Title: The Gracious Blessings of the Sovereign God
If you were to be blessed by someone in from Mongolia, they might say,
“May your house always face the sun”
This is rooted in nomadic traditions, orientation toward the sun was tied to warmth, good grazing, and spiritual alignment.
To Westerners, it might sound like odd architectural advice.
In South Asian, you might be blessed with, “May your rice never burn”
This is a blessing about daily cooking, implying a life without domestic mishaps and full of nourishment.
In the Middle East, you may be told, “May your beard grow long”
We can understand this as a blessing of wisdom, masculinity, and dignity… for a guy that is
A blessing that might sound strange to us comes from China - “May your path be crooked”
Instead of wishing for an easy life, this expresses the value of challenges, detours, and growth.
A similar wish is in the Chinese blessing, “May you live in interesting times”
We might find this confusing as we usually wish our friends “May your path be straight” / “God speed” or “smooth sailing!”
Then there’s the Jewish blessing, “May your children torment you.”
This has the typical Yiddish kidding baked into it, while hoping that children will grow to the age where we lose our control over them which is when we typically worry about them.
Here’s an interesting one.
It’s the Japanese folk blessing,
“May you die surrounded by cats”
For us, this seems like wishing your friend would be the lonely Cat Lady that our Vice President bemoaned.
But, many Japanese consider cats to be protective spiritual companions, ensuring safe passage into the afterlife.
But, I can tell you this as someone that doesn’t like cats -
they wouldn’t care about before you die, when you die, or after you die.
The strangest of these international blessings has to be from rural Hindu culture, you could hear,
“May you step in cow dung.”
Obviously, this is tied to their worship of cows as sacred animals.
And they considered the output from the cows to spread fertility and prosperity.
We certainly wouldn’t be thinking of anything other than how gross it would be to step in a fresh meadow muffin.
This morning, we’re learning from Genesis 48 about -The Gracious Blessings of the Sovereign God
The English term “bless” or “blessing” shows up in Genesis almost 90 times.
It means to show goodness or favor to someone in order to make their life better.
This morning, we’re seeing a culmination of the theme of blessing in the book of Genesis.
Those of you who are familiar with the book of Genesis know about how God chose to bless Abraham.
Abraham was just a childless old man who was worshiper of the moon God in the land of Ur.
And God chose to make him into a great nation with many descendants.
And God passed that blessing on to his son, Isaac, and on to Jacob, the father of Joseph.
In the life of Joseph, we’ve come to the place where God used him to bring God’s special family to Egypt.
They’ve been set up in the favorable land of Goshen to be fruitful and multiply even as the world around them was struggling to exist.
This morning, we come to he end of Jacobs’ life.
And learn about God’s blessing on him and the birthright that will pass to the descendants of Joseph.
So, let’s pick up in Ch. 48 as we continue in Joseph’s story.
1 After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’
With 17 years having passed since the events of Ch. 47, Jacob is near death.
Joseph has been told that his father is ill.
But Jacob manages to muster his strength as Joseph brings his sons to visit their grampa.
5 And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
Jacob essentially adopts Joseph’s sons, giving them each a full portion of the inheritance in Joseph’s place.
This might seem like a slight to Joseph.
But he’s actually being given a double portion by this maneuver by his father.
The double inheritance of the birthright is referenced in. -
* 1 Chronicles 5:2 2 though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph),
The double inheritance given to the oldest son has been an underlying issue throughout this story.
Recall that Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son through Leah, had fallen out of favor with his father.
Being the oldest son through Jacob’s wife, Rachel, Joseph always had an edge over his brothers.
And this might be where a large part of their murderous jealousy had come from.
In fact, Jacob’s recollection of burying Rachel may be pointing to the idea that’s it’s Joseph being her son gives him the birthright.
?- So, how does Joseph’s sons being considered to be Jacob’s sons amount to a double portion for Joseph?
You may know that the promise has passed from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob.
And from this point, it’s spread to the twelve families of Jacob’s sons as they would be large tribes by the time they leave Egypt in 400 years
When they arrive in the promised land, it will be divided into 12 portions.
But one of Jacob’s sons won’t receive a portion because his tribe is the priestly tribe -that’d be Levi.
The reason why it will still be 12 portions of land is because Jacob’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh will each have a portion of land in place of their father only having one.
So, the descendants of Joseph will have 1/6 of the promised land
This is a double portion compared to his brothers.
