HOW DO WE GET TO HARVEST? A Prophetic Article on the Current Spiritual Shift

“Now You Will Know Judah”

About a month ago, the Lord said this phrase to me in my quiet time: “You have identified as the daughter of Joseph, but now you will identify as the daughter of Judah”. My paternal grandfather was Joseph Sr. My father is Joseph Jr. My brother is even named Joseph III. On top of these facts, my mother’s name is Judith. The Lord used these natural names to speak to me and get my attention, but I understood that He was sharing with me a spiritual shift that was taking place. There is no such other natural explanation, as my wonderful parents have been married for close to 50 years. As a result, I have spent much time pondering this shift with the Lord.

Judah & Joseph

In the Bible, Joseph was an incredibly pure and prophetic man of God, even though he was once a dreamy and mouthy teenager. Joseph spent so much of his life enduring rejection and restriction and learning forgiveness though he was always wise and prospered under the hand of God. He was always patient and full of integrity while looking toward the next door that would ultimately bring him to the place he was called to be. He implemented visionary strategies and rose to the highest places of influence. We all love Joseph. He was quiet and safe and full of Godly wisdom. He is an inspiration to us all.

The Judah of the Bible was a much rougher character. He was a shepherd warrior with quite an interesting story. He served and worked in the fields, disdaining his brother who got to sit and learn amazing truths in prosperous places. Yet, he was also preeminent in leadership and was destined for greatness. After he experienced his father’s sorrow over Joseph, his heart began to be transformed. He then took on the responsibility of caring for his youngest brother Benjamin, even interceding on his behalf to save him. Benjamin means “son of my right hand” which is indicative of prosperity and good fortune. We could say that Judah became the intercessor who continually covered, fought, and served for the prosperity and success of Israel.

Later, it was Judah who was chosen to lead Israel to the place that God was calling them to go because Judah “shall go up” first in battle. (Judges 1:2) (Judges 20:18) I believe this was partly because he learned how to steward Benjamin well after he felt the sting of losing Joseph.

“Then he (Israel) sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen”. Genesis 48:28

Goshen means, a place of “drawing near”. Judah did the service work of leading his family into the place of drawing near, which brought Israel into a place of prosperity and harvest through Joseph who had already gone ahead to prepare it. Judah’s name means “to praise”, and it is still the worshiping tribe that God has chosen to lead His people into the high places through worship, intercession, and service- to align us with the harvest that has already been prepared. If we want harvest, we need Judah. Judah leads us to Joseph, so Joseph can then elevate Judah.

“Judah you are he whom your brothers shall praise. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet. Until Shiloh comes: And to him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.” Genesis 49:8-12

The problem with Judah is that most people don’t prefer his way. He is wild and free. He is doing the field work. He wears bloodied garments, his eyes are intense, and his teeth are showing. Not because he is angry, but because he offers sacrificial praise through his lips and his lifestyle of Kingdom service and it slays the giants on the ground. He can make you uncomfortable. He is much more unscripted. He is rough around the edges and learns through doing. He is a warring man with an incredibly soft and discerning heart, but because he is untamed we aren’t sure what to do with him. How do we relate to what seems wild, unkempt, and unpredictable?

This is a season where we will learn how Judah and Joseph work together, because when Joseph and Judah come together they are a power-house of harvest! One is up high and one is down low. We don’t have to forsake one for the other. They motivate one another.

When Joseph tried to keep Benjamin back with him when he felt threatened in the presence of his brothers, Judah lost all restraint and in that moment provision and increase revealed itself in Joseph. Maybe that which is being held back in your life is working to activate you to rise up and let go of all restraint, so that the provision you need for the next season will reveal itself to you.

The Two Become One

Many are recognizing in a fresh way the multi-faceted nature of God and embracing the truth that the Lord has chosen to marry that which is unrestrained in the Spirit and that which is wisdom and truth applied in the natural realm. We can worship our way into provision.

