VaYigash (And he drew near)

Genesis 44:18-47:27
Ezekiel 37:15–28

"Restoration Personified"

POSTED 02 JANUARY, 2009

by Mark Huey
mhuey@outreachisrael.net

“And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life” (Genesis 45:5).

This week’s Torah portion is a relatively short reading that deals principally with the reunion of the sons of Jacob, as Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers through a series of deliberate steps Divinely designed to bring repentance and restitution to the entire family. Consequently, the student of the Torah can consider the overriding theme of restoration that permeates the Scriptures, but is well epitomized in this week’s parashah. Not only are the brothers reconciled, but Joseph is also reunited with his father Jacob who leads His entire family to temporarily relocate to the land of Goshen, where they are protected from the ravages of famine sweeping much of the known world. In an ironic twist, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are beginning to appreciate God’s sovereign hand of protection that is preserving their emerging progeny in spite of their propensity to walk according to the dictates of their sinful hearts.

If you think about these events and place yourself in almost any of the principal parts in the drama that unfold, you would not be able to miss the obvious reality that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is certainly fulfilling His covenantal promises to His chosen people. How else would you explain all of these unique circumstances? Here as the brothers are circumstantially forced to seek sustenance from Pharaoh’s grain reserves in Egypt, little did they realize that it was their brother Joseph, who was providentially placed in position to be their protector, deliverer, and ultimate provider—as the entire family is relocated to the choicest of land during these traumatic times.

Interestingly, as you ponder the various scenes described between Joseph and his brothers, Joseph and his father and Pharaoh, and ultimately Joseph and the inhabitants of Egypt as the famine rages on, you might pause to consider the prophetic future implications of what is transpiring. Certainly, the Jewish Rabbis have done just that in centuries past when they assigned the Haftarah portion from Ezekiel 37:15-28 to this section of Genesis. They knew that restoration of the whole family of Israel is definitely one of the primary focuses of the Almighty as He fulfills His covenantal blessings to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When the Sages heard or read the prophecies of Ezekiel, that described a future time when the tribes of Judah and their companions and the tribes of Ephraim/Joseph and their companions would be reunited in the hand of the Almighty, they were naturally reminded of this event that took place centuries earlier as Joseph was being used to preserve the rest of the clan/nation.

Now as we witness another calendar year passing, and consider these passages in Genesis and Ezekiel, the additional revelation that has come forth since the days of Ezekiel, and even in just the past decade, allows one to understand with more clarity the prophetic parallels that indeed exist as the promised restoration continues to accelerate. Let us see what implications are appearing on the horizon.

The Rise of Judah

If you will recall from last week’s Torah portion, Judah had begun to assert himself as the spokesman and leader of the brothers who remained in Canaan. When Jacob began to declare additional concern about the lack of food, it is Judah who spoke for the brothers:

“Now the famine was severe in the land. So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’ Judah spoke to him, however, saying, ‘The man solemnly warned us, “You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you”’” (Genesis 43:1-3).

As the dialogue continued and the discussion about how to overcome some of the challenges of complying with the demands of the Egyptian official (unknown by them to be Joseph) ensues, it is Judah who magnanimously offered himself as “surety” for the life of Benjamin:

“And Judah said to his father Israel, ‘Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever’” (Genesis 43:8-9).

Here in an act of self-sacrifice, Judah prefigures the act that takes place almost a millennia-and-a-half later, when a future son of Judah, Yeshua the Messiah, offers Himself up for the sins of the world.

We see, as this Torah portion ends, that Judah is definitely taking the lead among his brothers. Now the narrative describes “Judah and his brothers,” and we find him leading the negotiations with the viceroy of Egypt (Joseph):

“When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him. And Joseph said to them, ‘What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed practice divination?’ So Judah said, ‘What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord's slaves, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been found’” (Genesis 44:14-16).

As this week’s portion begins, we discover again that it is Judah who continues in the dialogue with the yet unrevealed Joseph. The clear rise and preeminence of these two brothers now becomes almost thematic throughout the balance of the Holy Scriptures:

“Then Judah approached him, and said, ‘Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord's ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh’” (Genesis 44:18).

As this interaction takes place, it is Judah and Joseph who discuss the challenges that faced Jacob, who still grieved over the loss of his son Joseph. The dialogue proceeds and Judah eloquently describes the pain of watching his father suffer the loss of his beloved son. Most importantly, it is Judah who declares to Joseph that he alone will offer up his life for the life of his brother Benjamin. Here at this critical juncture in the narrative, Judah has clearly become the leader of his generation and as we ultimately discover next week, the recipient of the scepter (Genesis 49:8-10) declaring his rule over the nation:

“And if you take this one also from me, and harm befalls him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow. Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad's life, it will come about when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. Thus your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow. For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame before my father forever.’ Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest I see the evil that would overtake my father?” (Genesis 44:29-34).

