This is Connect with Skip Heidzig. Thanks for joining us for today's program. At Connect with Skiff-Heitzig, we're all about connecting you to the timeless truth of God's Word through verse-by-verse teaching. That's why we make messages like this one today available to you and others. Before we get started with the program, we encourage you to check out connectwithskip.com, where you'll find resources like full message series, weekly devotionals, and more.
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Now let's get started with today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Before the modern Palestinians occupied it, the Ottoman Empire occupied it, the Turks.
So we'd say it belongs to the Turks. Give it to Turkey.
Now but keep going back. Before the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks. From Egypt controlled it. And the cell jerks. And before the Mamluks and the Seljuks, the Crusaders occupied that territory.
But keep going back before the Crusaders. There were different Arab tribes, warring tribes, and before those tribes Were the Romans and before the Romans were the Greeks and before the Greeks, the Jews again and before the Jews. The Babylonians and before the Babylonians, the Jews again, and before the Jews again, the Assyrians. And you keep going all the way back, and we have to say, actually. It belongs to the Canaanites.
But now we have a bigger problem because there are no more Canaanites. in existence.
So In trying to solve the dilemma whose land it is, Do we say well? Whoever fought for it. And wins the fight, it's their land, or whoever has the most money, or most firepower, or most need, or most population. How do we solve the difficulty? We solve the difficulty biblically.
Let me give you a few facts. Fact number one. The land belongs to God. It's God's land. We rightly call it the Holy Land because in Leviticus 25, The Lord said, and I quote Leviticus 25 around verse 23.
The land shall not be sold permanently. Or it is mine. Saith the Lord, You are just sojourners, you are just travelers.
So that's the first fact. It belongs to God. Fact number two. It was promised to Abraham. And to his descendants, as we have seen in chapter 12.
I will bless you and make you a great nation. To you and your descendants will I give this land. Fact number three. The land was a gift. An unconditional gift.
in perpetuity. For in chapter 17, The Lord said, I am giving this land, Abraham, to you and your descendants, as get this, as an everlasting possession. Forever belongs to you. Abraham and your descendants. But Abraham had more than one descendant.
He just didn't have Isaac, he had Ishmael.
So that brings up the next fact. God promised the land. To Isaac and his descendants, not Ishmael and his descendants.
Now, if you just remember back a few chapters, chapter 17, I know that was a long time ago. When the Lord was suggesting that God was going to bless Abraham with another son besides Ishmael once Ishmael was born. God says, you're going to have another boy. And I'm going to bless him, and I'm going to give him the land. And Abraham.
Didn't like the suggestion. He said, Oh, oh, that Ishmael might live before you. Just fulfill your promise through Ishmael. I know it was with Hagar and it was this weird mistake thing with this Egyptian hand-made, but just. Do it with the L let let it happen with Ishmael.
God said no. But your wife Sarah will have a son, and you will call his name Isaac. And to him I will give the land as an everlasting possession.
So God narrows it. He says, it's mine. I'm giving it to Abraham and his descendants.
Now I'm giving it not to Ishmael, but to Isaac and his descendants.
Next fact. The land was given not just to Isaac and his descendants. but it was given to Jacob and his descendants, not Esau. Esau wasn't given this land. God said, I'll bless him with other lands.
But look at verse 4 once again. This is what God told me, he said. And give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting. Possessions.
Now, not everyone agrees with the biblical mandate. It's not the British mandate, it's not the United Nations mandate, the biblical mandate for Israel to occupy that land. And some of the nations around Israel have been trying to get Israel out ever since she got in. She got in in 1948. The very next day, a war was declared, and Israel was attacked by neighboring nations.
They didn't even have an army. They weren't even a nation. They were just a bunch of farmers that got into the land, they were attacked. And ever since Israel has been in that land, The Muslim nation's 300 million neighbors have wanted her out. Because they think a Jewish state in a Muslim part of the world is.
It's an anathema. It's a curse. It shouldn't be. We have to expunge the Middle East of any Jewish presence. And so the problem persists.
And nations like Iraq were trying desperately to kick Israel out of the land, Saddam Hussein said. He said, well, he's not an issue anymore.
