WEBVTT

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I am Pastor Nathan, and today we're going to

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be in Genesis chapter 48. Can you believe it?

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Two more chapters and we're done with this book,

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so that's at least eight or nine more months.

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No, just kidding here. Today we're going to be

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talking about the legacy that we leave behind.

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Have you ever thought about the question, what

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will matter most at the end of your life? We're

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all given an allotted time by the Lord here.

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Regardless of how long or short that time is,

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the Bible describes it as but a vapor. It comes

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and goes. Every decision, every thought, every

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interaction, what matters most at the end? You

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know, we think about when the time when the titles

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are gone, when the bank accounts no longer matter,

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when the applause has faded. When the monitors

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go silent, what is it that will matter most?

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Well, Genesis chapter 28 takes us into a deathbed

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scene. Not a dramatic scene. It's not loud or

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political or military or anything like that.

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It's just a simple bedroom scene with an old

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man and his family gathered. Here in this room,

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one of the most important spiritual transfers

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in all of Scripture takes place. Obviously, the

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old man here is Jacob. As we pick up the story

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in Genesis 48 this morning, he is 147 years old.

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He is a man who has lived a very complicated

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life. He deceived his own father. He stole the

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birthright and blessing from his brother Esau.

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He fled his family in fear for his life. He ended

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up cheated by his own uncle. He ended up having

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to bury his beloved wife much earlier than even

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he would expect to. For 22 years, he thought

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his beloved favorite son was dead. And in the

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middle of all of that, he limped away from a

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wrestling match with God. Jacob's life was a

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life marked with reversals and twists. and ups

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and downs, but here at the end of his life, this

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man Jacob, whose name means heel catcher, who's

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known as a deceiver, a liar, a supplanter, someone

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who trusted in himself far more often than he

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trusted in the Lord, he goes from being all of

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that to being a worshiper. And we know that because

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Hebrews 11, verse 21, The chapter in the book

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of Hebrews that is called the Hall of Faith,

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that records the faith of all the great heroes

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of Scripture, selects one thing out of Jacob's

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entire life to highlight in highlighting the

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faith of Jacob. And it says this in Hebrews 11,

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21. By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed

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each one of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped,

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leaning on the top of his staff. You see, when

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the writer of Hebrews, inspired by the Holy Spirit,

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was penning down the faith of all these heroes,

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it wasn't his vision at Bethel that was highlighted.

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It wasn't his wrestling match with God at Peniel.

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It wasn't him outsmarting his uncle Laban or

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any of that type of stuff. It was the blessing

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of his grandchildren and the worship that that

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was. And I think the reason why that is what

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the Holy Spirit decided to highlight there is

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because Genesis 48 is not just about inheritance,

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right? It's not just about the last will and

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testament, the trust, you know, the house, the

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car, the bank accounts, all the stuff that we

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might think about leaving behind. It's about

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legacy. Genesis chapter 48 is about what you

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hand forward when you could no longer move forward.

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It's a chapter about faith that sees beyond its

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own lifetime. And it's a chapter about grace

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that crosses human expectations. And it confronts

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all of us with a very, very important few questions.

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Are we preparing our children or our grandchildren

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or our nieces and nephews, whoever it is that

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you have influence in and connection with in

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your life, are you preparing them? For more Egypt?

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Are you preparing them for the promises of God?

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Are you setting them up as you come to the place

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of passing from this life to the next? Are you

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setting them up for success in Egypt? Or are

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you setting them up for hope in the promised

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land? Are you handing them simply comfort? Or

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are you handing them covenant? You see, there's

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nothing wrong with riches and wealth and things,

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and there's definitely nothing wrong with us

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planning to take care of our children and our

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kids as we move from this life to the other.

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But there is definitely a hierarchy of priority

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of what is the most important thing that we could

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leave behind. That's what we're going to be talking

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about this morning, but first we're going to

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spend some time in worship. I want to apologize

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up front because I am drumming today. And if

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it's a little bit louder than usual, so sorry,

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okay? But I'm just excited to be able to be here

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with you guys and worship, praising our Lord

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and lifting up His name. You know, He is the

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King of Majesty. He is... The one with the most

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beautiful name. It's Jesus. He's our Lord, our

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Savior. He is the one worthy of all worship,

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all glory, all praise. And so that's what we're

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going to start our service with, and then we

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will get into what God has to share with us.

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So please join me in prayer. Father, we love

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you so much. We thank you, God, for you. You

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are almighty. You are beyond comprehension. Lord,

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You bless us with blessings we don't deserve.

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Most importantly, Lord, the blessing, the gift

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of salvation. God, from the very beginning, this

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whole thing that we call life is about knowing

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you, our creator. Trusting in you for our salvation.

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Trusting in you as our shepherd for guidance

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and direction. Lord, we have lives here that

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you've given us, lives that you describe as a

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vapor that come and go so quickly in the perspective

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of eternity. And yet, Lord, during these lives,

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we have real things we have to take care of and

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jobs and homes and these things, Lord, that become

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a part of the blessing you give us in this life,

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Lord. And yet, God, sometimes when we come to

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the very end, we can find ourselves more concerned

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with... prepping those that we have influence

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of to live in Egypt more than we prep them for

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their homecoming into heaven. So Lord, I pray

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you'd speak to us today as we learn from this

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moment in Jacob's life at the very end as he

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blesses his son Joseph and his grandchildren.

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Lord, that we would learn from his lessons in

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his life what was the most important thing to

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leave behind. the most important thing that would

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set them up for success while they were here

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on this earth. And so that, Lord, we would be

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encouraged in our own example, our own behavior,

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the values that we live and exhibit, God, because,

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Lord, our children are watching. Our grandchildren

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are watching. Our nieces, our nephews are watching.

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So, Lord, may we be people whose testimony at

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the end of our lives is not that we were rich

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poor or this or that, but that we were worshipers.

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Worshipers who knew you and trusted in you for

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all things. So God, we praise you now. We love

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you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well,

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good morning. We are in Genesis chapter 48. And

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this chapter that we're in this morning, it shows

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us a dying man who is now able to see more clearly

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than he has ever seen before. His body is failing,

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his eyesight is dimming, but his faith is sharper

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than it has ever been. And he's going to do something

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as we go through these scriptures that was originally

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thought to be a mistake. And yet, as we're going

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to see, it was actually a great proclamation

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of truth. It was a great act of worship, and

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it was a great act of obedience. And so, we pick

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up here in Genesis chapter 48, verse 1. It says,

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sometime after this, and that is referring to

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Jacob making Joseph swear to take his bones back

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to the promised land when God delivers everybody

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out of, or all of them out of Egypt, Joseph was

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told, your father is weaker. So he set out with

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his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When Jacob

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was told, your son Joseph has come to you, Israel

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summoned his strength and sat up in his bed.

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Now as we've been studying through the life of

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Jacob, specifically after his wrestling with

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God at Peniel and getting the new name Israel,

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we have noticed and commented a few times how

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as we're reading through the scriptures, he's

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often... called Jacob, and then Israel, and then

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Jacob again, and then Israel, and back and forth,

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back and forth. And, you know, somebody asked

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me, it's like, why does that happen? Like, what

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does it mean when the one happens in the other?

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And then you get to, you know, verse two, where

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it's switched from Jacob to Israel in the same

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sentence, right? The same man. And there's a

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few reasons for that, but one is just the back

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and forth is a reminder to us that Jacob and

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Israel is the same man at the same time. right

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that is an important reminder you know um when

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we come to the lord we were taught in romans

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that that we still have an old nature resides

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with us. And, you know, God comes into our lives

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and changes us and literally gives us a new name,

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but a lot of times we still act according to

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our old nature, and Jacob's life is a picture

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of that. But also, you know, when we're going

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through the Scriptures, as Moses was writing

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the story of Jacob, we often see that the name

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Jacob is used when Moses is highlighting his

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human weaknesses. or emphasizing his fear or

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specifically his family dynamics in kind of the

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human way he dealt with things. But then we'll

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see the name Israel used when Moses is highlighting

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his covenantal role or his spiritual calling,

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right? So here we see both in the same sentence

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because as the sentence starts, it moves from...

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The personal emotion that Jacob has, he's dying,

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he knows that. His long lost beloved son has

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come to him. It switches from that personal moment

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of emotion to him acting within the role of his...

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covenant leader and acting in the role of the

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covenant destiny. And so it says, you know, Jacob,

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and then it says Israel summoned his strength.

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And so we're just seeing Moses highlight these

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two kind of natures of Moses as a man and as

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a man of God. And so, but the idea here when

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we see the switching of these two names for Jacob

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and Israel. Here specifically in verse 2, it's

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just highlighting that the man who deceived,

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the man who was a liar, the man who manipulated,

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he is now the father of the covenant nation,

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God's people. And this particular story in this

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chapter is about him passing that on to his family.

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And so it's the struggler. has now become the

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one through whom God's promises continue. And

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I just think it's an important thing to notice

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right there in the beginning because God often

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gives us new names before we fully live into

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them, right? How many of us have met Jesus Christ

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as our Lord and Savior and are now children of

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God? Do you always act like it? No, you don't,

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right? And that's the thing. Jacob was declared

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Israel before he consistently acted like Israel.

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And that's an important distinction here. You

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know, identity, when it comes to the Lord and

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our faith in him, identity often precedes maturity.

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And that's a grace of God. God will call you

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my child before you're consistently acting like

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it. He will say, you're a part of my family before

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you regularly walk in that identity. And, you

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know, the realistic thing here is that we struggle

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with that back and forth walk all the way into

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the point where we leave this earth. And yet

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God doesn't say, well, you're not my child anymore

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because you're not acting like it. He says, you're

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my child. And that moment of faith, when we put

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our faith in Jesus Christ and we receive the

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washing of the blood and the cleansing of our

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sins, we are God's. Children. And we're called

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God's children before we are consistently acting

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like one and even throughout our life when we

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go back and forth. And that's grace. That is

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the grace of Almighty God, the one who loves

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us more than we can imagine. And so we're here.

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Manasseh and Ephraim are brought before Jacob.

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And I think that's another interesting detail

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here because we remember that Joseph, when he

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was there in Egypt, he married an Egyptian woman

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named Philemon. and she was a daughter of a priest

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of one of the Egyptian gods, and he had two sons

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by this Egyptian woman. So what this means here

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is as Jacob, the one who holds the covenant of

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God, is the one that's gonna pass it on through

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his family according to what God has told him

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to do, is in this story gonna pass that covenant

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onto the half -Egyptian sons of Joseph. Isn't

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that interesting? But it's simply a precursor

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of what God has done in the church, right? Israel

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was God's chosen people. But then we get to the

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New Testament and we see that God's plan all

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along through Israel and all that was that the

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whole world would have the opportunity to be

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a part of the covenant. That everybody would

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have the opportunity to be saved. And then we're

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taught in the New Testament how the Gentiles,

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which is everybody that's not a Jew, is grafted

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in. to the nation of Israel, and we have become

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this entity called the church, right? It doesn't

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mean that Israel doesn't exist anymore. It doesn't

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mean that Jewish people don't have a special

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place within God's timeline and whatnot, but

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we see it right here in the very beginning of

00:15:31.659 --> 00:15:33.860
the nation of Israel that God was already including

00:15:33.860 --> 00:15:40.799
Gentiles into that covenant. And so these two

00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:42.950
children are bought. brought before Jacob to

00:15:42.950 --> 00:15:46.509
be blessed. Blessings were of huge importance

00:15:46.509 --> 00:15:49.470
in ancient times, very high honor in the Old

00:15:49.470 --> 00:15:52.820
Testament, and they carried a lot of... a weight.

