Genesis 48

The Blessing of God’s hand

But his father refused. “I know, my son; I know,” he replied. “Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become a multitude of nations.” ~ Genesis 48:19

Today I am writing about God’s blessings do not always follow the order we expect. When Jacob blessed Joseph’s sons, he crossed his hands and gave the greater blessing to the younger son, Ephraim. Joseph tried to correct his father, but Jacob made it clear that he knew exactly what he was doing because God had shown him the greater plan. It shows me that God’s ways are higher than mine, and His blessings sometimes come in unexpected ways and through unexpected people, even at unexpected times.

I have experienced this in my own life when I thought certain doors were the ones I was supposed to walk through, only to have God shut them and open something completely different. Not long ago, we thought He was leading us to join a group traveling to Israel. Just two weeks before the trip, war broke out in that region and the tour was canceled. At first, I felt disappointed and even confused, wondering why things didn’t go as I had planned. I thought we must have missed God’s direction, but in the following weeks, as we worked through the details of the payment we had made, another opportunity opened up that we would have never had if we had not first committed to the Israel trip. We soon realized that God’s hand was guiding us to a completely different excursion that turned out to be even greater than the first. What I thought was a setback was actually His way of redirecting us to something greater that He had promised years before, though I did not understand it at the time.

This truth still applies to all of us today. Maybe you are looking at your life and thinking things did not turn out the way you expected. Maybe you did not get the opportunity you wanted, or someone else was chosen instead of you. Joseph’s life is a reminder that God sees the bigger picture, and His hand of blessing is not bound by human order or expectation. When God chooses to bless, He blesses in ways that far exceed what we imagine.

Here are some things you can do to expect the unexpected blessings God has for you:

• Surrender your expectations to God in prayer and invite Him to guide your steps.
• Celebrate the blessings God gives others, trusting that His timing for you is perfect.
• Look for how God has redirected your life before and thank Him for the outcome.
• Stay faithful in the place you are now, knowing that God’s favor is not limited by position or circumstance.
• Keep an open heart to the unexpected ways God may choose to bless and work through you.

Today I want to encourage you to trust that God knows exactly what He is doing in your life. Even when His hand crosses what you thought was the natural order of things, His blessing is still at work. What may look confusing in the moment will later be revealed as part of His greater plan. Stay steady, keep your eyes on Him, and trust that His hand is guiding you into a future that carries His blessing.

Today’s scripture reading: Genesis 48

1 One day not long after this, word came to Joseph, “Your father is failing rapidly.” So Joseph went to visit his father, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2 When Joseph arrived, Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” So Jacob gathered his strength and sat up in his bed.

3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. 

4 He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful, and I will multiply your descendants. I will make you a multitude of nations. And I will give this land of Canaan to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

5 “Now I am claiming as my own sons these two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born here in the land of Egypt before I arrived. They will be my sons, just as Reuben and Simeon are. 

6 But any children born to you in the future will be your own, and they will inherit land within the territories of their brothers Ephraim and Manasseh.

7 “Long ago, as I was returning from Paddan-aram, Rachel died in the land of Canaan. We were still on the way, some distance from Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). So with great sorrow I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath.”

8 Then Jacob looked over at the two boys. “Are these your sons?” he asked.

9 “Yes,” Joseph told him, “these are the sons God has given me here in Egypt.”

and Jacob said, “Bring them closer to me, so I can bless them.”

10 Jacob was half blind because of his age and could hardly see. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Jacob kissed and embraced them. 

11 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “I never thought I would see your face again, but now God has let me see your children, too!”

12 Joseph moved the boys, who were at their grandfather’s knees, and he bowed with his face to the ground. 

13 Then he positioned the boys in front of Jacob. With his right hand he directed Ephraim toward Jacob’s left hand, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand. 

14 But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys’ heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger boy, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the firstborn. 

15 Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked—the God who has been my shepherd all my life, to this very day,

16 the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may he bless these boys. May they preserve my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac. and may their descendants multiply greatly throughout the earth.”

17 But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 

18 “No, my father,” he said. “This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused. “I know, my son; I know,” he replied. “Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become a multitude of nations.”

20 So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: “The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing. They will say, ‘May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In this way, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to Canaan, the land of your ancestors. 

22 And beyond what I have given your brothers, I am giving you an extra portion of the land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”

Journal:

• What expectations do I need to surrender to God today?
• Where have I seen God redirect my life in the past for something better?
• How can I look for His hand of blessing in what I am currently walking through?