Vayechi - Gen 47:28-50:26
This week we arrive at not only the final portion for the year, but our final portion for Genesis, or as it is known in the Hebrew, beresheet. Being away on a holiday last week meant I was unable to write on the previous portion, but I hope you were still able to read along. In fact, my intentions more than anything, is that these posts encourage you to read your bible more. Although I want to share with you my thoughts and ideas on how it connects with the Apostolic scriptures and our lives as followers of Jesus today, my greater desire is that God speaks to you through His word more.
In our section of scripture, we come to the final days of Jacob, or Israel, and Joseph and the 70 Israelites having moved to Egypt, which sets up the Exodus narrative. But before that, we find this interesting narrative where Jacob is blessing his sons and giving an insight into the future of their lines. What makes this particularly interesting is that at this point there is a shift in how the promise made to Abraham is carried forward. Before now, the line was continued through single descendants (Issac and Jacob), but now the line is to be carried through all his sons as a collective. Also, in the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons, we find a more complete revelation of the nature of God's election as it identifies a number of points.
The first is found in Genesis 48:4, as Jacob speaks to Joseph, we are reminded of the three promises made to Abraham, , that was repeated to Isaac and Jacob:
A Picture of God's Election
In our section of scripture, we come to the final days of Jacob, or Israel, and Joseph and the 70 Israelites having moved to Egypt, which sets up the Exodus narrative. But before that, we find this interesting narrative where Jacob is blessing his sons and giving an insight into the future of their lines. What makes this particularly interesting is that at this point there is a shift in how the promise made to Abraham is carried forward. Before now, the line was continued through single descendants (Issac and Jacob), but now the line is to be carried through all his sons as a collective. Also, in the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons, we find a more complete revelation of the nature of God's election as it identifies a number of points.
The first is found in Genesis 48:4, as Jacob speaks to Joseph, we are reminded of the three promises made to Abraham, , that was repeated to Isaac and Jacob:
"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.’"
In changing the order of the blessings as given to Abraham, attention and focus is given to the third promise, that in Him, all families of the earth would be blessed. But here it is worded a little differently. Is says that a multitude of nations was to come from Jacob. How is this possible and what does it look like?
Firstly, it reveals that the blessings for the nations, or Gentiles, would come not apart from, but by joining Israel. This is the theological and scriptural foundation upon which Paul would write in verses such as Ephesians 3:6:
Secondly, this encounter between Jacob and Joseph's sons is more than just a special moment between a grandfather and his grand-kids as he blessed them, although it was a nice moment, as there was something more going on. When Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, they were placed on his knees, which, according to Sarna (1989, 207) is part of the process of adoption. As Jacob said previously to Joseph: "Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are... They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance" (Gen 48:5-6). So here are two boys born from an Egyptian mother, being adopted into the family. This reveals to us that those who are 'coheirs of the inheritance and promise' given to Abraham would be so not by physical linage, but by divine appointment. This is what John was referencing at the beginning of his Gospel:
And thirdly, in the process of blessing, we see one of the basic principles of God's divine election being further developed. When placing his hands upon the boys heads, Israel reversed the cultural expectation by placing his right hand (hand of dominance) on the younger son, Ephraim, thus giving him the greater blessing. Interestingly, the word for bless, barak, means to 'bend the knee' or 'kneel', which helps to paint a picture of what it means to bless. For the worshipper, to kneel before God and offer praises is how we bless Him. And for God to bless us, He bends His knee as a father would sit on a chair and put his children on His knee to draw them close and show affection and speak words of love and goodness over them. And this is what Jacob did for his grandsons, and his prophetic blessing is worked out later is Israel's history when Ephraim became so big, it became an interchangeable name for the 10 Northern Tribes of Israel (e.g. Jer 31:9). This reversal of the younger being the greater is a repeat of what happened to both Isaac and Jacob, who although being the younger received the greater blessing. Paul in Romans 9 discusses this theme, as represented in Jacob and Esau, when he writes:
For us today, this story of Ephraim and Manasseh is a reminder that that it was by God's sovereign will, founded on grace and mercy, that He chose to make Himself known to us and call us (Jn 6:44) through His son, Jesus. And that when we responded with faith, and how this works is for a debate outside the scope of this post, we were adopted into His family and grafted into the people of Israel to become heirs of the promised inheritance. Also, he may chose some us for great things and others of us for more humble things. And all of this, is not based on our obedience, or the faith of our parents (despite how some nepotism works itself out) but all on His grace.
References:
Hegg, Tim. Parashah Fourty-Four. TorahResource:2005.
Sarna, Nahum, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis. JPS:1989.
Seifrid, Mark. "Romans", Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament. Baker: 2007, p. 607-94.
