Jacob's Faith, Part 2

I want to take you back this morning to Hebrews chapter 11 in verse number 21 Which says these words by faith Jacob as he was dying blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshipped Leaning on the top of his staff or on this top of his bed. What a powerful testimony to believing faith What a tremendous Testimony to a man who lived in obedience to God There is so much in that verse We have to go back to Genesis chapter 48 to understand the context and we took you there last week by helping you understand Jacob's belief on top of that not just Jacob's belief but Jacob's bereavement then Jacob's blessing then Jacob's behavior and then Jacob's Bestowment Everything in Genesis chapter 48 just jumps off the page just screams Faith because Jacob walked by faith Jacob lived a life of faith And he blessed the sons of Joseph who was Joseph Joseph was a son that Jacob loved right?

Why did he love him? Because he was a son of his old Age we told you what that meant. It meant that he was a wise son. He had an old head on a young body He was wise because of observation. He was wise because of insight and God used him in a powerful way and Then he was the one who received the cloak the multicolored tunic Reuben didn't get it. He should have he was the firstborn But Reuben forfeited that opportunity why because he slept with his father's concubine But Joseph he was the one of character That's why in Genesis chapter 49 when Jacob blesses Joseph He talks about he being one who was distinguished above all of his brothers And what was it that distinguished Joseph above all of his brothers?

He was a man of character He was a man of holiness a man of purity a man who honored and loved the Lord. That's why he received the cloak Because he was the leader. He was the example He was the one that paved the way for the other brothers to know how to live Usually it's the older brother that does that but he disqualified himself Joseph though was a son of his old age. He was the wise son and he was blessed Accordingly and he had two sons One named Manasseh the firstborn Number two Ephraim the secondborn Manasseh meaning God has caused me to forget Ephraim meaning Doubly fruitful or God has caused me to be fruitful We told you last week the only way you can be fruitful in the present is if you're able to forget your past If you can't forgive those in your past and you can't forget all that took place You can't be fruitful in the present doesn't mean that it's erased from your memory Because nothing in Joseph's life was erased from his memory But he forgot all the pain surrounding the situation circumstances because God had caused him to forget those things Therefore he was fruitful in the present And if you read the life of Joseph, he was the one who is doubly fruitful in a unique and special way And so you have Joseph you have his sons and now Jacob was about to die, right?

And as he's about to die, he calls for Joseph to come with his sons And he comes and he blesses the sons and the blessing Remember is all rooted in faith. It's all rooted in what God has already said It wasn't that Jacob just conjured up some blessing in his mind and say, you know what? I think I'm gonna bless these guys this way or that way. No, that's not the way it is In fact, if you read Genesis chapter 49 everything in Genesis chapter 49 is about prophecy and all that's going to transpire in the life of the tribes of Israel right But Genesis 48 it's about Manasseh in Ephraim So we told you Jacob's belief Was rooted in everything that God had said and done in his life That's why he says to Joseph.

He says in verse 3 Jacob said to Joseph God Almighty appeared to me at Luz and the land of Canaan and blessed me and he said to me behold, I will make you fruitful and Numerous and I will make you a company of peoples and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting Possession God appeared to him at Luz. What is Luz Luz is Bethel? Luz is a place where he went to sleep He put his head on a rock and he saw a staircase coming out of heaven Remember that and that staircase was the gateway to heaven He said I've seen the gateway to heaven.

I know how to get to glory. This was the Redemption of Jacob. This is how Jacob knew what it meant to get to heaven because the angels ascended and descended on that gateway or on that staircase and He realized what it meant to believe in the Lord God Almighty Everything about the blessing that Jacob gives is rooted in the belief he had about his God He believed in his God That's why he says I've seen the gate to heaven remember Matthew 7 says that the Way is narrow the gate is small that leads to glory There's a small gate that leads to glory the broad gate leads to hell small gate leads to glory and Few there be that find it Jacob found it Jacob understood it Jacob tells us the way to glory.

It's only through Jesus Christ our Lord So Jacob's belief is all rooted in what God did and when he believed about who God was and what God said about the promise That he'd given to Isaac that he'd given to Jacob I mean to Abraham now passed down To Jacob and so he brings the boys in Joseph does and Jacob is going to bless Manasseh and Ephraim he says They are mine towards last week. That's that's ancient language for adoption He's going to adopt him why because they have a Gentile mother He married the the daughter of a priest in Egypt Joseph did So in order for them to be the recipients of the blessing they have to be adopted into a Jewish family and so Jacob Adopts Manasseh and Ephraim claims them as his own because he's going to bless them and they are going to be supreme as tribes in Israel and that belief Leads to Jacob's bereavement and what does he talk about?

