Beyond The Basics

Transcript:

Due to the nature of the content of this episode, if you are listening around small children, please use discretion before listening. Welcome to the Beyond the Basics Bible Study Podcast. My name is Dan Snyder and I am your host. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Beyond the Basics, where we are exploring the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, one chapter at a time.

Think back to when you were growing up and if you were the firstborn, what kind of responsibilities did you have as the firstborn? What was it like with younger siblings? Did you have to look after them? Did your parents expect more out of you maybe than your other siblings? I was the firstborn so that was my experience.

What about if you weren’t the firstborn? What was it like looking up to an older sibling? Were you jealous? Was your older sibling maybe your role model? All kinds of ways that can go, right?

Well, in Genesis chapter 48, we’re going to find that the birthright that would normally go to the older sibling, the responsibilities that would be passed on, and the inheritance that would be passed on to the older sibling has been passed down from Abraham all the way down to Joseph’s sons now. We’re going to go several generations past Abraham, but it’s going to be done in such a way that would prevent it from being passed on further to hopefully end the sibling rivalry that we’ve seen so much in this book.

The other reason is because that one day another man would inherit the birthright along with the rights and the responsibilities that would come with it. And we’ll get more into that as we go through the chapter. So, let’s get started.

Chapter 48 verse 1 says, after this. So, question is, of course, after what? It’s after the events in chapter 47 when Jacob asked Joseph to bury him in Canaan. That was how chapter 47 wrapped up, so now in 48, after this Joseph was told, “Behold your father is ill.”

So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.”

Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. So Jacob here was revived at being told that he would see Joseph just like he was before in Genesis 45 verse 27. It says: When they had told him all the words of Joseph which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father revived. And here, again, it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.”

Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. So he hears that Joseph is coming to him. And for the second time this news, it revives Jacob’s strength.

So Jacob said to Joseph in verse three, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.”

That city Luz is also Bethel.

So, Jacob said to Joseph, “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.’”

So moving on in verse 5, Jacob says, “And now your two sons,” talking to Joseph, he says, “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.”

So what’s happening here is Jacob is adopting Joseph’s sons as his own, which will give him a total of 13 sons. But you might say, but “Dan, I thought there were 12 tribes of Israel, not 13.”

And that’s correct. It is generally accepted that there are 12 tribes. There’s always going to be various ways that the Old Testament will list these 12 tribes. They do vary. The purpose is the number 12. The point is in the number 12. Not in the specifics of the tribes, it seems, but a big reason why we will usually see that number 12 listed as the number of tribes is because Levi would not receive an inheritance once Israel reaches the land of Canaan. Levi, as the priestly tribe, would be left without an inheritance and they would be assigned cities and they would live among the people and they would minister to the Lord because the Lord was considered to be their inheritance. So that’s why 12 tribes would usually be listed. Levi would not be part of that. And like I said, the purpose is the number 12 because the number 12 is representative of God’s government on the earth. It’s how God governs the earth is through 12. So anytime you see the number 12, it’s going to be indicative of God’s form of government.

So he says, “Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as Reuben and Simeon are.”

Now, Reuben and Simeon are Jacob’s two firstborn sons, and now Joseph’s two firstborn sons are taking their place. And Reuben, as Jacob’s firstborn, should have received the inheritance of the firstborn. He should have received that birthright, and that inheritance would include a double portion of the inheritance. So, for example, Jacob had 12 sons. The inheritance would be split up into 13 parts. The youngest 11 sons would each get one part and the oldest would get two parts. That’s what a double portion means. So that’s all that’s referring to. The double portion just means that the oldest son gets twice the inheritance as any of the other brothers or any of the other siblings.

So Jacob’s son Reuben should have received that double portion. Instead, Joseph is getting the double portion. It’s not clear here in this text, in Genesis, that’s what’s happening. It’s more implicit, but in 1 Chronicles 5:1, it says: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the sons of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son. Though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph.

So 1 Chronicles makes it clear that’s what’s happening here. Joseph is getting the double portion, not Reuben or any of the other sons. And the reason for this is most likely because Joseph was the oldest son from Jacob’s favored wife and the only woman that Jacob thought should have been his wife, Rachel. So Joseph is being chosen as the firstborn.

