Blessing: Exposition of Genesis 46:28 - 49:33 -- Joyful Heart Ministries

Blessing
Genesis 46:28 - 49:33

Jacob blesses Pharaoh, his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh,
and his twelve sons before he dies.

The final phase of Jacob's life is one in which he is physically weak. But the depression that had clouded him for twenty years has now lifted. His spirit is soft again, and we see the man of faith whom God had matured years before. Now, instead of focusing on his own pain, he is able to give again to those around him. He becomes a conduit of the Lord's blessings.

A wagon carries old Jacob down to Egypt (45:27), and when Joseph hears that he has come "he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time" (46:29).

"Now I am ready to die," says Jacob, "since I have seen for myself that you are still alive."

It's enlightening, though, that God's timetable for Jacob's death isn't the same as Jacob's. He still has work to do for God.

Blessing Pharaoh (46:31 - 47:12)

Joseph now coaches his brothers on what to say to Pharaoh when they are introduced. Five of them are selected to represent the family before Pharaoh; Joseph wisely left the "loose cannons" at home (47:2). Or perhaps when asking for hospitality for sojourners, he doesn't want to overwhelm Pharaoh with the whole clan of twelve brothers. Pharaoh might think twice about being so generous.

We're not exactly sure what Joseph means by "All shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians" (46:34). Some scholars connect it with Egyptian history as a slur on the Hyksos rulers, Semitic invaders later termed "shepherd kings," but Joseph's period probably fell within the Hyksos regime (1720 to 1580 BC), not after it. Most likely this was an issue of class, that herding sheep was below the dignity of upper class Egyptians. Being an owner of livestock is different from being a shepherd, just like a rancher is considered a cut above a cowboy.

Joseph carefully tells his brothers to describe themselves as "tenders of livestock" (46:34). They slip, however, and give their occupation as shepherds, but Pharaoh doesn't seem to be alarmed (47:3). The family that had been characterized by deceit is now open and above board about who they are, and God makes a way for them in spite of it. Pharaoh grants them freedom to live in Goshen (probably in the eastern part of the Nile delta near Tanis), and even offers to let an especially able livestock herder to be in charge of his own livestock there (47:6).

Now old Jacob is ushered into Pharaoh's throne room, and suddenly the dominance of the king seems to evaporate as Jacob is presented to him, and then proceeds to bless him. Usually, the greater blesses the lesser, but here the man of God has much more to offer, and imparts a blessing on this king who has been so gracious to his family, and allowed them to sojourn in his lands. "I will bless those who bless you" (12:2).

"How old are you?" asks Pharaoh.

"The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty," replies the old man. "My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers" (47:9).

The word "pilgrimage" (NIV and KJV) or "sojourning" (RSV) is Hebrew magor from the root ger, "to live among people who are not blood relatives." Rather than enjoying native civil rights, the ger was dependent upon the hospitality of his hosts. Magor means someone who lives in a place as a resident alien, a temporary abode (see Harold G. Stigers in Harris, Archer, and Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament [Moody Press, 1980], 1:155-156). So Jacob views life as a temporary abode, a place of sojourning, not permanent residence. Many centuries later the writer of Hebrews echoes this thought:

They admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country -- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city (Hebrews 11:13-16).

An old gospel song carries the same theme: "This world is not my home, I'm just a-passing through...." This is a vitally important perspective for Christians, for it steels us against strong temptations to conformity. "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul" (1 Peter 2:11).

We think that 130 is pretty old, but Jacob is not exaggerating when he says his years do not equal the years of his ancestors.

Nahor	119 years	(11:24)
Terah	205 years	(11:32)
Abraham	175 years	(25:7)
Isaac	180 years	(35:28)
Jacob	147 years	(47:28)
Joseph	110 years	(50:22)

I am sometimes asked, "Did they have another calendar?" Yes, they had a lunar calendar, but they still kept track of years by the changing seasons. It's pretty hard to mistake the passage of one year. So why did they live so long back then? We don't know. It may have had to do with the quality of the environment or the peacefulness of their nomadic lifestyle. Many Egyptian texts cite 110 years as the ideal life span, so long life among the Hebrews wasn't the exception. Later, though the ideal life span in Israel is somewhat less:

The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away (Psalm 90:10, KJV).

The interview is over, and Jacob blesses Pharaoh again and then "went out from his presence."

I like that scene, of the man of God conveying God's double blessing to the man of the world -- on the way in and on the way out! It's the model of Jesus, who blessed wherever he went. What a model for us: to convey a blessing.

Extracting an Oath from Joseph (47:27-31)

God has promised Jacob that "I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again" (46:4). The Blessings of Abraham are in the land of Canaan, not Egypt, and Jacob's heart is in the Promised Land. So when he is failing in health, he extracts a promise from his son Joseph to bury him in Canaan.

"If I have found favor in your eyes," he says to his son, "put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will ... carry me out of Egypt and bury me where [my fathers] are buried" (47:29).

Joseph promises, but Jacob insists, "Swear to me." Placing one's hand under another's thigh (Hebrew yarek) was a way of taking a solemn oath, which we saw when Abraham required an oath from his servant who was sent to Haran to get a wife for Isaac (24:9). "Thigh" seems to be a euphemism for the genitals. For example, Jacob's "direct descendants" in 46:26 are literally those who "came out of his loins " using the same word.

Jacob wants to be sure that circumstances won't prevent Joseph from leaving Egypt, so he insists that he take a radically solemn oath to bind him. Later, Joseph goes to Pharaoh and says, "My father made me swear an oath" (50:5) and Pharaoh allows him to leave the country and bury his father in Canaan.

The scene closes with worship, "... and Israel worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff" (47:31, NIV, LXX). An alternate translation might be "Israel bowed down at the head of his bed" (NIV footnote, KJV). Jacob worships as he realizes that God will fulfill his promise through Joseph. God's promise of the land is important to him, even though it is only for now his final resting-place:

O descendants of Israel his servant,
O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
He remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
"To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion you will inherit" (1 Chronicles 16:13-18)

For Jacob to be buried in the Land is the firstfruits of the everlasting covenant.

Blessing Ephraim and Manasseh (48:1-20)

Some time passes, and finally word comes to Joseph that his father Jacob is failing. Joseph comes with his sons to see his father, and Jacob rallies his strength enough to sit up on the bed.

Jacob begins this time with a recitation of his testimony, and the Blessings of Abraham (48:3-4). Joseph's sons have heard these things, no doubt, from their father. But there's nothing like the impression of hearing a 147-year-old man tell you man to man what God has done for him. These boys who have been raised by the daughter of an Egyptian priest (41:50) need to hear the story of their faith again. Jacob tells again in their hearing the old, old story, the old, old promises made to Abraham which are now being fulfilled.

"God Almighty (El Shaddai) appeared to me at Luz in the Land of Canaan, and there he blessed me and said to me, 'I am going to make you fruitful and will increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you" (48:3-4)

These boys who had never seen the Land, who had not known they were part of a larger Family, were some of those descendants. They heard their grandfather's testimony, and never forgot, but passed it on to their grandchildren after them. The ministry of a grandfather or a grandmother to their children's children should never be underestimated.

We read no plea from Joseph, but rather a special blessing from Jacob:

Your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.

In the Near East, the firstborn was to receive a double portion of the father's inheritance, with each of the other sons receiving a single portion. This helped insure that the firstborn would have the wealth and prominence to be the leader of the family. In this scene of blessing, Jacob is declaring that instead of Joseph getting a single share of Jacob's inheritance, that he will receive a double inheritance; Ephraim and Manasseh are to be considered Jacob's sons. Centuries later, when the people of Israel finally came into the Promised Land, the descendents of Ephraim and Manasseh receive their own separate lands to settle in (Joshua 16-17).

We read in 1 Chronicles 5:1-2 about Reuben "the firstborn of Israel,"

He was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father's marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright, and though Judah was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph."

One hundred years before, Jacob had sought his father's blessing and had cheated Esau out of a blessing. Now he was the patriarch giving the blessing. He is nearly blind (48:10) as was his father Isaac. But instead of being dulled spiritually by the smell of venison, he is spiritually acute.

Old Jacob tells the story the death of his beloved Rachel, and seems to drift off for a moment. Then he looks up, sees the boys, and asks, "Who are these?"

If you've ever been around an elderly parent, you know what's going on. That slippery memory that can recall events which occurred long ago, sometimes has trouble with the present.

"These are the sons God has given me here in Egypt," says Joseph patiently.

"Bring them to me so I may bless them," says Jacob, still sitting on his bed. He embraces them and kisses them, though he can barely see them.

