Tuolumne Community Baptist Church

GENESIS 47:25-31

25   So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” 

26   And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.

27   So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. 

• Henry Morris calculated the initial group of five (Jacob and his four wives) grew into a clan of about 100 in 50 years (the 100 includes the 70 of Genesis 46:27 plus a few wives of the sons not mentioned and grandchildren). That is a growth rate of just over 6% per year. At that rate, there would be several million descendants by the time of the Exodus 430 years later

Joseph’s Vow to Jacob

28   And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So, the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.

• Jacob’s life lasted 147 years. As he knew his death drew near, he made Joseph take a solemn oath after the pattern of the oath Abraham made his servant in Genesis 24:1-9.

29   When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 

30   but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”  And he said, “I will do as you have said.”

31   Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So, Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.

• This was the oath Israel required from Joseph. Israel knew Egypt was not his home. He belonged in the land promised to him and his descendants. He clearly believed and understood he was the inheritor of Abraham’s covenant.

Genesis 48:1-7                                              New King James Version

Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons

1   Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 

2   And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. 

3   Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 

• God Almighty appeared to him at Luz: Luz is another name for Bethel (Genesis 28:19, 35:6), where Jacob first met God. Jacob vividly remembered this outstanding encounter with the LORD.

4   and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ 

• Jacob’s phrasing is reminiscent of exact promises God made to Abraham in Genesis 17 (see Genesis 17:2, 17:6, and 17:8). Abraham was careful to pass down the exact words of God’s covenant with him to the inheritors of the covenant, because the exact words of God were important.

5   And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 

• Reuben and Simeon were the first and second born of Israel. Jacob received the two sons of Joseph as adopted into the family at the highest level (as if they were his own first and second born).
• They shall be mine: Jacob’s adoption of Manasseh and Ephraim explains why there are 12 tribes often listed in different combinations. Because of this adoption, there were actually 13 sons of Israel. The 12 were born, but Joseph was divided into two tribes.

6   Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 

7   But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

• When Joseph was told that his father was sick, he hurried to his bedside with Manasseh and Ephraim
• The dying patriarch sat up on the bed and adopted his two grandsons as his own. By doing this he arranged that the tribe of Joseph would receive a double portion of the land of Canaan when it would be divided among the tribes years later.
• Joseph thus received the birthright as far as territory was concerned. Any offspring born to Joseph after them would be Joseph’s, not Jacob’s, and would dwell in the territories allotted to Ephraim or Manasseh. 
• Verse 7 explains why Jacob wanted to adopt Joseph’s sons as his own. They were his grandsons by his beloved wife, Rachel, who he felt had died so prematurely.

GENESIS 48:8-13

8   Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”

9   Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.” 

• We remember that the names of Joseph’s sons were Manasseh (the firstborn) and Ephraim (the younger). The name Manasseh means forgetfulness, and the name Ephraim means fruitfulness (Genesis 41:51-52). V. 10 gives us the answer; some say this was the first time Israel (Jacob) met his grandchildren. I don’t think so.

10   Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 

• I believe he had met them, he just could see them clearly.

11   And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

12   So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 

• Joseph lived as a high official of Egypt for many years, and had no contact with his father during that time. Yet it did not diminish the reverence he had towards his father.

13   And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 

• Joseph deliberately placed each child in the order they should be, where the right hand would be placed on the older son. But something else is happening.
• We tend to think of these boys as children. But their not, when Jacob blessed Manasseh and Ephraim here in Genesis 48, the Bible did not state their exact ages. Based on the timeline of Joseph in Egypt and Jacob living there for 17 years before his death, Manasseh was roughly 20 to 26 years old, and Ephraim was roughly 19 to 24 years old.

GENESIS 48:14-20

14   Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 

15   And he blessed Joseph, and said:  “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,

16   The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,                                                          Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them,                                                        And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;                                                             And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

• This is a very reverent moment, but Joseph is upset. He’s thinking his aged father is making a mistake, and according to their culture, he was making a mistake, the first born always is on the right or get’s the right hand. The right hand in the Bible always has the idea of the favored position, because generally speaking, the right hand is the hand of strength and skill. The right hand is associated with God’s strength (Exodus 15:6), favor (Psalm 16:11), and help (Psalm 20:6). This is why Jesus is described as sitting at the right hand of God the Father (Mark 14:62).

