Ephraim: A Harbinger of Hope

Photo of tree in our garden in our Manila home taken on December 6, 2008
This is my very first time to see this tree bear flowers!

And to Joseph were born two sons
before the years of famine came...
Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh:
"For God has made me forget all my toil
and all my father's house."

And the name of the second he called Ephraim:
"For God has caused me to be fruitful
in the land of my affliction."

Genesis 41:50-52

har bin ger n. One that indicates or foreshadows what is to come; a forerunner

(The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, 2006)

Death is an enemy.

There is no better description for the enemy than what Jesus uses -- the thief comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy.

God on the other hand, is LIFE. He is for life, He is a Life-giver. When God created the world, He placed the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden.


The enemy kills, but Jesus says He came that we may have life, and have it abundantly.

It has always been Satan's strategy to steal, to kill, and to destroy, using death as a tool to prevent God's purposes from being fulfilled.

Death was first introduced in the garden of Eden when the serpent deceived Adam and Eve into choosing to eat from the forbidden tree.

Since then, death has been an effective weapon in the hands of the enemy.


Jesus, however, conquered death when He willingly chose to go through it, and then proved through His resurrection, that death cannot keep Him in the grave.

In rising again, Jesus proved Himself victorious over death.


This is the Christian's glorious hope, and this is the same hope that gives me inner strength in the midst of my grief: my husband Ernie is not dead, he is alive. He is in heaven.


I had long wanted to write about Ephraim, but always, something got in the way. Finally, now I have a very good reason to do so. In the recent experience of death that our family has gone through, I want to celebrate life.


Ephraim's name literally means "double fruitfulness." He was Joseph's second son in the land of his captivity. In an earlier post, I wrote about Joseph being a prisoner of hope. And in that prison, God spoke life to him through his two sons:

- Manasseh, a reminder to Joseph about forgetting his years of toil and pain, Manasseh meaning, to cause to forget, and

- Ephraim, a living message to Joseph that the land of his famine would become the land of his fruitfulness.

I have always been a firm believer in the life out of death principle.

In the process of growing and maturing spiritually, God has taught me the value of speaking life, making faith declarations, and believing in the unseen heavenly realities, what Francis Frangipane calls the "prayed for version" of our present earthly circumstances. Many times I have seen the tremendous spiritual power of fighting in the opposite spirit.

Paul himself says that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, not worldly. The strongholds of pride and human wisdom can very easily be toppled down by humility and contentment. Anger and bitterness can be won by a gentle and forgiving spirit.

And Ephraim, to me, has been a beautiful reminder that out of death, life comes.

Although Ernie's death came at an unexpected time for all of us, the way he died was so peaceful and so quiet. There was no struggle or agony or even pain.

I cannot help but be amazed at the words of Psalm 32:6-7 which was the passage I had meditated on two days before he died, part of which reads:

"In a flood of great waters, they shall not come near him." (verse 6b)

The medical cause of his death was acute pulmonary edema. Water accumulated in his lungs due to heart failure, and the oxygen supply to his body was cut off. But I saw him a few minutes after we reached the emergency room. His face showed total peace. Resignation. The heavenly Father saw to it that the flood of great waters did not come near him. He rescued Ernie from the pain of death.

Many say that they admire me for my strength. They probably do not understand. I would have no strength apart from the God whose promises I am holding on to. I am weak, to be honest, it is my God who is strong. And I am simply holding on to Him. That is the only thing I know to do.

The peace in my heart comes in knowing that this death is a defeated enemy, and that out of Ernie's death, life will flow.

Weeping may endure for a night,
but joy comes in the morning.
(Psalm 30:5)

Even before the burial, so much life had already begun to flow in our family. There were broken relationships within our extended family that somehow became healed and restored, and these could not have happened had not Ernie died.

And so, painful as it is for me and for the rest of us who will truly miss the joyful presence of Ernie, the message of Ephraim is God's harbinger of hope.

Ernie and I have always loved to speak these words to each other, and let me end by quoting them, "The land of your wounding is the land of your healing; the land of your pain is the land of your anointing; the area of your failure is where you will shine; and the land of your defeat is where you will rise victorious."

Indeed, Ephraim speaks beautifully to me at this time, that after Ernie's death, there is a coming day of double fruitfulness for me and my family in the near future.


Ernie's favorite verse:

I know what it is to be in need,

and I know what it is to have plenty;
I have learned the secret
of being content
in any and every situation.
(Philippians 4:12)