Joseph and an unexpected choice.
Question of the day: Have you ever been overlooked or not chosen for something that you really wanted?
Good morning class. Happy Sabbath! This morning we are continuing our study of Joseph and almost at the end of Genesis. We will read the chapter and then discuss it together.
READ: Genesis 48
Manasseh and Ephraim
48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.
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 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 faithfully,
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
on the earth.”
Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,
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
on 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.’”
‘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 I give one more ridge of land[g] than to your brothers, the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”
When I was a senior on high school the day came for the class officers to be chosen. I had not been an officer and had no hope of being chosen as president or anything big like that but there was an office I desperately wanted, class historian. Most students had no idea what that even was but I knew. It was the person that was supposed to keep up with classmates long after graduation and make sure the class participated in Alumni weekends etc. This person would become the "class agent" working with the Alumni association president. I wanted this position so much. I was a four year senior, I had been attending Alumni weekends my entire life and just knew it was perfect for me.
As I suspected no one nominated me for any other office but when the final position came up for nominations my name was nominated. I was thrilled! The only other person nominated was a girl who was just a two year senior, no family connections to the school. She was however.... tall, gorgeous, super smart, talented musically, and so much more. I still liked my chances because I was the obvious choice. I would forever be connected to this school, was friends with everyone.... I knew this office was mine!
Voting started and then the counting. The teacher stands up and says, "this was close but by one vote, Kristie is your class historian." I was devastated. Why? I was the obvious choice.
Can you imagine what Joseph must have felt as a father watching his first born being overlooked?
What must Manasseh thought?
What about Ephraim?
Have you ever been chosen to do something when you were not the obvious choice?
How did that make you feel?
Where else do we see stories in the bible where an unexpected person is chosen?
When Jesus was here on earth who did he chose for his disciples?
God doesn't chose the obvious.
What that says to me is.... he can use me, for things that I may not think are "just right" for me. It isn't in me to do the things He needs done it is through Him. He ordains, He chooses, He equips, He teaches.
Has God been calling you to do something for Him and have you been saying you aren't ready, or you aren't the right choice?
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, the first sign of my strength,
excelling in honor, excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—
their swords[a] are weapons of violence.
6 Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,
for they have killed men in their anger
and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.
8 “Judah,[b] your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah;
you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[c]
until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.[e]
13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.
16 “Dan[h] will provide justice for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that its rider tumbles backward.
18 “I look for your deliverance, Lord.
19 “Gad[i] will be attacked by a band of raiders,
but he will attack them at their heels.
20 “Asher’s food will be rich;
he will provide delicacies fit for a king.
21 “Naphtali is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns.[j]
22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.[k]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;
they shot at him with hostility.
24 But his bow remained steady,
his strong arms stayed[l] limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 because of your father’s God, who helps you,
because of the Almighty,[m] who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
blessings of the deep springs below,
blessings of the breast and womb.
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than[n] the bounty of the age-old hills.
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince among[o] his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning he devours the prey,
in the evening he divides the plunder.”
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.
The Death of Jacob
29 Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.[p]”
33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
We are going to look at this chapter from 3 perspectives.
First Jacob.
Jacob was dying and these were his last words. Now it is interesting to note that this was a poem. Which says to me that these words were not just the words of a dying man but words that had either been worked on, even practiced, or were literally divinely inspired in that moment. I would suggest that perhaps they were words that were divinely inspired and worked on and practiced. I can't imagine that this was just "on the fly."
If this is the case, then these were words that Jacob had been planning. Can you imagine the struggle he must have gone through with God.
Ellen White writes, "Jacob had ever been a man of deep and ardent affection; his love for his sons was strong and tender, and his dying testimony to them was not the utterance of partiality or resentment. He had forgiven them all, and he loved them to the last. His paternal tenderness would have found expression only in words of encouragement and hope; but the power of God rested upon him, and under the influence of Inspiration he was constrained to declare the truth, however painful."
So imagine the weeks leading up to this moment, the struggle between Jacob and God as he worked on this poem.
Have you ever been facing a conversation you know you needed to have but you were dreading it? There are few things that bring me more stress than the looming difficult conversation. I am sure that there must have been a struggle with Jacob and God as he worked on this poem. I am sure his last weeks were not peaceful ones. He must have dreaded it. The words Ellen White uses to describe this moment is interesting. "the power of God rested upon him, and under the influence of Inspiration he was constrained to declare the truth, however painful."
"The truth however painful."
