†. Gen 48:8a . .When Israel
At this point, Genesis switches from Jacob's earthly name to his Heaven
given name; possibly because the first portion of the interview was personal
business while the second half will be conducted in Jacob's official capacity
as a prophet.
The Hebrew word for "prophet" is nabiy' (naw-bee') which just means an
inspired man. Abel was a prophet (Luke 11:50-51) and Abraham was a
prophet (Gen 20:7). People needn't be high powered prognosticators like
Isaiah to be prophets. Anybody whom God empowers with a degree of
spiritual intuition is a prophet because prophets aren't necessarily predictors
of the future, nor revealers of sacred secrets, but also just simply savvy in
the knowledge of God. Where did they get that savvy? From seminary and
yeshiva? No, from God's Spirit.
†. Prv 1:23 . .Turn you at My reproof: behold: I will pour out My Spirit unto
you, I will make known My words unto you.
†. Gen 48:8b-10a . . saw the sons of Joseph, he asked: Who are
these? They are the sons God has given me here; Joseph said to his
father. Then Israel said: Bring them to me so I may bless them. Now
Israel's eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly
see.
The leading cause of eyesight problems in older people is a condition known
as Macular Degeneration. The cone cells within the human eye work hard all
our lives, and when their waste products build up faster than the body can
clear them, tiny yellow spots can form around the fovea. As a person ages,
those plaques, along with leaky blood vessels, tend to interrupt normal rod
and cone functioning. When you add MD into the mix with cataracts,
glaucoma, and stiffening of the lens, then the victim is really in a bad state
of affairs; and in Jacob's day, there was absolutely nothing people could do
about it.
I've heard young people say that old people are cute; and that's probably
because of the grandpa/grandma charisma connected with senior citizens.
Well; let me tell those youngsters something: getting old is neither fun nor
cute; no, not at all. The aging process is very disagreeable. It disfigures our
faces, puts bags under our eyes, thins our hair, dulls our hearing, misshapes
our figures, makes us smell, sags our flesh, adds pounds where we don't
want them, shrinks our muscles, stiffens our joints, recedes our gums, robs
of us vitality and stamina, makes us look old, gives our faces a perpetually
grumpy look, and seriously diminishes one's quality of life.
About thirty years ago, an elderly lady overheard my wife and I talking
about travel and the lady said: Do it now while you're young. I didn't really
appreciate her advice till my age began approaching 70. Now I know what
she meant. Travel isn't exciting; no, it's a chore. From where I live in
Oregon, it's only six hours by plane to New York City, but I don't visit the
big apple because the thought of sitting on an airplane all that time seems
like such a bother; and with my arthritic knee, I really couldn't walk around
the city and see the sights much anyway.
It would be difficult to believe that Jacob didn't recognize his own
grandsons; but with failing eyesight, it's to be expected that he would
require verbal authentication of their identities before proceeding with the
sacred business at hand.
†. Gen 48:10b-12 . . So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his
father kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph: I
never expected to see you again, and here God has let me see your
children as well. Joseph then removed them from his knees, and
bowed low with his face to the ground.
I seriously doubt the boys were sitting on Jacob's knees since they were
grown men; but the wording suggests they had each taken a turn kneeling
between Jacob's knees so he could embrace them and then got up and
stepped back to let the other in. In the next sequence, the brothers likely
knelt again, only this time one on either side, so Jacob could reach the tops
of both their heads from a sitting position.
I'm guessing Joseph's bow was either a gesture of whole-hearted approval
and/or submission to Jacob's position as the supreme, God-appointed
patriarch over Yhvh's poeple at that time so that whatever Jacob says, goes,
regardless of how anybody else in the family, including Joseph, might feel
about it.
Would to God the elderly were treated with such respect nowadays. One of
my favorite movie lines is from "Moonstruck" starring Cher and Nicolas Cage
wherein the grandpa makes this statement at the breakfast table one
morning prior to offering his son a father's advice. "I am old; and the old are
not wanted. And if they say it, they have no weight." In other words: the
young really don't care much for an elderly person's opinions.
