Genesis 47-48

When God makes a promise, he keeps it. The results come in his timing and way, but God always does what he says he will do. In today’s passage, Jacob repeated God’s promises as the patriarch blessed Joseph’s sons. Let’s work our way through Genesis 47-48.

As the famine persisted, the land of Egypt and Canaan became desolate. The people exhausted all their money to purchase grain. Then, they sold all their livestock for food. Finally, they told Joseph, “There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land…. Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh…” (Gen. 47:18-19).

Joseph “bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh” (Gen. 47:20). He gave the people seed to plant and required that Pharaoh receive twenty percent of the harvest. In essence, the people were in bondage to Pharaoh who, at this point in history, was Sesostris III (1878–1843 BC).^[1] When Moses led the nation of Israel out of Egypt four hundred years later, the harvest tax that Joseph implemented was still the law of the land (Gen. 47:26).

Some might conclude that Joseph’s actions were unfair for enslaving the people to Pharaoh. However, Joseph’s acquisition of land for Pharaoh not only enriched the ruler but also established Joseph and his legacy in high regard for four hundred years until “there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Ex. 1:8). During those centuries, Israel was protected due to Joseph’s strategy to save the people of Egypt and enhance Pharaoh’s power.

In appreciation for Joseph’s leadership, Pharaoh gave Jacob and his family the fertile land of Goshen, later called the district of Rameses (Gen. 47:11, Ex. 1:11). They “gained possession in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly” (Gen. 47:27).

Jacob arrived in Egypt at the age of one hundred and thirty. Seventeen years later, he was near death. Jacob called for his son Joseph, asking him to swear to bury him in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, and Leah were laid to rest. He instructed Joseph, “Put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt” (Gen. 47:29). Placing your hand under someone’s thigh was the act of a solemn oath tied to “the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line.”^[2]

Sometime later, Joseph was told that his dad had taken a turn for the worse. Joseph took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to visit their grandfather. Jacob was pleased to see them and “summoned his strength” to interact with them (Gen. 48:2).

Genesis 48:3-6
And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ 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.’ ⁵ 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. ⁶ And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.”

In this passage, Jacob recalls the night when El Shaddai first spoke with him. He had stolen Esau’s birthright and was fleeing from his brother. On his way to Paddan-aram, where his mother’s family lived, he spent the night at Luz. There, God appeared to him in a dream and promised to make him into a great nation (Gen. 28:10-22). In Paddan-aram, Jacob met Rachel, Joseph’s mother, and the love of his life. Jacob remembered his sorrow when she died (Gen. 48:7). As Rachel’s firstborn, Joseph would receive a double portion of his father’s blessing. Jacob adopted Joseph’s two sons, making them equal with Joseph’s brothers.

Joseph positioned his sons before Jacob to receive the blessing. He placed Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand to bless the firstborn, while Ephraim stood to Jacob’s left. However, Jacob crossed his hands, giving the firstborn blessing to the younger grandson.

Genesis 48:18-19
And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since 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 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.”

God continued a pattern of blessing the younger over the older. He favored Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over Reuben, and now Ephraim over Manasseh. Why? This pattern illustrates that God’s choice is based on his divine plan and sovereign will, not human merit or birth order.

Genesis 48:15-16
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, ¹⁶ 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.”

In his blessing, Jacob called on the God who made a covenant with his grandfather and father and had given him the same promises. This God had demonstrated himself faithful to Jacob many times.[3] He was the same God who had guided Jacob like a shepherd, sent his angel[4] to protect Jacob when Laban chased him down, and Esau met him with four hundred warriors. Now, the promise of God will be enacted through Ephraim and Manasseh, along with the other brothers.

We can think of many times in Jacob’s life when God appeared to him, directed his steps, and gave him tremendous faith. But in the New Testament, the blessing of Joseph’s sons is noted as his act of faith. The writer to the Hebrews said, “By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship… (Heb. 11:21).

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read Genesis 47:13-48:20. As you read this passage, reflect on:

• Joseph’s work on behalf of Pharaoh protected the nation of Israel for four hundred years.
• Jacob blessing the younger over the older—another demonstration of God’s sovereign will instead of human merit.
• Jacob’s blessing in Gen. 48:15-16.

Talking to God
Thank God for choosing you based on his sovereign will and grace, not your merit or efforts.

Have Questions?
We desire to help you engage with God’s Word. Please share any questions you have. Our team will get back to you as soon as possible. Submit your question below, and we’ll get back to you shortly.

Two more things:

1. Visit ronmoore.org/lifemap for an exercise that will help you discover how God is writing his story in you. A life map of Joseph is included as an example.
2. On February 25 at 7:00 pm, we will meet on a Zoom call to review what we have learned in Genesis and answer questions. A link to the call will be provided if you wish to participate.

^[1] Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 96.

^[2] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ge 24:2.

[3] See Genesis 28:13; 31:5, 42; 32:9; 46:3.

[4] See comments about the Angel of the Lord in the Genesis 16 devotion.