Through the Bible – Day 19

Bible text(s)

Genesis 48

Jacob blesses his family and dies

Jacob blesses Joseph's two sons

₁Joseph was told that his father Jacob had become very sick. So Joseph went to see him and took along his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ₂When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” Jacob sat up in bed, but it took almost all his strength.

₃Jacob told Joseph:

God All-Powerful appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, where he gave me his blessing ₄and promised, “I will give you a large family with many descendants that will grow into a nation. And I am giving you this land that will belong to you and your family for ever.”

₅Then Jacob went on to say:

Joseph, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt, but I accept them as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. ₆Any children you have later will be considered yours, but their inheritance will come from Ephraim and Manasseh. ₇Unfortunately, your mother Rachel died in Canaan after we had left northern Syria and before we reached Bethlehem. And I had to bury her along the way.

_8-10Jacob was very old and almost blind. He did not recognize the two boys, and so he asked Joseph, “Who are these boys?”

Joseph answered, “They are my sons. God has given them to me here in Egypt.”

“Bring them to me,” Jacob said. “I want to give them my blessing.” Joseph brought the boys to him, and he hugged and kissed them.

₁₁Jacob turned to Joseph and told him, “For many years I thought you were dead and that I would never see you again. But now God has even let me live to see your children.” ₁₂Then Joseph made his sons move away from Jacob's knees, and Joseph bowed down in front of him with his face to the ground.

₁₃After Joseph got up, he brought his two sons over to Jacob again. He led his younger son Ephraim to the left side of Jacob and his elder son Manasseh to the right. ₁₄But before Jacob gave them his blessing, he crossed his arms, putting his right hand on the head of Ephraim and his left hand on the head of Manasseh. ₁₅Then he gave Joseph his blessing and said:

My grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac worshipped the LORD God. He has been with me all my life, ₁₆and his angel has kept me safe. Now I pray that he will bless these boys and that my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac will live on because of them. I ask God to give them many children and many descendants as well.

₁₇Joseph did not like it when he saw his father place his right hand on the head of the younger son. So he tried to move his father's right hand from Ephraim's head and place it on Manasseh. ₁₈Joseph said, “Father, you have made a mistake. This is the elder boy. Put your right hand on him.”

₁₉But his father said, “Son, I know what I am doing. It's true that Manasseh's family will some day become a great nation. But Ephraim will be even greater than Manasseh, because his descendants will become many great nations.”

₂₀Jacob told him that in the future the people of Israel would ask God's blessings on one another by saying, “I pray for God to bless you as much as he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh.” Jacob put Ephraim's name first to show that he would be greater than Manasseh. ₂₁After that, Jacob said, “Joseph, you can see that I won't live much longer. But God will be with you and will lead you back to the land he promised our family long ago. ₂₂Meanwhile, I'm giving you the hillside I captured from the Amorites.”

Genesis 49

Jacob blesses his sons

_1-2Jacob called his sons together and said:

My sons, I am Jacob,

your father Israel.

Come, gather around,

as I tell your future.

₃Reuben, you are my eldest,

born at the peak of my powers;

you were an honoured leader.

₄Uncontrollable as a flood,

you slept with my wife

and disgraced my bed.

And so you no longer deserve

the place of honour.

₅Simeon and Levi,

you are brothers,

each a gruesome sword.

₆I never want to take part

in your plans or deeds.

You slaughtered people

in your anger,

and you crippled cattle

for no reason.

₇Now I place a curse on you

because of

your fierce anger.

Your descendants

will be scattered

among the tribes of Israel.

₈Judah, you will be praised

by your brothers;

they will bow down to you,

as you defeat your enemies.

₉My son, you are a lion

ready to eat your victim!

You are terribly fierce;

no one will bother you.

₁₀You will have power and rule

until nations obey you

and come bringing gifts.

₁₁You will tie your donkey

to a choice grapevine

and wash your clothes

in wine from those grapes.

₁₂Your eyes are darker than wine,

your teeth whiter than milk.

₁₃Zebulun, you will settle

along the seashore

and provide safe harbours

as far north as Sidon.

₁₄Issachar, you are a strong donkey

resting in the meadows.

₁₅You found them so pleasant

that you worked too hard

and became a slave.

₁₆Dan, you are the tribe

that will bring justice

to Israel.

₁₇You are a snake that bites

the heel of a horse,

making its rider fall.

₁₈Our LORD, I am waiting

for you to save us.

₁₉Gad, you will be attacked,

then attack your attackers.

₂₀Asher, you will eat food

fine enough for a king.

₂₁Naphtali, you are a wild deer

with lovely fawns.

₂₂Joseph, you are a fruitful vine

growing near a stream

and climbing a wall.

₂₃Enemies attacked with arrows,

refusing to show mercy.

₂₄But you stood your ground,

swiftly shooting back

with the help of Jacob's God,

the All-Powerful One—

his name is the Shepherd,

Israel's mighty rock.

