THE PRESENT DISPENSATION AS SET FORTH IN JACOB AND JOSEPH (5)
[p. 181] THE PRESENT DISPENSATION AS SET FORTH IN JACOB AND JOSEPH (5)
JT In these last days we are to plentifully declare things as they are amongst us; things should be accepted and stated just as they are, if any emergency arises. In Genesis 49:1 it says, “Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of days”; that is to say, Jacob was concerned about his sons at the end of the days and what should befall them. It is not like the blessings at the end of Deuteronomy where we have no error mentioned or criticism made as to them; here there is much said to indicate that in Jacob’s time things were not right. And it has to be said that things are not right now, in many cases. It is well just to notice that in chapter 49 things are stated just as they are, the condition of things in Jacob’s family is stated as it actually is; and of course that would humble us at the present time. I thought it well to make those remarks so that we might have this thought before us.
I think it will be recognised that we have rightly come to chapter 48 as converging on Jacob and Joseph. What is recorded deals with Jacob and Joseph. In the next chapter we have Joseph again, of course, but in connection with all the tribes and they are all blessed: In spite of the discrepancies in the histories of the family, they were all blessed which is a matter that should encourage us as to recovery; that where there is any evidence of genuine work we may count on ultimate blessing, ultimate recovery. And this should enlarge us as regards recoveries, because while Jacob has to record much that was distressing in the history of the tribes, yet they are all blessed, each of them had a blessing.
[p. 182] As we have been saying together in prayer, it is a time of blessing. It is perhaps wise to call attention to the fact that God is, as it were, more liberal than we are apt to think about persons who have been misled and have strayed from the path, so that if we find there is a real basic work in them we may have be sure that God will not leave it unfinished. We should be very gracious with our brethren in this respect.
But now as to chapter 48, it is perhaps necessary to say that whilst it deals with Jacob and Joseph, for Joseph has a great place in it, yet it is not exactly a question of the father and the son in the typical sense. Joseph is the son, of course, but his remarks are not right in regard to Ephraim and Manasseh; whereas Jacob is right and is able to correct his son. So that here Joseph is really the type more of persons; not of the Son of God in this chapter, but of one of ourselves, one of the brethren. Yet we cannot ignore the fact that he has a great place with that Jacob and a great place with Pharaoh and in the whole chapter. At the same time we may say he is just a believer, and therefore we may take courage as to believers in general, though at the same time we have to watch, especially if we are young, not to assume too much because of our earlier history, but to go by facts; as Job said, “how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is” Job 26:3. Let us have it as it is, at the same time taking into account the grace of God and His readiness to restore and to correct what may be wrong.
RH In relation to Genesis 49, would it involve in cases of recovery, that nothing is overlooked, but that the matter is approached from the standpoint of blessing?
JT That is important. Our care meetings are, as I believe, divinely arranged. It is very doubtful whether the actual way in which we do things now [p. 183] is patterned on what they did in the beginning, but at the same time I believe God has ordered the principle of care meetings. The word ‘care’ in 1 Timothy 3:5 calls attention to that: “how shall he take care of the assembly of God?” It is a great matter to have a part in taking care of the assembly of God. And so whenever any matter that is not altogether clear arises involving a brother or a sister, it is well to investigate. Investigation is a right principle, and if there be anything not clear the thing is to investigate; get all the facts together and give them full scope, as we have already referred to in the book of Job, “plentifully declare the thing as it is”. Heaven is looking on things as they are, and it is for us to look on them that way too, and to make full allowance wherever needed.
EAL Would you say that the difficulty with Joseph here is that he was not adjusted by the ministry? It says in the opening of the chapter that he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him; but when his father speaks about the sons, he reverses the order and makes it Ephraim and Manasseh.
