Genesis 47:27-48::22 - Trusting in the Promises of God
The Anchor of Divine Character
A promise is only as reliable as the character of the one who makes it. In human relationships, trust is extended based upon proven fidelity; individuals who consistently honor their word, demonstrate integrity, and seek the good of others earn confidence. Conversely, those characterized by deceit and inconsistency forfeit their credibility. In the grand narrative of redemption, faith is not a blind leap into the unknown, but a settled conviction anchored in the unchanging nature of a covenant-keeping God. As the patriarch Jacob approached the end of his one hundred and forty-seven years, his life stood as a monumental testament to this reality. The man once known as the cunning supplanter had been transformed through decades of divine discipline into a patriarch whose dying acts radiated profound trust in the faithfulness of Yahweh.
Longing for the Homeland: Faith Beyond the Present
Toward the close of Genesis, Israel’s family settled in the fertile region of Goshen during a devastating famine. Under the providential care of Joseph, they acquired property, prospered, and multiplied rapidly. This fruitfulness was not merely a demographic coincidence, but the initial stirrings of God’s ancient covenant pledges.
Genesis 47:27-28 (NASB)
Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous. Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.
Decades earlier at Bethel, God had reaffirmed His covenant to Jacob, declaring that he would be fruitful and that a company of nations and kings would emerge from his lineage.
Genesis 35:11-12 (NASB)
God also said to him, ’I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, And kings shall come forth from you. ‘The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, And I will give the land to your descendants after you.’
While the expansion in Goshen signaled the early fulfillment of that promise—later to culminate in the explosive growth recorded in the opening of Exodus—Jacob’s earthly circumstances remained far from complete. He possessed no earthly kingdom, no reigning monarchs, and he resided outside the Promised Land. Yet Jacob understood that divine promises operate on the grand timeline of God’s redemptive purpose rather than the fleeting horizons of human comfort.
Exodus 1:7 (NASB)
But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.
Aware of his impending death, Jacob summoned Joseph and demanded a solemn oath, underscored by the ancient cultural gesture of placing a hand under his thigh. He insisted that he must not be buried in Egypt, but carried back to Canaan to rest in the cave of Machpelah alongside Abraham and Isaac.
Genesis 47:29-31 (NASB)
When the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, ‘Please, if I have found favor in your sight, place now your hand under my thigh and deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but when I lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.’ And he said, ‘I will do as you have said.’ He said, ‘Swear to me.’ So he swore to him. Then Israel bowed [in worship] at the head of the bed.
As the father of the second most powerful ruler in Egypt, Jacob could have commanded a monumental state funeral of royal proportions. Yet he renounced Egyptian prestige in favor of an unassuming ancestral tomb in Canaan. His request was an act of eschatological faith: Egypt was merely a temporary lodging, not the promised inheritance. By securing his burial in Canaan, Jacob anchored his family’s gaze to the land God had pledged to give them.
Adoption and the Double Blessing
When illness overtook Jacob shortly thereafter, Joseph brought his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to receive their grandfather’s blessing. Reflecting upon the divine appearance at Luz, Jacob reaffirmed God’s promise of an everlasting possession before performing an unexpected legal act of grace.
Genesis 48:1-4 (NASB)
Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, ‘Behold, your father is sick.’ So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. When it was told to Jacob, ‘Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,’ Israel collected his strength and sat up in the bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph, ’God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.’
Jacob formally claimed Joseph’s Egyptian-born sons as his own, elevating them to equal standing with his firstborn sons, Reuben and Simeon. In doing so, Jacob effectively rewrote his paternal inheritance, bestowing upon Joseph the double portion traditionally reserved for the firstborn.
Genesis 48:5-6 (NASB)
’Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. ’But your offspring that have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance.
This elevation explains why there is no singular territorial “tribe of Joseph” on biblical maps; rather, Joseph’s inheritance was doubled into the distinct tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. Furthermore, because their mother Asenath was Egyptian, the adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh foreshadowed the magnificent mystery of the gospel: the incorporation of Gentiles into the covenant family of God. Those once considered outsiders and strangers to the covenant are brought near through sovereign grace, receiving full rights and inheritance as adopted sons and daughters.
