JOSEPH #32 | JOSEPH IN EGYPT #14 | LAST WORDS OF JACOB #3

Pastor Christopher Choo

Lesson 3628

JOSEPH #32

JOSEPH IN EGYPT #14
LAST WORDS OF JACOB #3

WHY DID JACOB BLESS HIS GRANDCHILDREN FIRST BEFORE HIS OWN SONS?

This is an overlooked question in our reading of the end of Jacob's life.

Why would Jacob place a priority on blessing grandchildren over children?

Here are three plausible answers:

1. Despite great odds, Ephraim and Manasseh grew up in Egypt and maintained adherence to their belief in the one true God of Israel and not in the gods of Egypt.

They were the first generation to be born in Egypt, yet they remained loyal to the traditions of their father despite the temptations of the predominant Egyptian culture. 

Thus, they serve as a template for the survival of the Jewish people and their return to Israel in the future.

Until today it remains the custom in many Jewish homes every Friday night to bless their children and grandchildren.

2. As every grandparent knows, the joy of having grandchildren in some respects exceeds the joy of having children.

Why is this so?

Human beings have this concept of grandchildren, of perpetuation beyond a single generation. 

Being a grandparent connects us to our unique spiritual soul which is rooted in infinity.

Far more than children, it is grandchildren who reveal the foundation and future direction of a family line. 

Hence the popular saying among Jews: “The issue is not whether you have Jewish children, it’s whether you have Jewish grandchildren.”

3. For us as Gentiles, the favour given to these two half-Egyptian sons of Joseph herald the inclusion of Gentiles into the commonwealth of Israel.

Like Ruth the Moabitess, we are accepted in our Beloved Kinsman-redeemer.

What is the lesson for today?

God's ways are not our ways. 

Jacob was finally following God's leading in blessing his grandchildren first. And for reasons that are too marvellous to comprehend, God is showing us that His generational blessings have not just stopped at the first generation but continues - like grace gifts to the underserving - to bless us too and our children and our grandchildren.

Ephesians 2:12-13

12 remember (A)that you were at that time separated from Christ, (B)alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to (C)the covenants of promise, (D)having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were (E)far off have been brought near (F)by the blood of Christ.