Sermon Tone Analysis

“Joseph is a fruitful bough,

A fruitful bough by a spring;

Its branches run over a wall.

23“The archers bitterly attacked him,

And shot at him and harassed him;

24But his bow remained firm,

And his arms were agile,

From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob

(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

25From the God of your father who helps you,

And by the Almighty who blesses you

With blessings of heaven above,

Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26“The blessings of your father

Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors

Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;

May they be on the head of Joseph,

And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

Summary:

Jacob’s prophecy concerning Joseph.

(vv.

22-26)

“Addressed to Joseph, but applicable to his two sons (cf.

48:15-20), these words thrust forth a contrasting experience of growth and prosperity alongside of hostility and conflict.”

- MacArthur Study Bible

More is recorded in the history concerning Joseph than concerning any other of Jacob’s sons; and therefore what Jacob says of him is historical as well as prophetical

The first section, verse 22, describes Joseph as fruitful.

Joseph had indeed experienced great prosperity and fruitfulness.

In addition, this verse may also describe the prosperity that would come in the future for Joseph’s descendants (cf.

,; ).

a fruitful bough, &c.—denotes the extraordinary increase of that tribe (compare Nu 1:33–35; Jos 17:17; De 33:17)

Joseph is a fruitful bough

Its branches run over a wall

Consider…

The blessing of Joseph, which is very large and full.

He is compared (v.

22) to a fruitful bouth, or young tree; for God had made him fruitful in the land of his affliction; he owned it.

ch.

41:52

The blessing of Joseph, which is very large and full.

He is compared (v.

22) to a fruitful bouth, or young tree; for God had made him fruitful in the land of his affliction; he owned it.

ch.

41:52.

His two sons were as branches of a vine, or other spreading plant, running over the wall

The next section, “Verses 23,24 may be a biography of Joseph.” - MacArthur Study Bible

23“The archers bitterly attacked him,

And shot at him and harassed him;

24But his bow remained firm,

And his arms were agile,

From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob

(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)

The archers bitterly attacked him

But his bow remained firm

From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob

A better word for “From” in this phrase would be “By” (cf.

NKJV).

Thus, Joseph remained firm because of the hands of God.

The patriarch describes him as attacked by envy, revenge, temptation, ingratitude; yet still, by the grace of God, he triumphed over all opposition, so that he became the sustainer of Israel

Observe,

1.

The providences of God concerning Joseph, v. 23, 24

Here observe (1.) Joseph’s straits and troubles, v. 23.

Though he now lived at ease and in honour, Jacob reminds him of the difficulties he had formerly waded through.

He had had many enemies, here called archers, being skilful to do mischief, masters of their art of persecution.

They hated him: there persecution begins

(2.) Joseph’s strength and support under all these troubles (v.

24): His bow abode in strength, that is, his faith did not fail, but he kept his ground, and came off a conqueror

The spring and fountain of this strength; it was by the hands of the mighty God, who was therefore able to strengthen him, and the God of Jacob, a God in covenant with him, and therefore engaged to help him.

(3.)

The spring and fountain of this strength; it was by the hands of the mighty God, who was therefore able to strengthen him, and the God of Jacob, a God in covenant with him, and therefore engaged to help him.

All our strength for the resisting of temptations, and the bearing of afflictions, comes from God: his grace is sufficient, and his strength is perfected in our weakness

(3.)

The spring and fountain of this strength; it was by the hands of the mighty God, who was therefore able to strengthen him, and the God of Jacob, a God in covenant with him, and therefore engaged to help him

Consider these intertextual connections when reading verse 23… , ; .

Further, Consider these intertextual connections when reading verse 24… ; ; , ; .

The final section, verses 25 and 26, pronounce great blessing on Joseph and his descendants.

by the God of your father who will help you,

by ithe Almighty8 jwho will bless you

with blessings of heaven above

The blessings of your father

are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents

May they be lon the head of Joseph

Observe...

The promises of God to Joseph.

See how these are connected with the former: Even by the God of thy father Jacob, who shall help thee, v. 25.

Observe the blessings conferred on Joseph.

[1.] Various and abundant blessings: Blessings of heaven above (rain in its season, and fair weather in its season, and the benign influences of the heavenly bodies); blessings of the deep that lieth under this earth, which, compared with the upper world, is but a great deep, with subterraneous mines and springs.

Spiritual blessings are blessings of heaven above, which we ought to desire and seek for in the first place, and to which we must give the preference; while temporal blessings, those of this earth, must lie under in our account and esteem.

Blessings of the womb and the breasts are given when children are safely born and comfortably nursed

Well, of these blessings it is here said, They shall be, so it is a promise, or, Let them be, so it is a prayer, on the head of Joseph, to which let them be as a crown to adorn it and a helmet to protect it

One commentator adds...

he proceeds to shower blessings of every kind upon the head of this favorite son.

The history of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh shows how fully these blessings were realized.

“This oracle treats Joseph more lavishly than any of the others, for here the main blessing lay.” - The Bible Knowledge Commentary

Key Points/Application:

The Glory of God

Joseph was “shot at” with numerous trials, including his siblings who hated him and Potiphar’s wife who accused him.

Nonetheless, “his bow remained firm” and he bore much fruit, that is, “From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob.”

This is to say that Joseph’s life displays the glory of the Lord.

Though attacked and harassed, he remained strong because of Yahweh.

In short, he maintained both his integrity and his comfort through all his trials; he bore all his burdens with an invincible resolution, and did not sink under them, nor do any thing unbecoming him

All our strength for the resisting of temptations, and the bearing of afflictions, comes from God: his grace is sufficient, and his strength is perfected in our weakness

Joseph’s Faithfulness

Joseph was a man who feared God.

He remained faithful to God even in the midst of great trials.