Genesis 47:28-48:22

June 25, 2014

Before we get into our study I think its a good idea to review the main purpose of
Genesis. This is a book that gives us the history of Israel and tells us some of the
things God wants, but its overall purpose is the same as the rest of the Bible. This
isnt a book that stands alone; God made a promise to Adam and Eve that He
would provide a redeemer, and the whole Bible is an account of how He did that.
Genesis is just the beginning of that story. Exodus comes next, and then we go into
the Israelites time of conquest, and then their judges, and then the kings and
prophets, and finally the Messiah comes in Jesus Christ. So what we read in
Genesis is more about leading up to that time than it is anything else, and we do
well to interpret it that way.

The last time we were together we read about how God saved Israel from the
terrible famine. But He did more than just save them, didnt He? It was during that
famine that God began to make a distinction between Israel and Egypt because
Israel thrived and had plenty while Egypt merely survived. The Egyptians lost all
their land; they sold their bodies to Pharaoh while Israel received plenty of food
and jobs and even land. This is part of Gods promise to Abraham for a seed and
for blessing. Its building towards that ultimate promise of life in Christ.

Now, the famine comes to an end and life in Egypt resumes:

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of
Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.

So seventeen years pass, and we dont know what happened during that time, but
were brought back to the story just as Jacob is about to die. His last hours are
recounted in chapters 47-49 and then the book ends at chapter 50. But we need to
remember that this long account of his death isnt merely for closure. This too is
written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and it reveals something about God
and His promise:

29
And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph,
and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee,
thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I
pray thee, in Egypt:
30
But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me
out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as
thou hast said.
31
And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And
Israel bowed himself upon the beds head.

At first this comes across as a sad verse: heres Jacob, and he trusts God, but hes
about to die. But his death isnt whats so important; what were seeing is a
statement of faith. Jacob believes that Israel will inherit the Promised Land, and he
intends to go back there for burial. The writer of Hebrews comments on this faith
and shows that this verse is far from a sad one. Really, this verse is about victory:

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them
afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14
For they that say such things declare
plainly that they seek a country.
15
And truly, if they had been mindful of that
country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have
returned.
16
But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city
(Heb. 11:13-16).

So Jacob believes God, and this request is the evidence of his faith. He wants to go
back, and when Joseph promises to take him he rests against the head of his bed
and worships.

48:1
And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy
father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

A little time passes and Jacob enters into his final hours. Joseph hears that hes
fallen sick so he takes his two boys with him to visit. I always picture the boys
being 6-10 years old, but they were born sometime during the seven good years
before the famine (Gen. 41:50-52). Jacob didnt move to Egypt until the second year
of the famine (Gen. 45:6) and he lived there for seventeen years, so the youngest
boy was at least twenty years old.

2
And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee:
and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
3
And Jacob said unto
Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and
blessed me,
4
And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and
multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give
this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

Luz (also called Bethel; 28:19) is the place where Jacob had his dream of the
ladder. He tells Joseph all the things that God said to him there, and its important
because it prefaces what hes about to do next. This chapter is not about Jacobs
death or Josephs family; this chapter is about Gods faithfulness and sovereignty.
He promised land and seed and Jacob believes it.

5
And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee
in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben
and Simeon, they shall be mine.
6
And thy issue, which thou begettest after
them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in
their inheritance.
7
And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by
me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to
come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is
Bethlehem.

Now this passage might seem a little strange, and we might even wonder what the
point is. Why would Jacob want to adopt his grandchildren while on his deathbed?
Keep in mind that everything here in some way relates to the promise for land and
seed. When Jacob adopts Josephs children he grants them all the rights and
privileges of his own children and indirectly gives Joseph a double portion
through them! If you look at the maps in the back of your Bible youll probably find
one showing the land that each of the twelve tribes was assigned, and youll notice
that neither Joseph nor Levi got any. The Levites were priests so they had no
possession, and instead of Joseph youll find Ephraim and Manasseh. Josephs
descendants received their land through them because Jacob adopted them.

The reason he gives for doing this is because his favorite wife, Rachel, died at such
a young age. She was only able to give birth to Joseph and Benjamin before
passing, so Jacob adopts Josephs two sons in her honor.

8
And Israel beheld Josephs sons, and said, Who are these?
9
And Joseph said
unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place.
And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.

Jacobs eyesight is bad enough that he cant see boys faces from across the room.
Once he realizes who it is he wants to bless them, and we need to remember that
the blessing is more than just some kind words. When Isaac blessed Jacob it was
legally binding and it literally cost Esau in a tangible way.

The New Testament tells us that, By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed
both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff (Heb.
11:21). So we understand that what hes about to do is a declaration from God.
Somehow Jacob knows what God wants, so its by faith that he tells everyone else
in the room. This blessing is a big deal.

10
Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he
brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
11
And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God
hath shewed me also thy seed.
12
And Joseph brought them out from
between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
13
And
Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israels left hand,
and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israels right hand, and brought them
near unto him.
14
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon
Ephraims head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manassehs
head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

Joseph puts the boys in front of Jacob, and he deliberately places the eldest on
Jacobs right side. He knows that protocol calls for Jacobs right hand to rest on
Manassehs head because Manasseh is the oldest and the right hand is the hand of
power and authority. But Jacob does something unexpected: he crosses his hands
and puts the hand of authority on the younger brother!

Apparently this goes unnoticed at first, and Jacob proceeds with the blessing:

15
And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham
and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
16
The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my
name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

Theres a lot more to this than what we might first think. To get the full meaning of
how it connects to the promise go back to Genesis 28. Jacob has just had his vision
of the ladder reaching into heaven and God has promised him land and seed and
protection: And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had
put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
19
And
he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at
the first.
20
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep
me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
21
So
that I come again to my fathers house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God
(v. 18-21).

Now Jacob recalls that promise and he passes it on to Josephs two sons. Hes
saying, May the God who preserved my life, and my fathers life, and my
grandfathers life now preserve your life. That God promised us numerous seed
and land, and Im passing my name onto you. These two boys are heirs by blessing
of Gods promise to Abraham.

17
And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of
Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his fathers hand, to remove it
from Ephraims head unto Manassehs head.
18
And Joseph said unto his
father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his
head.
19
And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also
shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger
brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of
nations.
20
And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless,
saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim
before Manasseh.
21
And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall
be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
22
Moreover I
have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the
hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Joseph finally realizes that Jacob has it mixed up and he tries to correct him, but
this blessing is one given by faith; Jacob knows something the rest of them dont:
God has put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. Manassehs not cut out of the blessing,
and hes still an heir, but his younger brother is put ahead of him.

But why would God do this? The answer, I think, is found in just one word:
because.

God chooses just because. Its got nothing to do with ability or tradition or anything
else that we can understand or explain. His plan is finished, and He works it out
by His own strength for His own glory. By the grace of God I am what I am (I Cor.
15:10). And therein lies Abrahams hope. Gods promise frees us from deaths fear
because we believe God has declared something different for us. We see through
the stories of the patriarchs that God is both faithful and sovereign. We see from
their stories that His work in us is for His own glory, and theres nothing we can do
or not do to take away from that. He will save His people!

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