00:15:52.940 --> 00:15:54.620
You know, like today, it would be like the last

00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:57.740
will and testament, you know, your trust, right?

00:15:57.820 --> 00:15:59.960
You pass away, and then we have this document

00:15:59.960 --> 00:16:02.500
that says, here's where all my stuff goes. Here's

00:16:02.500 --> 00:16:06.740
all my accumulated wealth, or assets, or possessions,

00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:08.659
or, you know, important things, and these who

00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:11.580
they go to. Blessings were like that in the Old

00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:14.480
Testament. And so, It would be a practical matter

00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:17.980
of property rights, you know, and so as Abraham

00:16:17.980 --> 00:16:21.100
passed the property rights of the promised land

00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:23.659
to Isaac, Isaac passed those to Jacob, and Jacob

00:16:23.659 --> 00:16:26.639
then is passing all of that down onto his sons,

00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:28.820
but there's a whole lot more to it because it's

00:16:28.820 --> 00:16:32.000
not just the practical things. Blessings would

00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:34.240
often be times where prophetic statements would

00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:36.740
be made. If you go through the Bible and you

00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:38.799
look at these times where fathers would speak

00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:40.799
blessings onto their kids prophetically, there

00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:43.659
was also conditions that were to fulfill those

00:16:43.659 --> 00:16:46.500
things. If the blessings were positive, it would

00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:49.980
be like, you're gonna become this great people

00:16:49.980 --> 00:16:54.340
group if you do these things. Or there's gonna

00:16:54.340 --> 00:16:57.100
be a curse upon your life unless these things

00:16:57.100 --> 00:16:59.519
happen. There was all these kind of prophetical

00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.179
statements and conditions made. And really there

00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:04.420
was requests that God would give goodwill, happiness,

00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:06.559
and favor upon the one being blessed. That was

00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:11.029
generally the idea. because, I mean, who doesn't

00:17:11.029 --> 00:17:12.730
want their kids to be blessed, right? Who doesn't

00:17:12.730 --> 00:17:16.190
want their kids to have a good life and all of

00:17:16.190 --> 00:17:21.690
that? But Jacob begins this speech of blessing

00:17:21.690 --> 00:17:25.089
in verse 3 by speaking straight to Joseph, and

00:17:25.089 --> 00:17:29.809
he revisits the entire covenant. He says, Joseph,

00:17:30.009 --> 00:17:32.349
Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to

00:17:32.349 --> 00:17:34.549
me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.

00:17:34.690 --> 00:17:36.990
He said to me, I will make you fruitful and numerous.

00:17:37.799 --> 00:17:39.819
I will make many nations come from you, and I

00:17:39.819 --> 00:17:41.619
will give this land as a permanent possession

00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:45.940
to your future descendants. Now, as I said in

00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:48.339
the intro, what we're looking at today is legacy,

00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:52.700
right? When the time comes for you to leave this

00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:56.000
earth, what is it that is most important for

00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.980
you to leave behind? What is the most important

00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:04.109
thing, truth, teaching, value? To make sure your

00:18:04.109 --> 00:18:06.250
children or your grandchildren or whoever it

00:18:06.250 --> 00:18:09.029
is that you've had influence on, what is the

00:18:09.029 --> 00:18:12.609
most important thing to impart to them when the

00:18:12.609 --> 00:18:15.710
time comes to go home and be with the Lord? And

00:18:15.710 --> 00:18:18.390
he starts here by revisiting the covenant, the

00:18:18.390 --> 00:18:22.529
promises. Now, Luz is the original name for the

00:18:22.529 --> 00:18:24.529
place called Bethel. You guys remember when Jacob

00:18:24.529 --> 00:18:26.269
was at Bethel and laid down and he had the vision

00:18:26.269 --> 00:18:28.710
of the ladders and the angels? The original name

00:18:28.710 --> 00:18:30.490
of that place was Luz. And so this was where

00:18:30.490 --> 00:18:33.109
God first appeared to Jacob while he was fleeing

00:18:33.109 --> 00:18:36.869
Esau. So as Jacob is about to impart what is

00:18:36.869 --> 00:18:39.450
most important to him, to leave with his son

00:18:39.450 --> 00:18:43.210
and his grandchildren, he starts with, this was

00:18:43.210 --> 00:18:47.700
the first time God appeared to me. And when God

00:18:47.700 --> 00:18:49.920
appeared to me there as I was fleeing for my

00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:54.640
life for being a liar and a deceiver, God promised

00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:58.460
fruitfulness. He promised multiplication. He

00:18:58.460 --> 00:19:01.400
promised that nations would come from my family.

00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:04.660
And he said that the promised land would be permanently

00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:10.740
given to my descendants. It's all about God's

00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:14.549
promises. Everything we do, everything we have,

00:19:14.569 --> 00:19:16.690
everything we leave behind, the most important

00:19:16.690 --> 00:19:20.609
part of all of that is God's promises and what

00:19:20.609 --> 00:19:22.450
God has said because those are the only things

00:19:22.450 --> 00:19:27.369
that are unchangeable. God's promises are immutable.

00:19:28.940 --> 00:19:32.240
And so as he's gonna get into this little final

00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:35.019
blessing, it's about God's promises. And this

00:19:35.019 --> 00:19:37.240
is important because as he goes to revisit it,

00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:39.180
he's not just saying, oh, hey, God gave us some

00:19:39.180 --> 00:19:40.740
promises. He goes, no, no, no, I wanna take you

00:19:40.740 --> 00:19:44.099
all the way back. And these promises are the

00:19:44.099 --> 00:19:46.440
same promises that were given to Abraham in Genesis

00:19:46.440 --> 00:19:49.279
12 and then given to his son Isaac in Genesis

00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:51.859
26. And then Jacob's saying, then the promises

00:19:51.859 --> 00:19:54.660
that were given to me here in Genesis 28. But

00:19:54.660 --> 00:20:01.940
in all three of those instances, God showed up,

00:20:01.960 --> 00:20:04.059
showed himself to Abraham. God showed himself

00:20:04.059 --> 00:20:08.200
to Isaac. God showed himself to Jacob. God was

00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:09.700
the one who personally showed up and said, hey,

00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:12.920
I gave this promise to your dad, and I'm telling

00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:16.559
you that you've inherited that promise. But after

00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:19.079
Jacob, there is no recorded direct covenant appearance

00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:23.460
of God to any of Jacob's sons. Jacob was the

00:20:23.460 --> 00:20:25.500
last one that God personally appeared to to say,

00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:29.359
hey, let me reiterate my promise. And it's because

00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:31.299
the promise was now to move forward by faith

00:20:31.299 --> 00:20:35.319
and testimony in the remembered promise. It was

00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:38.700
all about remembering. God said this. It wasn't

00:20:38.700 --> 00:20:40.700
about God showing up and going, yeah, God said

00:20:40.700 --> 00:20:44.339
it to me directly. But it was about passing along

00:20:44.339 --> 00:20:48.730
the knowledge. The memory that God said this.

00:20:49.230 --> 00:20:51.630
And it is a foundation of our family. It is a

00:20:51.630 --> 00:20:55.230
foundation of our life. And so verse six, he

00:20:55.230 --> 00:20:57.150
goes on to say, your two sons born to you in

00:20:57.150 --> 00:20:59.029
the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt

00:20:59.029 --> 00:21:02.210
are now mine. Ephraim and Manasseh belong to

00:21:02.210 --> 00:21:05.329
me just as Reuben and Simeon do. Children born

00:21:05.329 --> 00:21:07.509
to you after them will be yours and will be recorded

00:21:07.509 --> 00:21:09.529
under the names of their brothers with regard

00:21:09.529 --> 00:21:12.650
to their inheritance. Now this is kind of weird,

00:21:12.769 --> 00:21:15.299
right? Hey, I want to remind you about God's

00:21:15.299 --> 00:21:17.660
promises and you brought your sons to me so I

00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:19.799
could bless them. And oh, by the way, they're

00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:24.880
mine now. Have a nice life. Right? You think

00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:27.500
that's kind of weird, but I mean, it is a quite

00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:30.119
astonishing thing he does. But what he's doing

00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:34.839
is he's adopting Joseph's sons as his own. What

00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:38.799
that means is that they are in direct line to

00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:41.700
inherit everything that Jacob would pass down

00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:45.680
to his sons. Now you might think, well, isn't

00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:47.539
Joseph getting the raw end of the deal here?

00:21:48.420 --> 00:21:54.129
What's taking place is that Joseph is... inheriting

00:21:54.129 --> 00:21:56.890
through his children what Reuben was supposed

00:21:56.890 --> 00:21:59.609
to get. You see, the firstborn in a family would

00:21:59.609 --> 00:22:01.950
always get a double portion of the inheritance,

00:22:02.210 --> 00:22:04.390
right? When the inheritance was divided among

00:22:04.390 --> 00:22:06.849
the kids, firstborn would get the double part.

00:22:07.309 --> 00:22:09.269
I'm still trying to convince my mom of that,

00:22:09.349 --> 00:22:12.450
but we're not quite there yet. So, you know,

00:22:12.470 --> 00:22:17.130
but Reuben was supposed to get it. And he says,

00:22:17.190 --> 00:22:19.089
just like Reuben and Simeon, his son number one,

00:22:19.130 --> 00:22:20.750
son number two. Reuben was supposed to get that

00:22:20.750 --> 00:22:24.279
double portion, but He's now pointing out that,

00:22:24.380 --> 00:22:27.700
look, I'm going to adopt your two kids so that

00:22:27.700 --> 00:22:30.299
they, I could give them the double portion that

00:22:30.299 --> 00:22:33.039
was supposed to be for Reuben. That I'm going

00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:35.420
to bless you by blessing them with the double

00:22:35.420 --> 00:22:38.019
portion. And so Reuben, as you remember in Genesis

00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:40.819
35, he forfeited his birthright because he tried

00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:43.299
to usurp authority in the family by sleeping

00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:48.480
with his father's concubine. Simeon. who's number

00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:50.920
two in the family, he ends up just kind of disappearing.

