The relationship between Judah and Joseph plays a key role in this week’s Torah Portion. The very first word in Hebrew of this week’s study is “ויגש” – “Vayigash” – “And he drew near,” which is also the name of the Torah Portion. The person performing the action was Judah and he was drawing near to Joseph: “Then Judah approached him, and said, “Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh” (Gen. 44:18).
The Brothers Divided
Judah and Joseph were brothers but there was a separation between them as Judah did not recognize Joseph. This separation between the brothers foreshadowed a greater divide that would later occur between the house of Judah and the house of Joseph.
At this time when Judah drew near to speak to Joseph, Judah was pleading with Joseph to show mercy toward Benjamin, Joseph’s younger brother. Joseph’s silver cup had been found in Benjamin’s sack of grain and the penalty was that Benjamin would become Joseph’s slave (Gen. 44:1-17). Judah approached Joseph, explained to Joseph the delicate family situation regarding the relationship between Benjamin and his father, and then offered his own life in the place of Benjamin’s life (Gen. 44:18-34).
The Brothers Reunited
It was through Judah’s intercession and his willingness to pay the penalty on behalf of his brother Benjamin that Joseph became completely undone. Emotionally Joseph lost complete control. Joseph had been disguising himself throughout this whole ordeal with his brothers but he could bear it no longer:
Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, “Have everyone go out from me.” So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence (Gen. 45:1-3).
Joseph’s brothers had really believed that Joseph was dead (Gen. 44:20) and they were shocked to hear and see that Joseph was not only alive but the ruler of Egypt.
Joseph then took the time to explain to his brothers that it was really him. Joseph also explained how he had been made second to Pharaoh and how God had orchestrated all of the events to bring about a great deliverance through him (Gen. 45:4-7). Joseph also told his brothers how there would be five more years of famine and how they needed to get their father and their families and move to Egypt so that they could live and not die (Gen. 45:8-11). Joseph persuaded his brothers that is was indeed him and then they embraced and kissed each other (Gen. 45:12-15). All twelve brothers were united again.
The Nation of Israel
Joseph’s brothers did exactly according to what he commanded them and the twelve sons of Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt. It was in the land of Egypt that the twelve sons would become the twelve tribes. They were united in Egypt as a family and they would leave some 400 years later as the nation of Israel, which was composed of the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses led the twelve tribes of Israel out of Egypt, through the desert and to the edge of the Promised Land. Joshua then led the nation of Israel into the Promised Land and they began the process of conquering the Land and settling in it.
The Promises to Abraham
God was fulfilling every word which He had promised to his friend Abraham. God had told Abraham that He would bless him, make him into a great nation, give him the land of the Canaanites, and that all of the families of the earth would be blessed through Abraham (Gen. 12:1-7). God took one man, blessed him beyond measure, and made him into a great nation. This nation then went into the Promised Land and conquered it. Three out of the four promises that God had made to Abraham were clearly fulfilled.
The nation of Israel flourished in the Land of Israel and, at the request of the people, God gave the nation of Israel its first king. King Saul reigned for forty years in Israel but he disobeyed God and God rejected him as king. God then raised up a “man after His own heart” and He had the prophet Samuel anoint David as king. It was through King David that the nation of Israel would reach its peak. The twelve tribes were united under his leadership and under the leadership of his son Solomon. The nation of Israel prospered tremendously under these two kings to such an extent that silver became as common as stones (2 Chronicles 9:27).
The Divided Kingdom – Judah & Joseph
It had been nearly a millennium since God had made those promises to Abraham and just when it seemed that Israel was at it height the brothers of Israel would be separated again. After Solomon’s death his son Rehoboam became king. Rehoboam chose to be harsh toward the people and the majority of the people rejected him as king. Jeroboam rose up in opposition to Rehoboam and took ten tribes with him. Rehoboam was left with only two tribes, Judah and Benjamin (1 Kings 12).
The divided kingdoms came to be called Judah in the South and Israel in the North. Israel was also called Ephraim since it’s capitol was in Shechem of Ephraim (1 Kings 12:25). Ephraim was also the son of Joseph, therefore, the Northern Kingdom was identified with Joseph. After one thousand years Judah and Joseph were separated once again like two brothers divided because of internal family problems.
Broken Kingdom – Broken Promise
With a divided kingdom it seemed impossible for God to ever make good on His promise to Abraham. How could God possibly bless all of the families of the earth through the descendants of Abraham if his descendants, the nation of Israel, were torn apart?
Within a few hundred years of the nation of Israel being divided into two kingdoms, both the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom were exiled from the Land. The people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel were exiled to Assyria (2 Kings 17:6) while the people of the Southern Kingdom of Judah were exiled to Babylon (2 Kings 24). Although the people of Judah would eventually be given the opportunity to return to the Land of Israel, the kingdoms were never reunited. How would God remedy this problem of the divided kingdom? How would God fulfill this final promise to Abraham of blessing all of the families of the earth through him and his descendants?
Reuniting of Judah & Joseph
Just as God had a plan to use Joseph to accomplish a great deliverance for the world and to use him to reunite his family, so God had a plan to reunite the divided kingdom and to bless all of the families of the earth through His promise to Abraham. We find the details of God’s plan in this week’s corresponding section from the prophets (the “haftara”).
