City Life Starter

Written by Blesson Selvanesan

The Word

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹ But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” ²⁰ So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,

‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

Genesis 48:17-22 (ESV)

Reflection

Father’s blessings are of tremendous importance, and Jacob chose to adopt Joseph’s two older sons. Thereby he ensured a double blessing to Joseph which is usually reserved for the firstborn. When it was time to bless Manasseh and Ephraim, contrary to the tradition, Jacob placed his right hand on Ephraim who was the second born instead of Manasseh the firstborn, Joseph tried to correct his father thinking that he could not see well as his eyes were failing. However, Jacob knew what he was doing and blessed the children as he pleased. Joseph was the prime minister of the then-superpower Egypt but to Jacob, he was still one of his sons. Jacob, the man who fought with the angel of the Lord does not hesitate to displease his prime minister son. Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

Application

Sovereignty is a difficult subject to understand. This is especially true these days when we demand our rights and fairness for every silly thing as per our perception. God owns everything and everyone and is sovereign over all things – including all people – and can do whatever He chooses. He is beyond time and has a plan which stretches from the beginning to the end of creation. It is hard to fathom God’s wisdom and His will. We have no option but to submit to the will of God as it is the safest place to be. When we receive unmerited favor ahead of others, we are happy about it but when things don’t go according to our expectations we grumble and complain. Job understood this very well.

Let’s think about this. Why did God choose Abraham instead of anyone else from Ur? Why did God choose Isaac instead of the firstborn Ishmael? Why did God choose Jacob instead of the firstborn Esau? Why did God choose Joseph instead of firstborn Reuben to receive the double portion? Why did God choose Judah to lead? Why did God give the priesthood to Levi? It is God’s sovereign choice. A lump of clay has no say, it is the potter who decides. It may be hard to understand and is a hard pill to swallow, but that’s how God operates and it is perfect in fairness. In fact, that’s how even we operate but our sovereignty is limited when compared to God’s.

Let’s do a thought experiment. Consider, if someone were to enter your room and point at all the things that you have and asked, why are these here? Why is the bed here and not over there? Why is the clock there? Why is the pen here? Why are your shoes there? Why is your table there? What will be your response? Perhaps, we may be offended. If we want to reason together, we may say, these are mine, there are where they are for a reason or maybe for no reason, I decide. Some of the items are where they are because they had a past use, some for present use, others for future use, and some may be for backup use. They are used by us as they are designed to be used for or for the best possible use that we may see fit.

The ‘things’ have no say in where they are or what they are used for. As creations of God, we play God-appointed roles and God decides. Just like a coach who can pick a player, can send in a player, pull out a player, bench a player, or fire a player as the coach sees fit. God in his infinite wisdom can choose to bless anyone as he pleases for reasons that may only be known to Him. God being infinitely good, always does the best for us even though we may not understand. If we remember who we are and who God is, we should have no problem understanding God’s sovereignty.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me know that You are sovereign and choose to bless as You please. You bless the underdogs and powerless and bless those who don’t deserve them by Your pure grace and unmerited favor. Help me to accept Your sovereignty over my life and let me be content with what You give. In Jesus’ name, amen.