What Jacob is doing here is instead of giving Joseph the double portion directly, he’s splitting it between his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which is going to prevent the birth rate from being passed down again in Israel, because now we have 13 portions split between 13 men. Essentially, if you notice, what’s happening is Jacob is taking that birthright, that double portion, and instead of giving it all to Joseph, to then pass it down.

What’s been happening, Abraham passed that birthright to Isaac, Isaac passed the birthright to Jacob, now Jacob is passing it to Joseph, except he is splitting it up, that double portion, which in the book of Genesis is not just a physical inheritance, it comes with the promise of the blessing of Abraham, the promise that God made to Abraham to bless the nations, to become a great nation and bless the nations. This birthright comes with more than just land or money or animals. It comes with that blessing. That blessing is now being passed to Joseph and being split up so that now no one man can claim that blessing. They now share it equally. All 13 men, all 13 of Jacob’s sons are now on equal footing. They are now equally part of the nation of Israel. None are more important than the other. That’s what’s happening here.

Moving on into verse 8. When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?”

Now, we’re going to find out soon that Jacob is going blind. And that’s why he asks Joseph who the men are that were with him, or who Joseph’s sons are, because he can’t really see them. And the only reason he recognized Joseph is because he was told that Joseph was coming to see him, but he wasn’t told that Joseph’s sons were coming. So he asked Joseph, “Who are these?”

Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons whom God has given me here.”

And he said, “Bring them to me please, that I may bless them.”

Verse 10, now the eyes of Israel were dim with age so that he could not see. So Jacob’s eyes were dim with age, he was going blind and he couldn’t see. Just like Isaac’s eyes were dim with age so that he couldn’t see. In Genesis 27:1 we’re told the same thing. When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau.

Now check out what’s going on here. When Isaac’s eyes were dim with age, what did Isaac do? He tried to conspire with Esau to pass on the birthright to somebody that he knew shouldn’t have received it. The narrative in Genesis 27 tells us that Isaac’s eyes were dim. It’s a narrative device to show us what’s going on in his heart. Because just like his physical eyes were dim, his spiritual eyes were also going dim or being dull. And so he conspired with Esau to bless the wrong son, but he ended up blessing Jacob accidentally because he couldn’t see. He couldn’t see physically, but he couldn’t see spiritually either.

But now, in chapter 48, Jacob was told the same thing. His eyes were dim with age so that he could not see. But what we’re going to find out is that this narrative device is now inverted. And we’re going to find out that his spiritual vision was actually sharpened, not dulled. Not dulled like his father. He can see in the spirit much sharper. His heart is more alive.

Because we’re going to find out as we continue to go on that even though Manasseh was the firstborn son of Joseph, Jacob knew that Ephraim would become the greater tribe. And in the next chapter, in 49, Jacob’s actually also going to accurately bless his sons, the rest of his sons.

So this is important language. Jacob’s eyes were dim so that I couldn’t see. It’s telling us what’s going on beyond the physical realm. Jacob’s eyes, his physical eyes might be going dull, but his spiritual eyes were as sharp as ever.

Going down to verse 12, Joseph removed them from his knees. Now this phrase refers to adoption, putting children on your knees, somebody else’s children on your knees, it refers to adoption just like Genesis 30 verse 3, and this is in the New King James, it says: Rachel said, “Here is my maid Bilhah, go into her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.”

So that, again, is referring to Rachel giving Jacob her maid as a concubine to have children, and whether it’s literal or figurative, we’re not really sure, but the point is that phrase “she will bear a child on my knees” is basically Rachel saying, “I’m going to adopt Bilhah’s children as my own so that I can be considered to have children.”

Because at the time, Rachel was unable to have children. So that’s a phrase referring to adoption.

So that’s another indication of what Jacob’s doing here. Joseph removes them from his knees and gives them to Jacob. So we’re seeing that Jacob is adopting Joseph’s sons as his own.

And moving on in verse 12, Joseph bowed himself with his face to the earth.

So in verse 13, Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand, because Ephraim was the youngest. So Jacob would put his left hand on him, because if you picture here, Joseph is approaching Jacob, facing Jacob and approaching him with his sons on his sides. He places Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel’s left hand, because Ephraim was the youngest, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, because Manasseh was the oldest, so that Jacob would put his right hand on him.

And the right hand spoke of favor, strength, skill. Some examples here of that. Exodus 15:6 says: Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.

