Bread

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is Va-yiggash, which means, "and he drew near." The title comes from the moment when Joseph, a governor or ruler in Egypt, revealed himself to his brothers who had come from Canaan to Egypt again for bread grain during a famine: "Then Joseph (yosep/yasap - "Jehovah has added"/more, exceed, add to, increase) said to his brothers, 'I am Joseph; does my father (Jacob/Israel) still live?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed (bahal - afraid, dismayed, rash, thrust him out, disturb, alarm, terrify, anxious, tremble inside) in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come/draw near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt." (Gen. 45:3-4).

     This Sabbath reading this year also occurs during the same week as the observance of Christ's birth, Christmas. There are similarities between the story of Joseph and Jesus that helps us to understand the depths and the heights from which our salvation comes.

     Joseph had been rejected in the most extreme manner by his brethren when he was a young lad, as they even considered killing him. Now, however, his greatest wish was to be reconciled with them, and with his father, Jacob, whom Joseph dearly loved and who had remained behind in Canaan. Jesus also experienced this kind of rejection: "He (Jesus) was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him." (Jn. 1:10-11). From the moment that Christ came into the world, the spirit of this world tried to thrust Him out (see bahal above).

     Joseph then said to his brothers: "Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph: 'God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen (gosen - "drawing near"), and you shall be near to me...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. 45:9-11).

     Joseph told his brothers to get their father and to "draw near" to him in Egypt. Even the place in which they would settle in Egypt, the best of the land as even Pharaoh had agreed to give to them, was called by a name that means "drawing near." (v. 17-18).

     Joseph recognized that the LORD's purpose in his life was as a saver of life - to preserve life, especially the lives of Israel (Jacob), through an extreme and long-lasting famine. He had told his brothers earlier: "But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life...And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, 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. 5-8).

     Joseph recognized that the betrayal of his brothers resulted in the elevated position of authority that he now held in Egypt. Joseph had the power to send his brothers away without the bread that they sought. He had the power and the reason to condemn his brothers and imprison them, as he himself had been imprisoned, but he did not do this because he understood the importance of the purpose of God in his life. Joseph had been sent to save life, especially the lives and household of Israel/Jacob. Jesus came with the same purpose. Jesus told Nicodemus, a teacher in Israel: "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn (krino - to separate, put asunder, to judge, to pronounce judgment, to subject, to censure, to punish, damn, decree) the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (sozo - save, keep safe and sound, rescue from danger or destruction, to save a suffering one from perishing, to heal, make well, restore to health, be whole, to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic/Christ's judgment, to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic/Christ's deliverance). He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he also who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (Jn. 3:17-18). The Greek language used above indicates, the meaning of sozo, or salvation, is even deeper than we might have thought. It also includes healing, and to deliver us from those evil things that would hinder receiving the Messiah/Christ as Savior. The world is already condemned for its unbelief, so it is a waste of time and purpose for us to condemn the world. The idea is, to move those who will receive it from unbelief into belief in the Son of God. 

     Personal betrayal also played a role in the fulfilment of Jesus' purpose, as it did in Joseph's life. The infamous betrayal of Jesus by Judas was one factor necessary and prophesied that led to the cross and Christ's crucifixion. Knowing this ahead of time, Jesus even said to Judas at the Passover supper, or Last Supper: "What you do, do quickly." And Judas, being filled by Satan, left to betray Him. (see Jn. 13:21-27). Satan had filled Judas after he took the piece of bread that Jesus had handed him. The Bread that saves is also the same Bread that condemns when rejected.

     This same betrayal also played a part in Jesus' deliverance of the New Covenant to His disciples and to us. The apostle Paul received this connection through a revelation from the Lord: "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." Paul then wrote: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes."  (1Cor. 11:23-26). I have often wondered why the Lord specifically connected His betrayal by Judas to what we now refer to as "Communion" as He revealed it to Paul. The wisdom of God used the greatest betrayal ever recorded to create one of the great spiritual weapons of victory that has been delivered to the church of believers - the Eucharist (meaning "to give thanks") or Communion, the Table of the Lord. We will see another reference to artillery and weapons, as well as armor later. Do we think of Communion as also being an essential weapon that has been provided to us in our spiritual warfare?