JT Because the father is speaking from the divine standpoint. The chapter is really, you might say, a father’s chapter; and if we enlarge the word ‘father’, we might be encouraged to say it is the Father as God. In these closing days God has had a great place with us, and it is as Father; and the Lord Jesus is, of course, the Son according to John’s gospel, and operates in relation to the Father. But we have been saying that Joseph is rather a type here of a believer than of the Son of God; and as you said, he places Manasseh before Ephraim, whereas Jacob had in his mind that Ephraim would be before Manasseh. That is a question of divine prerogative. It is a question of divine right really that God can place people as [p. 184] He wishes.
EAL I had in mind that when Joseph heard, “Thy father is sick”, he took with him his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim. That is the way it reads in the opening verse of the chapter. But then when his father speaks he reverses the order, and puts the younger son first, as if Joseph should have been adjusted by that word of ministry.
JT Quite so; that is to say Jacob’s mind was fixed; he knew. He says, “I know, my son, I know” Genesis 48:19. Sometimes old brethren are apt to be disparaged because they are not clear in their minds; but it is not always so because God may help them more than we think, and therefore we get the truth, perhaps unexpectedly. So it is with Jacob here that throughout he was right in his mind. He was blind too, and undoubtedly the weight of years was upon him; but at the same time there was power in him. One would like to call attention to the fact that Israel strengthened himself, meaning that there is power in a real believer in whom the Spirit of God has place to strengthen himself; as it is said of David, he encouraged himself in the Lord his God. That is a possibility that is with every believer.
SMcC It is an interesting thing that that name, Israel, should be used here. He got that name from God, not from men. We are in the presence of one who has got something from God, are we not? “Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed” Genesis 48:2.
JT Very good. We feel how in keeping it is with the whole chapter, with the whole book indeed; we are now dealing with the Spirit of God and with His work in believers, especially in old believers, and we see that what may come out in an emergency may be beyond what we expect. Not beyond what we should expect, maybe, for if we know God we shall expect what is of God to be brought out in the [p. 185] believer.
ASB Is there a link in your mind with Matthew’s gospel, the Lord, the Legislator, on the mount in chapter 5? The chapter commences on the principle of blessing, and in that book and even in that chapter we have practical principles to work out amongst us, with the idea of blessing in mind.
JT I think that is very good; as you say, with the idea of blessing in mind. I do not know how many times persons are blessed in that chapter; and we are told what they are blessed for, why they are blessed. Have you that in mind?
ASB Exactly, and one of the blessings is “Blessed the pure in heart, for they shall see God” Matthew 5:8. And again, “Blessed the peace-makers, for they shall be called sons of God” Matthew 5:9.
JT Go right on. I think there are about nine of them.
ASB “Blessed they who are persecuted on account of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Blessed are ye when they may reproach and persecute you, and say every wicked thing against you, lying, for my sake. Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens; for thus have they persecuted the prophets who were before you” Matthew 5:10 - 12.
JT I am glad you brought that up, because in the way it is set it is peculiar to Matthew, and it brings out what we have remarked, the idea of latent power in the believer. The gospel of Matthew implies that; it is a remarkable gospel, as we have often seen, and it involves this question of latent power as needed in the assembly gospel — the power of recovery. In this gospel, too, we are told that forgiveness will be granted in every matter except as regards the sin against the Holy Spirit. That is a thing of which I would think the brethren ought to take notice particularly, that sin against the Holy Spirit shall never be forgiven, either in this age or in [p. 186] that which is to come. God would make clear that any speaking against the Holy Spirit is not to be forgiven; He warns us against it, that we are not to slight the Spirit of God in His service.
SMcC In speaking to Joseph here in verse 3, Jacob uses the name of power; he says, “The Almighty God appeared to me at Luz” Genesis 48:3. Power is in his mind in regard to God.
JT We are told by Jehovah that He appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in that relation, the relation of almightiness; and it is a thing to be taken in as regards difficulties that we have to contend with, that God can do everything. One has thought of it in regard to the book of Job. Job went through the discipline that God ordered for him, but he came out of it, and he said in coming out of it, “I know that thou canst do everything” Job 42:2. That is a great comfort. “I know that thou canst do everything”, he says to Jehovah.
