Jacob Redux
Genesis 48

Joseph hears his father is ill, so he takes his two sons, Jacob's grandkids, to see him. Jacob tells him of God's promised blessing and tells Joseph that the two sons born to him in Egypt, Ephraim and Manasseh will be taken for his own children.

This isn't a forced adoption procedure, after all, Jacob is about to die. He's simply saying that they will get the same share in his inheritance as his own children. Any other children born later will be Joseph's responsibility. This means, I assume, a financial blessing on both Joseph's current children, and his future ones, since these two won't be in the mix inheritance-wise when Joseph passes. I assume that to be the case, I guess we'll see in a few chapters or so.

Jacob is going blind and as he goes to bless these children, he may have experienced some deja vu. He "mistakenly" puts his left hand on the firstborn and the right hand on the younger brother, switching the blessing prioirity. Although Manny and Ephraim aren't involved in deception here, the result is very similar to crafty Jacob and his hairy brother.

Joseph sees the mistake and tries to correct it, but Jacob says he knows what he is doing. Manasseh may be the first born, but Ephraim will be greater. The firstborn in me doens't like this very much. Hey, I'm the topdog, the responsible one, the protector from school bullies, the giver of wedgies, why aren't I getting what's mine?

But the younger son of God in me, the one needing extra grace, the one who recognizes how dangerous it would be to get what I deserve, is grateful for the reminder- the last shall be first. It doesn't matter what your birth order is, what your social standing is, what you needed to be forgiven of- God's blessings are above and beyond.

Jacob mentions that he buried Rachel on the road to Bethlehem. Foreshadowing? Metaphoric? We see these people traveling down the road to our Messiah. Might just be a coincidence, but it seems like an odd detail if it doesn't mean something.

Oh yeah, and with all this last shall be first stuff- doesn't that mean the Cubs will win eventually?