Two Are Better Than One

Joseph: Most Like Jesus – The Great Father-Pleaser

One. Joseph: His Tribal Connection with Jesus. God in His great mercy finally had compassion on Rachel, opened her womb, and she had the great joy of bearing Joseph as Jacob’s 11th son. Her thought was this; “At last from my own body I have borne to my husband a son! Another son will be yet added to him” – hence his name Joseph – “he will be added to.” Previously Rachel had said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” Jacob retorted that God, not he, had withheld her from bearing children. Finally when Jacob returned from Padan-aram to Canaan land, Rachel bore Jacob a 12th son at Bethlehem, but fulfilled her anguished cry of frustration, “Give me children or I’ll die.”

Of all the sons of Jacob, this one stands out as the most Christ-like by far. The parallels are amazing. Just consider these few!

One Bible Scholar facetiously has written in his notes that Joseph was “Petted” by his father; “Pitted” by his 10 half brothers; “Potted” into prison by Potiphar; and “Putted” on the Throne by Pharaoh.

As a youth Joseph was unwise in sharing his dreams with his half brothers, and Jacob was unwise in showing his favoritism to Joseph by the special coat made for rulers. No wonder when the brothers had the opportunity in Shechem of fixing Joseph, that they put him in a pit and sold him as a slave into Egypt. True, Reuben attempted to deliver him back to his father but failed; and Judah spared his life by talking the 8 brothers into selling him rather than killing him. As Potiphar’s slave in Egypt, Joseph had God’s unusual blessing. As a prisoner because of false accusation, he had the favor of the chief jailer. As an interpreter of the dreams of two fellow-prisoners he saw the faithfulness of God. Yet Psalm 105 reveals that until the dreams of his youth were fulfilled, these very dreams served to frustrate him.

But then because the butler had forgotten to do him good, Joseph was right where God needed him when He gave Pharaoh his double dream. In an hour Joseph the prisoner found himself Ruler of Egypt next to Pharaoh himself!

After he made himself known to his brothers on their second trip to Egypt for grain, he lived to see the family of his father multiply into an embryonic nation in Goshen.

His Egyptian wife bore him two sons. Manasseh (meaning forgetfulness) the first-born came before the first trip of his brothers. Now because of this little son – he had been made to forget the bitterness of the preceding 22 years. He was now ready to test his brothers, but completely forgive them, for Manasseh helped him forget the bitterness of the preceding years.

Jacob received Joseph before his death and in his blindness wittingly set Ephraim (fruitfulness) ahead of the first-born Manasseh (forgetfulness). This was over the objection of Joseph. But Jacob made Joseph’s two sons as his own two sons, so that Joseph had two parts in Israel – the sign of the double blessing that had been transferred from Reuben. So when the tribes formed around the Tabernacle following their Exodus from Egypt, Ephraim and Manasseh take their place on the West side with Benjamin, and the name of Joseph and Levi do not appear with the 12.

The beauty of the character of Joseph, a picture of the coming Messiah, can be seen in the composite of Ephraim and Manasseh together. And think – from Ephraim came Joshua, Moses’ servant, who took the place of his master to lead Israel into the Promised Land!

Two. Polynesians: The Progenitors of the Hawaiian People. Just as Joseph is a picture illustrating the linkage with the 11th Embryonic Revival Principle of 1948, so the Hawaiian people illustrate another aspect of this principle.

I had the privilege of visiting Hawaii in 1987 through my wife Marie. Through Ken Spoerhase I had the opportunity to minister 4 times in the church he was pastoring, and also for the Full Gospel businessmen of Honolulu, where I met Father Norm Westly for the first time.

Daniel Kikawa was interested in my account of "the Healing of the Land." This took place in Northern Alberta in September of 1987. White people made horizontal reconciliation with 5 tribes of the First Nations People of Hobbema. They had suffered 10 years previously because of miscarriage of justice. When this was rectified, unusual heavy rains for the last 10 years both seedtime and harvest returned to normal. It was parallel to the judgment of God -- judgments on Israel because of the sins of the house of Saul upon the Gibeonites. When David rectified this sin, the famine of 3 years lifted (2 Samuel 21). When white leaders of the Wetaskiwin area rectified the sin of their area, God graciously responded.

Daniel Kikawa knew that the Hawaiian nationals had suffered unjustly at the hands of missionaries and businessmen. He sensed God leading him to research this unhappy past. Out of his research, he came forth in 1994 with “Perpetuated in Righteousness,” the Journey of the Hawaiian people from Eden (Kalana i Houola) to the Present Time. “It is a giant step for Hawaiian and Polynesian people to view the God of the Bible as an ally and friend. Allowing history to speak for itself by documenting God’s love throughout this people’s journey will hasten a fresh move of God among this people.” “This work affirms what many have already suspected: that the Hawaiians’ spirit of Aloha is a special gift from God, an enduring legacy of a time when Hawaiians knew the Creator and called Him by name.” “Daniel Kikawa has put together in one volume, a precious treasure of Polynesian history and culture. His careful research is surpassed only by his love for the people of Hawaii and passion for them to discover their destiny."

Order from Aloha Ke Akua Publishing, P. O. Box 93, Kane’ohe, Hawaii 96744 (ISBN #0964359502).

In October 1978 Bill Britton of Springfield Missouri spoke over a Hawaiian young man at the “House of Prayer” the following prophecy. Father Norm Westly, friend of the young man’s father, has made it available.