00:22:51.019 --> 00:22:53.579
His tribe disappears. And as we'll read later,

00:22:53.619 --> 00:22:55.440
it's because he was just a bloodthirsty and cruel

00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:58.380
man. And they kind of get absorbed into the tribe

00:22:58.380 --> 00:23:01.579
of Judah. Levi, who is son number three, we're

00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:03.640
going to find never gets any land. He doesn't

00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:07.700
get any inheritance in the land because he and

00:23:07.700 --> 00:23:09.960
his people are called to be the priests of God

00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:12.019
for Israel. And so instead of land, they get

00:23:12.019 --> 00:23:15.059
cities all throughout the entire promised land.

00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:19.450
Now, Joseph, his two sons being adopted by Jacob,

00:23:19.589 --> 00:23:22.769
preserves the number of tribes at 12, which is

00:23:22.769 --> 00:23:24.569
just an important thing in the prophetic timeline.

00:23:25.910 --> 00:23:28.730
But these two separate tribes, the tribe of Ephraim

00:23:28.730 --> 00:23:30.910
and Manasseh, are referred to as the tribe of

00:23:30.910 --> 00:23:33.549
Joseph in different places in Numbers chapter

00:23:33.549 --> 00:23:36.789
1. But the idea now is that they're not one generation

00:23:36.789 --> 00:23:40.750
removed from the patriarch. connected to the

00:23:40.750 --> 00:23:43.809
patriarch directly, that everything God has for

00:23:43.809 --> 00:23:47.130
Jacob's children is gonna go directly through

00:23:47.130 --> 00:23:49.930
them, okay? Now, verse seven, he says, when I

00:23:49.930 --> 00:23:52.990
was returning from Paddan, and that was the place

00:23:52.990 --> 00:23:55.210
called Paddan Aram, which is where his uncle

00:23:55.210 --> 00:23:58.349
Laban was, to my sorrow, Rachel died along the

00:23:58.349 --> 00:24:01.049
way, some distance from Ephrath in the land of

00:24:01.049 --> 00:24:03.990
Canaan. I buried her there along the way to Ephrath,

00:24:04.049 --> 00:24:07.519
that is, Bethlehem. When Israel saw Joseph's

00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:09.859
sons, he said, who are these? And Joseph said

00:24:09.859 --> 00:24:12.799
to his father, these are my sons God has given

00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:16.279
me here. So Israel said, bring them to me and

00:24:16.279 --> 00:24:19.180
I will bless them. Now his eyesight was poor

00:24:19.180 --> 00:24:22.359
because of old age he could hardly see. Joseph

00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:24.160
brought them to him and he kissed and embraced

00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:26.900
them. And Israel said to Joseph, I never expected

00:24:26.900 --> 00:24:28.920
to see your face again, but now God has even

00:24:28.920 --> 00:24:31.740
let me see your offspring. Then Joseph took them

00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:34.200
from his father's knees and bowed with his face

00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:37.910
to the ground. So Joseph shows up to Jacob and

00:24:37.910 --> 00:24:40.809
Jacob's like, hey son, I need to tell you what's

00:24:40.809 --> 00:24:42.829
gonna be taking place here. I wanna remind you

00:24:42.829 --> 00:24:45.230
of the promises. I wanna remind you of all these

00:24:45.230 --> 00:24:47.190
sayings that I'm gonna be adopting your two kids

00:24:47.190 --> 00:24:49.890
as my own and all the foundation of our faith

00:24:49.890 --> 00:24:52.690
and everything. I wanna pass on to them the promises,

00:24:52.950 --> 00:24:55.809
the inheritance, the spiritual inheritance. But

00:24:55.809 --> 00:24:59.369
as he's recounting all of this foundation of

00:24:59.369 --> 00:25:02.390
his life, he takes a moment here to speak of

00:25:02.390 --> 00:25:05.150
just grief that he has in his life that's unresolved.

00:25:07.559 --> 00:25:11.619
I think this is happening here because what these

00:25:11.619 --> 00:25:14.359
kids who are here in the presence of this story

00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:17.759
right here are hearing is one, the foundation

00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:21.279
of everything is the promises of God. Two, what

00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:23.160
they're also hearing is that the promises of

00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:24.759
God doesn't mean you're not going to have sorrow

00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:27.859
in life. You know, faith doesn't erase sorrow.

00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:31.279
It carries it. You know, how many of you still

00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:34.839
have problems in life after you got saved? Anybody?

00:25:35.059 --> 00:25:40.349
Yeah. Like one or two problems? No, like endless

00:25:40.349 --> 00:25:44.509
and countless, right? Salvation doesn't mean

00:25:44.509 --> 00:25:46.450
you're not going to have sorrow and pain and

00:25:46.450 --> 00:25:49.589
grief. And that is an important truth to pass

00:25:49.589 --> 00:25:52.809
on to our kids, right? We don't want our kids

00:25:52.809 --> 00:25:55.349
to believe the erroneous teaching that's like,

00:25:55.410 --> 00:25:57.269
oh, you get saved and everything's great now.

00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:01.299
And we also don't want them to believe that because

00:26:01.299 --> 00:26:03.559
bad things are happening in our life means that

00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:06.599
God has abandoned us or God has left or God is

00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:10.099
not with us. And him revisiting all these memories.

00:26:10.339 --> 00:26:13.200
God made all these promises. But yeah, even walking

00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:15.839
with the Lord, I had sorrow. And Rachel died

00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:20.079
long before. I would hope that she would live

00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:22.680
longer than this. She died sooner than I wanted

00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:26.019
her to. But it's a mature faith that can speak

00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:29.619
in hopeful faith of God's promises. and speak

00:26:29.619 --> 00:26:32.500
about pain in the same breath. That's a maturity

00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:36.779
of our faith, right? An immaturity of our faith

00:26:36.779 --> 00:26:38.920
is when we talk about hopeful faith only when

00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:40.940
everything's great, and then when things get

00:26:40.940 --> 00:26:44.460
really bad, we're, oh, I'm doubting God, and

00:26:44.460 --> 00:26:46.779
is God really here, right? And, you know, that's

00:26:46.779 --> 00:26:52.349
just an immaturity of faith. But passing on a

00:26:52.349 --> 00:26:54.930
mature faith to our kids is something where we

00:26:54.930 --> 00:26:57.910
live and believe and act and speak in the idea

00:26:57.910 --> 00:27:01.109
that God is God no matter what happens. God is

00:27:01.109 --> 00:27:04.509
God in the good. God is God in the bad. God is

00:27:04.509 --> 00:27:07.390
God in the happy times. God is God in the sorrow.

00:27:07.470 --> 00:27:11.109
And more importantly, that God is knowing God

00:27:11.109 --> 00:27:13.730
and walking with him does not mean that you won't

00:27:13.730 --> 00:27:18.980
have bad things happen in this life. And as Jacob's

00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:21.200
going to go on, it's going to be quite the contrary.

00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:25.180
The truth is that having God makes managing the

00:27:25.180 --> 00:27:28.019
bad things in life manageable because he's walking

00:27:28.019 --> 00:27:32.359
with us, because he's with you. And so Jacob

00:27:32.359 --> 00:27:34.859
here, he's like, who are these? It tells us that

00:27:34.859 --> 00:27:38.599
his eyesight was bad. So yeah, part of it was

00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:41.240
like, hey, I'm talking about your kids, Joseph.

00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:44.099
And Joseph was like, they're standing right here.

00:27:44.700 --> 00:27:47.500
Who are these kids that have shown up? It's not

00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:49.579
just because he was old and his eyesight was

00:27:49.579 --> 00:27:53.240
bad. This is also a part of the ceremonial presentation,

00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:56.779
right? Joseph, I'm going to adopt your kids,

00:27:56.839 --> 00:27:59.380
and da -da -da -da -da -da -da -da. And so, who

00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:02.019
are these? These are my kids, Dad, right? You

00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:05.200
know, in a marriage, when the bride comes forward,

00:28:05.259 --> 00:28:07.099
and Dad or whoever's walking her forward, and

00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:09.400
the husband steps out, and he goes, who gives

00:28:09.400 --> 00:28:13.529
this woman to me to be my bride? I mean, does

00:28:13.529 --> 00:28:15.309
anybody in the room think, does he really not

00:28:15.309 --> 00:28:19.410
know who her dad is? Wow, they're getting married

00:28:19.410 --> 00:28:22.069
and he doesn't even know her dad? No, it's part

00:28:22.069 --> 00:28:24.869
of the ceremony, right? And so who are these?

00:28:25.069 --> 00:28:27.569
These are my sons, you know. And so they come

00:28:27.569 --> 00:28:30.589
in and it's really interesting. Before he gets

00:28:30.589 --> 00:28:32.970
into the official, let's get to business and

00:28:32.970 --> 00:28:35.430
let's get to the proclamation and all this stuff,

00:28:35.509 --> 00:28:38.450
it just tells us that he kissed and embraced

00:28:38.450 --> 00:28:43.940
them. He doesn't rush into prophecy. He draws

00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:47.460
them near. And I think that's because legacy

00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:51.079
is not something we just declare. It's something

00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:56.319
that is felt, right? We want our kids to know

00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:59.140
God, to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,

00:28:59.259 --> 00:29:02.119
to know him. But we don't just want them to know

00:29:02.119 --> 00:29:05.799
him as this dogmatic rule master who's just,

00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:09.079
these are the rules, blah, blah, blah. And a

00:29:09.079 --> 00:29:11.799
part of the legacy that we want to pass on to

00:29:11.799 --> 00:29:14.400
them is not just like God is the most important

00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:16.099
thing and knowing him is the most important thing,

00:29:16.160 --> 00:29:21.599
but he loves you. He loves you. You know, I think

00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:26.700
truth without tenderness hardens a person. So

00:29:26.700 --> 00:29:29.039
many children, I think, learn covenant in the

00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:34.430
context of affection. Without affection, They

00:29:34.430 --> 00:29:36.109
grow up to think of the covenant as something

00:29:36.109 --> 00:29:37.630
harsh and restrictive, and they want nothing

00:29:37.630 --> 00:29:41.470
to do with God. But then when there's tenderness

00:29:41.470 --> 00:29:46.329
without truth, it weakens them. They grow up

00:29:46.329 --> 00:29:48.849
thinking, oh, God is a God of love, and don't

00:29:48.849 --> 00:29:52.190
you dare ever say anything anybody is doing is

00:29:52.190 --> 00:29:57.630
wrong, because that's just mean. It's the middle

00:29:57.630 --> 00:30:03.880
ground. Truth is truth, but when the... The people

00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:05.500
in our lives that we have an influence over,

00:30:05.640 --> 00:30:08.480
whether we're parents or grandparents or nieces,

00:30:08.500 --> 00:30:11.059
nephews, whatever it is, we want them to know

00:30:11.059 --> 00:30:15.599
the truth of Scripture. And we want them to know

00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:18.339
that sin is sin and all of these things, but

00:30:18.339 --> 00:30:24.259
you know what they need to know most? God loves

00:30:24.259 --> 00:30:27.460
them and died for them. He died that they would

00:30:27.460 --> 00:30:30.720
be set free from sin. They don't have to sin.