Judah is clearly the spokesman for the other ten brothers in their attempt to merit mercy before the shrouded Joseph. Then later, as the transmigration of the heirs of Jacob takes place, Jacob himself appoints Judah as the leader to head the migratory move to Egypt:

“Now he [Jacob] sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen” (Genesis 46:28).

What we discover as we read and contemplate this text is that the two brothers, Judah and Joseph, have been designated to take very different, but prominent roles, in their generation for the future of the nation of Israel. These distinctions are prophetic foreshadows of what their descendants should be doing in the fulfillment of prophecies that relate to them from the Book of Genesis and throughout other prophetic utterances.

Joseph Recognizes God’s Hand

We soon discover, at the point that Judah declares his willingness to offer his life for the life of Benjamin, that this is when Joseph finally breaks down and reveals himself to his brothers. Now that Joseph sees that the transformation of Judah to a man of compassion had been completed, the emotional reality of what he witnessed was too difficult to contain. Here the brother, who actually recommended some twenty-two years earlier that Joseph be sold to the Midianite/Ishmaelite traders (Genesis 37:26-27), was actually willing to give his life for his brother Benjamin in order to avoid bringing further harm to his father Jacob:

“Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, ‘Have everyone go out from me.’ So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Please come closer to me.’ And they came closer. And he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt’” (Genesis 45:1-4).

It is interesting how the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob molds Joseph and Judah through completely different circumstances into the men of their generation who would be symbolic of the future divisions of Israel that will eventually be reunited. Joseph understood beyond a shadow of doubt that it was the Lord Himself who was responsible for all of the episodes of his life that positioned him into the place to be a preserver of the family of Israel. His statements clearly make this known:

“And now do not 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 for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 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 delay”’” (Genesis 45:5, 7-9).

Over and over again, Joseph declares that it was God who had orchestrated the affairs of his life to position him to be the viceroy of Egypt and ultimate deliverer of the family of Israel when the famine strikes. Joseph, the righteous one, whose rise to prominence comes through the trials of affliction coupled with the blessings of God to interpret dreams, is no doubt the son who is used by Him to salvage Israel at this point in time.

Is it possible that Joseph’s progeny will again be instrumental in the salvation of the entire family of Israel? Or is it the dynamic combination of Joseph/Ephraim with Judah that will ultimately bring about the fuller salvation and restoration that has been promised? How will they both be used to bring salvation to the whole world?

A Supernatural Plan

Certainly the prophecy of Ezekiel, that is this week’s Haftarah portion, has come to be emblematic of the ultimate reunion and restoration promised by the Holy One of Israel. Torah students are reminded year after year that the restoration of the Two Houses of Israel are certainly prophesied not only by Ezekiel, but by most of the Prophets (Acts 3:19-24).

When one finally comprehends this incredible restoration process, and begins to look at this Torah portion through the grid of God restoring all Israel, the supernatural plan that He has devised is beyond ingenuity. All of a sudden, the parallels between the trials of Joseph and the trials of Judah begin to be understood in light of what has transpired over the centuries.

First, you must remember the fundamental Torah principle that truth needs to be confirmed by a minimum of two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15). Once you recognize this requirement, you are open to understanding that the Creator is in the process of having two credible witnesses—Judaism and Christianity—declare that He the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the One True God. As you understand this reality, you begin to see that the Holy One decided to choose Judah with his unique traits, and Joseph with his unique traits, to be the brothers chosen to precede the multitudes that have followed in their footsteps.

As stated earlier, the restoration of all Israel is certainly one of the important themes of the Holy Scriptures. Ezekiel’s prophecy is by far the most specific statement about many of the things that are going to happen as the restoration process takes place:

“The word of the Lord came again to me saying, ‘And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, “For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions”; then take another stick and write on it, “For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.” Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. And when the sons of your people speak to you saying, “Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?” say to them, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.’ And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. And say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations, and they will no longer be divided into two kingdoms. And they will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God. And My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes, and observe them. And they shall live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons, and their sons' sons, forever; and David My servant shall be their prince forever. And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever”’” (Ezekiel 37:15-28).

