Like Manasseh

May God make you like Manasseh,

Like the firstborn son of Joseph

Whose name means “I forgot my troubles.”

Thirty years of trauma and trouble

Was eclipsed when the prophetic Hebrew

Was promoted in Pharaoh’s court

And Joseph was wed

And had a son!

God can bring a blessing so great today

That all you missed yesterday

Is forgotten.

Like a mother, with infant in her arms,

Forgets the travail of labor,

I bless you to forget the trauma,

To be healed of the wounds,

To be set free from the regrets,

To be disconnected from the disappointments

In the light of the grace of God today.

I bless you to be a “Manasseh”—

One who lives here, now, from this day forward!

* * *

Today’s blessing is inspired the mysterious scene of Jacob blessing his grandsons with crossed arms:

Genesis 48:20 (ESV) — 20 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.

As I explain fully in my new book, The Power to Bless (Baker Books, releasing Feb 2, 2021), for 3700 years, Jewish fathers have blessed their children to be “as Ephraim and Manasseh” and no rabbi seems to know why. But, in Christ, it makes sense! In Him, we are so forgiven and so redeemed that we can live like Manasseh, completely free of the past. Pre-order the book today from Amazon and get an audiobook FREE!