     The first time that Jacob sent his sons to Egypt from Cannan, they took money with them to buy the grain: "When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, 'Why do you look at one another?' And he said, 'Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.' So Joseph's ten brothers (the eleventh and youngest, Benjamin, was kept in Canaan by Jacob) went down to buy grain in Egypt." (Gen. 42:1-3).

     It is important to look at the Hebrew meaning of the word translated as "grain" or "corn": it is the Hebrew word and roots seber/sebar/sabar, and means "all kinds of grain, corn, broken in a mill, a breaking, a breach, a fracture, wounds, destruction/hurt, breaking, bruise, affliction, crushing/break in pieces, rend violently, bring to the birth." Jesus identified the broken bread of the Last Supper with His body having been broken for us. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He was placed in a manger, a vessel that holds the grain (see above) that feeds the animals. The specific circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus were not accidents, but full of meaning.

     On the first trip to Egypt, the brothers were recognized by Joseph as they approached him to buy grain, but they did not recognize him. They paid money to purchase the grain, but when they returned home to Jacob, they found not only the grain in their (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) sacks (keli/kala - vessel, bag, artillery, weapon, armorbearer, jewel, tool, yoke/end, finish, accomplish, done, fulfil, to be finished or complete) that they had purchased but also all of the money that they had given in payment for the grain, plus more provisions for their return journey, and they were afraid. (Gen. 42:25-28). They're money had not been accepted but returned to them.

     When the destruction of His body had been completed (see keli/kala above) on the cross, Jesus said, "It is finished." (see Jn. 19:28-30).

     The prophet Isaiah brought the Word of the LORD calling people to come, buy and eat, without money and without price: "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy...come to Me. Hear and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you - the sure mercies of David...Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near." (Isa. 55:1-6, excerpt).

     Joseph's brothers received bread grain which cost them nothing, as Isaiah also wrote above.

     Jesus spoke about being the bread of life: "And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst....Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life...This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." (Jn. 6:35, 47-51). 

     Jesus could not have been clearer in identifying Himself as the spiritual bread of eternal life for anyone who will receive and eat of it. We cannot buy this kind of bread, as Isaiah wrote. It is a gift of Himself from Jesus to the world to bring life to the world from death. 

     In another portion from this week's Sabbath reading, the prophet Amos warned of another famine that is coming upon God's people because of their sins and their rejection of His Word: "Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD God, 'That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the word of the LORD, but shall not find it." (Amos 8:11-12).

     This is a time when we are to draw near to our Savior, Jesus. He is our living Bread, the Word (see Jn. 1:1-3, 14) who became flesh, born as a babe in Bethlehem (meaning "the house of bread"), and grew into a man, and dwelt with us. He gave His flesh for us to eat of the bread of eternal life.  Draw near to Him.

     If you would like to partake of the Bread of life, you can pray this prayer with me: "Lord Jesus, You came to earth so that I could hold the Bread of life without price in my hand, which is Your body broken, crushed and wounded, so that I could eat it and live. You have saved me from destruction, and You have brought healing to me. Because of the Bread that You have given to me, I will never be hungry again. I draw near to You, Lord, and trust in You for all things concerning my life and salvation, and that of my whole household. I believe on Your name, Jesus, and pray in Your name. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

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." 

     

