Sunday Rewind - Genesis 48
Genesis 48
The Blessings in Blessing: Joseph's Double Portion, and Yours!
There's something profoundly beautiful about visiting someone who is sick or struggling. You arrive thinking you're the one bringing comfort, only to discover that you're the one who leaves transformed. This divine paradox appears throughout Scripture, and nowhere is it more evident than in the story of Jacob's final days in Genesis 48.
When Jacob Heard, Israel Was Strengthened
Picture the scene: Jacob, approximately 147 years old, lies on what will become his deathbed. Word reaches Joseph that his father is ill, and he immediately gathers his two sons—Manasseh and Ephraim—and rushes to be with him. The text tells us something remarkable: when Jacob heard they were coming, "Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed."
Notice the shift in names. Jacob hears the news, but Israel is strengthened. This isn't just literary flourish—it's a spiritual reality. Jacob was the name of the schemer, the one who manipulated and deceived. Israel was the name God gave him after he wrestled with the Divine and was broken, meaning "governed by God." When we're at our weakest, when someone shows up to minister to us, we're reminded that we're not alone—we're governed by a God who sees and cares.
This is what a visit does. It lifts the weary. It reminds the sick that they haven't been forgotten. As Jesus said in Matthew 25, when we visit the sick, we're visiting Him. But here's the beautiful twist: when we show up as Jesus to someone else, Jesus shows up to us.
The Economy of God's Blessings
Joseph and his sons came to bless Jacob, but they ended up being the ones blessed. This is how God's economy works—you simply cannot out-give Him. The measure you use will be measured back to you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.
When you pray for someone struggling emotionally, you find your own emotions lifted into heavenly places. When you explain spiritual truths to others, you suddenly see those truths in ways you never noticed before. When you give, you receive—not because you're manipulating God, but because that's simply how His kingdom operates.
Jacob adopted Joseph's two sons as his own, giving them equal status with his other sons. This meant Joseph's family would receive a double portion—the blessing of the firstborn. Instead of Joseph alone representing one tribe of Israel, his two sons would each head their own tribe. What began as a visit to comfort a dying father became an inheritance that would shape the nation of Israel for generations.
The God Who Shepherded Me
In blessing Joseph's sons, Jacob reflected on his entire life journey: "God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil..."
That phrase "the God who has fed me" is actually much richer in Hebrew. The original language uses Jehovah Ra—"the Lord who shepherded me." This isn't just about receiving daily bread. This is about a God who prepared green pastures, who led beside still waters, who anointed with oil, who guided and protected through every season.
Jacob's life hadn't been easy. He'd been deceived by his uncle Laban. He'd lost his beloved wife Rachel. For twenty-two agonizing years, he believed his son Joseph had been killed by wild animals. Yet through it all, God was shepherding him.
Here's a profound truth: during those twenty-two years, God never told Jacob that Joseph was alive. He could have given him a dream, a vision, a word of knowledge. But He didn't. Sometimes God doesn't tell us what He's doing or why. There's just this place of faith where we must trust Him.
When God Breaks the Cultural Mold
As Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, he did something unexpected—he crossed his hands, placing his right hand (the hand of greater blessing) on Ephraim, the younger son, instead of Manasseh, the firstborn. Joseph tried to correct what he thought was his father's mistake, but Jacob insisted: "I know, my son, I know... truly his younger brother shall be greater than he."
This pattern appears throughout Scripture. Abel over Cain. Isaac over Ishmael. Jacob over Esau. Moses over Aaron. David, the youngest of his brothers, chosen as king. God consistently breaks the cultural expectation that the eldest or most qualified will be the greatest.
Why? So we never get caught up in the flow of cultural expectations and lose sight of God's flow. God uses the weak to confound the wise. He chooses shepherd boys to defeat giants. He selects fishermen and tax collectors as apostles. He picks a man wearing camel hair and eating locusts to prepare the way for the Messiah.
This should encourage every believer. Don't exempt yourself from being used by God because the world says you don't fit the mold. The ones who fit the world's mold are often just that—molded by the world. God is looking for those who will be molded by Him.
Perfect Peace at Life's End
As Jacob approached death, he was at perfect peace. He knew whose hands held him. He knew God's promises were yes and amen. He had no monument built in Egypt, no memorial to his earthly achievements. Instead, he insisted on being buried in the Promised Land with Abraham, Isaac, and Sarah—identifying himself not with earthly glory, but with the promise of God.
This is spiritual maturity: constantly aware of God's presence in every moment, daily recognizing His goodness and blessings, and rejoicing in His promises regardless of circumstances. Jacob got there not because he was perfect, but because he never walked away. Despite drifting off course at times, despite poor decisions, he continued abiding.
As long as we continue with the Lord, the Lord can continue His work in us. Should we leave and walk a different road, there's nothing for Him to work with. But if we abide—remaining connected like a branch to the vine—we will bear much fruit.
Don't Quit on God's Story
Imagine if Jacob had quit twenty-two years earlier when his family was divided and he thought Joseph was dead. Imagine if Joseph had quit during slavery or false imprisonment, throwing himself into sin because he concluded God had abandoned him.
But they didn't quit. And because they didn't quit, we're reading a story of glory—God's story, not just their story. Our lives should be God's story too. Too often we want to write our own narrative, deciding how life should go and how it should end. But a God-story says: "This is what God did in my life. I yielded to Him and trusted Him. My whole life was for one thing—that God might be glorified."
Don't quit. The God who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. Keep abiding. Keep trusting. Keep blessing others, knowing that in doing so, you position yourself to receive blessings beyond measure.
The same God who shepherded Jacob, who redeemed him from all evil, who was faithful through decades of hardship—that same God is your Shepherd today.
