Messianic Rabbi: The Danger of Not Knowing Joseph

Read Time: 3 Minutes 12 Seconds

While there are many characters in the Bible that can be related symbolically to Yeshua (Jesus), Joseph’s life so mirrors Yeshua’s that it would be difficult not to see the similarities. Joseph is rejected by his brothers, unfairly convicted of a crime he was innocent of, sent to prison and more.

However, all of Joseph’s suffering was prophetically directed so that he could save not only the children of Israel, but by extension, Joseph provided salvation to the whole world.

This is a beautiful picture of what would take place many years later when Yeshua was born: He was rejected by His brothers, falsely accused and tried and convicted all so that He would be able to provide salvation to the children of Israel, and by extension, to the whole world—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Unfortunately, after time passed, a new king rose to power in Egypt that knew not Joseph (Exodus 1:8). The end result of this king not knowing that G-D chose to use Joseph, a son of Israel, to bring salvation to the world, was a division between the Egyptians and the children of Israel. This division resulted in Egyptian hatred of the Israelites, which ultimately ended up with the Israelites spending hundreds of years in slavery.

When we take the time to fully compare Joseph and Yeshua, we find that the comparison goes beyond the provision of salvation. This statement, “a king arose that knew not Joseph,” was a warning that was not heeded by the body of believers in Yeshua. Just as the Egyptians forgot that Joseph was a child of Israel who was sent by G-D to provide salvation, the church, to a large extent, forgot that Yeshua was also a child of Israel who was sent to provide salvation.

The result of a “king” not knowing Joseph/Yeshua was the same as what took place in Egypt: division between Jews and non-Jews. This division brought about the Spanish Inquisition, the Russian Pogroms, the Nazi Holocaust and even today’s growing “Christian Anti-Semitism” and Replacement Theology.

Just as the Egyptians forgot that G-D chose to use an Israelite named Joseph to save not only the children of Israel, but the entire known world, today, much of the Christian world has forgotten that G-D chose an Israelite named Yeshua to not only save the Israelites, but also the entire world.

Thankfully, through a powerful move of revival, many Christians are being reconnected to the roots of their faith, and through their restoration, they are once again being reminded that Yeshua is the prophesied Lion of the House of Judah and the eternal King of Israel. He was the Promised Seed of Abraham through which the whole earth would be blessed.

Through this restorative unity, G-D is bringing about the One New Man made up of Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Yeshua. Jew and non-Jew are once again becoming one in Messiah. As this prophetic reunification takes place, we are seeing G-D bring about the answer to Yeshua’s prayer that we would be one as He and the Father are one.

It is only through the power of unity that we will see the great revival that is promised in the Bible, as the Jewish believers will become a light to the nations, and the people from the nations will grab the fringes of the garments of the Jews and say, as we read in Zechariah 8:23:“Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, ‘In those days it will come to pass that ten men from every language of the nations will grasp the corner of the garment of a Jew saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”

It is with this in mind that I ask you to join me in praying that G-D will restore within the heart of every believer in Yeshua the memory of who Yeshua was so that there will never again be a time when a new king/religious leader arises that knows not Joseph/Yeshua.

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Eric Tokajer is the author of “Overcoming Fearlessness,” “What If Everything You Were Taught About the Ten Commandments Was Wrong?,” “With Me in Paradise,” “Transient Singularity,” “OY! How Did I Get Here?: Thirty-One Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Entering Ministry,” “#ManWisdom: With Eric Tokajer,” “Jesus Is to Christianity as Pasta Is to Italians” and “Galatians in Context.”