LES Referring again to what you have said as to the Spirit, would it indicate the distinctive place that the Spirit has in the economy and especially towards the end of the dispensation?
JT It is very remarkable that it is at the end of the dispensation, because the brethren so far as I can recall, contented themselves until recently with the fact that the Spirit was not addressed, and that He was lowly and had taken a lowly place in the service. But we have come now to see that the Spirit is addressed, and that He is addressed in the Old Testament. Some indeed still say that it is only in the Old Testament; but in saying that, they may be unconsciously saying that the Old Testament is not inspired; whereas the Old Testament is called Scripture, and the Lord says of it that the Scripture cannot be broken. The Lord is asserting that the Scripture cannot be broken; so that the Old Testament [p. 187] can certainly be employed in regard to the Spirit and His services.
LES Is it not instructive the distinctive place the Spirit has in the book of Ezekiel, where at the end of the days He is so intimately brought in in relation to His own work? We had the reference to the thought of the brethren this morning, and as to the remnant being the whole idea, and it is said in Ezekiel 11:15, “it is thy brethren, … and all the house of Israel, the whole of it”. And then in the same chapter it says, “The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea”.
JT Yes, enlarge on that.
LES I was thinking of the distinctive place the Spirit has; and how the whole position is covered and brought into living, spiritual sensibilities and affections by the presence and power of the Spirit of God over against all that is spurious and corrupt.
JT And then taking the scripture as it is in the book of Genesis, the Spirit of God is mentioned in chapter 1 as hovering over the face of the waters; and then again in Genesis 6:3, “My spirit shall not always plead with man … but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years”. Then following on those two references the Spirit of God proceeds to tell us that Noah sent out a dove, as if to lay the basis for the reference to the dove in the gospel of John. Noah sent out a dove to discover as to the drying up of the waters, and the dove returned to him; the reference is made three times. It is very significant; it is the basis really for the gospel of John. John alludes to the Spirit in the form of a dove, and Luke does too. We have alluded to all this before but I think it is well to do so again to see how this matter stands in the Scriptures, particularly in the [p. 188] Old Testament.
LES I would like to repeat that scripture in Ezekiel 11:24,25 a little more fully: “And the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity; and the vision that I had seen went up from me. And I spoke unto them of the captivity all the things that Jehovah had shewn me”. Would that not be linking on with your thought as to John?
JT Quite so. Another thing in Ezekiel — in chapter 8 there is an allusion to his being taken by his hair. It is a question of the power that there was in the prophet himself, that he is lifted up. Perhaps you have noticed that?
LES I had been thinking a little about that very chapter, as to the bearing of it in the full light of resurrection and ascension, and then the Spirit being here to fill out the whole position in the way of power.
JT So that brings us back to what we have been speaking of. It is said in Genesis 48:2 that “Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed”. It alludes to power in the believer. And then it says, “Jacob said to Joseph, The Almighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and he said to me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came to thee into [p. 190] Egypt, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon” Genesis 48:3 - 5. Well now, what arises in the mind is the right that Jacob asserts to take over these two sons of Joseph. They are to be his, and if we bring in the thought of sonship as we are accustomed to speak of it, then the Father has rights. He is bringing many sons to glory; and it causes one to consider what there is currently in the service of [p. 189] God, what God is doing in bringing many sons to glory, not children, but sons.
JP Would it be that they have received the Spirit of adoption at this point?
JT It could imply that, that they are to be of the family of Jacob. They are actually of the family of Joseph, but Jacob is asserting a right that he has to these two boys that were born in Egypt.
CAM Would it be right to connect this with such a scripture as that in Ephesians 1:17,19 where the apostle prays that “the Father of glory, would give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of him”; and it goes on, “according to the working of the might of his strength”, and the glorious matter with regard to the inheritance?
