Coming to a Close
As we read Genesis 48, we really begin to get a sense that
God is wrapping up the story of the patriarchs.
Jacob comes fully clean again and confesses that his life had been
filled with evil but it has since been redeemed. We finally see the stories being woven
through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob being drawn up together. The generational sin has now been dealt with,
and the time for the patriarchs is coming to a close.
Blessing of the Boys
However, there are still a few things that we can learn
here. I find it interesting that Jacob
intentionally blesses Ephraim over Manasseh.
Of course, by now this should be absolutely no surprise. All throughout the history of the patriarchs it
is the younger son, the younger daughter, or the younger everything that has
been preferred to the eldest.
Of course, this doesn’t make the eldest bad. It simply means that we have a pattern here
that is being followed. Seth was chosen instead
of Cain, Isaac chosen over Ishmael, Jacob chosen over Esau, and Rachel chosen over
Leah. What makes this time special is that
before the preference for the younger has always been through human
manipulation and sin. Now we can see
that the preference is up front and intentional.
Perhaps you have spent all this time through Genesis
wondering what God has against the firstborn.
Well, it isn’t so much the firstborn as much as the pattern that God is
trying to put into the history of His people.
If we read Hebrews 10:8-10 we can understand a little bit about what is
going on from God’s perspective.
That passage states that God has been working throughout
history to “do away with the first” in order to “establish the second.” In the context of Hebrews, the author is
writing that God has done away with the old system of
forgiveness/repentance/sanctification, the law of the Old Testament and all the
sacrifices, in favor of a new system of forgiveness/repentance/sanctification, Jesus’
death on the cross. Again we see the old
replace the new.
Now, this doesn’t mean that the first way is completely
discarded. After all, did not God still
watch out for Cain, Ishmael, Esau, and Leah?
Certainly God still cared for them.
But God’s plan for salvation came through the others. The same is true about the law. Certainly God cares about the law and that we
follow His ways. But salvation comes
through a new way in Jesus Christ rather than the first way which is the law.
Crossing of the Arms
Another neat thing happens as Jacob blesses Ephraim and
Manasseh. I don’t want to make a big
deal about this because if I make too big of a deal about it this can really
sound hokey. But notice that in blessing
the boys Jacob crosses his arms. In a
way, we have a very brief but clear foreshadowing that this process of setting
aside the first to establish the second will ultimately find its fulfillment in
the cross. Again, I don’t want to make
this a big theological point lest it sound contrived. But I do think that it is a neat point to
ponder and be satisfied with its simplicity.
Genealogical Comparisons
We also should not miss the comparison made in Genesis
48:5. When Jacob speaks of Joseph’s sons
he compares them to Reuben and Simeon.
Who were Reuben and Simeon? Well,
they were nothing less than the first born and second born of Jacob! In this expression, Jacob is telling Joseph
that he is taking Joseph’s sons and elevating them up to be as high – or higher
– than his own firstborn sons. Essentially,
Joseph’s sons are being told that they are the leaders of the family now. They are not merely an old man’s
afterthought. They are the leaders of
the family clan. That is high praise.
In the end, I must echo Jacob’s sentiments here. God is good.
God may work in mysterious ways and God’s ways may occasionally seem
foreign, strange, or anything but straightforward. But none of that changes the fact that God is
good and that God’s ways are better than our ways. Look at what God has brought about from
Abraham up to Jacob – especially how God has worked in Jacob’s life alone! Yes, God is good.
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment