City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. ³ And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ And 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. ⁶ And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

Genesis 48:1-7

³ In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. ⁴ But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Galatians 4:3-7

Reflection

This passage helps explain why Israel never had a tribe called “Josephites.” Sounds funny, but if you think about this, the reason goes back to this passage in Genesis 48. Jacob makes a very significant gesture. Joseph was considered lost and dead for over 13 years. He married an Egyptian woman by the name of Asenath who was the daughter of a priest of On, a pagan god. This created mixed allegiances to his offspring. Are they Egyptian or Hebrew? Would they be considered as part of the promise handed down from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or would they be cast off and assimilated into the Egyptian nation?

Jacob wanted to make it clear that Joseph’s sons would no longer be split in their allegiance. He decided to adopt them both as his own sons. By doing so, they would no longer be considered the sons of Joseph and his Egyptian wife Asenath, but Hebrews, the sons of Jacob and Rachel. They were effectively casting off their Egyptian heritage to accept their blessings as Israelites.

Application

Just like Manasseh and Ephraim were adopted as children of Jacob, so we are also adopted as sons of God. We were once outside the promise, living as gentiles in a fallen world. But God, in His compassion and grace, offered us a path back to Him through His son’s death and resurrection. We no longer have split allegiances, but we are chosen and loved, accepted as sons of God and grafted in to the living vine.

We are adopted sons through Jesus’ sacrificial death. We are to live in such a way that nothing can separate us from God’s love and to share this with others we meet. We are God’s kingdom on this earth and represent Him just like Israel was chosen to represent God on this earth before Jesus’ birth.

Prayer

Father in heaven, thank You for saving me and adopting me as a son. I am forever grateful of Your mercy and grace. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.