Well, he has a neighbor called Iran that has threatened to annihilate. Israel Because it's God's will to annihilate the little Satan, that's Israel, and then also the great Satan, that's. You and I. America And so now there's this whole worldwide wonderment and bewilderment. Is Iran building up nuclear weapons to destroy Israel?
Oh no! This has been going on now for thousands of years. And at this point, especially for us who believe the Bible and know the track record of God and his power. We much rather believe the promise of God than we do the nuclear capabilities of a neighbor of Israel.
Now, the Bible does say God even promised in the last book, or one of the last books in the Old Testament, Zechariah chapter 14, that all the nations of the world will come against Jerusalem, come against Israel. That God would protect Israel even when all the nations gather around her. Given just that information, do you think it's possible to see the nations of the earth in our lifetime? Go against Israel. Oh, you betcha.
I bring this up just so you know the kind of days we're living in are not that far removed from back then. That same promise and that lineage and continuation of fulfillment, we're seeing it. Dynamically happen around us. Every now and then, somebody will say, Man, I wish I was living in Bible times. Get a clue, you are living in Bible times.
It's as exciting as it gets. Man, I only made it through four verses, so. And now Verse five. Your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Notice how he changes the order.
Hmm, keep that in mind. Manasseh was born first. Ephraim was born second. It says he brought in Manasseh and Ephraim. We're coming to one of the most important truths in the Bible.
At least one of the most important verses. But he says, And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine. What? As Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
I'm sure Joseph didn't expect to hear that Grandpa was adopting his two kids. He brings them to get blessed. He brings him in his presence before Jacob dies, and he goes, Oh, by the way. I And promoting your two sons, my two grandsons, I'm elevating them to the status of patriarch. Just like I have Levi and Judah and Simeon and all the other 12 tribes, I'm giving them that kind of status so they become mine.
This is one of the most important verses in the Bible. It answers the whole tribe question: How many tribes are there? People say there's 12 tribes.
Well, actually. There's thirteen tribes. I'm going to thoroughly confuse you. No, I won't. I'm going to take away the confusion.
We talk about the 12 tribes, a dozen. It's really a baker's dozen. There's 13. But because Levi will become the tribe that. Hosts the priesthood, they will not get any land allotment whatsoever, just certain cities and all the other tribes.
For God said, I will be your inheritance, I will be your portion. You don't have to worry about land. You'll just be taken care of. You officiate in the priesthood.
Okay. That puts the land allotment back to 12 tribes. But because there are 13 tribes.
Now, Jacob takes the two sons of Joseph and elevates them to the same allotment status as his own children.
Now there's 13. Because of that, you have in the Bible 20 listings of the tribes of Israel. And they're all slightly different. And they can be.
So, if you were to say Ephraim, Manasseh may be included with that because it's a reference to Joseph. He's one of the sons of Joseph. They might be hidden or couched in there. When the nations go to war, Levi will be exempt, so you won't see him listed. In fact, the tribe of Joseph is never listed at all as the tribe of Joseph.
It's the tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh as separate tribes, so Joseph gets two shares. Joseph is never mentioned as a tribe except one place. Revelation chapter 7. The only time it's mentioned is the tribe of Joseph.
Now We'll find out why when we get to the book of Revelation. You're thinking, I'll be dead by then. This is Genesis, man. I'll be dead by then. If you were to look at the tribes in Genesis.
Compared to the tribes in Revelation. The tribe in Revelation mentions Joseph. Two are not mentioned in the tribal allotments in Revelation 7.
Now, what am I referring to? Revelation chapter 7, there's 144,000. Members sealed from the twelve tribes of Israel. 12,000 from this tribe, that tribe, etcetera. 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph.
Two are left out. The tribe of Dan left out. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we return to the message, consider this. Abraham's life was full of ups and downs, but God was in every moment.
In God print, The Life of Abraham, Pastor Skip unpacks seven engaging messages from the book of Genesis to show how God shapes the hearts of those who trust him. Through trials and triumphs, Abraham learned what real faith looks like. And this powerful seven message series will encourage you that you can too. This resource is our thanks for your gift of $50 or more to help reach more people with God's Word through Connect with Skip Heitzig.
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Now, let's rejoin today's teaching. Why, Dan? I believe because Dan was the tribe that hosted the first. False worship or idol worship in the nation. There were Um Two calves that were set up, and one was set at Samaria at Bethel, and the other was set at Dan.
