Gen 47:7-10 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
Whenever I read this passage, I always remember an accompanying passage from the New Testament, Hebrews 7:7 “And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.” In Hebrews, the reference is to the incident following the defeat of the five kings in Genesis 14. Abraham, returning from the battle, had been blessed by Melchizedek, Priest of Salem.
The argument from Hebrews is long and complex, but the statement in verse 7 is clear and simple. “Without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.” The one giving the blessing is superior to the one receiving the blessing. That this is a heavenly perspective is immediately evident in the case of Jacob and Pharaoh. In this passage, a Bedouin Arab of obscure origin has taken upon himself to pronounce a blessing on the Pharaoh of Egypt. He walks into the presence of the most powerful ruler of his time, places his hand on his head, and calls God’s blessing upon him. It is the same as it some backwoods country preacher walked up to the president of the United States and pronounced, “May the Lord richly bless you. May He give you wisdom and understanding, good health and riches. May He meet every need in your life, and bless those who follow after you.”
I imagine that the Pharaoh’s reaction was much the same as the president’s might be, tolerant amusement. I’m sure he smiled at Jacob, and his question, “How old are you?”, indicates that he might have attributed Abraham’s boldness to advanced age. But the Scriptures are accurate in their portrayal of the two men. Although arguably the most powerful man of his time, Pharaoh carried within himself a fatal flaw. This flaw made it certain that Jacob, the old Bedouin, was the better man. You see, Pharaoh did not know Jacob’s God. And that difference alone was enough to set Jacob in the higher position. So, like Melchizedek had blessed Abraham so many years ago, now Jacob, meeting Pharaoh for the first time, blessed the one who had shown favor to his son.
The Christian finds himself in both positions here. As a Christian, we know Jacob’s God, and from that relationship we draw a worth that allows us to bless others, just as Jacob did. And like Pharaoh, we find ourselves blessed; blessed by a Father because we have shown favor to His Son.
