The Blessings of the Father

Genesis 48:1-49:28


http://www.esvbible.org/Genesis 48:1-49:28 

As the story of Joseph draws to a close in the next 3 chapters, we find the emphasis returning to Jacob. It is time for him to pass on the blessings of the father to his sons. Joseph now brings the two sons born to him in Egypt to Jacob for a blessing. Jacob’s response is to declare Joseph’s sons as his own. Ephraim and Manasseh are from this point forward named as part of the 12 Tribes of Jacob. (Levi, while being a son of Jacob is the father of the priest class, thus not an inheritor of land and Joseph remains in Egypt for the rest of his life. Thus, Levi and Joseph are replaced by Ephraim and Manasseh, thus bringing the number back up to 12.) This passage also continues the thread that flows throughout Genesis of granting the blessing of leadership to someone other than the oldest born. The blessings do not generally follow natural descent but are instead bestowed on those who had no actual claim to the role. We must see Jacob as the voice of God in this episode of familial blessing as he prophetically pronounces what the future will hold for all of his children. While his own father may have been duped into giving the blessing of the firstborn to Jacob rather than to Esau, Jacob is not fooled. Joseph gives him all of the information he needs to have and yet he still blesses Ephraim as the leader.

In chapter 49, Jacob blesses Judah with the role of firstborn. Through his line Jesus is born. As you read the words of the blessings for Judah, many of them lead you directly to the Messiah. Ephraim and Manasseh become the loudest and strongest voices in what will become the Northern Tribes who break away from Judah and Benjamin, becoming their own nation. They are also the tribes who fail to worship God at all after the nation is separated and are dispersed into slavery 700 years before Jesus is born. The three oldest sons, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi received what appear to be not blessings but curse. They have betrayed their father and their family. No one can say they didn’t see it coming, but it must have hurt nonetheless.

While these blessings are at the same time amazing and weird, they do give us a role model that I think may have been sadly dropped in our culture. What an incredible thing it would be if we were to all speak words of blessing over our children. There are some cultures where this is very intentionally done, but I’m not aware of it being a general practice for most families in 2013. That is a shame for what a beautiful gift to give your children! It can in fact be done all the time. When you observe a gifting from the Lord in the character of your child – point it out! When you see a skill or talent that can only come from the Holy Spirit – let them know! These blessings grow in young (and maybe not so young) hearts and minds. It is a way to help your children know that they are uniquely created and dearly loved by the God of the Universe. What an incredible blessing it is to be reminded of that that all the time.

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