17   Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 

18   And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

• Israel knew exactly what he intended to do. By placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he intended to grant a greater blessing to the younger. This was against normal custom and expectation.

19   But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

20   So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

• Then Jacob blessed the grandsons, giving the birthright to Ephraim, who was the younger. Joseph tried to correct this in favor of Manasseh, the firstborn, but Jacob said that he had done this intentionally. What memories must have gone through his mind as he, by faith, gave the blessing to the younger. Years earlier his own father had unknowingly blessed him, the younger.                                                                        But now he was blessing the younger, not through ignorance, but because he was in touch with the God who holds the future. Israel had faith that his descendants would one day return to the Promised Land. Jacob gave Joseph a mountain slope which he captured from the Amorites. Perhaps this refers to the area containing the well that came to be known as “Jacob’s well”  (John 4:5).

In the Bible, the younger getting the blessing or chosen status over the older is a recurring event rather than a single numbered tally, occurring explicitly through major pivotal inheritance and covenant events three primary times in Genesis, alongside several broader conceptual parallel.

Primary Instances in Genesis: 

1. Jacob over Esau: Jacob received the primary patriarchal blessing from his father Isaac instead of his older twin brother Esau (Genesis 27).
2. Perez over Zerah: During birth, Perez broke out ahead of his older twin brother Zerah, securing the prominent ancestral line (Genesis 38:29).
3. Ephraim over Manasseh: Jacob intentionally crossed his hands to place his greater blessing on Ephraim instead of the older brother Manasseh (Genesis 48:13–20

If you look at the example of David and his brothers when Samuel came to anoint a king, the brothers all looked handsome, strong and potential kings in Samuel’s eyes, but God said none of these qualified and that He looks at the heart and not mere outward evidence like man does. Not too long after in the Goliath battle, we could see that David’s brothers were weak in faith in God and rebuked David for wanting to step forward in faith.

• God sees the heart, the thing we can not see, unless of course He shows us. There’s so much we don’t understand. Perhaps one of the most intriguing is in:

1 Corinthians 1:27-29                               New King James Version

27   But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 

28   and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 

29   that no flesh should glory in His presence.

GENESIS 48:21-22

21   Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 

22    Moreover, I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

1. Apparently, while still in Canaan, Jacob battled for control of a portion of land from the Amorites, and he deeded the land to Joseph and his descendants. Jacob gave Joseph a mountain slope which he captured from the Amorites. Perhaps this refers to the area containing the well that came to be known as “Jacob’s well” (John 4:5). The descendants of Joseph would take this land some 400 years later.

Joseph as a Picture of Jesus

Joseph is one of the most remarkable portraits of Jesus, the Messiah, in all the Bible. In many ways, his life illustrated the future life and work of Jesus. Here are a few ways in which Joseph and Jesus are alike.

“There is scarcely any personal type in the Old Testament which is more clearly and fully a portrait of our Lord Jesus Christ than is the type of Joseph.” (Charles Spurgeon)

1. Was a shepherd.
2. Loved by his father.
3. Sent unto his brethren.
4. Hated by his brothers.
5. Prophesied his coming glory.
6. Rejected by his brothers.
7. Endured unjust punishment from his brothers.
8. Sentenced to the pit.
9. Condemned to the pit, though a leader knew he should go free.
10.  Sold for pieces of silver.

Have you ever noticed the number 12 is often associated with government or administration in God’s eyes. 

1. There are 12 tribes; 
2. 12 apostles;
3. 12 princes of Ishmael; 
4. 12 pillars on Moses’ altar; 
5. 12 stones on the high priest’s breastplate; 
6. 12 cakes of showbread; 
7. 12 silver platters; silver bowls; and gold pans for the service of the tabernacle; 
8. 12 spies to search out the land; 
9. 12 memorial stones;  

The number 12 is special to God.3   He brought Jew and Gentile together in the land.