they threaten Joseph, his family and the entire nation of Egypt with complete and utter destruction if they do not get their brother Benjamin back. Here is an example of what you have to look forward to if you listen to this audio.
Joseph’s Brothers Will Fight
Yasher 53:28 And Judah’s anger was kindled, and he said, This man has only brought me back to destroy Egypt this day.
Yasher 53:32 And Joseph rose up and caught hold of Benjamin and took him from his brethren with violence, and he came to the house and locked the door, and Joseph commanded him who was set over his house that he should say unto them, Thus saith the king, Go in peace to your father, behold I have taken the man in whose hand my cup was found.
Jacob 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.
“From whence comes the purpose of a person’s life? Come it by chance, a casting of the lot, or does a call of destiny beckon to each of us?†– From the movie ‘One Night with the King’.