Genesis Ch48v1-22 - Blessed With All We Need

at verse 1 in chapter 48.

Sometime later, Joseph was told,

Your father is ill.

So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, along with him.

When Jacob was told,

Your son Joseph has come to you,

Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

Jacob said to Joseph,

God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan,

and there he blessed me and said to me,

I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers.

I will make you a community of peoples,

and I will give you this land as an everlasting possession

to your descendants after you.

Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt

before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine.

Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine,

just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.

Any children born to you after them will be yours.

In the territory they inherit,

they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers.

As I was returning from Paddan to my sorrow,

Rachel died in the land of Canaan

while we were still on the way,

a little distance from Ephraim.

So I buried her there beside the road to Ephraim,

that is Bethlehem.

When Israel saw the sons of Joseph,

he asked, Who are these?

They are the sons God has given me here,

Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said,

Bring them to me so that I can bless them.

Now Israel's eyes were failing because of his old age,

and he could hardly see.

So Joseph brought his sons close to him,

and his father kissed them and embraced them.

Israel said to Joseph,

I never expected to see your face again,

and now God has allowed me to see your children too.

Then Joseph removed them from Israel's knees

and bowed down with his face to the ground.

And Joseph took both of them,

Ephraim on his right towards Israel's left hand,

and Manasseh on his left towards Israel's right hand,

and brought them close to him.

But Israel reached out his right hand

and put it on Ephraim's head,

though he was the younger.

And crossing his arms,

he put his left hand on Manasseh's head,

even though Manasseh was the firstborn.

Then he blessed Joseph and said,

May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac

walked faithfully,

the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

the angel who has delivered me from all harm,

may he bless these boys.

May they be called by my name

and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,

and may they increase greatly on the earth.

When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand

on Ephraim's head,

he was displeased,

so he took hold of his father's hand

and moved it to Ephraim's head,

from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.

Joseph said to him,

No, my father, this one is the firstborn.

Put your right hand on his head.

But his father refused and said,

I know, my son, I know.

He too will become a people.

He too will become great.

Nevertheless, his younger brother

will be greater than he,

and his descendants will become a group of nations.

He blessed him that day and said,

In your name Israel will pronounce this blessing.

May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

Then Israel said to Joseph,

I am about to die,

but God will be with you

and take you back to the land of your fathers.

And to you I give one more ridge of land

than to your brothers,

the ridge I took from the Amorites

with my sword and my bow.

Thank you.

Thanks so much, Louise.

Well, let's keep our Bibles open.

Just one comment before we get into our text,

and that is Jacob and Israel are the same people.

Okay, so his names are changed here and there.

Jacob just means deceiver.

Israel means one who struggles with God.

His name is used,

interchanged.

I'll just use the name Jacob throughout,

so don't get confused with that.

Let's pray before we look at his word.

Speak, O Lord.

Speak to us,

because we need to hear your word to us.

We are needy.

We are desperate.

And we know that in your word is life.

So speak to us afresh today

for our blessing and for our good.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

So what do you get a kid that has it all?

It's Christmas time,

and you're wondering what to buy your nephew or your niece.

A voucher is no good,

because, well, they've got more money than cents already.

And it seems that with every item you pick up,

you're saying to yourself,

well, they've already got one of those.

But you get a kid who has it all.

Well, look at verse 1 of chapter 48.

Sometime later, Joseph was told,

your father Jacob is ill.

So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim,

along with him.

Jacob is now nearing his end.

He's about to die.

And that means blessing time.

So Joseph brings his two boys along to see grandpa for the last time.

But what does an old man give to a couple of kids like Manasseh and Ephraim?

Their father Joseph is ruler of all of Egypt,

the most powerful nation at the time.

They have everything already.

Power, status, position, wealth.

These kids are heirs to a fortune.

What do you give to a child that already has everything?

What about you?

What about me?

Maybe you feel that you've got everything that you need already,

that in your life, well, you're just content with what you have.

Well, it seems that when it comes to God's perspective,

children and adults, all of humanity,

have nothing to lose,

and we have everything to gain.

You see, God gives

what we don't have

and what we all desperately need.

God gives what we don't have

and what we all desperately need.

So, we're going to look and see in the text this morning

four spiritual blessings

that God offers to us today.

Four spiritual blessings that he offers to us.

First, adopted into God's family.

So, Joseph, in the text,

and his two boys go to see Pops.

And it seems he's in one of his storytelling modes.

Look at verse 3.

Do you remember, Joseph?

God Almighty appeared to me at Luz

in the land of Canaan,

and there he blessed me.

Verse 7.

Did I ever tell you,

as I was returning from Paddan to my sorrow,

Rachel, your mum,

died in the land of Canaan

while we were still on the way?

Well, this is no doting grandfather

who's lost his marbles

and loves telling old stories.