00:30:32.349 --> 00:30:35.390
Yes, sin leads to hell and judgment and all these

00:30:35.390 --> 00:30:38.430
things, but truth without the tenderness just

00:30:38.430 --> 00:30:41.150
becomes this harsh, restrictive, legalistic thing.

00:30:41.650 --> 00:30:43.130
And our kid's like, I want nothing to do with

00:30:43.130 --> 00:30:47.329
that. I want nothing to do with that. So we see

00:30:47.329 --> 00:30:49.150
Jacob here. What I see is him saying, before

00:30:49.150 --> 00:30:51.890
we get into the business of the promise and all

00:30:51.890 --> 00:30:53.890
this kind of thing, he's just, I love you guys.

00:30:55.390 --> 00:30:59.049
You are a gift God has given to me. And I want

00:30:59.049 --> 00:31:02.599
you to know. That not only do I love you, but

00:31:02.599 --> 00:31:04.480
the Father loves you. That's what I see in this,

00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:06.779
in his embracing of them and just communicating

00:31:06.779 --> 00:31:09.380
to them the affection and the care he has for

00:31:09.380 --> 00:31:12.720
them. And then he says in verse 11, I never expected

00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:17.480
to see your face again, Joseph. You know, before

00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:20.279
we get into the promise and the inheritance and

00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:24.059
all of these things, I just want you to know,

00:31:24.099 --> 00:31:27.660
man, that God gives more than you could ever

00:31:27.660 --> 00:31:32.500
expect. He made promises way back in the beginning,

00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:34.799
right, as we're following the thought here. God

00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:37.119
made promises to Abraham and to Isaac and to

00:31:37.119 --> 00:31:41.019
me. And Joseph, I want your sons to directly

00:31:41.019 --> 00:31:43.700
inherit those promises from me in all the legal

00:31:43.700 --> 00:31:46.660
sense and all the spiritual sense. And, you know,

00:31:46.720 --> 00:31:48.819
God's promises doesn't mean we're not going to

00:31:48.819 --> 00:31:52.519
have sorrow in life. And yet, just, oh, I see

00:31:52.519 --> 00:31:54.160
you guys. I love you. And then he's like, I never

00:31:54.160 --> 00:31:57.019
expected to see your face again. I can't believe

00:31:57.019 --> 00:31:58.799
we're even here. I didn't expect to see you,

00:31:58.819 --> 00:32:00.940
let alone your kids. And now I'm here embracing

00:32:00.940 --> 00:32:05.480
your kids. What does that show these kids? What

00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:08.960
does that show us? God gives more than we could

00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:12.700
ever expect. Don't you want your kids to know

00:32:12.700 --> 00:32:16.980
that? It doesn't mean God's going to give you

00:32:16.980 --> 00:32:22.339
everything you want. But God gives and blesses

00:32:22.339 --> 00:32:27.140
abundantly more than we could ever ask. And we

00:32:27.140 --> 00:32:30.480
want our kids to know that. We want them to know

00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:32.460
that it's his promises that are unshakable and

00:32:32.460 --> 00:32:35.720
all these things to pass on because when things

00:32:35.720 --> 00:32:37.519
do get difficult and they're gonna be like, I

00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:39.259
didn't get what I want. God's a big meanie. It's

00:32:39.259 --> 00:32:42.980
like, no, no, no, you don't understand. Jacob,

00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:45.240
I'm a man who lived a really difficult life and

00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:47.220
here at the very end, I thought, Joseph, you

00:32:47.220 --> 00:32:49.599
were dead and not only do I get to see you, but

00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:51.759
then I get to see your grandkids. What an amazing,

00:32:51.819 --> 00:33:04.240
gracious God do we serve? And so Jacob, never

00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:08.200
expecting to see him again, now sees the second

00:33:08.200 --> 00:33:13.339
most powerful man in Egypt bow down to him. Bow

00:33:13.339 --> 00:33:15.759
down to an old shepherd, which we've read that

00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:18.480
shepherds were an abomination to Egyptians. And

00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:24.039
yet here's Joseph, prime minister of Egypt. He's

00:33:24.039 --> 00:33:27.099
bowing down. I mean, what is that showing the

00:33:27.099 --> 00:33:31.799
kids? By example. It's showing something very,

00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:34.240
very important. This is for all the younger people

00:33:34.240 --> 00:33:38.539
here. Just because you might be more successful

00:33:38.539 --> 00:33:41.119
than your parents, you might have acquired more

00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:44.259
wealth, more power, more influence, maybe you've

00:33:44.259 --> 00:33:47.400
achieved levels of fame or fortune or whatever

00:33:47.400 --> 00:33:50.160
it is that your parents never reached does not

00:33:50.160 --> 00:33:54.559
erase the need for honor and respect of those

00:33:54.559 --> 00:34:00.259
people in your lives. Now, Granted, not all of

00:34:00.259 --> 00:34:05.539
us had great parents. Some of us have abuse in

00:34:05.539 --> 00:34:09.480
our history and just all kinds of rotten things.

00:34:09.940 --> 00:34:13.320
And those things are real. Those things matter.

00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:20.420
But to honor our parents is one of the Ten Commandments.

00:34:24.130 --> 00:34:27.010
generational humility, it matters a lot. And

00:34:27.010 --> 00:34:28.849
you know, some cultures are better at this than

00:34:28.849 --> 00:34:32.769
others. But what is Joseph teaching his kids

00:34:32.769 --> 00:34:37.469
right here? This is my dad. And the kids, mind

00:34:37.469 --> 00:34:39.650
you, they've grown up in Egypt, right? They're

00:34:39.650 --> 00:34:44.039
quite thoroughly culturally Egypt. And then all

00:34:44.039 --> 00:34:46.599
these dirty shepherds show up, and that's my

00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:50.099
dad. Your dad's a dirty shepherd? Wow. Terrible

00:34:50.099 --> 00:34:52.119
to be you, you know. And no, no, no, you don't

00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:54.500
understand. This is my father. He's the covenant

00:34:54.500 --> 00:34:58.260
holder. And I'm sure Joseph had taught his kids

00:34:58.260 --> 00:35:01.079
about God and all of that, but now they're seeing

00:35:01.079 --> 00:35:03.840
their dad, who's the most powerful guy under

00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:06.699
Pharaoh, bow down on his face before his father

00:35:06.699 --> 00:35:13.019
Jacob. Teaching them reverence for. The Father.

00:35:16.219 --> 00:35:19.900
Teaching them how to show honor and respect in

00:35:19.900 --> 00:35:24.239
that regard. And so, I believe all of this just

00:35:24.239 --> 00:35:28.360
kind of softened the room. Affection is established.

00:35:28.460 --> 00:35:30.719
The memory of the promises have been spoken.

00:35:30.920 --> 00:35:33.280
And now the hands move, right? Look at verse

00:35:33.280 --> 00:35:37.440
13. Then Joseph took them both. With his right

00:35:37.440 --> 00:35:40.260
hand, Ephraim towards Israel left. And with his

00:35:40.260 --> 00:35:42.440
left hand, Manasseh towards Israel's right and

00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:45.639
brought them to Israel. But Israel stretched

00:35:45.639 --> 00:35:47.820
out his right hand and put it on the head of

00:35:47.820 --> 00:35:50.300
Ephraim, the younger. And crossing his hands,

00:35:50.340 --> 00:35:52.659
put his left hand on Manasseh's head, although

00:35:52.659 --> 00:35:56.079
Manasseh was the firstborn. Now, Joseph understanding

00:35:56.079 --> 00:35:58.920
the significance of this moment, right? The fathers

00:35:58.920 --> 00:36:01.420
would lay their hands on the children and pronounce

00:36:01.420 --> 00:36:04.039
and speak the blessing. And that was the symbolic

00:36:04.039 --> 00:36:08.250
moment of the transfer of. Rights and transfer

00:36:08.250 --> 00:36:11.829
of authorities and the transfer of the blessing

00:36:11.829 --> 00:36:14.190
and the promise, right? It was a symbolic moment

00:36:14.190 --> 00:36:17.210
of that. And so he properly positions his sons

00:36:17.210 --> 00:36:20.329
according to the traditions, right? The right

00:36:20.329 --> 00:36:22.989
hand is where the firstborn went and the left

00:36:22.989 --> 00:36:25.190
hand was where the second son went. And, you

00:36:25.190 --> 00:36:27.349
know, this whole right hand and left hand thing,

00:36:27.530 --> 00:36:31.250
it was a big deal throughout Scripture. It's

00:36:31.250 --> 00:36:33.429
mentioned a whole lot. The right hand symbolized

00:36:33.429 --> 00:36:40.280
strength, honor. authority, right? And so people

00:36:40.280 --> 00:36:42.840
that were left -handed, you're just out of luck.

00:36:42.920 --> 00:36:47.260
Sorry. No, just kidding. The reason the right

00:36:47.260 --> 00:36:49.400
hand became symbolic of these things is because

00:36:49.400 --> 00:36:52.900
most people are right -handed, right? And whatever

00:36:52.900 --> 00:36:55.480
handed you are, your dominant hand tends to be

00:36:55.480 --> 00:36:58.579
the stronger hand of the two. And so since most

00:36:58.579 --> 00:37:01.179
people are right -handed, the right hand came

00:37:01.179 --> 00:37:03.539
to be known as the place of strength and authority

00:37:03.539 --> 00:37:06.219
and all that. You know, we see Christ himself

00:37:06.219 --> 00:37:10.000
in Mark 14, 62. It says he's seated at the right

00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:12.739
hand of God, right? It doesn't mean if you're

00:37:12.739 --> 00:37:15.599
left -handed, you can't go to heaven. It's a

00:37:15.599 --> 00:37:20.380
symbolic thing. So Joseph brings the firstborn

00:37:20.380 --> 00:37:23.340
to Jacob's right hand, which is what we expected.

00:37:23.480 --> 00:37:26.820
He's the firstborn son. But then, instead of

00:37:26.820 --> 00:37:29.059
placing that right hand of honor, Jacob switches

00:37:29.059 --> 00:37:32.500
his hands and puts the right hand on the head

00:37:32.500 --> 00:37:35.780
of the secondborn child, right? Now, the crossing

00:37:35.780 --> 00:37:40.139
of the hands here, you know, this isn't an, oh,

00:37:40.519 --> 00:37:45.610
the old man's confused. He just can't see well.