Psalm 16:11 says: You make known to me the path of life. In Your presence, there is fullness of joy, and Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

In Psalm 26, it says: Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.

So that speaks of his strength, his authority in his right hand. The right hand was the place belonging to the firstborn. And so that’s why Joseph placed Manasseh in his left hand to be taken into Jacob and touched by Jacob’s right hand, because that would be the place for the firstborn. Manasseh was the firstborn.

But what happens in verse 14? Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn. So he blessed Ephraim as the firstborn instead of Manasseh.

So Jacob intentionally blessed the youngest as the firstborn here, unlike his father Isaac, who was deceived into doing it. And I can’t help but wonder here if Jacob remembered that. Jacob remembered that encounter with his father when he had to deceive his father into obtaining that blessing, that birthright, as the youngest son. And I wonder if he is thinking about this even now and saying to himself, “I’m not going to make the same mistake my father did. I’m going to do what’s right. I know the Lord blesses who he chooses, not based on birth order, but he blesses who he chooses. And the Lord is choosing Ephraim as the firstborn. As the one who would inherit the birthright.”

So in verse 15, he blessed Joseph. The concept here is that Joseph is being blessed through his sons being blessed.

So let’s get into the blessing a little bit. The first phrase here, “The God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,” that phrase walked is going to tie Abraham’s family to earlier patriarchs. If you go all the way back to Genesis 5, verses 22 through 24, it says, Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him.

And in Genesis 6:9 we’re told these are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. So that phrase, Abraham and Isaac walked, is intended to tie Jacob’s family not just to Abraham who received the blessing, but to the patriarchs. Hundreds of years and thousands of years before him, the sons of Adam, before the flood, supposed to tie their family to the original mandate of God, to be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth, walk with God.

And it’s also tied to how the people of God should relate to God. For example, in Micah 6:8 the prophet says: He has told you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.

This is how we, as the people of God, are to relate to our God, to walk humbly with Him. So, Jacob’s doing two things here by using this phrase. He’s looking back to the promises of old, even before his grandfather Abraham, and he’s looking forward to how people would continue to relate to God.

Jacob goes on: “The God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day.”

Now this is the first time that God is mentioned as a shepherd in the Bible. Of course, Jacob was a very good shepherd. He was a very skilled shepherd. And so he related to God as his good shepherd. Now this is an interesting contrast to Jacob’s words to Pharaoh in the previous chapter in verse 9 when he said, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.”

But that was 17 years earlier, 17 years prior to chapter 48. Jacob was still coming out of the suffering and disappointment that he had left behind in the land of Canaan. Now 17 years later in chapter 48, he’s had time to reflect and he realizes, “God has been my shepherd all my days. He’s taken care of me my entire life, even to this day.”

He sees his life in a completely different light. He sees God’s hand. We’ve talked the entire story about Joseph, about how God’s hand is present in this entire story. And now Jacob recognizes God’s hand has been with me for my entire story. He’s guided me, he’s led me, he’s protected me. And what does he know? What can he relate to that he could use to describe God, but a good shepherd.

So then he goes on in verse 16, he says, “The angel who has redeemed me from all evil.”

In other words, that phrase redeemed is the word kinsman redeemer. So he’s saying the angel who is my kinsman redeemer. Jacob is recognizing God as his next of kin. In other words, he’s recognizing himself as being more closely related to the Lord than anybody else, even than his brother Esau. He’s recognizing God as the one who would purchase him from death and exile.

God would eventually redeem Israel from slavery in Exodus 6:6. The same phrase is used. God says, “Say therefore to the people of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.”

God uses the same phrase there. Jacob sees that God is his kinsman-redeemer. God is the one who would be responsible for redeeming Jacob and his family from death, from slavery, and God would do it in the Exodus.

So he says, “The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys and in them let my name be carried on.”

So he’s saying, “Let Ephraim and Manasseh, let them take the name Israel for their nation. Let all my sons let them take the name Israel for their nation.”

That’s what he’s praying. That’s what he’s saying, that his name would become the name of the nation.

And he goes on and says, “And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.”

Now remember, God promised to make Abraham’s name great. In Genesis 12:2 God says, “I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.”

Jacob here is referring to that promise that God gave Abraham, saying, “God promised to make Abraham’s name great, let their name be made great through these boys, through these sons. This will be the means through which God will make Abraham’s name great.”

