Genesis 48:1-22

It is interesting to see the importance that is placed on blessings that are given from father to sons in the Old Testament.  It demonstrates the respect that the children had for their parents as well as the love that fathers were to have for their children.  We must never forget the importance of affirming words from father to son.

JACOB RECOGNIZES HIS BLESSING FROM GOD: As Jacob nears his death, Joseph comes to visit him with his two sons.  It is an emotional time for Jacob to realize that God had blessed him with the privilege of not only seeing his son again but his grandsons as well.  He had grieved for so long the death of Joseph and now he was able to not only see his son’s face and talk to him but also to have Joseph’s sons on his lap.  His heart is full of gratitude for this blessing that came from God.  Jacob’s life has not been an easy one.  He was a deceiver who was deceived.  He suffered the death of the wife he loved and thought for many years that her first son had also died.  Now this son is here to comfort him at his time of death.  Jacob realizes that he has truly been blessed by God who appeared to him as a young man, who wrestled him in when he came back to the land and who now uses his beloved son to bring joy to the last days of his life on earth.  Jacob was blessed by God despite the troubles he faced.

JACOB RESPONDS BY BLESSING HIS GRANDSONS: Jacob decides that the double portion of his inheritance will go to Joseph.  He does this by claiming Joseph’s children as his own.  He passes on the blessings he had received from his father to his new sons as he recognizes the plans and purposes of God through the nation of Israel.  I think that it is so important to realize that even though Jacob was in Egypt that his heart remained in the land of promise.  He knew that God would take his family back there and that God would do just as he had promised.  His trust in the promises of God is what allows him to pass his blessings on to the next generation.  Without faith in God we have no true blessing to pass on to our children.  We must fix our hope on the promises of God and on the eternal life that is before us.  This is the hope that will allow us to pass our confidence and character to the next generation.  The greatest gift and blessing that we can give our children is our steadfast hope in the eternal promises of God. 

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