Luís Alberto Alves
In Genesis 48:20, Jacob stands before Joseph's two sons, the son he had with Rachel while still working for his uncle Laban: Ephraim (God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction) and Manasseh (God has made me forget my past pain). He is near death, and God has shown him the beautiful future He had reserved for Joseph's two sons. It was in the city of Shiloh, in the region given to the tribe of Ephraim in the division of the 12 tribes of Israel, that the Ark of the Covenant remained, becoming a symbol of prosperity for Obed-Edom.
Descendants of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eleadah, Ezer, Elead, Beriah, Rephah, Resheph, Telah, Taan, Ladan, Ammihud, Elishama, Nun, who was the father of Joshua.
According to Jewish custom, Manasseh, the firstborn, should have been the first to be blessed, followed by Ephraim, who was born later. Jacob, already called Israel by God, was very old and could no longer see well. So he reversed the order and blessed Ephraim first, not Manasseh, the firstborn.
Hidden
Joseph tried to correct his father, but Jacob told him that God had commanded him to do this with both of Joseph's sons. They would be blessed. What is the mystery of the Lord in this gesture of Jacob? We should never forget what is written in Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to God, but the things that are not secret He has revealed to His servants.”
Jacob's gesture has been adopted by the Jews to this day when they greet each other and say these words: “May God do to you as He did to Ephraim and Manasseh.” The effects of these blessings accompanied the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh. Evidence of this is reflected in Joshua (a descendant of the tribe of Ephraim) as written in Joshua 1:7: “...be careful to obey all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go.”
While he followed God's commandments, Joshua, in command of the troops of the Israelite army, was victorious. However, the guilt of this people's rebellion caused Joshua to suffer defeats. But he always remained obedient to the Lord.
Farmland
The descendants of Manasseh were Machir (firstborn) father of Gilead (valiant warrior), Isolde, Abiezer, Mahlah, Zelophehad, Perez, Sheresh, Ulam, Rekem, Bedan, Helek, Asrieli, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida, Ahiam, Shechem and Aniam. A famous descendant of Manasseh was Gideon (son of Joash), who, along with 300 valiant men, defeated the Midianites who were plundering the Israelite fields, as described in Judges 6.
In this book, verse 13, there is the famous phrase: “Ah! Lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt? But now the Lord has delivered us into the hands of Midian?’”
This phrase reveals the connection with the meaning of Manasseh's name (God made me forget my past pain) and is proof that Gideon is his descendant. Israel only knew victories when it renounced its past intimacy with idolatry, lies, and communion with everything God disapproved of. To know and enjoy the victories that God will place in our hands, it is essential to leave the past behind.
Blessing
However, we should never forget the details that These are included in the Word of God. The name Ephraim means in Hebrew "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." When Joseph named his son Ephraim, he did not forget the prosperity that the Lord had placed in his hands after the various struggles he faced, especially when he set foot in Egypt.
Many Christians imagine that blessings come to them without struggle, without fighting against the forces of darkness. While the Lord wants to bless us, the devil works to prevent these blessings from becoming a reality in our lives. Generally, a Christian is blessed in a place or situation of affliction. For there is no blessing where there is no struggle. This struggle will serve to ensure that the Christian never forgets where he was rescued and freed from.
Each Christian knows his own land of affliction. Sometimes it is within his home, alongside his family, where humiliations are constant because he works to realize his dreams, which those who are not connected to the Lord do not understand. Or even at work, where... Everything is going against the tide. By persevering, the prosperity sent by the Lord will arrive. Don't lose faith.
Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor.
