Lessons from the History of the 12 Tribes of Israel Genesis 48

Dr. Jerry A. Collins: Joseph’s Sons Gain Prominence

· Out of Jacob’s long career, the writer of Hebrews selected this incident in this chapter as Jacob’s greatest act of faith by faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff (Hebrews 11:21). That greatest act of faith was his reaching out to the future of the promise in the face of death as he blessed the younger over the older. Jacobs decision was the culmination the maturing of his faith expressed by such forward thinking about his posterity. It took a lifetime of pain, loss, grief, heartache, and endurance to get here.

· There is irony in the fact that this incident is comparable to the situation in which he had received the blessing himself over his brother, Esau. Once more the blessing was given to the younger, but this time there was no deception or bitterness.

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them close to him. But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn. He blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; And may my name live on in them, And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head." But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." He blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!'" Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers. I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow." (Genesis 48:13-22).

Verse 13—Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them close to him. — Joseph, upon hearing his father was ill brought him his two sons to bless (vv. 10-12). Normally the blessing is passed from first-born to first-born but in this case Joseph does not ask a blessing upon himself, instead Jacob will bless both of his sons; a sign he has received the double blessing of the first born.

Arranging Manasseh and Ephraim in the normal order for Jacob’s blessing, by their age, Joseph then brought them forward to his father. Joseph brought the sons in this order so that Manasseh would receive the first blessing. Jacob is called Israel. After Jacob’s struggle with the Lord at Peniel, the Lord gave Jacob a new name: Israel. And God gave the reason: Because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome (Genesis 32:28). Later, God appeared to Jacob/Israel again in Bethel, reaffirmed the name change, and gave him the same covenant that Abraham had received (Genesis 35:9-12).

PT—As Jacob, he was crafty in his own strength and ingenuity. As Israel, his self-sufficiency proved insufficient. The nation is consequently referred to as Jacob or Israel, depending upon which character dominates.

Verse 14—But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger—When Jacob prepared to announce the blessing on the sons, he wittingly guided his right hand so that it was on Ephraim’s head. Here was the man of God at the brink of death, passing on the blessing—a hope for the future. But there is also Jacob’s recognition that the elder would serve the younger, so he would cross his hands in the blessing.

PT—It had taken Jacob a lifetime of discipline to learn this truth about God. In his early years he had deceived his blind father for the blessing by pretending to be the elder son, Esau. But in his duty now of passing on the blessing, he performed in the way that God wanted—blessing the younger over the elder. This same scenario had played out in the womb of his mother, Rebekah, concerning Jacob’s destiny the Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older (Esau) shall serve the younger (Jacob)" (Genesis 25:23).

· and his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn. —Even though Manasseh was the first born, Jacob purposely crossed his hands so that Ephraim and not Manasseh would receive the blessing of the first born. He would not attempt to bless the wrong one, as his father, Isaac, had attempted to do—nor would he handle the blessing dishonestly. This time it was done all out in the open, in accord with God’s plan.

PT—By this symbolic act, a person transferred a spiritual power or position to another. This rite was part of the ceremony of dedicating a person or group either to a responsibility or to some type of office and role (Numbers 27:18, 23; Deuteronomy 34:9). This was the fourth consecutive generation of Abraham’s descendants in which the normal pattern of the firstborn assuming prominence over the second born was reversed: Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over Reuben, and Ephraim over Manasseh.

PT—Why would God reverse the blessing? It’s the way God is. God defies convention. He is consistent, but not predictable. He is consistent with His character and so his decisions are not predictable. God is not a robot to be programmed. God often surprises us. We can’t assume what He will do or how He will act. We can trust Him before he acts because we know his character never changes. Walking with God is an adventure that requires faith in Him and His plan.

Verse 15—He blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked—Jacob invokes God as the God of the fathers, Abraham and Isaac. This reality had steadied Jacob’s faith at times in his life (28:13; 31:5, 42; 32:9; 46:3). These patriarchs had walked before God living out their faith in their daily lives—a record of which we have.

· The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day—It was the same God who had protected and guided him all my life to this day. Looking back, he could discern the hand of his Sovereign God preserving his life in fulfillment of the Promise.

An Application—We cannot know what God is up to in the details of life. His plan is only discernable after the fact—when we can look back to discover His handiwork, and marvel at the fusion of our daily circumstances with God’s sovereign work in our lives to fulfill His plan.

Verse 16—The angel who has redeemed me from all evil—Jacob closely associated God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him.

PT—These remarkable descriptions reveal Jacob’s faith—one that had matured through the years and that had learned to trust the Lord in the difficulties of life. Clearly, God had been engaged in Jacobs life.

· Bless the lads—This is the official beginning of the transfer of Jacob’s blessing to the two sons of Joseph, his grandsons.