JT This alludes really to Ephesians. It is a question of the power that Ephesians contemplates, and the bearing of it on the family of God, for it is said in Ephesians 3:15, “of whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named”. Who can question therefore the rights that God has in regard to His sons, and that the way should be made for every bit of God’s work so that the idea of sonship should come into evidence? Because God is set for that in these last moments, He is set for sonship.
JRH Does that set out “the good pleasure of his will”?
JT That is right, that is the word, “the good pleasure of his will”. What thoughts you have in the epistle to the Ephesians as to the will of God and all that enters into it!
CAM Do you think the fact that it was two sons, Ephraim meaning ‘double fruitfulness’, would seem to intensify this thought of sonship that you are stressing?
JT Yes, and that they were born in Egypt. It says, “And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came to thee into Egypt, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon”, Genesis 48:5. That is to say, God as among the gentiles has sons, and we are all gentiles. There are hardly any Jews being taken up now, although there are some, thank God; our brother here and others here, too, that one knows of, have been taken up. At the same time the general thought is that it is a gentile position, the work of God is proceeding among the gentiles. And how great a fact it is that God is asserting His rights to make sons among the gentiles!
EAL Do you think that the grandfather here as claiming these two sons of Joseph to be his, would link on with what we have in Genesis 28:12,13? It says, “And behold, angels of God ascended and descended upon it. And behold, Jehovah stood above it. And he said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac”. That is, Abraham his grandfather is put forward there as his father.
JT Abraham is the father of us all. What a great thought that is! We are living among the gentiles, but he is the father of us all.
SMcC In regard to divine Persons, we speak of the Father having sons, and the Lord having the assembly femininely. Would it be right to think of the ‘body’ as presenting a peculiar and distinctive sphere for the Spirit’s satisfaction connected with His activities?
JT I think that is very good, the peculiar sphere of the Spirit. In Hebrews 2 the Father is said to be bringing many sons to glory; God is bringing many sons to glory; but that is in the same chapter in which the Lord Jesus says, “In the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises” Hebrews 2:12. So it shows what there is at the present time for us in the region of divine operations. The Father is bringing sons to glory; it is not to set them up on the earth here, or to make anything of them on the earth. He is [p. 191] bringing them to glory. And then on the other hand the Lord is singing to God in the midst of the assembly: “In the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises” Hebrews 2:12. And again it is said that “he that sanctifies and those sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren” Hebrews 2:11. So these are a great group of thoughts and they link on with Genesis 45, and now with chapter 48, because we are now dealing with the Father, that is, with Jacob; whereas Joseph was in a great position, in the foreground, in chapter 45.
RBP I am not quite clear about what was said as to the body being a sphere in which the Spirit would be responded to. I would like to hear a little more of that.
SMcC The thought was that, the Holy Spirit not being incarnate, the body constituted a distinctive and special sphere for His operations and activities and that He is honoured in that sphere. That is all that one had in mind.
JT Just so, and of course it is the sphere that God is occupied with now; it is the only sphere. He is not occupied with Israel now or the nations as such, He is occupied with the assembly, and therefore it is the sphere of the divine operations for the moment.
SMcC And would it not be right to think that in eternity the Spirit, while pervading all there, will always be in this distinctive sphere, in the body, in this great vessel and family — the assembly?
JT And so “the Spirit and the bride say, Come” Revelation 22:17. The bride is that family, she is the assembly, she comes nearest to Deity as has often been said, which is a most remarkable thing. “The Spirit and the bride say, Come”, in the same word you might say, the same breath.