DrawNear

The sabbath reading scheduled for this week is titled Va-yiggash, meaning "and he drew near". For the third time in scripture, a severe famine has come upon the land. Both Abraham and Isaac were sustained through famine, and now Jacob and his family will be kept through a famine as well. The nature of a famine is strange. Pharaoh's dreams revealed that in a famine the abundant and healthy are devoured by the blighted and ill-favored. The prophet Joel also describes this same "devouring" by worms or locusts and grasshoppers (Joel 1:16-20 and 2:25). Jo-el makes clear that these devouring creatures are the LORD's army. In Joel, the famine comes before the day of the LORD (1:15), and the outpouring of His Spirit (2:26-27, 3:28-29), which is important to note. Another portion from this week's sabbath reading tells us that the LORD sent the famine during Joseph's time in Egypt in order to raise up Joseph: "Moreover He (God) called for a famine in the land; He destroyed all of the provision of bread. He sent a man before them - Joseph - who was sold as a slave. They hurt (ana - afflict, oppress, humiliate, stoop, mishandle, cry out, testify, witness) his feet (regel/ragal - feet, footstool/slander, make false statements about, defame) with fetters, he was laid (bo - bring into, enter, fall upon) in irons (barzel/birzot - iron, harshness, oppression/to pierce, holes, aperture, wounds, choice olive, "well of olives"). Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him." (Ps. 105:16-19). We can see a connection between Joseph and Jesus through the meanings of the words used to describe Joseph's slavery above. Before the return of Jesus, the Messiah, famine will play a major role in prophetic events (Mt. 24:3, 7, Rev. 6:8). In another of this sabbath's readings, one of the prophets wrote of a different kind of famine, not of food, but of the Word of the LORD: "Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord God, 'That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; They shall run to and fro seeking the Word of the LORD, but shall not find it." (Amos 8:11-12). In this case, great greed had been attached to the purchasing of food, as well as contempt for the provision of God (v. 1-2). The feasts and sabbaths of the LORD that interfered with the selling of anything and everything, including people, were also treated as an inconvenience (v. 5-6). This situation threw Israel into bitterness and mourning "...like mourning for an only son". (v. 9-10). The prophet Zechariah wrote something very similar: "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a first-born." (Zech 12:10). There was a famine for the hearing of the prophetic Word of God, as Amos wrote above, for four hundred years, which covered the period from the end of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Tanakh, to the birth of Christ, and the announcement by the prophet of God, John the Baptist speaking of Jesus at Bethabara (meaning "House of Crossing over, passing over, passing before, passing through"): "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!...I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.' And John bore witness saying, 'I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He (the Spirit) remained upon Him....this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." (Jn. 1:28-34). The prophetic word given to a prophet of God was back after four hundred years of silence, and it was a life and history changing Word! As Christ broke the famine for the hearing of the Word of God, Joseph also broke or ameliorated the famine for bread that had spread across Egypt and Canaan. The prophecy of Amos may see a second fulfillment in the time before Christ's return. The apostles Paul and Peter wrote that in the last days before Christ's return, many will despise the hearing of the Word of God, and prefer lies and fables instead, which we are seeing now (see 2 Tim. 4:3-4, Mt. 24:23-24, 2 Pet. 2:1-2). God said in Psalm 105 above that He brings famine in order to bring forth a chosen servant, like Joseph, and also like Christ, to save the lives of His people, even a remnant. However, Joseph will not only provide for Israel during a famine, but he will seek a reconciliation with his brethren - the same brethren who despised and betrayed him, and sold his life into slavery for twenty shekels of silver. Joseph was so overcome by the sight of his brothers standing before him, as he was now the leader of Egypt under Pharaoh, that Joseph wept aloud. He said to them, "I am Joseph; does my father still live?' But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, 'Please come near to me.' So they came near. Then he said, 'I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here.; for God sent me before you to preserve (sum - set, appoint, set or make for a sign) life....And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity (seerit/sa'ar - remnant, escaped remainder of wrath/be kept alive) for you in the earth, and to save (haya/hava - save alive, be restored to life, revive from death/breathe (see Jn. 20:21-22), declare, show) your lives by a great deliverance (peleta/palit/palat - escape, escaped portion/deliver(er), to bring into safety or security, to cause to escape, slip away, deliver from danger). So now it was not you who sent me here, 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." (Gen. 45:1-8). Jesus also said that He was not sent by men but by God, His Father in heaven (Jn. 7:28-29). As Joseph told his brothers that he was sent to Egypt by God to preserve