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Awesome Hands – part 38

“ The Son of the Right Hand”

As we walk out each day of our lives, we come to know that the will of God is that Christ increases and we decrease daily.

Before we come to that point of understanding however, we must first learn that God is working out a blessing on and for the new man He is growing up in Him and He must likewise work a blessing of death in the old man for this to happen.

Joh 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
Joh 3:31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

In the last study, we saw another example of how the Lord is calling His people unto Himself.

In the example of Joseph and the rest of the tribes of Israel (including their father), God places us in “Goshen” while we are in Egypt, so that we can increase and multiply.

Gen 47:27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
Gen 47:28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.

During this time of being in Egypt, God seeks out “men of activity” to accomplish the overseeing of the flock that is also in Egypt.

Indeed, we are “friends of the bridegroom” in this capacity, and we usher in the rest of the “bride of Christ” to the “marriage supper of the lamb”.

In the study today, we are going to glean what is represented in type and shadow of being the first wife versus the second wife, the church of the Living God versus the whore in the wilderness, the second son versus the first, the Spiritual versus the natural.

“Who are these”

Gen 48:1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Gen 48:2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
Gen 48:3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
Gen 48:4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
Gen 48:5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
Gen 48:6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

At the start of chapter 48, we are going to be given a biblical principle that will remain and stretch out through the pages of the bible.

The concept we are reading about is that of the first and the second, the first and the last, the old and the new, so on and so forth.

Here are a few examples of what I am referencing and then we will compare them to what we see in Gen 48: 1-6.

Gal 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

Gal 4:30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

Rom 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

Jacob mentions how the Almighty appears to him blessing Jacob and that God tells him his seed will be blessed. In other words, his seed was promised to be “given the land”.

In the last study, we saw how Jacob’s entire house was given the best land of Egypt, Goshen, which means “drawing near” to God. In all that God can do with mankind, this is by far a very blessed occurrence.

Now, we see Jacob telling Joseph that his two sons will be given inheritance with Israel as if they were Reuben and Simeon. However, what is significant about Reuben and Simeon?

The spiritual significance of what these two brothers represent is the order in which they are born and even the names they are given have significance.

Gen 29:32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.
Gen 29:33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.

Most of the church world believes that God wants the best for us personally but somehow we choose not to listen to God so he punishes us or afflicts us.

Leah (the first wife) certainly felt like she was being afflicted because Jacob loved Rachel more.

The truth is that God does NOT LOVE the old man which is represented by the first.

Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

Mal 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
Mal 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
Mal 1:3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

Simeon was born to Leah because she was “hated”, yet she is the eldest of two sisters.

Alas, there is a very plain biblical admonition for this. You shall be hated of all men “for His name’s sake,” not for your own names sake or the evil that is done to your flesh.

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

There is a difference for having evil brought to us because of something in the flesh i. e. Jacob preferred the beautiful Rachel versus of the lazy eyed Leah so she felt hated versus being hated for the name of Christ, which is a spiritual hatred of the doctrine of Christ.

1Pe 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
1Pe 3:16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
1Pe 3:17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

“Guiding his hands wittingly”

Gen 48:7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
Gen 48:8 And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these?
Gen 48:9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
Gen 48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
Gen 48:11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.

Jacob continues to let Joseph know about where Rachel was buried because in chapter 37, the chapter is ended with Israel making Joseph swear an oath that he would not bury him in Egypt.

Gen 48:12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
Gen 48:13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.
Gen 48:14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
Gen 48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
Gen 48:16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

The younger always receives the blessing from the “Angel”, who Christ is, because this is the pattern that the Lord has made clear from the beginning.

Abel over Cain, Rachel over Leah, Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, David over Saul …. all are favored and blessed to show us the spiritual significance of the elder shall serve the younger.

This is because the “right hand blessing” that Israel bestows on Ephraim signifies the righteousness

and the strength and power of the Lord in working this and all things after the counsel of His own will.

Exo 15:6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

Psa 20:6 Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
Psa 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

Psa 48:10 According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.

Psa 118:16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.

Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

The blessing that Jacob is imparting on Ephraim is the same blessing he was given over his brother Esau.

This is all to show us that the Lord works His will through the “hands” and “walks” of those that are His people by giving them His mind, His Word.

The “seed” we produce, that is our fruit of righteousness as the Lord gives it to us, will have this same blessing.

Exo 29:20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

Lev 8:23 And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.
Lev 8:24 And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.

Of course, the “ways of men” do not like how the Lord works His will.

Gen 48:17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.
Gen 48:18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

Jacob couldn’t even see Joseph’s sons, but the Lord had shown this same example to Jacob in his own life. So, Israel knew full well what he was doing.

Gen 48:19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
Gen 48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Gen 48:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
Gen 48:22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

It is easy to conclude that his was all as Israel had said it would be because Ephraim ends up having the largest tribe of his brothers, but the focus we have been seeing is that the younger will be given preference and dominion over the older.

The “seed of the promise” covenant that God made with Abraham and passed on to Isaac and then to Jacob still lives and is being passed onto Jacob’s seed.

This entire pattern is indicative that what comes naturally and in natural order has no bearing on what God is going to do with what comes AFTER the natural except in that there must be the natural FIRST so that the spiritual can come about.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

The story of Gen 48 is there primarily to emphasis that “the seed of the promise” is being made to they who are of the “Jews in Spirit”.

Though the physical Jews came first, the spiritual Jews are being made “greater than the older,” a spiritual multitude of nations, the church of the Living God, the body of Christ.

In living out these historical events, the physical/ natural Jews cannot receive the promise that was not given to them.

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Gal 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Rom 9:9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
Rom 9:10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.