Item 6
Joseph and Ephraim, the Rightful Entitled Heirs of Jacob
and Ancestors of Christ

First we need to understand what it means to be the rightful heir in a patriarchal order of the birthrights of the firstborn in a house of promise as estabished by God. As covered in item number 2, the rights of the full everlasting covenant fell through the fathers to Joseph (D&C 27:10) and then to Ephraim. The scriptures set out that Ephraim is the first born of God in this line of the promises to the fathers. Jeremiah has recorded the words of God when he stated, ' . . . for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born." (Jeremiah 31:9) And in 1 Chronicles chapter 5 we read that the ' . . . birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel . . . ' and that '. . . birthright was Joseph's.'

When Jacob did bargin for the birthright from Esau for a bowl of food, it was obvious that Esau was not giving up much in his mind, for he did despise the birthright of the covenant of the Lord. Esau was a free spirit and very much into what the natural man desired and not for the ways of God. He cared little for the promises of the fathers and the blessings of the everlasting covenent, the Covenant of Abraham which made up the birthright blessings of the worthy firstborn son. And while Esau had given it up to Jacob for potige, Isaac was still likely in his old age to bless his favored son Esau with the patriarchal blessing of the birthright blessings. Thus Jacob's mother was moved to aid the worthy Jacob to receive his rightfully earned 'birthright'. And Jacob received the birthright blessing of the first born which included the everlasting promises of God to redeem the world and send his son through the righteous lineage of the birthright (selected firstborn) son. Jacob did not care for the lands and property of inheritance as Esau did. After receiving the covenant related promises under the hand of Isaac, Jacob removed himself from the 'wealth' of Isaac. (Genesis 25:19-34)

Neither did Joseph need the properties of Jacob, as he was far more wealthy than his father. What Joseph received was the 'birthright' of the covenant promises of God through the fathers. His seed was to fill and bless the earth, he was a fruitful bough which would run accross the oceans and be sifted into all the nations of the world. And as Jacob stated as part of the birthright blessing, 'from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel'. (Genesis 49:22-26 especially verse 24)

Lost is scripture is the implied meaning of Jacob giving the coat of many colors to his son Joseph. But Joseph's brothers knew well what it did mean. Jacob had select Joseph over all his elder brothren to be the receipant of the everlasting covenant. When God covenanted with Noah, the Jewish Bible records that fact that the earth would not be totally flooded as it had been in the days of Noah to destroy all the inhabitants of the earth. But what is lost is that that was only a part of the promises made to Noah. God also renewed the promises of the fathers of the 'everlasting covenat' as promised to Adam and Enoch, which included the coming forth of the Messiah. If one will recall what all the 'everlasting covenant', the everlasting promise of God to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, the the followig verses from Genesis takes on much more meaning than a promise not to flood the earth any more.

For a more complete understanding one would need to read and understand what it is that is stated in JST Genesis 9:17-25 as it is more fully elaborated there. And there it refers to the promises of the fathers and those made with Enoch. Part of these promises made to Enoch are found in Moses chapter 7. But even then one must understand that from before the foundation of the earth was the Savior selected and ordained to this work of bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. The coming of Christ and the redemption of man was promised to all the fathers from Adam to Ephraim, that through their seed, including the 'Son of Man', would the nations of the world be blessed as the plan of redemption and gospel of Jesus Christ is spread to and offered to all mankind. The entire 'work and glory' of God is envolved in those covenant promises of the tathers. And the rainbow it the token of it. And it was the coat of many rainbow colors as given to Joseph that did set him appart before his brothers to be the son of the birthright promises of the fathers of the everlasting covenant.

Joseph and his son Ephraim received the birthright blessings of the firstborn of Israel. Rueben, Jacob's oldest son was not worthy, neither can it be argued where any of the rest of the sons of Jacob as they were all accomplices to the selling of their brother Joseph into slavery and threatening his murder. And it was Judah who did talk his brothers into selling their brother Joseph into slavery to the Ishmeelite trading caravan headed to Egypt (Genesis 37:26-27). Now Joseph had already been foreshadowed as being the leader of Isreal by his prophetic dreams and Jacob had so favored his son Joseph over his other brothern. Thus the envy and jealousy of the older brothers where turned against the rightful son would was destined to inherit the blessins of the covenant.