Well, now, we may proceed with our chapter to get the place that Jacob has and Joseph. Joseph is [p. 192] really viewed as a believer, but you might say an erring believer; still, he is a corrected one; undoubtedly the passage implies that he is corrected. I will read on a little further; Jacob says in verse 3, “The Almighty God appeared to me at Luz … and he said to me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came to thee into Egypt, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon. And thy family which thou hast begotten after them shall be thine: they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan, on the way, when there was yet a certain distance to come to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem” Genesis 48:3 - 7. We had that yesterday, a very touching thing; Jacob brings it back now as he is about to die, showing how the wife retains her place in the heart of the husband. And it says further, “And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these? And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons” Genesis 48:8,9. Well, here is a question: Joseph is assuming that they are his sons, whereas in Jacob’s mind they are his sons. So that now it is a question as to where our thoughts are, because we are the living ones; Jacob and Joseph and Abraham are all gone; we are the living ones, the ones that God is going on with. It is a question now of our minds and thoughts, and where we are on the first day of the week when we meet together. So here, Israel beheld Joseph’s sons; it is a question of sons, not children. And he said, “Who are these? And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me here. And he said, Bring them, I [p. 193] pray thee, to me, that I may bless them” Genesis 48:8,9. Now we are coming to the real substantial thought of the moment, dear brethren, the time of blessing, and our qualifications to bless too. Perhaps the very least of us has power to bless; and so it says, “Bless and curse not” Romans 12:14. “And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, to me, that I may bless them. But the eyes of Israel were heavy from age: he could not see”, meaning that his old age was telling upon him; but still he has power in his soul. “And he brought them nearer to him; and he kissed them and embraced them” Genesis 48:9,10; so that we are dealing now with the most precious thoughts, dear brethren, as to the Father and as to ourselves as His sons. These are things that are current every week in the year in connection with the Lord’s supper and in connection with the ministry; and the question is how affected we are as to them. We are reminded of Luke 15, the power of kissing in a holy sense; “and he embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face; and behold, God has let me see also thy seed. And Joseph brought them out from his knees, and bowed down with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near to him” Genesis 48:10 - 13. One is trying to bring forward the facts of the case here spiritually, that we are dealing with what God is now going on with in His service, with what is toward Himself. Here we have two young men and their father, and it is a question of God’s operations and what He has in mind. Jacob had in his mind that these two young men were his sons and that one of them was going to be put before the other. That implied the counsels of God, that God is altering things according to His own counsels; not according to nature, but according to His own counsels. But Joseph had a different mind shown in [p. 194] his placing of the sons, as we have just read. And now notice what Israel did: “But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head — now he was the younger” Genesis 48:14. We had an allusion to this earlier, that Benjamin was the son of his right hand. And now the Spirit of God is telling us that God is doing what He wills, what His pleasure is, and we are not to interfere with it. There are great things being done, and it is for us to be in accord with what is being done so that we are not interfering, because Joseph is actually interfering with a great matter here, and we do not want to be found doing that. Jacob is putting his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and Joseph must not interfere with that; and how many interferences there may be at the present time in what God is doing! Then it says, “guiding his hands intelligently”. We are at the time now when we should look for intelligence, especially among the old brethren; not that one is saying this because he is old, but it is a thing to be aspired to, to have intelligence when we are old, and to know what to do so as not to interfere with the work of God in any sense; because He is bringing many sons to glory, and we must not interfere with that. We must see to it that the work proceeds.
SMcC Joseph. I suppose, spoke too fast and said too much, a weakness with those of us who are younger, do you not think?
JT I should not like to say much on those lines; but certainly young brothers are inclined to think beyond their measure.
NB Is it of any consequence to note that ‘Israel’ is stressed in this section?
JT We have already noted that, that it is not simply Jacob, but Israel, the new name that God gave him earlier.
NB In the next chapter Jacob and Israel are linked together in three different [p. 195] verses.
JT That is interesting. When the name of Israel was given to him it was said that he had power with God and with men. Well, now, he needs power with Joseph, because Joseph is interfering, and we are apt to interfere with the work of God.
CHH Do these two sons represent the assembly, with no past guilty history, inasmuch as they do not appear in the blessings of Jacob, but they do appear in the blessings of Moses?
JT It is a question of what is meant by “past history”. If you mean the history of the assembly in the counsel of God, in that way they do, the position of these two young men is being fixed according to God.
