Big up the underdog

Genesis 48:14-20 ESV

And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). And he blessed Joseph and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his father, "Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head." But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations." So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, "God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh." Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

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We used to play a card game called scum in our church youth group.  The game is arranged so it is nearly impossible to get out of fictional poverty. While those at the top in places of competitive privilege had to be pretty poor players to lose their position. Real life is life that.

But God seems to regularly break with convention. This isn't the first time that God chooses the younger over the older nor will it be the last.

You'd think of all the people who'd have understood the difficulties of challenging family and social conventions Jacob (Israel) and Joseph would have understood.  Maybe that's why Joseph tries to correct what he perceives as his father's error. Remember Jacob is younger than Esau but Jacob got the birthright and blessing. Joseph was nearly the youngest and he got the coat of many colours. Further Joseph is a former slave, he's on the sex offenders list (albeit wrongly accused), and he's an ex convict. You really would not have put that on your CV to apply to be head of finance, agriculture, refugee relocation and disaster relief planning. Nor would you expect a foreigner born into a family whose livelihood of shepherding was considered an abomination in Egypt to be second in government.  The media would have had a hay day with that list and his ratings in the poles would have plummeted.

But God loves to turn the tables and break with convention. He loves to show that he's the one who sets people up and brings them down.

Maybe you feel like you're stuck at the bottom of the heap. Maybe you feel like there is no way at all that you'd ever qualify did any thing good any more.

Humble yourself under God and he will be working out a role reversal for you. He says he'll lift you up. Broken, tainted, at the back of the queue people are God's favourite people to bless. Number two or number 202 God's plan is to promote you to Jesus' side, effectively in the heavenly cabinet.

Missed the grade? Prepare for blessing!