THE HOLIEST Children of Abram (Abraham)...
Tablet Four
The promises given to Abraham are repeated to Isaac
And the Lord appeared unto him [Isaac], and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of Heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
(Genesis 26:2-5)
<1>God reminded Isaac that all these promises would come to his seed, not because of his merits or greatness, but because of Abraham. <2>Also, there were many small countries in Canaan at that time, "all these countries."
And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
(Genesis 26:24)
<3>Again these promises were "for...Abraham's sake," not for Isaac's sake or because of his merits.
Esau sells his birthright to Jacob
<4>Isaac married Rebekah, and she bore two sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was the elder.
And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
(Genesis 25:29-33)
<5>Esau sold his birthright to Jacob (there is no "j" in Hebrew. The name actually is "Yaghob"). The birthright is the heritage of the ownership of the promised nations (material domination) which was given to Abraham to be passed down to his seed. This birthright, which God had promised to give to Abraham's seed, would go to the first born male in the family. When Esau sold it to Jacob, then Jacob would be the father of many nations.
Jacob receives the blessing of Isaac instead of Esau
<6>All of chapter 27 of Genesis is about how Jacob, the younger son of Isaac, who already had bought Esau's birthright, also received his father's blessings. <7>Because his mother realized that Jacob deserved the blessings of his father more than Esau, an arrangement was made for Jacob to receive the blessings of his father. The blessing is given below:
...and blessed him [Jacob],...
Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
(Genesis 27:27-29)
<8>As the birthright was related to the material part or inheritance of the nations of the promises of the Lord to Abraham, the blessing of the father was related to the spiritual part, the dominance of the spirit over others, the kings to the nations, the scepter, and the messianic part of the promise.
<9>So with receiving the blessing from his father and buying the birthright from Esau, Jacob became the legitimate owner of both parts of the promises given by the Lord to Abraham.
The promises are repeated to Jacob
And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land wherein thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
(Genesis 28:13-15)
<10>The promises were repeated to Jacob, after he received both the birthright and blessings. <11>Also, the phrase, "...and thou shalt be spread abroad to the west, and to the east,..." shows that his seed would go "abroad," meaning out of the land (Canaan) God would give to his seed, and would be spread out all over the world.
Jacob's name becomes Israel, a new promise is given to him, and the old promises are repeated
And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
(Genesis 35:10-12)
<12>The name of Jacob was changed to Israel. It was actually changed before (Gen. 32:26-28) but God wanted him to be called with this name from now on. <13>Also the promise to Israel about his seed changed a little. His seed would inherit "a nation and a company of nations" in the future. That relates to his birthright of material possession.
<14>Also it should be noted that the promise of many nations to Isaac would be fulfilled through both Esau and Jacob (Israel), and their seed.
Two sons of Joseph's become
Israel's (Jacob's)
<15>Israel (Jacob) had twelve sons. The oldest from his wife Rachael was Joseph (actual name is "Yoseph"). Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Israel took them as his own sons and put his name Israel on them.
And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine: as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
(Genesis 48:3-5)
<16>So, Ephraim and Manasseh became Israel's sons from this point on, like his other sons ("as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.")
<17>Also, nothing is said here about the family of earth being blessed by them or kings coming from them (scepter), but they will possess the material part of the promises.
Israel blesses Ephraim and Manasseh, and prefers Ephraim over Manasseh
And Joseph took them both [his sons], 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.
And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
The angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
(Genesis 48:13-16)
<18>Israel (Jacob) blessed Joseph's sons but he put his right hand (which is used for the blessing of the firstborn) over the head of Ephraim, who was the younger one. By giving his name to them, they became as his sons in sharing Israel's blessings (inheritance). They became one of the Children of Israel, "and let my name be named on them."
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.
(Genesis 48:17-19)
<19>With accepting Joseph's sons as his own and blessing them, then whatever Israel gave to Joseph would go to these sons, especially to Ephraim, because he was blessed over Manasseh. He would become "a multitude of nations." Also he prophesied about the children in the future.
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 48:20)
<20>So he blessed them and prophesied that people would want to be "as Ephraim and as Manasseh." They would want to be as blessed as they were.