Three. My Personal Story by Mother Basilea Schlink, “I Found the Key to the Heart of God,” 1975, ISBN 0-87123-239-1, Bethany Fellowship, Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, P. O. Box 30022, Phoenix, AZ, USA 85046-0022 – or – R.R.1, Millet, AB, Canada T0C 1Z0 In Mother Basilea’s personal story we are given an insight into the ways of the heavenly Father as He prepares His child for a ministry that is to be unique in the history of the Christian Church.

We turn the pages as we would the score of some great symphony and whether the music is light or whether it is the deep chords that are struck, our hearts respond. The response will be an inner searching of our own hearts and lives followed by love and adoration for our Lord Jesus.

The reader seeking a greater fulfillment in his Christian life and service will discover in these pages the key to the very heart of God.

In a day when the dark clouds of God’s judgment are beginning to gather and the forces of evil are threatening the human race as never before – this book comes as a clarion call and a tremendous source of encouragement to the Christian.

In a sense, “Bridal Love,” the Key that transformed the life of this living saint of God, is the heartbeat of every true believer that has pressed into God thru the inner veil. By tracking the life of Mother Basilea thru her account of her own pilgrimage, you will go from the outer court, into the Holy Place – and then thru the riven veil right into the Throne Room of the Majesty on High. Here you will find God’s Son seated at His right hand, the Glorified Man upon the throne.

It is very parallel to “The Collected Writings” of St. John of the Cross, whose family converted from Judaism to Catholicism to save their lives. You will never be quite the same again as you track with this saint of God her spiritual pilgrimage.

Over 100 books and pamphlets have flowed from her heart thru her pen to you and me.

Few others have sought so effectively to see horizontal reconciliation between the Israel of the Holocaust and her own nation that brought forth Hitler and Nazism.

Islam sets as a goal for every true believer to make Haj to Mecca once in a lifetime.

Judaism encourages each Jew of the Diaspora to visit Jerusalem in his lifetime, and even make Aliyah to Israel.

Each Christian, Protestant and Catholic alike would do well to take a once in a lifetime pilgrimage, and read this autobiography. It will bring you near to the heart of God. It will lead you thru the purging of God’s refining fire, and prepare you for union and communion with Jesus, the altogether lovely one.

Four. The 1948 Visitation and the Spirit of Father-Pleasing. George R. Hawtin had the spirit of Jesus – his supreme desire was to be a Father-pleaser. He knew that out of intimacy with Jesus a blessing would flow – the Son would then lead him into the bosom of the Father.

He seemed intuitively to know just the right chorus for the time and occasion – that would bring us closer into the presence of God.

The depth of intimacy with God in this Revival – the sense of a heavy anointing of the Holy Spirit – an awe and sense of the holiness in fear of God that is clean and enduring forever – these were some of the manifestations of the spirit of Joseph present in 1948.

Again – each revival and visitation of God is unique. But of the 12 embryonic revival principles present in 1948, perhaps that exemplified by Joseph came closest to the heart of God.

Yes, Israel experienced something in the near loss of Benjamin at the close of the book of Judges, and knew intuitively that all 12 tribes were necessary to achieve God’s purposes for this commonwealth. Just so, we need to hold all 12 embryonic revival principles in a corporate, experiential posture. Selective Obedience will lead to failure. It is as Jesus has said, “I will be Lord of all, or I will not be Lord at all!”

The New Covenant lists Jesus as Savior 24 times, but as Lord 348 times – 14:1! Do we major on the minor and minor on the major? He who has a personal, passionate devotion for Jesus in all His beauty, passion and purity – he will know the beauty of Jesus – and in turn manifest that same beauty to a lost, dying and needy world.

Then let us return to “Perpetuated in Righteousness,” the story of the Polynesian Hawaiians – and let Shalom and Aloha merge into one grand paean of praise for Him who alone is worthy!

Jim Watt

Note: For those seeking a Linkage – The 12 tribes of Israel linked with the 12 Embryonic Revival Principles of 1948 are not a hermeneutic, but a Mnemonic device, much like Psalm 119. Each of the 22 eight-verse sections starts with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet to aid in memory. So each of the tribes of Israel has an inherent window or insight into one aspect of the nature of God. They illustrate in an attention-getting manner the twelve 1948 embryonic revival principles. And yet, to consider them in a spiritual way, they have a distinct homiletic application, as do the 12 national and people divisions of the world. The biographical section of each paper serves to illustrate in a similar manner.

To strive for an exact hermeneutic linkage will lead to frustration. To see them as an illustration and homiletic linkage will bring you to rest. To strive after a logical linkage between Talmudic and rabbinical illustration of the written Torah will often lead one up a blind alley, and sometimes receive the rebuke of Jesus – “You have made void the Word of God by your traditions.”

To see them, as a sincere attempt of man to interpret the Written Word, will put you in the stance of a Jeremiah whom was told by God – “If you take the precious from the vile, you shall be as my mouth."

It is the same with the linkage of the 12 tribes of Israel with the twelve 1948 Embryonic Revival Principles. Bring these latter to maturity and balance – and you will have a spiritual counterpart to the commonwealth of Israel composed of 12 tribes functioning in balance.

If the above explanation serves to give insight and understanding concerning the relationship of the various components of these papers, you can thank fish://gokee2@grond/big/home/gokee2/public_html/grandpa/content/content/embryonics/joseph.htmlsincere and thinking friends who have raised this as a question. And – it is more difficult to ask a good question than to give a good answer! See Jesus at 12 in the Temple! JAW.