Written by *Below is Pastor Andrew’s teaching outline from Sunday’s sermon, not a word for word manuscript. This is meant as aid in seeing the thought and direction of the sermon.
I. The Plan (v1-7)
A. The Setting: Jacob is close to death
Genesis 48:1 ESV
After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Similar to Isaac’s plan to bless Esau (He is feeling the time is short)
Genesis 27:1–4 ESV
When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
B. Jacob recounts God’s Blessing
Genesis 48:2–4 ESV
And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’
He appeared to Jacob in 2 defining moments of his life at Bethel:
-When Fleeing from Esau and then Right before the Death of Rachel
Genesis 28:13–15 ESV
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Genesis 35:10–12 ESV
And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”
God blessed Jacob in the midst of a future of uncertainty and in so doing helping to lay the foundation for a future of certainty.
So Hear Jacob is reminding his Son of the God who blessed him and in so doing pointing forward to the God who has sustained him
C. In light of God’s Blessing He plans to Adopt Ephraim & Manasseh
Genesis 48:5–6 ESV
And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.
Adoption is a common in the ANE, though not how we think of it
Adoption was a means of passing down rights and possessions. Not of giving a family to an orphan.
Most adoptions happen within close family units
NO OT legal description of adoption
Comparing them to Reuben and Simeon shows they will have equal standing with Leah’s oldest. (Also the two whom Jacob has the most issues with)
D. Jacob Reflects on Rachel
Genesis 48:7 ESV
As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
Seems to indicate the adopting of Jospeh’s boys in a blessing to Rachel as well. She now becomes the mother of 4 greater than Zilpha and Billah
Her name is made greater through them
II. The Blessing (v8-20)
This is the moment in Hebrews 11 where Jacob is said to have acted in faith:
Hebrews 11:21 ESV
By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.
A. Jacob initiates the Blessing
Genesis 48:8–10 ESV
When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
B. Jacob Expresses Gratitude to God
Genesis 48:11 ESV
And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.”
As he prepares to give his blessing he stops to be amazed at the grace and mercy of God
-Not only was his son “found” but he has himself been blessed with children
-The Children of His favorite son are a balm to the soul of this dying Patriarch.
-Many a grandparent can relate to the blessing of grandchildren, and in their case the proof of the faithfulness fo God in bringing about the one who will crush the serpents head.
-Jospeh’s family is not cut of but rather has multiplied
-What a blessing what was lost is now found and in greater number
C. Joseph prepares for the blessing
Genesis 48:12–14 ESV
Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn).
D. Jacob Pronounces the blessing
Genesis 48:15–16 ESV
And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
E. Jacob places Ephraim above Manasseh
Genesis 48:17–20 ESV
When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’ ” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
Ephraim will be an important tribe in the History of the OT:
-Joshua son of Nun is an Ephramite (Leads the conquest/Moses second)
-When the nation is divided from Solomons Son Rehoboam it is given to Jeroboam from the tribe of Ephraim (The north will be referred to as Ephraim throughout the OT and the South Judah)
-They will occupy the land of Shechum and Bethel
1 Chronicles 5:1–2 ESV
The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son; though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph),
III. The Future (v21-22)
Genesis 48:21–22 ESV
Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”
A. God will be with them
God was with them and all the more those in Christ, the true and lasting adopted sons of God have him with us always. We are reminded of Christ words as he departed:
Matthew 28:20 ESV
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
B. God will bring them back to the Land
God is faithful to his promise
How much do we trust and believe he will bring us safely to God’s Golden Shores:
Hebrews 11:13–16 ESV
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
C. Joseph will receive a special allotment in the land
-Mostly likely the land bought in 33
Joshua 24:32 ESV
As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
Conclude: the glory of an adoption we do not deserve and an inheritance far greater than we could dream.
1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Our God has brought us into His family
He has given us an inheritance that can not be corrupted by time our sin
A name and a land, a saviour and a God who will forever be ours thanks to the blessing of Christ.
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