"I never expected to see you again," he says to their father, "and now God has allowed me to see your children, too." I can see tears on the cheeks of both father and son.

Joseph now bows himself on the floor before his father, as his sons look on. Is it worship? No, but honor and obedience. The boys watch as the Second in Command of All Egypt prostrates himself before an elderly shepherd who listens to God's voice. Now Joseph rises and brings the boys to Jacob for a blessing.

Joseph arranges his sons so that Joseph's firstborn, Manasseh, is next to Jacob's right hand, the preferred hand ("at his right hand"), while the younger Ephraim is on Jacob's left (48:13). "But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim's head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh's head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn" (48:14). Can you picture it?

Joseph is "displeased." This isn't going the way he wants it to happen. Surely his aged father is confused. He takes his father's right hand to move it from younger Ephraim's head to firstborn Manasseh's head (48:17-18) and corrects his father. One must do these things properly! Old Jacob tenses his arms and refuses to let Joseph move them, and when he speaks, he speaks in a conciliatory way to his favorite son:

"I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations ... so he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. (48:19-20).

What's going on here? How does Jacob know? He has heard from God and is doing what God is showing him to do. Though we aren't told anywhere that the Spirit of God is upon him, that is surely what is happening. He is prophesying God's words, just as his father Isaac had "mistakenly" prophesied the correct blessing over Jacob instead of Esau. Chapter 49 is a chapter of prophetic blessings over each of his twelve sons. If we understand these patriarchal blessings in any lesser way, we miss what is happening here.

Here he blesses the boys (48:16) with (1) being called by his own name and the names of his father and grandfather, (2) great increase in numbers, and (3) with legendary prosperity: "May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh" (48:20).

Vs. 22 is significant for two reasons:

"And to you, as one who is over your brothers, I give the ridge of land I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow."

First, it confirms that Joseph is over his brothers. Reuben had forfeited the birthright, and Joseph, the firstborn of Rachel, now holds it: he is over his brothers.

Second, he gives to Joseph the land he owns in Canaan: "the ridge of land I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow" (48:22). Where is this? When did this happen? We're really not sure, but this may be a reference to Jacob's sons' taking of Shechem in Genesis 34. Even though Jacob strongly disapproved of his sons' actions (49:5-7), nevertheless, in a sense their violent taking of the city certainly was seen as Jacob's act by the people of the land (34:30). He had purchased land outside Shechem from the owners, and then taken the entire area by the sword through the violence of Simeon and Levi. (This is one attempt at an explanation, but no one really knows for sure what this verse means.)

Blessing of Jacob's Twelve Sons (49:1-28)

Jacob calls for his sons, sensing he is near death, and the twelve of them form around his bed.

"Gather around," says Jacob in a weak but audible voice, "so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come" (49:1). He is clearly prophesying.

1. Reuben (49:3-4). Reuben, the firstborn, began well, but lost his birthright and place of honor as a result of incest with Jacob's concubine. Though we read of no immediate punishment at the time when the sin occurred (35:22), yet the sin had broad consequences, not only for Reuben but also for his descendents.

2 and 3. Simeon and Levi. Their anger and cruelty is their legacy, and they are "scattered." The tribe of Simeon is eventually integrated into the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Levi is never given land of their own, but are given cities to live in, scattered throughout the land of Israel. Their inheritance is the tithe rather than land (Numbers 18:22-23).

4. Judah. The most extensive prophecies involve Judah and Joseph, the two leaders among the brothers, and the sons whose tribes, Judah and Ephraim, are destined to be the dominant tribes in the Promised Land. Ephraim in the north, eventually breaks off to become the Northern Kingdom and falls into idolatry and final exile to Assyria. The Southern Kingdom, Judah, sees periods of apostasy and revival, exile to Babylon and final return to rebuild the temple.

Judah is characterized as a lion's cub, a lioness who crouches, "who dares to rouse him?" He is powerful and a tribe to be reckoned with. Most significantly, we read in vs. 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."