· And may my name live on in them—Jacob wanted his name to be associated with the favor God would shower upon the sons of Joseph. In essence, he is asking that his name be recalled as their posterity experiences the blessings of the promise. So now it would be Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

· And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac—Those blessings would always be associated with the patriarchal forefathers who were the forerunners of the blessings passed on to Jacob, and now on to His Son’s children. He wanted this legacy.

And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."—Jacob reiterated the specific promise of numerous descendants from the loins of Ephraim and Manasseh. The great fruitfulness of these tribes is illustrated in the two census calculations taken at the beginning and end of the wilderness wandering. In Numbers 1:32 the census is collectively of the sons of Joseph. The total population of fighting men of Ephraim and Manasseh is 75,900 compared to the 74,600 of next largest tribe, Judah. In Numbers 26:28, the descendants of Joseph by their families: Manasseh and Ephraim their total population of fighting men was 85,200 while Judah’s was 76,500.

What happened to the 12 tribes of Israel?

Walk into any synagogue, look around, and you will see people that are from all twelve tribes. Some are under the delusion that since there was a southern kingdom of Judah and northern kingdom of Israel, sometimes referred to as the Kingdom of Ephraim, there are only two tribes since the Assyrian Exile. As though ten tribes fell off the face of the earth, when, in fact, there were members of all twelve in both kingdoms.

At the time of the disruption of the United Kingdom in 930 B.C., Israelites from all the northern tribes joined their brethren in the south and continued their identity as part of the kingdom of Judah. 1 and 2 Chronicles make it clear that the tribes in the north continued their existence as part of Judah after 930 B.C.

· After the kingdom split many of the Levites migrated south to Judah. 2 Chronicles 11:14, 16: For the Levites left their suburban lands and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem; for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD; …. And after them, out of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers. These verses provide irrefutable proof that many individuals out of “all the tribes of Israel” rejected Jeroboam’s idolatry and joined the southern kingdom.

· During the reign of King Asa, the third king of the southern kingdom, others followed the Levites from Ephraim and Manasseh and returned south. He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him (2 Chr. 15:9).

Thus, it is evident that the southern kingdom of Judah absorbed many from the northern kingdom through the years. Scripture teaches that Israelites continued to live there after the captivity of 721 B.C. Again, Chronicles helps us in this regard.

· At King Hezekiah’s invitation, the 13^th king of the southern kingdom, all Israel was invited to Judah after the Assyrian destruction of the northern kingdom in 722 BC. Now Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the Lord God of Israel (2 Chronicles 30:1).

· Even later, in 622 B.C., godlier Israelites came to Jerusalem to help repair the Temple they came to Hilkiah the high priest and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the doorkeepers, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem (2 Chr. 34:9), and later to celebrate the Passover (2 Chr. 35:17–18).

PT—If the northern tribes had become lost, how could these representatives have joined in worship in Jerusalem one hundred years after the Assyrian destruction? Judah rapidly increased after the fall of the northern kingdom as a result of the many refugees mentioned in 2 Chr. 11:14–16. The ten tribes, therefore, were never lost because they were never completely deported! Their kingdom was destroyed, but most of them stayed, with some around Samaria intermingling with new immigrants to form the Samaritans (2 Kings 17:24–41).

In the New Testament there were all the tribes in the Kingdom of Israel. It clearly indicates that in the first century “Jews” still maintained their tribal identities—some of whom were members of those supposedly lost tribes.

· Consider, for example, the aged Anna who beheld the baby Jesus in the Temple. Luke 2:36 states that she was of the tribe of Asher.

· When Paul spoke of his Jewish brethren, he spoke of a common promise and a common hope: Unto which promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God day and night, hope to come (Acts 26:7).

· James addressed his epistle to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad (James 1:1). He made no distinction between Judah and the ten tribes. All Jews were part of a common body, the only difference being that some were in the land of Israel and some in the Diaspora. Evidently, members of all the tribes existed both inside and outside the Promised Land.

The Bible uses the term “Jew” 174 times and the term “Israel” 75 times, clearly applying them to the same body of people. Paul referred to himself as both a “Jew” (Acts 22:3) and an “Israelite” (Rom. 11:1), and he never distinguished between Jews and Israel.

Verse 17—When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him—This was Jacob’s decision to bless the younger Ephraim before the elder Manasseh, in spite of Joseph’s displeasure. The Ephraimites would take the lead among the ten northern tribes and flourished to the extent that the Jews used the name Ephraim equally with the name Israel.

· and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. —Joseph displeased, intervened by holding up his father’s hand to rearrange the way Jacob would then bless his children.

Verse 18—Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head."—Joseph’s words here would have brought back to Jacob’s memory the struggles for the rights of the firstborn between he and Esau.

