As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."I'm Joshua!" he said. "He was a famous general. And I'm here to see Ron."
Joshua 24:15
Some time later Joseph was told, "Your father is ill." So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. When Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to you," Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.
Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me and said to me, 'I am going to make you fruitful and will increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.'
"Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. As I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried here there beside the road to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem).
When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, "Who are these?"It is obvious that Joseph's two sons were in their later teens or early twenties when they stood in the presence of their grandfather on this occasion. Jacob's eyesight was failing, so even as he looked at these two young men he could not distinguish their faces and may have thought they were his son's servants. Finally he realized who they were and kissed and embraced them. His heart was deeply moved that not only was he allowed to be with his son whom he had once thought dead, but he was allowed to live long enough to see his grandchildren. Both Jacob and Joseph were greatly aware of the presence and blessings of Yahweh in their lives and the lives of the future generations, and of Yahweh's great plan for the nation of Israel, which one day would bring blessings and salvation to the nations.
"They are the sons God has given me here," Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, "Bring them to me so I may bless them."
Now Israel's eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.
Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too."
Then Joseph removed them from Israel's knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel's left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel's right hand, and brought them close to him. But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim's head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh's head, even though Manasseh was the first-born.
Then he blessed Joseph and said,
"May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd
all my life to this day,
the Angel who has delivered me from all harm
---may he bless these boys.
May they be called by my name
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,
and may they increase greatly
upon the earth."
When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim's head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. Joseph said to him, "No, my father, this one is the first-born; put your right hand on his head."
But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations." He blessed them that day and said,
"In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing:
'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.'"
So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
Then Israel said to Joseph, "I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. And to you, as one who is over your brothers, I give the ridge of land I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow."
Enoch and Noah were also said to have walked with God (see Genesis 5:22; 6:9), as have all men and women of faith before and after the patriarchs.
"And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God."
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will---to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment---to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.Our blessings: Chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, sealed by the Holy Spirit!
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession---to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:3-14).
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