For God has called me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction

This is the meaning behind the name patriarch Joseph chose for his second child. He called His first born Manasseh meaning “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house”, but the Ephraim which was the second born of Joseph was named to mean

“For God has called me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction”

These were awesome prophetic names that until now the children of Israel are famous for. These names have not lost their meaning in their lives even to this day.

When Patriarch Jacob (Israel) finally embraced his son Joseph he had two sons from Asenath his Egyptian wife the daughter of Poti-Pherah.

These two offspring’s were born to Joseph in his time away from his father and his brethren and in naming them he prophetically chose names that one day were going to be Israel’s greatest identifying names.

By these names prophetically Israel obtained a heavenly identity and gave this nation their future prophetic utterances to live and be blessed under.

Even until now not only the physical Israel is identified by these characteristics, we the spiritual Israel too can prophetically be identified by these names through our experiences that we go through. In Genesis chapter 48 Jacob declares these two sons as His own and prophetically blesses them radically.

Patriarch Jacob upon his departure at the age of 145 leaning upon His staff began to speak prophetically about the future of His Children and the nation of Israel, from where the 12 tribes came and even the Messiah’s lineage came from. In His prophetic utterance Israel not only said that these two sons of Joseph were to be counted as his own, but that he stretched his hands to bless them and in doing so he reached to Ephraim and blessed him first and then Manasseh. In this patriarch Joseph got upset reminding his father that Manasseh was his first born, yet Israel said, yes son I know, but the older son will serve the younger.  To the naked eye these were only one man’s ways of blessing his grand children, yet in the eyes of the Lord who sees and knows all things, these were prophetic utterances of the future realities that one day would come to pass in these individuals lives.

These were moments describing Israel’s future destiny in God.

This radical act of prophetic blessing had a very serious truth attached to it by which even our lives are affected today.

The meaning of Joseph’s son’s names were carrying spiritual significances in all of Israel’s’ decedents and their lives, even ours.

Ephraim meaning for God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction is the story of every true believer. God has called us to be fruitful in his vineyard, but never without affliction or suffering. The New Covenant book of Hebrewssays God made the Captain of our salvation perfect through suffering. It is through suffering in the flesh that our lives would become the fruitful garden of the Lord. It is through conforming to the suffering of Christ that we are dead to sin and alive in Him.

It is through this agonizing toil that we begin to lift up our eyes to see our salvation in Christ Jesus drawing closer to us. And it is only there that we like the prodigal son lift up our eyes to heaven and declare our need for repentance.

It was in the suffering and affliction where patriarch Joseph began to be fruitful unto God in having the fruit of the Holy Spirit developed in Him. We all despise affliction and suffering, yet it is in the midst of these sufferings that the Character of Christ is developed in us. Joseph in daily fighting with sexual temptations gained the everlasting fruit of self control. This was the spiritual land of his suffering as well of physical place of his affliction.

Patriarch Jacob too had experientially gone through this process and this helped him prophetically reverse his hands of blessing and bless the younger as the first born. Since it is only after suffering for righteousness sake that the fruit of the spirit is developed in man and it is only after this that God can make us forget all our toil and all our father’s house. This meaning the former manner of life we used to live in the slavery of the lusts of the flesh.

Fruitfulness is the greatest goal of life and especially in faith. Jesus said that I am sending you that you would bring much fruit. Patriarch Jacob or Israel in blessing his son Joseph prophetically spoke and said in Genesis 49:22

“Joseph is a fruitful bough. A fruitful bough by a well. His branches run over the wall.”

Wow what a prophetic utterance for all who would be blessed in such blessedness in fruit bearing.

The in verses following Jacob utter the following:

“The arches have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him.

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). By the God of  your father Israel who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you with the blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.

This is whole meaning of Christianity to be fruitful and that in the land of our afflictions.

Like in Hosea where the Lord refers to Israel as Ephraim many time we too need to be brought into our spiritual inheritance of suffering with Christ to bring forth the fruits of righteousness on to Him.

The Author of the book of Hebrews here once again speaks about chastening of the Lord as a means of suffering to bring us unto fruitfulness on to Him.

In Hebrews 12: 1- 11 he says it in this way and I quote therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose in your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragementthat addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,    “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

This also is another New Covenant scripture that tells its readers that true fruitfulness comes from the land of our affliction and through it we will forget

All our toil and all our father’s house

To receive

The blessing of Joseph that his father patriarch Jacob spoke over him including this last blessing that said….

These shall be on the head of Joseph and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

Amen?