†. Gen 48:13-14 . . And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his
right toward Israel's left hand and Manasseh on his left toward
Israel's right hand, and brought them close to him. But Israel
reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim's head, though he
was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on
Manasseh's head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.
Jacob's inspired intuition guided his hands to the boy God wanted to have
the higher rank in spite of Manasseh's primogeniture.
†. Gen 48:15a . .Then he blessed Joseph
All three men there that day were "Joseph" so the blessing wasn't really
directed to Mr. Joseph himself alone but rather to his tribe as a unity.
†. Gen 48:15b . . saying: The god in whose ways my fathers Abraham
and Isaac walked, the god who has been my shepherd from my birth
to this day--
On the surface it might appear that God was Jacob's shepherd beginning at
chapter 28, when he was on the lamb from Esau; but in truth, God was
Jacob's shepherd from day one, beginning with Rachel's pregnancy in
chapter 25 when God decreed the elder would serve the younger. That's an
interesting note; because it indicates that God foreknew each and every
human being who would value spiritual things; and from eternity, he began
making sure they survived any and all misfortune in order to take advantage
of His salvation. (cf. Eph 1:4-5)
†. Gen 48:16a . .The Angel
The Hebrew word for "angel" is mal'ak (mal-awk') which isn't eo ipso a
spirit. The word simply indicates somebody dispatched as a deputy. In other
words: mal'aks aren't sovereigns-- they represent somebody higher up.
Jacob was aware that all of his close encounters of a third kind with God,
beginning with the man standing at the top of the staircase in chapter 28,
weren't really the True God in person; but rather deputies authorized to use
Yhvh's name as their own.
The "angel of The Lord" appears many, many times in the Old Testament
and really means: the messenger of the Lord; which of course we know by
now at this point in Genesis was actually the rather curious mysterious being
whose name is his master's.
†. Gen 48:16b . . who has redeemed me from all evil--
The word "redemption" is often associated with salvation from the wrath of
God; but it primarily means to rescue, spare, and/or protect. (e.g. Gen 38:6
10, Lev 25:25, Lev 25:47-49, and Ruth 3:1-4:12)
Cont.
/
At this point, Genesis switches from Jacob's earthly name to his Heaven
given name; possibly because the first portion of the interview was personal
business while the second half will be conducted in Jacob's official capacity
as a prophet.
The Hebrew word for "prophet" is nabiy' (naw-bee') which just means an
inspired man. Abel was a prophet (Luke 11:50-51) and Abraham was a
prophet (Gen 20:7). People needn't be high powered prognosticators like
Isaiah to be prophets. Anybody whom God empowers with a degree of
spiritual intuition is a prophet because prophets aren't necessarily predictors
of the future, nor revealers of sacred secrets, but also just simply savvy in
the knowledge of God. Where did they get that savvy? From seminary and
yeshiva? No, from God's Spirit.
†. Prv 1:23 . .Turn you at My reproof: behold: I will pour out My Spirit unto
you, I will make known My words unto you.
†. Gen 48:8b-10a . . saw the sons of Joseph, he asked: Who are
these? They are the sons God has given me here; Joseph said to his
father. Then Israel said: Bring them to me so I may bless them. Now
Israel's eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly
see.
The leading cause of eyesight problems in older people is a condition known
as Macular Degeneration. The cone cells within the human eye work hard all
our lives, and when their waste products build up faster than the body can
clear them, tiny yellow spots can form around the fovea. As a person ages,
those plaques, along with leaky blood vessels, tend to interrupt normal rod
and cone functioning. When you add MD into the mix with cataracts,
glaucoma, and stiffening of the lens, then the victim is really in a bad state
of affairs; and in Jacob's day, there was absolutely nothing people could do
about it.
I've heard young people say that old people are cute; and that's probably
because of the grandpa/grandma charisma connected with senior citizens.
Well; let me tell those youngsters something: getting old is neither fun nor
cute; no, not at all. The aging process is very disagreeable. It disfigures our
faces, puts bags under our eyes, thins our hair, dulls our hearing, misshapes
our figures, makes us smell, sags our flesh, adds pounds where we don't
want them, shrinks our muscles, stiffens our joints, recedes our gums, robs
of us vitality and stamina, makes us look old, gives our faces a perpetually
grumpy look, and seriously diminishes one's quality of life.