And Dan. Was the tribe that served to first divide the nation with idolatry. Ephraim is also not mentioned, but the tribe of Joseph is mentioned. Ephraim also led them into idolatry. That's that central tribe where the other calf was.
But I don't want to go into too much detail because it could serve to just add layers of confusion.
So that's why that's just a snippet, and when we get to Revelation chapter 7, we can. Tie the knot on this. Verse six: Your offspring, whom you beget. I'll move quicker. After them shall be yours.
They will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. But as for me, When I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan. on the way. When there was but a little distance to go to Ephroth, and I buried her there on the way to Ephroth, that is Bethlehem.
Now, if you go to Israel today, Yeah. They will point to Rachel's tomb just to the north of modern-day Bethlehem. It's an old shrine. It has a little cupola on top of it.
So it is an old place. It has been noted by the Jews for centuries. It is considered in Judaism today to be the third holiest site in all of Judaism. I buried her there.
Now that was Joseph's and Benjamin's mother, the wife that he loved. Then Israel saw Joseph's sons. And he said, Who are these?
Now you're thinking, wait a minute, what do you mean, who are these? You just talked about Ephraim and Manasseh and your sons, and there's the son just kind of waiting around. And he goes, who are these?
Okay, he's 147 years old. Give him a little bit of a break. His eyesight's dim. I'm sure cataracts have formed. He's just not the guy he used to be.
Short memory span. And Joseph said to his father, These are my sons whom God has given me in this place. And he said, Bring them to me and I will bless them.
Now the eyes of Israel were dim with AIDS. There's our answer.
so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him. And he kissed them. And embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph, I had not.
Thought to see your face. But in fact, God has also shown me that Your offspring.
So Joseph brought them From besides his knees, they were probably just kind of playing around. standing around by Next to her. and he bowed down with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and he brought them near him. And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head.
Who was the younger? And his left hand on Manasseh's head. Guiding his hands knowingly, For Manasseh was The firstborn.
Okay. You can see what Joseph is doing. His dad can't see. He's going to position his son, so all that Jacob has to do is reach out his hands and grab the hand. In the right hand of Jacob, Would be the firstborn, Manasseh.
In the left hand of Jacob, Would be Ephraim. All you have to do is stretch out. But what Jacob does knowingly is do this, crosses his hands over, like that, and puts his hands on the head so that his right hand is on the secondborn Ephraim and his left hand is on the firstborn Manasseh. He guides his hand. Knowingly.
The right hand Is significant. The right hand is the hand of strength, the hand of authority. I'm sorry if you're left-handed, but most people are right-handed. Only 10% of the population is left-handed. I know there are very brilliant people that are left-handed.
And my wife's left-handed. Very, very brilliant, compassionate, wonderful people. But 90% of the population is right-handed. That's why the Bible talks about the right hand of fellowship. That's why the Bible talks about God will guide me with his righteous right hand.
Remember when Benjamin was being born? And Rachel was having trouble and labor. And she died because of it. Before she died, she said, Name this boy Ben-Oni, son of my sorrow. Jacob dad said, no way.
I'm calling him Ben Yameen, Benjamin, means son of my right hand. He's going to be my strength. Authority. I lost Joseph. He's the guy.
So he puts the right hand On supposedly should have been the firstborn, but now it's the secondborn, Ephraim. Why? What is he doing? And why does this upset Joseph? And why does Joseph position these boys so that the eldest gets the right hand and the secondborn gets the left hand?
Two. We mentioned it before. I want you to understand it. It's called the law of premogeniture. Forget that word.
Law of the firstborn. How's that? Law of the firstborn. Yeah.
So what it means is the firstborn has certain benefits that no other kid gets. The firstborn son gets the authority passed down as head of the family, the patriarchal nature of the family, the authority of the family, and twice. The land allotment. A double portion. The firstborn gets a double portion.
Later on, When the prophet Elisha finds Elijah and says, Give me a double portion. What he's saying is, let me succeed you in your ministry as prophet. The law of primogeniture is that the firstborn gets the blessing. The second born gets A blessing, but not like the firstborn. But he's knowingly doing this.
