We’ve been focusing specifically on the life and person of Mashiach, the prophesied Messiah of the Jewish people for some time. We’ve looked at the prophecies themselves and the mathematical probabilities of one single individual fulfilling them all. We’ve looked at the fact that there have been so many self-proclaimed Messiahs throughout history that it might be a little hard to identify which is the right one. We’ve also spent some time learning about the Jewish understanding of two Messiahs, both unique and different. They are known as Mashiach ben Yosef – Messiah son of Joseph and Mashiach ben Da’vid – Messiah son of David. Yosef is prophesied to be a suffering Messiah and Da’vid is prophesied to be a warrior Messiah. We came to the conclusion last time that Jesus is in fact both those Messiahs…but not two Messiah’s, rather He’s one Messiah, who at different times will fulfill the calling and mission of each. He came 2,000 years ago as the suffering Messiah, and will one day return as the warrior Messiah and establish His everlasting kingdom.
Because the personality and mission of Joseph and David have now been brought to our attention, we’re going to learn about each of those men to see how they both actually pre-emptively parallel the life and ministry of Jesus. We also will learn why it’s these two specific men who are almost like forerunners to Mashiach…they mirror each other, but they also mirror Mashiach and this is why rabbis believe Mashiach will come as either a Mashicah like Joseph or a Mashiach like David.
I’m going to use as my main source an article written by Dr Eitan Bar from the ministry of One For Israel, which I highly recommend. This is his research mostly.
Have you ever read something in the Bible and immediately you think of another story or event mentioned in the Bible? In the Jewish mind and understanding, God designed His Word this way. There’s a professor of Biblical studies, Dr Yair Zakovitch who explains the phenomenon this way. He said, “The Biblical narrator does his best to inspire the reader to pay attention to the mirroring associations between the stories, especially those who are set far apart in time from one another.”
Rabbi Amnon Dov Bazak said, “Explicit parallelism between various events is an accepted practice of the Old Testament itself. Quite often we find that various characters in the Old Testament refer to an earlier event in order to ascribe strength and validity to their message.”
Dr Eitan Bar says that this helps the reader to “identify key figures based on past characters with whom he’s familiar with already.” In this way, Jews who have a decent understand of the Bible actually expect to see the image of Mashiach in other Biblical characters.
This is incredible…especially when Jesus actually said to the Pharisees in John 5:39, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it’s these that testify about Me.” Jesus actually confirmed an interpretive methodology that was long-standing among the Jewish people.
So because Joseph and David have been our focus for the past few programs, we’re going to look at their lives to see just how they mirror the life of Mashiach.
There are of course some distinct differences between Joseph and David of course, Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph and he fled the temptation, whereas David observed Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop and didn’t even try to avoid the temptation. He had her brought to his palace, committed adultery with her and then had her husband murdered. So sure, there are very distinct differences between these men, but there are some truly stark similarities and parallels to Mashiach that can’t be ignored.
Both Joseph and David experienced suffering and rejection by those most important to them, and these experiences were essential preparation for the elevation to power and authority later on. (Gen 37-41; 1 Sam 17 & 2; 2 Sam 11)
When Joseph and David were in their teens, their older brothers left home for different purposes. Joseph’s brothers moved their flocks further afield for better feeding pastures, while David’s older brothers left home for the war front.
- Joseph was the second youngest son in his family and David was the youngest son in his family. Both these young men were chosen by God for a specific mission and calling, something that didn’t usually happen. Traditionally, it was the eldest son who automatically was elevated and honoured, and in Joseph and David’s situations, their elevation and privilege caused a great deal of angst and jealousy among their brothers.
- Joseph was chosen to lead a nation through extreme difficulty and ensure the survival of Egypt and the nations around them during a savage famine. David was chosen to be king of Israel, leading his nation to victory over their most brutal enemies, the Philistines. Every battle David fought, he won!
Next time we’ll look at more of the parallels between Joseph and David and how they mirror Mashiach.
Shalom
Mandy
