Birthright
Genesis 48
Manasseh and Ephraim
3 Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty [a] appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me 4 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.'
5 "Now then, 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. 6 Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 7 As I was returning from Paddan, [b] to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem).
8 When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, "Who are these?"
9 "They are the sons God has given me here," Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, "Bring them to me so I may bless them."
10 Now Israel's eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.
11 Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too."
12 Then Joseph removed them from Israel's knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel's left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel's right hand, and brought them close to him. 14 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.
15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
"May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd
all my life to this day,
16 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."
17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim's head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18 Joseph said to him, "No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head."
19 But his father refused and said, "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." 20 He blessed them that day and said,
"In your [c] name will Israel pronounce this blessing:
'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.' "
So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, "I am about to die, but God will be with you [d] and take you [e] back to the land of your [f] fathers. 22 And to you, as one who is over your brothers, I give the ridge of land [g] I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow."
This Story is about Joseph's son's and there grandfather Jacob.Jacob is about to die so he asks his son joseph to bring him his gransons so that he can bless them.
But the more important part of the blessing is the blessing that Jacob was suppose to give to the first born which is called the birthright.
The birtright was the special blessing that the older son got from his father and or grandfather that gave him access to double of his father or grandfathers estate
which means that the older son got more money, land, servants, everything that the father owned he got a double portion of it.
So Joseph brings his sons to his father jacob and tells his dad to go ahead and bless Manasseh.
Jacob was completely blind at this time and he was probably partialy deaf.
Jacob placed his hand on the head of Ephraim instead of Manasseh.
He gave the birthright that was entitled by birth and lineage to Manasseh to Ephraim.
God used Jacob to reveal a key concept of the kingdom a concept that is truly understood if you fastfoward a couple thousand years to the city of Jerusalem on the hill called Golgotha as a man hung on a piece of wood barely concious beaten until the flesh fell off his back hung with nails in his hands.
He screamed out "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani" Which means Daddy Daddy why have you left me!!
Because as Jesus hung on a cross God saw two people that he could give the birthright to
You or his Son Jesus
and he chose you
he let his son take the weight of your sins so that he could grab ahold of you and give you that birthright!
