LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF JACOB #75 : JOSEPH #1

Written by Pastor Christopher Choo

Lesson 3576

LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF JACOB #75

JACOB'S PROPHECIES ABOUT THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL #10

JOSEPH #1

The standout sons of Jacob are Judah ( the line from whom Jesus would come from as Israel's Messiah ) and Joseph ( the most Christlike of all the twelve tribes of Israel ).

Because of his importance as a prophetic figure for us, I have divided the lesson on him into two parts.

Read Gen.49: 22-26

Joseph: A fruitful bough.

“Joseph is a fruitful bough,

A fruitful bough by a well;

His branches run over the wall.

The archers have bitterly grieved him,

Shot at him and hated him.

But his bow remained in strength,

And the arms of his hands were made strong

By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob

(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

By the God of your father who will help you,

And by the Almighty who will bless you

With blessings of heaven above,

Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

The blessings of your father

Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,

Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.

They shall be on the head of Joseph,

And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

a. Joseph is a fruitful bough: This was both a description of Joseph’s life and a personal blessing concerning his descendants. 

In a sense, Joseph’s tribes were already blessed when his sons received their blessing in Genesis 48.

This description of Joseph – as a fruitful bough by a well – speaks of his being well-watered and provided for in his deep and real relationship with God. 

“The main point in Joseph’s character was that he was in clear and constant fellowship with God, and therefore God blessed him greatly. He lived to God, and was God’s servant; he lived with God, and was God’s child” (Spurgeon).

b. The archers have bitterly grieved him: Though Joseph was shot at and hated, he was still a fruitful bough. 

This was because his arms were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob. 

The idea is that God’s hands were on Joseph’s hands, giving him strength and skill to work the bow expertly.

God was there, even when Joseph did not know it.

c. The Almighty who will bless you: Joseph was certainly blessed in his posterity. His tribes were some of the most populous. 

In this sense, he received the material blessing, the double portion aspect of the inheritance of the firstborn.

d. The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors: Jacob could say this because he was, for much of his life, a scoundrel. Now at the end of his days, he saw just how good God was to him. He was forgiven much and loved much (Luke 7:47).

e. The Mighty God of Jacob: In his words about Joseph, Jacob listed five great titles for God. These titles show that Jacob did come to an understanding of who God is:

· The Mighty God of Jacob.

· The Shepherd.

· The Stone of Israel.

· The God of your father.

· The Almighty.

This is much better than when Jacob referred to God as the God of Abraham or the Fear of his Father Isaac (Genesis 31:53). 

Now he knew who God truly was for himself rather than to know of God from his forebears.

In today's lesson, we also realize what prophetic significance a Hebraic name can hold.

Will we live up to the potential of our name as Joseph did? Will we honor our calling embedded in our intrinsic identity?

There is so much to learn from Joseph's calling - from pit to prison to palace. 

Tomorrow we shall continue in our study of Joseph's testimony as a timeless example for our lives.