Genesis 48
Jacob tells of the promise of Godverses 1-4
And it came to pass after these things – that one told Joseph
BEHOLD – your father is sick
and he took with him his two sons
Manasseh and Ephraim
And one told Jacob – and said
BEHOLD – your son Joseph – comes to you
and Israel strengthened himself
and sat upon the bed
And Jacob said to Joseph
God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan
and blessed me –
and said to me
BEHOLD – I will make you fruitful and multiply you
and I will make of you a multitude of people
and will give this land to your seed after
you for an EVERLASTING possession
Jacob claims Joseph’s two sons as his ownverses 5-6
And now your two sons – Ephraim and Manasseh
who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came
to you into Egypt ARE MINE
as Reuben and Simeon – they shall be MINE
And your issue – which you beget after them – shall be THINE
and shall be called after the name of their brethren
in their inheritance
Joseph identifies his sons to his fatherverses 7-9
And as for me – when I came from Paddan
Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way
when yet there was but a little way to come to Ephrath
and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath
the same is BETHLEHEM
And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons and said
Who are these?
And Joseph said to his father
They are my sons – whom God has given me in this place
And he said
Bring them – I pray you – to me and I will bless them
Jacob is pleased to see Joseph’s sonsverses 10-11
Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age – so that he could not see
and he brought them near to him
and he kissed them – and embraced them
And Israel said to Joseph
I had not thought to see your face – and lo
God has shown me also your seed
Jacob blesses Ephraim over Manassehverses 12-16
And Joseph brought them out from between his knees
and he bowed himself with his face to the earth
And Joseph took them both
Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand
and Manasseh in his left hand toward
Israel’s right hand
and brought them near to him
And Israel stretched out his right hand
and laid it upon Ephraim’s head – who was the younger
and his left hand on Manasseh’s head
GUIDING HIS HANDS KNOWINGLY
FOR Manasseh was the first-born
And he BLESSED Joseph – and said
God before WHOM my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk
the God who fed me all my life long unto this day
the Angel who redeemed me from all evil
BLESS the lads
And let my name be named on them
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac
and let them grow into a multitude in the
midst of the earth
Joseph disturbed by father’sverses 17-20
And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the
head of Ephraim – it displeased him
and he held up his father’s hand
to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto
Manasseh’s head
And Joseph said to his father
Not so – my father – FOR this is the first-born
put your right hand on his head
And his father refused and said
I know it – my son – I know it – he also shall be great
BUT truly his younger brother shall be
greater than he and his seed shall
become a multitude of nations
And he blessed them that day saying
God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh
and he set Ephraim before Manasseh
Joseph receives an extra portionverses 21-22
And Israel said to Joseph
BEHOLD – I die
BUT God shall be with you
and bring you again unto the
land of your fathers
Moreover I have given to you one portion
above your brethren which I took
out of the hand of the Amorite
with my sword and with my bow
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me. (7200 “appeared” [ra’ah] means to see, to understand, to spy, reveal, look at, examine, inspect, to come into sight or view, to see the face of God, or become aware of.)
DEVOTION: Jacob is one hundred and forty seven years old. He is ready to die. Joseph is told that his father is dying and wants to make sure that his sons receive a blessing from their grandfather.
He brings his two sons with him to visit his father. Now Jacob tells of what the LORD has done for him in the past. God had promised to make him fruitful. We know that he had twelve sons and some daughters so he had a full amount of children by the standards of the day. We would presently think that this was too many children but that is not so even today in Amish communities.
Not only did the LORD promise that he would be fruitful but HE also promised Jacob the land that he was standing on at the time. This was the Promised Land that the children of Israel even today want to claim as their own because God promised it as an everlasting possession.
Today Israel doesn’t own all the land God promised. They did in the time of David but because of sin they lost the land. In the future they will again have all the land God promised.
We can learn from this passage that God keeps his promised but sometimes there is a time period between the promise and when they actually have the land. This is true today for us as well. We are promised heaven and that is still in our future. We are promised that we will rule and reign with Christ on this earth and that is still in the future.
Remember that God never lied to the children of Israel and HE is not lying to us today. The Bible gives us the direction HE is taking us right now.
CHALLENGE: Our future is sure if we are genuine followers of Jesus Christ. That is a promise to us!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day. (7462 “fed” [ra‘ah] means to tend a flock, pasture it, keep company with, eat up, feed, make friendship with, or shepherd.
DEVOTION: Jacob or Israel is ready to die. Joseph is told of his father’s condition. He takes his two sons to see his father. Jacob wants to bless his two sons.
He explains to Joseph that God had promised his descendants that they would inherit Canaan. He believed the LORD. He believed the LORD would give them Canaan as an everlasting possession.
The blessing that Jacob was giving to the sons of Joseph was going to be unique, in that, he was going to make these sons equal with his other sons. They were going to receive two portions of land in the land of Canaan in the future.
While Jacob was blessing Manasseh and Ephraim, he gave the greater blessing to the youngest son Ephraim. Joseph was not happy with this blessing. Jacob explained that Manasseh was going to be great but Ephraim was going to be greater. He told his son he knew what he was doing.
Jacob gave a short lesson on the providence of God. He told of how the LORD cared for him in his travels. He explained that the same God who guided his father Isaac and his father Abraham was guiding him too. He explained that God was like a shepherd to him. What does a shepherd do? The shepherd took care of the sheep. He gave them food to eat. He provided protection for them. He led them to water to drink. He took care of all the needs of the sheep. Jacob considered himself to be a sheep in the hands of the LORD. The Angel that met with Jacob was the LORD Jesus Christ in a theophany. God was considered his redeemer.
The Egyptians didn’t like to associate with shepherds. When we think about it, the world doesn’t like God’s shepherds. Remember that pastors are shepherds of the people of God in their local area. Jacob knew that God was the ONE who provided all his needs. The Bible tells us that God is the one who provides all our needs. Our responsibility is like Jacob’s. Jacob made a promise to God that if he gave him food to eat, he would follow HIM and give HIM a tenth of all he had. God kept HIS end of the vow and Jacob was testifying to this fact.
God shepherded him all of his life. God will shepherd HIS children all of their lives. HE is doing it for us. Remember Jacob’s testimony. Are we doing our part in supporting God’s servants? What does our testimony say about the LORD’S provision for us? Is HE providing our daily bread?
CHALLENGE: Do we tell people that the LORD is the one who is providing for us on a daily basis? Do we believe it? Share this testimony with someone today.
: 16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. (1350 “redeemed” [ga’al] means act as a kinsman, to bring into safety, do the part of next of kin, buy back, deliverer, or ransom.
DEVOTION: Jacob is describing what the LORD had done for him and wants the LORD to do for the children of Joseph.
God had allowed Abraham and Isaac to walk with HIM. God had fed Jacob as he was running from his brother. The LORD had keep Jacob from evil happening to him.
Now Jacob understood all that the LORD had done for him. He had met the LORD during his travels. He had wrestled with Jesus Christ before he met his brother. He wanted Joseph’s sons to realize how much the LORD had done for him and was going to do for them.
He wanted them to be blesses as he was blessed. He gave all the credit to the LORD at the time of this blessing because he knew his time was short.
This is not practiced today very much. There is a will that is left when a person dies but there is usually no bedside blessing given to the children. It is sad that this isn’t practiced today. It might help the children understand what the father has gone through in his life. It might show them that they can depend on the LORD just like their father depended on the LORD.
Jacob probably told his children all the trials the LORD had allowed in his life but also all the blessings he had received from the LORD. It would be good for each generation to understand the lessons that had to be learned by the previous generation.
We need to realize that the LORD delivers us out of all the trials HE sends our way throughout our life. We need to give HIM glory just as Jacob tried to do to his two grandsons.
How many stories of deliverance can you tell your children and grandchildren? If we train them they will tell their children and grandchildren about all the blessings of serving the LORD Jesus Christ. HE is still the deliverer today!!!
CHALLENGE: Evil is real. Deliverance is needed. Direction toward deliverance has to be taught to the next generation. Jesus is the only way!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 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. (3985 “refused” [ma’en] means to show unwillingness or disagreement towards something or some action, to be unwilling, resist, be in a state of rebellion and defiant to an authority, or refusing to obey.)
DEVOTION: In the time period that Joseph was living the firstborn always received the greater blessing over any other child. It is said that it was a double portion of the inheritance of the father.
Remember that Jacob stole the blessing of Isaac from his older brother Esau which caused a family feud. Jacob had to leave over because Esau wanted to kill him.
So here we have Jacob giving a blessing to Joseph’s two sons and he does the same thing. It was a trick like Jacob played on his father. It was God directing Jacob to put his right hand on the younger son for the greater blessing.