Jacob represents God's chosen family.

And as father of God's family,

he has the authority to bless.

You see, behind Jacob stands God.

And God is working through Jacob

to give what these two boys

don't have.

So, look at verse 5.

Jacob says to Joseph,

Now then,

your two sons,

born to you in Egypt,

before I came to you here,

will be reckoned

as mine.

Now, Manasseh and Ephraim

are not Jacob's sons.

They are not under God's covenant blessing.

They're Egyptians.

Their father was raised by Egyptians.

Their mother was an Egyptian.

All their life is Egypt.

They're not part of God's family.

But yet Jacob speaks to them

and says,

I will count them as mine.

Jacob is adopting

these two boys

into

the blessing of God's family.

And if we're in any doubt about it,

look what the rest of verse 5 says.

Ephraim and Manasseh

will be mine.

Just as Reuben

and Simeon are mine.

Now, Reuben and Simeon

were Jacob's first two children.

So, he's saying to Joseph,

your two boys

are going to be treated

just like

my two boys.

They'll be welcomed

and treasured

and accepted

as my very own sons.

They're going to come under

the covenant blessings of God.

You see,

the father

has the right

to welcome

who he determines

into his family.

Now, for these two sons,

these two boys,

being part of the Egyptian elite

was no small thing.

But nothing compares

to being adopted

into God's family.

To be called

sons and daughters

of the creator God.

The God who owns all things

and rules all things.

You see,

the Bible is very clear

in its message

that each one of us

are all born

outside of God's family.

Our rebellion,

our sin,

our pushing away

of the creator God

disqualifies us,

separates us,

keeps us out.

But yet,

God,

in his kindness

and in his mercy,

brings us in.

He adopts us.

He embraces us.

You see,

that's the kind of God

that we have.

God gives what we don't have

and what we all

desperately need.

So that's the first blessing.

We can be adopted

into God's family.

Here's the second.

Blessed through God's promise.

Blessed through God's promise.

As sons of Jacob

having been brought in

to God's family,

that means they now

receive the same family

blessings.

And one of those

promised blessings

was a place

for God's family

to live.

Did you notice

what Jacob kept remembering

in his story time?

Verse 3.

God Almighty

appeared to me

at Luz

in the land of Canaan

and then he blessed me.

And in verse 7

he's talking about

his wife Rachel

who had died

where?

In the land of Canaan.

You see,

it seems as if

he's got Canaan

on his mind.

It's in his focus.

Because the land of Canaan

was the land

that God had promised

to God's family.

It was going to be

a land of blessing.

And the land

was important to Jacob

and as he gets older

in his age

and as he's dying

all he can think of

is Canaan.

But the problem is

Jacob and his family

are now down in Egypt

in a foreign land.

So where's the blessing?

Well,

Jacob is holding on

to the promise.

Look at the end

of verse 4.

God said to Jacob

end of verse 4

I will give this land

as an everlasting

possession.

Now there's something

about that word

everlasting

that should grab

our attention.

The land,

the place

for God's family

would be permanent,

eternal.

It wasn't just

going to be

for the here and now.

He says it will be

an everlasting

possession.

You see,

Jacob's vision

was beyond

anything temporal

on this earth.

His focus

was on the promise

of something

better and greater

to come.

He was looking

forward to

an eternal

possession.

An inheritance

that lasts

forever.

God's

eternal kingdom.

And that's

what he wants

for these

two boys.

Jump ahead

to the end

of verse 16.

See the second

half of verse 16.

He says,

May he bless

these boys.

May they be

called by my name

in the names

of my fathers

Abraham and Isaac.

May they be

adopted and welcomed

into my family.

And may they

increase greatly

on the earth

or literally

in the land.

He wants

them to share

in the

inheritance.

You see,

the kingdom

of Egypt

would be a

great inheritance

for these

two boys.

Their father

Joseph is the

ruler.

He's in charge.

They are set up

to inherit

something great.

The prospect

of wealth

and power

is enticing.

But you know

what?

It's also

temporary.

When we die,

we take

nothing with

us.

It all

stays behind.

But when

we're adopted

into God's

family,

we become

heirs of

a heavenly

kingdom,

a land full

of blessing

and everlasting

possession.

It's the

heavenly kingdom,

the new

creation.

You see,

that's the

kind of

God that

we have.

God gives

what we

don't have

and what

we all

desperately

need.

So we

are blessed

with an

eternal

inheritance.

Third

blessing,

sustained

by God's

faithfulness.

So these

two boys,

as they're

brought into

Jacob,

have been

adopted

into God's

family.

They've

been given

an eternal

inheritance.

But they're

young,

aren't they?

They're going

to need

God's

continued

care and

keeping

as they

continue

through life.

So having

embraced the

two boys,

Jacob now

steps forward

to bless

them.

Look at

verse 13

with me.

