The gift of grandchildren can perk us up, give us new life! They can also be exhausting if looked after for too long at any one time! But, Jacob’s encounter with his new grandchildren is relatively short and certainly has the effect of rallying him, giving him lucidity and a sense of urgency in dispensing blessing.  May I suggest that if you are blessed with grandchildren then praying for them, blessing them and being available to them is the greatest contribution you can make to their development and growth.

Jacob is well used to having the order of blessing reversed of course and so perhaps it is no surprise that it’s the younger that receives the elder’s rights. But they are both blessed and Joseph’s clan is doubled, marking his positioning as the ‘firstborn’ in place of Reuben and also before Simeon in ranking. When the ‘promised’ land is eventually allocated Joseph essentially receives a one-sixth share. From the tribe of Ephraim comes Joshua who will eventually be the one who leads the people across the Jordan fulfilling the prophetic word that Ephraim would be greater than Manasseh. 

Genesis incorporates different versions of the same story and this may account for the slightly different accounts of Jacob’s death-bed scene and the fact that Jacob and his new name Israel are interspersed.

This passage is full of blessings. So, let’s apply some of them to our own lives. Here are some consistencies:

You are blessed to be fruitful and to increase greatly upon the earth..

You are blessed to be part of the family of God’s people.

You are blessed with the promise of everlasting life.

You are blessed with God as your father and your shepherd.

You are blessed with God always with you.

You are blessed with the Lord who is your strength and your mighty right hand.

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Give thanks to the Lord for all his blessings to you.