₂₅Your help came from the God

your father worshipped,

from God All-Powerful.

God will bless you with rain

and streams from the earth;

he will bless you

with many descendants.

₂₆My son, the blessings I give

are better than the promise

of ancient mountains

or eternal hills.

Joseph, I pray these blessings

will come to you,

because you are the leader

of your brothers.

₂₇Benjamin, you are a fierce wolf,

destroying your enemies

morning and evening.

₂₈These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is how Jacob gave each of them their proper blessings.

Jacob's death

_29-31Jacob told his sons:

Soon I will die, and I want you to bury me in Machpelah Cave. Abraham bought this cave as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, and it is near the town of Mamre in Canaan. Abraham and Sarah are buried there, and so are Isaac and Rebekah. I buried Leah there too. ₃₂Both the cave and the land that goes with it were bought from the Hittites.

₃₃When Jacob had finished giving these instructions to his sons, he lay down on his bed and died.

Genesis 50

₁Joseph started crying, then leaned over to hug and kiss his father.

₂Joseph gave orders for Jacob's body to be embalmed, ₃and it took the usual forty days.

The Egyptians mourned seventy days for Jacob. ₄When the time of mourning was over, Joseph said to the Egyptian leaders, “If you consider me your friend, please speak to the king for me. ₅Just before my father died, he made me promise to bury him in his burial cave in Canaan. If the king will give me permission to go, I will come back here.”

₆The king answered, “Go to Canaan and keep your promise to your father.”

_7-9When Joseph left Goshen with his brothers, his relatives, and his father's relatives to bury Jacob, many of the king's highest officials and even his military chariots and cavalry went along. The Israelites left behind only their children, their cattle, and their sheep and goats.

₁₀After crossing the River Jordan and reaching Atad's threshing place, Joseph made everyone mourn and weep seven days for his father. ₁₁The Canaanites saw this and said, “The Egyptians are in great sorrow.” Then they named the place “Egypt in Sorrow”.

₁₂So Jacob's sons did just as their father had instructed. ₁₃They took him to Canaan and buried him in Machpelah Cave, the burial place Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite.

₁₄After the funeral, Joseph, his brothers, and everyone else returned to Egypt.

Joseph dies

Joseph's promise to his brothers

₁₅After Jacob died, Joseph's brothers said to each other, “What if Joseph still hates us and wants to get even with us for all the cruel things we did to him?”

₁₆So they sent this message to Joseph:

Before our father died, ₁₇he told us, “You did some cruel and terrible things to Joseph, but you must ask him to forgive you.”

Now we ask you to forgive the terrible things we did. After all, we serve the same God that your father worshipped.

When Joseph heard this, he started crying.

₁₈At once, Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to the ground in front of him and said, “We are your slaves.”

₁₉But Joseph told them, “Don't be afraid! I have no right to change what God has decided. ₂₀You tried to harm me, but God made it turn out for the best, so that he could save all these people, as he is now doing. ₂₁Don't be afraid! I will take care of you and your children.” After Joseph said this, his brothers felt much better.

Joseph's death

₂₂Joseph lived in Egypt with his brothers until he died at the age of one hundred and ten. ₂₃Joseph lived long enough to see Ephraim's children and grandchildren. He also lived to see the children of Manasseh's son Machir, and he welcomed them into his family. ₂₄Before Joseph died, he told his brothers, “I won't live much longer. But God will take care of you and lead you out of Egypt to the land he promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ₂₅Now promise me that you will take my body with you when God leads you to that land.”

₂₆So Joseph died in Egypt at the age of one hundred and ten; his body was embalmed and put in a coffin.

Genesis 48:1-50:26CEVOpen in Bible reader

Matthew 12

A sign from heaven

₃₈Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a sign from heaven.”

₃₉But Jesus replied:

You want a sign because you are evil and won't believe! But the only sign you will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah. ₄₀He was in the stomach of a big fish for three days and nights, just as the Son of Man will be deep in the earth for three days and nights. ₄₁On the day of judgment the people of Nineveh will stand there with you and condemn you. They turned to God when Jonah preached, and yet here is something far greater than Jonah. ₄₂The Queen of the South will also stand there with you and condemn you. She travelled a long way to hear Solomon's wisdom, and yet here is something much greater than Solomon.

Jesus continued:

₄₃When an evil spirit leaves a person, it travels through the desert, looking for a place to rest. But when the demon doesn't find a place, ₄₄it says, “I will go back to the home I left.” When it gets there and finds the place empty, clean, and tidy, ₄₅it goes off and finds seven other evil spirits even worse than itself. They all come and make their home there, and the person ends up in a worse state than before. That's how it will be with you evil people of today.

Jesus' mother and brothers

₄₆While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers came and stood outside because they wanted to talk with him. ₄₇Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to talk with you.”

₄₈Jesus answered, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” ₄₉Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “These are my mother and my brothers! ₅₀Anyone who obeys my Father in heaven is my brother or sister or mother.”

Matthew 12:38-50CEVOpen in Bible reader