Blessing Can’t Be Steered
Genesis 48: 17 Now when Joseph saw
that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased
him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to
Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father,
“Not so, my father, for 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; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he,
and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
20 So he blessed them that day,
saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim
and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph,
“Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the
land of your fathers. 22 Moreover I have given
to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of
the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
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Joseph saw that Israel was blessing the younger son over the
older, so he tried to correct the situation. Israel refused to move his hands
and provided an explanation.
My Observations:
- GOD
was leading Israel to bless Ephraim more than Manasseh because that is
what HE planned to do.
- Manasseh
was still going to be blessed.
- Joseph
did not care about receiving a blessing because he was already taken care
of.
Trying to control the blessing showed that Joseph did not
understand the blessing. We do the same. We try to steer GOD into blessing us,
especially when HE seems to be blessing someone else. Instead of praise, we
resort to jealousy. BUT GOD knows and understands what you and I are going
through.
Ephraim and Manasseh did not ask to be blessed. They
probably thought that day was going to be the same as the day before. They did
nothing to earn a blessing from GOD, so any blessing was incredible! Same for
us!
Challenge
- Why
does GOD tell Moses about Joseph’s reaction to Israel’s blessing order?
- Have
you ever felt jealous or envious over someone who seemed to be getting
blessed?
- Is
there room for growth in seeing blessings differently by praising GOD for
a hope and a future?
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