- Once again, tracing the family line of Messiah takes another turn. Jacob/Israel is about to die and he gets a chance to give a final blessing to Joseph and Joseph's 2 sons: Ephraim & Manasseh. Manasseh is the older and, therefore, should get the #1 blessing. Jacob pulls the old switcheroo (again - what's with this family?) and extends the #1 blessing to Ephraim, the younger. The irony is this is being done by Jacob, who got the #1 blessing from Isaac, even though he was younger.
- Jacob/Israel decides to include Joseph's sons (his grandsons) in on the family blessing. Jacob/Israel had 10 sons from 4 ladies. By including Ephraim & Manasseh as his sons, we now have the 12 tribes of Israel (even though he only had 10 sons). It also meant that Ephraim & Manasseh each get land in the Promised Land, as opposed to someday splitting Joseph's inheritance.
Gen. 49
Reminds me of the bema (or judgment seat of Christ). Jacob/Israel goes through each of his sons and "blesses" them. His blessing to them hinges on their character and deeds. There's also a great Messianic prophecy here in verse 10: The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. A scepter, of course, conjures up royalty imagery. Judah wasn't a king - in fact, this family/nation didn't have a king for a while. This is a foreshadow of David, but an even greater foreshadow of Jesus. Just a reminder that we will give an account for our lives - this truth is not scary for a believer because of Romans 8:1 (Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus). However, it should be compelling and it also should keep us from abusing grace. One other thought here: blessing your children - I'm confident that I can't (and don't) do this enough for my kids. Not only encouraging them or telling them you love them, but studying their unique attributes/skills/talents/abilities/traits and speaking those back to them. In other words, saying something like, "You are really good at X, and I bet you will be a great X someday."
This is a sweet way to go out - verse 33: When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people. How did these OT guys know with such precision when they were going out?
Gen. 50
I'm sure Joseph had his faults (although I'm not sure any got recorded), but he sure was different than Abe/Isaac/Jacob. He was solid and pure and wise and trusting. His treatment of his brothers (after his dad died and they were scared that he was now really going to let them have it) is one of the more remarkable stories of forgiveness, mercy and grace in the Bible. One cool thing he says in verse 19 is: "Am I in the place of God?" The implied answer is "no." I should have that question in front of me every waking moment. This is the root sin of all time for all people - I want to be my own god. Joseph understood that he was not God and that's a great way to live.
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