"Not So..."

I don't know why but these two words just come to my mind every now and then and I remember hearing it in my head in the voice of Pastor Judah Smith in a sermon he preached. "When God Crossed His Arms" was the title, I think.

I had a bit of time to read for myself the passage in which this appears and it is found in Genesis 48:18 and the passage tells of how Jacob blessed Joseph's sons.

Jacob was old and was about to die and Joseph brought his two sons before him. Joseph positioned Manasseh to be at Jacob's right hand and Ephraim at the left because as was the custom, the firstborn would receive the best blessings from the right hand.

There is a switch in the names being used at this part because the passage begins talking about Jacob but at the part when he is about to bless Joseph's sons, his new name, Israel, is used.

When Isreal stretched out his hands to bless them, he intentionally crossed his arms to give the first-born blessings to Ephraim, the youngest. It is at this point that Joseph says, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head."

What strikes me in this little dialogue is how Ephraim received the best blessings not by his own efforts but it was because of grace. He did not even have to try and cheat his way to get the blessing as Jacob once did but he simply received.

Even now there are a lot of things in my life that I am thankful for and when I remember these words I really agree. "Not so, Father, I do not deserve all these," but in that I am thankful that it is precisely because I did not earn the blessings that I can but simply receive it. I just put my head where His right hand is at, or more accurately I am placed at his right hand because I am in Christ and right now, Jesus Christ is seated at the Father's right hand.

It may not be so, but thank you, Father, that the best blessings are ours because of Jesus' finished work. Only believe and simply receive.