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Genesis 48
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“It’s never too late to walk by faith.” That’s the encouragement Dr. McGee has for us as we study the last few days of Jacob’s life. Come beside Jacob’s deathbed as we witness the blessing of Joseph’s two sons and a blessing on Joseph that has...
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How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is made for your faith in his excellent way.
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You know, it's never too late to walk by faith. That's the story of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob, and I hope it's a comfort to some of you as well. Welcome to through the Bible. In Genesis 48, we find Jacob near the end of his life, reaching what our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, calls new spiritual heights. It's a tender moment as Jacob blesses Joseph's two sons, an act filled with meaning for them and for us. I'm Steve Schwetz inviting you to grab your Bible and find your seat on the Bible bus. And while you're getting settled, Greg and I have got a brief update on how God is working through his word this time in the country of Benin.
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That's right, Stephen. One of the things I love about our mission is we talk about parts of the world that, you know, don't feel bad. It's in Africa, in case you're wondering, where's Benin? And we just. We have the privilege of trying to fling the seed to almost every country on Earth. That's our goal, at least.
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Yeah. And I am so excited about Africa because God seems to be doing a special work in this time in history in and on the continent of Africa. And I get excited anytime I. I get excited about anytime. I hear reports all over the world, but particular in Africa, because it seems like stuff is really moving.
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Well, it is. And we were talking earlier this month about the discipleship power of Dr. McGee's teaching, how often the letters are not just about, yes, salvation's really important, of course, and conversion, but they are about people saying, here's how. I'm following Christ every day, and I'm overcoming sin. And I'm. I'm. My family is getting better, my relationships are getting better. And all of this is happening because we're taking God's whole word into all these languages. And so the language we'll be talking about. And, Steve, a lot of times, languages go by different names. This one, we used to call it Phong Bay. Now they're calling it Fawn. It could be called goes back and forth, but it's spoken by millions in southern Benin. And the church is growing very quickly, but, as usual, lots of challenges.
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Yeah, it's. It's interesting that, you know, a lot of people have mixed beliefs. You've got. Syncretism is a term that missionaries will use where people kind of a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and suddenly you Got something that doesn't look like trut through Christianity and. And as usual around the world, pastors are urgently needed, and nearly half the nation's languages still have no Bible. Yeah, so there's a lot of need in Africa in general, but God is providing for the fawn language. Here's an example. Greg, why don't you read this first one from Mrs. Victorine.
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She's a faithful listener, and this is what she said. I had a stroke last year and my body became very weak. There were days when I felt discouraged and unsure of what the future would hold.
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But.
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But as I continued listening to the through the Bible programs in the fond language and quietly meditating on God's word, something began to change in my heart. Little by little, I found new strength, new peace and new hope. Even when my doctor advised me to rest and avoid too much activity, I could not stop listening. After each program, I reflect on what I heard and hold on to God's promises. His Word has become my comfort and and my strength in this difficult season. I simply cannot stop listening because through these programs, God has given me new life in Jesus.
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Wow.
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Such an encouragement. And that probably wouldn't have happened. She wouldn't have had that opportunity had she not had that severe physical ailment that put her on her back. And God uses even the difficult situations in our lives to bring him closer to us. Here's a great story. This is from Kofi, who shares this or coffee. I discovered the through the Bible program in the Fawn language in a very unexpected way. One afternoon, I went out to eat. At the table next to me, a man was enjoying his meal while playing a program in Fawn on his phone. That second dish caught my attention even more than the food I had ordered. He was listening to through the Bible. The program explained how events in the Old Testament point to their fulfillment in Christ in the New Testament. I was deeply surprised because these were the same questions I had been carrying in my heart. I felt an emptiness, even though I thought I already understood everything. I had never liked the way Christians explain the Bible. I had been taught that they distorted the Scriptures, and I believed I belonged to the greatest and first church on earth. Pride had quietly taken hold of my heart. But that day, the truth I heard from the program at the neighboring table began to break that pride. In just a few minutes of listening, the veil of my ignorance started to lift and humility began to grow in its place. Greg, would you go ahead and pray for us as we begin our study?