EGMcA Is there any significance in the fact that he says, “Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon”? Genesis 48:5. Why did he select those two sons?
JT I think it is just to show that they were equal in the family, they were brought into the assembly as in the family of Jacob as if they were of the twelve sons of Jacob. But they are an addition. What God is doing now is working among the gentiles; He is working in relation to sonship, and He must not be limited as to what He is doing. Here the twelve sons of Jacob are being enlarged on, and these two are put into the family as if they were the same as those that had been in it from the outset. We must not limit what God is doing; let it go forward — the great thought of sonship, for God is bringing many sons. We cannot say how many; who can say how many? But He is bringing them to glory.
JS Is it blessing according to selection?
JT Clearly the principle of selection is in it, but we cannot say how many there will be. It is a great matter we are [p. 196] dealing with.
EGMcA Would this have any connection with God’s inheritance in the saints, in Ephesians?
JT I should think it would, the greatness of God’s inheritance in the saints. Think of what the saints are! Would you kindly read the passage as it stands?
EGMcA “So that ye should know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”, Ephesians 1:18.
JT We certainly must not limit that! Think of the vastness of God’s thoughts, “his inheritance in the saints”! And He is bringing many sons to glory. Who can say how many or how few? Who can deny His right to do what He is doing? It is our blessing. Our blessing is bound up with our being with God in what He is doing, as it is said, “What hath God wrought!” Numbers 23:23 The time has come for that, to wonder at what God hath wrought.
HB So that it says Joseph “brought them nearer”, and he “brought them near” to Jacob. Would you link that with the scripture in Hebrews 2:10, “bringing many sons to glory”?
JT Just so. Think of what our portion is! “Things which eye has not seen, and ear not heard, and which have not come into man’s heart, which God has prepared for them that love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9. Think of the greatness of being amongst those!
RWS You were reading, and you got down to verse 14, 1 think, as to Jacob guiding his hands intelligently. As you were reading down it was very encouraging to me. I wondered if you were going on any further where he says, “I know, my son, I know” Genesis 48:19.
JT I am going on further. Beginning with verse 14 it says, “But Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head — now he was the younger — and his left hand on Manasseh’s head” Genesis 48:14; so that Jacob is doing the very opposite to what [p. 197] Joseph wishes him to do; and that, dear brethren, is something that I think we do well to take notice of, whether we are interfering with what God is doing, whether we are having any prospect or motive or outlook that will eventually interfere with what God is doing; Jacob is quite equal to it here, so it says, “guiding his hands intelligently”, — a remarkable word — “for Manasseh was the firstborn”; as if Jacob were to say to Joseph, I am perfectly aware, Joseph, of what I am doing. Then it says, “And he blessed Joseph”, so that Joseph himself is now brought into it; and he said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God that shepherded me all my life long to this day, the Angel that redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads” Genesis 48:15. But it is implied that he is blessing Joseph too. “And let my name be named upon them” — I think we are coming to John 17 now — “let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the land!” Genesis 48:16. I think we might rest there for a moment.
JRH What is your thought as to the end of verse 19, the special portion of Ephraim, that he will be greater than his brother and his seed will become the fulness of nations? Is there any connection with Romans 11 there?
JT Let us see; we will read on from verse 17: “When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it was evil in his eyes” Genesis 48:17. Think of that, that Joseph should have an evil thought in the presence of his father! “It was evil in his eyes; and he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head”, a violent action, it is nothing less than that, nothing less that we may be doing. That is, he would change the divine will, you might say; that is the way man’s mind may work if he gives way to it, “And [p. 198] Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn” — as if Jacob did not know — “put thy right hand on his head” Genesis 48:18. See the language of Joseph! Perhaps I am enlarging too much on this, but it only shows how a great man spiritually may err and have to be corrected. “But his father refused and said, I know, my son, I know” Genesis 48:19. That is beautiful, but a withering rebuke to his son; I know it, my son, “he also will become a people, and he also will be great; but truly his younger brother will be greater than he; and his seed will become the fulness of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee will Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh! And he set Ephraim before Manasseh” Genesis 48:19,20. Well now, someone was asking about verse 19.