About thirty years ago, an elderly lady overheard my wife and I talking
about travel and the lady said: Do it now while you're young. I didn't really
appreciate her advice till my age began approaching 70. Now I know what
she meant. Travel isn't exciting; no, it's a chore. From where I live in
Oregon, it's only six hours by plane to New York City, but I don't visit the
big apple because the thought of sitting on an airplane all that time seems
like such a bother; and with my arthritic knee, I really couldn't walk around
the city and see the sights much anyway.
It would be difficult to believe that Jacob didn't recognize his own
grandsons; but with failing eyesight, it's to be expected that he would
require verbal authentication of their identities before proceeding with the
sacred business at hand.
†. Gen 48:10b-12 . . So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his
father kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph: I
never expected to see you again, and here God has let me see your
children as well. Joseph then removed them from his knees, and
bowed low with his face to the ground.
I seriously doubt the boys were sitting on Jacob's knees since they were
grown men; but the wording suggests they had each taken a turn kneeling
between Jacob's knees so he could embrace them and then got up and
stepped back to let the other in. In the next sequence, the brothers likely
knelt again, only this time one on either side, so Jacob could reach the tops
of both their heads from a sitting position.
I'm guessing Joseph's bow was either a gesture of whole-hearted approval
and/or submission to Jacob's position as the supreme, God-appointed
patriarch over Yhvh's poeple at that time so that whatever Jacob says, goes,
regardless of how anybody else in the family, including Joseph, might feel
about it.
Would to God the elderly were treated with such respect nowadays. One of
my favorite movie lines is from "Moonstruck" starring Cher and Nicolas Cage
wherein the grandpa makes this statement at the breakfast table one
morning prior to offering his son a father's advice. "I am old; and the old are
not wanted. And if they say it, they have no weight." In other words: the
young really don't care much for an elderly person's opinions.
†. Gen 48:13-14 . . And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his
right toward Israel's left hand and Manasseh on his left toward
Israel's right hand, and brought them close to him. But Israel
reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim's head, though he
was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on
Manasseh's head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.
Jacob's inspired intuition guided his hands to the boy God wanted to have
the higher rank in spite of Manasseh's primogeniture.
†. Gen 48:15a . .Then he blessed Joseph
All three men there that day were "Joseph" so the blessing wasn't really
directed to Mr. Joseph himself alone but rather to his tribe as a unity.
†. Gen 48:15b . . saying: The god in whose ways my fathers Abraham
and Isaac walked, the god who has been my shepherd from my birth
to this day--
On the surface it might appear that God was Jacob's shepherd beginning at
chapter 28, when he was on the lamb from Esau; but in truth, God was
Jacob's shepherd from day one, beginning with Rachel's pregnancy in
chapter 25 when God decreed the elder would serve the younger. That's an
interesting note; because it indicates that God foreknew each and every
human being who would value spiritual things; and from eternity, he began
making sure they survived any and all misfortune in order to take advantage
of His salvation. (cf. Eph 1:4-5)
†. Gen 48:16a . .The Angel
The Hebrew word for "angel" is mal'ak (mal-awk') which isn't eo ipso a
spirit. The word simply indicates somebody dispatched as a deputy. In other
words: mal'aks aren't sovereigns-- they represent somebody higher up.
Jacob was aware that all of his close encounters of a third kind with God,
beginning with the man standing at the top of the staircase in chapter 28,
weren't really the True God in person; but rather deputies authorized to use
Yhvh's name as their own.
The "angel of The Lord" appears many, many times in the Old Testament
and really means: the messenger of the Lord; which of course we know by
now at this point in Genesis was actually the rather curious mysterious being
whose name is his master's.
†. Gen 48:16b . . who has redeemed me from all evil--
The word "redemption" is often associated with salvation from the wrath of
God; but it primarily means to rescue, spare, and/or protect. (e.g. Gen 38:6
10, Lev 25:25, Lev 25:47-49, and Ruth 3:1-4:12)
Cont.
/
