Today's Reading:

Genesis 47
Genesis 48
Genesis 49
Genesis 50

 
Joseph is not overlooked or “skipped” when it comes to inheritance—far from it as he receives much more than any of his brothers. While the other brothers/tribes receive their allotments in Canaan, Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, are each elevated to full tribal status by Jacob himself (Gen 48:5–6). This effectively gives Joseph a double portion of the promised land—twice the inheritance any single brother receives, putting him in the status of firstborn. In addition, Joseph is the only brother who receives a personal, massive inheritance inside Egypt: the richest and most fertile region of the country, the land of Goshen (also called the land of Rameses) which was set aside for his family. During the seven years of famine, Joseph acquired virtually all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh (Gen 47:20), yet his own family retained permanent, unrestricted ownership of their vast holdings—herds, flocks, and prime green space that remain in Israelite hands even after the rest of Egypt sold off their homes, land and people due to famine. Joseph was doubly blessed: his descendants got two full tribal territories in Canaan (Ephraim and Manasseh), while he ruled as lord over the choicest portion of Egypt, with his family possessing it as a perpetual, private estate. No other son of Jacob came close to that kind of double-portion abundance. So, everything belonged to Joseph’s house- it just carried his son’s names. All was still in their father’s line as God favored them as the bountiful tribe. Due to Joseph’s accumulated wealth, it passed to his sons early. Do you trust God to multiply and preserve blessings for your family line even when you cannot yet see the full harvest?

Joseph presented his family to Pharaoh and his father, Jacob/Israel, was 130 years old. Jacob blessed Pharaoh twice (upon entering and upon leaving) for several profound reasons that reveal both Jacob’s spiritual authority and biblical message. Jacob was walking in Abraham’s blessing. “I will bless you…and all families of the earth” (Genesis 12:2-3). This was passed from Abraham to Isaac and then to Jacob, therefore, Jacob could bless anyone, including the Pharaoh of Egypt. Jacob was spiritually superior to Pharaoh as he understood that God is the true king. Jacob also used the blessing to thank the Pharaoh for his enormous kindness in the giving of the best fertile land to show him gratitude.

Joseph worked as Pharaoh’s administrator, bought Egypt’s land and enslaved its people in return for grain—yet they thanked him with joy, saying, “You have saved our lives!” (Gen 47:25). The famine was so dire that slavery felt like deliverance. Jacob lived an additional 17 years in Egypt during this time when he made Joseph swear an oath to take his bones back to Canaan, he knew Egypt was not the land God had promised. Remember the “thigh” denoted the genitals as they were swearing on their offspring.

Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were adopted by Jacob and elevated to full tribal status (Gen 48:5–6). This technically created 13 tribes, but Israel is always counted as 12 for these reasons: Joseph’s tribe is replaced by his two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh each become a separate tribe, so Joseph himself no longer counts as one of the 12. The second reason is that Levi was later removed from the land-inheritance count because the Levites received no territorial portion (only cities); their inheritance was the Lord Himself (Num 18:20; Josh 13:33). Ephraim received their own larger

territory, and Manasseh would have 2 separate areas. They are counted as one tribe in genealogy, but 2 geographically.

In Genesis 49, Jacob was dying and called all his sons together to give them a blessing. This was not a feel-good blessing though, more a prophetic poem that described the future destiny of each son’s tribe. Like the spiritual DNA of the tribes. In the end, the true blessings fall to Judah and Joseph. Judah becomes the royal line through which the Messiah would come (Genesis 49:10, Matthew 1:1-16), while Joseph receives the double portion of the birthright- given to his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who each receive a full tribal inheritance, bringing great land, power, and fruitfulness. Though Reuben, as the firstborn, originally held the birthright, he forfeited it because of his sin (Genesis 35:22, 49:3-4; 1 Chronicles 5:1), and it was transferred to Joseph. From Judah would come the kings of Israel (including David and his line); from Levi, the priests; the northern kingdom of Ephraim (Joseph’s son) would be called Israel; and the southern kingdom would be known as Judah.

In the end, God’s greatest blessings often come not to the firstborn who claim the right, but to those He chooses by grace- reminding us that divine inheritance is never earned by merit or birth order but sovereignly given for the sake of a promise that comes to the world through Jesus.

Today's Discussion question: 
Do you trust God to multiply and preserve blessings for your family line even when you cannot yet see the full harvest?

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