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But after years of tria! and test-after finally wrestling
all night with the angel (Gen. 32:24-29)-after confessing
his name as "supplanter"-God bestowed His blessing
upon Jacob, took away his reproachful name, and gave
him a new, untainted name, ISRAEL-which means "pre–
vailer," or "overcomer with God."
And thus we see that through Abraham, Jsaac, and
Jacob, the promises were handed down to one man at a
time. There was no branching out toward national
growth until the days of Jacob. For three generations it
had been a "one-man nation." But Jacob had twelve
sons, and through them the future
great nation
and
company ofnations
were started on their way.
Reuben Lost the Blrthrlght
The next legal inheritor of the birthright was Reuben,
firstborn son of Israel , by his first wife, Leah. But Reu–
ben, like Esau, lost it. And Joseph, eleventh-born of
Jacob, but firstborn of Rache!, his second and truly
loved wife, received it.
The birthright belonged, legally, to Reuben, not Jo–
seph.
lt
is related in 1 Chronicles 5: 1-2 how it fell to
Joseph: "Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn oflsrael,
(for he was the firstborn; but , forasmuch as he defiled his
father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of
Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be
reckoned after the birthright (or, RSV, "so that he (Reu–
ben) is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the
birthright"]. For
Judah
prevailed above his brethren,
and of
him carne the chiefruler;
but the BIRTHRIGHT WAS
JOSEPH'S)."
So at this point the two divisions of the Abrahamic
promises- the bi rthright, involving material and na–
tional promises, and the sceptre, including the kingly
and spiritual promises- were separated.
It is of first importance to keep in mind that the
birthright, including the promised land now called Pal–
estine, the assurance of multitudinous population, mate–
rial and national prosperity, dominance over other
nations,
was now given to
JOSEPH
and his sons.
Mark that well! This BIRTHRIGHT was not to be inher–
ited by
al!
the tribes of Israel! It was not given to the
Jews! Only a part of the Israelites-the
descendants of
Joseph- was
to inherit these tremendous
national
prom–
ises!
These material promises for
this
life, then, belonged to
an altogether different tribe among the chiJdren of Israel
than the sceptre promise of the kingly line culminating
in Jesus Christ, which spiritual promise belonged in the
tribe of Judah!
These national promises of the multitudinous seed
then became the possession of an altogether different
tribe
than the promise of the one seed, Christ, who
sprang from Judah! This fact of the two sets of promises,
stressed in the preceding installment , ought to be plain
and clear to every reader by now. Fix it permanently in
12
mind. It is one of the vital keys to Bible understanding!
At the time of Jacob's death, he and his sons were
living in Egypt. We assume, of course, that you are
familiar with the story of how Joseph was sold by his
brothers into Egypt; of how he there became food ad–
ministrator and prime minister. next under the king and
in actual rule of nation; of the seven years of plenty,
followed by seven years of famine, in which food had
been stored only in Egypt under Joseph's supervision; of
the visit of Joseph's brothers to Egypt in quest of food,
and how Joseph induced them to bring their father and
brother Benjamín down to Egypt; and finally, of the
dramatic revelation of Joseph's identity to his brethren,
amid weeping and rejoicing.
And how prophetic that was! As we shall see, Joseph ,
in his descendants, shall soon once again have his true
identity revealed to his brothers- and to the world. And
how
hidden
from the world is that identity now!
Blrthrlght to Joseph's Sons
And now the time carne to pass on the birthright to
another generation. Let us re-crea te the drama tic scene.
It
occurred in Egypt , after Joseph had succeeded in
having his father brought there, as well as all his broth–
ers. Joseph, remember, was prime minister ofthe nation .
It
was reported to Joseph that Jacob. his father, was
ill. He took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Eph–
raim, sons of an Egyptian mother, and hastened to the
dying patriarch's bedside.
"And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the
bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty ap–
peared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and
blessed me, and said unto me, Behold, 1 will make thee
fruitful, and multiply thee, and 1 will make of thee
a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy
seed after thee for an everlasting possession" (Gen.
48:2-4).
Notice carefully these promises!
The birthright is about to be passed on to another
generation. Notice that nothing whatsoever is said about
al!
the fa mi líes of the earth being blessed in his seed-the
ONE seed. Nothing is said about kings. Nothing is said
about spiritual blessings whatever.
These
promises are
those of the birthright.
These
promises
are
of
multiple
seed- a
multitude of people- and
possession ofthe prom–
ised land.
Now let us continue.
"And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh ,
which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I
carne unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and
Simeon, they shall be mine" (verse 5).
Thus did Jacob
adopt
Joseph's two sons, making them,
legally, his own sons. This, no doubt, was done because
they were half-blooded Egyptians. Israel made them his
own adopted sons, so the birthright could be passed on
to them. Notice, too, that in the first verse of this 48th
chapter of Genesis, Manasseh's name is mentioned first ,
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1978