JRH I was asking as to your thought about Ephraim’s seed becoming the fulness of nations.
JT Well, at the moment we are dealing with purely spiritual things, not with nations or with prophetic facts, but with spiritual things; and we are dealing now with what any one of us may be doing or attempting to do to interfere with the work of God. On the other hand we are endeavouring to show that the positive thought for us is to be with God in His work, to see what He is doing and be with Him in it, because the time is short; there is not much time left, but the assembly has to be finished and God is saying that He is going to finish it, and we want to be with Him in the finishing. So that it is a question at the moment of spiritual thoughts and spiritual thoughts only, because we are dealing with spiritual people, those who form the assembly.
JMcK Is it not beautiful to see the greatness of Jacob here as you have been stressing it in relation to the end of the dispensation; the power and dignity in which he carries this matter out in contrast to [p. 199] Isaac, of whom it says that he trembled with exceeding great trembling?
JT Yes, Isaac makes a very poor showing in the latter part of his life, but Jacob makes a very great showing in the latter part of his; and that is a comforting thing, for we are in the latter part of things and it is a time for a great showing to be made, as we have God with us in what is being done. Let us all be in it, not like Isaac, but like Jacob in his old age and, as he knows, about to die.
PL Have we something like this in John 4, the Lord securing a worshipper for the Father, and then speaking of finishing His work, and bringing the disciples into the matter with Him? You were connecting the great thoughts of worship and the service of God with the finishing of the work.
JT Just so, very good.
EAL Would you say that Jacob was a greater man than Isaac because he came through the conflict and survived: he triumphed in it?
JT Yes; God took him up, and although there was great sorrow in his life, and there were great things to be humbled about, yet he went through. It is very encouraging as to the matter of recovery; it emphasises that we are to pay attention to what may be existent in the person who has gone astray. If we know that there has been something real, it is for us to build on it and count on God to come in to finish it, because God is going to finish His work, and we all want to be in it.
CHH Is Jacob in verse 16 connecting the Holy Spirit with his being delivered by the Angel? The word ‘Angel’ has a capital, as also in Exodus and Numbers.
JT It alludes representatively to a divine Person I would think, showing what a sense Jacob has at this particular time of being helped and delivered and brought right through.
LES [p. 200] In Philadelphia it would be the fulness of the thing at the end in contrast to Sardis, would it not? I was thinking of the filling out of the whole position as to the service of God with not one spiritual idea lacking; and filled out in the power and presence and activity and liberty of the Spirit of God; every matter that has been brought in in relation to the ministry finding its place livingly amongst us and responsively to the pleasure and service and worship of divine Persons.
JT It is a question there really of seeing the place the assembly has in the Lord’s mind and what He is going to do, how He is going to keep her and how she is not to come into the tribulation: “I also will keep thee out of the hour of trial, which is about to come upon the whole habitable world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” Revelation 3:10. That is the promise for us at this present time.
RWS Would it seem in view of verse 22 that Joseph is immediately recovered?
JT I would say so, and in view of the next chapter and of the end of the book. How beautifully he is seen all through! It says in verse 22, “And I have given to thee one tract of land above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow” Genesis 48:22. Whatever that is, it is evidently a very precious thing that Jacob can speak about in his dying moments. It is a military matter, something that he did, and he had Joseph in his mind.
SMcC Should it not affect us now to think of what has been taken out of the hand of the enemy, the Amorite, as it were, and especially in regard to the service of God?
JT Quite so; it is what is being done at this very minute. The question is, Are we in it? It is a military matter now; Jacob is minded to speak about it at the close of his life, and he had Joseph [p. 201] in mind; Joseph is exalted in his mind, and he had one portion above the others. Jacob says, “I have given to thee one tract of land above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow”. It is the time of the sword and the bow, so to speak, and of securing the things that belong to us.