The Blessings in Blessing: Joseph's Double Portion, and Yours!
There's something profoundly beautiful about visiting someone who is sick or struggling. You arrive thinking you're the one bringing comfort, only to discover that you're the one who leaves transformed. This divine paradox appears throughout Scripture, and nowhere is it more evident than in the story of Jacob's final days in Genesis 48.
When Jacob Heard, Israel Was Strengthened
Picture the scene: Jacob, approximately 147 years old, lies on what will become his deathbed. Word reaches Joseph that his father is ill, and he immediately gathers his two sons—Manasseh and Ephraim—and rushes to be with him. The text tells us something remarkable: when Jacob heard they were coming, "Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed."
Notice the shift in names. Jacob hears the news, but Israel is strengthened. This isn't just literary flourish—it's a spiritual reality. Jacob was the name of the schemer, the one who manipulated and deceived. Israel was the name God gave him after he wrestled with the Divine and was broken, meaning "governed by God." When we're at our weakest, when someone shows up to minister to us, we're reminded that we're not alone—we're governed by a God who sees and cares.
This is what a visit does. It lifts the weary. It reminds the sick that they haven't been forgotten. As Jesus said in Matthew 25, when we visit the sick, we're visiting Him. But here's the beautiful twist: when we show up as Jesus to someone else, Jesus shows up to us.
The Economy of God's Blessings
Joseph and his sons came to bless Jacob, but they ended up being the ones blessed. This is how God's economy works—you simply cannot out-give Him. The measure you use will be measured back to you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.
When you pray for someone struggling emotionally, you find your own emotions lifted into heavenly places. When you explain spiritual truths to others, you suddenly see those truths in ways you never noticed before. When you give, you receive—not because you're manipulating God, but because that's simply how His kingdom operates.
Jacob adopted Joseph's two sons as his own, giving them equal status with his other sons. This meant Joseph's family would receive a double portion—the blessing of the firstborn. Instead of Joseph alone representing one tribe of Israel, his two sons would each head their own tribe. What began as a visit to comfort a dying father became an inheritance that would shape the nation of Israel for generations.
The God Who Shepherded Me
In blessing Joseph's sons, Jacob reflected on his entire life journey: "God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil..."
That phrase "the God who has fed me" is actually much richer in Hebrew. The original language uses Jehovah Ra—"the Lord who shepherded me." This isn't just about receiving daily bread. This is about a God who prepared green pastures, who led beside still waters, who anointed with oil, who guided and protected through every season.
Jacob's life hadn't been easy. He'd been deceived by his uncle Laban. He'd lost his beloved wife Rachel. For twenty-two agonizing years, he believed his son Joseph had been killed by wild animals. Yet through it all, God was shepherding him.
Here's a profound truth: during those twenty-two years, God never told Jacob that Joseph was alive. He could have given him a dream, a vision, a word of knowledge. But He didn't. Sometimes God doesn't tell us what He's doing or why. There's just this place of faith where we must trust Him.
When God Breaks the Cultural Mold
As Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, he did something unexpected—he crossed his hands, placing his right hand (the hand of greater blessing) on Ephraim, the younger son, instead of Manasseh, the firstborn. Joseph tried to correct what he thought was his father's mistake, but Jacob insisted: "I know, my son, I know... truly his younger brother shall be greater than he."
This pattern appears throughout Scripture. Abel over Cain. Isaac over Ishmael. Jacob over Esau. Moses over Aaron. David, the youngest of his brothers, chosen as king. God consistently breaks the cultural expectation that the eldest or most qualified will be the greatest.
Why? So we never get caught up in the flow of cultural expectations and lose sight of God's flow. God uses the weak to confound the wise. He chooses shepherd boys to defeat giants. He selects fishermen and tax collectors as apostles. He picks a man wearing camel hair and eating locusts to prepare the way for the Messiah.
This should encourage every believer. Don't exempt yourself from being used by God because the world says you don't fit the mold. The ones who fit the world's mold are often just that—molded by the world. God is looking for those who will be molded by Him.
Perfect Peace at Life's End
As Jacob approached death, he was at perfect peace. He knew whose hands held him. He knew God's promises were yes and amen. He had no monument built in Egypt, no memorial to his earthly achievements. Instead, he insisted on being buried in the Promised Land with Abraham, Isaac, and Sarah—identifying himself not with earthly glory, but with the promise of God.
This is spiritual maturity: constantly aware of God's presence in every moment, daily recognizing His goodness and blessings, and rejoicing in His promises regardless of circumstances. Jacob got there not because he was perfect, but because he never walked away. Despite drifting off course at times, despite poor decisions, he continued abiding.
As long as we continue with the Lord, the Lord can continue His work in us. Should we leave and walk a different road, there's nothing for Him to work with. But if we abide—remaining connected like a branch to the vine—we will bear much fruit.
Don't Quit on God's Story
Imagine if Jacob had quit twenty-two years earlier when his family was divided and he thought Joseph was dead. Imagine if Joseph had quit during slavery or false imprisonment, throwing himself into sin because he concluded God had abandoned him.
But they didn't quit. And because they didn't quit, we're reading a story of glory—God's story, not just their story. Our lives should be God's story too. Too often we want to write our own narrative, deciding how life should go and how it should end. But a God-story says: "This is what God did in my life. I yielded to Him and trusted Him. My whole life was for one thing—that God might be glorified."
Don't quit. The God who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. Keep abiding. Keep trusting. Keep blessing others, knowing that in doing so, you position yourself to receive blessings beyond measure.
The same God who shepherded Jacob, who redeemed him from all evil, who was faithful through decades of hardship—that same God is your Shepherd today.
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