Vayeshev/and he settled
Amos 2:6-3:8
On the road (sometimes called Emmaus) Jesus walks…I submit to you that Jesus has been on a journey among the Gentiles for the last 2000 years giving them the riches and provision to ‘nourish’ Israel’s spiritual famine, in the future. He has more than just sustaining them; He has the restoration of His family upon His heart. He knew that the Fathers heart was for the Gentiles (see Genesis 12:1-3) to be swept up into this glorious story through His firstborn, Israel; the Jewish people.
Even in our reading this week we can see this pattern: Joseph has a dream and, in a sense, comes to his brethren to reveal himself as provision…as Jesus comes to His brethren, to do the same. Joseph’s family puts him in a pit, he gets ‘raised’ out of it and ends up in a Gentile (Egypt) nation to work on the future provision for the famine that will affect his family that rejected him…as Jesus gets raised out of His ‘pit’, and after saving a remnant of His family, is ‘sold’ into the nations, predominantly Gentiles. Even in this as He through Paul and others lays a foundation of His household into the Gentiles, who had no standing with God (foreigners from the household of God with no hope), to prepare provision for the coming spiritual famine and again save His brethren. I don’t mean this sums up the whole story by any means, nor is an exact representation of Jesus through Joseph’s life, but I just want us to begin to see how perfectly in God’s word and by the working of Holy Spirit (Spirit and truth) is preparing us all to enjoy the glorious story that includes Jew and Gentile.
I desire us all to transition from mere theology to a journey of the heart and encounter the Living God on this road of life we are on, just as those fellows did on the Road to Emmaus so long ago. Through a combination of His word, the Leviticus 23 Feasts, the sun and moon, and all the other interactions between heaven and earth, we have been invited to the future wedding of the Messiah; but not as mere guests, but the ones He calls His bride (Jew and Gentile).
I will leave you with a line from one of Christie’s books: “Earth is preparing for war and heaven is preparing for a wedding!” See you under the wedding canopy in the clouds, with our Bridegroom, Jesus, on that day!
Added thought: (Zechariah 3:1-4:7) Of course we need to be careful to know that there are primary meanings or applications to the word of God, yet He uniquely speaks to each of us through His living word, also. So here is Joshua the High Priest that has a special, holy set apart role in the restoration of God’s house that was to be erected. Though the enemy of man and God; the “accuser of the brethren” might have some ‘inside’ information about this man being set aside for such holy duty; Our Father is there to give His judgments… In the Hebrew, Joshua isn’t just wearing soiled garments but is described as being covered in human excrement in his deceitfulness! (It might take more than a new outfit for this guy.)
God ‘reaches back’ to demonstrate His power and perspective and declares about Joshua: “Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”; as He did for Daniel and his friends (as He will also do for the children of Israel again). He gives this ‘soiled’ man standing with others that could have been soiled by the forces that we all live in. He then says: “Take away (abolish; behead) these filthy garments (this incredibly corrupt way of living in this world)”; for this ‘one’ will be standing before the God of the universe, for his nation, in the Holy of Holies.
Today, let us recognize our ‘soiled’ ways of functioning as we try to navigate our lives, and allow the God of Glory to clothe us with clean garments, so we can have confidence to stand before Him, daily. Not just theology; invitation from the One True Living God delivering us from the chaos of the fallen creation to “shalom” (authority over the chaos). Enjoy a taste of the Garden today on this biblical sabbath…
by john eisner