It is not forsaking wisdom to worship and serve our way through or to get outside of what is easy and comfortable to shepherd the fields. At the same time, it is not forsaking revelatory understanding and service to prepare, get skilled in our understanding, and to sit in high places with the vision of the Lord. It is just that we are gaining a greater understanding that drawing near in the presence of the Lord is what brings us into the heavenly vision that reveals the strategy for serving in harvest. “..It is necessary for us to enter into the realm of God’s Kingdom, because that’s the only way we will endure our many trials and persecutions.” Acts 14:22, TPT

The tension between Judah and Joseph shall depart.

“He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Also, the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim. But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; and the people of Ammon shall obey them.” Isaiah 11:12-14

I sense that God is highlighting Judah in this season for his ruddy strength, relational service, and boldness.

The manifestation of the Kingdom of God would be based on His covenant with Judah (“praise” who worked in the fields), not Joseph (to add or increase). We can see then that kingly and priestly service becomes paramount in the person of Jesus Christ, yet it is also a co-laborer with increase and our redemption. We need them both. Here is why:

“Joseph is the complete tzadik, righteous person. His job is to shine light onto the world and inspire. He affects the world by flooding it with great light from above, motivating the people to do good. The problem is that he doesn’t change the world, and as soon as the light is gone, the world reverts to its old self. This is the idea of redemption in the form of a great light from above.

Judah is symbolic of the king, whose function is to serve the nations. In other words, the king deals with the world from the bottom up, motivating the people to change themselves. This kind of change is real and everlasting. This is the idea of [praise and] prayer, serving God from the bottom up.” (Chabad.org; Judah v. Joseph)

The provision for the harvest was not meant to be divided. The provision is meant to be released in even greater measures as Judah goes up to meet with Joseph so that both Israel and Egypt benefit from their togetherness. Joseph had to be in high places. He is so important in God’s plan. Joseph developed the provision and he had the platform and influence in Egypt, beyond Israel’s normal territory. Judah on the other hand, had the grassroots connection going on with the people around him. He did the work that Joseph could not do. Judah made Joseph more effective in the field and Joseph helped Judah go higher.  Together they represent “everlasting change and unlimited heights”.

A Sign

My youngest son’s name is Jude(praise) Christopher (carrier of Christ), and he turned seven earlier this year on 2.22.18. Interestingly, that is George Washington’s Birthday, who as the Father of our nation is remembered in three things: first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. This is a significant sign to me of our nation being perfected, reestablished, and realigned with the original design of God: Not timid, but bold for the Gospel. Not foolish, but wise and founded in truth. Unified, strong, courageous, and prosperous in Jesus’ name. A beacon of God’s light to the nations.

Second, it is in Genesis 2:22 where God took the rib from the man in order to build a glorious bride for him. My Jude turning 7 (perfection, completion, wholeness) is also a sign to me of the perfecting of the Bride of Christ in this revelation of the nature of Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the romantic warring King who lowered Himself to serve humanity- bringing salvation and everlasting change to the world for all who would receive Him. He is supremely first. First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of His countrymen.

….Then one of the elders said to me, Stop weeping. Look! The mighty Lion of Judah’s tribe, the root of David– he has conquered! He is the worthy one who can open the scroll and its seven seals…..and they were singing this new song of praise to the Lamb:

Because you were slaughtered for us, you are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals. Your blood was the price paid to redeem us. You purchased us to bring us to God out of every tribe, language, people group, and nation. You have chosen us to serve our God and formed us into a kingdom of priests who reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:5,9-10, TPT

A Declaration for God’s people:

The people of God are arising in understanding and the application of truth in this crucial season when light and dark are battling for preeminence in every sector of influence. The Body of Christ will boldly do as we ought and speak and intercede for truth and justice as we should- from the counsel of God. We recognize and release Judah in the earth to be who He is meant to be and to re-order the nations! We embrace Him as He is, The God of kindness AND justice. The God who is Wisdom AND Wind. We will not try to make him like Joseph because he is easier to identify with. We see and we say, “God, do as You wish!” We declare that as we have invited the Lion of the tribe of Judah in, the King’s harvest is being ushered forth in greater measure and it is bringing the nations to His storehouse of salvation. Amen.

“Joseph with his Brothers”, Art by Yoram Raanan; http://www.yoramraanan.com