Sovereign Election and the Crossing of Hands
When the time came to impart the formal patriarchal blessing, Joseph strategically positioned his sons before his visually impaired father. He placed Manasseh, the firstborn, toward Jacob’s right hand—the position of primacy and favor—and Ephraim toward his left. However, Jacob deliberately crossed his hands, laying his right hand upon the head of the younger son, Ephraim, and his left upon Manasseh.
Genesis 48:8-14 (NASB)
When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, ‘Who are these?’ Joseph said to his father, ‘They are my sons, whom God has given me here.’ So he said, ‘Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.’ Now the eyes of Israel were [so] dim from age [that] he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. Israel said to Joseph, ‘I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well.’ Then Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground. 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.
When Joseph attempted to correct what he perceived to be a mistake of failing eyesight, Jacob refused to move his hands. He declared that while Manasseh would indeed be great, Ephraim would surpass him, becoming a multitude of nations.
Genesis 48:17-20 (NASB)
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.
This deliberate crossing of hands highlights the recurring biblical theme of divine election subverting human expectation. God’s favor is never bound to human convention, natural birthright, or social merit. Throughout scripture, God consistently bypasses the firstborn and exalts the younger—choosing Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, David over his elder brothers, and lowly fishermen to establish His church. By frustrating human schemes of entitlement, God ensures that salvation and blessing remain entirely matters of sovereign grace, displaying His power through the weak and unlikely.
Because Reuben forfeited his primogeniture through gross immorality, the rights of the firstborn were formally divided. The royal line of leadership was directed toward Judah, while the double inheritance was conferred upon Joseph.
1 Chronicles 5:1-2 (NASB)
Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright. Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him [came] the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph),
In receiving the status of the firstborn and preserving the covenant family through immense suffering, Joseph serves as a profound type of Christ, the true Firstborn of all creation, who through His humiliation and subsequent exaltation secures the eternal inheritance of His people.
Colossians 1:15 (NASB)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
A Trifold Testimony of Grace
As Jacob laid his hands upon the boys, his blessing took the form of a rich, trifold doxology celebrating the God who had sustained him throughout his pilgrimage.
Genesis 48:15-16 (NASB)
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.’
First, Jacob praised the covenant God before whom his fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, celebrating the continuity of generational faith. Second, in a rare Old Testament usage, Jacob recognized God as his personal Shepherd—the One who had guided, fed, and carried him all the days of his life. Finally, he acknowledged the Angel of the Lord who had redeemed him from every evil, delivering him through famine, familial strife, and personal failure. In his youth, Jacob had relied upon deceit and self-sufficiency; in his maturity, he saw clearly that every moment of his life had been held by sovereign, undeserved grace.
Anchoring Hope Amidst Present Trials
Believers frequently encounter seasons where the promises of God seem radically disconnected from their lived reality. In the midst of profound loss, illness, or prolonged suffering, it is easy to misinterpret the nature of God’s providence.
Romans 8:28 (NASB)
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.
The divine pledge to work all things together for good does not guarantee immediate comfort or the avoidance of grief; rather, it guarantees that no sorrow is wasted in God’s eternal design. Jacob lived the majority of his life without seeing the complete fulfillment of God’s grand promises, yet he died in complete confidence that God’s word would stand.
When human emotions and painful circumstances threaten to overshadow theological truth, believers are summoned to fix their gaze upon the proven character of the Lord. The remedy for spiritual despair is not the denial of pain, but the active recollection of God’s past fidelity.
Psalms 42:11 (NASB)
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
Circumstances may be severe, and the path forward may appear obscure, but the God who shepherded Jacob, fulfilled His covenant in Christ, and adopted strangers into His family remains eternally trustworthy. His character guarantees His promises, and His sovereign grace will unfailingly bring His people home.