Adoption Day - Genesis 48

48:1-4 - We all knew this day was coming, and Jacob even said it to Pharoah himself, that he was old and on his way down to the grave. Knowing that his time was limited, Jacob sent word to Joseph, and Joseph went down to Goshen with his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob set himself upright in bed and recounted the promises made to him when "God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me." Jacob was promised that he would be "fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitde of people." He's promises a lot of descendants, and I don't know if it's just me but that doesn't see hugely important, like if I was going to be promised something by God, that wouldn't impress me that much, I think I'd be more interested in having quality offspring as opposed to quantity.

The second part of the blessing was that God "will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession." This is a little bit more appealing, especially if it is an amazing land, but again, it's not a blessing of "here's the place where you will live right now, in peace, and all your descendants after you." We saw that Jacob was promised that land, only as he was passing through it on his way out, then he finally got it decades later, after much tribulation, but then he had to leave again, knowing that his descendants would become slaves in another land for 400 years. I think that this would be something that I would just rather not know, like, let me be surprised when my offspring get this awesome land in 500 years. I think sometimes that promises make it worse, for me at least, because then I'm always waiting, "is this it?" "Is this it?" At this point in my life I think I just want to be surprised. I know the overall promises, tell me when I need to do something, but I'll just trust your timing to the point that I'll just wait quietly, if that makes sense.

48:5 - There is a significant portion of verses 5-11 that have been enhanced by the JST, which explains some things. At this point in Jacob's conversation with Joseph, he tells him, "now, of thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh... Behold, they ar emine, and the God of my fathers shall bless them, even as Reuben and Simeon they shall be blessed, for they are mine; wherefore they shall be called after my name. (Therefore they were called Israel." This statement is significant for a few reasons:

1. In the non-JST version it says that Ephraim and Manasseh "are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine." The difference here is that in the non-JST is sounds like Jacob is giving them the same legal rights as full-blooded sons, not even just grandsons, but just like they where his own children. This could cause problems with the inheritance, etc. But in the JST, it's clear that the results of making Ephraim and Manasseh (E&M from now on), are not legal or monetary, but spiritually. E&M will recieve the same blessings from God that Jacob's other sons are entitled to receive, but the details will be up to God, not Jacob.

2. With E&M being adopted spiritually by Jacob, they replace Joseph but there are now 13 tribes. TB discusses why it's important that there technically be 13 tribes instead of just 12. As they divide up the land of inheritance, the tribe of Levi isn't given a set portion of land like the rest of the inheritors, and that is because, as TB says, "Here we see that God's plan is as regards lands and territory for the tribe of Levi... God is effectively removing Leci from Israel, and making them a special group of people whose sole job is to be in service of Yrhaveh, for the SAKE of Israel. Just so you get the picture: the tribe of LEvi at that moment is no longer seen as part of Israel. They are now a spcial tribe set apart for a special divine purpose. Therefore, the Levites will NOT receive a named territory of their own like the other 12 tribes... Rather, the Levites are to be given cities, and some small amount of open land surrounding these cities to be used as pasture land, as their portion... So, from that moment forward, even though we can count 13 tribes emanating from Israel, only 12 are to be considered as 'Israel,' for only 12 have been given territory; one tribe, Levi, has (effectively) been removed from Israel."

This made sense when he described it like that because it would be like if we were divided up by families and one of those families were given the job of taking care of the churches and temples, taking care of the buildings, landscape, teaching the gospel to the people around, performing the ordinances for those people, etc, that would be their space, their responsibility. By adopting E&M, Jacob has effectively allowed the dispursion of another tribe to be throughout the tribes of his other descedants to minister to them spiritually. It's interesting to wonder if Jacob knew that that was what he was doing at the time, or if it was just something he was prompted to do and everyone figured out why later. As we can see with this map of the lands assigned to each of the tribes in Canaan at a later date, E&M feature prominently, but there is no assigned land to Levi.

48:6-22 - Even though they had been discussing E&M, Jacob seems surprised that the two boys are there with them and decides to bless them. Just like the stunt he pulled with his brother, Jacob placed his right hand (the giving hand) on the head of Ephraim, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh. Joseph goes to correct him, because Jacob's sight is bad and Joseph probably thought that his father had made a mistake, but Jacob tells Joseph "I know it, my son, I know it." Jacob knows that he has switched hands on the boys' heads and promises that Manasseh will also "be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he." I wonder if this is referencing the fact that most of the members of the Church are of the tribe of Ephraim, or at least adopted into that tribe through their patriarchal blessings. I don't think that Ephraim particularly stood out spiritually during the time of ancient Israel, so that must be what is being referenced here, but if that's the case, then truly, it demonstrates that this has been the plan all along, the whole time.