He talks about Rachel the beloved Rachel He talks about the tears he had for her and the tribute that he wanted to pay to her There were great tears shed shed for Rachel because that was his beloved wife Yes, he was married to Leah but this was Rachel and remember Leah is buried in the cave at of McPhila in Hebron along with with Jacob But Rachel's not Where's Rachel Barry? Rachel is a very special place She's buried in Bethlehem Why because she would die on the way to Bethlehem, right? Bethlehem Ephrathah and on her way she would give birth to Benjamin the son of my Right hand because Benjamin became a type of Christ The son of my right hand would be born in Bethlehem, right?

He would be slain like all the lambs Passover are slain on Calvary's tree Rachel the the special wife of of of Joseph had a special burying place Because of the birth of Benjamin the son of her right hand being a type of Christ What a beautiful picture and all this meant so much to Jacob and so you move from Jacob's Belief to Jacob's Bereavement because he sees in in Joseph Rachel he sees in in Joseph's sons the opportunity to pay tribute To Rachel and that's exactly what he's going to do. But listen, he's not doing this for Rachel's sake He's doing this For Christ's sake for God's sake why because the blessing is what God has told him to say So he's going to give those words of blessing to Manasseh and Ephraim Because of what God had done in his life so you move from Jacob's belief to Jacob's bereavement to Jacob's blessing and Joseph brings the boys remember he told you last week.

He puts Manasseh on his left hand So he's at the right hand of Jacob and Ephraim with his right hand So he's on the left hand of Jacob because Ephraim's youngest and we told you last week that when you did the blessing You put the right hand on the firstborn and the left on the second and the third and the fourth and the fifth but the right hand maintained its Stay on the firstborn But what would happen is that Jacob would reverse his hands and put the blessing upon the younger And not the older Remember it was Abel not King who received the blessing It was Jacob not Esau Isaac not Ishmael Joseph not Reuben Ephraim not Manasseh All throughout the book of Genesis why God just messing up your mind He's just doing what he wants to do He wants to show you listen very important all that Shows you that when God chooses he doesn't choose based on position He doesn't choose based on pedigree.

He doesn't choose based on your prominence He chooses based on his choice So you realize that none of its of you? That's why God does that all through the book of Genesis just to show you that's not about you as to why he chose you It's all about him And so when Jacob blessed These boys he did it because this is what God said to do You bless the younger Make him the recipient of the blessings of the firstborn That's not a knock on Manasseh This is the way God chose to do it And so he did and in the blessing listen to what he says Said in verse number 15 He blessed Joseph and said the God before whom my father's Abraham and Isaac walked The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day.

I'll stop right there God has been my shepherd all my life to this days the whole Doctrine listen of Shepherd ology Begins right here. It's all rooted in the book of Genesis It's all rooted in justice 48 verse number 15 Shepherd ology is not rooted in Psalm 23 with David It's rooted in Genesis chapter 48 with Jacob because Jacob too was a shepherd But this is where God a shepherd is first mentioned in Scripture And so everything about Shepherd ology is rooted in Genesis chapter 48 now look what Jacob says to Joseph in Genesis 49 in verse 25 His bow remained firm and his arms were agile from the hands of the mighty one of Jacob from there is the shepherd the stone of Israel as Jacob blesses Joseph as He blesses all of the boys He tells him about the attributes of God And he points to two major elements of the attribute and nature of God He is shepherd And he is stone Now this is very important first time The word stone is mentioned in the scripture and 14 times in the scriptures stone refers to the Messiah of Israel And little did Jacob know as his eyes were growing dim He had no idea necessarily that in his prophecy of Joseph would be everything about the Messiah's first coming and the Messiah's second coming In his first coming he would come as shepherd But in a second coming He comes as stone Why?

Daniel 2 She's been with us on Wednesday night. You know this Daniel 2 It's the stone that comes and crushes the ten nation Confederacy and the stone is the Messiah see and so Jacob very early on his prophecy prophesying only just the first coming to the Messiah But the second coming to Messiah Remember what it says over in Isaiah.

