Gospel Light Christian Church Thru-The-Bible Series (24.3)

The Book of Genesis

Genesis Chapter 47:27 to 48:1-22 - Read this Bible passage once through before referring to the notes below.

Faith That Has Learnt the Ways of God

v.28-31 While residing in the beautiful eastern Delta region in the country of Goshen, Jacob’s family “grew, and multiplied exceedingly” (v.27).  After 17 years in Egypt, at the age of 147 (v.28), Jacob knew he would soon pass away and he called Joseph to his side to take a solemn oath that was binding even after Jacob’s death by putting his “hand under [Jacob’s] thigh” (v.29).  Joseph thus swore to “carry [him] out of Egypt” (v.30) and to bury him in Canaan.  Like Abraham in choosing to bury Sarah in Canaan instead of returning to Haran (cf. 23:19), Jacob is expressing his faith in the promises of God (cf. 46:4) when he asked Joseph to bury him in Canaan.  Even though Jacob and his family is experiencing tremendous blessing in Egypt, Jacob’s mature spiritual eyes of faith do not lose sight of the promises, which he knew would be fulfilled in Canaan.  After Joseph swore, “Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head” (v.31) in a reverent act of thanksgiving to the LORD.

Chapter 48

v.1-4 When Joseph heard that Jacob is sick, he brought his two sons to visit Jacob (v.1).  Israel thus “strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed” to receive them (v.2).  It is no accident that the Scriptures referred to Jacob as “Israel” in the second part of verse 2.  As Jacob, he was only a human warrior, feeble with age and near death; as Israel, he was the bearer of the covenant promises of God and able to bless his children before his death.  We may observe that Jacob’s recollections to Joseph goes back to the time God appeared to him at Luz in Canaan (v.3, cf. 28:13).  Jacob has indeed come a long way – he had thought he could get whatever he wanted and could use any kind of method he wished to accomplished his goals early in his life but here we see his faith in God.  He goes back to what he considers the beginning for him, which was when God appeared to him.  This is a remarkable estimate of his own life – he counted only that which God did in and through his life of real value (see Paul in Phil. 3:8). 

Drawing to the close of the Genesis record, the Bible gives us here, once more, through the lips of Israel the famous words of blessing (v.4), which not only recalled the Abrahamic covenant (cf. 12:1-3) but also the original commandments at creation (cf. 1:28).  God had intended to bless man since the beginning of time at creation and He was working throughout the era of the patriarchs to pour out His blessings on the entire world through Israel.

v.5-7 Jacob, now confident of the Lord’s promise, passed the double blessing of the birthright on to Joseph by elevating Ephraim and Manasseh to the rank of heirs – “Ephraim and Manasseh…are mine” (v.5).  The recognition of them along with Reuben and Simeon would alter the portioning of the Land of Promise – they would both have a share in the Land, whereas the other sons of Joseph would belong to Joseph “in their inheritance” (v.6).  Though unspoken, the granting of the double portion of the Land to Joseph in his two sons was done in full confidence that they would have something to inherit.  It was therefore another expression of Jacob’s faith in the promises that the tribes would leave Egypt and return to possess the land of Canaan.  At the presence of Joseph and his two sons, Jacob was moved to the recollection of his beloved Rachel.  At a time when he was thinking of his own burial, he remembered what must have been a moving experience for him – the burial of Rachel in Bethlehem (v.7).

v.8-14 Israel could not see clearly because of age and asked Joseph to identify them for him (v.8).  Desiring to bless them (v.9), Jacobs had Joseph brought to him so that “he kissed them, and embraced them” (v.10).  Israel rejoices over the blessing he could enjoy from God in not only seeing his favourite son again but his children as well (v.11) and “he bowed himself with his face to the earth” (v.12) in an act of worship to God’s goodness to him. 

