JOSEPH #54 | JOSEPH IN EGYPT #36 | LAST WORDS OF JACOB #25
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3650
JOSEPH #54
JOSEPH IN EGYPT #36
LAST WORDS OF JACOB #25
11. JOSEPH #1
Jacob's sons represented the future tribes of Israel, so the fate of the entire nation was being spelt out in Jacob's last words.
He had a special word for each of his sons—a prophetic aspect about his future.
The tribes of Judah and Joseph both receive extensive blessings, suited to their pre-eminence.
Judah's tribe was the major component of the Kingdom of Judah, and the Joseph tribes, in particular Ephraim, was the pre-eminent group in the Kingdom of Israel.
To Joseph, his father Jacob declared:
"Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), Even by the God of your father who shall help thee; and by the Almighty who shall bless thee With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” - Genesis 49:22-26 ( KJV ).
When Jacob spoke of Joseph escaping the arrows of the archers, he was most likely referring to the persecution Joseph received from his brothers, Potiphar’s household, and others.
Yet God strengthened Joseph through it all and rewarded him with victory in the end.
In yet another prophetic pronouncement concerning a Messiah Savior, Jacob spoke of the Shepherd and the Stone of Israel who must proceed from God Himself. The men of faith in the Old Testament certainly knew that they could never save themselves. From the earliest days of the church, the saints referred to the Rock, the Shepherd, and the Salvation of Israel—a role that can only be filled by the Lord God. These men could not see what we see now—the fulfillment of these prophecies in the final Prophet, Priest, and King of God, in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. But they spoke in great faith and hopeful expectation.
What is our lesson today?
Joseph like Judah was slated to be leaders of two separate kingdoms. But the Messianic line was to come from Judah.
Even so, they will not operate as two kingdoms but as one.
Joseph was given material blessings of abundance like a fruitful bough that could bless others over a well and wall.
And his spiritual blessings included Messianic expectations through calling on the Names of God by faith - the Mighty God of Jacob, The Stone of Israel, The Shepherd, The Almighty.
In other words, the two tribes of Judah and Joseph were to be partners not separate parties in evangelism.
Judah was to be worshippers in the ministry of praise and worship while Joseph would be their backers, facilitators, their End-time financiers in the spread of the gospel.
Both were to lead their brothers of the remaining tribes to flow in God's ministry with their special giftings as God's united kingdom of prophets, priests, and kings under their Messiah, the King of kings.
