Day 106 – Genesis 48:13-16
The God Which Fed Me All My Life Long
Scripture Reading – Genesis 48:13-16
And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.
Genesis 48:13 KJV
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
Genesis 48:14 KJV
And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
Genesis 48:15 KJV
The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
Genesis 48:16 KJV
Scripture Review
Joseph arranges Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand and Ephraim at his left, but Jacob crosses his hands. Before the order is explained, Jacob blesses Joseph by speaking of the God before whom Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who fed him all his life, and the Angel who redeemed him from all evil. His words are a unified testimony to God’s lifelong care and deliverance.
Jacob has known hunger, conflict, bereavement, fear, and his own failures, yet he can say God fed him “unto this day.” That does not erase the hard portions of his pilgrimage. It identifies the faithful Shepherd who sustained him through them. The blessing asks that God’s name and the fathers’ name continue in the lads and that they grow into a multitude.
Joseph meant to position his sons according to the expected right-hand blessing, and Jacob meant to pass on a testimony of God’s preserving care.
God meant to establish the sons within Israel and show that the covenant blessing rested on His grace, care, and redeeming power rather than human arrangement.
What this asks of me
I can review my life by its wounds alone or by the Shepherd who carried me through them. Honest testimony names hardship, but it also names daily bread and deliverance. I should pass to those after me more than possessions; I should tell them which God fed me all my life long.
Consider
- When I review my life, do I notice the steady feeding of God as well as the painful events?
- What testimony of God’s care am I intentionally giving to the next generation?