When the moment came for the bestowal of the blessing, Joseph positioned Ephraim, the younger son, “in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand and Manesseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand” (v.13) so that Israel, who could not see clearly, would nevertheless correctly bless the elder above the younger.  Even though “the eyes of Israel were dim for age,” he, knowing what Joseph was doing, reaches out to his grandsons in a tremendous act of faith and crosses his hands so that he placed right hand on Ephraim to bless him above Manasseh.  It had taken Jacob a lifetime of discipline to learn this truth about God – He works in a different and unconventional way from man.  Israel would not attempt to bless the wrong one as Isaac, his father, had attempted to do; nor would he handle the blessing dishonestly anymore.  Instead, Israel would obediently perform the blessing in the way that God wanted – blessing the younger over the elder.

Out of Jacob’s long career, the author of Hebrews selects the incident in this section as his greatest act of faith (cf. 11:21) – his reaching out to the future of the promise in the face of death as he blessed the younger over the elder.  There is irony in the fact that this incident is comparable to the situation in which he had received the blessing over his older brother (cf. 27:18-29).  Once more the blessing was given to the younger but this time there was no deception or bitterness but it was given openly in accordance to God’s plan.  When Jacob crossed his hands to bless the younger over the elder, he was dramatically and vividly expressing his faith that has learnt the ways of God – God often crosses over the norm of human convention in the outworking of His purposes.  Man tends to look at age, seniority, experience, talents, etc. and makes choices according to natural abilities but God’s ways are not the ways of humankind.  God can use all kinds of natural abilities but they must first be yielded to him as Israel has learnt, or they will be wasted in the light of eternity.

v.15-16 Israel reaches spiritual heights here.  From the very opening words of his blessing, he gave immediate and complete glory to God – “God, …the God which fed me all my life long unto this day” (v.15); “The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads” (v.16).  Israel recognised towards the end of his life that it was God who provided for him and it was God who protected him.  All that he had done in the arm of the flesh meant nothing in reality.  And as it was God who made the real difference in his life, it is God who will bless Joseph’s sons and “grow [them] into a multitude in the midst of the earth”. 

All believers likewise have to learn that we are really “nobody,” who can achieve nothing on our own efforts, until we choose to allow the LORD to have complete rule and sway in our lives.

v.17-20 Joseph was displeased when he saw that his father was blessing the younger first and so he “held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head” (v.17).  When Joseph said to his father, “this is the firstborn” (v.18), it would have brought back to Jacob’s memory the struggles for the rights of the firstborn.  But Israel knew well the ways of God and Joseph knew them too in his own life for God had likewise exalted him above his older brothers.

Hence, Joseph did not persist in protesting when Israel responded by persisting to bless Ephraim first.  Israel reply, “I know it, my son, I know it” (v.19) expresses the full confidence of faith in the knowledge of God’s plan – His blessing was not to follow ordinary convention but had to be initiated by faith.  Manasseh will be great but Ephraim “shall be greater than he”. God had elected to “set Ephraim before Manasseh” (v.20) and Israel gave complete priority to God’s will in the whole matter.  In the wilderness march of the nation of Israel to the Promised Land, the tribe of Manasseh marched under the banner of the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 2:18, 20; 10:22-23).  This blessing on Ephraim began to realise fulfillment during the time of the Judges – the tribe of Ephraim increased in number and power to the point that it exercised leadership among the ten northern tribes. 

v.21-22 Jacob concluded with a promise that Joseph would ultimately return to Canaan, “the land of your fathers” (v.21) and occupy a “portion” (there is a wordplay on this word referring to Shechem) of land, “which [he] took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow” (v.22).  There is no record of a conquest of Shechem by Jacob but it is not impossible that the property which Jacob referred to here was taken away by the Amorites after he left the region (cf. 35:4, 5) and that he eventually returned and repossessed it by force of arms.  What is clear is that Israel is giving here to Joseph a piece of property above and beyond what he is giving to his other sons.  Thus, with great spiritual maturity and faith, Israel blesses Joseph at his deathbed.