Thus Joseph, and then his son Ephraim were heir to the covenant blessings and promises of the fathers. In short, it must first be understood just what was the birthright covenant blessings of Israel, which were the same blessings of the fathers not only from Abraham and Isaac, but from the ancient fathers all the way back to Adam. This is what Abraham was seeking after and received. Thus we will start by summarizing what the Covenant of Abraham did consist of as extracted from the LDS Bible Dictionary under the topic of the Covenant of Abraham or Abraham, Covenant of.

Thus the Abrahamic Covenant included baptism, priesthood authority and likely the priesthood endowment, and celestial marriage as the saving and exalting ordinances of the Gospel. Further, perhaps as part in sealing and part in promise, Abraham was promised that these blessings would come to all of his mortal posterity and seed and through them to bless all of humanity. Also as within his promise the promised Christ and Redeemer of the world would come through his seed. Further an eternal land inheritance was given to Abraham of this earth. This was the whole of the Abrahamic Covenant and the birth right blessing. And with this blessing comes the responsibility to carry the gospel to all the world as Abraham was told that 'all the families of the earth would be blessed with the blessings of the gospel,' which would come by way of his seed in the latter days.

Now there is little question of what the Covenant of Abraham did contain. That is in agreement. And there is little question as to the fact that Isaac and then Jacob did obtain those same blessings and covenant of Abraham after him as pointed out and that the whole of Jacob's posterity would benefit by them. But after Jacob to whom does the birthright and Covenant of the Fathers come to next? Certainly Joseph was the favored son. Certainly Joseph did receive the birthright blessing. And the Bible Dictionary under the topic of Jacob states:

Now comes a question. If Joseph and then Joseph's chosen son Ephraim were to whom the Covenant of Abraham was passed on to, how is it that the House of Judah becomes the ancestorr to Jesus Christ the Messiah and Savior of the world? Certainly the latter day blessings of the Covenant of Abraham are being carried to the world by the seed of Joseph and his son Ephraim as is well understood in the Church today. But what happened to the concept that the Abrahamic Covenant, which Joseph and Ephraim inherited, included the right of ancestry to the Christ? Wasn't it the house of the bearers of that covenant, their house to be Christ's forebears? How is it that Judah stole that right from within the Covenant of Abraham from Abraham's rightful heirs? Or did Judah actually do so? What is the answer to that seeming dicotomy which has the Covenant of Abraham and the Promises split in two between Ephraim and Judah? Did Joseph and Ephraim receive the full Covenant of Abraham or not?

Now the Bible does shed some light upon this matter, but it must be remembered and stressed as later discussed in items number 24 and 25, that the Bible was prepared and compiled from a very Jewish perspective and it was not so combiled until after the Babylonian captivity which was well after the ten tribes of Israel had been lost and scattered to the world. Thus when one reads these references, it must be considered who it is that did compile them, from what perspective thay are reporting, and in what environmental time period the report is made.

Is Israel the Israel of the Promise?

Jacob, though he had obtained the birthright and blessing of Isaac, still had his strugle with God in order to confirm and maintain the right in the covenant in himself. Jacob's wrestle with the Lord in recorded in Genesis chapter 32. It is at that time that the Lord changed Jacob's name to Israel, as he had prevailed with the Lord. And despite Judah's claim of having 'prevailed', it is Ephraim who is named as the 'firstborn' of the Lord (Jeremiah 31:9). And the name Israel was the name by which the northern kingdom, the kingdom of Ephraim was known by. Ephraim inherited the name of Israel, not Judah. The following scripture states as much.

There are points to be made in understanding this Chronicle report. The two books of Chronicles in the modern Bible are but one book in the Hebrew Bible. The one book of the Jewish provied chronicles or history of events from the Creation down to the proclamation of Cyrus allowing the Jews to return to Palestine. Therefore it is to be understood that the Chronicles abridgement was not made until after the Babylonian captivity. And it is in that frame of reference when Israel is no more a nation and Judah the only prevailing tribe remaining that the Chronicle record was made. This limits the perspective greatly to that of being a 'surviving Jewish perspective'. The other tribes, of any extent which the Jews are welling to recognize as legitimate in Israel are gone but for the Jews.

From the Jewish perspective, they had all but elimiated the legal and rightful ancester of Obed from consideration by laying only a Jewish claim to David. This will be further discussed in detail in later sections. And while David was of the blood of Judah and did fulfill the blessing of Jacob upon Judah regarding the sceptur and rule, it was still the fact of the matter that David was legally of the tribe of Ephraim and would be the source of fulfilling both blessings of Judah and Joseph. To this myoptic error of Jewish bias I will refer to the comments of Joseph Smith had in 'The Teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith' page 327. There he the effects of poor translation, compilation and even intentional facbrications does mar the Jewish prepared Old Testament.

