Ani Yosef

By George Crabb

He had a miraculous birth. He was the father's most beloved son. His brothers who were the shepherds of the fathers flock hated him and conspired to kill him. He was sold for pieces of silver and handed over to the gentiles. He was later falsely accused and sent to the place of the condemned by the gentile leader. While being punished with the guilty he tells the fate of two men with him. One is freed and restored to life in the kings palace, the other is sentenced to death and cursed. Later he was raised up out of the pit and brought before the throne. It was there before the throne that he was the only one found worthy to reveal the future events that would save the world. The king was greatly pleased with him and exalted him to the right hand of the throne. He was then given his gentile bride. He and his bride were together in the royal palace before the revealed time began.

Who was described? Joseph or Jesus?

But the story doesn't stop there. There is more.
When the revealed time came about, there was a great harvest like the sands of the sea. During this time his two sons were born to him and were of his blood line.

Then the second half of that revealed time comes and it's a time of great trouble over all of the face of the earth. This is called "The time of Jacob's Trouble". During this troubled time his long lost brothers who were the tribes of Israel come to him. This is when he finally reveals that he is alive to his brothers.

"Ani Yosef". This was Hebrew for, "I am Joseph". He said this to his brothers and they were stunned.

What does he do next? Does he throw them into the pit? Does he sentence them to death?

No. Instead he shows great loving kindness and tender mercy to them. He gives them amazing grace by providing for them and giving them the best of the land.

Then his gentile bride and his brothers live together in the best of the land in peace for a long, long time.

This book will take you deep into the story of Joseph and how his story shows the Lord's plan for the future of Israel and the world.

The bible is always the best commentary for the bible and Joseph's story is just one of the illustrations we find of Jesus.

So as you read this beloved story, and see a story within the story, my hope is you will be blessed by this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: George Crabb
• Release date: Dec 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310149306

George Crabb

George was born in Santa Cruz, California and raised by a loving mother and father who are followers Jesus. They taught him the bible from his earliest years. He was raised in a large ministry that helped people right off of the street with drug problems. His family became an outreach in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1979. He was 9 years old when they moved there and by the time he was 11 years old he began to get into a lot of trouble.He attended Calvary Albuquerque when it started in 1982. It was during that time that "Seeds" were being planted by hearing the Word of God taught by Pastor Skip Heitzig.It was a year later in Tucson, Arizona that he gave his life to Jesus and was "Born Again".His family moved back to Santa Cruz when he was 14 and he became an avid surfer. Surfing became his life and slowly he drifted away from close relationship with Jesus.At twenty-one years old he knew that living to surf was a dead end. So he volunteered to become an Army Ranger. During this time in the Rangers he learned how to be a man. Though he learned much he was still a lost son to God. The party life was everything until he met the love of his life, Christina. Later they married and they moved back to his home town of Santa Cruz.His wife, work and surfing was his priority until they had their first child in 2002. Later they decided that it would be better to raise their son in Washington State. He started to go to church again and turn back toward the Lord.It was a men's conference at Calvary Fellowship in Seattle that he re committed his life to Jesus. Greg Laurie was preaching and he felt the touch in his heart of the Holy Spirit to stand up for the prayer of re dedication.Since that time he began to teach and preach at his local Calvary Chapel and his first teaching was on Old Testament Joseph. He turned this teaching into a book. Then other Sunday sermons and Wednesday night teachings became books.He became a teacher/speaker and a men's ministry leader at his local church.He is teaching on You Tube, Spotify, i-Tunes, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, Anchor.He loves his wife and his two boys while writing books that glorify Jesus Christ.

Book preview

Ani Yosef

Copyright © 2015 George Crabb

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 9781310149306

Scripture taken from the New King James Version ®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter One: Sent by the Father

Chapter Two: The Father Most Favored Son

Chapter Three: They Conspired to Kill Him

Chapter Four: Sold for Silver

Chapter Five: Condemned but In-Charge

Chapter Six: Only He was found Worthy

Chapter Seven: Exalted to the Right Hand

Chapter Eight: His Bride Given to Him

Chapter Nine: The Great Harvest

Chapter Ten: The Great Famine

Chapter Eleven: The Return of His Brothers

Chapter Twelve: His Brothers Forgiven and Saved

Chapter Thirteen: The Great Family Reunion

Chapter Fourteen: The Kingdom Comes

About the Author

Other books by George Crabb

DEDICATION

To my great uncle, who was in a concentration camp:

The tattooed number on his arm, and missing toes, were a testimony of his love! He hid his Jewish friends from the Wolves of this world.

To all of Israel today:

You have a long lost Brother, Lord, and Savior Who Loves you, is ready to be with you, and longs to see you again.

90% of the profits of this book go to organizations that support Israel.

INTRODUCTION

He had a miraculous birth, lived in Egypt, was the most favored son of the father, resisted temptation, was hated by his own who were the sons of Israel and shepherds of the father’s flock. Even though he was innocent and sent by the father they could not speak peaceably to him and they conspired to murder him. He was sold for pieces of silver, and they stripped him of his tunic which was covered in blood. He later was condemned, under the authority of a Gentile leader because of false witness.

While being punished for something he did not do, he foretold the fate to the two who were condemned with him. One was spared and restored to be with the King, the other was put to death and cursed.

He was separated from his father.

Later he was raised up out of the place of the condemned.

While standing before the throne, only he was found worthy to reveal Gods sealed plan of future events. After that he was exalted and glorified to the right hand of the throne, where all had to bow to him except for he who sits on the throne.

Then he who sits on the throne gives him a Gentile Bride.

