1 Chronicles 7: 22-23
What do you do when life’s circumstances contradict God’s promises?
I am Ephraim, son of Joseph, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Adam, son of God, AND this is my story.
I was born in the land of Egypt to Asenath, daughter of Potipherah priest of On and Joseph, former Hebrew slave, ex-convict, and current governor of all the land of Egypt. My father Joseph was an immigrant from Canaan, who was promoted to this high position because of the wisdom of the Spirit of God in his life. He was an important man, second in command in Egypt, a powerful leader in this great empire, but he was a Hebrew.
I was born within the first seven years of my parents’ marriage. I was not the first born; I had an older brother named Manasseh. My father gave us Hebrew names. He named me Ephraim because, he said, “For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.” The name Ephraim meant double land; twin land; double ash-heap; and I shall be doubly fruitful. That’s quite a powerful name and spoke of an anointing for double blessing to follow my life.
Several years later, my father’s father Jacob, my father’s siblings and their families also migrated to Egypt from Canaan. They lived in Egypt for seventeen years and then grandfather Jacob became sick. He was dying. In the Hebrews’ customs, a father before he died would lay hands on his sons and pronounce a blessing prophetically over their lives and that of their descendants. Great grandfather Isaac had done it to grandfather Jacob and his brother Esau, and now grandfather Jacob was adopting my brother Manasseh and I as sons and pronouncing a blessing over us.
Manasseh being the elder son should have received the blessing of the first born but for some reason Grandfather Jacob pronounced that blessing on me and my descendants. He laid his right hand on my head and said,
“…let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth…. he [Manasseh] also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.” – Genesis 48:16, 19
With a blessing like this and a name like Ephraim, you would think that I should look forward to achieving greatness like my great, great Grandfather Abraham, right? He received the blessing of being the father of many nations and was one of the richest men and most prominent men in Canaan. God himself called him the prophet of God. Notwithstanding, that was not to be the case for me.
I received that blessing when I was about to enter my adult years, a little over age 19 years old. I went on to marry and have children. Years past and my children became young men and, like the Hebrews of that time, became shepherds. One day, some men who were born in the land came down from Gath to take away our cattle. In the raid, they murdered Ezer and Elead, two of my sons. The man with the name “doubly fruitful” lost two sons in one blow. I was heartbroken, stricken with a grief that I had never experienced before or after. I mourned for my sons a long time, until my relatives became concerned and traveled to my home to comfort me.
When I rose out of my depths of grief, I sought the comfort of my wife. She conceived and, in my old age, bore me a son. I called him Beriah, and though I loved him, I knew that he was born in an evil time, a time of calamity. Where was the promise of my Father Jacob? I could see no greatness and with the murdering attacks of our enemies, it was likely that our path to becoming a multitude of nations would be stopped.
What I didn’t know is that Beriah’s descendants would continue to be fruitful, and one day a son (Joshua the son of Nun) and a daughter (Sherah) would come from his line and be a double blessing to the nation of Israel. The former, Joshua, would lead the nation of Israel into the Promised Land, dispossessing nations and seizing the promises of God. The latter, Sherah, would join in the conquest of Canaan, and build three cities/towns, one of which was strategic in Israel’s battles.
So, what have I learned from my story? What do you do when life’s circumstances contradict God’s promises? Remember:
God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. – Numbers 23:19-20 (NKJV)
For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God. – 2 Corinthians 1:20 (AMPC)
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” – Isaiah 55: 8-11 (NKJV)
If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion. It won’t be long now, he’s on the way; he’ll show up most any minute. But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust;if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy. But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way. – Hebrews 10: 33-39 (MSG)
DIG DEEPER:
1. Blog Post – Something Worth Fighting For
2. Bible Study – Sherah: Daughter of Ephraim