Now on the one had, this skewed Jewish perspective does report by the hand of thes historians of the Chronicle record that it was indeed to Joseph and his sons to whom the birthright was given. This we also know as Jacob himself did bless and place Ephraim before Manasseh in obtaining the covenant blessings of Israel (Genesis 48:15-22). Now when the Jewish chroniclers did state that Judah prevailed above his brethern, and of him came the chief ruler, various considerations come to mind. At this point of writing only Judah as a tribe remains and therein did Judah prevail. Also, as explained in items number 21 and 22, David despite being the rightful heir of Mahlon and Elimelech, did proceed to chose and select Judah, his bloodline through Boaz over Ehraim and Israel. Thus from a Jewish perspective, Judah did prevail over his brethren at that time when king David did select Judah over Israel. It certainly was not before at least that juncture in time that Judah did prevail, because the first king of Israel was Saul, a Benjamite of the house of Rachel. And in fact it is the very perspective of this current work that David did obtain his right to rule and to be the ancestor of Christ by his descent from Mahlon and not by his blood of Boaz. And from a very limited perspective what does it really mean to say, I've prevailed and won when there are no other players left upon the playing field as all of Israel had long since been destoryed and carried off. Thus this singular historian statement can hardley be consistered to be one in which the right of ancestry of the Messiah can be based in Judah.

Now consider a prophet's simple statement in contrast to that of the Jewish historical compilers and abridgers of the Chronicle record.

Here the Lord, after the scattering of Israel and Ephraim, and before the Babylonian captivity and well before the writing of the Chronicle record, clearly states Ephraim to be the 'firstborn'. As the holder of the rights of the firstborn in Israel of the Lord, and the holder of the birthright blessings, it hard to concieve that Ephraim did not hold in right the full blessing of the full Covenant of Abraham. To this end it is not the intent of this work to deny that Boaz, of Judah, did not parent Obed by Ruth and that it was this Obed that was the ancestor to the Kings of Israel and Judah beginning with King David. It is merely to point out that Obed's and David's right did come by way of the house of Mahlon and Elimelech, Ephrathites, and to the end that this is whereby the rights to the ancestry of Christ doth come.

Thus my conclusion is that Joseph and Ephraim did obtain the full rights of the firstborn in Israel, the birthright, and the complete Covenant of Abraham. And it is my understanding that the answer to the ancient dilemma and more recent Rabbinical dicotomy of Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David posed by the Classical and more recent Jewish Cultural beliefs is that they are one and the same person, one Messiah, and that Messiah is Jesus Christ. And as is the case of many questions in life, the answers are held the people's patriarchal blessings. So thus we turn to the Patriarchal Blessings of both Joseph of Etypt and Judah as given to them by their father Jacob, and also to the Patriarchal Blessing of Ephraim given by his grandfather, that same Jacob or Israel.

In scripture we have confirmation of what the Bible Dictionary stated, that the covenant blessing did flow from Jacob to Joseph. In D&C section 27, the Lord is speaking of the covenant, the fullness of the everlasting gospel and delineating the various roles played by the various prophets and patriarchs in relation to it. It is interesting to note who it is that the covenant did come down through as the Savior said:

Now once again, the promises of the everlasting covenant made with the fathers beginning with Adam and thence to Enoc, Noah, Abraham and son on, included that a Savior would be provided who would redeem mankind from the fall of Adam. It promised a land or earth upon which if man lived righteously they would prosper in the land and obtain the blessing of the covenant. It provided that these blessings would be offered to and be available to all who did come to this earth to partake of. And the ordinances of this covenant included baptism and all that it entails, the priesthood of God and all that it entails including the priesthood endowment, and the ordinance, covenant and blessing of celestial marriage for the exaltation of man to be able to become like unto God. And those promises remained through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, Joseph being placed first in the listing of the Doctrine and Covenants reference just presented. And Ephraim was the then selected son of right to this great promise and all that it did include.

Thus if the promise of a coming Messiah is a part of the promises and blessings of the everlasting covenant of God with man, which the covenant of Abraham was, then we need consider Messiah Ben Joseph and how he fits into the picture. And as we have set out, he does and is the same as Jesus Christ being both Messiah Ben Joseph and Messiah Ben David.