And he says, “Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth,” and this would be a continuation of the promise made to Abraham to be fruitful and multiply.

So Jacob says that blessing, and in verse 17, when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. So that word saw is important because one form or another of the word see is used four times in relation to Jacob, but only once in relation to Joseph. I think that’s significant because Jacob, as I mentioned, could not see with his eyes, with his physical eyes, but he could see what God had planned, whereas Joseph could see with his physical eyes, but he was blind to God’s plans.

See, Joseph previously had shown great wisdom in dealing with Pharaoh and the nations and his family. He’d shown great wisdom throughout his life. That’s how he interpreted dreams. That’s how he reconciled his family back to himself and to each other. That’s how he provided for the nations is through wisdom, but he didn’t have it here.

See, this shows us that we can’t assume that the gift of wisdom is permanent. Just like Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom. God gave it to him, but did he constantly seek for more wisdom? Or did he grow comfortable in his wisdom? And I think it’s the latter because eventually he no longer had wisdom for his own home. And he ended up marrying too many women. They let him astray into idolatry and the nation split up after he died.

See we can’t assume that when the Lord gives us wisdom, it’s a permanent thing. He’ll give us wisdom as long as we seek it. But if we stop seeking it, He may stop giving it. We don’t want to assume we have it permanently. We need to constantly seek the Lord for wisdom. In all areas of our lives, let that be a regular prayer, a daily prayer on our lips. Lord, give me wisdom. Give me wisdom for my family. Give me wisdom for my job. Give me wisdom for my future. Give me wisdom every day. We need wisdom.

Joseph was displeased and so he started to switch his father’s hands around and in verse 18, Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father.”

See, Joseph’s attempt to correct his father was actually an attempt to correct God. Again, this is a lack of wisdom because he knew the history of his family. He knew that God never chose the firstborn. He should have known and he would have known if he had used wisdom, but instead he was displeased and tried to correct God.

But in verse 19, his father refused and said, “I know my son, I know.”

See, Jacob knew exactly what he was doing. He wasn’t making a mistake due to poor eyesight. He knew, he knew because he could see. He could see with his spiritual eyes.

Jacob went on to say, “He also shall become a people,” referring to Manasseh, “And he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he.”

And that would actually become true. Ephraim would become the dominant tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel. In fact, the name Ephraim would become synonymous with Israel. An example in Isaiah 7:17, we read: The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not been since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah, the king of Assyria.

So it’s talking about that Assyria is going to invade Israel, the northern kingdom, and the prophet Isaiah is saying, “Look, you’re not gonna see days like this. The day that Israel is invaded by Assyria is gonna be like the day that Ephraim or Israel, the northern kingdom, split from the southern kingdom, from Judah.”

Jacob says, “And his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”

So in verse 20, He blessed them that day saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessings.”

So what Jacob is saying here is whenever a man wants to bless his son, he will bless him with these words. And that man is going to say, “God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.”

In other words, when a man wants to bless his son, he’s going to say, “Would God make you as fruitful as Ephraim and Manasseh. Would God give you as many children, as many grandchildren, as many great grandchildren and make you a multitude of people, one that would bless the earth.”

The end of verse 20, it says, Thus Jacob put Ephraim before Manasseh. Ephraim is now considered the firstborn of Joseph’s children. Jeremiah 31:9 says, “With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back. I will make them walk by brooks of water and a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

What this is showing us over and over and over again in the book of Genesis is that the biblical concept of the firstborn does not refer to the order of birth, but it refers to the one who has preeminence. Birth order is of no concern to God. What is God’s concern is who is the one who would be preeminent, and even that God does not choose according to the way that we would choose. Not a single one of these men that have been chosen in the book of Genesis, we are not told why God chose any of them. We’re either not told because it doesn’t matter, or we’re not told because it’s not for us to know. Either way, we have no idea why God chooses them. But what we do know is He did not choose them because of the order of their birth.

So in verse 21, Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die.”

Jacob here is essentially writing down his will. He’s giving Joseph his will, saying, here’s my instructions when I die.

So let’s see how this chapter points to Jesus. As I alluded to at the very beginning, I mentioned that the birthright would be split between Ephraim and Manasseh so that it would no longer be passed on. And here’s why. Because this whole theme of the firstborn not receiving the inheritance in the book of Genesis is for a reason.

