Genesis 48-50

The thing that jumped out at me most in chapter 48 was Jacob's blessings to his two grandsons, the sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh was the older, and Ephraim was the younger. But in Jacob's blessing he said that the younger brother would be greater than the older brother. This is becoming a theme - the younger sibling being blessed better than the older. First there were Isaac and Ishmael. Then Jacob and Esau came along. Then we learn about Judah and Tamar's twin boys; they struggled with each other in the womb to be born first. Now we see what happened with Joseph's sons when they were blessed by Jacob. Then in the chapter 49, we see Judah receiving the first born blessing despite being the fourth born. Everything's just really messy, and I can't help but wonder what might have happened if blessings were done according to protocol with the first born receiving the first born blessing. Obviously, things worked out how they were supposed to, but just imagine how different this world would be had blessings been given out differently.

So then we move on to chapter 49 when Jacob blesses all of his sons. I swear I read this chapter a dozen times because of verse 10.

"The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

until he to whom it belongs shall come

and the obedience of the nations shall be his." (Ge 49:10)

Hello! Am I crazy, or is that a reference to Jesus Christ?! I mentioned before that the commentary I've been using says that Jesus is a descendant of Judah, particularly his son Perez whom Judah had with Tamar. I swear if this verse isn't a reference to the coming of the Messiah then I totally give up because I have no idea what else this verse could be. And assuming I'm right, it's totally mind-blowing that there are references to Jesus all the way back in Genesis. I've still got a long time before I get to the New Testament, but it's so cool to me that Jacob already knows what's to come long before it actually happens. That's God's plan coming to together at its finest. Woah.

At the end of chapter 49, after Jacob has blessed all his sons, we learn about where he wishes to be buried, and it's back in the cave where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah are buried. This is the first time where I know for sure that Isaac was buried in the cave, and it's the very first mention of Leah, her death, and her burial. Back in chapter 35, I read that Rachel was buried on the way to Ephrath, but it didn't click in until now that she wasn't buried in the cave with everyone else. And not only that, but Leah was buried in the cave. 

We know Jacob loved Rachel way more than Leah, but it says something that Leah was buried with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah, and Rachel wasn't. That's a big deal, and I'm glad that whoever was responsible for burying Leah (whether it was Jacob or his sons) that they laid her to rest where she rightfully should be. And then we know that Jacob was also taken to the cave and buried there. So can we just take a moment to recognize that this cave is a big deal? As far as I know right now, there six incredibly prestigious Christian figures buried in this cave. If archaeologists ever find it... wow.

So then we come to the final chapter of Genesis. We learn that Jacob's processional to the cave was massive. Thousands of people probably, miles long. I mean, I'm not sure I can totally fathom just how big this processional was. After Jacob is laid to rest, we see Joseph once again reassuring his brothers that he isn't mad that they sold him off and that he ended up in Egypt. Then chapter 50 ends with Joseph's death, and we learn that he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. Read: he wasn't buried in the cave. Very telling...

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What are your thoughts on Ge 49:10? Is that really a reference to the coming of Jesus Christ, or am I crazy? What do you interpret from the blessings passed out in these final chapters?

And what do you think about the cave? It's a big deal; am I right, or am I right?!