I want to be clear right up front, we MUST NEVER use this to serve up our own condemnation of others or to beat people over the head with our perceptions of their sin!!!!!!! HOWEVER, there are many times when I cower from the "truth" because it is painful.
Have you ever run from truth because it is painful?
Have you ever told the truth and experienced great pain as a result?
God is a God of love, but love can only exist in a place of truth. TRUTH is a fundamental part of LOVE. Without it you can't have real LOVE.
When we are not willing to do the difficult thing, we are not loving!
So what am I talking about?
This week I had an amazing conversation with a delightful 20 year old who is such an inspiration. In our conversation she talked about too many times seeing situations where abusers are not brought to justice because we are not willing to make the difficult choice of speaking truth. When we are friends with people who miss treat people, do we defend the miss treated?
I once had a difficult conversation where someone was speaking ill of another, and I didn't know what to do, so I just sat in silence instead of speaking up.
Jacob had to be so surrendered to God that he was willing to write this poem that blessed his sons but also spoke truth.
Are we willing to be that surrendered?
Second, from the perspective of the sons.
This must have been a very difficult time for them. Not only were they hearing the last words from their father but for many they weren't just affirming words but truth. Some of them were hearing of how they had failed in the past, and how that was going to affect their future. That is never fun to hear.
Do our past indiscretions, even when confessed affect our future?
How many times do we expect our request for forgiveness to erase all consequences?
I think it is important to note that this poem was also not just about his sons but about the nation of Israel. It was much bigger than just them, but in that moment when he was speaking I am sure it was for them very much about them and them only. I think sometimes we look at these stories and we see the big big big picture and forget that in that moment this was a father talking to his sons and it must have been an extremely difficult to hear.
From our perspective.
What does this chapter say to us?
I want to close this lesson with a long quote from Patriarchs and Prophets. Here she writes, "Jacob's last years brought an evening of tranquility and repose after a troubled and weary day. Clouds had gathered dark above his path, yet his sun set clear, and the radiance of heaven illumined his parting hours. Says the Scripture, “At evening time it shall be light.” Zechariah 14:7. “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.” Psalm 37:37. PP 237.3
Jacob had sinned, and had deeply suffered. Many years of toil, care, and sorrow had been his since the day when his great sin caused him to flee from his father's tents. A homeless fugitive, separated from his mother, whom he never saw again; laboring seven years for her whom he loved, only to be basely cheated; toiling twenty years in the service of a covetous and grasping kinsman; seeing his wealth increasing, and sons rising around him, but finding little joy in the contentious and divided household; distressed by his daughter's shame, by her brothers’ revenge, by the death of Rachel, by the unnatural crime of Reuben, by Judah's sin, by the cruel deception and malice practiced toward Joseph—how long and dark is the catalogue of evils spread out to view! Again and again he had reaped the fruit of that first wrong deed. Over and over he saw repeated among his sons the sins of which he himself had been guilty. But bitter as had been the discipline, it had accomplished its work. The chastening, though grievous, had yielded “the peaceable fruit of righteousness.” Hebrews 12:11. PP 237.4
Inspiration faithfully records the faults of good men, those who were distinguished by the favor of God; indeed, their faults are more fully presented than their virtues. This has been a subject of wonder to many, and has given the infidel occasion to scoff at the Bible. But it is one of the strongest evidences of the truth of Scripture, that facts are not glossed over, nor the sins of its chief characters suppressed. The minds of men are so subject to prejudice that it is not possible for human histories to be absolutely impartial. Had the Bible been written by uninspired persons, it would no doubt have presented the character of its honored men in a more flattering light. But as it is, we have a correct record of their experiences. PP 238.1
Men whom God favored, and to whom He entrusted great responsibilities, were sometimes overcome by temptation and committed sin, even as we at the present day strive, waver, and frequently fall into error. Their lives, with all their faults and follies, are open before us, both for our encouragement and warning. If they had been represented as without fault, we, with our sinful nature, might despair at our own mistakes and failures. But seeing where others struggled through discouragements like our own, where they fell under temptations as we have done, and yet took heart again and conquered through the grace of God, we are encouraged in our striving after righteousness. As they, though sometimes beaten back, recovered their ground, and were blessed of God, so we too may be overcomers in the strength of Jesus. On the other hand, the record of their lives may serve as a warning to us. It shows that God will by no means clear the guilty. He sees sin in His most favored ones, and He deals with it in them even more strictly than in those who have less light and responsibility.
KNOW LOVE.
LIVE LOVE.
SHARE LOVE.
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