00:37:46.590 --> 00:37:48.550
It's a deliberate thing. It's an intentional

00:37:48.550 --> 00:37:51.150
thing. This is a theological thing. It's a prophetic

00:37:51.150 --> 00:37:54.750
faith -driven thing. How do we know that? Because

00:37:54.750 --> 00:37:58.250
Hebrews chapter 11 says, Jacob by faith blessed

00:37:58.250 --> 00:38:04.570
each one of Joseph's sons. By faith. That means,

00:38:04.789 --> 00:38:07.349
even though it's not recorded here in Genesis,

00:38:07.489 --> 00:38:12.489
Jacob knew something. He knew what he was supposed

00:38:12.489 --> 00:38:18.409
to do. He was listening to God. He was doing

00:38:18.409 --> 00:38:22.849
only what God willed. Somewhere, somehow, someway,

00:38:22.869 --> 00:38:25.829
he knew that God's intent was to bless Ephraim,

00:38:25.909 --> 00:38:29.070
the secondborn, with the firstborn rights, and

00:38:29.070 --> 00:38:34.250
Manasseh with the secondborn rights. His own

00:38:34.250 --> 00:38:36.900
opinion, his own worries, his own fears. It didn't

00:38:36.900 --> 00:38:40.000
matter. We see Jacob here acting in faith. And

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:41.739
this is why it tells us in Hebrew 11, it's by

00:38:41.739 --> 00:38:44.179
faith he blessed each one of the sons and he

00:38:44.179 --> 00:38:47.659
worshiped leaning on his staff. One of the greatest

00:38:47.659 --> 00:38:50.019
act of worships we could do as God's people is

00:38:50.019 --> 00:38:54.679
obey him. God, I want to worship you. And you

00:38:54.679 --> 00:38:57.679
come to church and we sing songs and we go, man,

00:38:57.679 --> 00:39:00.280
that drummer is way too loud. And it's just like,

00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:05.280
and then we go home. And then we disobey the

00:39:05.280 --> 00:39:09.300
Lord. And we think, oh, I worshiped God today.

00:39:12.039 --> 00:39:17.400
God said, I want obedience, not sacrifice. I

00:39:17.400 --> 00:39:19.099
want you to do what I tell you to do. I mean,

00:39:19.119 --> 00:39:21.719
sure, oh, I got up early on Sunday and I was

00:39:21.719 --> 00:39:23.400
so tired, but I went to church. Great, thanks

00:39:23.400 --> 00:39:25.260
for the sacrifice. But you know what I want more

00:39:25.260 --> 00:39:27.380
than that? I just want you to do what I tell

00:39:27.380 --> 00:39:32.619
you to do. And Jacob here is doing that. We don't

00:39:32.619 --> 00:39:34.659
have the story, but Hebrews gives us the insight.

00:39:35.500 --> 00:39:38.960
He knew that the blessing that God wanted to

00:39:38.960 --> 00:39:43.019
carry forth to his family, it didn't originate

00:39:43.019 --> 00:39:46.900
with him. It was God's blessing to give. And

00:39:46.900 --> 00:39:49.340
so he was going to give it the way God wanted

00:39:49.340 --> 00:39:51.460
to give it, and he crossed his hands, right?

00:39:51.679 --> 00:39:53.880
Now, we're going to deal more with that in a

00:39:53.880 --> 00:39:55.519
little bit, but let's look at the blessing itself

00:39:55.519 --> 00:39:59.280
in verse 15. Then he blessed Joseph and said,

00:40:00.110 --> 00:40:02.730
The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac

00:40:02.730 --> 00:40:04.949
walked, the God who has been my shepherd all

00:40:04.949 --> 00:40:07.710
of my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed

00:40:07.710 --> 00:40:12.429
me from all harm, may he bless these boys. And

00:40:12.429 --> 00:40:15.389
may they be called by my name and the names of

00:40:15.389 --> 00:40:18.809
my fathers, Abraham and Isaac. And may they grow

00:40:18.809 --> 00:40:22.699
to be numerous within the land. So this is the

00:40:22.699 --> 00:40:25.699
specific blessing he's laying upon them, the

00:40:25.699 --> 00:40:28.559
blessing that God had passed from Abraham to

00:40:28.559 --> 00:40:31.099
Isaac down to Jacob, and now Jacob is including

00:40:31.099 --> 00:40:35.079
them specifically in the first line of that blessing.

00:40:35.260 --> 00:40:37.960
And he invokes God's name three times in this.

00:40:38.000 --> 00:40:40.260
He says, God of my fathers, God who has been

00:40:40.260 --> 00:40:42.760
my shepherd, and the angel who has redeemed me.

00:40:42.940 --> 00:40:47.320
As he's speaking to these children, this is the...

00:40:47.659 --> 00:40:50.199
what he wants to pass on, the most important

00:40:50.199 --> 00:40:53.380
thing, the final lesson, if you will. If I have

00:40:53.380 --> 00:40:56.599
nothing else, no opportunity to say anything

00:40:56.599 --> 00:40:59.639
else to you, this is what I want you to know.

00:41:03.619 --> 00:41:07.940
That he's the God of my fathers. That he is the

00:41:07.940 --> 00:41:10.739
God of the unbreakable covenant. He's anchoring

00:41:10.739 --> 00:41:14.820
them into the family history. This is who we

00:41:14.820 --> 00:41:19.750
are. This is what has guided our family. This

00:41:19.750 --> 00:41:23.130
is what is going to guide your family. That the

00:41:23.130 --> 00:41:27.309
God of the unbreakable covenant is the one that

00:41:27.309 --> 00:41:30.150
is guiding us. And he says he's the shepherd

00:41:30.150 --> 00:41:36.010
of all my life. He wants his kids to know his

00:41:36.010 --> 00:41:42.719
personal testimony. Grandpa Jacob. Through all

00:41:42.719 --> 00:41:45.219
the stories and all the ups and downs, God has

00:41:45.219 --> 00:41:49.980
been my shepherd. That means provision and protection

00:41:49.980 --> 00:41:52.039
and guidance and patience and discipline and

00:41:52.039 --> 00:41:55.099
presence, all of that. Jacob is condensing his

00:41:55.099 --> 00:41:59.139
entire life into one phrase. God has been my

00:41:59.139 --> 00:42:03.159
shepherd. And then he says redeeming angel where

00:42:03.159 --> 00:42:07.079
he's now anchoring them in his own saving experience

00:42:07.079 --> 00:42:12.030
with God. He's rooting these boys down into the

00:42:12.030 --> 00:42:17.090
most important thing in his life. The most influential

00:42:17.090 --> 00:42:19.750
thing in his life. One, something that's older

00:42:19.750 --> 00:42:22.369
than themselves. God's promises predate you kids.

00:42:22.630 --> 00:42:25.230
They go way back. They're unchangeable. They're

00:42:25.230 --> 00:42:28.070
God's promises. These things don't change with

00:42:28.070 --> 00:42:30.530
the generations. This is stuff God said way in

00:42:30.530 --> 00:42:33.940
the back, in the beginning of things. Then he

00:42:33.940 --> 00:42:35.639
says, he's been my shepherd my whole life. This

00:42:35.639 --> 00:42:38.980
is the first time in scripture that God is referred

00:42:38.980 --> 00:42:46.280
to as shepherding a person. First time. And then

00:42:46.280 --> 00:42:49.260
when he says, he's the angel who's redeemed me,

00:42:49.320 --> 00:42:53.539
that word redeemed is gaal in Hebrew. It's the

00:42:53.539 --> 00:42:59.219
word we know as kinsman redeemer. He's my near,

00:42:59.360 --> 00:43:02.480
personal, involved, protective, rescuing God.

00:43:02.679 --> 00:43:05.639
This is who he has been in my life. And he says

00:43:05.639 --> 00:43:09.500
he has redeemed me from all harm. That word harm

00:43:09.500 --> 00:43:12.440
means ultimate ruin. So he's not saying God's

00:43:12.440 --> 00:43:16.559
kept me from pain and consequence and hard times,

00:43:16.739 --> 00:43:22.239
but he's kept me from ultimate ruin. What he's

00:43:22.239 --> 00:43:25.619
doing here in this blessing is imparting to them

00:43:25.619 --> 00:43:31.139
who God is. This is who God is. This is why you

00:43:31.139 --> 00:43:34.059
can trust him. This is not only what he's done

00:43:34.059 --> 00:43:35.820
from our family history, but this is what he's

00:43:35.820 --> 00:43:38.840
done in my life personally, my personal experiences,

00:43:38.920 --> 00:43:44.860
and I want you to know that. That as he has guided

00:43:44.860 --> 00:43:47.199
me in my whole life, he will guide you if you

00:43:47.199 --> 00:43:51.389
trust him. That is, he has redeemed me from ultimate

00:43:51.389 --> 00:43:53.869
harm because, kids, I know you may have heard

00:43:53.869 --> 00:43:56.989
stories about Grandpa Jacob and, yeah, but, you

00:43:56.989 --> 00:43:59.190
know, I want to be Israel right here at the end

00:43:59.190 --> 00:44:03.570
and want you to know that my ultimate, ultimate

00:44:03.570 --> 00:44:07.670
salvation is him. That it's going to be in him

00:44:07.670 --> 00:44:09.889
and through him. And so he prays here and he

00:44:09.889 --> 00:44:12.610
says, may they grow numerous. Just echoing the

00:44:12.610 --> 00:44:15.269
creation mandate, right? Genesis 128, be fruitful

00:44:15.269 --> 00:44:19.579
and multiply. So this blessing that he's putting

00:44:19.579 --> 00:44:21.360
on the kids, it's not that you would have great

00:44:21.360 --> 00:44:23.300
success. It's not that your businesses would

00:44:23.300 --> 00:44:25.239
explode. It's not that you would have a great

00:44:25.239 --> 00:44:27.280
comfortable house or a nice car. It's not that

00:44:27.280 --> 00:44:29.880
your bank accounts would be huge. It's not that

00:44:29.880 --> 00:44:32.760
here I bequeath to you this set of china that

00:44:32.760 --> 00:44:35.920
really has no value but super sentimental. All

00:44:35.920 --> 00:44:38.840
that stuff is cool, but the most important thing

00:44:38.840 --> 00:44:45.110
is that you would know God. That you would know

00:44:45.110 --> 00:44:48.710
who he is, not from just stories, but you would

00:44:48.710 --> 00:44:52.730
know who he is from my personal testimony. That

00:44:52.730 --> 00:44:55.150
you would reflect back on all the experiences

00:44:55.150 --> 00:44:58.269
that I've had and learn what took me so long

00:44:58.269 --> 00:45:02.590
to learn. That if I just trusted in him, I would

00:45:02.590 --> 00:45:08.030
have avoided so much heartache in my life. May

00:45:08.030 --> 00:45:12.179
they grow to be numerous. The mandate of creation,

00:45:12.440 --> 00:45:14.260
the Abrahamic promise. And you'll notice there

00:45:14.260 --> 00:45:16.559
what's really interesting in verse 15. It says,

00:45:16.599 --> 00:45:20.960
then he blessed Joseph and said these things.

00:45:22.340 --> 00:45:25.000
God of my fathers, God who is my shepherd, angel

00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:27.199
who has redeemed me, may he bless these boys.

00:45:27.820 --> 00:45:30.119
And may they be called by my name and the names

00:45:30.119 --> 00:45:34.820
of my father Abraham and Isaac. He blessed Joseph

00:45:34.820 --> 00:45:39.579
the father by invoking this blessing on his sons.

