“And [Jacob] said, ‘Please bring [Ephraim and Manasseh] to me, and I will bless them.’”
“Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” Get 48:9;16

Journalist Jesse Watters recently asked students from Arizona State University questions that are on the basic US immigration test. How many senators are there in the US Congress? The first respondent could not remember if it was 7 or 12. Perhaps they would do better on a history question? In which year did America achieve independence? What, did you say 1984? And it was not just the year that had them befuddled, the question “from whom” unfurled some pretty awkward answers too.

In fact, very few people these days have appreciation for, much less a working knowledge of history. When “meaningful” communications are transacted with 140 characters or less, and chats disappear into oblivion after 24 hours, it is near impossible to conceive that anything that happened last week, much less last century, would have any bearing on what is going on today. But this memory amputation has consequences. Not only are we doomed to repeat our forgotten pasts, we forfeit our access to untold treasures of wisdom and experience which empower and catapult us forward into the future.

Such was not the case of the heroic patriarchs whose examples have guided and inspired for millennia. They understood that you could not know where you are going unless you know where you are from. They knew that success was measured by generations not weekends. Like the majestic oaks of Lebanon, they knew deep roots were required for these natural towers to tickle the clouds.

Jacob’s 12 Sons
Although Jacob had 12 sons, while he lay on his deathbed, scripture does not tell us that all of his sons brought their sons to have old Jacob bless them. It does not say ten came, or five, or even two. In fact, scripture only records that of all his sons, Joseph was the only one who understood the importance of connecting his own progeny with the generations who had gone before. Do you suppose Ephraim and Manasseh might have been moved to hear this ancient man quote the time 70 years before when the True and Living God personally spoke to their grandpa:
“Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.” 48:4

Their old decrepit grandpa suddenly had their attention, and commanded their respect! With eyes as big as silver dollars, history had just become strikingly relevant in an instant. “God talked personally with grandpa?” “How much land did God promise him?” “That ‘your descendants’ part (gulp!), sounds like he is talking about ME.”

Indeed, Jacob was talking about you, Ephraim, and you Manasseh. It is a good thing your father Joseph had enough sense to take valuable time off from service in Pharaoh’s court to go see him before he died. You have just hit the proverbial jackpot! In what ways, you might ask? Here are just a few of the gems that were disbursed for all to see on that day:

•  they heard of encounters with the Living God
• they heard of promises given, and covenants established
• they heard how these had been personally, successively passed down not just from grandpa, but from grandpa’s grandfather
• they heard of hardships, of battles won and enemies scattered
• they heard of miraculous provision
• they received prophesies about their own destinies
• they received the loving kiss and secure embrace from the arms which had once been locked in an all-night embrace with God Himself

When Jacob heard Joseph was coming, he immediately “strengthened himself and sat up” (v. 2). In order for cultural amnesia to stop, our Jacob’s have to get poised to impart. They have to start reaching back to their Abrahams to activate the promises that have been laid up for those of us who come after.

We are going to need our Joseph’s to come aside from all their “important jobs” and give priority to assuring that the blessings that have come to us are ushered through us to empower our own sons and daughters.

And we will need to see our Ephraims and Manassehs be willing to honor and follow these Josephs as they take us on a journey that leads us back down Memory Lane, and gets us complete and unreserved access to all the blessings, promises, covenants, and inheritances of those who have gone on before us. Yeah, may our sons and daughters “grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth” as was prophesied and destined for them by these who are in fact our fathers in the faith. Amen.