The Torah portion of וַיִּגַּשׁ/Vayigash, “and he approached,” opens with the repentance of Judah. Faced with the thought of losing Benjamin, Judah offers himself in order to avoid causing further pain to his father Jacob. The portion opens:

וַיִּגַּשׁ אֵלָיו יְהוּדָה, וַיֹּאמֶר בִּי אֲדֹנִי יְדַבֶּר-נָא עַבְדְּךָ דָבָר בְּאָזְנֵי אֲדֹנִי, וְאַל-יִחַר אַפְּךָ בְּעַבְדֶּךָ

כִּי כָמוֹךָ, כְּפַרְעֹה

“Then Judah came near to him (Joseph) and said: ‘O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh’” (Gen. 44:18).

From previous chapters, we quickly note that this is not the same Judah who was willing to sell Joseph into slavery, thereby causing Jacob deep and enduring pain, or the one would called for Tamar’s burning for adultery. No, this Judah has suffered terrible loss in both his family and to his reputation. Judah unknowingly approaches the brother he had sold some twenty-two years prior, in an attempt to save his father from further pain.

When Joseph could no longer hold back the emotion, he dismisses his Egyptian attendants and guards (Gen. 45:1); and in doing so, he risks his own life. Then two words, spoken in Hebrew, bring the past, the present, and the future into focus: אֲנִי יוֹסֵף, “I am Joseph.” Joseph the Egyptian was no more, Joseph the Hebrew was restored.

“I am Joseph” reveals the sin of the brothers, while also revealing the plan of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Gen. 50:20). With the past revealed, and the future laid out, in the present there was forgiveness. Yet, Joseph first rebukes his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” (Gen. 34:3). According to rabbinic teaching rebuke precedes judgment. In this case, Joseph’s judgment is forgiveness. Why mention Jacob when he reveals himself? The rebuke, and a very real human moment when Joseph basically says to Judah, “You are so concerned with protecting the heart of our father now, but what about when you sold me?”

Even in his pain, Joseph has witnessed the change in his brothers, especially in Judah, the one bearing the rebuke. They have all been changed by the events of years as well. Once they have reconciled, Joseph imparts gifts to his brothers, “He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments” (Gen. 45:22). He changed their garments, adorning them in garments of forgiveness.

When Messiah Yeshua/Jesus ministered on the earth, the apostle John tells us, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him” (Jn. 1:10-11). To use the types above, Egypt did not know Him, and His own brethren did not recognize Him. Two words recorded many times in John’s Gospel changed this: “I Am.”

Of the seven “I Am” statements of Messiah that we usually consider, there is one that is not ordinarily accounted for that speaks powerfully to Yeshua’s person: “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (Jn. 8:58). John presents the Messiah Who was before Abraham, before Joseph, even before time and creation. Yet, Egypt did not know Him, and His brethren did not recognize Him. With our own sin laid bare before Him, knowing our past, present and future action, what does Messiah do? As the rabbis teach, rebuke precedes judgment, that is correction precedes judgment. The rebuke, the correction, the “chastisement for our peace” laid upon Him (Isa. 53:5), as Paul wrote, “But God shows his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Ro. 5:8).

Joseph bore the weight of the twenty-two year journey that would save his family and the wider world; yet, the greater Joseph, Yeshua, “bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:24).

In Messiah, we, in trusting faith, have also received a new garment: Christ Himself, as His robe of righteousness. Paul writes, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27). Furthermore, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isa. 61:10). In Yeshua, we are endowed with gifts; specifically the gifts of the Spirit (I Cor. 12:1) to walk the faith out fruitfully (Gal. 5:22-23). All of this resulting from our approach to Him in repentance, and the resulting forgiveness He alone provides.

As we approach Jesus, we know, as do those who truly know us, that we are not the same as we once were. We recognize the pain we have caused, and often desire to make it right by some form of self-sacrifice. Yet, it is not we who are sacrificed, but Messiah. And in Him we live our lives as a living sacrifice (Ro. 12:2) in the grace, mercy, love and forgiveness in which we have been clothed.

