Gen. 48:13-14, 18-19 “And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
LESSON - This was not the first example in the scripture where God preferred the “next” born over the “first” born. We saw this before in Seth and Cain, Isaac and Ishmael, and Jacob and Esau. We see in Jacob’s deliberate action of crossing his arms a picture of the Cross of Christ. Just as the second Adam was greater than the first, so was the new covenant established through Jesus Christ greater than the Law. Heb. 10:9-10 “Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.“
V16 “The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
Because of the cross of Christ, we too have been redeemed from ALL evil. Does your life reflect the blessings bestowed upon you by the Cross? If not, it should! To God alone be all the Glory!
~Mike
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