Genesis 48:12-14 (NLT) Joseph moved the boys, who were at their grandfather’s knees, and he bowed with his face to the ground. Then he positioned the boys in front of Jacob. With his right hand he directed Ephraim toward Jacob’s left hand, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand. But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys’ heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger boy, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the firstborn.

Back in the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the firstborn son carried a lot of weight as far as inheritances and blessings went. It was the firstborn son who would carry the load of leading the way for everyone else. Therefore, the blessing of someone like Jacob, a grandson of the great Patriarch Abraham, was very important. Joseph, following the tradition and protocol of the importance of his firstborn son, placed his oldest son Manasseh at Jacob's right hand and Ephraim at Jacob's left hand. The right hand was considered to be the hand of blessing. But before Jacob blessed the two boys, he switched his hands, placing his right hand on Ephraim and his left hand on Manasseh. This upset Joseph (see Genesis 48:17) because that was not the way that it was supposed to be. In fact, Joseph thought that Jacob had made a mistake because he couldn't see well anymore. But Jacob confirmed that he indeed knew what he was doing so the blessing that should have gone to Manasseh went to Ephraim.

We, as human beings, love traditions and protocols. We like things to be done in the manner that we think they should be done. We place a value and an order on things and then we do everything that we can to go with that value and follow that order. But God doesn't think like we think. As a matter of fact, that was not the first time that God switched the order of things. Just look at Jacob himself, who "stole" his brother Esau's birthright and received the blessing of the firstborn from his father, Isaac. Even though Jacob tricked his father into doing it, it turned out to be the way that God had planned it all along. God chooses whom He chooses and He blesses whom He blesses, and people are usually surprised at God's choices. He is not conventional in His thinking and in His doings. He used Moses as his spokesman, even though Moses had a stutter. He used Gideon as His champion, even though Gideon was afraid and in hiding. He chose David, even though he was young and inexperienced, over his older and stronger brothers. And so on and so on.

God uses and blesses unlikely people, and I am so glad that He does. That means that he can use people like you and me. God is not looking to see how important everyone thinks you are. God is not looking at what your strengths are or how good you look to everyone around you. He is not looking at your intelligence or your popularity. He is looking at your heart and at your willingness to allow Him to lead you to wherever He wants to take you to do whatever He wants you to do. When He finds those two things, you can be sure that He will use you for His glory and that He will equip you for every good work that He has prepared for you to do. Love and follow Jesus with all of your heart and become one of the unlikely people that the Lord will use to bless many people around you.

Pastor Joey Vazquez