Genesis 48:8-20
The time had come for the old patriarch Jacob to die, which meant that the time of the blessing upon his children and grand-children was to begin. Now 147 years old, his eye-sight almost gone, and the sickness upon him that will end his life, Jacob begins the process of doling out words of blessing and wisdom by starting with the sons of Joseph. This picture, nearly 4000 years old is a type and shadow of what Jesus would do for all of us on a dark day at Calvary.
The Israeli way was for a man to lay his hands upon his children and pass a blessing down to them. He could lay his left hand upon any and all of his children and prophesy on them promises and goodness, but his right hand was placed on one son alone. This blessing was normally reserved for the firstborn son, as he was to be the legal heir of the family fortune and the father’s name. Jacob had disturbed this trend when he had cheated his older brother Esau out of the blessing as a young man. So powerful was the right-hand blessing that once given, it was considered irreversible (Genesis 27:35).
Joseph marches his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, toward his father so that they may receive blessing. Since Manasseh is the oldest, Joseph desires for him to receive the best of his father’s blessings so he guides him towards Jacob’s right hand. When the boys arrive in front of Jacob, the text says that he guided his hands “wittingly” (Genesis 48:14), meaning that he placed them on purpose. He crossed his arms, laying his right hand on the youngest boy, Ephraim.
Joseph saw the apparent mistake of his father, and thinking that it was done due to Jacob’s inability to see properly, he grabs his father’s hands and tries to uncross them (48:17, 18). Jacob is well aware of what he has done and he explains to Joseph that while the eldest son will be great, the younger one will be greater. This entire scenario is our redemption in shadow.
Israel is God’s firstborn (Exodus 4:22), while the church of Jesus Christ, compiled predominately of Gentiles is the second choice of the gospel (Acts 13:46). Israel rejected the gospel message, so God turned His love and favor towards all that will accept His Son Jesus. Jesus prophesied that the first will be last and the last will be first (Matthew 19:30), meaning that Israel was first called but will be the last saved, while the Gentiles were the last called but the first saved.
The firstborn son was the deserving son by all legal rights and privileges while the last children were considered blessed just to be involved. At Calvary, Jesus Christ saw both the firstborn and the last and crossed His hands for us, offering salvation and redemption to the less deserving, younger born, Gentile world. Because God crossed His hands at the cross, you and I rest beneath the right-hand, best blessings of God.
You can hold your head high today, not because you are the best but because Jesus crossed His hands for you. Due to that crossing (and that “cross”), you are greatly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved.
The time had come for the old patriarch Jacob to die, which meant that the time of the blessing upon his children and grand-children was to begin. Now 147 years old, his eye-sight almost gone, and the sickness upon him that will end his life, Jacob begins the process of doling out words of blessing and wisdom by starting with the sons of Joseph. This picture, nearly 4000 years old is a type and shadow of what Jesus would do for all of us on a dark day at Calvary.
The Israeli way was for a man to lay his hands upon his children and pass a blessing down to them. He could lay his left hand upon any and all of his children and prophesy on them promises and goodness, but his right hand was placed on one son alone. This blessing was normally reserved for the firstborn son, as he was to be the legal heir of the family fortune and the father’s name. Jacob had disturbed this trend when he had cheated his older brother Esau out of the blessing as a young man. So powerful was the right-hand blessing that once given, it was considered irreversible (Genesis 27:35).
Joseph marches his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, toward his father so that they may receive blessing. Since Manasseh is the oldest, Joseph desires for him to receive the best of his father’s blessings so he guides him towards Jacob’s right hand. When the boys arrive in front of Jacob, the text says that he guided his hands “wittingly” (Genesis 48:14), meaning that he placed them on purpose. He crossed his arms, laying his right hand on the youngest boy, Ephraim.
Joseph saw the apparent mistake of his father, and thinking that it was done due to Jacob’s inability to see properly, he grabs his father’s hands and tries to uncross them (48:17, 18). Jacob is well aware of what he has done and he explains to Joseph that while the eldest son will be great, the younger one will be greater. This entire scenario is our redemption in shadow.
Israel is God’s firstborn (Exodus 4:22), while the church of Jesus Christ, compiled predominately of Gentiles is the second choice of the gospel (Acts 13:46). Israel rejected the gospel message, so God turned His love and favor towards all that will accept His Son Jesus. Jesus prophesied that the first will be last and the last will be first (Matthew 19:30), meaning that Israel was first called but will be the last saved, while the Gentiles were the last called but the first saved.
The firstborn son was the deserving son by all legal rights and privileges while the last children were considered blessed just to be involved. At Calvary, Jesus Christ saw both the firstborn and the last and crossed His hands for us, offering salvation and redemption to the less deserving, younger born, Gentile world. Because God crossed His hands at the cross, you and I rest beneath the right-hand, best blessings of God.
You can hold your head high today, not because you are the best but because Jesus crossed His hands for you. Due to that crossing (and that “cross”), you are greatly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved.