This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.And also in Romans 11:24
...you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree.Interestingly, when God made that promise, He said He would make Jacob a 'multitude', or 'kehilah' - of peoples, or nations (amim: Josh 4:24, compare with Gen 28:14: "in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed."). When the Tanakh was written into Greek, kehilah was translated as ekklesia, which is what the Apostolic scriptures use for the word we translate as 'church.' Here, we have a prophetic word from the Lord, that Paul would later elaborate on, that the 'church' was to be all those, regardless of origin of birth, who united themselves under God in Christ join themselves to the descendants of Israel. We see this process of 'the nations' joining the people of Israel in this encounter with Ephraim and Manasseh.
Secondly, this encounter between Jacob and Joseph's sons is more than just a special moment between a grandfather and his grand-kids as he blessed them, although it was a nice moment, as there was something more going on. When Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, they were placed on his knees, which, according to Sarna (1989, 207) is part of the process of adoption. As Jacob said previously to Joseph: "Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are... They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance" (Gen 48:5-6). So here are two boys born from an Egyptian mother, being adopted into the family. This reveals to us that those who are 'coheirs of the inheritance and promise' given to Abraham would be so not by physical linage, but by divine appointment. This is what John was referencing at the beginning of his Gospel:
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (Jn 1:12-13).Thus, it is by adoption into God's family that we receive the inheritance. Interestingly, this is true of the whole nation. In Ezekiel, God describes how he found Israel abandoned in the field as a newborn and so He adopted her as His own (Ez 16:1-5). As Paul wrote: "...you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'" (Rom 8:15). Thus, there is only one genuine 'son of God', and that's Christ. Everyone else, Jew or Gentile is adopted into God's family by faith. And that adoption gives us full rights as genuine sons of God to His inheritance.
And thirdly, in the process of blessing, we see one of the basic principles of God's divine election being further developed. When placing his hands upon the boys heads, Israel reversed the cultural expectation by placing his right hand (hand of dominance) on the younger son, Ephraim, thus giving him the greater blessing. Interestingly, the word for bless, barak, means to 'bend the knee' or 'kneel', which helps to paint a picture of what it means to bless. For the worshipper, to kneel before God and offer praises is how we bless Him. And for God to bless us, He bends His knee as a father would sit on a chair and put his children on His knee to draw them close and show affection and speak words of love and goodness over them. And this is what Jacob did for his grandsons, and his prophetic blessing is worked out later is Israel's history when Ephraim became so big, it became an interchangeable name for the 10 Northern Tribes of Israel (e.g. Jer 31:9). This reversal of the younger being the greater is a repeat of what happened to both Isaac and Jacob, who although being the younger received the greater blessing. Paul in Romans 9 discusses this theme, as represented in Jacob and Esau, when he writes:
though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Rom 9:11-13).What this shows us is that God's election of individuals for different purposes in salvation history, in the case of Jacob to continue the line, and for Ephraim to have dominance, are not based on any sense of obligation to those individuals, but by His sovereign choice. This, according to Paul, is the foundation upon which he could say that those who would become God's people and receive the blessings of His promised inheritance, would do so because of His mercy, grace and election, not as an obligation to our works or natural descent (Rom 9:16). By reinforcing the definition of Israel as those who are of faith and not blood lines (Rom 9:6-7), Paul was attempting to correct the false belief of Paul's day, which he encountered often, that salvation came firstly by being a descendant of Israel, and one kept their covenant status by being obedient to the law. But more significantly, the purpose of Paul's teaching here was to show that God's promises had not failed. It appears people were asking, 'if God promised to make a people out of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, why were so many rejecting the messiah?' But Paul said, 'No, they had not failed. God's elective purposes and salvation don't follow blood lines, but faith. There was never any promise that every son of Jacob would be saved.' Thus, Paul's emphasis on salvation by faith alone was not a doctrine invented after the coming of Christ, but a theological principle established in the Patriarchs of Genesis.
For us today, this story of Ephraim and Manasseh is a reminder that that it was by God's sovereign will, founded on grace and mercy, that He chose to make Himself known to us and call us (Jn 6:44) through His son, Jesus. And that when we responded with faith, and how this works is for a debate outside the scope of this post, we were adopted into His family and grafted into the people of Israel to become heirs of the promised inheritance. Also, he may chose some us for great things and others of us for more humble things. And all of this, is not based on our obedience, or the faith of our parents (despite how some nepotism works itself out) but all on His grace.
References:
Hegg, Tim. Parashah Fourty-Four. TorahResource:2005.
Sarna, Nahum, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis. JPS:1989.
Seifrid, Mark. "Romans", Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament. Baker: 2007, p. 607-94.
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