Shepherd

 And he blessed Joseph and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
Genesis 48:15 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/gen.48.15.ESV

The greatest thing a patriarch can do for his family members is to pray God's blessings upon them. That's exactly what Jacob does for Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh. Interestingly, it's often not the firstborn who gets the lion's share of blessings.

Jacob was the younger brother of Esau, and cheated him of his blessing. Jacob's own eldest Reuben was an absolute disgrace as a young man, and was nowhere nearly as blessed as his younger brother Joseph. Even Joseph's eldest Manasseh was overshadowed by his younger brother Ephraim, who became synonymous with the northern kingdom of Israel.

The Lord Jesus Christ was begotten as the virgin Mary's firstborn, yet not created. Yet He gave up the blessedness of the heavenlies for the sorrows of this world. He was crucified as a common criminal to bear our curse; and so that we could gain His blessings.

God doesn't show favouritism. It doesn't matter if we're the first or last born of our families, or somewhere in between. If we trust in Christ, we will be blessed to know Him as our Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for us.

'Good Shepherd of our souls, please have mercy upon us, and bless us we pray. Thank You that whoever we are, we can find grace with You through faith in You. For Your honour we pray, amen'

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