God’s Surprising Blessings

Good morning, everyone! Whether you're here with us in the room or joining online—listening live or later—we’re truly glad you're here. You're part of our extended spiritual family, and we're thankful for you.

Let’s go ahead and, grab your Bible, get comfortable, and get ready for what God has for you today.

Last week we looked at one of Jacob’s final moments where he lead in worship. Today we are looking at another final moment in Jacob’s life, then in a couple of weeks we will see how Joseph will confront his brothers after all of the evil that they did to him in his younger yearss. This is what he will tell them…”As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose." —(Joseph) . In other words. What man means for evil…God means for good!

Now, this morning I have a question for the kids that are here…“Have you ever been waiting in line, and suddenly your teacher or coach or someone else chose you to go next even though you weren’t next in line? Or maybe you expected your older brother or sister to get the big treat, but instead you got it? How did you feel—or how would you feel—were you surprised? Happy? Confused?”

Well, something like that happened in Genesis 48, and it surprised everyone. Jacob is 147 years old (that’s old) and sick, but before he dies, he calls Joseph and Joseph’s two sons. What happens next teaches us three things: God’s faithfulness never fails, God’s blessings can surprise us, and God’s promises give us hope for the future. Let’s start with the first truth…

God’s Faithfulness Never Fails (Genesis 48:1–7)

Now, today we are going to go through the whole chapter, but I’m just going to summerize parts of it, and then I will read other parts of it, ok. So Chapter 48 starts off with Joseph calling for Joseph and his two sons to come join him. Then he takes all of his strength and he sits up in bed and says this,

Genesis 48:3–4 ESV

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 company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’

Now, Jacob is old and blind here. He’s having alot of trouble because he is so old. The cool thing is though that even though he’s older,

Jacob remembers God’s promises.

Even when Jacob is dying, he’s holding on to God’s words. Jacob didn’t focus on his hardships—he talked about God Almighty and His promises. Specifically, God promised Jacob that his family would grow big, like a huge nation, and that they would live in the land He gave them. Jacob knew God keeps His promises. Even on his last day of life Jacob is seeing God continue to fulfill that promise through Ephraim and Manasseh.

You see, God’s promises don’t have an expiration date! Kids can trust Him today, and adults can trust Him their whole lives..

We see another picture of the Gospel when

Jacob adopts Joseph’s sons into the blessing.

So what happens next is that Jacob tells Joseph that he is choosing to count Ephraim and Manasseh as his own children. That means that when Jacob passes, they will inherit as one of his children, not as a grandchild. This was important and it was a very surprising blessing that these young men had received. They will now be part of the tribes of Israel.

And here’s where it gets really exciting—Jacob adopted Joseph’s sons into his family. And that points us to an even greater adoption, the one we have in Jesus.

God brings people into his family that many would not expect. Just like Ephraim and Manasseh were adopted, God adopted us through Jesus. Look at this…

Romans 8:15 ESV

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Jacob trusted God’s promises in his old age. But now, when it comes to blessing Joseph’s sons, something even more surprising happens…”

God’s Blessings Can Surprise Us (Genesis 48:8–20)

Ok, so this is a situation that really bothered Joseph because Jacob is blessing in a way that isn’t supposed to happen.

Joseph brings the boys over to Jacob and Jacob gets excited about this, and rightfully so. Jacob actually says, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also”. I mean this is pretty impactful to Jacob, Joseph, and the boys. But what happens next is a bit troubling for Joseph because he doesn’t understand.

Jacob blesses the younger son over the older.

Genesis 48:13–14 ESV

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. 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).

Ok, so jlet me explain this a little bit this morning. In thie time perious, the right hand is the favored hand in Biblical literature. TIn other words—back then the right hand meant special blessing. Joseph, knowing Jacob couldn’t see, carefully positioned the boys. Manasseh by the right hand of Jacob, and Ephraim on the left hand. Jacob chooses to give the greater blessing to Ephraim, who is the younger brother. Joseph would even try to switch Jacob’s hands, but Jacob insists that God will make Ephraim to be greater. In God’s sovereignty he chooses differently than we might choose, and that’s ok if we trust him.

