Revelations 3:21
I will let him who wins the victory sit with me on my throne, just as I myself also won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne.
In the ancient Middle East, when a father bestowed his blessing on his children he laid his hands on them. In the case of Jacob blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, we are privy to the awkward picture of two grown young men sitting on the lap of a blind and frail man over one hundred and thirty years old (Genesis 48: 10-12).
In the ancient middle-East sitting on man's lap was part of a ritual of adoption. In that passage of Text, Jacob/Israel does not only bless the children of Joseph born in exile from an Egyptian wife, but he adopts them as his own (Genesis 48:5-6). After this clever patriarchal maneuver, the two boys will technically become brothers to their father and to their uncles. They will inherit as brothers at the same level as the other children of Jacob. They also each will have a tribal allotment in the Promised Land and this indirectly allows Jacob to bestow upon Joseph the double-portion reserved to first-borns, thus circumventing Leah's children. Judah inherited the 'scepter' and the 'crown' of the kings of Israel, but Joseph remained the first-born. From Joshua, several judges, and even the Prophet Samuel, the tribe of Ephraim remained in leadership. Even the Ark remained in Shiloh, Ephraim. King Saul was the first one to call the loose federation of Israeli tribes together to fight against Amalek, and David is the one who united the country as one, thus foreshadowing the Messianic age when peace and unity will be finally accomplished between the House of Leah and the House of Rachel (Ezekiel 37: 15-22).
But what about the adoption program? As Jacob prophesied, until this day, each Friday evening at the Welcoming of the Sabbath, Jews bless their boys with the words, "May God make you like Efrayim and M'nasheh (Genesis 48:20)". I know a family that even puts their boys on their lap as they do that. This father of course doesn't need to 'adopt' his boys but there is connection here that as Ephraim and Manasseh were adopted by their grand-father to become full members of the patriarchal leadership of Israel as he uttered Abraham's blessing upon them, so all of us are adopted by Hashem. Abraham was adopted and in him so are we all. The idea also is that Joseph is highly looked upon, considered as someone strong who did not compromise with Egypt. We want to be like his children who probably inherited their father's virtue and strength.
To the Messianic community of Laodicea Yeshua says, I will let him who wins the victory sit with me on my throne, just as I myself also won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne (Revelations 3:21). I always pictured this as a child on the lap of his father or grand-father sitting on his armchair. In this case we have a three generation adoption ritual. Yeshua the 'Begotten' being vested in all the powers of the Father (Psalm 2:7-12) endows these same powers to His victorious 'overcomers' whom He adopts and in whom He invests His powers to rule.
May Hashem make you all like Ephraim and Manasseh!
I will let him who wins the victory sit with me on my throne, just as I myself also won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne.
In the ancient Middle East, when a father bestowed his blessing on his children he laid his hands on them. In the case of Jacob blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, we are privy to the awkward picture of two grown young men sitting on the lap of a blind and frail man over one hundred and thirty years old (Genesis 48: 10-12).
In the ancient middle-East sitting on man's lap was part of a ritual of adoption. In that passage of Text, Jacob/Israel does not only bless the children of Joseph born in exile from an Egyptian wife, but he adopts them as his own (Genesis 48:5-6). After this clever patriarchal maneuver, the two boys will technically become brothers to their father and to their uncles. They will inherit as brothers at the same level as the other children of Jacob. They also each will have a tribal allotment in the Promised Land and this indirectly allows Jacob to bestow upon Joseph the double-portion reserved to first-borns, thus circumventing Leah's children. Judah inherited the 'scepter' and the 'crown' of the kings of Israel, but Joseph remained the first-born. From Joshua, several judges, and even the Prophet Samuel, the tribe of Ephraim remained in leadership. Even the Ark remained in Shiloh, Ephraim. King Saul was the first one to call the loose federation of Israeli tribes together to fight against Amalek, and David is the one who united the country as one, thus foreshadowing the Messianic age when peace and unity will be finally accomplished between the House of Leah and the House of Rachel (Ezekiel 37: 15-22).
But what about the adoption program? As Jacob prophesied, until this day, each Friday evening at the Welcoming of the Sabbath, Jews bless their boys with the words, "May God make you like Efrayim and M'nasheh (Genesis 48:20)". I know a family that even puts their boys on their lap as they do that. This father of course doesn't need to 'adopt' his boys but there is connection here that as Ephraim and Manasseh were adopted by their grand-father to become full members of the patriarchal leadership of Israel as he uttered Abraham's blessing upon them, so all of us are adopted by Hashem. Abraham was adopted and in him so are we all. The idea also is that Joseph is highly looked upon, considered as someone strong who did not compromise with Egypt. We want to be like his children who probably inherited their father's virtue and strength.
To the Messianic community of Laodicea Yeshua says, I will let him who wins the victory sit with me on my throne, just as I myself also won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne (Revelations 3:21). I always pictured this as a child on the lap of his father or grand-father sitting on his armchair. In this case we have a three generation adoption ritual. Yeshua the 'Begotten' being vested in all the powers of the Father (Psalm 2:7-12) endows these same powers to His victorious 'overcomers' whom He adopts and in whom He invests His powers to rule.
May Hashem make you all like Ephraim and Manasseh!
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