The last days of Israel

 Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as we discover new insights and new perspectives from a very old book.

I'm reading Young's Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Genesis 48

The younger son of Joseph gets Jacob's blessing, just as Jacob, himself the younger son, was the blessed one. Just as Isaac, the younger son, was blessed. Going back, the younger son Abel was blessed over Cain. Also, Joseph gets a double-portion of Jacob's inheritance, even though he's the 11th of 12 brothers.

We experience the flesh first, and later we experience consciousness, and the younger of these two "brothers" is greater, is more blessed than, the older. As if the older was created for the younger. 

Genesis 49

Here we see previous actions by Reuben (Genesis 35), Simeon, and Levi (Chapter 34) condemned. Jacob's fourth son, Judah, is praised even though he instigated the sale of Joseph into slavery (Chapter 37) and had done other bad things (Chapter 38). 

Both Reuben and Judah had taken measures to spare Joseph's life when the other brothers were going to kill him. Later, both had offered to protect Benjamin. I wonder if Reuben might have acted like the dutiful oldest son, whereas Judah was actually more responsible, was better able to handle responsibilities. 

It seems as if the other brothers (except Joseph obviously) hardly mattered; Benjamin had a "role" as Joseph's only full-blooded brother, but wasn't a "character" who did anything.

In this chapter, Jacob/Israel dies. In his life, he received the blessings he repeatedly asked for; siring 12 sons (and at least one daughter) is a good start in becoming the father of a "great nation." If Rachel, the one whom he really loved, had been his only wife, this would not have happened.

Jacob's life unfolded in ways he would not have expected, but he made peace with Laban, reconciled with Esau, and finally reunited with Joseph, the son who saved his family.

Jacob was blessed, less so by his father Isaac's formal blessing, but by finding and wrestling with the God who resided within.

James Leroy Wilson writes Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, JL Cells, and The MVP Chase. Thanks for your subscriptions and support!

(Photo credit: TyshkunVictor)