God had revealed to him that the younger son was going to be the greater nation. Joseph didn’t like what was happening abut Jacob told him that he was predicting the future with the help of the LORD.
God gives wisdom to those who are close to HIM. It took Jacob or Israel many years to learn that truth. It takes us many years to understand that God can give the older generation wisdom regarding what is going to happen in their children’s lives if they listen to the LORD.
Godly fathers need to bless their children in the LORD. Those of us who are fathers and grandfathers have to stay close to the LORD to give a good example to our children and grandchildren.
CHALLENGE: This type of heritage can help the next generation stay close to the LORD.
:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, “Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.” (1961 “be with” [hayah] means 1 to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out. 1a (Qal). 1a1. 1a1a to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass. 1a1b to come about, come to pass. 1a2 to come into being, become. 1a2a to arise, appear, come. 1a2b to become. 1a2b1 to become. 1a2b2 to become like. 1a2b3 to be instituted, be established. 1a3 to be. 1a3a to exist, be in existence. 1a3b to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time). 1a3c to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality). 1a3d to accompany, be with. 1b (Niphal). 1b1 to occur, come to pass, be done, be brought about. 1b2 to be done, be finished, be gone. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: Ever have someone you just cannot get enough of being around? For many of us that during our dating and courtship years. We were filled with love for that special person, as they were for us. We wanted them to be with us. In fact, we made a vow at our wedding to have and to hold from the day forward in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death do us part. The same sense of belonging is true of young children, who want early in life to be with their parents because they sense the love and protection that these parents provide for them.
It was a special promise for those in the Old Testament for those to whom it was said that God would be with them. This promise was so special that the promise to Joshua prior to entering the Promised Land in Joshua 1:5 is repeated for us in the New Testament as a description of God’s character in Hebrews 13:5. God promises that His presence will be with us no matter what we go through, both the good and the bad. This promise is carried out for us in the indwelling Holy Spirit who comes into our lives at the time of salvation.
The whole idea of being with us is summarized in the name of the LORD. The same verb which is used in the name of the LORD (Yahweh) is the verb used in this verse and describes His being with us (Exodus 3:14). His essence is that of being, since He is not one bound to time or space. He emphasizes His divine relationship to us by using metaphors such as father and son, which are also not affected by time.
There are times when we choose not to be with Him, but this is usually as a result of our sins, and wanting to hide from Him like Adam and Eve did. We need to come into His presence on a regular, recurring basis and be refreshed by His relationship with us.
CHALLENGE: Remember that when you feel far away from God, guess who has moved? (MW)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Godverses 3, 9, 11, 15, 20, 21
Almightyverse 3
God Almightyverse 3
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
Angel who redeemedverse 16
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Angelverse 16
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Luz (God appeared to Jacob)verse 3
Land of Canaanverses 3, 7
Land of Egyptverse 5
Padanverse 7
Amoriteverse 22
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Evilverse 16
Displeasedverse 17
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Presence of the LORDverses 3, 21
Blessedverses 3, 9, 15, 16, 20
Promiseverse 4
Fruitfulverse 4
Multitudeverse 4
Landverses 4, 21
Provision of the LORDverse 15
Redeemedverse 16
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Josephverse 1
Brings two sons to Jacob to bless
Displeased with blessing of sons
Jacob (Israel)verse 1
Sick
Strengthened himself
Blessed of God
Promise given by God
Land an everlasting possession
Inheritance given to all his sons
Eyes dim with age
Blesses the younger greater than older
Manassehverses 1, 13
Born in the land of Egypt
Firstborn
Ephraimverses 1, 13
Born in the land of Egypt
Receives greater blessing from Jacob
Reuben verse 5
Simeonverse 5
Rachelverse 7
Died in land of Canaan
Buried in Bethlehem
Abrahamverses 15, 16
Isaacverses 15, 16
Jacob blesses Joseph’s childrenverses 17-22
Younger greater than older
Multitude of nationsverse 19
Land of your fathersverse 21
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Everlasting possessionverse 4
Diedverse 7
Buried : Bethlehemverse 7
Dieverse 21
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QUOTES regarding passage
Moreover we are taught by these words that the true gift of Christ to us is that he guards us and rescues us from all evils. And we must therefore take heed that our faithless forgetfulness does not bury this gift, which has been shown to us more clearly than it was formerly to the saints under the law. For Christ proclaimed openly that the faithful are given into his custody and that no one of them will perish. Therefore trust in his guardianship ought to flourish better in our hearts, and we ought to celebrate it with fitting praise. And also we should be roused to seek primarily the help of our best Guardian. (Haroutunian, J., & Smith, L. P. (1958). Calvin: Commentaries (p. 148). Philadelphia: Westminster Press.)
