Author: Beth Duncan

Genesis 49:5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—their swords are weapons of violence.

Reading commentary for these verses reminds me of all that occurred earlier in Genesis. All the brothers have had mistakes and missteps, even Judah, whose line will eventually lead to Jesus. What that tells me, personally, is: Don’t be too quick to give up on people (or on yourself).

Genesis 49:6 Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.

It’s easy to give up on others, to judge them because of their mistakes. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t write us off. I won’t lie–I still struggle with how to deal with this. My trust, once broken, isn’t easily restored. Jesus, help me to love Your children (myself included) regardless of mistakes and missteps.

Genesis 49:7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.

Precious Savior, I know that we are all precious to You, that You want us each to return to You, that we are never so far gone that You don’t rejoice when we find our way back to You. Help me know how to love and pray for others who are struggling. Help me to love myself when I am struggling, too. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 49:8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 49:1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.

Jacob’s/Israel’s words in verse 2 got me thinking about something my preacher said to me the other day. (I’m paraphrasing here): “When things go well, we are quick to give the credit to God. When things go poorly, we are quick to take the blame. I wonder why that is.” That really got me thinking.

Genesis 49:2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

I think sometimes, when our efforts are unsuccessful, that is God’s way of drawing us closer to Him. Like if I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and taking a risk that fails miserably, maybe I can only draw closer to Him through my failure in that task. Maybe, only then am I in a place to listen, to hear His voice. Verse 2, specifically, has me thinking about that balance between the human and the divine.

Genesis 49:3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.

Precious Savior, I’ve said for years that anything good that comes from me is all You. The rest, the human messiness, I claim as my own. But the truth is You created me exactly as I am. You call me. You equip me. You use all things, even my failures, to draw me closer to You. Thank You….for all of it, but most especially for drawing me closer. Always. Amen.

Genesis 49:4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 48:15 Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

I don’t fault Joseph for his words in verse 18: “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” My question is about his motivation and tone. Was he angry? Was he confused? Was he earnestly trying to help his father, who is indeed very old and also blind?

Genesis 48:16 the Angel who has delivered me from all harm—may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.”

I, too, have this innate sense of fairness, of rightness. “This is not how this should go, dad. Everyone knows you are supposed to bless the oldest.” I also have this innate sense of compassion. “Oh, dad, I love you and appreciate you, and you can’t see this with your eyesight, but you are blessing the ‘wrong’ son, as in ‘not the son you think.’” His reaction to the end of this chapter will reveal his true motivation.

Genesis 48:17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 

Precious Savior, I am who You created me to be, but I am also human and fallible and messy. Did you create me that way? Is that my mule-headedness coming through? I don’t know, but I know that You love me–deeply, completely, fiercely, EXACTLY as I am. Thank You. Help me to love all the messy bits of myself as well. Amen.

Genesis 48:18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 48:10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.

As I read today’s verses, I am struck by the similarities to Jacob and Esau….the same Jacob who is bestowing today’s blessings. Then, the younger received the birthright blessing. However, that was achieved by trickery. Verse 14 indicates that there was no trickery in this action.

Genesis 48:11-12 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.” Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. 

Taken at face value, it could just be perceived as a blind old man’s mistake, the crossing of the hands. However, commentary–and, indeed, certain translations–indicates that this crossing of hands was done knowingly, intentionally. Why?

Genesis 48:13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. 

Precious Savior, You know that I have a keen sense of fairness, so when things seem unfair, I want to know why, know what’s going on. Help me to breathe in Your grace, to sit with the circumstances I am presented with, to find You in everything. Help me to seek You, seek Your wisdom. Always. Amen.

Genesis 48:14 But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 48:5 “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 

Israel knows he is near the end of his life. He is getting his affairs in order. Yesterday he was talking about the times where God had shown up in his life. Today he is bestowing blessings on his children and grandchildren.

Genesis 48:6 Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 

Though as I think back over birthrights and blessings in Genesis, they are definitely not all happy scenes. Esau and Jacob come first to mind. Joseph’s brothers and their jealousy over his favor. There’s a lot of hurt wrapped up in these verses, too.

Genesis 48:7 As I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

Precious Savior, Family can be complicated, tricky, difficult to navigate. Feelings can get hurt, jealousy can rear its ugly head, misunderstandings can fester. Help us to navigate all of our relationships, especially family. Amen.

Genesis 48:8-9 When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?” “They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father. Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 48:1 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 

Jacob is nearing the end of his life. According to commentary, what he is doing here is “prophetically blessing his sons,” but if you look at the wording, he is, essentially, talking about times when God has blessed him in his life.

Genesis 48:2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

I love that idea of, before passing into our eternal home, reminiscing about all the times God has shown up, has blessed us in this life, but I truly don’t think we have to wait until death to think about, talk about, and share those times.

Genesis 48:3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me

Precious Savior, How beautiful it would be if we spent time every day reminiscing about times when You have been with us, have blessed us, in this life. Help us to remain mindful of our blessings every single day. Help us to live by the words of the hymn: “When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,/Count your many blessings, name them one by one,/And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.” Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 48:4 and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 47:27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.

Israel knew that Egypt was not his home. Even though he lived there for 17 years, he did not want to be buried there after he died. Those facts have me pondering this morning.

Genesis 47:28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 

Going to Egypt couldn’t have been easy. (Though, with starvation as the other option, it probably wasn’t as hard as I might think.) But God gave Israel everything he needed to thrive in Egypt for 17 years.

Genesis 47:29-30 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” “I will do as you say,” he said.

Precious Savior, Thank You that when You call us, You equip us with what we need to do the work. Thank You that as long as we seek You, You can use us anywhere, even where we already are. Help us to understand when You are calling us to courage and change and when You are calling us to patiently wait. Thank You that You are with us always. Amen.

Genesis 47:31 “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 47:23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. 

Commentary says very little, almost nothing, about this section of verses. But these verses have me thinking about planting, growing, and harvesting–all of which takes time, which brings us back to the motif of waiting again.

Genesis 47:24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

Joseph had to wait years after his brother sold him into slavery to be reconciled. He waited years after he helped the Pharaoh’s officials in jail to be remembered. We have spent almost a year plowing through the book of Genesis. And yet, all that waiting has brought us all closer to God.

Genesis 47:25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”

Precious Savior, Waiting can be frustrating; however, if we seek You as we wait, if we read and study and seek, You will always draw us closer in the waiting. Thank You. If possible, help us to be more patient in the waiting. If not, help us at least remember that it is worth it, that You are drawing us closer. Amen.

Genesis 47:26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 47:18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 

Commentary talks about how fair Joseph is with his taxes on the land (20% to Pharaoh of the total produced), but what sticks out to me is in verse 21: “Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other.”

Genesis 47:19 Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”

Joseph did to the Egyptians exactly what was done to him: sold them into servitude. The circumstances are different (jealous brothers out to make a profit versus a shrewd manager of resources), but isn’t the end result the same? That bothers me.

Genesis 47:20-21 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. 

Precious Savior, Again I am left wondering what You are trying to show me here. Joseph’s behavior feels wrong, yet I know that You have used him powerfully in this story thus far. Help me, especially when I am confused, to keep reading, keep seeking, keep looking for You as I read Your scripture. I know You will bring me clarity or show me that You are with me even in my confusion. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 47:22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

Have a blessed day.