Jacob’s grandson, for whom the tribe was named, was born to Joseph in Egypt by his wife, Asenath, daughter of the priest Potiphera. Joseph named his second born son Ephraim “because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering” (Genesis 41:52). When Jacob gave his blessing to Ephraim and Manasseh, he chose to bless Ephraim first, despite Joseph’s great dismay and protestation, noting that Ephraim would be greater than Manasseh (Genesis 48:5-21).
Throughout the Bible’s Old Testament, the name Ephraim was often used to refer to the 10 tribes compromising Israel’s “Northern Kingdom” and not only the single tribe named after Joseph’s son (Ezekiel 37:16; Hosea 5:3). The Northern Kingdom, usually referred to as Israel, was taken into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. (Jeremiah 7). The Southern Kingdom, as known as Judah, would be conquered by the Babylonians nearly 140 years later (586 B.C.).
We learn from the tribe of Ephraim (and the other tribes) about our human essence, what we are as people. Lessons from the early Israelites are mere reflections of our longstanding flawed and sinful nature. As the book of Romans says in the New Testament, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Roman 3:23).
However, the Bible chronicles several specific events regarding the tribe of Ephraim. While God gifted the tribe as warriors and valiant fighters (1 Chronicles 12:30), Ephraim failed to follow God’s order to Moses in the desert about removing the Canaanites from the Promised Land (Exodus 23:23-25; Judges 1:29; Joshua 16:10). Further, when Gideon was one of Israel’s judges, failed to deploy Ephraim’s fighters in a manner promised earlier to which they had agreed (Judges 7:24), the people felt insulted and became angry (Judges 8:1). God told Gideon that the men of Ephraim were not needed for His plan at that time. Gideon wisely displayed Godly kindness and extolled the tribe’s commitment and willingness to serve the Lord, thus diffusing what could have become a violent and ugly situation (Judges 8:1-3).
Such ugliness did arise, and again it can be linked to Ephraim’s pride, jealously, and self-centeredness. When Jephthan (a judge) chose to fight (and defeat) the Ammonites without the aid of the proud Ephraim warriors, a civil war erupted between these two components of Israel and 42,000 warriors from Ephraim were killed. As Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Do not seek glory for yourself; all honor and glory always belongs to God, not to man.
Often God chooses to use us in a manner less glamorous or spectacular than we would like. Do we pout? Do we yearn for glory? Do we control our pride and jealousy and accept God’s will? Many of us have difficulty learning those lessons well and living with the consequences accordingly. God says that we should accept what happens to us as His will regardless of how good or bad those circumstances seem to us (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Other lessons of Ephraim complete the picture of the wide-range of human behavior. We see Ephraim turning away from God and doing wicked things (Isaiah 28:1-3), yet we also find the tribe recognizing the need to repent and obey by following the prophet Oded’s instructions (2 Chronicles 28:12).
Yet the biggest lesson from Ephraim is that God loves us as the Perfect Father despite our failings. He is patient and merciful beyond our understanding. He hears our cries of anguish, tries to discipline and guide us, knows of our moments of repentance, and yearns for us to be in perfect communion with Him (Jeremiah 30:22; 31:18-20).
© 2012
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YETMO: “You’re Entitled To My Opinion,” A Balanced Point of View
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