DrawNear

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is Va-yiggash, meaning "and he drew near". The reading portion includes Gen. chapters 45 through 47. Joseph, who had been rejected and betrayed by his brothers because of their hateful envy of him, was now ruler of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. His brothers came from Canaan to Egypt because, thanks to Joseph's wise leadership, it was the only country that had food available to be purchased in the middle of a severe famine. As his brothers, who would be the patriarchs of some of the twelve tribes of Israel, stood before him, Joseph revealed (yada - to know, show, tell, teach, declare, to see, discern, be revealed, be wise) himself to them, saying: "I am Joseph; does my father (Jacob) still live?" (Gen. 45:3). 

     We see a prophetic parallel here between the events of Joseph's and Jesus' life. Jesus was also rejected by those of His own flesh and blood (Isa. 53:3, Jn. 1:10-11), placed into the pit (intending death), brought up from that pit alive, brought to and accepted by people who were not His own people whom He saved from destruction, and then, as scripture has prophesied, He will be revealed to, and re-united with, His brethren as their own by a prophesied work of the Spirit of God (Zech. 12:10, Rev. 1:7) Even long after he was dead, Joseph's bones were faithfully, lovingly and respectfully brought back to the land of his own people by the descendants of his brothers as they were delivered out of slavery in Egypt (Gen. 50:25, Ex. 13:18-19, Heb. 11:22).

     When Joseph made himself known to his brothers as they came before him, he wept aloud (natan - to give, to suffer, to recompense, to bestow, to pour). Joseph's tears were a poured out gift to his brothers, according to the Hebrew meaning above. We see this also in the life of Jesus as He drew near to Jerusalem and wept over it (Lk. 19:41-44). As Joseph wept and revealed himself to his frightened brothers, Joseph said to them: "Please come near (nagas - draw near, approach, to approach one another, joined one to another) to me.' So they drew near." (Gen. 45:4). Jesus also welcomed those who desired to draw near to Him (Mt. 19:13-15), and asked that we allow Him to draw near to us (Rev. 3:20), as Joseph did with his estranged brothers. Again, Joseph would say to his brothers: "...you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children's children...and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine." (Gen. 45:10-11).

     Joseph told his brothers how the plan of God had been established despite their evil plan for him: "And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity (se'erit/sa'ar - residue, remnant, what is left, portion that escapes, final surviving portion , survivor after a slaughter/to remain left alive, to let remain) for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here (by selling him into slavery), but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." (v. 7-8). Joseph was sent by God to preserve a surviving portion of His people from death, in this case, by famine. Eventually, Messiah (Jesus) would come forth from one of these saved sons of Jacob, Judah (see Gen. 49:1, 8-12), and God's prophetic timeline and the events leading to the salvation of men and the renewal of creation would come through His people Israel, the posterity of Jacob and his sons (Rom. 3:1-2, Rom. 11:1, 11-12). In another selection from this Sabbath reading portion, it is written in scripture: "He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, 'To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance..." (Ps. 105:7-11). Israel, the people preserved by Joseph, is still playing its purposed prophetic role.

     As Joseph told his brothers of his purpose from God to preserve a posterity (remnant) of Jacob, scripture promises that God will always have a surviving believing remnant, no matter what evil powers intend (see Gen. 7:1, 1 Kings 19:14-18, Rom. 11:4-5). Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray in order to be accounted worthy to be part of that believing remnant that survives to escape and stand before Him in the terrible day of the LORD (Lk. 21:34-36).

     In another reading portion from this Sabbath, the prophet Ezekiel wrote the Word of the LORD describing the drawing near in proximity, and the joining, of two separate sticks representing the posterities of Joseph and Judah. From this joining, a single kingdom will be restored: "Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. David My servant (meaning the Messiah/Christ) shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them...My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people..." (Ezek. 37:15-28, excerpt). The people of Joseph are just as important to the fulfilment of this prophecy as the people of Judah. It is a moment of drawing near to each other and God, and reconciling.

     This Sabbath reading of Va-yiggash, meaning "and he drew near", falls just before we observe Christmas, the birth of our Savior, Jesus. One of the most powerful details in scripture of this birth, is when heaven draws near to earth, and when God, through His only begotten Son, draws near to us, and invites us to draw near to Him: "Now there were in the same country (near Bethlehem) shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!' So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said, 'Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.'" (Lk. 2:8-15). 

     The shepherds did not just receive a miraculous message, but went to draw near, and see the Babe, Jesus, whose name in Hebrew, Yeshua, means "God is salvation", and rejoiced in seeing Him. They became a necessary part of the miraculous event as the angels of God reached out to them from heaven. I think that they must have driven their flocks there also, hundreds and thousands of sheep, because, as shepherds, they would not have left the flocks behind, unprotected. We also are invited to draw near and see this miracle of God.

     If you would like to draw near to Jesus this Christmas to see the wonderful thing that God has done, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, all heaven broke out in praise as it shared the news of the birth of our Savior with men on earth. As Christmas draws near, my heart's desire is to draw near to You, to look upon Your dear Son, and to be filled with heaven's wonder and joy. I marvel at the small Babe, and my heart is touched with love. You gave this gift to all men to receive, and You gave this gift to me. I give You thanks and praise for this priceless gift of salvation and eternal life, and reconciliation between God and man. In Jesus' name, I pray. AMEN."