And

Joseph took

both of

them,

Ephraim

on his

right,

towards

Israel's

left hand,

and Manasseh

on his

left,

toward

Israel's

right hand,

and brought

them close

to him.

Now you

might be a

little bit

confused about

all these

hands,

left and

right,

what's

going on.

Well we're

going to

come back

to that

in a

minute,

hold on

to that.

But for

now I

want us

to look

at the

blessing

that

Jacob

gives.

Let's

pick it

up in

verse 15.

May the

God before

whom my

fathers Abraham

and Isaac

walked

faithfully,

the God

who has

been my

shepherd all

my life

to this

day,

the angel

who has

delivered me

from all

harm,

may he

bless these

boys.

Jacob is

scanning back

over his

life and

he's seeing

that God

has been

faithful to

him every

step of

the way.

He describes

it like

this,

first he

says,

do you

see it

there in

verse 15?

God who

has been

my shepherd

all my

life,

right up

to this

day.

Jacob,

as we

know through

our studies,

had been a

cheater and

a liar.

He had

deceived his

family,

he was an

unfaithful

husband,

he was a

hopeless father,

he was an

absolute mess.

Yet in it

all,

verse 15,

God was a

shepherd to

him.

God was

with him,

God watched

over him,

God provided

for him,

God persevered

with this

messy,

broken,

sinful man.

man.

And then

he says,

verse 16,

the angel,

that is a

reference to

the angel of

the Lord,

the one who

represented God

as he met

with God.

So he talks

about the

angel who

has delivered

me from all

harm.

Well,

Jacob in his

early life was

running from

his brother who

was chasing

after him to

kill him.

he was going

to be killed

by his own

brother.

Well,

that's what

happens when

you go stealing

your brother's

inheritance.

That was the

kind of person

Jacob was.

And then later

in life,

he and his

family were on

the brink of

starvation because

of a famine.

And he was

too stubborn to

get up and

move to

Egypt to go

and get food.

They were all

going to die.

But yet he

was delivered

from all

harm.

God delivered

him time

and time

again.

Now when we

look back on

Jacob's life,

it's a wonder

that he even

managed to

make it so

far.

He was a

deceiver and

a struggler.

But yet God

stood by

him.

God never

gave up

on him.

In spite of

Jacob's sin,

God remained

faithful.

the only

reason why

Jacob was

where he

was,

was because

of the

faithfulness

of God

who sustained

him.

So Jacob

with all

of this

in his

mind,

he now

turns to

these two

boys and

he says,

may this

God,

the God

who has

been my

shepherd,

the God

who has

been my

deliverer,

may he

bless these

boys.

You see,

if these

two boys

are going to

make it,

if they're

going to

get through,

they're going

to need a

faithful God

like this.

Now isn't

this the

kind of

God that

we need?

The God

who will

shepherd us

and who

will deliver

us,

who sticks

with us

and keeps

with us

year in,

year out,

despite our

mess and

our brokenness

and our

sin.

This is

the kind

of God

we have.

He gives

what we

don't have

and what

we all

desperately

need.

So,

on to

our fourth

blessing.

Humbled

by God's

grace.

So they've

been adopted,

they've been

blessed,

blessed,

they are

being

sustained,

but now

humbled.

Let's go

back to

verse 13,

that funny

hands

business.

Joseph

presents his

sons to

his father

and Joseph

does what

is tradition

and practice.

Verse 13,

Joseph took

both of

them,

Ephraim

on his

right towards

Israel's

left hand,

and Manasseh

on his

left hand

toward Israel's

right hand

and brought

them close

to him.

You see,

the right

hand was

a symbol

of authority.

So Manasseh

is presented

to Jacob's

right hand.

Manasseh is

the firstborn

and the

firstborn son

always,

always

gets the

primary

blessing.

blessing.

Verse 14,

but Israel

reached out

his right

hand and

put it on

Ephraim's

head,

though he

was the

younger,

and crossing

his arms,

he put his

left hand on

Manasseh's

head,

even though

Manasseh was

the firstborn.

Verse 17,

when Joseph

saw his

father

placing his

right hand

on Ephraim's

head,

he was

displeased.

He was

furious.

So he

grabbed hold

of his

father's

hand to

move it

from

Ephraim's

head to

Manasseh's

head.

Joseph said

to him,

no,

my father,

this one

is the

firstborn.

Put your

right hand

on his

head.

It would

have been

outrageous,

a scandal.

Now,

if you're

finding it

hard to

kind of

get to

grips with

this,

imagine

with me

for a

moment

that King

Charles

of the

monarchy

across the

water

can no

longer

carry on

being

king.

So in

a ceremony

he's

arranged to

pass the

crown

to his

son.

So there's

King

Charles

standing

before his

two sons,

William and

Harry.

