For centuries, the two tribes of Joseph dwelt together, the people of Manasseh living with those of Ephraim in the British Isles. In the early 1600s of this era, God took action to separate Manasseh from Ephraim. It was the folk of Manasseh who moved from England to "the coastlands" (Isaiah 41:1) of Jamestown in 1607. Fleeing religious persecution, others followed, founding Plymouth thirteen years later. More and more came to "the coastlands" of the New World. The colonies they founded, eventually thirteen in all, became independent from England by the end of the 1700s. These early Manassite settlers and their descendants became the "great" (Genesis 48:19) peoples of the early United States of America. Over time, the U.S. grew to become the single "nation" God promises in Genesis 35:11 that would descend from Jacob.

Through Moses, God prophesies that Joseph would "push the peoples to the end of the earth" (Deuteronomy 33:17). Previously, we saw how Ephraim (Britain) pushed. In her own way, so did America. Rallying to the cry of "manifest destiny," the Americans did what Israelites have been doing for centuries: They moved west. Her peoples pushed the French back, the Spaniards out, and the Russians and the Dutch away. They pushed the Ephraimites, who did not want to lose control of this rich land, back to their island confines and north into Canada. They pushed the native Indians onto reservations.

They pushed west, past the Appalachians, across the Mississippi River, over the Rockies, beyond the Pacific, all the way to the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska, then the Philippine Islands, then the Japanese Islands. Like Britain before her, America ruled the waves, her vast naval power enforcing her economic interests as far as the Arabian Desert. America now has a greater military presence in Arabia than Solomon ever did!

To the early American settlers, the land seemed a never-ending, multicolored tapestry. A green land, with ridge after ridge of hills blanketed by thick primeval forests wherein dwelt fur-bearing animals of every ilk—otter, mink, sable, and beaver. A black land, much of it covered with a rich humus suitable for farming and cattle-grazing. A blue land, filled everywhere with lakes and rivers and streams teeming with all manner of fish. A golden land, capable of supporting miles and miles of wheat, barley, oats, and other grains.A glimmering land, abounding with gold, silver, copper, iron, coal, and oil. What a big, magnificent land it was!

Using the various resources that God provided them, the folk of Manasseh put mind and muscle to work and built the American phenomenon, a rich, powerful nation, greater in scope—if not in wealth—than even Solomon's Kingdom by almost any measure.

For example, consider steel manufacturing, which became the measure of American industrial strength by the late 1800s. In his book, The End of Affluence: The Causes and Consequences of America's Economic Dilemma, Jeffrey Madrick writes that, just before the turn of the last century, one American company, Carnegie Steel, by "itself produced more steel than Britain, France, and Germany combined" (p. 48).

Alternatively, consider a modern European's assessment of Manasseh's wealth. The late French politician Jean Jacques Servan-Scheiber puts the stature of the United States in clear perspective in his book, The American Challenge:

American industry produces twice the goods and services of all European industry combined—including both Britain and the Common Market—and two and a half times more than the Soviet Union, which has a greater population than the United States. It produces a third of the total production of all countries in the world. The Americans have achieved this with only 7 percent of the surface of the globe and 6 percent of its population. . . .

All by themselves, the Americans consume a third of the total world production of energy, and have one third of all the world's highways. Half the passenger miles flown every year are by American airlines. Two trucks of every five on the road are American-made and American-based. Americans own three out of every five automobiles in the world.

Advanced technology and management skills have raised per capita production in the United States to a level 40 percent above that of Sweden (next highest), 60 percent above Germany, 70 percent above France and 80 percent above Britain. . . . The combined profits of the ten biggest firms in France, Britain and Germany (30 in all) are $2 billion. The profits of General Motors alone are $2.25 billion. To equal the profits of General Motors, you would have to add the ten leading Japanese firms to the European total. These firms employ 3.5 million people, while General Motors employs 730,000—or about a fifth. (pp. 49-50)

Servan-Scheiber uses 1965 figures, a bit dated now. American power is now measured less in steel manufacturing and more in her predominant role in the Information Age. That is part of the marvel of Manasseh; the birthright blessings are multifaceted. The vast diversity of America's wealth resonates with the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 33:13-16. Joseph was blessed

with the precious things of heaven, with the dew, and the deep lying beneath, with the precious fruits of the sun, with the precious produce of the months, with the best things of the ancient mountains, with the precious things of the everlasting hills, with the precious things of the earth and its fullness. . . .

The present-day magnitude of America's power frequently invites comparison with the Roman Empire. Coral Bell, in her article, "American Ascendancy and the Pretence of Concert," puts that comparison in its proper perspective:

That comparison actually understates the current level of U.S. advantage. For the Roman world coexisted with the great civilizations of China and India, which were hardly touched by it, and the rival empire of Parthia (roughly the contemporary area centered on Iran and Iraq), which was never subdued. The U.S. sphere of cultural influence has no predecessor in its global reach. (The National Interest, Fall 1999, p. 55.)

Even today, despite its current economic troubles, Manasseh is still a global force to be reckoned with, and Ephraim continues to have far greater sway in world affairs than her size should warrant. Next time, we will see why God bestowed such blessing on the descendants of Joseph and how America and Britain continue to have a great deal in common.