Verse 19—But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know —Jacob’s response was thus to persist in the order of blessing he had chosen and thereby to silence his son Joseph. His statement “I know, my son, I know” expressed the full confidence of faith in conferring the blessing contrary to human expectations. God’s plan had to be initiated by faith. Joseph must not connive to get his way. Since Joseph did not intervene, he accepted this blessing by faith.

· he also will become a people and he also will be great. —Jacob refered to the numerous descendants of Manasseh as well as the land allotment his tribe would receive. Manasseh was great in that his posterity had the largest land allotment of any tribe, actually settling on both sides of the Jordan with an eastern and a western branch. The double emphasis of he also will become assures that the promised portion of blessing of descendants and land will come to pass.

· However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude [or fullness] of nations."—Jacob surmised that God’s blessing was not to follow ordinary conventions. Ephraim’s status with the blessing of the first born would elevate him above Manasseh. Ephraim produced greater individuals (i.e., Joshua, Moses’ successor). The prominence of Ephraim is illustrated by the fact that the entire northern kingdom often was called by that name alone in many of the later prophets (Hosea 12:1; Jeremiah 31:9, 20). The Hebrew phrase translated a multitude (group) of nations appears only here in the Old Testament and probably means a company of peoples, namely, numerous.

Verse 20—He blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will pronounce blessing—The deed is done. The prominence of Ephraim is officially set with Israel’s pronouncement at the benediction of the rite of blessing. The reference to Israel applies to the nation in the future from Jacob’s viewpoint.

· saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!'"—Note, however, that both children are named in the blessing formula. Each tribe would carry the favor of the blessing into the land.

· Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh—Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh also carried prophetic significance and force. Under the inspiration of God, Jacob deliberately gave Ephraim the privileged first-born blessing and predicted his preeminence.

Verse 21—Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers. —Jacob assured Joseph that God’s presence and protection would shield him in such a way that he too, would return to Canaan. Joseph died in Egypt. He had given instruction about his burial in Genesis 50:25. The bones of Joseph, which the Children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, were buried in Shechem in a parcel of land Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver (Joshua 24:32).

Verse 22—I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow."— Because the double portion meant that the first son received twice the share allotted to any other son, Jacob promises Joseph one piece of land more than his brothers. Jacob reiterated that when God would restore the family to the land, the double portion would go to Joseph. The allusion to the hand of the Amorite may refer to some type of skirmish that occurred there between Jacob and Canaanites.

PT—Jacob is one of the few men we read about who started spiritually weak and got better with age. There are some like Joseph and Daniel, who started well and are steady as a rock their whole lives. Many start well and finish poorly, like Saul and Solomon. There are only a few, like Jacob, who start poorly and end well. Jacob went from a deceptive liar, to a man of God, to a patriarch, who obeyed God and led his family in purity and worship. He ended his life with a godly sense of justice and righteousness. Jacob had matured in faith through a lifetime of experiences in which God had shepherded and delivered him.

An Application—Learn from the mistakes, the sins, the foolishness of your youth. Conform yourself to the Word of God and become a man/woman. Then as your flock ages and increases, shepherd them in the direction of purity as a patriarch/matriarch.

An Application—Believers learn throughout life to accept God’s crossing up of the normal conventions and expectations, for God’s ways are not the ways of humankind. Death itself is part of the mysterious plan of God, for we enter the promise through death. Many of Jesus teachings with the apparent paradoxes exemplify this principle and call for a faith that looks beyond the grave and to live from an eternal vantage point.

Implications for the 12 Tribes

· That the 12 tribes could know for certain that the promise will find its fulfillment in the land of Canaan.

· That God’s ways may not be according to the usual workings of mankind and will require faith to go forward in the direction God is working.

· That there would be differing capacities of favor and blessing for each of the tribes as they work out the will of God while experiencing the outworking’s of the promise.

· That believers who have matured in the faith through a lifetime of experiences shepherded by God, no matter how difficult the maturing process may have been, can discern with confidence the purpose and plan of God for them and for the future.

PT—The maturing of the faith of Jacob would be instructive as to the value God places on a mature faith. The mature believer is familiar with God’s ways, knows God’s plan, and can prepare for life with a certain expectation. Spiritual maturity is that process of full comprehensive development into the image of Jesus Christ which is reached through continual growth. That process is one in which Jacob had been engaged all of these years, the fruit of which culminated in Genesis 48.

An Application—The ultimate perspective is to see life from God’s point of view. This is one of the great lessons from Joseph’s famous comment to his brothers "do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result (Genesis 50:19-20). We might call it 50/20 vision. It’s better than 20/20 vision. It’s not just seeing what is there but seeing what is there from God’s point of view. Genesis 50:20 is the most significant thing Joseph said.