In addition, their names will become synonymous with the 10 tribes of what would be the Northern Kingdom.
In fact, as you read the OT prophets, you’ll hear them refer to Ephraim quite often.
This is because his tribe would be so prominent that his name would be used to reference the entire Northern Kingdom of the 10 tribes.
8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
Jacob’s eyesight was such that he couldn’t tell that Joseph had brought his sons with him.
He asks Joseph to bring his boys forward so that in the two of them, Joseph might receive his double blessing.
11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” 12 Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 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 him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn).
15 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,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”
20 So he blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’ ”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”
The first idea that we can learn about The Gracious Blessings of the Sovereign God is to -
1. LOOK UPON ALL OF GOD’S GOODNESS TO YOU AS GRACE.
3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’
Jacob begins to talk of the common theme of the book of Genesis and especially of the patriarchs.
As I mentioned, this theme is the blessing of God.
He reflects on when God Almighty (El Shaddai) appeared to him in the place he renamed Bethel.
You might know it as the location of “Jacob’s Ladder.”
This is when he saw a ladder stretching from earth into heaven -
Once again, we see Jacob setting his hope on the promise that God had made to him rather than the lush provision that he’d been given in the land of Egypt.
Like Jacob, we only experience God’s blessing of a saving relationship with God by His grace.
When employees pick up their paychecks, they don’t tend thank their boss profusely.
That’s because the company owes them what they earned.
But if the boss decides to give their employees a gift, that’s likely to be taken as a blessing.
As we touched on last week, a saving relationship with God is the result of God’s grace.
It’s not a matter of a person earning a place in God’s family.
We’re told in Romans it’s only by receiving God’s saving grace as a gift that we can make it ours
* Romans 4:4–5 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
* Romans 6:23 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
?- Do you tend to think that you deserve for God to be at work for you?
?- Do you realize that the only reason why any of us are able to have a relationship with God is because of receiving Christ’s death and resurrection to count on our behalf?
God’s good favor toward us is grace from Him.
We all only deserve to be thrown into prison and have the key tossed in the garbage.
And this is because we all start life in rebellion against God and worthy of hell.
His salvation and any minor blessing beyond that is all chalked up to His grace and grace alone.
the second idea that we can learn from The Gracious Blessings of the Sovereign God is to -
2. LET GOD BLOW YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT HE CAN ACCOMPLISH.
11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” 12 Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 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 him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn).
This is a tender moment for these three generations as they recognize the blessing of the Lord that has brought them to this moment.
At some point Joseph must’ve realized that Jacob was going to bless his sons.
As was customary, Joseph is positioning the older son, Manasseh, before Jacob’s right hand, as this symbolizes the greater blessing.
But Jacob crosses his hands and lays his right hand on the head of the younger son, Ephraim.
We can assume that Jacob isn’t being a curmudgeon but is doing what the Lord is leading him to do.
15 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,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
Jacob is said to bless Joseph as he gives a double portion of inheritance by blessing both of Joseph’s sons as if they were his own.
As he pronounces his blessing, we read Jacob’s beautifully personal description of the God that surpassed Jacob’s expectations.
He speaks of Him as the covenant making God of his fathers.
He also describes Him as the shepherd that has led him through life as he faced many different seasons.
Lastly, he talks of God as an angel because of how He often manifested Himself to Jacob, most notably as the one who wrestled with Him and named Him Israel, which means, “He who walks with God.”
Jacob’s blessing for Joseph through his sons reflected the promise of God for the descendants of Abraham as God’s chosen people.
And it was being passed on to Joseph’s heirs.
But it was also expanded in Joseph’s generation to all the 12 tribes of Israel.
Like Jacob, we can be blessed by God far more than we ever expected, and the greatest blessing is growth in our relationship with Him.
Illus - [The assessment of Rod Curran’s family]
Many of you know my friend Rod Curran.
I know what sort of shape his family was in before Christ came into their lives.
I asked Rod if I could tell his story.
But Rod did me the favor of sharing with me again in a way that I could share with you in his own words.
He writes,
“It was April 1985. I had been clean and sober for 7 months but our lives had fallen completely apart.
We were in a room full of people at Fairbanks hospital.
And after we had all shared, the counselor addressed the room and said,
”What you are witnessing is the complete destruction of a American family due to alcohol and drug abuse and literally there is no hope for this marriage.”
