Read with Me
Genesis 48:8-22 (HCSB)
When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”
“They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”
Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.
Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”
Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.
Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
the Angel who has delivered me from all harm—may he bless these boys.
May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,
and may they increase greatly upon the earth.”
When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.” He blessed them that day and said,
“In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing:
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ”
So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. And to you, as one who is over your brothers, I give the ridge of land I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”
Listen with Me
This is not only a solemn scene, but a touching one. Jacob had believed for years that Joseph was dead, but now God had enabled him to not only see Joseph again, but also to see Joseph’s two sons. The boys, both in their early twenties, had been brought to receive Jacob’s blessing.
Like his father, Isaac, Jacob suffered from failing eyesight in his final years. So, the boys were brought close to him for the blessing, and so he could more clearly see their faces.
As Jacob blessed the boys, it was expected that he would place his dominant right hand on Manasseh’s head, giving him the preeminent blessing as the elder of the two. And Joseph had positioned them in front of his father with Manasseh on Jacob’s right to ensure that that was what happened. But as he extended his hands over the boys’ heads, Jacob crossed his arms, intentionally instilling the stronger blessing on Ephraim the younger.
This displeased Joseph, so he tried to correct the process, but his father refused. Jacob was a man who had seen God’s form and who regularly heard his voice, so he could act as a prophet. He had heard that, as God had done in several prior generations, He intended to elevate the younger above the older. Joseph himself had been elevated by God’s hand to a position far above that of his elder brothers, so Joseph finally accepted this as God’s will.
In his final bequest, Jacob gives to Joseph the area around Shechem (the Hebrew word means “hillside” or “slope of the mountain”), with the assurance that God would ensure that his remains would be taken there. Indeed, after the land was conquered, Joseph’s remains, which the Israelites had taken with them, were reinterred in Shechem (Joshua 24:32).
Pray with Me
Father, You know the end from the beginning, and so are able to see all times and all occurrences. That means that we can always trust Your word about what is going to happen and how You will bring about the various steps in Your plan. Joseph had the good sense to stop insisting once he knew what Your will was. Grant to me, Lord, that same wisdom, so that I can fit well into Your agenda. Amen.