The Study of Genesis Post Twenty-Two
***Note – We have completed the book of Job. Now, as we continue our journey through the Bible in chronological order, this is our 22nd devotion in Genesis. Though we’re in Week 34 overall, we’ll be in Genesis for the next couple of weeks.
Focus: Genesis 48
Tip: I highly recommend journaling your responses to the questions, prompts, and reflections. Writing them out can help you process more deeply and see how God is working in your life.
This week’s devotion includes:
Chapter 48 –“More Than I Thought I’d See”
Bible Memory:
Did you memorize last week’s Bible verse?
Hiding God’s Word in our hearts is such a valuable practice. Since I’ve been memorizing Scripture, I’ve experienced so many moments where God brings a specific verse to mind just when I need it most. It’s amazing how He uses His Word to speak into our lives right where we are.
This Week’s Memory Verse — “And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.”
Genesis 48:11
Genesis Chapter 48
“More Than I Thought I’d See”
(Read Genesis Chapter 48 First)
Joseph was notified that his father, Israel (Jacob), was sick, so he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to go see him. When they arrived, someone told Jacob they were there, and he strengthened himself enough to sit up in the bed.
I love that his first thought when he sat up was on God.
The first thing he tells Joseph is how God appeared to him long ago, blessed him, and promised to make him fruitful, multiply him, and give him the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession. Even though they were in Egypt instead of Canaan, Jacob had no doubt in what God had spoken. In verse 21, he reminds Joseph that God would bring him again to the land of his fathers.
That is great faith! Jacob still believed and trusted what God told him, even when his life didn’t look like what was promised.
Let’s pause right here and journal or reflect:
Sometimes our lives can look more like Egypt than Canaan.
We may find ourselves in places we didn’t expect and time passes. It can become easy to question if what God said will really come to pass.
But look what Jacob shows us. It’s powerful! He didn’t base his faith on what he saw, he based it on what God said.
So, what about us?
• Are we allowing what we can only see to shape what we believe?
• Have we let time or disappointment weaken our confidence in what God told us?
• Are we still holding onto His promises with the same faith we had when we first received them?
• Is there something God has spoken over your life that doesn’t look like it’s come to pass yet?
• What would it look like to trust Him anyway?
Jacob does something interesting next. He tells Joseph that he wants to claim his two sons as his own so that he can leave them an inheritance just like his other sons. Then he briefly reflects on the loss of Rachel, reminding Joseph of his mother.
When Jacob notices Joseph’s sons, he brings them close, hugs them, and kisses them. And then he says something so powerful:
“I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.”
Just look at what God can do!
Jacob never thought he would see Joseph again and not only did he see him, but he saw his children too. What God restored went beyond what Jacob could have imagined.
Reading this also reminded me of this verse…“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” – Ephesians 3:20
God often goes beyond what we even thought to ask for.
Journaling & Reflection
• Has there been a time in your life where God did more than you expected?
• Are you limiting what God can do based on what you’ve seen so far?
Next, Joseph brings his sons before Jacob and bows himself. He positions them intentionally with his oldest at Jacob’s right hand and the youngest at his left, following the tradition that the greater blessing would go to the eldest.
But before Jacob blesses them, he begins with these words:
“The God which fed me all my life long unto this day… the Angel which redeemed me from all evil…”
Before he asks God to bless them, he acknowledges who God is.
He gives Him honor and reflects on God’s faithfulness. He remembers how God carried him his entire life.
That’s something for us to take note of.
God is not just someone we come to with our requests. He is more than worthy of our recognition, gratitude, and our praise.
Journaling & Reflection
• Do you take time to acknowledge who God is before asking Him for things?
• What are some ways God has “fed you all your life long unto this day”?
What Jacob does next was a bit unexpected. He crosses his hands, placing his right hand on the younger son instead of the older. Joseph tries to correct him, but Jacob makes it clear that this was intentional.
God’s ways are not always what we expect.
The younger would be greater. The blessing didn’t follow tradition, but it did followed God’s purpose.
Journaling & Reflection
• Has God ever worked in a way that didn’t make sense to you at the time?
• Are you open to God moving differently than you expected?
This part really made me think about legacy.
Both boys would become so influential that people would one day speak a blessing over others, saying, “God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh.” (Genesis 48:20 KJV)
That made me stop and ask a deeper question…what kind of legacy am I leaving behind?
Not just in what I say, but in how I live. In what I model. In what I pass down without even realizing it.
I pray that one day my children and grandchildren will see something in my life worth following that points them closer to God. I want to live the kind of life that encourages others to grow, do better, and become better.
Journaling & Reflection
• What kind of legacy are you building right now?
• If someone followed your example, where would it lead them?
Jacob’s final words to Joseph are full of faith:
“Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.”
Even at the end of his life, Jacob points back to God’s promise that He once made him.
Then he gives Joseph a double portion, an inheritance that would carry on through his sons.
Joseph had lived through years of hardship, uncertainty, and waiting. But God’s faithfulness brought him through and it overflowed into something greater than he could have imagined.
Final Reflection:
• Can you see ways God has been faithful to you, even through hard seasons?
• Where might God be working in your life right now in ways you don’t fully see yet?
Closing Thoughts:
As we close out Genesis 48, I keep coming back to that one simple but powerful line…“I had not thought to see…”
Jacob didn’t expect to see Joseph again. In his mind, that chapter was closed and the finality of that loss was accepted. The grief was something he had learned to live with.
And yet…God.
God restored what was lost, and He brought Jacob into a fuller, richer, and more meaningful life than he ever imagined possible.
He does that with us too!
There are things in our lives we think… “that will never happen.” Prayers we’ve stopped praying. Hopes we’ve tucked away and forgotten. Situations we’ve accepted as “this is just how it is now.”
But God is not limited! He can still work and write stories for our lives that we never imagined possible.
And sometimes, just like Jacob, we don’t fully see it until we’re in the middle of something we never thought we’d experience again…or maybe never thought we’d experience at all.
What I love most is that Jacob didn’t waste that moment. He used it to bless and speak life to the next generation toward God.
Don’t miss the invitation for us too.
We need to recognize God’s faithfulness and respond to it, to live in a way that reflects it, and to pass it on.
So wherever you are today…wether it be in a season of waiting, trusting, or finally seeing something come together, hold onto this truth:
God is able to do more than you think, see, or dare to hope for.
And when He does…don’t miss it.
Let it deepen your faith, shape your legacy, and remind you that His story for your life isn’t finished yet.
The Georgia Nest 