Because Jesus is called the firstborn in Colossians 1:15. It says he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. So what does this phrase mean? The firstborn of all creation. Does it mean that Jesus was created and born first? No, it refers to his preeminence and his position. That’s what the firstborn referred to. Otherwise, this entire theme of the birthright and the firstborn wouldn’t make any sense. Why would the second born be receiving the birthright because it’s not about order of birth.

Firstborn does not refer to the order of birth in the Bible. It refers to the one who had preeminence. Jesus is the firstborn. He has preeminence. He has the position of the firstborn. He is not God’s literal flesh and blood created son. Adam was God’s literal flesh and blood created son, not Jesus. This is where many cults like a Jehovah’s Witness go wrong.

In fact, I even had a conversation with a Jehovah’s Witness one time. The woman used this verse to try to prove that Jesus was created. That’s not what this verse is saying in Colossians. Reading that verse and not understanding the context of the entire Bible surrounding it can easily lead people astray.

And that’s why it’s so important to me and to what I’m doing on this podcast to give you, the listener, hopefully, correctly, a context of the entire Bible, of why the Bible speaks about Jesus the way it does. We have to know the entire Bible. Otherwise, we can be led astray, just like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, because Jesus was not God’s literal flesh and blood first created Son. Adam was. Jesus, however, holds the position and the preeminence of the firstborn, unlike Adam, because Jesus is God Himself. He is uncreated. He is there at the beginning.

Now as I mentioned, the theme of the birthright has been prominent throughout Genesis, being passed down from generation to generation through the second born son or sometimes the third born son, but now we’re seeing the birthright reach its ending. We’re not going to see it pass on anymore. As we wrap up the book of Genesis and move into the book of Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers and so on and so on and so on, we’re not going to see this birthright be passed on anymore. No one individual is going to receive it because it now belongs to the nation of Israel as a whole. Like I mentioned, now we have 13 sons with 13 equal parts. The nation of Israel has now received the birthright, not one man.

However, as I mentioned, we do have a firstborn. Colossians tells us we have a firstborn. Who is the firstborn? Jesus. So Jesus, as the firstborn, is the one who has received the birthright and the inheritance. That is why we no longer see this birthright being passed on because all that was happening is we had a family passing down a birthright to a second born son, looking for the true firstborn, who would rightly receive the inheritance of the blessing of Abraham, who would truly carry it out.

Psalm 2:7-8 says, I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”

That’s a Messianic Psalm talking about the inheritance that the Messiah will receive, the ends of the earth will become his possession, his heritage. Jesus is the one who would rightfully receive that birthright. That’s what this chapter points to. That’s what this whole book points to, is that one day there would be a true firstborn who would receive the birthright.

Another way this chapter points to Jesus is the mention of the kinsman-redeemer. That’s the first time as far as I can tell that that word is mentioned. It points to Jesus as the one who would be Israel’s kinsman-redeemer, as well as our own. I mentioned that blessing was fulfilled in the short term by God redeeming Israel from slavery, but Jesus would become the ultimate kinsman-redeemer for four reasons. And we’ll get into the specifics of who the kinsman-redeemer is and why it points to Jesus more later on. It’s a theme that’s real prominent in the Book of Ruth. So once we get there, we’ll probably get into it quite a bit.

Four reasons why he’s our kinsman-redeemer.

First, he became a man just like us. So he’s our kin. He’s our nearest of kin. John 1:14 says: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as if the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth.

Second, he was willing to do it. A kinsman-redeemer has to be willing to redeem. John 10:17-18 says, “For this reason the Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I received from my Father.”

Third, he has the ability. Not anybody can just become a kinsman redeemer. You got to have the financial means to be able to make the transaction happen. Jesus had the ability to make this transaction happen in Romans 5:18-19. It says: Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification in life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Finally, Jesus paid the full price. He didn’t pay part of the price. He didn’t try to negotiate. He paid the full price. Titus 2:11-14 says: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.

Jesus gave Himself. That was the price that was required, and He paid the full price. He gave Himself.

Finally, one last way that this chapter points to Jesus is that Israel’s name will be carried on forever because Jesus brought in the Gentiles. In verse 16, Jacob said, “In them let my name be carried on in the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.”

So Israel’s name would be carried on forever. That was the blessing. And the reason why Israel’s name would be carried on forever, because the Gentiles were brought in through Jesus. Amos 9:9-11 says: “Behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’ And that day I will raise up the Booth of David that has fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this.