00:45:40.250 --> 00:45:42.110
You see, a father is blessed when his children

00:45:42.110 --> 00:45:46.449
stand in covenant favor. When your kids are doing

00:45:46.449 --> 00:45:48.670
well and walking with the Lord, a father is blessed

00:45:48.670 --> 00:45:52.750
by that, right? Bless my kids. I want them to

00:45:52.750 --> 00:45:54.650
know you, Lord. I want them to be walking solid.

00:45:54.730 --> 00:45:57.070
I want their faith to be strong. I want all of

00:45:57.070 --> 00:45:58.889
that, and a father is blessed by that. Charles

00:45:58.889 --> 00:46:01.510
Spurgeon said the blessing of children is the

00:46:01.510 --> 00:46:05.389
blessing of parents. And conversely, many of

00:46:05.389 --> 00:46:07.050
us may have experienced the opposite, right?

00:46:07.760 --> 00:46:09.159
When the kids are knuckleheads, you're like,

00:46:09.219 --> 00:46:15.820
well, this is not a blessing right now. But what

00:46:15.820 --> 00:46:20.860
Jacob is saying here is, look, boys, the God

00:46:20.860 --> 00:46:23.239
of the covenant, who established the covenant,

00:46:23.420 --> 00:46:27.719
the God who has personally shepherded me. You

00:46:27.719 --> 00:46:29.539
know, maybe they didn't understand shepherding.

00:46:29.539 --> 00:46:30.860
Maybe that had to have been explained. I don't

00:46:30.860 --> 00:46:33.440
know, but the one who has watched over me and

00:46:33.440 --> 00:46:36.699
guided me and pulled me out of my own stupidity,

00:46:36.719 --> 00:46:40.260
the one who has redeemed me because it's in him

00:46:40.260 --> 00:46:44.559
and his promises I rest, it's not about me, that's

00:46:44.559 --> 00:46:51.139
the same God that I'm entrusting to you. And

00:46:51.139 --> 00:46:54.619
that is the God that I'm entrusting you to because

00:46:54.619 --> 00:47:00.019
he is the one. That matters most. Knowing him

00:47:00.019 --> 00:47:05.360
is what matters most. That's what legacy is.

00:47:05.480 --> 00:47:08.860
That's the legacy that I believe God wants us

00:47:08.860 --> 00:47:10.739
to leave behind for our kids and our grandchildren

00:47:10.739 --> 00:47:13.000
and all those young ones that we have a chance

00:47:13.000 --> 00:47:15.159
to influence until the time we're gone from this

00:47:15.159 --> 00:47:20.699
earth. It's not land, wealth, and success. It's

00:47:20.699 --> 00:47:23.780
not church and ministry. It's God himself. This

00:47:23.780 --> 00:47:27.019
is what I want you to have. Because this is the

00:47:27.019 --> 00:47:30.500
most important thing. This is the thing that

00:47:30.500 --> 00:47:34.320
makes everything else make sense. This is the

00:47:34.320 --> 00:47:36.199
thing that transcends the life you're going to

00:47:36.199 --> 00:47:38.980
have because, you know, Jacob, I'm about to die.

00:47:41.079 --> 00:47:43.940
But I'm not dying. My body is going to die and

00:47:43.940 --> 00:47:48.400
I'm going on. And so the thing that transcends

00:47:48.400 --> 00:47:53.769
this life we have, that's but a vapor. What is

00:47:53.769 --> 00:47:57.869
the most important thing to leave behind? The

00:47:57.869 --> 00:47:59.869
most important thing that our children know.

00:48:01.070 --> 00:48:04.250
The most important thing that they see us live

00:48:04.250 --> 00:48:11.909
in our own values and priorities. It's that God

00:48:11.909 --> 00:48:15.630
is most important. I was sent a video the other

00:48:15.630 --> 00:48:17.909
day. It was talking about service and volunteering.

00:48:20.030 --> 00:48:23.250
And it was just talking about, you know, scripturally,

00:48:23.250 --> 00:48:25.389
it's like we're called to serve. We're not called

00:48:25.389 --> 00:48:27.550
to volunteer. And so I was talking about the

00:48:27.550 --> 00:48:32.050
difficulties in today's world where we look at

00:48:32.050 --> 00:48:33.650
service as something where it's like, well, if

00:48:33.650 --> 00:48:36.170
I have time and if it's convenient and if it

00:48:36.170 --> 00:48:39.690
works for me and if I can and if I have free

00:48:39.690 --> 00:48:41.789
time on my schedule, then I'll volunteer. And

00:48:41.789 --> 00:48:44.130
that's not the biblical model of being involved.

00:48:44.590 --> 00:48:47.070
That's a whole other Bible study. But there was

00:48:47.070 --> 00:48:49.510
a comment made in this video where it said, if

00:48:49.510 --> 00:48:53.309
your kids see you, put the kingdom of God over

00:48:53.309 --> 00:48:55.570
here as something I'll do when I have time to

00:48:55.570 --> 00:48:57.670
do it. What do you think they're going to learn

00:48:57.670 --> 00:49:02.190
about the kingdom of God? And then when they

00:49:02.190 --> 00:49:03.929
grow up and they go, the kingdom of God isn't

00:49:03.929 --> 00:49:07.449
that important. And we go, Lord, what if I, we

00:49:07.449 --> 00:49:09.989
went to church and we did this and we did this.

00:49:10.010 --> 00:49:12.210
Lord, why don't they see the importance in who

00:49:12.210 --> 00:49:15.409
you are? And the answer is going to be, where

00:49:15.409 --> 00:49:22.679
were you on Super Bowl Sunday? Again, nothing

00:49:22.679 --> 00:49:26.619
wrong with football, guys, but where were you?

00:49:27.860 --> 00:49:32.679
Where do you think your kids learned it? And

00:49:32.679 --> 00:49:35.940
so the encouragement is like, put those godly

00:49:35.940 --> 00:49:39.500
values first. Put those godly priorities first.

00:49:39.579 --> 00:49:41.519
Put the kingdom first. All the other stuff is

00:49:41.519 --> 00:49:44.559
fine. Hobbies, entertainments, it's great. No

00:49:44.559 --> 00:49:47.760
problem with that. But when we prioritize Egypt

00:49:47.760 --> 00:49:51.739
over the promised land. And our kids and our

00:49:51.739 --> 00:49:54.539
grandchildren and our nieces and nephews and

00:49:54.539 --> 00:49:56.099
whoever it is, they're watching us and they're

00:49:56.099 --> 00:50:00.599
going, that's what's important. And then when

00:50:00.599 --> 00:50:02.800
we come back and try and tell them, no, church

00:50:02.800 --> 00:50:04.760
is important, and they'll go, really? You only

00:50:04.760 --> 00:50:10.260
went twice a month. Yeah, but what are you going

00:50:10.260 --> 00:50:17.860
to say? Jacob looked back over his whole life,

00:50:18.000 --> 00:50:22.260
his deception, his exile, his wrestling, Rachel's

00:50:22.260 --> 00:50:25.219
death, the loss of his son Joseph, famine. And

00:50:25.219 --> 00:50:28.019
here at the end of his life, he's going, God

00:50:28.019 --> 00:50:33.099
didn't fail me. God didn't let me down. He shepherded

00:50:33.099 --> 00:50:37.099
me. He walked with me. He was with me every moment

00:50:37.099 --> 00:50:39.679
of my life. And you need to know that because

00:50:39.679 --> 00:50:42.219
if you get that and you have it and you claim

00:50:42.219 --> 00:50:48.799
it, your life will be blessed, not perfect. So

00:50:48.799 --> 00:50:52.239
verse 17. When Joseph saw that his father had

00:50:52.239 --> 00:50:54.659
placed his right hand on Ephraim's head, he thought

00:50:54.659 --> 00:50:56.659
it was a mistake and took his father's hand to

00:50:56.659 --> 00:50:59.599
move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's. Joseph

00:50:59.599 --> 00:51:01.679
said to his father, not that way, my father.

00:51:02.199 --> 00:51:04.519
This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand

00:51:04.519 --> 00:51:07.179
on his head. But his father refused and said,

00:51:07.239 --> 00:51:10.949
I know, my son, I know. He too will become a

00:51:10.949 --> 00:51:13.070
tribe, and he too will be great. Nevertheless,

00:51:13.550 --> 00:51:15.530
his younger brother will be greater than he,

00:51:15.590 --> 00:51:17.409
and his offspring will become a populous nation.

00:51:19.789 --> 00:51:24.190
Dad, you're doing it wrong. I know, son, I know.

00:51:24.289 --> 00:51:27.750
Not, I know I'm doing it wrong. I know what I'm

00:51:27.750 --> 00:51:33.269
doing. What did he know? Jacob knew that God

00:51:33.269 --> 00:51:35.329
had the right to reorder blessing as he sees

00:51:35.329 --> 00:51:38.019
fit. He knew that God's word is what matters.

00:51:38.099 --> 00:51:40.780
God's way is what matters. And at some point,

00:51:40.800 --> 00:51:43.079
as Hebrews alludes to, by faith, God had spoken

00:51:43.079 --> 00:51:44.639
to him and said, I want you to bless Ephraim

00:51:44.639 --> 00:51:47.460
as the first, Manasseh as the second. And so

00:51:47.460 --> 00:51:49.780
as Joseph is going, whoa, whoa, whoa, dad, you're

00:51:49.780 --> 00:51:52.239
doing it wrong. Like the tradition is the firstborn.

00:51:52.420 --> 00:51:57.599
And there's the law of the firstborn. And Jacob's

00:51:57.599 --> 00:52:03.300
like, I know. But God's sovereign grace has the

00:52:03.300 --> 00:52:09.480
right to overturn. Anything that man has. We

00:52:09.480 --> 00:52:11.260
see this pattern throughout Scripture over and

00:52:11.260 --> 00:52:13.679
over, right? Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael,

00:52:13.679 --> 00:52:17.639
Jacob and Esau. We're seeing it here with Joseph

00:52:17.639 --> 00:52:21.159
over his brothers through the blessing of Ephraim

00:52:21.159 --> 00:52:24.739
and Manasseh. Jacob says, I know, my son. I know.

00:52:25.400 --> 00:52:28.679
He repeats it twice. That's him communicating

00:52:28.679 --> 00:52:31.420
prophetic certainty here. I know what I'm doing.

00:52:31.440 --> 00:52:33.880
God has spoken to me, and I'm not going to do

00:52:33.880 --> 00:52:37.199
anything else. I understand you don't know what

00:52:37.199 --> 00:52:42.440
I know, but trust me. And I think Jacob's able

00:52:42.440 --> 00:52:46.480
to accept God's sovereign reordering of the future

00:52:46.480 --> 00:52:48.719
here because he's experienced God's shepherding

00:52:48.719 --> 00:52:51.139
faithfulness throughout his whole life. And here

00:52:51.139 --> 00:52:54.340
at the very end, he's getting it now. God's way

00:52:54.340 --> 00:52:58.239
is the right way, not my way. God's way is the

00:52:58.239 --> 00:53:01.820
right way. God's way really should be the only

00:53:01.820 --> 00:53:06.940
way. And so Joseph's like, no, no, no, Dad. That's

00:53:06.940 --> 00:53:11.119
the wrong kid. I know, son. I know what I'm doing.

