Jacob had preferred to do nothing when his daughter was forcibly taken rather than run the risk of losing his comfort and security. But now, standing in the proverbial graveyard of his ancestors and facing imminent death, Jacob’s testimony is one of deep faith and joyful gratitude for God’s faithfulness and care through all the days of his life (cf. He must have believed that God chose him over Esau because he could do more for God than his brother could. It must be said that Simeon and Levi were wrong in what they did. Joseph took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, along with him to see their grandfather one final time and to bid him farewell. 48:15-16). How could Jacob say this with sincerity? Jacob achieved his purpose by adopting both of Joseph’s sons as his own, on a par with Reuben and Simeon (verse 5). Take a swing at Yahweh? Now each of them would receive one portion, but in so doing Joseph received a double portion: And I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow (Genesis 48:22). When knowing God is the ultimate good, suffering is not too high a price to pay to obtain it: … that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; … (Philippians 3:10). But Laban wants more. And I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow” (Genesis 48:21-22). 2. Suddenly, the goal that had defined and energized his imagination was realized! This was probably orally passed on through Isaac. Leah, not Rachel, was given the honor of being buried with Jacob in the cave of Machpelah (49:31). Then, he tries it a second time. Physically, they survive, but they are not the same, and their world is not the same. Surely, Joseph reasoned, it was an accident that Jacob crossed his hands so as to give preeminence to the younger son. Even if Mommy and Daddy say it's not you, if everyone else hates your guts, it's probably you: Joseph. But your offspring that have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance” (Genesis 48:1-6). Lesson 3: There are people who just don't get it (and never will): Laban. Since Jacob is near death, the sons of Joseph must be about 20 years old. Manasseh, the eldest, he had at his left hand (Jacob’s right), and Ephraim was at Joseph’s right hand (Jacob’s left). But here, while Joseph is buried at Shechem, it is referred to as the land “which Jacob had bought,” not the land for which he had fought. Samuel is another, and we can add Samson, King David, and maybe King Solomon.. After years of indentured servitude, Jacob is owed a substantial severance package. Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. His life had been full of sorrow. Jacob seemed to feel that “God helps those who help themselves,” and he had been helping himself from a very early age. Jacob had been wrong in choosing Rachel over Leah because he made his decision on the basis of her outward appearance, not her character. 102 In verse 5 Jacob referred to Joseph’s sons in reverse order: Ephraim and Manasseh. Moreover, none of the nonverbal hostilities beamed his way could penetrate his certainty that everyone loved him more than they loved themselves. He was forced to live with an uncle who was nearly as deceptive as he and to take four wives rather than just Rachel, the one of his choice. Any other sons which might be born to Joseph (but don’t seem to have been) would receive their inheritance as though they were the sons of either Ephraim or Manasseh (verse 6). When the Sun Sets: Jacob Meets God (Gen. 27:41-28:22), Jacob: When God Turns Darkness into Dawn (Expository Sermons On O.T. A major factor in his preference for Joseph was the fact that he was the first-born of Rachel, his bride by choice. Jacob was outraged, but Uncle Laban reminded him that tradition required that the oldest daughter be married first. Vibrating just below critical mass, unable to absorb another real or perceived slight, it erupts, which, ironically, gives a forensic framework for making sense of Cain's actions while making Abel no less dead. Already it is in Jacob’s mind to do so. Let us then look very carefully at the final events of Jacob’s life as recorded by Moses in Genesis 48. When it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel collected his strength and sat up in the bed. Previously, Jacob sought peace and prosperity as his highest goal. Of course he had seen these sons before, but they had grown up, changing greatly as all our children do. They acted deceitfully, giving the impression that they would accept the offer of Shechem and his father; but they used circumcision as a trick to physically get the advantage of the men of the city. That land will not be purchased, but it will be taken by force. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God (I Corinthians 1:17,26-29). And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well.” Then Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground. Exegetical Lessons 1–100 on Genesis When I exegete a book, I tend to get very bogged down in the details and so, I decided to develop a series of a few short lessons … And yet, what could he do about it? Jacob, in effect, testified, “The Lord is my shepherd …” Third, Jacob’s God was the “Angel” (cf. Leah: The Woman No Man Loved But Every Woman Envied (Gen. 29:15-35), 1. They sought revenge, not righteousness; they were motivated more by pride than purity. Trouble and evil are synonymous terms, as Jacob has finally come to understand. The work which God began in Abraham and Isaac and faithfully continued in Jacob, He will carry on in these men. He is not the forefather of Messiah, but Judah, who had failed with his sons and who was intending to have an illicit relationship with a Canaanite prostitute, is. His perspective has radically changed, for he now looks back upon his life, like Muggeridge, from the family plot, viewing life from the end of the path. What can a physically weak grandfather give to his grandchildren? For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh (II Corinthians 4:7-11). 32:10). If you've ever offered an idea that was snubbed, or given a gift that was ignored, then you and Cain share something in common, even if you didn't kill anybody. 103 Manasseh and Ephraim were born in the seven years of plenty, before the first year of the famine (41:50). Hamilton, Genesis 2:35. The thing that stuck in my memory about Muggeridge was his evaluation of what things were really significant in his lifetime. He had learned how to trust God through good times and bad, He had also learned how to be sensitive to the needs of others. While society may have concluded, for practical reasons, to assign privileges according to the order of birth, God is not bound to such conventions. If we can, like Joseph, see the hand of God in our suffering, then we can rejoice in our tribulations, knowing that God is at work maturing us and teaching us endurance (James 1:2-4). Abraham and Isaac are dead, and Jacob (a very old man) is in the midst of moving the Israelites out of Canaan, into Egypt, and into the authority of Joseph and Judah. The Lessons of Genesis 48 . The adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh provided Jacob with two more sons, technically “through Rachel.” The promise of God at Bethel in combination with the preference of Jacob for Rachel provides the backdrop for the adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh. ©2020 Verizon Media. 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