Word of Encouragement (04/18/2023)
And of Joseph he said, "Blessed by the LORD be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven above, and of the deep that crouches beneath, 14 with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months, 15 with the finest produce of the ancient mountains and the abundance of the everlasting hills, 16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwells in the bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers. 17 A firstborn bull--he has majesty, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox; with them he shall gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth; they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh." (Deut. 33:13-17)
Moses continues his blessing on Joseph in v. 17. Here, the blessings go beyond the abundant and choicest produce of the land to his dominance over the nations of the world.
Joseph is called “a firstborn bull.” Of course, he was not the firstborn son of Jacob: Reuben was. But Moses is not talking about Joseph’s birth order here; he is speaking of his preeminence. The idea of “firstborn” has that connotation. So, in blessing Reuben, his firstborn, Jacob said, “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power (Gen. 49:3). This aspect of preeminence is reinforced by the imagery of bull as it symbolizes strength. That is why bulls were used much in the Ancient Near Eastern religions to represent various deities (Matthew A. Thomas, “Bull,” Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible). “Horns” also are a symbol of strength and majesty as well.
We all know about Joseph’s dreams, which made both Jacob his father and his brothers upset. In one of them, his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to his. In the other, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him. But these dreams were fulfilled when Joseph was elevated to the premiership of Egypt despite (or because of?) his brothers’ jealousy and wicked deed of selling him to the Midianite traders as a slave.
In this blessing, Joseph’s preeminence moves beyond the borders of Israel to all the nations of the world. It seems that this blessing was not meant for a historical fulfillment in the realm of international politics; it was prophetic of an eschatological blessing, which would come upon God’s new covenant people, who would judge the reprobates from all nations as well as the fallen angels (1 Cor. 6:3) on the last day in the authority of Jesus Christ, the greater Joseph. Just as Joseph rescued his brothers, who betrayed and sold him, Jesus was rejected by His people, betrayed and denied by His disciples (whom He called His brothers, John 15:15), to redeem the world through His suffering and death.
For now, however, our preeminence over the nations is shown through our unyielding faith in Jesus Christ and unashamed proclamation of the gospel in the face of mockery and persecution from the world. We are to show the surpassing power of the gospel by the power of love, not by the strength of brute force: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). For it is by His sacrificial love that He conquered sin and death and saved us unto eternal life. Redeemed by the Lamb of God, we are called to live by the strength of His sin-and-death conquering, life-giving sacrificial love and share in His victory. Let us pray that we will cherish this (spiritual) preeminence and shine its glory as we patiently endure our suffering in faith, hope, and love.