GENESIS 48:6 1 - “One day not long after this, word
came to Joseph, “Your father is failing rapidly…. ” So Joseph went to visit his
father, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. … 3 Jacob said
to Joseph…. 5 “Now I am claiming as my own sons these two boys of yours,
Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born here in the land of Egypt before I arrived.
They will be my sons, just as Reuben and Simeon are…. 12 Joseph
moved the boys, who were at their grandfather’s knees, and he bowed with his
face to the ground. 13
Then he positioned the boys in front of Jacob. With his right hand he
directed Ephraim toward Jacob’s left hand, and with his left hand he put
Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand. 14 But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his
hands on the boys’ heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though
he was the younger boy, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he
was the firstborn…. 17 But Joseph
was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head.
So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 “No,
my father,” he said. “This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his
head.” 19 But his father refused. “I know, my son; I know,” he replied.
“Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become
even greater. And his descendants will become a multitude of nations.”
GENESIS
49:29 - “Then Jacob instructed them,
“Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather
in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30 This is the cave in the
field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan that Abraham bought from Ephron the
Hittite as a permanent burial site. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah are
buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah.
32 It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from
the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his
feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.”
GENESIS
50:22 – “22 So Joseph and his
brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph lived to the age
of 110. 23 He lived to see three generations of descendants of his son Ephraim,
and he lived to see the birth of the children of Manasseh’s son Makir, whom he
claimed as his own. 24 “Soon I will die,” Joseph told his brothers, “but God
will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will
bring you back to the land he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he
said, “When God comes to help you and lead you back, you must take my bones
with you.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. The Egyptians embalmed him, and
his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.”
When you read these chapters you can realize how honoring the
last request of someone dying has been an ancient tradition, and was something very
important, not to be taken lightly. Jacob as the time of his death drew near
called his dear son Joseph to request him that as he would die to take the body
out of Egypt to be bury with his ancestors.
One detail that caught my attention is how that tradition passed from Jacob’s
generation to Joseph, and to Manasseh, a tradition that started even before Jacob.
In Genesis 49:29-31 we can see how Jacob wanted to be bury in the cave in the
field of Ephron the Hittite near Mamre where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah,
and Leah all had been bury as well. Joseph although here does not specify he
wanted to be bury with his ancestor, it does say that he made the sons of
Israel swear to him, that they must take his bones with them as they moved out
of the land.
The laying of hand to bless people is another ancient
tradition. On this account when Jacob was on his death bed, Joseph got called
in, and he brought his two boys with him; and Jacob claimed these two sons of
Joseph as his own to bless them as he would be blessing Ruben, Simeon and the
rest of his twelve sons. The right hand was usually placed on the firstborn,
and the left hand on the second child.
Laying the right hand
meant that the “greatest blessings” would go to this person. When Jacob placed his hands on Joseph’s boys,
Joseph wasn’t too happy about the fact his father placed his right hand on the
second child, and the left hand on the firstborn[1]. To “correct” this mistake, Joseph switched the
hands but his father refused; and then explained that although they both would
become a great people, the youngest brother would be greater.
Another great detail is that this incident was very similar to
Isaac’s with the blessing of his children[2].
When Isaac was on his final days, and about to pronounce the last blessing to
his two sons, Esau the firstborn and Jacob the second son; Jacob received the
firstborn blessing although he was the second son. Now, when his turn came to
bless Joseph’s children, he decided to bless Joseph’s second son, Ephraim with
the firstborn (Manasseh) blessing. Hum!!!
Very interesting detail, indeed.
I wish I would have started to realize how important traditions
were, at an earlier point of my life, especially when talking about what’s related
to our heavenly citizenship. It’s necessary to realize God left us The Bible
not only as a way to keep record of how things were happening, and had to be
done back then but also to keep many of those events as traditions to be taken
from generation to generation in order to keep God’s commands alive.
Keep God’s traditions in your family! Do not wait until next Sunday to hear God’s
Word from the pulpit, READ THE WORD, to your children often at home, if possible
everyday; explain it to them and why is important for them to keep it, and make
it an essential in their lives. Family
devotionals are a great resource to start, but really any Sunday school book,
where a daily reading is given is good. Take
communion together; if for some reason you can’t make it to church, you have
church at home, pray, worship, and read God’s Word. This will ensure you’re planting the
tradition of keeping God in our daily lives. Although at the beginning could be
a bit frustrating at times, but the blessing on your future generations will be
eternal; think about it and do not quit!
Be blessed, my friend! I’m praying for you!
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