As we contemplate these passages, we are reminded that the fulfillment of this prophecy is not an instantaneous event. Instead, as the Holy One of Israel takes the stick of Judah and their companions and the stick of Joseph and their companions and puts them together as one stick in His hand, then the people proclaim, “Will you not show us what you mean by these?” (v. 18, RSV). This question indicates almost as many perplexing thoughts that must have been the initial reaction of the sons of Israel as Joseph was revealing himself in Pharaoh’s courtyard.

In other words, as the people of Judah and Joseph and their companions begin coming together in the end-times, one of the very first things that happens is that the people who are witnessing this restorative process start to ask “what does this mean?” This may be where we presently are in the prophetic timeline according to this passage from Ezekiel 37. Around the world, as the message of the Two Houses of Israel being restored is being shared, thousands are beginning to ask about what this means.

Of course, if we continue in the passage, Ezekiel describes more fully just what this means. It means that the Holy One will be gathering His people from all over the world to His land:

“Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms” (Ezekiel 37:21-22, NJPS).

Here, Ezekiel describes the gathering of all Israel to the Promised Land in order to make them one nation, with one king, without any distinctions between the two divisions of Judah and Joseph/Ephraim. No longer will Israel be divided. At this time, I believe we are seeing the genesis of this process. Judah, of course, has already secured a good portion of the Promised Land, and the prophecies state that one day scattered Joseph/Ephraim will add to the population and become a single nation on the mountains of Israel. That reference of course is to the hills of Judea and Samaria. As we follow the course of current events in modern-day Israel, the process of securing the mountains of Israel is still under intense negotiation. We await the final outcome. And yet we know that our Heavenly Father is incapable of lying and that what He has said through His Prophets will come to pass. We just do not know the timing of those events.

If you proceed a little further in Ezekiel’s declarations, you discover that a number of restorative actions will take place as the divided nation becomes one again:

“They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 37:23, NIV).

Today, we see traces of these actions taking place in the Messianic movement as the forerunners of the restoration process are returning to the ancient paths and Hebraic Roots of our faith. Now people are fleeing from ways of worship that are non-Biblical. Many are avoiding the unclean in order to approach God with greater holiness. Greater numbers are repenting of their sinful ways. The Holy One through the Ruach HaKodesh is indeed delivering many from sin and defilement, and He is preparing His people through a variety of methods, much of it through the study of the Torah. Israel is once again realizing that they are “His people” and He is their God.

A Final Thought

In a remarkable way, as all of Israel, whether of Judah and their companions or of Joseph/Ephraim and their companions, consider this week’s Torah portion and Haftarah portion, all are going to have to be reminded of the incredible phenomenon that is taking place around the world as all Israel is starting to be reunited as one stick in the Father’s hand. For just as the revelation came forth in the days of Joseph and Judah, that Joseph was sent ahead so that by his appointed position as the viceroy of Egypt, all of Israel would be saved, it is conceivable that through the restoration of the whole House of Israel and their return to a proper relationship with the Holy One of Israel, the entire nation will again be saved.

Of course, to go back to the two-or-more-witness principle stated earlier, we can read two accounts by other ancient Prophets that seemingly parallel many of the things stated by Ezekiel. First, the Prophet Zechariah sees some of the very same things that Ezekiel saw in his vision:

“And I shall strengthen the house of Judah, and I shall save the house of Joseph, And I shall bring them back, because I have had compassion on them; and they will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them. And Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their heart will be glad as if from wine; indeed, their children will see it and be glad, their heart will rejoice in the Lord. I will whistle for them to gather them together, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they were before. When I scatter them among the peoples, they will remember Me in far countries, and they with their children will live and come back” (Zechariah 10:6-9).

Secondly, Obadiah sees the combination of the Two Houses coming together to destroy the archenemy, defined as the house of Esau:

“‘Then the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau will be as stubble. And they will set them on fire and consume them, so that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau,’” for the Lord has spoken” (Obadiah 1:18).

These are very interesting parallels to consider as the restoration process is personified by Judah and Joseph.

Now that we are beginning to get a clearer picture about what the Father is presently doing with His people, may we all be ready with an answer to what He is doing and join Him by making our personal restoration a priority in our lives. By doing our individual part, then the sum of the parts will accelerate the ultimate restoration and culminate in the salvation of all Israel. In all of these things may He be glorified!

Mark Huey (B.A., Vanderbilt University in History and Graduate Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) is the Director of Outreach Israel Ministries (www.outreachisrael.net). He is the author of several books, including: TorahScope, Volumes I & II, and Counting the Omer: A Daily Devotional Toward Shavuot. He is also co-author of Hebraic Roots: An Introductory Study.