00:53:12.380 --> 00:53:15.159
God has spoken. You see, God's grace is never

00:53:15.159 --> 00:53:20.000
captive to position or privilege or heredity

00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:24.110
or expectation or tradition, right? We might

00:53:24.110 --> 00:53:26.150
have in our own families, you know, my firstborn,

00:53:26.230 --> 00:53:30.610
and we have our plans and plan. This is what

00:53:30.610 --> 00:53:32.289
I want to leave behind. This is how families

00:53:32.289 --> 00:53:35.230
can be structured. But we can't call God our

00:53:35.230 --> 00:53:37.289
shepherd and then complain when he crosses our

00:53:37.289 --> 00:53:41.650
plans. Right? And so, for those of us that are

00:53:41.650 --> 00:53:44.909
in the Jacob position, it's submit to the sovereign

00:53:44.909 --> 00:53:49.269
grace of God. God might say, hey, I want you

00:53:49.269 --> 00:53:51.980
to do this with the... this kid instead of this

00:53:51.980 --> 00:53:53.699
kid, and you're like, but that's not how it's

00:53:53.699 --> 00:53:56.300
supposed to be. You know how it's supposed to

00:53:56.300 --> 00:53:59.400
be? However God wants it. That's how it's supposed

00:53:59.400 --> 00:54:04.500
to be. And so Jacob confirms his blessing. Whoa,

00:54:04.519 --> 00:54:06.659
whoa, whoa, Manasseh's going to be blessed. He's

00:54:06.659 --> 00:54:09.360
going to be a great nation, but Ephraim will

00:54:09.360 --> 00:54:12.840
be greater. And this is what happens, as we see

00:54:12.840 --> 00:54:15.780
later in Scripture in Isaiah chapter 7 and Hosea

00:54:15.780 --> 00:54:20.329
chapter 4, that At certain times, the entire

00:54:20.329 --> 00:54:23.590
northern kingdom was called the kingdom of Ephraim.

00:54:24.889 --> 00:54:28.250
So this kind of took place. But verse 20, so

00:54:28.250 --> 00:54:30.110
he blessed them that day, putting Ephraim before

00:54:30.110 --> 00:54:32.610
Manasseh, and he said, the nation Israel will

00:54:32.610 --> 00:54:35.170
invoke blessings by you, saying, may God make

00:54:35.170 --> 00:54:38.630
you like Ephraim and Manasseh. Now I wasn't able

00:54:38.630 --> 00:54:41.329
to confirm this, but allegedly today in the Passover

00:54:41.329 --> 00:54:46.429
thing that the Jewish people do, they say these

00:54:46.429 --> 00:54:49.929
exact words. May God make you like Ephraim and

00:54:49.929 --> 00:54:53.349
Manasseh. What a cool fulfillment of prophecy,

00:54:53.510 --> 00:54:55.449
right? The nation will invoke this blessing.

00:54:55.949 --> 00:54:58.289
Verse 21, Israel said to Joseph, look, I'm about

00:54:58.289 --> 00:55:01.210
to die. But God will be with you and will bring

00:55:01.210 --> 00:55:03.829
you back to the land of your fathers. Over and

00:55:03.829 --> 00:55:05.909
above what I'm giving to your brothers, I'm giving

00:55:05.909 --> 00:55:07.909
you the one mountain slope that I took from the

00:55:07.909 --> 00:55:13.469
Amorites with my sword and my bow. Jacob has

00:55:13.469 --> 00:55:17.820
matured over his long life as we all do. In Genesis

00:55:17.820 --> 00:55:23.139
28, 15, a very young Jacob fleeing for his life,

00:55:23.219 --> 00:55:25.280
God appeared to him and said, I am with you.

00:55:26.340 --> 00:55:30.440
In Genesis chapter 31, verse 3, during the period

00:55:30.440 --> 00:55:32.719
of Jacob's life where God was pruning him and

00:55:32.719 --> 00:55:35.559
shaping him, God said, hey, don't forget, I will

00:55:35.559 --> 00:55:39.679
be with you. Later on in Genesis 31, verse 5,

00:55:39.780 --> 00:55:43.000
right after that, Jacob says, God has been with

00:55:43.000 --> 00:55:47.679
me. And then here in Genesis 48, 21, he now confidently

00:55:47.679 --> 00:55:50.320
passes on the most important lesson he could

00:55:50.320 --> 00:55:54.320
possibly pass on to his grandchildren. God will

00:55:54.320 --> 00:55:58.400
be with you. He has been with me every step of

00:55:58.400 --> 00:56:01.840
my life. He has been with me when I was an idiot.

00:56:02.880 --> 00:56:06.300
He's been with me when I did wrong. He's been

00:56:06.300 --> 00:56:08.760
with me when everything was great. He's been

00:56:08.760 --> 00:56:12.969
with me in the ups and the downs. And kids, I

00:56:12.969 --> 00:56:15.010
can't pass on anything more important than to

00:56:15.010 --> 00:56:17.710
understand this. Keep God at the center and know

00:56:17.710 --> 00:56:19.469
him and walk with him because he will be with

00:56:19.469 --> 00:56:23.369
you every step of the way. And then his final

00:56:23.369 --> 00:56:26.289
gift for Joseph is a mountain slope, which is

00:56:26.289 --> 00:56:30.409
kind of like, what? But that phrase mountain

00:56:30.409 --> 00:56:32.389
slope in there literally means Shechem. You guys

00:56:32.389 --> 00:56:35.289
remember Shechem? The first place they settled

00:56:35.289 --> 00:56:36.909
when they entered the promised land. It wasn't

00:56:36.909 --> 00:56:38.909
the place God wanted Jacob to go to, but it was

00:56:38.909 --> 00:56:41.929
where they settled. It was the place where Simeon

00:56:41.929 --> 00:56:44.030
and Levi slaughtered everybody, all the men there,

00:56:44.150 --> 00:56:48.369
because the men of the city had raped their sister.

00:56:48.730 --> 00:56:52.210
And this is incidentally the exact place where

00:56:52.210 --> 00:56:54.750
Joseph's bones will be buried years later. But

00:56:54.750 --> 00:56:57.329
as he's saying this to Joseph, hey, with all

00:56:57.329 --> 00:56:58.949
the other stuff I'm giving your brothers, I'm

00:56:58.949 --> 00:57:02.289
giving you specifically this piece of land. But

00:57:02.289 --> 00:57:05.909
dad, we're in Egypt. But dad, you don't own Shechem.

00:57:07.469 --> 00:57:10.289
What is Jacob proclaiming here? It's prophetic

00:57:10.289 --> 00:57:13.409
confidence that one day the land will be ours.

00:57:13.630 --> 00:57:19.530
Why? Because God said so. And God's promises

00:57:19.530 --> 00:57:23.329
are unbreakable. And so Genesis 48, it just simply

00:57:23.329 --> 00:57:27.590
asks us, what are we handing down? What are we

00:57:27.590 --> 00:57:30.789
passing on? What is the legacy that we're going

00:57:30.789 --> 00:57:32.710
to leave when our time comes? Some of you may

00:57:32.710 --> 00:57:34.969
be close to that time. Some of you are far away

00:57:34.969 --> 00:57:39.230
from that time. But the foundation of the values

00:57:39.230 --> 00:57:43.130
and everything that we instill as a part of our

00:57:43.130 --> 00:57:45.349
legacy began today with your behavior today,

00:57:45.489 --> 00:57:47.969
with your speech today, with how you walk in

00:57:47.969 --> 00:57:50.429
faith today, with the priorities that you put

00:57:50.429 --> 00:57:56.039
today. This is where it starts. I can tell you

00:57:56.039 --> 00:57:59.599
just from being with people in times where there's

00:57:59.599 --> 00:58:01.559
passing and stuff that it's very, very, very

00:58:01.559 --> 00:58:04.619
difficult and heartbreaking for the person that

00:58:04.619 --> 00:58:08.139
is on their deathbed to be with tears just wanting

00:58:08.139 --> 00:58:10.179
their children to know the Lord and know what's

00:58:10.179 --> 00:58:13.019
most important. And the kids won't hear it because

00:58:13.019 --> 00:58:15.599
that person lived a life of disobedience and

00:58:15.599 --> 00:58:17.500
a life of putting God on the back burner and

00:58:17.500 --> 00:58:20.440
a life of prioritizing Egypt over the promised

00:58:20.440 --> 00:58:22.780
land. And then at the very end, they're finally

00:58:22.780 --> 00:58:26.940
realizing Egypt's done. doesn't matter the world

00:58:26.940 --> 00:58:30.000
doesn't matter and oh my gosh I just want you

00:58:30.000 --> 00:58:32.420
guys to know the Lord and they're like they're

00:58:32.420 --> 00:58:35.260
not getting it it's heartbreaking it's devastating

00:58:35.260 --> 00:58:40.519
grandparents take spiritual concern for your

00:58:40.519 --> 00:58:43.739
grandchildren right teach and transfer truth

00:58:43.739 --> 00:58:46.599
through tenderness you know grandparents they're

00:58:46.599 --> 00:58:50.679
I say we I get to play that role in a in in couple

00:58:50.679 --> 00:58:53.360
lives and grandparents are known for like, oh

00:58:53.360 --> 00:58:56.139
yeah, we break all the rules, right? You know,

00:58:56.179 --> 00:58:59.619
confession time, you know, if there's cookies

00:58:59.619 --> 00:59:01.460
in the house that I have access to in the morning,

00:59:01.539 --> 00:59:04.980
James gets up with me and he's not supposed to

00:59:04.980 --> 00:59:08.159
have cookies in the morning. And so James will

00:59:08.159 --> 00:59:11.500
get up and he'll go, Papa, can I have a cookie?

00:59:12.900 --> 00:59:14.380
I'm like, are you supposed to have a cookie?

00:59:14.719 --> 00:59:18.780
And he's like, no. And I'm like, well, they didn't

00:59:18.780 --> 00:59:20.940
say anything about it. Half a cookie. So I'll

00:59:20.940 --> 00:59:25.699
split it with you. So we're probably not going

00:59:25.699 --> 00:59:27.280
to have cookies accessible anymore after this.

00:59:28.880 --> 00:59:31.079
But I mean, you have this calling not just to

00:59:31.079 --> 00:59:32.699
be the grandparent and the fun and the rule breaker.