Years later the revealed time comes and he reaps a great harvest like the sands of the sea. This great harvest happens before the great famine or time of trouble.

After the time of harvest, that time of great trouble comes and his brothers, who are the sons of Israel, come to him for help, now with a new heart, confessing their sin.

He forgives them, shows them loving kindness and tender mercy. He loves them with amazing grace and gives them the best of the land in his new kingdom, joining his new family to his old as one great family forever and ever.

Who was described? Joseph or Jesus?

We could say that Joseph and Jesus were described.

This is because God made Joseph’s life a pattern to show that he’s a beautiful picture of Jesus. He was the despised, rejected, favored son of the father who forgives, saves and blesses his whole family.

In 2009 I began to see this story, comparing Joseph and Jesus and I was awestruck by the closeness and chronological form of these two beautiful stories.

Joseph’s story not only resembled Jesus being rejected and crucified by his own people (his brothers) but how he suffered, was sold for silver, and was raised up out of the dungeon.

As I was digging into, and researching the scriptures I felt like an archeologist discovering ancient treasure. I found myself being filled with joy and peace as the words came alive in the text. It was as if I were in the scenes seeing, and feeling Joseph’s brothers’ envious, hateful stares, and their bitter mocking. It seemed as if I was in the land, walking alongside Joseph, tasting the dust, and thirsting for cool water, as he was on a mission to get to his Lost brothers. I was seeing that he never fought back, but trusted God through it all. The power of God’s love burned in Joseph’s heart as he showed mountains of forgiveness to his brothers, even though they rejected him.

This book will simply show the story within a story that God painted and weaved into Joseph’s life.

Joseph was a real person in history. He was as real as you and as real as I, as real as your mother, father, and as real as your best friend. He was not some fictional character who was made up to show a moral story. Some biblical scholars and teachers have cheapened this story of Joseph and other stories in the book of Genesis as a folk tale, or metaphorical.

So get ready to go on an adventure to find Joseph looking much like Jesus. You will see this throughout the book as God meant Joseph’s story for an illustration of His only Son, the Good Shepherd, who would come around 2000 years after Joseph.

My hope is that you will be blessed with this book titled, Ani Yosef – Hebrew for I am Joseph. As it begins to open and play out before your eyes you may see some deep things in it that will give you a divine outline of God’s plan, and unwavering promises to His people.

Chapter One

Sent by the Father

Before Joseph was born, his father Jacob or Israel had ten sons who took care of his flock, so they were the shepherds of his flock.

These brothers of Joseph had a long history of living in great sin. They deceived and murdered all of the men of Shechem, and Israel’s first born son Ruben sexually defiled one of his father’s concubines. All of this carnal living of the original ten brothers grieved their father Israel.

These ten brothers were not born of Israel’s favored wife Rachel who was childless. But now this was about to change even at Israel’s old age. Joseph was born as the son of his old age and his mother Rachel was highly favored among the women of Israel.

Sound familiar?

Mary was also highly favored among the women of Israel and chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus, when Israel and the whole world needed a savior the most.

God miraculously opened Rachel’s womb and then she gave birth to Joseph. She then said of his birth: God has taken away my reproach.

So we see this needed Shepherd or Savior who will take away all of their reproach and will be born of this most favored woman of Israel who was barren until now. We see it in Jesus’, and in Joseph’s story. Rachel names her baby Joseph which means may He (God) add. Keep this in mind and look at this Old Testament scripture that was meant for the Good Shepherd the Messiah. Also remember Rachel said God has taken away my reproach about Joseph’s birth. Now look at the text:

Sing, O barren…Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make desolate cities inhabited.

Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole Earth. For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused says your God. For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.

- Isaiah 54:1-8

They needed a redeemer or one to take away their reproach. This was written to show the picture of the coming Messiah who came at a time when the Shepherds of Israel (the ten sons) were living in a state of no repentance. This was the reason for John the Baptist, to prepare the way by calling for all of Israel to repent.

Jesus was born of the Father and of the Holy Spirit by the most favored woman of Israel at the time of Israel’s old age, as a nation.

Joseph being the eleventh brother born of the most favored woman was birthed into Israel’s family history at the eleventh hour so to speak and he changed everything. Imagine the face of a time piece that we will call Israel, and the tribe of Joseph, or house of Joseph, was the eleventh tribe on this clock. Interestingly, the twelfth brother Benjamin was not his half brother like the others but was his full blooded brother, born of the same mother Rachel, which then completed Israel as twelve tribes.

So, we end this chapter seeing the picture of the highly favored woman of Israel’s family giving birth to a son, Joseph, who takes away her reproach and whose name means May He (God) Add, and does he ever.

There’s something about a name! The names in the scriptures are intentional, they often mean something, and so they are important as they often tell a story or show a picture.

Jesus had a human father, who was a righteous man, named Joseph who held him at birth and helped wrap or swaddle his baby in clean cloth. There was another righteous man also named Joseph who wrapped Jesus’ dead body in clean cloth.

Chapter Two

The Father’s Most Favored Son

Joseph was seventeen years old when he, with his brothers, was feeding the father’s flock. Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

Many commentators and teachers have given Joseph the label of spoiled brat and tattle tale at this point in the story. This is not so! This was the same picture as that of Jesus giving a bad report to the Father during His earthly ministry. When Jesus went alone to pray, as He often did, I would imagine that He would give His Father in Heaven an honest report. This is what He saw when He was around the blind shepherds in Israel. This was a bad report not because He was a tattle tale but because He loved His Father and cared about His flock more than anything including His own life. So he told the truth even if it made Him the target of the shepherds or brothers’ hate.

We see that Joseph was the fathers most beloved son.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his