I'm sorry. I Psalm 80 Oh give ear shepherd of Israel you who lead Joseph like a flock You who are enthroned above the cherubim shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh Stir up your power come and save us a reference to God a shepherd going back to Genesis chapter 49 Genesis chapter 48 and then you read over in Isaiah Isaiah 40 verse number 10 behold the Lord God will come with might With his arm ruling for him behold his reward is with him and his recompense before him like a shepherd He will tend his flock in his arm.

He will gather the lambs and carry them in his bosom He will gently lead the nursing youths and then over in John 10. What does it say? I am the Good Shepherd and the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep Christ is speaking as he talks about the fact that he's the Good Shepherd every Jew Would automatically go back To Jacob's blessing of Manasseh and Ephraim Ours our mind doesn't do that Because we're not Jewish but if I'm Jewish and I'm raised in the synagogue and I hear Christ say I am the Good Shepherd My ears perk up and I begin to think wait a minute.

You're the Good Shepherd Isn't this? the shepherd that Jacob Spoke about leading him all the days of his of his life Isn't this the same shepherd that he blessed Joseph with I am the Good Shepherd I lay down my life for the sheep. He goes on to say in verse number 14 I am the Good Shepherd and I know my own and they know me Christ is taking them all the way back to the book of beginnings to show them That Christ is God in the flesh You see there's so much in the blessing of Jacob's grandsons He claims them as his own sons That tell us about the arrival of the Messiah If you go back over to first Peter, I'm sorry Hebrews 13 verse number 20 will get there in a few Months, I think it is maybe a few years He was 1320 now the God of peace who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep Now remember he's writing to Jewish people, right?

So he's writing to them about the shepherd. Who's the shepherd? Well, they know Genesis 48 and 49 They know Psalm 43. They know Psalm 80. They know Isaiah 40. They know who the Shepherd of Israel is but you tell me now the shepherds died and He has been raised from the dead he's the great shepherd of the sheep and Then Peter would say over in first Peter chapter chapter 2 He would say for you were continually strained like sheep but now have returned to the shepherd and Guardian of your soul and then chapter 5 verse number 4 and when the chief shepherd appears you will receive the unfading crown of glory See, there's so much in the blessing And so Jacob is telling Joseph that the shepherd my shepherd the God of Israel has led me all this way He's brought me to this place.

He's told me what to say now that I'm here I'm saying exactly what he told me to say because he's my shepherd and then he says this Genesis 48 verse number 16. He says The angel who has redeemed me from all evil. Who's that? Who's that that's the angel of the Lord That's the angel of the Lord that helps him understand Wait, just think about this back in Genesis chapter 22 when Isaac his father was offered up as a sacrifice How many times you think Jacob heard that story? How many times you think I told him that story about how God called him to Mount Moriah?

How he took him up on a mountain was gonna slay him and the angel of the Lord said wait stop now I know you fear me Abraham. I will provide a substitute in your son's place All the type of Christ being the ultimate substitute for your sins in mine Well, not only does Jacob understand Messiah the angel of the Lord being a Substitute he now knows that the angel of the Lord is the staircase the gateway into glory Not only does he know that he is the staircase the gateway into glory. He knows that this shepherd This shepherd is a stone that provides Redemption Ephesians 1 verse number 7 by him.

We have redemption the forgiveness of sins That's why we begin to understand how Jacob believes his God for his redemption He gets it. He understands it. So in the blessing. He's talking about the great shepherd of Israel In the blessing he's talking about the great Redeemer of Israel Because you see he's passing the blessing down the covenant that was given to his father Abraham Passing it down to his grandsons, which he has adopted as his own sons That they might be the recipients of the great blessing That God has passed down from generation to generation So you go from Jacob's belief Jacob's bereavement to Jacob's blessing and then Jacob's Behavior because he switches the hands and Joseph gets all upset He gets frustrated waiting that time out dad because remember Joseph is bowing Remember, he is bowing with his brothers of his sons as his his father blesses his boys But when he raises his head Jacob's hands are crossed The blessing has already been given to Ephraim And Joseph said wait a minute you can't do that.

That's not right dad and listen to what he says He says but his father refused and said I know my son I Know He also will become a people and he also will be great However, his younger brother shall be greater Than he I know how does he know? How does he know? God told him That's how he knows This is all about faith right by faith Jacob Bless the sons of Joseph, right? It's all taken by faith and faith is absolutely confident in what God says and Jacob has confidence.