The Joining of the Sticks – עץ – Etz
This week’s reading from the prophets is found in Ezekiel 37:15-28. In these verses God gave Ezekiel a very clear prophecy regarding Judah and Joseph:
The word of the LORD came again to me saying, “And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. – Ezek 37:15-17
God instructed Ezekiel to take two sticks; one representing Judah and the sons of Israel and the second one representing Joseph (Ephraim) and the whole house of Israel. Ezekiel was to join these two sticks so that they would be united as one stick (“עץ אחד” – “etz echad”) in the hand of God. The Hebrew word for “stick” is the word “עץ” – “etz,” which can mean stick, wood, or tree.
One Nation – One King
God was declaring that what was impossible with man, He Himself would accomplish. God alone was able to reunite Judah and Joseph. God gave Ezekiel the reason for this illustration with the sticks which he was to declare to the people:
Say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God, “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. – Ezekiel 37:21-22
God would unite the people and bring them back to the Land and they were to be “one nation” (“גוי אחד” – “goy echad”) and “one king” (“מלך אחד” – “melek echad”) would rule over them.
The reuniting of Judah and Joseph as one nation with one king ruling over them was for a specific purpose; God wanted them to be His people:
They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God. – Ezek. 37:23
In order for the nation of Israel to be the people of God they had to be holy. God proclaimed in this verse that He Himself would cleanse the people from their sin. The result would be that they would be His people and He would be their God.
The unity of the kingdom was a provision of God that He would establish and secure by setting a king over the people: “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them” (Ezek. 37:24). The Messianic Kingdom was promised through King David and would be established through his line. God also made clear that the reign of this king would be forever (Ezek. 37:25).
A Covenant of Peace & God’s Holy Presence
This new unity government in the Kingdom that God would establish through His eternal King was to be sealed with a covenant of peace:
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. – Ezek. 37:26-27
This eternal covenant of peace would be confirmed by God’s very presence in their midst through His Sanctuary. God’s perfect peace fills the place where His presence dwells.
The Nations Will Know the LORD
As we come to the end of the prophecy in Ezekiel 37 we read of the final result of God’s uniting the two sticks into one stick, that the nations may know Him: “And the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever” (Ezek. 37:28). God’s plan was to bless Abraham, to make him a great nation, to give this nation the Land of Canaan, and to bless all of the families of the earth through this nation. It was only by uniting the nation of Israel that God could accomplish this. How would God accomplish all of this?
The Stick – “עץ” – “Etz”
As noted earlier, the Hebrew word for stick is “עץ” – “etz,” and this Hebrew word can mean stick, wood, or tree. It was through this “one stick” – “etz echad” that God illustrated the unity of the two divisions of the people of Israel, represented by Judah and Joseph. It was through this declaration of the “one stick” – “etz echad” that God purified the people, made them “one nation” – “גוי אחד” – “goy echad,” and gave them “one king” – “מלך אחד” – “melek echad.” I believe that God was giving a clear prophecy through this “one stick” – “etz echad” to illustrate how He would fulfill His ultimate promise to Abraham and bless all of the families of the earth.
It is fairly easy for a Christian to read Ezekiel 37:15-28 and understand that the “one king” spoken of in these verses is referring to the Messiah who would be born through the line of David and reign as the eternal King, however, I think it is easy to miss the prophecy regarding how God would purify His people and make an eternal covenant of peace with them without understanding the Hebrew. In the book of Deuteronomy we read the following verses which can help us better understand how this all fits together:
If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance. – Deut. 21:22-23
The Hebrew word for tree used in the verses above is “עץ” – “etz.” Any person worthy of death was to be hung on a tree – “etz.” Yeshua Himself was hung on a tree (the cross made from wood) and bore the curse of sin on that “tree” – “עץ” – “etz!”
One Tree, One Nation, & One King
We see in the prophecy given to Ezekiel that the illustration of the one stick in the hand of God (Ezek. 37:19) would be used for so much more than simply uniting two brothers, Judah and Joseph. God had a plan to use “one stick” – (“עץ אחד” – “etz echad,”) to form “one nation” (“גוי אחד” – “goy echad”), and give them “one King” (“מלך אחד” – “melek echad”). This King would one day die on a “tree” – “עץ” – “etz” to bring about a unity of one nation.
For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. – Ephesians 2:14-16
The cross of Yeshua was the “one stick”- “עץ אחד” – “etz echad” that God would use to bring peace and unity to Israel and the nations.
I love the symbolism in these Ezekial Scriptures…joining the two sticks even to form the cross Yeshua died on. It’s a reminder of just how much was given and received through Yeshua’s death. Thanks!
Suzanne
Dear Daniel,
I concur with Jeanette’s sentiments.
What is more, I thank and praise the LORD that through Yeshua HaMaschiach, He has created “Adam Chadash Echad,” one new man (a composite unity) out of Jew and Gentile.
Here is a question for you: does melek echad, one King, refer to the composite unity (or Tri-unity) of our LORD, Who reigns over all?
In closing, I thank the LORD also for using you to make known the Jewels of Judaism. Your commentary this week has been exceptionally insightful.
Your brother in Yeshua HaMaschiach,
Sal:-)
Dear Sal,
I appreciate your comments.
Regarding “melek echad,” there is no connection to the doctrine of the trinity as far as I’m aware. The term just means “one king.”
God bless,
Daniel
What a joy to read this wonderful word.
Thank you for this jewel “אחד עצ”
This is a loveletter from God. For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son.