Genesis 48:10-20 “Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. (11) And Israel said to Joseph, "I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!" (12) So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. (13) And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. (14) Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. (15) And he blessed Joseph, and said: "God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day, (16) The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." (17) Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. (18) And Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head." (19) But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." (20) So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will bless, saying, 'May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!' “And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.”
In this section we will see that the gifts of the Spirit referred to as the speaking gifts and the revelation gifts, can and should also be manifested through the laying on of hands. For clarification purposes, the speaking gifts are prophecy, diverse kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues, while the revelation gifts are the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom and the discerning of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:7-10). We have already seen in the section dealing with the unsaved, that God uses these gifts to minister to them through the laying on of hands. That same truth however is also applicable to the saints, for God also uses these gifts to minister to His saints through the laying on of hands. Under the Old Covenant the same gifts of the Spirit were manifested as are manifested under the New Covenant, except, as we have already mentioned, tongues and the interpretation of tongues. In the first example that we will look at we can see both the gift of prophecy and the gift of the word of knowledge being made manifest through the laying on of hands. In the above quoted passage of scripture we have an account of Israel prophesying over two of his grandsons, i.e. Ephraim and Manasseh. Israel prophesied over them through the laying on of hands. The gift of the word of knowledge was also manifested through his prophecy however, because he prophesied that Ephraim would be greater than Manasseh, which came to pass centuries later just as God intended. As an aside it is interesting to note in this account that with regards to the blessing aspect of the laying on of hands, that God places more emphasis on placing the right hand on the individual. Nevertheless with regards to prophetic words spoken over an individual this is not the case, for Israel prophesied over both boys accurately through the laying on of both his right and left hands.
Michael E.B. Maher
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