His “I Am” will change your everything.

Be well. Shalom.

As a minister, I walk with people through the joys and pains of life; and with as many as I have contact with, being mindful of where people are in life is important. For some, reminding them of the joy they are experiencing continues to enhance and renew the joy; while reminding people of a loss at the wrong time, can have a devastating effect on them. There is a delicate balance in nearly every interaction I am presented with on a daily basis.

In the Torah portion of Miketz (מִקֵּץ, at the end), Joseph having endured years of pain as a result of his brothers heartless treatment, he is blessed with children after he rises to prominence in Egypt. Two sons are born to Joseph and Asenath: Manasseh and Ephraim. We read:

“Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering” (Gen. 41:51-52).

When Joseph was blessed with his first son, he wanted to forget. The name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה) comes from a root meaning to forget. Forget what? The pain he has suffered by the hands of his brothers. He wants to forget; by this we note that he has not yet come to a place of forgiveness, as he will model for us later in his life.

When Joseph is blessed with his second son, he wants to remember blessing. Ephraim (אֶפְרַיִם) is from a root meaning fruitful. Joseph had prospered in Egypt. He has a wife, children, and a position of great authority. This he wants to remember.

The portion of Miketz is often read in the season of Hanukkah, the feast of Dedication. Like the biblical feasts found in Leviticus 23, even the festival of Purim found in the book of Esther, Hanukkah causes us to remember, but also to recognize. We remember the events that brought us to this season, and the sovereign Lord Who rescued us, but we also recognize the blessing of being present now.

The history leading up to the remembrance of Hanukkah is painful, and the echoes of that pain are still heard in the heart of every Jew. Why? Because the heart of hatred behind those ancient events has never disappeared, they have only taken on different names in different eras. Should we not want to forget? No. Why not? Simply, for all the generations of pain and suffering, we are still here, faith is still present, and hope remains to be kindled in the next generation. Yet, we must acknowledge the painful times to appreciate the blessed times.

Joseph wanted to forget the trouble he had endured when it appeared that he was blessed with peace; and when peace continued, then he wanted to remember his fruitfulness. But years later, Jacob, who has endured enough of his own struggle and pain, teaches Joseph an important lesson when he prophetically and covenantally adopts Manasseh and Ephraim.

Jacob places the primary blessing on Ephraim, and the secondary on Manasseh. He blesses and adopts the second son first and the first son second. The famous crossed arm blessing. He does not bless the forgetting over the fruitfulness, because it is when we recognize the blessing, the fruitfulness of our lives, that we walk in the healing that causes us to remember our history in faith.

Here we learn to echo Josephs words: “And as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Gen. 50:20; cf. Ro. 8:28-29). Joseph then demonstrates this deep forgiveness, while still remembering his trials as he speaks to his brothers after the death of Jacob: “Now therefore do not fear; I will sustain you, and your little ones.’ And he comforted them, and spoke kindly unto them” (Gen. 50:21).

At the right moment, having lost but found his beloved son Joseph, Jacob placed the fruit of Joseph’s sorrow before the emptiness of his forgetfulness. Jacob reminds us that remembering the trial of the journey is important, but we must remember the trials in the fruit they produced.

What happens when we turn to the Lord, and turn over the things we would rather forget? The apostle Peter teaches us:

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Pet. 5:6-11).

Joseph was humbled, and at the proper time he was exalted. After Joseph learned how the Lord ordered his steps, as painful as they were, in order to save his family, then he was able to trust Him with painful memories, and in that trust keep the fruitfulness before his desired forgetfulness, while remembering that the pain brought forth life giving fruit.

And by this, we will remain dedicated to the way Yeshua is leading us, no matter the circumstance, blessing others, both now and in the generations to come.

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8

Be well. Shalom.