‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh’
There are many who acknowledge that the biblical Ephraim and Manasseh, sons of Joseph, son of Jacob/Israel, are represented by Great Britain and America. They, like Joseph, have it backwards, but Jacob knew exactly what he was doing.
Manasseh – “forgetful”
Ephraim – “double fruitfulness”
Ephraim and Manasseh are the twin sons of Joseph and Aseneth, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On (called by the Greeks, Heliopolis). They were born in the years of plenty while Joseph was prime minister of Egypt. He brought his two sons to his father Jacob before he died to receive their grandfather’s blessing. Jacob intentionally laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim giving him the birthright. He put his left hand on the head of Manasseh, the elder and said, ‘…let my name be named on them and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac’. Putting the two in for Joseph gave Israel thirteen tribes.
The Birthright
Joseph tried to correct his father to switch hands, but Jacob said, ‘I know it, my son, I know it: he 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.’ And he blessed them that day, saying, ‘In you shall Israel bless, saying, God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.’ (Gen 48 ) ‘The birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel…’ (1Chron 5:1-2)
The Declaration of Independence from Great Britain
In Congress, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
Excerpts from The Declaration of Independence
Ephraim and Manasseh – Two Tribes
Ephraim and Manasseh, the grandchildren of Israel, were thus put into the position of the first and second born and their descendants were consequentially regarded as two tribes instead of one. Jacob’s wife Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin; Ephraim and Manasseh’s grandmother. Asenath was the mother of Ephraim and Manasseh.
The Ark of the Covenant and the Pillar of Fire were also positioned on the west wall of the Tabernacle with the Ark behind the veil
Ephraim is the firstborn
“At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people… They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn… I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: You turn me and I shall be turned; for You are the Lord my God.’”
Jeremiah 31
The tribe of Ephraim ultimately came to represent all Ten Tribes of Israel, i.e. ‘The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel’. Used in this sense especially by the prophets. i.e. Ezek 37
Paul had heard in Phoenicia that certain of the children of Israel, about the time of the Assyrian captivity, had escaped by sea to “the Isles afar off” as spoken by the Prophet Esdra and called by the Romans — Britain. And the Lord commanded the gospel to be preached far hence to the Tribes, to the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel.
The Lost Chapter of Acts :1-3
To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before
And it will come about… the Signs will occur which I showed you before, and My Son will be revealed… But he will stand on the top of Mount Zion…
And as for your seeing him gather about himself another multitude that was peaceable, these are the ten tribes that in the days of King Hoshea were carried away from their own land into captivity, whom Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, made captives, and carried beyond the river; they were carried off to another country.
But they formed this plan among themselves, to leave the heathen population, and go to a more distant region, where the human race had never lived, so that there perhaps they might keep their statutes, which they had not kept in their own country. And they went in by the narrow passages of the Euphrates River. For the Most High then did wonders for them, for He held back the sources of the river until they had passed over…”
2 Esdras 13:32-44
‘I am not sent but to the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel’.
Jesus, Matthew 15:24
The Covenant of Kingship – The Divine Right to Rule
The idea of a ‘divine right’ of kings is founded in the King James Version of the Bible, 1st Samuel, where the prophet Samuel first anointed Saul as king. He quickly proved himself unworthy of the honor by his arrogance and disobedience to the LORD God of Israel. David was then personally chosen by God as a replacement and was anointed king over Israel. ‘And the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.’ (1Sam 16:11-13) The everlasting Covenant of Kingship came upon David and his line at that point. The ‘Branch/Son of David’ has been prophesied to come with the true Divine Right to rule (Shiloh) and reign at the time of the end, the ‘Lion of the Tribe of Judah’; ‘the Messiah of Righteousness’; ‘the Branch of Righteousness’ (Gen 49:8-12) This is that ‘Chosen One’ anticipated by all to come and deliver Israel.
The Deliverer
For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the nations is come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is My Covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
The Apostle Paul, Romans 11:25-27
The Blessing of Joseph
And of Joseph, Moses said, ‘Blessed of the LORD is his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew… And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon …let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated (נזר) from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.’
Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 33
The recipients of the Abrahamic Covenant
Jacob’s Name Change
And God said to him, ‘Your name is now Jacob, but your name shall not be called Jacob any more, but Israel shall be your name’: and He called his name Israel. And God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of you and kings shall come out of your loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you and to your seed after you will I give the land.’
Book of Genesis, Chapter 35
Ephraim and Manasseh
Joseph is a fruitful branch, even a fruitful bough by a well. …the arms of his hands are made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; Even by the God of your father, who shall help you, and by the Almighty who shall bless you with blessings of heaven above… they shall be on the head of Joseph…”
Book of Genesis 49:22
The Fig Tree
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh:
Jesus, Matthew 24:32
The Roots of the Tree
If you think you’ve come forth of this tree and it may be of your ancestral roots, congratulations! We present two ancient manuscripts in PDF form for you to download and read. The first is the Testament of the Patriarch, Joseph, addressed to his children and brethren. The second is the story of Joseph and Aseneth; how they met, married and had their children in Egypt. It is awesome to think these are the parents of Ephraim and Manasseh in a time when they need to reconnect with them most. We hope it helps the one reading this to discover your roots! May it open for you a treasure you never could’ve imagined!
Reconnecting the Roots of America, Part 1
Ephraim, My Son Medley:
A Love Without End, George Strait
Shalom Jerusalem, Paul Wilbur
Barocha, Michael Card
Heal our Land, Michael Card
Valley of Dry Bones, Michael Card
Close Every Door, by Donnie Osmond as Joseph
Anchor Me, The Tenors
For any who would like to watch the movie, Joseph, King of Dreams