Genesis 48 The value of a father’s blessing.
Joseph was in reality the ruler of Egypt, a powerful and significant man. However, in this chapter near the end of Genesis we see Joseph bringing his young sons to his elderly, poor sighted father, Israel, for his blessing.
This was a moment of destiny in the lives of these boys!
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked(starting with God fearing family line),
the God who has been my shepherd
all my life to this day(Israel’s personal walk with God),
16 the Angel who has delivered me from all harm(Divine protection)
— may He bless these boys.
May they be called by my name(grafted back into the family line)
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac
and may they increase greatly upon the earth”.
Manasseh was the elder son, but Israel crossed his hands and pronounced the greater blessing on the younger boy, Ephraim. The normal order was reversed by an ancient patriarch who could hardly see.
He blessed them that day and said,
In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing:
May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.
so he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
It is strange in our culture today to think that destiny could be settled by words spoken by an elderly father figure but Joseph, great as he was, sought this blessing for his sons born in Egypt. He knew his elderly father was coming near his life’s end and the bible records this meeting for us.
Genesis 49 gives the last words of Israel to each of his sons, speaking into their destiny.
Some of us may not be in a position to get a father’s blessing but perhaps we have spiritual parents who can fulfill that role for us.
John Paul Jackson before he died, put up a father’s blessing on YouTube, 3 minutes long but powerful and I believe that many in this generation need to hear it repeated over your own lives.
May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel bless you and may you walk in His destiny for your lives. Be blessed today.