The Scandal of God's Crossed Hands Text: Genesis 48:8-20
Introduction: The Unfairness of Grace
We live in an age that is utterly obsessed with fairness. From the playground to the boardroom, the shrill cry of "that's not fair" is the ultimate trump card. Our entire culture is built on the sandy foundation of egalitarianism, the assumption that everyone deserves the same outcome, that all distinctions based on merit, birth, or giftedness are inherently suspect. We want a world that is predictable, orderly, and runs according to the rules we have established. We want a god who respects the queue, who honors the first-come, first-served principle of our own making.
And then we come to a passage like this one. Here, at the deathbed of the patriarch Jacob, we are confronted with a God who is not fair. He is not egalitarian. He is sovereign. He is a God who consistently, throughout the entire biblical narrative, overturns the natural order of things to accomplish His purposes. He chooses Abel's offering, not Cain's. He chooses Isaac, the son of promise, not Ishmael, the son of the flesh. He chooses Jacob, the younger schemer, not Esau, the firstborn hunter. He chooses David, the ruddy shepherd boy, not his taller, more impressive older brothers. And here, He chooses Ephraim over Manasseh.
This scene is not a sentimental family gathering. It is a formal, covenantal court proceeding. The last will and testament of the patriarch is being read, and the inheritance of the Abrahamic promise is being passed down. And in the middle of this solemn ceremony, the old, blind patriarch does something shocking, something scandalous. He crosses his hands. This deliberate act is a calculated disruption of all human expectation. It is a sermon in sign language, and the text of that sermon is this: God's grace does not flow through the channels that men dig. It is a wild river that carves its own path, and blessed are those who are caught in its current.
Joseph, the man of practical affairs, the prime minister of Egypt, thinks his father is making a mistake born of senility and blindness. He tries to correct him, to put things back in their proper, predictable order. But Jacob, whose physical eyes are dim, sees with the perfect clarity of a prophet. "I know, my son, I know." This is the story of how God's sovereign election trumps human tradition, and it is a picture of the gospel itself.
The Text
Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these?” And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” Now the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. Then Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your seed as well.” Then Joseph took them from his knees and bowed with his face to the ground. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd throughout my life to this day, The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless these boys; And may my name live on in them, And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” But Joseph saw that his father set his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and it was displeasing in his sight; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.” But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become the fullness of nations.” And he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’ ” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
(Genesis 48:8-20 LSB)
A Patriarch's Protocol (vv. 8-13)
The scene opens with a tender gravity. Jacob's question, "Who are these?" is not one of ignorance, but a formal prompt. It initiates the ceremony. Joseph responds with the crucial information: "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." They are sons of the covenant, born in Egypt, but belonging to the God of Israel.
"Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them." (Genesis 48:9b)
The blessing of a patriarch was not a sentimental wish for a happy life. It was a prophetic oracle, a binding pronouncement that shaped the future. Jacob, though physically weak and blind, is operating in the full authority of his office as the head of the covenant family. The physical affection, the kissing and embracing, is real and heartfelt. Jacob marvels at God's goodness. He thought he would die without seeing Joseph, and now he is holding Joseph's sons. God's providence is always richer and more layered than our most optimistic expectations.
Joseph then prepares for the central act. He is a man of order and protocol. He understands the significance of primogeniture, the right of the firstborn. So he carefully arranges his sons. He places Manasseh, the elder, at his left hand, positioning him perfectly to receive the blessing of Jacob's right hand. He places Ephraim, the younger, at his right, to receive the blessing of Jacob's left. The right hand symbolized strength, authority, and the greater portion of the inheritance. Joseph has set the stage perfectly according to the customs of men.
The Divine Disruption (vv. 14, 17-18)
And then God, through his aged prophet, throws a wrench in the works.
"But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn." (Genesis 48:14 LSB)
This is a deliberate, conscious, and shocking act. The text emphasizes it: "crossing his hands." This is not an accident. This is not the fumbling of a blind man. This is a divine declaration. The natural order is being subverted by the supernatural choice of God. The blessing of the firstborn is being given to the second-born.