00:59:33.219 --> 00:59:36.820
You're a part of the teaching, right? One of

00:59:36.820 --> 00:59:38.960
the things I try and do with James, my grandson,

00:59:39.039 --> 00:59:41.559
as much as I can, and I don't hit it every time,

00:59:41.599 --> 00:59:44.360
but my intention is every time I leave the house,

00:59:44.579 --> 00:59:47.719
I tell him I love him and I tell him Jesus loves

00:59:47.719 --> 00:59:50.050
him because I want him to know that. His entire

00:59:50.050 --> 00:59:54.210
life. My granddaughter, from the day she was

00:59:54.210 --> 00:59:56.510
born, she didn't even know English yet. And I'm

00:59:56.510 --> 01:00:02.829
like, Genesis 1 -1. In the beginning, God. Like,

01:00:02.829 --> 01:00:06.949
honey, if you have that as your foundation. In

01:00:06.949 --> 01:00:09.349
the beginning, God. He is it. He is number one.

01:00:09.550 --> 01:00:12.769
And so take that concern, you know. Parents,

01:00:12.829 --> 01:00:14.909
grandparents, whoever, picture their future in

01:00:14.909 --> 01:00:18.320
the promises. Their future is not in Egyptian

01:00:18.320 --> 01:00:21.000
prestige. Their future is not in how much money

01:00:21.000 --> 01:00:24.639
you leave them. Their future is not in the practical

01:00:24.639 --> 01:00:26.619
material things. Those things are good. I'm not

01:00:26.619 --> 01:00:29.260
saying they're bad, but their future is beyond

01:00:29.260 --> 01:00:32.139
that. It's the covenant destiny that they have

01:00:32.139 --> 01:00:36.340
in the Lord. So yeah, you handle all the practical

01:00:36.340 --> 01:00:40.820
things, sure, but don't leave out the most important

01:00:40.820 --> 01:00:45.760
legacy to leave behind. Our kids need a vision

01:00:45.760 --> 01:00:47.460
for the kingdom of God and they learn it from

01:00:47.460 --> 01:00:52.880
you. So take that seriously. But above all, do

01:00:52.880 --> 01:00:56.599
everything you can to know that Jesus is their

01:00:56.599 --> 01:01:00.739
great shepherd. That he's the one that wants

01:01:00.739 --> 01:01:03.840
to walk with them and guide them and teach them

01:01:03.840 --> 01:01:06.860
and mold them and shape them and discipline them.

01:01:07.280 --> 01:01:10.079
But he's never gonna leave them. He will be there

01:01:10.079 --> 01:01:13.789
through every decision, good and bad. Teach them

01:01:13.789 --> 01:01:15.590
that he is their shepherd so that they don't

01:01:15.590 --> 01:01:17.489
learn and get to the point where they're convinced

01:01:17.489 --> 01:01:19.690
by the devil, Jesus doesn't love me. There is

01:01:19.690 --> 01:01:21.949
no way I could come to him. I've messed up too

01:01:21.949 --> 01:01:26.969
much. We don't want them to mess up, but the

01:01:26.969 --> 01:01:30.530
reality is is we cannot mess up too much to where

01:01:30.530 --> 01:01:33.489
Jesus will not accept us and embrace us and hold

01:01:33.489 --> 01:01:38.909
us and kiss us and love us. At the end of his

01:01:38.909 --> 01:01:41.500
life, Jacob doesn't rehearse his achievements

01:01:41.500 --> 01:01:44.619
or complain about the difficulties. At the end

01:01:44.619 --> 01:01:49.260
of his life, he says, God shepherded me. The

01:01:49.260 --> 01:01:53.440
deceiver, the manipulator, the conniver, the

01:01:53.440 --> 01:01:56.880
complainer. What does he say at the end? God

01:01:56.880 --> 01:02:01.039
shepherded me. Despite my mistakes, he walked

01:02:01.039 --> 01:02:03.000
with me. Despite everything, he was there. And

01:02:03.000 --> 01:02:05.159
if God could shepherd Jacob, he could shepherd

01:02:05.159 --> 01:02:09.710
you. If God has shepherded you, I believe the

01:02:09.710 --> 01:02:12.250
greatest gift that you could leave to your children,

01:02:12.329 --> 01:02:14.190
your grandchildren, all of that, is not just

01:02:14.190 --> 01:02:20.650
advice, but testimony. Not just advice, you need

01:02:20.650 --> 01:02:24.250
to go to church, but no, we went to church. Not

01:02:24.250 --> 01:02:26.090
just, you should read your Bible, but no, no,

01:02:26.090 --> 01:02:29.710
no, you've seen me read my Bible. Not just, hey,

01:02:29.750 --> 01:02:31.949
prioritize the kingdom because that's what matters,

01:02:32.070 --> 01:02:34.989
but they've watched you prioritize the kingdom

01:02:34.989 --> 01:02:40.260
because that's what matters. Tell them, he fed

01:02:40.260 --> 01:02:42.519
me, he corrected me, he carried me, he redeemed

01:02:42.519 --> 01:02:47.539
me. He forgave me through all the grief, through

01:02:47.539 --> 01:02:49.239
all the detours, through all the ups, through

01:02:49.239 --> 01:02:54.739
all the downs. But he never left me. He never

01:02:54.739 --> 01:02:59.280
forsook me. And no matter what happens in your

01:02:59.280 --> 01:03:01.599
life, the most important friend, the most important

01:03:01.599 --> 01:03:05.920
companion, the most important person to have

01:03:05.920 --> 01:03:09.760
in their life is Jesus Christ. Amen? Let's pray.

01:03:10.260 --> 01:03:15.679
Father, we love you. God, we know that each one

01:03:15.679 --> 01:03:19.360
of us have a time, a life, an allotment that

01:03:19.360 --> 01:03:20.980
you've given us here on earth. And none of us

01:03:20.980 --> 01:03:26.320
know what that allotment is, but you do. And

01:03:26.320 --> 01:03:29.360
Lord, your word tells us to redeem the time for

01:03:29.360 --> 01:03:38.699
the days are short. Lord, we may live. 100 years,

01:03:38.820 --> 01:03:41.639
and that's but a vapor compared to eternity.

01:03:45.380 --> 01:03:48.019
Help us, Lord, as we live here on this life and

01:03:48.019 --> 01:03:52.860
work and earn and build, that we do all those

01:03:52.860 --> 01:03:58.659
things in a godly way, and Lord, that we enjoy

01:03:58.659 --> 01:04:01.239
entertainments and comforts that you've given

01:04:01.239 --> 01:04:04.980
us, but we never, ever put those things on a

01:04:04.980 --> 01:04:07.940
higher priority list than knowing you. and living

01:04:07.940 --> 01:04:13.420
in obedience to you. Why, Lord? Because our children

01:04:13.420 --> 01:04:16.460
are watching us. Our grandchildren are watching

01:04:16.460 --> 01:04:22.519
us. Our nieces, our nephews, the kids in youth

01:04:22.519 --> 01:04:24.619
ministry, whatever, they're watching us, Lord.

01:04:25.500 --> 01:04:29.039
And they're learning from us the values that

01:04:29.039 --> 01:04:36.429
are eternal. And so, Lord, help us to... see

01:04:36.429 --> 01:04:42.389
Jacob's example here and to follow that example

01:04:42.389 --> 01:04:45.429
of saying the most important thing is knowing

01:04:45.429 --> 01:04:49.369
the God of the covenant. The God who has walked

01:04:49.369 --> 01:04:53.409
with me. The God who will walk with you. The

01:04:53.409 --> 01:04:55.489
God who loves you more than you can ever imagine.

01:04:55.590 --> 01:04:57.469
The God you can always turn back to no matter

01:04:57.469 --> 01:05:00.849
what you've done. The God who will save you ultimately

01:05:00.849 --> 01:05:06.630
because of your faith in him. That that most

01:05:06.630 --> 01:05:08.750
important knowledge, that our most important

01:05:08.750 --> 01:05:12.309
truth, that our most important relationship would

01:05:12.309 --> 01:05:15.090
be what we leave behind, that above and beyond

01:05:15.090 --> 01:05:18.969
all of the stuff that is of the world, Lord,

01:05:19.030 --> 01:05:25.070
that we would leave behind a relationship with

01:05:25.070 --> 01:05:28.309
God that they would have, that they would know,

01:05:28.329 --> 01:05:33.699
that they would walk in. And Lord, when you cross

01:05:33.699 --> 01:05:35.900
up our plans, as you crossed up Jacob's hands,

01:05:36.039 --> 01:05:38.159
Lord, that we would be like Jacob and just trust

01:05:38.159 --> 01:05:42.239
in your sovereignty. Because, Lord, you are not

01:05:42.239 --> 01:05:44.380
bound by human tradition or human convention,

01:05:44.579 --> 01:05:50.739
Lord. And then like Joseph, Lord, here in this

01:05:50.739 --> 01:05:55.420
world, we would honor and respect those you've

01:05:55.420 --> 01:05:58.400
given us, Lord. Because, Lord, that is an example

01:05:58.400 --> 01:06:00.480
of honor and respect of you, our Father in heaven.

01:06:03.980 --> 01:06:06.840
And that, God, we would take very seriously the

01:06:06.840 --> 01:06:10.179
calling you've given us to live the values we

01:06:10.179 --> 01:06:16.739
want to instill. To demonstrate the obedience

01:06:16.739 --> 01:06:20.199
that we would want to have our children know

01:06:20.199 --> 01:06:25.460
or live in their own lives. And so, God, if we've

01:06:25.460 --> 01:06:29.360
blown it, Lord, today, help us to change it.

01:06:30.760 --> 01:06:34.469
Because, God, you are still shepherding us. And

01:06:34.469 --> 01:06:36.309
so we trust you, Lord. Help us be different if

01:06:36.309 --> 01:06:38.909
we've blown it, Lord. If we've been good, God,

01:06:39.070 --> 01:06:42.170
thank you so much and that you would help us

01:06:42.170 --> 01:06:45.769
to continue to instill those values, Lord, that,

01:06:45.769 --> 01:06:50.309
God, we've been instilling. Lord, if we've got

01:06:50.309 --> 01:06:52.550
a long way to go, may we not think that we have

01:06:52.550 --> 01:06:55.409
time to start doing things right, but now is

01:06:55.409 --> 01:06:59.630
the time. And, Lord, if we're at the end, God,

01:06:59.750 --> 01:07:02.070
help us to know that you are the angel who redeems

01:07:02.070 --> 01:07:05.889
us. That you can even redeem our lives. You could

01:07:05.889 --> 01:07:07.769
redeem our mistakes. You could redeem all of

01:07:07.769 --> 01:07:11.190
it as Jacob knew at the very end that he would

01:07:11.190 --> 01:07:13.590
be able to pass on the truth that God and knowing

01:07:13.590 --> 01:07:17.489
God is the most important thing of all. We love

01:07:17.489 --> 01:07:23.110
you. We thank you. Help us, Lord. Bless us. Be

01:07:23.110 --> 01:07:25.230
glorified in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray.

01:07:25.710 --> 01:07:28.190
Amen. Well, God bless you, church. Let's worship

01:07:28.190 --> 01:07:28.570
the Lord.