I know I know as Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have supreme confidence in our eternal destiny These things are written that you may know that you have eternal life. We don't speculate about eternal life We don't think we have eternal life. We know we have eternal life We don't think about which way is to heaven. We know the way to heaven. We don't think Jesus is God. We know Jesus is God. We know these things why because we are confident based on what God has already said That's why And Jacob his faith is seen in the confidence The confidence he has in what God has already said He also tells us this that faith Will be criticized By even those who are closest to you So here was Joseph The only thing in Scripture that's critical that comes out of the mouth of Joseph that even begins to question what God's doing But he quickly turns around because he realizes his father is saying only what God told him to say, right?

But is it not true that your faith will be criticized by those closest to you You take a stand on the Word of God Never compromising the Word of God and even those who love you Will criticize you Peter criticized the Lord All will deny me not so Lord. You're wrong. I'm not denying you But he did Why? because our Lord knew And so even those who love you will criticize you So here's Jacob's faith confident what God said even criticized by those closest to him but his faith was convinced of God's purposes and plans convinced Absolutely convinced didn't waver.

I know I know faith is convinced of the purposes and plans of God And will not compromise and that's what Jacob had and Jacob's faith was not only convinced of the plans and purposes of God But his faith was commended by God Because without faith It's impossible to please him and Jacob It was told that he is not ashamed to be called Jacob's God Hebrews chapter 11 verses 13 to 16 See that this is Jacob Everything is done by faith He exemplifies that faith Took him a while to get there But he got there Because he'd wrestled with God and man for so many of his years Until one night he wrestled with the angel the Lord and God had to dislocate his hip Because he asked for God to bless him Place called Peniel.

I've seen the face of God. I've wrestled with the true and living God Because God changed his name from Jacob to Israel Israel means God Will strive for you You stop striving on your own Jacob Let God do it for you We told you last week that Israel's history is Based on that name. That's why they're called the children of Israel Why because you have to learn To let God strive for them until they do And that won't be until Messiah comes again, they will always have difficulty in life The same is true for you and me as long as we try to strive against man will struggle But let God strive for you and see what happens so you move from Jacob's belief To Jacob's bereavement to Jacob's blessing to Jacob's behavior To Jacob's bestowment That's the way says He says Then Israel said to Joseph Behold, I'm about to die But God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers This is so important he says look Joseph as the Lord has been with me So the Lord will be with you If you go back and you read the the history of Jacob it says over in Genesis chapter 28 verse number 15 behold Jacob I am with you and will keep you wherever you go Genesis chapter 31 verse number 3 then the Lord said to Jacob return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives And I will be with you verse number 5 But the God of my father has been with me chapter 35 verse number 3 says and Let us arise and go up to Bethel and I will make an altar there to God who answered me in the day of my distress and Has been with me wherever I have gone the father Blessing the son Says to him my son understand this God will be with you God will be with you and God will bring you back to this land But God will be with you as he was with me as he was my shepherd So too will he be your Shepherd God will be with you Isn't it interesting that if you go back to Genesis?

chapter 30 37 Genesis chapter. I'm sorry. Just except for 39 First number one now Joseph have been taken down to Egypt and Potter for an Egyptian officer Pharaoh the captain of the bodyguard Bought him from the Ishmaelites Who had taken him down there?

then the Lord was with Joseph so he became a Successful man verse 3 now his master saw That the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did To prosper Potiphar saw That Joseph's God was with him That Joseph's God made him to prosper and now That God had caused him to prosper He was going to use him in a mighty way And even though all the negative things happen to Joseph It says that verse number 21 was when he's in prison but the Lord was with Joseph and Extended kindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer See what happens when God is with you?

None does he make your way successful? Not only does he make your way prosperous But he makes even those who are your enemies be able for you to be able to have favor in their sight and Then it says the chief jailer committed to Joseph's charge all the prisoners who were in jail So whatever was done there he was responsible for it. The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because The Lord was with him in whatever he did The Lord made it prosper That great This is when Joseph has been Sold to the Israelites Now he's been sold to Potiphar now He's in Egypt and the Lord has lent us know that behind all the negativity in Joseph's life guess who was with him the Lord The Lord had a plan and a purpose for this man Was gonna use him in a great mighty way now his father his father is going to say to him The Lord has been my shepherd He's been with me all these years Joseph I want to bestow upon you the beauty of God's presence Never forget that the Lord will be with you and the Lord's gonna bring you back To the land that was promised now, where are they?

