GENESIS: Put Your Affairs in Order Before You Die; When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph. Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”

So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. (Gensis 47:27) 

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years. When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed. (Genesis 47:28-31) 

Hand under thing was a form of making a vow.  We first read where Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh,... So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter. (Genesis 24:2, 9) As for the burial site, it was originally purchased by Abraham in the promised land. So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place. (Genesis 23:17-20) Later, Isaac and Ishmael would bury Abraham there also. (Genesis 25:7-11)

Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. (Genesis 48:1-2) Remember, Joseph was second in command of Egypt, so after their reunion and Joseph establishing Israel in the land of Goshen, he had to get back to work to manage taking care of the needs of all the people in the land due to the famine.  Scripture does not say how often in the seventeen years that Jacob was in Egypt he and Joseph were able to spend time together, but now we come near the end of Jacob's time there.

Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘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.’ And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” (Genesis 48:3-7) 

Why did Jacob give Joseph's sons the firstborn and eldest sons birthrights of  Reuben and Simeon? We'll study this in more detail in future lessons.  But for now, remember Jacob's first wife was Leah, and she bore Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, then Issachar and Zebulun. (Genesis 29:31-35; 35:23) However, it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it. (Genesis 35:22) ...Reuben the firstborn of Israel—he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel,... (I Chronicles 5:1)

Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?” And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.” Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!” (Genesis 48:8-11) 

So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. (Genesis 48:12-14) 

And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, 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.” Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” (Genesis 48:15-18) 

How funny for Joseph to be displeased that his father was blessing his youngest son above the oldest son.  Abraham's second son Isaac received the blessing above his older brother Ishmael. (Genesis 17, 21) Isaac was tricked, but he blessed his youngest son Jacob over his oldest son Esau. (Genesis 25) And Jacob understood Joseph's dream as a young boy that one day he would rule over his older brothers, which is why God sent him to Egypt. (Genesis 37) However, Jacob new exactly what he was doing. But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh. (Genesis 48:19-20) 

Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.” (Genesis 48:21-22) Not only did Jacob give Joseph's sons the birthrights of his firstborn, but he also gave Joseph a larger portion of the land inheritance than his other brothers. How true it was when stated, Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. (Genesis 37:3) Jacob will continue giving blessings to his other sons, before he dies...