Vayigash/and he approached
Genesis 44:18-47:27
Ezekiel 37:15-28
This week’s torah portion is one of my favorite ‘pictures’ in the scriptures. Just imagine the drama and emotion of Joseph, appearing to be a very powerful Gentile ruler, as his estranged brothers come to Egypt in a time of great need and famine…they meant for this to be more of a business call, rather than a family situation! After some informal negotiations with his brothers, Joseph is overcome with the emotions of his love for his estranged family that he hasn’t seen in years…and in a moment filled with affection for his brethren, draws them aside and reveals his true identity as their long-lost brother! Kind of sounds like what could be lying ahead for the Jewish people, as Jesus moves toward revealing Himself to the Father’s First-Born Nation…but that would be an obvious choice for this week, so I have to ‘tear’ myself away from the easy post and see what else the Lord wants me to see. I have heard it said that “God plays twelve-layer chess”…I have a feeling that doesn’t do justice to what He is really capable of. I will start at the end of the ‘story’ to reveal the Lord of Glory’s ‘chess’ skills:
The nations (Gentiles) also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore. Eze 37:28.
My wife Christie has helped me be aware of a simple discipline: “Ask why”. Why does the Holy One of Israel care if the Gentiles ever notice what He is up to with His chosen ones? If you are a Gentile reading this, I would like to suggest that part of the reason you are on His heart is that He, through the Lord Jesus Messiah, has included you in His family’s ‘chosenness’! He didn’t just save you for heaven and from hell, He had more than that on His mind! Though you were found in outer darkness and separated from the household of God; He had a ‘family’; a family full of ‘heavenly affections’ upon the earth (Israel), that he not only wanted to introduce you to; but to fully adopt you into…yes, even knit the two together (Jew and Gentile): distinct, but equal, into “one new man”. You Gentiles were the ‘missing ingredient’ in His plans from before the foundation of the world. A glimpse of how important this ‘joining’ is, can be found in Ephesians 3:
3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel…9 which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things [c]through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known…
I need to stop here; this isn’t meant to be a book, though it easily could be: I just want Holy Spirit to open your Gentile heart to receive the revelation of not only Who He is; but who you are! I submit to you with some ‘poetic license’, that for the sake of this illustration, Jesus, the Jewish Bridegroom had you and the Jews in mind for His bride and He formed a man; Paul, to be a kind of Joseph, for the Gentiles. Paul could say, even as Joseph did: “I have suffered and come to a foreign people, to give them provision in a time of great famine and need”, and that Provision was the Lord of All Glory Himself; Jesus! The Father gave Paul the grace (the love and authority) to accomplish what He had waited for: the nations (Gentiles) to be forever included in His household of His love and form the awaited bride for His Son!
I invite you today, to begin to ponder your standing and importance in the Body of Christ (Jew and Gentile) and live with a ‘bridal heart and expectancy’ of what is yet to come!
Ps. If you are one that has a heart to pray for Israel and the Jewish people to receive the salvation that is theirs in Jesus the Jewish Man; don’t be ‘wringing your hands’ and begging God to hear…let yourself instead be taken up into His plan, that is more sure than the sun coming up daily! Ezekiel 37:26 “Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary (not necessarily made with human hands) in their midst forevermore.” Raise those ‘wringing hands’ and worship God for His everlasting promises that will be worked for the benefit of the entire earth, as He reveals Himself to His brothers and sisters of His flesh! If He can do that, let your heart wander into the depths of His plans for your life while you are at it.
by john eisner
Ps: before you go, I need you to consider taking a moment and clicking on the link below; especially if you are a Gentile believer! I wrote a short book on the book of Ephesians to help encourage your heart in the purposes of God and His desire to have you experience the fullness of being a member of His household. Many believers have never thought beyond the basics of going to heaven and all that is connected with that. I believe He has saved us for more, and I don’t mean more work! So if you don’t mind following the link below and even reading a bit of what Amazon will allow you; even if you don’t buy a book or kindle; He may either way want to speak to you about the riches of your inheritance in the saints, as only a Gentile can see them…Amazon: The Book of Ephesians: a love story to the Gentiles
Leave a Reply