Genesis 48 — Thoughts

Why Did Jacob Cross His Arms?

Jacob claims Joseph's sons, his grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim, as his own. And then he does something so weird that Joseph initially objects.

Jacob crosses his arms to put his right hand on Ephraim, the younger brother. Essentially, he is giving the blessing for the oldest son to the youngest instead.

Why would he do this?

This is actually a reflection of our own relationship with Jesus. He is "the firstborn of all creation" (Colossians 1:15), and He deserves the inheritance that goes with that.

But instead of claiming that inheritance, Jesus gave it up (Philippians 2:6-7). Jesus took our place on the cross, paying the penalty for our sin on our behalf, so that we could be adopted as the children of God (John 1:12).

Jesus took on our sin so that we could take on His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). In essence, we were given “the older brother's blessing."

We see that happen here with Manasseh and Ephraim. We saw it happen before with Jacob and Esau. And I imagine we'll see it again as we read more of God's word.

This is the Gospel: Jesus takes our place so that we can take His. It's not something we earn or deserve; it's something God gives to us just because He loves us.

(Originally drawn September 22, 2020)