God doesn’t do things the way we think he should. He chooses the weak, the small, the unexpected things of this world in order to accomplish his will.

1 Corinthians 1:27 ESV

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

Here’s the deal though, while God chooses differently that we would

God’s choice points to His greater plan.

Let’s read another section of this story here.

Genesis 48:19–20 ESV

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.” 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.

This isn’t the last time God surprised people with His choice. Think about Jesus…People were waiting for the Messiah, but they expected Him to look very different.. However, God had a different idea. Where people sought a ruler…God sent a servant. Where people sought royalty…God sent humility. Where people sought greatness…God sent a baby. No one expected a savior to be born in a manger…but do you know what we have learned from that? God’s greatest blessing comes in a surprising way.

We have kids in our service here today…Kids let’s be honest for a second…sometimes you feel small, overlooked, or “not important”—but God loves to use the small and weak for His big plans!

Adults, God’s ways are far better than yours are. You just need to make a choice to trust his plan and not your own expectations, or your own desires above his.

The reality is that God’s blessings can absolutly surprise us, but they also have a purpose. Jacob reminds his family tht God has a future for them…

Promises Give Us Hope for the Future (Genesis 48:21–22)

In the midst of this challanging moment to Joseph, and likely to his boys as well. Jacob is giving a message of hope to Joseph. The first thing we realize is that

Jacob speaks with confidence about God’s future.

Let’s go head and read

Genesis 48:21–22 ESV

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. 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.”

Even though Jacob won’t see the promised land again, he trusts that God will keep His word. He is telling Joseph that there will be a day when they will return to Canaan tot he place that God has promised to their family for the last 330 years.

This is what i love so much. You see, Jacob would be unable to see the final move back to Canaan, but that didn’t stop him from trusting God that this was still their land.

We learn to hope from Jacob. Jacob gives hope to Joseph and to all of his children saying that they would go back…Jacob’s hope lies in the Lord, not in the strength of men. That’s the same place our hope should be. We should hope in God’s faithfulness, knowing that if God said it would happen, even if I don’t see it…I know it will happen.

Like Jacob, we wait for promises we can’t yet see. For us, that’s the return of Jesus. And while the world keeps guessing, our hope is steady because God keeps His promises.…Listen, our hope is not in mans word…our hope is in a God who keeps his promises, even beyond our lifetimes.

That’s not all we learn from Jacob here though. Check this out…

The blessing continues through generations.

The blessing of God continues through the generations. God’s blessings didn’t end with Jacob. They kept going to Joseph, to his sons, and eventually to us through Jesus. That is what Jacob is communicating to Joseph.

You see, God’s promises aren’t just for one generation. Kids and adults alike can live in hope, knowing God’s blessing continues through Christ.

Kids, you can trust God’s promises even when you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Adults, you can trust God’s promises even when lifes situations looks uncertain.

Jacob died trusting God’s promises. And we can do the same—because all of God’s surprising blessings come true in Jesus.

Kids, listen up this morning. I’m going to give you a quick recap here, ok. Jacob surprised everyone by blessing the younger son instead of the older. God was showing us that He doesn’t always choose the way we expect. But He always keeps His promises, and He always gives His best blessing.

The best blessing is Jesus! Just like Ephraim’s blessing surprised everyone, Jesus surprised the world by being born in a manger and dying on a cross to save all of us.

Adults, pay attention…God’s blessings will likely not look the way you planned, but His ways are far better than your ways. The cross itself proves that. What appeared to be weakness was actually victory. What looked like defeat was God’s greatest blessing.

So here’s what I want us all to remember this morning: When you feel small, remember God sees you. When you feel unsure about the future, remember God’s promises never fail. And when life surprises you, remember—God’s greatest blessing came as a surprise in Jesus, and every promise He has made will be fulfilled in Him.

So let’s trust God’s surprising blessings, hold fast to His unfailing promises, and fix our hope on Jesus—the greatest blessing of all.

Let’s pray