Are you as anxious as I am to see what is to come for all these sons of Jacob? Sure, I have studied different books of the Bible but I have never read straight through. I have heard of the twelve tribes of Israel and even recently studied Revelation where the 12 are mentioned as being sealed or marked for special protection by God. Here in the last few chapters of Genesis we read about the blessing of the sons by their father Jacob or Israel. It is very interesting to see what Israel says to his sons.
First he blesses the sons of Joseph and adopted them as his own to be a part of the inheritance of the promise of God to Abraham. They were made to be the head of a tribe. Of course the blessing didn’t fall on them in the customary way. Do you suppose Joseph assumed his father was too old to tell what he was doing? Joseph even tried to correct his father by removing his hand from Ephraim’s head. Jacob knew exactly what he was doing. He was listening to God. Although Manasseh was the older God told Jacob that Ephraim would become the greater. When God chooses people to fulfill his plans He doesn’t look at what we do. It is not by status, appearance, or tradition, but He looks much deeper. He very often uses the less obvious person.
As Jacob blessed each son he made a prediction about his future. He also spoke of their past. Reuben lost his special birthright because of his past dishonorable behavior. He wasn’t left out but he didn’t receive his full intended blessing. This makes me think about the choices I make. How many bad decisions keep me from the blessing God intended for me. Our past certainly shapes our future. Like Judah, who was not the perfect son, we saw how his heart had changed. He was willing to give up his freedom to save his brother Benjamin. His past influenced his future decision. And do you know who Judah is? It is from his line that our Savior comes.
Jacob lived to be 147 years of age. He was taken back to Canaan to the be buried with Abraham and Isaac. One question I have is why were they not already back in Canaan? The famine had been over for some years, but they stayed in Egypt. God knew they would.
We have learned about many great men and women of God in our reading of Genesis. I hope that through learning about these people and their struggles that you are encouraged and inspired to maintain a daily walk with God. We will fail at times but He is gracious and merciful. He has a plan!
