The Ephraim and Manasseh Blessing

The Blessing

By William M. Self, Sr.

 

Only healthy fish swim upstream

Ephraim and Manasseh received their Grandfather’s blessing

Because they swam against a society devoid of morals and ethics 

They maintained a high level of spiritality and character

 The Ephraim and Manasseh Blessing

Grandfather Jacob blessed Ephraim and

Manasseh and claimed them to be his own.

Why would Jacob do such a thing?

Maybe it was the high moral character

of their remarkable upbringing.

They were born and raised in Egypt, a very secular place…

A place where there was not high character.

These boys remained faithful to the morals

and ideas of their grandfather Jacob…

Which were imparted by their father Joseph.

Joseph became greatest among

the people, a very high achievement.

He also maintained a high level of spirituality

and character in a society without morals and ethics.

This was the true test for Joseph and his boys.

“How can you tell if a fish is healthy?

If it can swim upstream;

against the tide of society”

Perhaps it was this test of character that Jacob

saw that made them worthy of the blessing.

 We would love to forever protect our children

in a loving, nurturing environment.

Unfortunately, that is impossible.

Our children will have times when the beliefs and

morals we raised them with will be challenged.

The currents of their peers, society or the

environment will challenge them to go with the flow.

Grandfather Jacob said…

      

"In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing:

'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.'"

For Israel, and all God’s people, we are to

pronounce this blessing to tell our children…

 

“Be like Ephraim and Manasseh”

Have the strength to be able to withstand

the pressures of society and do the right thing.

Note: It is customary in many communities for parents to

administer this blessing to their children on Friday nights

before the kiddush. Others, including Chabad chassidim,

reserve this special children's blessing for the moments

before the onset of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year.

Many also preface this blessing with the Priestly blessing:

"The Lord spoke to Moses saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying:

 This is how you shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them:

 'May the Lord bless you and watch over you.

May the Lord cause His countenance to shine to you and favor you.

 May the Lord raise His countenance toward you and grant you peace.'

They shall bestow My Name upon the children of Israel,

 so that I will bless them."

 

 Scripture Reading

Genesis 48:1-4 NIV

48 Some time later Joseph was told, "Your father is ill." So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 2 When Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to you,"

Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

3 Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me 4 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.'

5 "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. 6 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. 7 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 her there beside the road to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem).

8 When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, "Who are these?"

9 "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."

10 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.

11 Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again,

 and now God has allowed me to see your children too."

12 Then Joseph removed them from Israel's knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13 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. 14 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 firstborn.

15 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,

16 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."

17 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. 18 Joseph said to him, "No, my father, 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 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." 20 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.