Gen 48:1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Manasseh and Ephraim did not grow up with Jacob like Jacob's other grandchildren but they were not left out of the blessings Jacob gave on his deathbed. For some reason these patriarchs had power with God and their words and prayers were not in vain. Everything they uttered seemed to have meant something and their prophecies came to pass. They made lots of mistakes and they were not perfect but they had power with God because of their faithfulness. Even when they failed they always returned to God when His spirit drew them.

In contrast, those that later forsook God had no power with God unless they repented and did the first works.

Gen 48:2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
Gen 48:3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
Gen 48:4 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.
Gen 48:5 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.

Jacob claims them so that they can inherit the promises of God that Jacob never took lightly like his brother Esau did. Jacob wanted these blessings. Blessings from God mean so much more than material blessings for we see from history that Israel lost material blessings many times because of their unbelief which led to sin. It is the spiritual blessings that count for eternity and that bring real joy in the inner soul of man. Jacob was chosen to be the seed from which God was going to send His own Son into the world to save us from sin. Only God could come and be perfect without sin and qualify to become a sinless sacrifice to pay for the sins of the guilty. Jesus was that one. Jacob knew this birthright and blessing was more than just inheriting a piece of property.  The true blessings were spiritual.  The true blessing was being chosen as God's people to save the world from sin. 

Gen 48:6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
Gen 48:7 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.
Gen 48:8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?
Gen 48:9 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.
Gen 48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
Gen 48:11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed.
Gen 48:12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
Gen 48:13 And Joseph took them both, 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.
Gen 48:14 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.
Gen 48:15 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,
Gen 48:16 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.
Gen 48:17 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.
Gen 48:18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
Gen 48:19 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.

For some reason God does not do things the way man does them. The majority in those days chose the first born to inherit the property of the father and carry on his name. God sometimes chooses the second born or someone we would not choose. Jacob saw by the spirit what was to come for each one and the seed that came after them.

Gen 48:20 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.
Gen 48:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
Gen 48:22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Here is what Hebrews says about Jacob:

Heb 11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshiped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

Chapter 11 of Hebrews is the great chapter on faith. Jacob blessed these sons of Joseph by faith. He was moved by the spirit and not by sight since his eyes were dim. By faith Jacob asked to be buried back in the promised land. Later Joseph requests the same thing. They know by this time that they children of Israel will remain in Egypt for many years. These things were passed down through the generations so when the time came and they left Egypt, Joseph's bones were taken with them.

Faith is a powerful substance and it is the pathway to God. True faith produces good works but our good works by themselves do not bring us to God. We find God by faith.

Most religions teach good works to perhaps by chance enter eternal life but God sent His Son to make a different way. That way is that we exercise faith in the Son of God and when God sees our faith, He forgives all sin and gives us of His Holy Spirit so that we can have power over sin and not return to it. We become born again by His spirit. We are sanctified by His word when we read and obey His word. It is a new way and a new life.

The Old Testament points to this new way that the blood of animals symbolized but it could not free anyone from sin. It took the shed blood of God Himself coming through His Son, Jesus before mankind could be made free from sin and have eternal life. The story of Jacob, Abraham, Isaac and all through the line of Judah is to show us the promise of God and how it brought forth the Messiah that was to save the world from sin.

Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Jesus was that better way. Now we have access to a life in the spirit and we can overcome the deeds of the flesh. We are saved by faith and then filled with the spirit of God to overcome the world and inherit eternal life.

Our whole focus should be on Jesus and not on the other things we concern ourselves over. We are not saved by joining a religion, joining a church, being baptized in water, partaking of the sacraments or any other religious act that requires a mediator or priest. We are saved by simple childlike faith in Jesus to save us from sin and give us the Holy Spirit. We are not saved by the works of man. This is what being saved by faith and not works means. It doesn't mean that we are saved once and can do as we please, return to sin and then inherit eternal life. Being saved by faith and not works means that we are not saved by the works of man or anything man does in the way of baptisms and rituals. We are saved by faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. When our sins are cleansed we have no business returning to the same sin Jesus died to save us from.

We are not saved by the works of the law. The law of God condemns us. We can't keep the law in our own strength no matter how hard we try. We are saved by acknowledging we are sinners in need of salvation and we give up our own efforts and trust in Jesus to save us. He already died for breaking the law of God when He did not break any law of God. His death counts in the place of all who believe in Him, His death, burial and resurrection.

We must accept this for ourselves and not just believe we are saved because our parents are saved. It is ours by faith just as it is theirs by faith. We don't just get this by joining any religion or church. We attend a place of worship to strengthen one another in the faith and bring others to Jesus Christ by the teaching and preaching of the word but joining these groups do not save us.  Jesus alone is the way of salvation. 
 

Genesis 49