What he didn’t know our whole family would surrender our lives to Jesus Christ 3 months later!
LeAnn and I will celebrate 50 years of marriage this coming February!
It wasn’t that the counselor was wrong, he just didn’t understand the restoring power of our Lord and Savior!
LeAnn and I have lived our marriage extending to each other the grace and mercy the Lord gave each of us!
Let God Blow Your Expectations of What He Can Accomplish.
?- Do you limit what you pray about by what you think God is capable of or willing to do?
?- Are you stuck in sin or discouragement because you’re believing that God isn’t interested in helping you find freedom?
Wouldn’t you love to look at a loved one that you never thought that would come to Christ…
Or a friend or family member that you never thought you’d be reconciled with…
Or a sinful habit you never thought you’d see the end of.
Wouldn’t you love to look at that situation one day and say with Jacob, “I never expected to see it.”
But if you’re walking with God and giving the situation to Him, if and when He workds in it, you can say, “I’ve been praying for this! Thank you, God!”
the last idea that we can learn from The Gracious Blessings of the Sovereign God is to -
3. LOOK AT ALL YOU HAVE FROM GOD AS BEING BY HIS SOVEREIGN GRACE.
18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”
We can’t blame Joseph for being upset with the situation of Jacob giving the greater blessing to what Joseph thought was the wrong son.
This blessing is what a father expected and longed for on behalf of his oldest son.
He may have thought that Jacob had made a mistake due to his poor eyesight and old age.
If Joseph’s protest is that the older was always given preeminence over the younger.
Jacob would say, “If our God is anything, He is unconventional.”
For three generations, God’s blessing for Abraham had been passed down unconventionally.
Isaac was blessed instead of Ishmael, Jacob instead of Esau, Joseph instead of Reuben.
And now, Ephraim would have preeminence over his brother, Manasseh.
And the Expositor’s Bible Commentary tells us “receiving the blessing offered by God does not rest with one’s natural status in the world. On the contrary, it is based solely on God’s grace. The one to whom the blessing did not belong has become heir of the promise.”
The way that God gave His birthright blessing was countercultural.
And this was because He was teaching us that whatever we receive from Him isn’t because we deserve it.
It’s all grace!
Or as the Old Testament Commentary describes it -“The blessing was a gift bestowed on those who could not claim it as a right.”
In other words, God’s blessing was a picture of grace rather than what was due the person.\
As it was with Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph’s sons, God is in sovereign control of how and how much He blesses us.
We tend to be like the kid that stood in his front yard throwing a ball in the air and trying to hit it with a bat.
He called out, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!” throw the ball in the air and miss it.
After 4 times of this, he looked at the ball in his hand ands said with astonishment,
“I’m the greatest pitcher in the world!”
Well, I guess it would take the greatest pitcher in the world to strike out the greatest batter in the world.”
Like this kid, it’s far to easy for us to think that we’ve done things to deserve God’s blessing.
In fact, our sinful hearts easily latch onto any hint of deserving something from God.
Selfish pride in backyard child’s play is one thing.
But people think that they can do something to make them worthy of salvation, is eternally dangerous.
Salvation is chief among those good things.
As we’re reminded in -
* Ephesians 2:8–9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
All good things we receive from God is by His Sovereign Grace.
As THE John the Baptist tells his disciples,
* John 3:27 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
As the Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians -
* 1 Corinthians 4:7 7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
?- If you’re saved, do you recognized that it’s only by God’s sovereign grace?
?- What is there in your life that you might pridefully look at and think, “God didn’t provide that to me. I did.”
Recognizing the sovereign blessing of God doesn’t just have to do with us as individual or families.
It also has to do with us as a church.
Any success that we experience doesn’t have to do with me as a pastor.
I’m a sinful, short-stubby, weak-voiced, preacher who’s just doing what he loves.
It doesn’t have to do with us giving people what they want so that they’ll come to church here every week.
It’s not because we smartly put our church on a heavily traveled highway for people to find it.
It’s been joked that we called the Stealth Church because no one can find it.
I remember waiting for a contractor to show up here.
When he did, he told me that he wasn’t familiar with our road even though he’d lived in the county for 70 years.
In fact, when he was looking for our church, he drove right by it without knowing.
So, we haven’t seen success as a church by attracting off the highway.
As with any of us, we are successful due to -The Gracious Blessings of the Sovereign God