He's crossing his hands. Why is he crossing his hands? Because This is all an act of faith, as you're about to see as we come to a close tonight in this chapter. There's a second law that supersedes the law of the firstborn or premogeniture, the law of preeminence. God has the sovereign right.
to choose whatever order or person For whatever reason, whenever he wants, and uses them. That's his sovereign right as God. And you notice something, he does it a lot in the Bible. It wasn't Cain, it was Abel. Who's the one that's blessed?
It wasn't Ishmael, it was Isaac. the one that was chosen and blessed. It wasn't Esau, it was Jacob. It wasn't Reuben the firstborn, it's Joseph that gets the blessing of that robe. signifying him as prominent even then.
It won't be Moses. I mean, it will be Moses and not Aaron, his older brother, who gets that blessing, being the deliverer of Israel. God does this a lot. The law of preeminence supersedes the law of premogeniture, firstborn. I'm bringing this up.
Because There is a group. that will knock on your door. and passed out literature. And seek to confuse you because you may not know this. Actually, They should know this, and if they do, they're hiding it.
It's the call of the Jehovah Witnesses. And if you engage in a conversation with them, before long, you might start with John or whatever you want to start with, but they'll quickly pace you and move you along to where they want you, and they'll take you to Colossians because there you are. In the middle of your day, not expecting somebody to come with literature, and you say, Well, you know, the Bible says Jesus is God, which it does over and over and over again. They'll say, No, it doesn't. And they'll quote Colossians chapter 1.
He's the image of the invisible God, the firstborn. over all creation. But then it says right after that He created all things. Whether visible, invisible, on heaven, or earth, he created all things. And so, because it says that, they have to translate it a little differently.
And in the New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses, it's the only translation that does this, by the way, it says concerning Jesus, he's the firstborn over all creation. He created all other things. And by him, all other things. Consist. A deliberate insertion of a word that isn't there in any Greek manuscript at all.
of any authority.
So, what they try to say is, well, see, this is what it says. And if Jesus is born and he's first born, he can't be God. And then they'll say, God made Jesus. He was born as just a man. And then God used Jesus to create everything else.
And she's going. Or I don't know if I I don't what do I say? You take them to Genesis where it says Manasseh is the firstborn. Because he was. He was born first.
You can only have one firstborn. But then do this. Turn them to Jeremiah chapter 31. Let's turn there just for a moment. Oh, we'll finish the chapter.
Come on. What do you say, Jeremiah 31? Quickly, Jeremiah chapter 31. Just keep turning right. Till you see Jeremiah.
It's got a lot of chapters, so you'll hit it. Jeremiah 31. 30 and 31, speaking about the future blessings of Israel as a nation. Verse 8, chapter 31 of Jeremiah: The remnant of Israel, behold, I will bring them from the north country, gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them, the blind and the lame, the woman with child, the one who labors with child together, a great throng shall return there.
They shall come with weeping and with supplications. I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters. In a straight way in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Go now, wait a minute.
And ask them this: wait a minute. How can you have two firstborns? There's only one kid who was born first. They weren't twins. Manasseh was clearly Born first chronologically.
Why does God call him my firstborn? To we from Simple. Law of preeminence. What he's saying is I'm elevating him to be the heir. The idea of a firstborn means the heir.
He's going to be the heir, he's going to inherit. I'm going to give him the double portion. I'm going to give him the blessing. Ephraim is my firstborn. I'm going to bless Ephraim.
More so than Manasseh even. Ephraim is my firstborn in terms of position.
So Jesus Christ Back in Colossians chapter one, he is the firstborn over all creation. Prototicos in Greek. He is the highest in order. He is of the highest rank. He is the heir of all creation because he created everything.
He is therefore the firstborn, the highest in rank, highest in order, and deserves the preeminence. If you just keep reading that. That's how you solve it. And then just Just have fun. You won't know what to do with it.
We're so glad you joined us for Connect with Skiff Heidzig. Before we go, we want to remind you to request this month's featured resource, GodPrint, The Life of Abraham. This seven-message series from Pastor Skip traces Abraham's walk with God and invites you to discover how faith can grow even through fear, doubt, and delay. It's our gift to you when you support ConnectWithSkip Heitzig with a donation of $50 or more. Call 800-922-1888.
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