them, according to the meaning of the word (see above), this was also set to be a sign. This encounter between Joseph and his brothers, and their preservation through him, was to be a sign declaring something to all of us. We are in the Book of Genesis, or B'reshiet, "Beginning", and a beginning principle of God is being revealed through this sabbath's reading selection. Not only do we have a prophetic image of Christ in Joseph as one who "preserves, saves, and brings a great deliverance" to God's people, Israel, but we also see a prophetic reconciliation that will carry the promise of God for thousands of years, even to this present time. The title of this sabbath's reading is Va-yiggash, or "and he drew near". Upon seeing his brothers standing before him, Joseph was overcome with emotion. and said to them, "Please come near to me." (Gen. 45:4). Joseph, a leader of Egypt, had the authority and every reason to judge and condemn his brothers for their betrayal of him years before (see Gen. 37:4, 8, 18-28). However, Joseph "...fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brother's talked with him." (Gen. 45:14-15). Joseph provided food and safety for his father, Jacob, and his brothers' families in the best land in Egypt, Goshen, meaning "drawing near" (v. 10, 18). Even Pharaoh and all of his servants were pleased that "Joseph's brothers have come" (v. 16), and Pharaoh wanted to meet and speak with them, and told Joseph: "Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen..." (Gen. 47:5-6). The fact that Joseph held an almost kingly position of authority in Egypt plays a large role in the reconciliation. This beginning principle of God regarding the reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers, who despised and abused him, will have far-reaching prophetic significance concerning the joining of Israel and the half-Gentile children of Joseph under the subsequent rulership of a kingly figure, and later still, the reconciliation and restoration of Jewish and Gentile branches in the olive tree, in faith, by the Word of God. We also must remember that the Joseph/Jesus figure in our reading immediately, and with tears of joy, received back his brethren who had despised, abused and unjustly treated him. In another reading portion from this sabbath, the power and eternal significance of Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers is seen again in Ezek. 37. By the prophetic Word of God, the two separate sticks that represent Judah/Israel and Joseph/Ephraim (half-Gentile son of Joseph), are joined together in the hand of the prophet, as the LORD declared: "...and I will make them one nation...and one king shall be king over them all...nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile themselves anymore...but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them, and I will be their God. David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd...My servant David shall be their prince forever." (Ezek. 37:22-25). Because King David had already been dead for many centuries when this prophecy was given, the reconciling factor between Joseph and his brethren in this prophecy is the Messiah, the eternal David, the Son of David, and King forever (2 Sam. 7:12-13, 16, 25, 29, Isa. 9:6-7, Lk. 1:30-33, Lk. 18:35-43, Lk. 19:35-38, 1 Tim. 6:14-16, Rev. 19:16), the one Shepherd and King of the one reconciled people. Paul also wrote of this miraculous but again prophetically guaranteed reconciliation between the Jewish branches and the Gentile branches into the same holy root, the Olive Tree representing the olive oil of anointing, or the Anointed One, the Messiah, Christ (Rom. 11:5, 15-18, 23-27, 29). In fact, the Word and ministry given to the Church of believers is the Ministry of Reconciliation, through Christ, between men and God, and between all creation and its creator (2 Cor. 5:17-21). We see in this Ministry given to us the ultimate manifestation of the Genesis principle of kingly preservation, salvation, great deliverance and reconciliation introduced to us in this week's sabbath reading. Finally, as we look again at the title of this week's sabbath reading portion, "and he drew near", various scriptures tell us to "draw near" to God (incl. Heb. 10:19-22, James 4:8-10, 1 Peter 2:3-4). Often, when Jesus healed and blessed, the people drew near, or came near, to Him (see Mk. 3:7-8, Mk. 10:13-15, Lk. 18:40-42). So great was His desire to draw Jerusalem near to Him in reconciliation, that Jesus wept over that city, because without that reconciliation and His preservation and deliverance into safety, terrible destruction awaited that city (Mt. 23:37-39, Lk. 19:41-44). History noted that this destruction occurred in 70 AD by the Romans. God has raised up His King and Deliverer if we will draw near to Him. If you would like to learn more about our King and Deliverer, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, I draw near to You through the preservation and reconcliation provided by Your Son, Jesus. He is the ever-reigning King over all creation. He is the Author and Finisher of all life. He, like the example provided to us by Joseph, desires above all things for His brethren to be reconciled to Him, and through Him, I am kept from destruction by His great deliverance. I pray also for the reconciliation of Judah/Israel and Joseph/Ephraim together into one, under one King and Shepherd from the line of David, and the restoration of the Jewish and the Gentile branches united together in our Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."