Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Genesis
Book: Genesis
Chapter: 48
Overview:
Joseph visits his dying
Father.
(1-7) Jacob blesses
Joseph's
sons.
(8-22)
1-7 The
Death-beds of believers, with the prayers and counsels
of dying persons, are suited to make serious impressions upon
the young, the gay, and the prosperous: we shall do
Well to take
children
On such occasions, when it can be done properly. If the
Lord please, it is very desirable to
Bear our dying
Testimony to
his
Truth, to his faithfulness, and the pleasantness of his
ways. And one would wish
So to live, as to give energy and
weight to our dying exhortations. All true believers are blessed
at their
Death, but all do not depart equally full of spiritual
consolations.
Jacob adopted
Joseph's two sons. Let them not
succeed their
Father, in his power and grandeur in
Egypt; but
let them succeed in the inheritance of the promise made to
Abraham. Thus the aged dying
Patriarch teaches these young
persons to take their
Lot with the people of
God. He appoints
each of them to be the head of a
Tribe. Those are worthy of
double honour, who, through
God's
Grace, break through the
temptations of worldly wealth and preferment, to embrace
religion in disgrace and poverty.
Jacob will have
Ephraim and
Manasseh to know, that it is better to be low, and in the
Church, than high, and out of it.
8-22 The two good men own
God in their comforts.
Joseph says,
They are my sons whom
God has given me.
Jacob says,
God hath
showed me thy seed. Comforts are doubly sweet to us when we see
them coming from
God's
Hand. He not only prevents our fears, but
exceeds our hopes.
Jacob mentions the care the Divine
Providence
had taken of him all his days. A great
Deal of hardship he had
known in his time, but
God kept him from the evil of his
troubles. Now he was dying, he looked upon himself as redeemed
from all
Sin and sorrow for ever.
Christ, the
Angel of the
Covenant, redeems from all evil. Deliverances from misery and
dangers,
By the Divine power, coming through the
Ransom of the
Blood of
Christ, in
Scripture are often called
Redemption. In
blessing
Joseph's sons,
Jacob crossed hands.
Joseph was willing
to support his
First-born, and would have removed his
Father's
hands. But
Jacob acted neither
By mistake, nor from a partial
Affection to one more than the other; but from a
Spirit of
Prophecy, and
By the Divine counsel.
God, in bestowing blessings
upon his people, gives more to some than to others, more
Gifts,
graces, and comforts, and more of the good things of this
Life.
He often gives most to those that are least likely. He chooses
the weak things of the world; he raises the
Poor out of the
Dust.
Grace observes not the order of nature, nor does
God
prefer those whom we think fittest to be preferred, but as it
pleases him. How
Poor are they who have
No riches but those of
this world! How miserable is a
Death-
Bed to those who have
No
Well-grounded
Hope of good, but dreadful apprehensions of evil,
and nothing but evil for ever!