Genesis 49:22-26 (Daily Verse and Comment)

 

Genesis 49:22-26

(22) "Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well; 
His branches run over the wall. (23) The archers have bitterly grieved him,
Shot at him and hated him. (24) But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong 
By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob 
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), (25) By the God of your father who will help you,
And by the Almighty who will bless you 
With blessings of heaven above, 
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, 
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. (26) The blessings of your father
Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, 
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. 
They shall be on the head of Joseph, 
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. 

  Deuteronomy 33:13-17

(13) And of Joseph he said: 
" Blessed of the LORD is his land, 
With the precious things of heaven, with the dew, 
And the deep lying beneath, (14) With the precious fruits of the sun,
With the precious produce of the months, (15) With the best things of the ancient mountains,
With the precious things of the everlasting hills, (16) With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. 
Let the blessing come "on the head of Joseph, 
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers." (17) His glory is like a firstborn bull,
And his horns like the horns of the wild ox; 
Together with them 
He shall push the peoples 
To the ends of the earth; 
They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, 
And they are the thousands of Manasseh." 
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Probably the easiest peoples to identify are those descended from the tribe of Joseph, that is, the peoples of Ephraim and Manasseh. The reason is their wealth. Remember, God chose Ephraim and Manasseh to be the recipients of the birthright blessing, as recorded in Genesis 48. As the "birthright" tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh eventually received the great physical blessings God mentions through Jacob in Genesis 49:22-26 and through Moses in Deuteronomy 33:13-17.

Ephraim, basically the Angles and Saxons, roamed around in Northern Europe, eventually invading England in AD 449. In the course of time, some Ephraimites migrated to Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and other nations of the now-defunct British Empire. Ephraim grew to become that "company of nations" God promised would descend from Jacob (Genesis 35:11); more particularly, the British peoples became that "multitude of nations" Jacob prophesied would descend from Ephraim (Genesis 48:19). The peoples of the British Empire (and, later, the Commonwealth) are the "ten thousands of Ephraim" who Moses, speaking of Ephraim and Manasseh together, said would "push the peoples to the ends of the earth" (Deuteronomy 33:17).

Britain grew slowly, protected by her geography and by the hand of God, who, more than once miraculously saved her from destruction. Her power grew slowly, as if by fits and starts. All that changed, however, in the early 1800s, when the 2,520-year punishment had reached its term. God was now prepared to bestow the birthright blessings on Ephraim. After defeating the French dictator Napoleon at Waterloo in AD1815, Britain virtually redrew the boundaries of Europe. Never before had a European nation wielded such unquestioned control over the Continent as a whole—and got away with it for so long.

Moses prophesied that Joseph would "push the peoples to the ends of the earth" (Deuteronomy 33:17). Push is exactly what England did, for the birthright blessings included far more than domination over Europe. They included economic (and in some cases, political and military) dominance over much of the world. Answering the call of the "white man's burden," the British, through its maritime supremacy, created a worldwide Empire an order of magnitude larger than that of Rome. Her folk pushed to India, Africa, North (and, to a lesser degree, South) America, China, Australia, New Zealand, and various islands around the globe.

Britain's Empire came to include a number of African nations, some South American ones, many Caribbean islands, as well as many of the islands of Oceania—and, of course, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and India! Moreover, Britain maintained a heavy economic influence over China for years. It was a fact—the sun never set on the British Empire.

As time went by, Britain assumed control of a large number of "gates" located in or near her enemies' territories, this in fulfillment of Genesis 22:17 and 24:60. These strategic positions placed her, geopolitically, on the "top of the world," ensuring her of military and commercial hegemony. Here is a partial list of these valuable gates:

» The Suez Canal

» The Straits of Hormuz (below Iran)

» The Straits of Gibraltar

» The Straits of Malacca and the Singapore Strait (off the Malay Peninsula)

» The Falkland Islands (off Argentina)

» The Cape of Good Hope (at the southern tip of Africa)

» The Kabul Pass (a land gate in Afghanistan)

» The island nation of Malta (in the Mediterranean Sea)

Finally, Britain is ruled by a descendant of the Davidic monarchy. The throne of David, according to the prophet Jeremiah, would rule over the "house of Israel" (Jeremiah 33:17), not over some Gentile peoples. David's throne—overthrown (Ezekiel 21:27) from Jerusalem to Ireland and later to Scotland—now resides in England. Since God states that "the scepter shall not depart from Judah" (Genesis 49:10), sitting on that throne is a monarch who is of the lineage of David. That monarch rules over Israelites, not Gentiles.

— Charles Whitaker