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1 After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
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Reflections Church Service
Marathon Sunday
“You Better Run”
Isaiah 40:27 - 31
Prepare you mind
Prepare you body
Prepare and have the right gear
Be practical, run your race
You have to handle pain (most time what we consider pain, is just discomfort)
You have to be patient, it’s a long race
Lay aside heavy things (You can’t be thinking about things you left behind while moving forward)
Hebrews 12:1 - 2
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Galatians 5:1 - 15
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. 7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Group think will keep you from running well
Not everybody you call your people are your people
Look @ those that have been there. Where you are called to go.
Do not get out of character to impress others, keep your pace even and you will make it to the end.
ICEBREAKER:
Chapter 48: What images come to mind when you think about your grandparents?
Genesis 48:1 - 12
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.’ 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).” 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. 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.
Question: Who are some of the key people who have spoken blessings into your life?
Lesson: It is important to remember that Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph while he was in Egypt. Yet Jacob made it clear that both were to be treated as though they were Jacob’s sons; therefore, they were to receive an inheritance in the promised land.
Genesis 48:13 - 22
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.”
Joseph positioned his two sons so that Manasseh, the older, would receive the more prominent blessing from Jacob’s right hand (48:13). It is almost comical that Joseph, of all people, would be surprised by this departure from worldly tradition. His father and grandfather were the younger brothers, receiving the blessing and inheritance on place of the firstborn sons. And Joseph had himself had ten brothers older that he, yet God raised him to a position of distinction. Jacob was simply continuing the patter of reversal that God had used all throughout the history of the Jewish patriarchs, proving that God’s ways are not ours. [Jacob over Esau, Isaac over Ishmael]
Chapter 49: What emotions do you experience when you think of writing your last will and testament?
Genesis 49: 1 - 12
1 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come. 2 “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father. 3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch! 5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. 6 Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. 8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
The first three sons were rejected from being able to lead the messianic line. Reuben, the first born (49:3), disqualified himself by defiling his fathers’s bed (49:4). [Years earlier, Reuben had slept with one of his father’s concubines (35:22). That one adulterous decision came back to haunt him, keeping him from carrying the torch of God’s messianic promise.
Jacob said of the next two brothers, Simeon and Levi (49:5), that they were men of anarchy and violence. Jacob was remembering their deceitful attach against the inhabitants of Shechem (34:24-29). They may have convinced themselves that they were defending the honor of their sister, but Jacob recognized that their motives were mixed. They responded in violence because they cherished violence in their hearts.
Judah, in spite of his past failings showed a true change of heart in putting himself, and his own children on the line for Benjamin. He would father the line of kings leading to Christ. From him David and Solomon and all of their descendants. More importantly, Jesus would be called the “Lion from the tribe of Judah”.
The wine and milk imagery Jacob used was meant to communicate richness and plenty. As the storyline will clarify later, these promises would be fulfilled in part in the promised land, but they would await final fulfillment in the millennial kingdom of Jesus in the age to come.
Genesis 49:13 - 21
13 “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon. 14 “Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. 15 He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor. 16 “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that his rider falls backward. 18 I wait for your salvation, O Lord. 19 “Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels. 20 “Asher’s food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal delicacies. 21 “Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns.
Zebulun will live by the seashore… When the people of Israel return to the promised land and apportioned the land, the tribe of Zebulun would be given land near the ocean, and they would make their living on the sea.
Issachar, leaned his shoulder to bear a load an became a forced laborer (49:15), a prophecy about the tribe’s approach to the native inhabitants of the promised land. Even though they had the strength to drive them out, they grew comfortable living alongside them. And what begun as a seemingly harmless partnership between the groups eventually led to Issachar’s slavery.
Dan, which sounds like the Hebrew word for “has judged”. In their best moments, the people of Dan were to provide justice for the rest of the nation. In reality, however, they proved to be treacherous, like “...a snake by the road, a viper beside the path, that bites the horses’ heels so that its rider falls” (49:17). The tribe of Dan quickly gave up the land to the Philistines, and worse, Dan appears to be the first tribe to plummet into full-scale idolatry during that same time (see Judges 18).
Gad, Asher, and Naphtali were given rapid -fire prophecies. Gad would be attacked by raiders, indicating the constant conflict that the tribe would experience. Asher, whose name means blessed would live a life worthy of the name, with rich food and royal delicacies. Naphtali would be a free people, dwelling in the mountains to the north.
Genesis 49:22 - 28
22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall. 23 The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely, 24 yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), 25 by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26 The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers. 27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil.” 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.
Joseph, as in life, so in his tribe’s future, Joseph would be a fruitful vine beside a spring (49:22), not only succeeding for his own sake, but also blessing the live of others. Joseph’s tribe would continue to be one of the most prosperous of the twelve, victorious in battle and overflowing with blessings.
Benjamin, though Jacob favored him personally, it appears that the future of this tribe was mixed. Jacob characterized the Benjamites like a wolf that tears his prey and divides the plunder (49:27). They would be the tribe with a violent spirit, which was seen most vividly in their two most famous descendants. King Saul, Israel’s first King, was a Benjaminite; so too was the persecutor turned apostle Paul.
Genesis 49:29 - 33
29 Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
Jacob understood that he was about to be gathered to people, so he instructed Joseph not to bury him in Egypt, but in the land of promise. Notably, he finally gave honor to his first wife, Leah, asking to be buried with her (49:31) rather than with his beloved Rachel.
Chapter 50: What sentence would you have inscribed on your tombstone?
Genesis 50:1 - 14
1 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days. 4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’ ” 6 And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11 When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim; it is beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, 13 for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
When Jacob, Joseph’s father died the entire nation of Egypt mourned for him (50:3), a phenomenal show of respect that proves how dearly beloved Joseph was among the Egyptians.
The funeral procession was very impressive (50:9), which is an understatement: with all Pharaoh’s servants, the elders of the land of Egypt joining with all Joseph’s family (50:7-8), the scene would have been jaw-dropping. In fact, it was such a spectacular caravan that the Canaanite inhabitants of the land renamed one of their cities because of it (50:11).
Genesis 50:15 - 21
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.” ’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
Question: What does it say about the character, and mindset of the brothers to still be scared of retaliation from Joseph after all these years of him showing them kindness and generosity?
Closing: Joseph’s brothers were scared, so they did what many of us do in our fear: they lied. They sent a message claiming that their father had said, “Please forgive your brothers’ transgression and their sin (50:17). They even offered themselves as slaves. Yet Joseph responds with one of the profound statements of faith in the entire Bible. “You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result ; the survival of many people.”
Joseph had discovered the secret of forgiving your enemies: you need the right view of God. Throughout his tumultuous journey, Joseph believed that God was with him and guiding him to an intentional destiny. And if God was guiding the process then, Joseph was content to let God guide now.
Vengeance belongs to God, and the longer we cherish unforgiveness in our hearts, the more we harm ourselves. Unforgiveness acts like a leash that keeps snapping us back, painfully, to the past. Only when we choose to let God be the God of vengeance does the leash disappear, allowing us to march forward toward the destiny God has in store for us. God’s destiny for us will always bring blessing to us and benefit to others.
Final Question: What are some specific ways you would like to emulate Joseph’s example in your life?