While the King James Version translates the third line, "until Shiloh come" (as does the NASB, following the Hebrew Masoretic text), there is good reason to render it "until he comes to whom it belongs" (NIV, RSV, following the Syriac and Septuagint translations with some Targums). Victor P. Hamilton notes, "This line has provoked more difference of opinion among Hebraists than perhaps any other in the entire book of Genesis" (Genesis 18-50, NICOT [1995], p. 654f, fn. 12). He translates it "until he possesses that which belongs to him." The sense seems to be that the kingship will remain in Judah's clan until the King comes who can rightfully claim it. We Christians believe this to be Jesus the Messiah, "the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David" (Revelation 5:5).

5. Zebulun,
6. Issachar,
7. Dan,
8. Gad,
9. Asher, and
10. Naphtali

are described very tersely.

11. Joseph, however, has the longest prophecy. We see images of fruitful vines, steady bows, drawing upon "the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty (Shaddai) who blesses you...." (vss. 24-25). Blessings are from heaven and the deep, from the breast and the womb, greater than the ancient mountains. "Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers" (vs. 26). The final verse acknowledges Joseph as the leader and the firstborn among his brothers.

12. Benjamin receives the twelfth blessing, and then Jacob gives final instructions concerning his burial place.

"When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons," the Scripture records, "he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people" (49:33). He, who has been blessed by God, has now finished blessing Pharaoh, his grandsons, and his twelve sons who are with him at the end.

God who has been my Shepherd

Two verses especially in these closing chapters touch me. Jacob tells Pharaoh, "My years have been few and difficult" (47:9), and while we might disagree that they are few, we can agree that they have been difficult. Jacob has lived through the seasons of life. He has felt plenty of fear, mostly from family members -- Esau and Laban. He has experienced the highs of love with Rachel and the depths of despair without her. Within a short time he lost his mother's nurse, his own dear wife, his father Isaac, and his son Joseph (to a violent death, he believes). He has learned to trust God to bless him, and his fortune has grown from a single staff in his hand (32:10) to great wealth, with hundreds of descendants who call him father, and grandfather, and great-grandfather at his passing. He has been excited by the experience of success, and stunned into helplessness by life's blows.

But more than anything his life is about God. God met him at Bethel and promised to be with him, and there he vowed to serve God and tithe all that God gave him. He wrestled with God at Peniel and came away stronger in spirit for the contest, and ever after walked with a limp. He heard God's reassuring voice again at Beersheba after years of depression and despair, "Do not be afraid. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again" (46:3-4).

In his blessing of Joseph and his sons (48:15-16) we can see Jacob's heart. He loves God; that is clear. He has known God now for the past 100 years -- ever since Bethel -- and God has never let him down.

May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my Shepherd all my life to this day,
the Angel who has delivered me from all harm
-- may he bless these boys.
May they be called by my name
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,
and may they increase greatly upon the earth.

The phrase, "God who has been my Shepherd all my life to this day," keeps echoing in my mind. Jacob has spent many years as a shepherd. He knows how to breed them, to find them food, to protect them, and to guide them. When I was in Israel in 1997, driving up the Jordan Valley towards Galilee, I saw a Palestinian shepherd with his sheep walking along the side of a hill. The shepherd was leading his sheep rather than herding them. He walked before them and they followed him, secure in his presence, protected from injury and harm. They didn't know where he was going, but that didn't matter. They trusted that he knew where he was going, and that was enough. They simply followed.

Your life has seen some ups and downs as well. You've seen the good and the bad, and it may be that today as you read these words you don't know the next step. The way is dark ahead, and you are afraid.

I want to ask you a question: Do you know the Shepherd? I'm not asking if you know about him, but if you know him. The Shepherd that spoke to Jacob and guided him three millennia ago is still here, and cares about each of his sheep. Specifically, he cares about you.

Some sheep are in his fold, safe, protected from danger, and well fed. Others are straying on the hills, vulnerable, stumbling blindly, hoping to find their way in the dark. Afraid.

Jesus told a parable about the man who has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away. You leave the ninety-nine, he says, and go looking for the lost sheep until you find it. And when you find it, you joyfully put it on your shoulders and head for home. You call your friends and neighbors together to rejoice over finding the lost sheep. "I tell you," says Jesus, "that there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent" (Luke 15:3-7).

The Shepherd is still searching the hills looking for lost sheep. He's searching, calling. That Shepherd is calling for you, listening for you, so you'll won't be lost any longer, but found and rescued and safe.

You can help him in the search by uttering a simple phrase. "I'm over here, Lord. Help me." That's all you need to do -- bleat -- and he'll do the rest. Do it now. He's looking for you.