BY FAITH JACOB BLESSED JOSEPH’S SONS
Monday – May 7, 2018, Iyar 22, 5778
Welcome back to this wonderful faith building Bible Study from the Book of Hebrews and from the faith chapter (nineteen). It is all about faith brother and sister, all that is without faith in God is sin. We must take a little time and think upon that or as it says in the Hebrew, Selah. How much of our days are consumed with things we have never talked to God about, not even a mention, and we either thought it was unnecessary or that there was no obligation. Consider perhaps a smaller matter like husbands your going to the store or really anywhere without talking to your wife and of course visa versa. Did that lack of communication enhance things at the time or not? Now, let’s read our primary text aloud.
Hebrews 11:20-22 (KJV)
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
There is much to talk about in the life of Jacob of course and those things are detailed elsewhere in Scripture. However, the Holy Spirit brought this event of Jacob blessing Joseph’s sons to the attention of the writer of Hebrews. There is also much to discuss in the life of Joseph. Joseph had a dream and the path to the fulfillment of that dream was long and at times arduous. Joseph never doubted God and wherever he was he rose to the top for he had favor with God. At the time of this blessing Jacob (Israel), the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, is nearing death. At the time of this blessing Jacob and all of Israel (Jews or Hebrews) has been brought to Egypt due to a famine in the land of Promise.
Genesis 46:26-27 (KJV)
26 All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six;
27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
One might wonder why they had to go into Egypt at all. Remember, Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, went into Egypt due to famine however when the next famine came along God told Isaac not to go into Egypt as Abraham had done. God prospered Isaac right in Canaan land and he became very wealthy in the presence of famine all around.
Genesis 26:1-3 (KJV)
1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
You see that in the life of Abram the Blessing was not fully functional due to incomplete development of faith. That being so, Abram turned to the world systems (Egypt) for help. Isaac on the other hand had a well-developed faith, remember he was willing to be sacrificed in the land of Moriah at the command of God. Isaac not only heard the voice of God but obeyed the voice of God. I wonder what my or your batting average is in this area? Perhaps it could explain the shortfalls (finances and health) in our lives.
Genesis 26:12-16 (KJV)
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
15 For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
In the preceding passage we are very clearly told that the LORD blessed Isaac. Why? His obedience (love) to the Word of God. It is really no different today. Each of us received The Blessing at salvation, have we given Him anything to do? When God says that a man waxed great, became very great, and the local government acknowledges that greatness and is afraid; do you suppose this person would be a billionaire (or trillionaire) in our time? These are Old Testament saints, we are New Testament saints, why are our expectations and our visions so corrupted by poverty in every area of life? I am going to leave off today’s study right here and Lord willing pickup right here tomorrow. Until our next publication, I speak this Scriptural prayer for your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
2 Peter 1:2-4 (KJV)
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
PARTNERSHIP AND GIVING – Those of you who are not Partners of this Ministry and you find this ministry to be of value to you and perhaps others with whom you share it, we ask you to consider becoming Partners. A Partner is one who prays for the Ministry on a regular basis and contributes to the Ministry on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, annually). Thank you and may the Lord be pleased with your decision.
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
BLOG: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/awakearisetriumphministries
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/PastorDavidWood
MAILING ADDRESS: 10 Village Green Circle, Oakland, Maine 04963
MY BOOKS: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org/shop/