So, in this passage Amos is telling of a time when Israel would go through intense judgment and afterwards they would possess not only the land of Canaan, but other nations who God has claimed as His own. So it’s saying Israel isn’t the only nation that God has claimed as His own, but there’s other ones. But Israel would possess those nations. They would be preeminent. They would be the firstborn, if you will.

But this section of Amos is quoted in Acts 15:14-18. And it’s clarified. What is Amos talking about? “Simeon,” in Acts 15, “Has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for his name. And with this, the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, after this I will return and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen. I will rebuild its ruins and I will restore it that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord and all the Gentiles who are called by my name says the Lord who makes these things known from of old.”

So James here is the one who’s talking, and he’s revealing that this prophecy made by Amos is actually an invitation now open to all Gentiles. All Gentiles can now be called by God’s name, just as Israel was called by God’s name, now all Gentiles can be part of that, and the name Israel would live on. Again, as I’ve harped on many times, this is not replacement theology. The Gentiles do not replace Israel. That’s made clear in that prophecy by Amos, that it was Israel who would possess the remnant of the nations. It is only in Acts that is clarified that it would be the Gentiles, that all Gentiles can be brought in, but Israel would still be preeminent with Jesus at the head.

So with that said, let’s get to our question for reflection. And this week, I’d like us to reflect on this theme of the firstborn, this theme of preeminence, Jesus’s preeminence in our own life. What does it look like for Jesus to have preeminence in your life? What if anything do you need to surrender to him to allow him preeminence in those areas of your lives?

Think about that pray about that this week and act on it. Don’t just read the word. Don’t just hear it don’t be like that guy that James talks about that looks at the mirror and walks away and forgets what he looks like. Let’s surrender what we need to surrender to the Lord.

So let’s pray, Lord, thank you so much for your word, for everything that you speak to us. Lord, we thank you that your word is living and active, and you speak through the scriptures. Though they’re thousands of years old, you are still speaking today through your scriptures. We thank you for that, and we worship you for that. God, I pray that this week, as we go through our day-to-day lives that we would surrender each day to you. We would surrender our actions, our words, our thoughts. Lord, we declare right now that our entire lives are under your leadership, under your preeminence. We give you authority in our lives. Would you continue to give us wisdom? Would you continue to be our good shepherd? Lead us each day, guide us. Declare your good leadership over our lives. And we trust you, we love you, and we thank you for what you did on the cross so that we can be part of your family. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Well, thank you as always for listening. I want to hear from you, for real. Go ahead and leave a comment on the website, on social media, Facebook, X, Instagram, whatever you got, all of the above. It doesn’t matter. I want to hear what you think. Go ahead and join Patreon. Only $4 a month and you get a lot extra. Usually we’re between 15 to 25 minutes or so of extra audio. You get access to all the previous extended episodes. So go ahead and join. Only $4 a month.

Thanks once again for listening. We’re almost done with Genesis. I’m gonna have an announcement regarding what’s coming next. We’ll do that at the beginning of next episode. Thank you very much for listening and I’ll talk to you next week.

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Sources:
Armstrong, S. (2013, June 30). Genesis 2011 – Lesson 48A. Verse By Verse Ministries. Retrieved March 16, 2024, from https://versebyverseministry.org/lessons/genesis_2011_lesson_48a
Wiersbe, W. W. (2010). Be Authentic: Exhibiting Real Faith in the Real World: OT Commentary, Genesis 25-50. David C. Cook.
Guzik, D. (2018). Genesis 48 – Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons. Enduring Word. Retrieved March 16, 2024, from https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/genesis-48/
Sailhamer, J. H. (2008). The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (T. Longman & D. E. Garland, Eds.; Revised Edition). Zondervan.
Sychar. Bible Gateway. Retrieved March 16, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Sychar
Haynes, Jr., C. L. (2022, April 28). The Beautiful Truth of How Jesus Is Our Kinsman-Redeemer. Crosswalk.com. Retrieved March 16, 2024, from https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/the-beautiful-truth-of-how-christ-is-our-kinsman-redeemer.html

Music:
“Indie and Happy” by Abydos Music
“The Race Must Go On” by Leva
“Cheerful” by Audio Coffee
“Retro Funk Energetic Background Music” by Music Unlimited