Genesis 48-50

48:8 I have a different perspective on this verse since spending time with older people.

Gen 48:8  And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? 

Jacob had just said:

Gen 48:5  And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

So was Jacob slipping?  Or did he just want Joseph to clarify?  Because a few verses later, Jacob is quite deliberate about whose getting the blessing.

Gen 48:19  And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 

Gen 48:20  And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

I sometimes wonder if older folks aren't really 'slipping' but with all the new stuff coming at them daily they aren't able to process it all as quickly?

Think back, it used to be that folks pretty much were born, raised, lived, grew old and died in the same community.  There wasn't a lot of change.  New folks may have come into the community, obviously marriages, births, deaths, etc.  Folks may even have move onward (wagons westward, eh?).  But communities and families used to be more static.  I think that's the word I want.

There wasn't the lighting speed of action we have now days were things change daily - progress.  New and improved.  Peoples thoughts and memories, were built upon and built upon.  Additions/changes were usually slower and gradually made.

Perhaps our older generation isn't really 'not keeping up,' but rather, we're losing something with all our 'new' and 'improved.' So the next time we're tempted to become frustrated or annoyed with someone whose memory may not be ticking at 4 GB per nano second...stop and think how much are we really retaining and remembering of what really counts?  The Word of God.