Genesis 37:8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
Luke 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
Another aspect of Mashiach ben Yosef is that the world would resist his authority.
When Joseph told his family of his dreams, they were outraged at the suggestion that their younger brother would reign over them. They simply had no idea that God would make Joseph exactly the kind of ruler they needed.
Likewise, the world is outraged by Yeshua’s claim to be ruler of this world. Never mind that His astounding humility completely qualifies Him to be loved, worshiped, and respected.
Joseph won the hearts of his brothers through the grace, forgiveness, and love that he showed them after they had rejected and sought to kill him. Yeshua wins our hearts the same way, and yet we still find resistance to His authority in some areas of our lives.
The longer I walk as a believer, the more I find myself between two realities. As my life becomes more consecrated and I realize how Holy He truly is, I become increasingly aware of my own true condition, “Woe is me, for I’m a man of unclean lips!” My life may seem to be holier to the world, while inside, my spirit is crying out, “Lord, Help me!” It’s because I can see and feel more clearly the areas in my soul that are still not submitted to Him. Yet His Spirit is constantly nudging me, “I want this part of your life too!”
If the Spirit of God is nudging you to surrender something, somehow, somewhere… it’s time to give it over to Him. Don’t wait another day. Take a moment and say once again, “Lord, I want you to reign over all my life!”
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]For the next week or so we’ll be looking closely at the life of Jonah the prophet. Jonah was told to “preach against the city of Nineveh”, that was in the ancient kingdom of Assyria. Nineveh was a major city on the banks of the Tigris River about 500 miles north and east of where Jonah was; located on a contemporary map in modern Iraq, about 300 miles north of Baghdad. Archaeologists have found the ruins of ancient Nineveh right outside the Iraqi city of Mosul. Yes, the same Mosul that was taken last week by jihadists!
Abraham was sitting in front of his tent on the plains of Mamre, when the LORD (Yehovah — Yud Hay Vav Hay) came to him and declared the fulfillment of a promise He had made to him many years before, saying that through Abraham’s seed the world would be blessed! (Genesis 12:7; 13:15-16, 15:18, 17:7-9)
As we conclude the Feast of Sukkot tonight, I want to reflect on one of the profound mysteries of God—how He aligns the prophetic clock with the Hebrew calendar. Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Ingathering, is a harvest celebration. Notably, it remains one of the few biblical feasts yet to be fulfilled prophetically, pointing us to future events in God’s divine plan.
The story of the Exodus is a story of miracles – yet in the beginning when Moses first appeared before Pharaoh to deliver the children of Israel from 400 years of slavery, the Israelites were severely tempted and became angry because of the initial hardships that were laid upon them.
One beautiful correlation when celebrating Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) is recognizing its connection to marriage, specifically pointing to our future union with God. This festival not only commands us to rejoice, but it also carries deep symbolism that mirrors the joy and intimacy of a wedding celebration.
During the feast of Tabernacles in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) day, the temple priests would set up four great lampstands with golden lampholders, which they would light with the aid of enormous ladders in the Temple courtyard. The lighting of these lamps began the celebration of the “Great Hosannah” (Hoshannah Rabbah, in Hebrew).
Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) started last week, and it’s customary to say to everyone this week — Chag Sameach, which literally means joyous festival! As we mentioned, the feast of Sukkot commemorates the time in which God led the Israelites through the wilderness for 40 years, providing them with every need on a daily basis — shelter, food, water and clothing. You may know that a during Sukkot, a portion of Ecclesiastes is read in the synagogues. Interestingly enough, it speaks of the vanity of materialism.