Who’s Joe?

Shalom and welcome to the blog!

Great to chat with you :)

The real “Joe” :)

So, about me … first, my name’s NOT Joe, it’s Colette. The Joe in “joe.finds.torah” actually stands for Joseph – that is, Joseph of the Torah (Bible) … remember? He was one of Jacob’s sons, the one with the colorful coat? Yip, that Joseph …

So, why name the blog after him? Well … stick around, I’d love to explain :)

You up for a story?

It’s one of the most amazing stories ever! There are so many twists and turns, plots and details, but for now, I’ll give you the short version …

You see, it all started with Abraham (Genesis 12).

After Abraham left Ur and “crossed over” (literally becoming the first Hebrew, which means “to cross over”), YHVH covenanted with Abraham, promising him that his seed/children would become a great multitude – a people without number, like the stars in the night-sky and the sand of the sea.

YHVH reaffirmed this promise to Abraham quite a number of times, and then to Isaac (Genesis 22:17-18) … and after Isaac, the promise carried on to Jacob (Genesis 28:3-4, 13-15).

Jacob went on to have twelve sons (Genesis 29-30) – you’ll see, two of the sons (Judah and Joseph) become quite significant in terms of GOD’s Redemptive Plan …

Before he dies, Jacob blesses his twelve sons – each blessing is both “son-specific” and prophetic in it’s nature. Again, two of the sons are highlighted – Judah and Joseph (represented by his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh).

Jacob blesses Judah with the royal/ruling blessing, while Ephraim receives Jacob’s name “Israel” and the blessing of becoming a great multitude/people.

Quick pause – the term “Jew” originated from the name “Judah” (Ye’hu’dah in Hebrew). Still today, Ye’hu’di is the Hebrew word for “Jew”. So (and you can research this according to ancestral records/evidence), the Jews of today are basically the descendants of one tribe, Judah.

Fast forward to the time of King David – this was the first time all twelve tribes (from the twelve sons of Jacob) were united under one king … but this didn’t last long. After King Solomon, the nation split into two houses/kingdoms – the Southern Kingdom, made up mainly of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, called the “house of Judah” … and the Northern Kingdom, made up mainly of the other ten tribes, collectively called “Israel” or the “house of Ephraim”.

After the split, we see that due to idolatry, both the Jews (made up of the Southern Kingdom, Judah) and the Joes (made up of the Northern Kingdom, Israel/Ephraim) are expelled from the Land – and that the Joes had the additional judgement of becoming “not-a-people” (Hoses 1:9) and being scattered throughout the whole earth.

You sticking with me? I promise, the puzzle pieces will start to fit together soon :)

If you do a proper study on all this, you’ll find this judgement against the Jews and the scattering of the Joes was prophesied by YHVH and was all part of His Redemptive Plan …

You’ll see that in prophesy/history, the Jews kept their identity, preserved and held to Torah, but (for the most part) rejected Messiah Y’shua … and that the Joes completely lost their Hebrew/Israelite identity (assimilating into the pagan nations), rejected Torah, and (many) received Y’shua …

BUT,

And here’s where you start to see the power of this story – as YHVH prophesied and promised, in the last days, He would restore all things, including the restoration of the whole house of Jacob, bringing the two sticks (houses) – Ephraim and Judah (the Jews and the Joes) – back together, ONE stick in His Hand.

And that’s exactly what we see happening today!

The Jews are seeing/receiving Messiah Y’shua, and the Joes are seeing/returning to YHVH’s Ways and Torah!

And so, this blog is testament to YHVH’s Faithfulness to His Covenant, to His Promises, and to His Grace and Mercy – that this “Joe” has been called back to His Ways, His Torah, and (hopefully soon) His Land!

What an amazing story!

What an amazing plan YHVH has for both the Jews and the Joes!

As I said, this is the really short version of this story – I strongly encourage you to research this out for yourself. The following videos are great to start off with:

119 Ministries | The Lost Sheep

Jim Staley | Identity Crisis

DoorPost Ministries | Ezekiel’s Prophecy and the Lost Sheep of Israel

May the Father, YHVH, continue to restore you in every way … may you walk in His Ways … may He shine His Face upon you!

Much SHALOM and MANY blessings!

Joe :)