"And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh."
Genesis 48:17-20
I like how God is always challenging our expectations, helping us to look at the person rather than the tradition. The whole birth-order thing is big with us... Laman and Lemuel taught their children to hold a grudge for generations over it, for instance. But that isn't how God chooses. I think that it is similar with a lot of things that are traditional in our society. We have expectations about who will succeed and who should submit. Gender, title, race, wealth, age, beauty... so many things that we use to determine who we will take seriously and who deserves the advantage. Today, let's try to see past the traditional assumptions and really see people and what they are capable of.
And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh."
Genesis 48:17-20
I like how God is always challenging our expectations, helping us to look at the person rather than the tradition. The whole birth-order thing is big with us... Laman and Lemuel taught their children to hold a grudge for generations over it, for instance. But that isn't how God chooses. I think that it is similar with a lot of things that are traditional in our society. We have expectations about who will succeed and who should submit. Gender, title, race, wealth, age, beauty... so many things that we use to determine who we will take seriously and who deserves the advantage. Today, let's try to see past the traditional assumptions and really see people and what they are capable of.
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