Genesis 48

The closing 3 chapters of Genesis give us continued opportunity to think about our pilgrimage.  But in these chapters we see three things that will affect our lives.  Those things are blessing, character and inevitability.  Let us consider today the emphasis on blessing in this chapter.

Jacob blesses the two sons of Joseph, thus blessing Joseph significantly.  Joseph received the double-portion that belonged to the firstborn.  His two sons Manasseh and Ephraim would, in effect, be sons of Jacob, each receiving the inheritance that would fall to the other sons.  

We must not fail to see that the reason Jacob, on his deathbed, could bless those who would outlive him, was because of his confidence in God and the covenant He had confirmed at Bethel (Luz, v3-4).  If we do not have a thought that God is at work and will continue to work after we are gone, then it is not likely that we will be concerned about blessing our descendants.  Jacob had such a hope.  Not all children have “fathers of hope”, but those who do are indeed blessed in this life.

It is quite interesting the seeming “mix-up” in blessing the younger before the older.  In the stories of the Patriarchs this seems to be normal: Isaac before Ishmael, Jacob before Esau, and now Ephraim before Manasseh.  To be sure, this is not a “mix-up”.  Jacob knew what he was doing.  The Scriptures do not confirm this, but one can hardly miss the connection between this story and the story of Jacob pretending to be Esau and stealing the blessing from his father.  Just perhaps there is a recognition by Jacob that God could have fulfilled His promise to Rebekah, that the older would serve the younger, without all the deceit and trickery.

Also note that Jacob blesses the boys with Christ.  In v16 he refers to the Angel of the Lord as the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil.  Throughout the Old Testament God appears to men as “The Angel of the Lord.”  We believe these to be appearances of God Himself as was evident in Gen. 18 in the 3 strangers who visited Abraham.  Since God always appears through the Son, Jacob is calling on Christ the Redeemer to bless his grandsons.

Ultimately, on our pilgrimage, we need the blessing of God.  We need to know that His favor is upon us, both for eternal salvation and for day to day living.  Commonly, in the letters of the New Testament, the writers bless the readers with grace, mercy and peace.  This is a plea that God will enable them to know and obey the truth.  We are aware that God has blessed believers with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3).  He has blessed us with all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:2-4).  Let us be reminded and refreshed regularly with thoughts of His blessing that we might live out of its fullness.