15–16. And he blessed Joseph. In blessing his seed he blesses himself. In exalting his two sons into the rank and right of his brothers, he bestows upon them the double portion of the first-born. In the terms of the blessing Jacob first signalizes the threefold function which the Lord discharges in effecting the salvation of a sinner. The God before whom walked my fathers, is the Author of salvation, the Judge who dispenses justice and mercy, the Father, before whom the adopted and regenerate child walks. From him salvation comes, to him the saved returns, to walk before him and be perfect. The God, who fed me from my being unto this day, is the Creator and Upholder of life, the Quickener and Sanctifier, the potential Agent, who works both to will and to do in the soul. The Angel that redeemed me from all evil, is the all-sufficient Friend, who wards off evil by himself satisfying the demands of justice and resisting the devices of malice. There is a beautiful propriety of feeling in Jacob ascribing to his fathers the walking before God, while he thankfully acknowledges the grace of the Quickener and Justifier to himself. The Angel is explicitly applied to the Supreme Being in this ministerial function. The God is the emphatic description of the true, living God, as contradistinguished from all false gods. Bless the lads. The word bless is in the singular number. For Jacob’s threefold periphrasis is intended to describe the one God who wills, works, and wards. And let my name be put upon them. Let them be counted among my immediate sons, and let them be related to Abraham and Isaac, as my other sons are. This is the only thing that is special in the blessing. Let them grow into a multitude. The word grow in the original refers to the spawning or extraordinary increase of the finny tribe. The after history of Ephraim and Menasseh will be found to correspond with this special prediction. (Murphy, J. G. (1873). Notes on the Old Testament: Genesis (p. 503). Boston: Estes and Lauriate.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
IMPOSSIBLE PEOPLE by Os Guinness
The result is a stress on change at the expense of continuity, innovation at the expense of tradition, the emergent at the expense of the historic, and the relevant at the expense of the reliable and proven. Needless to say, from the vantage point of the future, all we who are alive today are the past and therefore irrelevant by definition. (p.181)
On one of my first trips to China as an adult, an old gentleman said to me with a wry smile, “You have made a bad mistake. You grew up in China where they only respected age, and now you will grow old in America where they only respect youth. You should have done it the other way around.” (p. 184)
Not even the best of governments can compensate for a broken society with broken families will produce the government it deserves, which will not be the best of governments. (p. 187)
Revenge does not resolve injustice, it recycles it and binds the generations together in iron links of resentment and hatred. (p. 188)
Hudson Taylor, the great missionary pioneer in China, was famous for stressing both Ebenezer (to this point God has helped us) and Jehovah Jireh (the Lord will see to it and provide in the future). (p. 191)
WHY DOES GOD ALLOW WAR?
From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? (James 4:1)
As I contemplate human nature and human life, what astonishes me is not that God allows and permits war, but the patience and the long-suffering of God. “He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). He suffered the evil, perverse ways of the children of Israel for centuries; and now for nearly two thousand years He has patiently borne with a world that in the main rejects and refuses His loving offer, even in the Person of His only-begotten Son. The question that needs to be asked is not, “Why does God allow war?” but rather, “Why does God not allow the world to destroy itself entirely in its iniquity and its sin?” Why does He in His restraining grace set a limit to evil and to sin, and a bound beyond which they cannot pass?
Oh, the amazing patience of God with this sinful world! How wondrous is His love! He has sent the Son of His love to our world to die for us and to save us; and because men cannot and will not see this, God permits and allows such things as war to chastise and to punish us, to teach us and to convict us of our sins, and above all to call us to repentance and acceptance of His gracious offer. The vital question for us therefore is not to ask, “Why does God allow war?” The question for us is to make sure that we are learning the lesson and repenting before God for the sin in our own hearts and in the entire human race that leads to such results. May God grant us understanding and the true spirit of repentance, for His name’s sake.
A Thought to Ponder: As I contemplate human nature and human life, what astonishes me is not that God allows and permits war, but the patience and the long-suffering of God. (From Why Does God Allow War? pp. 100-101, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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