GENESIS LESSON 66


     This lesson begins in Genesis 48:1 "And it came to pass after these
 things, that [one]told Joseph, Behold, thy father [is] sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim."

     It was the custom of the Hebrews that the elder of the tribe
would speak a blessing on their children and grand children before
they died. The minute Joseph heard that Isreal was very sick, he
brought his two sons to be blessed of their grandfather.

     Genesis 48:2 "And [one] told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son
Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon
the bed."

     Jacob wanted to receive Joseph sitting up. He made a special
effort to be ready for Joseph. Some speculate that Joseph was
apprehensive about taking his two sons to Jacob for a blessings,
because they had an Egyptian mother. However I do not see that in
this. I belive that Joseph deliberately took these two sons to receive
a patriarchal blessing. They would have been in their late teens, or
twenties, when they came to pay respect to their fast, failing
grandfather.

     Genesis 48:3 "And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared
unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,"
     Genesis 48:4 "And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee
fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of
people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee [for] an
everlasting possession."

     Jacob had not had much time  to tell Joseph of the things God had
done for him. Joseph had been so busy running the country for the
Pharaoh, he couldn't spend much time with his father. Now, before he
died he wanted Joseph to know of his Godly heritage. God Almighty here
is "El Shaddai".

     Genesis 48:5  "And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which
were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into
Egypt, [are] mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine."

     Jacob reassured Joseph that these two grandsons were his, even if
they had Egyptian blood. Reuben had lost his right as one of the
twelve birthrights. Ephraim and Manasseh would not be one tribe, but
they would be two. They would received Reuben's and Joseph's
birthright. If Joseph had any other children, they were included in
one, or the other, of these tribes. Ephraim and Manasseh would inherit a
son's part each, rather than a grandson's part.

     Genesis 48:6 "And thy issue, which thou begettest after them,
shall be thine, [and] shall be called after the name of their brethren
in their inheritance." Genesis 48:7 "And as for me, when I came from Padan,
Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was 
but a little way to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the 
way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem."

     "Bethlehem" means house of bread. Many of the Isrealites were
buried here.  There is a place in this area, even today, that the tour
guides say are these people's tombs. Isreal wanted to be buried by
Rachel.

     Genesis 48:8 "And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who
[are] these?"
     Genesis 48:9 "And Joseph said unto his father, They [are] my
sons, whom God hath given me in this [place]. And he said, Bring them,
I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them."

     Joseph, as he said, was concerned that Jacob would not want to
bless these boys, because their mother was an Egyptian. Jacob's great
love for Joseph meant that love would extend to his sons, as well. So
he said bring them, and I will bless them.

     Genesis 48:10 "Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, [so that]
he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed
them, and embraced them."
     Genesis 48:11 "And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to
see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed."

     Jacob had never hoped to see Joseph's children, because he
thought Joseph was dead. He had been allowed to see and be with Joseph
this last seventeen years. It was not thought unmanly in those days to
kiss your grandchildren.

     Genesis 48:12 "And Joseph brought them out from between his
knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth."

     Joseph humbled himself before his father.

     Genesis 48:13 "And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right
hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward
Israel's right hand, and brought [them] near unto him."

     Joseph was placing Manasseh in front of Jacob's right hand,
toward Isreal's left hand, because Manasseh was the oldest son, and was
supposed to, by birthright, receive the preferential blessing of the
right hand. Joseph placed Ephraim where he could receive the lesser
blessing of the left hand.

     Genesis 48:14 "And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid
[it] upon Ephraim's head, who [was] the younger, and his left hand
upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh [was]
the firstborn."

     Jacob made the sign of the cross when he, on purpose, laid his
right hand on the younger son, Ephraim.

     Genesis 48:15  "And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom
my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my
life long unto this day,"
     Genesis 48:16 "The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless
the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers
Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of
the earth."

     Angel is capitalized, because this was a special angel fulfilling
the wishes of God.

     Jacob thanked God for preserving him all of his life, and
especially the Spirit Being he wrestled with all night, when he
changed his name to Israel. Jacob blessed these sons to the extent
that the blessings he had received from God, in its fullness, would be
in these boys. He literally said, may the grace and salvation I have
known be in these boys. Ephraim received the most, a double blessing,
since he was on the right hand. He spoke the blessing of Abraham
growing into a multitude on these sons.

     Genesis 48:17 "And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right
hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his
father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head."
     Genesis 48:18 "And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my
father: for this [is] the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his
head."
     Genesis 48:19 "And his father refused, and said, I know [it], my
son, I know [it]: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be
great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his
seed shall become a multitude of nations."

     Jacob knew exactly what he was doing. Sometimes, the last shall be
first, and this was the case here. I believe  that Manasseh was symbolic
of physical Israel, and Ephraim was symbolic of spiritual Isreal, the
Christians.

     They both took on the name of Abraham. The spiritual, right hand,
was greater than the physical, left hand blessing. Both were saved by
belief in, and the grace of, the Lord Jesus Christ. This blessing was
not accidental. God guided Jacob's hands. The sign of the cross he
made to me, meant that this was the way this blessing would finally
come to be.

     Genesis 48:20 "And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee
shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh:
and he set Ephraim before Manasseh."

     The spiritual Isreal accepted Jesus more readily than the
physical Isreal.

     Genesis 48:21 "And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but
God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your
fathers."
     Genesis 48:22 "Moreover I have given to thee one portion above
thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my
sword and with my bow."

     The twelve tribes of Isreal were spoken of later in the Bible.
There will be two of Joseph's sons mentioned, Ephraim and  Manasseh.
In his last statement, Jacob passed his blessings from God to Joseph
and his sons.

     I believe that this is spiritual Isreal and physical Israel,
because of the Scripture in Ezekiel 37:16 "Moreover, thou son of man,
take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the
children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write
upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and [for] all the house of
Israel his companions:"

     This stick of Judah and Ephraim are physical and spiritual
Israel.

     We will be in chapter 49 in the next lesson.







































                             Questions 66

1.  When Joseph heard Isreal was sick, who did he take to see his
    father?
2.  What was a custom of the Hebrews?
3.  What did Isreal do when he heard Joseph was coming?
4.  Why did some people believe Joseph was apprehensive?
5.  How old were the boys?
6.  Jacob told Joseph _________ had appeared to him at Luz?
7.  What had He promised Jacob?
8.  God Almighty is another name for_________?
9.  What two names did Joseph's sons have?
10. Where did Jacob bury Rachel?
11. "Bethlehem" means what?
12. Where does Jacob want to be buried?
13. What nationality were the boys' mother?
14. How did Joseph place his sons in front of Israel?
15. Whose head did Jacob put his right hand on?
16. What was another word for the right hand blessing?
17. What sign did Israel make when he put his hand on the boy's heads?
18. Why is "Angel" capitalized?
19. Ephraim received how much?
20. How did Joseph feel about Israel's choice of blessings?
21. What do I believe about Ephraim and Manasseh?
22. In the 37th chapter of Ezekiel, what do these two sticks mean?