Well,

everyone knows,

the world

knows,

that,

well,

William,

the firstborn,

gets the

crown.

He's the

good boy,

isn't he?

Does what

everybody wants

him to do.

He's been

preparing this

for his

whole life.

And then

comes the

crowning.

But just

as the

crown is

going to

be placed

on William's

head,

at the

last moment

Charles

stutters,

turns and

plonks it

on the

disgraced

Harry.

Could you

imagine the

scandal?

What would

be in the

papers the

next day?

What's

going on

here?

It's

William,

not Harry.

Manasseh

should get

the

blessing.

Not

Ephraim.

Everything

is turned

upside down

and on

its head.

But this

is no

mistake.

It's

intentional,

verse 19.

But Jacob

refused and

said,

I know,

my son,

I know.

I understand

protocol and

tradition and

practice.

I know all

that.

he too

will become

a people

and he

too will

become

great.

Nevertheless,

his younger

brother will

be greater

than he.

Why?

Why?

Why mess

with tradition?

Well, it's

what God has

been teaching

us all the

way through

Genesis.

God is a

God of

grace.

He blesses

the least

and the

last.

This has

been God's

pattern all

the way

along.

Israel,

or Isaac

rather,

was chosen

over his

firstborn

Ishmael.

Do you

remember?

Jacob was

chosen over

the firstborn

Esau.

And Ephraim

is chosen over

the firstborn

Manasseh.

There's a

pattern we

should pick

up.

You see,

God's grace

doesn't come

because of

status and

position.

We don't

receive grace

because we

earn it or

deserve it.

It doesn't

matter your

religious

privilege or

your social

standing.

God gives

his grace

to who he

determines,

to the

humble,

to those

who don't

qualify,

to those

who have

nothing and

need everything

from what

God gives.

you see,

if we are

to experience

the favour

and the

grace of

God,

we must

learn

humility.

Look at

this scene

again with

me of the

two boys

and Jacob

being blessed.

On the

one side,

we have

these two

boys.

They're young.

They're the

elite of

Egypt.

They have

it all,

possession,

wealth,

and power.

In the

eyes of

the world,

these two

boys are

already

blessed.

They have

everything.

And then

on the

other side,

picture it,

an old

blind

man on

his deathbed.

In the

eyes of

the Egyptians,

he's

detestable.

Why do

we say

that?

Do you

remember what

his job

was?

He was a

shepherd.

shepherd.

And you

know what

Egyptians

thought of

shepherds?

Well,

chapter 43,

verse 32

tells us

they wouldn't

even eat

with them

because they

were detestable.

Chapter 46,

verse 34

tells us

that Jacob

and his

family had

to move

to a far

part of

Egypt,

far away,

because all

shepherds are

detestable to

the Egyptians.

Christians.

Now,

what can

an old,

detestable,

despised

man give

to these

two elite

boys?

Well,

he gives

them what

they don't

have and

what they

desperately

need.

You see,

isn't this

the way God

works with

us too?

If we're

to experience

being adopted

into God's

family,

blessed by

his promises,

sustained by

his faithfulness,

we need

to be

humble.

You see,

before us

stands the

Lord Jesus

Christ,

despised

and rejected

by mankind,

held in

low esteem,

a nothing,

a nobody.

There he

is on a

cross,

beaten,

mocked,

flogged,

crucified,

cursed.

What can

a detestable,

dying man

possibly give

to people

like us?

Well,

he gives

what we

don't have

and what we

all desperately

need,

God's

grace.

You see,

the one who

is nothing

in the eyes

of the world,

the one who

is despised

and rejected,

humbles

himself for

us,

and dies

for us so

that we

might receive

from him.

He goes to

the cross

to take my

sin and your

sin.

He takes the

curse so that

we can have

the blessings.

things.

It takes

humility

to come and

bow before

a God

like this,

to admit

that you

actually have

nothing

and that you

desperately

need

Jesus.

God's

grace flows

not uphill

but downhill

to the least

and the last.

It embraces

the weak

and the

broken

and the

crushed.

It flows

to the

harries of

this world,

the rebellious

and the

rejected.

It comes

to people

like you

and I.

In

humility

and by

grace

we receive

what we

don't have

and what

we all

desperately

need.

Let's

pray

together.

As we

pray

the words

that we

started with

this morning,

these are

the ones

I look

on with

favour,

those who

are humble

and contrite

in spirit

and who

tremble at

my word.

Father,

give us

a humble

heart.

Help us

to see

that we

are empty,

that we

have nothing

and that

we desperately

need the

Lord Jesus,

his grace,

his kindness,

his welcome,

his inheritance,

and his

sustaining

faithfulness.

Humble us

before you,

we pray.

In Jesus'

name,

Amen.

Well,

we're going to

sing together.

When I was

lost,

you came

and rescued

me,

just as

God was

ashamed

of me.