The Book of Genesis
Day 440
Ge 48:5 "And
now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of
Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall
be mine. 6 "Your offspring whom you
beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their
brothers in their inheritance. 7
"But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land
of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath;
and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)." 8 Then Israel saw Joseph's sons, and said,
"Who are these?" 9 And Joseph
said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me in this
place." And he said, "Please bring them to me, and I will bless
them."
Have you ever
heard of the tribe of Joseph? Me either. In an unusual deathbed move Jacob
adopts Joseph’s two children as if they were his own, thereby in effect giving
Joseph a double portion of the inheritance. No reason is given for this.
Perhaps it has something to do with Rachel passing before she could have more
children, and this doubling of the inheritance would help make up for the
difference. At any rate, I think there is yet another lesson for us here, and
in light of our culture today, we ought to spend some time on it.
Notice how Joseph
responds to Jacob’s question about the boys. He says, “These are my sons whom
God has given me.” And once again we see a pro-life declaration from Scripture.
Joseph rightly proclaims where the gift of life comes from. This must’ve warmed
Jacob’s heart, and who knows, just may have triggered some memories of a time
when his brother Esau asked him the same question, and he had replied, “These
are the children whom God has graciously given your servant.”
Joseph has learned
the pro-life message well. Are your children learning the pro-life message from
you? Are you teaching this vital biblical truth in your family devotions? How
about In your Sunday School programs at church? Are you observing an annual
“pro-life” Sunday in your church? Is the pro-life message being proclaimed from
the pulpit?
Pass this truth
along! Live this truth! Children are a gift from God! Once that truth is
grasped, it changes everything. Our whole outlook on the size and care of our
families changes and we begin to trust God for all our gifts and appreciate
them, especially the gift of children! “Behold, children are a heritage from
the Lord, the fruit of the womb is His reward. Happy is the man who has his
quiver full of them!” (Ps 127:3,5)
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