Jesus said, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain..." (John 15:16 NKJV). And He is faithful.
When God declares fruitfulness over you, His promise is powerful and can make it happen. The story of Ephraim vividly demonstrates this.
Ephraim's Unexpected Blessing
While praying about this message, I reviewed my notes on Shiloh, and the story of Ephraim's blessing stood out. Suddenly, my study took an unexpected turn, filled with moments of wonder.
In Genesis 48, Joseph took his two sons to meet their grandfather, Jacob. The elderly patriarch declared, "Your sons are my sons" (see v. 9), meaning they would be identified separately as tribes in Israel. And then he gave them a father's blessing.
But what happened next, Joseph could never have foreseen!
Joseph positioned them so that Jacob's right hand would be on Manasseh, his firstborn, and his left hand on Ephraim. But Jacob crossed his arms, preparing to give Ephraim the firstborn blessing. Joseph objected, but God was leading Jacob and he could not be swayed!
"So he blessed them that day, saying, 'By you Israel will bless, saying, "May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!"' And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh." (Genesis 48:20 NKJV)
He had the discernment to see what his father Isaac had not—the direction of God's covenant blessing.
Jacob, like Ephraim, had been a second-born son. A few chapters earlier, we learn that Jacob craved the firstborn blessing, and cheated his brother out of it. Then he even attempted to wrestle God for the blessing! (Photo via Creazilla)
Finally, he realized that God had already chosen him—Jacob—the second born, who started with a weak character (see Genesis 25; 27–32).
Later, God would identify Himself to Moses as "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (see Exodus 3:6).
It's a profound illustration of the grace of God.
If you've ever felt overlooked or in second place, be encouraged. You may not have been people's first choice, but God has chosen you.
The name Ephraim means "double fruit" (Strong's H669). Hear the Father declare over you, "Double fruit! You are doubly fruitful!"
"Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours." (Isaiah 61:7 NLT)
Jacob's Blessing over Joseph
We live in a day when God is "reordering" His leaders. Some will receive a fresh commission, while others will move from the shadows to the forefront.
In Jacob's final blessing over his twelve sons (see chapter 49), he prophesied that the Messianic lineage—the line of kings—would come through Judah, his fourth-born son! But he reserved his most abundant blessing for Joseph:
"Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall." (Genesis 49:22 NKJV)
"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." (Genesis 49:26 NKJV)
Joseph, once rejected by his brothers, was now honored by his father before them.
Ephraim's Spiritual Leadership
What God is working on is greater than what you have imagined, just as Ephraim's fruitfulness went beyond land and family (see Ephesians 3:20; Numbers 26)!
How wonderful is this? We can trace Ephraim's story of spiritual leadership, as Joseph's legacy endured: Of the twelve leaders sent to scout the Promised Land, only Joshua of Ephraim, and Caleb of Judah believed in God (see Numbers 13:6; Numbers 13:8).
God chose Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim to lead Israel into the Promised Land.
Fruitful from a Place of Rest
In Canaan, Joshua settled the tabernacle with the ark of the covenant in a town called Shiloh, meaning "place of rest" (Strong's H7887; see also Joshua 18:1). It was located in Ephraim.
God later said, "...My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first..." (Jeremiah 7:12 NKJV), indicating His sovereign choice.
It's a divine principle that fruitfulness comes from a place of rest! So Shiloh's name was prophetic. It also heralded the future Messiah, Jesus (see Genesis 49:10 NKJV).
From then on, Shiloh became the hub of worship for generations. The tabernacle remained in Ephraim into the time of the Judges.
When the priests became corrupt, God sent a prophet with a pure heart to warn them. At Shiloh, the young Samuel heard the audible voice of the Lord while resting near the ark of the covenant (see 1 Samuel 3). He was a young Ephraimite boy. (Photo via Picryl)
Samuel led a revival in Israel. Later, he anointed Saul and then David as kings of Israel.
Sadly, the township of Shiloh was destroyed when the people turned away from God (see Psalm 78:60–61).
Eventually, the ark of the covenant went to Jerusalem, in Judah, where it was ultimately destined to go. But even then God continued to woo Ephraim back to Himself.
Through His cry to Ephraim and Judah in Hosea 6, we hear the heart of God: "Return to your first love! I will send My harvest rain upon you! I will restore your fruitfulness."
God Says, "I Have Chosen You"
Sometimes, we sense God's call, but others don't perceive it. We may experience seasons of rejection or doubt.
I believe the Lord is saying to someone, "I have chosen you. You no longer have to struggle with your identity or dwell on past rejection. Now is the time to step into a new era of acceptance and peace."
Just as Ephraim was appointed for fruitfulness, God calls you "chosen and fruitful."
How can we find our fruitful life and calling? It's found in our identity and inheritance in Christ.
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Helen Calder
Enliven Ministries
Email:Â helen@enlivenpublishing.com
Website:Â www.enlivenpublishing.com
Helen Calder is a prophetic minister and writer, and founder of Enliven Ministries, in the David McCracken Ministries family. Helen has a unique gift of equipping in the areas of prophetic ministry, discernment and prayer. She is known for Enliven Blog, an online prophetic training and mentoring resource that reaches thousands of people globally. Helen and Malcolm have been married for thirty-seven years and are at home in Planetshakers Church, Melbourne, Australia.
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