They're in Egypt It's going to be another four hundred and thirty years Before they get back to Canaan. That's a long time But Joseph believed that Jacob believed that because Isaac believed that because Abraham believed that because God said that and they believed Exactly as God said and everything about the story screams of Jacob's belief in his God He had faith He believed absolutely and behaved accordingly to all that God said It's trusting obedience He had to learn to trust God to obey God And that's what he did But we're not done We're not done with verse 21 yet Because it tells us that Jacob when he blessed his sons Joseph's sons Worshipped what does that mean?

How did he do that? How did Jacob worship and that sheds light on the fact That for many of us we have no idea what worship is We think it's singing some songs Did you do your study last week? I told you Go back and look at all the times it talks about worship in the Bible and how many times there was no music when people worship How do you worship without music?

Oh, there's so much to uncover why because worship is all about the preparation of my soul So if you have come today and not prepared before you got here You're not going to be prepared once you're here We think the music is going to prepare us for worship. Oh, no If you're not prepared before you get here, it's too late It's too late. You got to be prepared before you get here. You got to have a clean heart You've got to have a consecrated heart. You've got to have a contrite heart. You've got to have a committed heart You've got to have a compliant heart You have to have a heart that's ready to receive all that God has and if you haven't dealt with that Outside these walls guess what coming inside the walls ain't gonna make that happen.

Not good English, but great theology Bottom line is there needs to be a preparation of the soul with the preparation soul comes a Meditation upon the scriptures Knowing everything there is about our God so that There is a recognition of the Savior So that there is a resolution to submit to all that God said That is worship If you don't understand that There's nothing we're gonna do to be able to help you worship God If your soul has not been prepared and You're not meditated upon the scriptures So you understand the revelation of who God is So you can recognize him when you see him Because when you recognize him, what do you do?

You bow Matthew 2 11 The Magi The kings of the East When they went to the house, not the grotto not the stable Not the manger When they went to the house so when you have your wise men with your Stable, please remove them take them out of there because they're not there in Bethlehem. Okay when they went to the house and They saw the Messiah They fell down They bowed down and worshipped him offering him gold frankincense and myrrh They bowed before him interesting Matthew 8 when Jesus came down from the mountain large crowds followed him and a leper came to him and Bowed down before him and said Lord if you are willing Resolute Determination to submit to all that God wants But he had to bow down the words proscono which means to worship He bowed in worship Without a guitar How did he do that?

then over in chapter chapter 9 while he was saying these things to them a synagogue official came up and bowed down before him proscono worshipped him and Said my daughter has just died But come and lay your hand on her and she will live there was a recognition of the Savior Right. There was a preparation of the soul and now there is a resolution to submit I'm gonna bow before you just say the word But I'm gonna bow in submission to you No music in the background No flute playing No drums banging just bowing in worship and then I Know my time is gone Matthew chapter 14 verse number 32 Those who are in the boat worshiped him saying you are certainly God's son remember the whole scenario with Peter trying to walk on the water and and and and he says Lord save me and the Lord saves and brings them up and they He said certainly you're God's son.

There was a recognition of who he is. And what do they do? They worship there was no music in the boat on the Sea of Galilee They were able to plug in a CD or put in their iPhone and hook it up to whatever he was going on Music to the speaker system on the boat. Let's see a Galilee They bowed and worshipped With no music and then chapter 15 Syrophoenician woman she came and Began to bow down before him saying Lord help me proskynuo She worshipped With no music And then Matthew chapter 28 Matthew chapter 28 Says these words verse number 16, but the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had designated when they saw him they Worshipped him Wow They worshipped him, but there was no music And their worship Now it doesn't mean Music Is not to be used in worship But you need to understand that music in and of itself is In o t not worship You Cannot worship without a revelation of God's Holy Word Without the truth of God you worship him in spirit and in truth You worship him from the inside out You worship him based on a cleansed heart a a Contrite heart a broken and contrite heart God does not despise You worship him from the inside out in spirit and in truth Because without truth You have no idea who you're bowing down to Without truth.

You have no idea who you're singing to without truth. You have no idea who you're obeying There must be truth but more on that next week because Jacob Who lived by faith? teaches us how to worship Let me pray with you Father we thank you Lord for today the opportunity you give us to spend time in your word Our prayer Lord is that you would help us to see more and more the beauty of your person in Jesus name.

Amen