In chapter forty-eight he became sick, and Joseph brought his two sons to visit him. Jacob said to 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" (vv. 3-4). He recognized God's name as "God Almighty." He did not remember how he competed with his brother, how he gained the birthright, or how he took his brother's blessing, etc. All he remembered was his relationship with God.

He continued to say, "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. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem" (vv. 5-7). These were the things he remembered. Here we touch his person. We see his attitude toward God and his attitude before men. This shows us clearly that he was now a different person, one with feeling and tenderness.

"And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them" (vv. 8-9). When he blessed Joseph's two sons, he laid his right hand on Ephraim's head and his left hand on Manasseh's head. Although Ephraim was the younger and Manasseh was the firstborn, Israel laid his right hand on the head of the younger one and his left hand on the head of the firstborn, reversing the order. When Joseph saw this, he said, "Not so, my father." What did Israel say? He said, "I know it, my son, I know it." This shows us that Jacob knew what Isaac did not know; he was clearer than Isaac. When Isaac blessed his younger son, he was deceived into blessing him, but Israel was clear about what he was doing when he blessed Joseph's younger son. Both Isaac's and Israel's eyes were dim because of age, but Israel's inner eyes were not dim. Israel said, "I know it, my son, I know it." He knew that God wanted to set Ephraim before Manasseh, that God wanted the older one to serve the younger. Here was a man who had entered into God's thoughts. Here was a man who had fellowshipped with God to such an extent and who had known God to such an extent that he could overcome the weakness of his body. What his physical eyes could not see, his inner eyes could see. The shining of Israel had indeed reached the zenith!

After giving the blessing, he showed them that Egypt was not their home. "And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die; but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers" (v. 21). He was saying, "Although you are prospering in Egypt, Egypt is only a place where you sojourn. We have God's purpose and God's promise, and we are God's people. After I die, God will be with you to lead you back to Canaan. You must reach God's purpose."

At the end, Jacob gathered his sons together to tell them the things that would happen to them in the future. In prophesying concerning his twelve sons, he touched incidents of their past. It was not easy for him to speak this way because as he talked about their past, it reminded him of his own past. A son more or less bears the resemblance of his father. Therefore, when Jacob spoke of his sons' weaknesses, evil, and uncleanness, it was like speaking about himself. Jacob's words concerning his sons' past were actually descriptions of his own past. What he said about his sons' future was not all that positive. Nevertheless, his speaking was compassionate and full of kindness.