Joseph's reaction is entirely predictable. "It was displeasing in his sight." He sees this as a mistake that needs to be corrected. He is the practical man, the administrator, trying to help his failing father get it right. He physically takes his father's hand to move it. "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head." Joseph is arguing from tradition, from nature, from what is right and proper in the eyes of men. He is arguing for fairness. But he is spiritually blind to what is happening. He can see his father's hands, but he cannot see the hand of God.
The Trinitarian Blessing (vv. 15-16)
Before Jacob addresses Joseph's objection, he pronounces the blessing itself, and it is saturated with Trinitarian echoes. He invokes God in three distinct ways.
"May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd throughout my life to this day, The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless these boys..." (Genesis 48:15-16 LSB)
First, He is the covenant-keeping God of the Fathers. This is God the Father, the great architect of the covenant plan, the one who called Abraham and promised to be his God and the God of his descendants. This is the foundation of everything.
Second, He is the God who has been Jacob's shepherd. This is a deeply personal and pastoral description. This is God the Holy Spirit, who guides, protects, and provides for His people throughout the pilgrimage of their lives. Jacob's life was full of trouble, but the Shepherd was always there.
Third, He is "the angel who has redeemed me from all evil." Who is this angel? This is no created being. This is the Angel of the LORD, the one who wrestled with Jacob at Peniel, the one who is the agent of redemption. This is a Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jacob identifies God as his Redeemer.
The blessing itself is one of adoption and fruitfulness. "May my name live on in them." Jacob is formally adopting Joseph's sons, elevating them to the status of his own sons, making them heads of their own tribes. And he prays that they would "grow into a multitude," fulfilling the promise made to Abraham.
Prophetic Certainty (vv. 19-20)
Now Jacob addresses Joseph's protest. His response is firm, gentle, and absolute.
"But his father refused and said, 'I know, my son, I know...'" (Genesis 48:19 LSB)
This is the voice of prophetic authority. "I am not confused. I am not mistaken. I see with eyes you do not have, and I am doing precisely what God has instructed me to do." Jacob then prophesies the future of both sons. Manasseh will not be cursed; he will be great. But his younger brother will be greater. His descendants will become the "fullness of nations," a phrase that hints at the eventual inclusion of the Gentiles into the people of God.
This prophecy was fulfilled with precision. In the history of Israel, the tribe of Ephraim became far more powerful and prominent than Manasseh. Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim, and the northern kingdom was often referred to simply as Ephraim. The divine reversal pronounced here became historical fact.
Jacob concludes by establishing a new formula for blessing in Israel.
"By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’ " (Genesis 48:20 LSB)
The very names of these two boys will forever be a reminder of God's sovereign, surprising grace. The standard of blessing in Israel is not to be like the firstborn, but to be like the one whom God chose over the firstborn. The entire nation is to remember that their status as the people of God is not based on natural right, but on elective grace. The text concludes with a simple, powerful summary: "Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh." God's will is done.
The Gospel of the Younger Brother
This story is our story. By nature, we are not the firstborn. We have no claim on the inheritance. We are, spiritually speaking, the younger brother, born outside the covenant, children of wrath, with no right to the blessing. The first Adam was the firstborn of humanity, and he forfeited the inheritance for all of us.
But God, in His infinite mercy, crosses His hands. The gospel is the great story of divine reversal. God chooses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chooses the weak to shame the strong. He chooses the nobodies and the nothings so that no man may boast in His presence (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).
The ultimate fulfillment of this pattern is found at the cross. Jesus Christ is the true Firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15). He alone had the right to the blessing. But on the cross, a great exchange took place. God the Father laid His right hand of blessing on us, the undeserving younger brothers, and laid His left hand, the hand of the curse, upon His only begotten Son. Jesus was treated as the second-born, cast out and cursed, so that we who had no rights could be adopted, blessed, and made heirs of the promise.
Through faith in Him, we are redeemed by that same Angel who redeemed Jacob. We are guided by that same Shepherd. We are adopted by that same covenant-keeping Father. His name is placed upon us in baptism. And we are called to be fruitful, to grow into a multitude, the fullness of the nations, filling the earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.
Therefore, do not trust in your birth, your heritage, your works, or your sense of fairness. Trust in the God who crosses His hands. Trust in the scandalous, sovereign, and saving grace that puts the younger before the elder, that puts Ephraim before Manasseh, and that puts sinners like us into the family of God, for the glory of His name.