Toward the end of Jacob’s life, Joseph brought his sons, Ephraim and Manesseh, to see their ailing grandfather.
“Who are these,” Jacob (Israel) asked Joseph, referring to the two boys.
“They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place,” Joseph replied.
To which, Jacob directed, “Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.”
“And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn” (Genesis 48:13-14).
Instead of giving Manasseh the firstborn blessing, Israel (Jacob) gave it to Ephraim, the younger of the two.
This is a principle we see throughout the Bible. It is a principle that Bishop Clarence E. McClendon calls the “X-Blessing.” Jacob had to cross his hands in order to give Ephraim the firstborn blessing, thus forming an “X.”
God doesn’t always do things as we think He should. Throughout the Bible, we see God blessing the younger siblings over the older ones.
Jacob, the younger brother, received the firstborn blessing instead of Esau. Joseph was favored over his siblings. David was picked to be king over all his older brothers.
We, as humans, might not understand why God would do things out of order, but God says in Isaiah 55:8-9 (KJV), “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:27 (KJV),“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”
It is up to God to choose who He blesses. Not us. It is up to God to choose how to bless someone. Not us.
But if you will seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, which means to seek God’s ways of doing things, you will be standing in the line marked, “Blessings.” When and how you are blessed, however, is up to God.
After all, He knows what you need more than you do. He can distinguish if what you need today will still be a need five days from now, a month from now or a year from now. He can see all time and space. Something we can not see.
Let God bless you the way He wants to, in His timing, because He knows what you can handle, when you can handle it and how you will use your blessing.
Remember, though, that God blesses us to be a blessing to others, not so we can store it up for ourselves. Be a blessing to someone today!
