Joseph - Week 18 (2)

Jacob’s Final Thoughts

Genesis 48:1-22

INTRODUCTION

The Book of Genesis is a story of death.

Abel

Everyone during the flood.

Many deaths of individuals listed in Genesis

Death is inevitable.

The death of Jacob gives us some direction as to how we can best prepare for our own deaths.

4 Directions that Occupy His Attention

I. Jacob Looked Backward in Gratitude.

A. Genesis 48:1-2 “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.”

1. They say the older we get the more we begin to reminisce.

2. Grandparents– tell the stories of their past.

3. Remembering the good things of life.

4. It’s interesting to see the things that occupy his attention as he takes a broad glance back through his life.

A. He Remembers Bethel

1. Genesis 48:3-4 “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.’”

2. Jacob remembers Bethel– place with a lot of meaning for him.

a. First time it had meaning was when he was running away from the wrath of his brother Esau, who was mad at having been cheated out of his blessing.

b. At Bethel God appeared to Jacob and told of a special plan for his life.

c. In a time of guilt for Jacob, God used it as a time to minister.

3. Genesis 35 tells of the Lord appearing to Jacob at Bethel.

4. God spoke to him and changed his name to Israel and promised to make him into a great nation.

B. He Remembers Rachel

1. Genesis 48:7 “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).””

2. Jacob had several wives and handmaids.

3. Rachel was the only person who had true meaning to him.

4. It had been more than 20 years since Rachel had died.

5. As he reviews the high points of life the one thing he can’t forget is the woman he loved.

6. Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh stood before Jacob and brought back the memory of their mother and grandmother.

a. He had worked 14 long years to get her and lost her prematurely.

C. He Remembers the Angel

1. Genesis 48:16 “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.””

2. “Angel”= the Lord Jesus Christ

a. Refers to the night he wrestled with the Angel until he was blessed.

b. He was changed from the “trickster” to “Israel”– “the prince of God”

E. Jacob was thankful for Bethel, Rachel and the Angel.

1. There should be a lot of instances in our life we should be thankful for.

II. Jacob Looked Upward in Faith

A. Jacob knew the reality of God’s presence and promises.

1. Genesis 48:3 “3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me,”

2. Genesis 48:11 “11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.””

3. Genesis 48:21 “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.”

B. Jacob remembered his religious heritage.

1. V. 15a, “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked.”

2. He could look back and see God at work even in the bad times of life.

3. When we are passing through the trials and difficulties of life, it’s not always easy for us to see the hand of God. But as we review the past and evaluate what the Lord has done, we can obtain an absolute assurance that He was with us all the way.

III. Jacob Looked Outward in Love

A. He looked out and saw Ephraim and Manasseh.

B. Jacob immediately wants to bless them.

1. Joseph moves them toward him in order. It was tradition to bless the oldest first with the right hand and the second oldest next with the left hand.

2. Jacob does the opposite.

a. Genesis 48:19 “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.””

C. God usually blessed oldest first but at times he bypassed natural means to bless another.

1. Ephraim becomes the blessed of the tribes.

2. Northern Kingdom took the name of Ephraim when the Kingdom of Israel splints.

3. Ephraim and Manasseh are the two most populous tribes in Israel.

4. Amazing that they were not true heirs but the sons of Joseph not Jacob.

5. They were also the sons of an Egyptian woman, not pure Jews.

6. God uses logic that is difficult for us to understand.

IV. Jacob Looked Forward in Hope

A. Jacob was ready to die, but he hadn’t stopped believing in the future.

1. Genesis 48:21 “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.”

2. He still had a vision for his family that reached beyond the day he dies.

3. He trusted God knowing that his descendants would not be in Egypt forever.

a. One day they would return to Canaan.

b. He asks to be buried in the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham and Isaac were buried.

c. This was because of the faith that God would return them there.

B. When we look back at our lives one day, we still stand in the place of Jacob and thank God for what He has done. Christians, we can look upward with absolute confidence because God has been our Shepherd every step of the way. They we can look forward in hope, believing God for our future.

CONCLUSION

3 Pragmatic Lessons

1. Purpose of Passing Years

a. Growing old is not something negative (like our culture thinks)

b. God has a purpose for aging.

c. Aging wings us from self-worship and causes us to mature in love.

d. The pain, conflicts, setbacks, and disappointments we suffer are intended to help shape us into the kind of people God wants us to be.

2. Possibility of Painful Experiences

a. Hard times help God shape us.

b. Happy experiences do not shape us as the difficult, painful experiences.

3. Priority of Spiritual perspective

a. As Jacob got older, he could see the hand of God at work in his life.

b. When Jacob wrestled with the Lord he came out of the experience changed.

c. It was the beginning of looking at life from a spiritual perspective.

d. We need to keep a perspective of always looking to the Lord and His purpose, so that we’ll remain focused on Him.