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Father, we're Always amazed to see you work so powerfully through our simple efforts. And we thank you for that. Pray you'll continue all over the world as we fling the seed in hundreds of languages. May people be changed for your glory, we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
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Now our study of Genesis 48 on through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
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I know you found your place now in the 48th chapter of Genesis. And as we come to the 48th chapter, we are coming to the last days of Jacob. Fact of the matter is we have that great deathbed scene of Jacob in the next chapter. We'll take that next time. But Today in this 48th chapter, he's come to the conclusion of his life. There's no question about that. By the way, while I think of it, let me intrude this. There are several have written in that tell me that they're annoyed by several little expressions that I use and that I use them too much. I regret that very much that I'm doing that and have done it in the past. We're trying to correct it now. The reason for it is just simply this, that I've tempted to do more than I'm physically able to do. And when you become weary, your brain doesn't move as fast as it does at other times. And I do not write out the messages I give. I want them to come from my heart. And sometimes they don't seem to come from my mind at all. But we want our mind to keep up with our heart. But sometimes we get weary. But what we do is we find that we repeat, and I regret it. I hope that I improve. You continue to pray for us. Now, as we get into this chapter here, we find that we have Jacob's last sickness. And he blesses the two sons of Joseph. And by faith we are told Jacob, when he was dying, bless both the sons of Joseph and worship leaning upon the top of his staff. That's Hebrews 11:21. Now, I think you can discover here another evidence of the spiritual side of Jacob and that he's growing. He's come a long way since his early days, if I may adopt a very slang and ugly expression that's in some of our commercials. Let me say this of Jacob. You've come a long ways, baby. And I don't mean that he's come to the place where he can smoke cigarettes and get lung cancer, but I think that he's come spiritually a long, long ways. Now, I think that all of you that are studying with us Reading through the Bible with us will concur in this observation. But the growth has been slow, very slow. And it wasn't a sensational experience. A great many people look for that. I talked to a very beautiful young couple. They were fine looking young couple in Memphis, Tennessee several years ago after service they had come forward and asked them what they came forward for. They said they wanted all that God had for them. And I found out they came forward every Sunday. I asked them, what are you really looking for? Well, they thought they would have some sense sensational momentarial experience that are just. All of a sudden they had become fully grown. We're told to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we've had to wait now till he's become an old man to see the fruit. But thank God for the possibility of growth in our lives and the patience of God which permits it. Now, if God moved in like some of us would, and I know that my impatience would cause me to move in and do something about it. But God very patiently dealt with this man. And he very patiently will deal with you and me. Now let's look at this incident in this man's life. Old Jacob is going to bless the sons of Joseph. I'm reading now verse one, Genesis 48. And it came to pass after these things that one told Joseph, behold, thy father is sick. And he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob and said, behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee. And Israel strengthened himself and sat upon the bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz and in the land of Canaan, and bless me. Now, can you imagine the thrill of this old man who now has this boy and his two sons before him? And he never dreamed he'd ever see him again. He thought he was dead. What a thrill it must have been to him. And this was his favorite son. Now he finds him elevated to this high position down in the land of Egypt. And what a thrill it must have been to old Jacob to have this boy of his. He's on his deathbed now. He's been down there 17 years. And here comes this man with his two sons. That is Joseph and old Jacob. He gets up and sits on the edge of his bed. And he is an old man and he's dying. But notice where he goes to in his thinking. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. I tell you, friends, that he's come a long ways. You see here the faith of Jacob. He's now trusting God. He's not bragging about Jacob. Jacob was clever as a young man. He could get what he wanted. So he thought and would use any kind of a method, too. But now he looks back over his life and he goes back to where God appeared to him. That's the beginning of it all. God appeared to him there in Bethel. He went out of the land. And then when he came back to the land, he says, God appeared to me there, and God bless me. Here's the faith of Jacob. Now listen to verse four. And he said unto me, behold, I'll make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I'll make of thee a multitude of people. And I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. Now, keep those two things in mind. They run through the entire Old Testament and into the New Testament. Friends, God promised this line. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the patriarchs. And he said to them that through you, two things will be accomplished. Well, actually, three things. But the important thing right here for Jacob was, I'm going to make you fruitful. I'll make a nation to come from you. And the second thing, I give you this land. Those are two things that you can nail down. They're very important as far as the Bible is concerned. Now, the third thing is important for you and me. I'll make you a blessing to all nations, to all people. And the reason that right now you and I are sitting down with our Bible and considering the word of God is because God's made good his promise that he made way back yonder. And God, by the way, has made two thirds of that promised good one third he hadn't. Really. They don't have that land today. Oh, they've got a little border there, but I tell you, it's a bone of contention. But when they get it from the hand of God, they'll live there in peace. Every man under his vine and fig tree. They'll own their property then pay no taxes. Believe me, friends, if that took place, it would be the millennium, wouldn't it? Well, that's what it will be when they get it. Now, may I read on here? Verse 5. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt. And they're mine. Well, they are as his grandsons, as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Now, what is going to take place is that the two sons of Joseph become each one a tribe. Now I know immediately someone is going to say, well, there were 13 tribes of the nation Israel. No, my friend, there were not 13 tribes, only 12. Well, you're going to count it up on your fingers and say, Well, I count 12 sons. And then if the two sons of Joseph are made a tribe, each one of them, and they were, there was the tribe of Ephraim, tribe of Manasseh, there was no tribe of Joseph. But one tribe becomes two tribes. Now that makes 13 in any man's mathematics. But friends, it's not 13 tribes because the tribe of Levi that became the high priestly tribe, they were not counted, they were not given any land, they were not given a territory, they were scattered as priests throughout the tribes and were not counted as a tribe. So that actually there are 12 tribes. Now you may say, well, that seems to me to be a rather devious way. Well, I didn't do it. The word of God does it that way. And that's the way God wanted it. And that's the way God made it. Now will you notice verse five? And now my two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt. And they are pretty good sized boys, they have to be 17 years old. And thy issue which thou begettest after them shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren and their inheritance. Now old Jacob picks these two boys out, each one to become a tribe. Now notice where his mind goes again, verse seven. And as for me, when I came from Paden, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way when. Yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath, and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath. The same is Bethlehem. Now you may today at Christmas time sing O little town of Bethlehem, and you think of the birth of Jesus. You know what old Jacob would think of if he heard you singing O little town of Bethlehem at Christmas time? He'd think of the death of Rachel, not the birth of anyone except Benjamin, but he would think primarily of the death of his beloved and beautiful Rachel. And right here on his deathbed, he goes right back there where he buried it. That was his heart break, as you know. He said, I buried her there and it's Bethlehem. And verse 8 now. And Israel beheld Joseph's sons and said, whose are these? Who are these? And Joseph said unto his father, they're my sons whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, bring them, I pray thee unto me, and I'll bless them. Have you noticed both Isaac and Jacob, when they got old, they had difficulty seeing. There's an eye trouble that's been in that land for years. And it does affect the old. A brightness of the sun, I guess, had a great deal to do with it. But it's still true, I think, even over there today. I noticed that a great many in the Arab countries. I should say that there were a great many old people that seemed to have difficulty getting around. They weren't entirely blind, but they certainly couldn't see very well. You'd see them being led by someone, or they'd be sort of feeling their way along. I suppose it's been characteristic in that land. We notice it here. He didn't recognize the two boys at all. Verse 10. Now, the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him. And he kissed them and embraced them. And the fellows are a little embarrassed by their grandfather showing such affection for them. And I read, and Joseph brought them out from between his knees. And he bowed himself with his face to the earth. You see, they tried to get away from him when he lavished his affection upon these boys. And he reaches out for them and finally finds them. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. Now he's doing that, that they might be blessed. And the right hand would be the one that would have priority. And I read verse 14. Now. And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly, for Manasseh was his firstborn. Now Ephraim, you remember, becomes the leader above Manasseh. Joshua came out of the tribe of Ephraim, by the way. And you will find that out of that tribe there were many great men. We'll have occasion to call attention to that. It became the tribe with priority, no question about it. Now, what happened was, when these two boys were moved up to old Jacob, although he couldn't see too well, he could see what his son Joseph was doing. He was pushing the older one where he could put his right hand on him, and the next one where he put his left hand on him. And what did old Jacob do here? Well, he just switched hands. He just Crossed his hands. And that meant the right hand went on the younger. Now, why do you suppose he did that? Well, I have several suggestions to make to you of why he would do that sort of thing. Well, I think the reason is he was the younger, was he not? And the blessing was his. And so he passes the blessing onto the younger. Here you find this running all the way through in the choice, for instance, of a king for Israel. God never did choose old Saul. That was the people's choice. They voted for him. And people get what they vote for, of course, and they got Saul. But God's choice was David. And David was not the oldest son of Jesse at all. He was the youngest one. Now, why does God do that? God is illustrating for you and me a great spiritual truth. God does not accept primogeniture, that is natural birth. Never will he accept it. There must be the new birth. Therefore, God does not pay attention to what we had pay attention to. We'd say, well, he's the oldest boy. He has the responsibility. We can depend on the oldest boy. Well, the oldest boy is not the one God always chooses. That is, he doesn't choose the natural man, and he chooses no man because of his natural ability. Oh, that's a truth that we need to learn today. We feel like. Now, don't misunderstand. God can use talent, but you better be dead sure it's dedicated to him. Because if it took talent to bring revival, we'd have had revival in Southern California years ago. We have got Christian talent that's running out our ears out here. But we don't have revival. And you know why it's not dedicated to him. I tell you, my friend, it has to be yielded to him to be used of him. Now we find that Joseph took them both. Ephraim in his right hand, Manasseh in his left, pushes them up there, and Jacob just crosses. Now notice Israel stretched out his right hand, laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly from Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day. Now listen to him. He reaches spiritual heights here, friends, and he never goes any higher than this. Verse 16. The angel which redeemed me from all evil. Bless the lad. When you look back upon your life today, do you have a great deal to boast of? Oh, today there's so much of this reviewing of the lives of Christians and giving them a lot of credit. Poor old Jacob. He's come a long ways, friends. He says, the angel which redeemed me from evil blessed the lads. Old Jacob had nothing to boast of, except he had a wonderful Redeemer. And let my name be named on them in the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and. And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. And that certainly took place. Now. When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. And he held up his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father, not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put thy right hand upon his head. Listen to this. And his father refused and said, I know it, my son. I know it. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. But truly, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. That's important to see. And Joseph better accept it, because he's not the oldest. He happens to be one of the youngest sons, and the blessing is given to him. Now notice verse 20. He blessed them that day, saying, in thee shall Israel bless, saying, God, make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. And Israel said unto Joseph, behold, I die, but God shall be with you and bring you again into the land of your fathers. Notice the faith of the man, friends. This man has a wonderful faith in God. Now he says, moreover, I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. That is that the inheritance. He would take the place of the older. Now, chapter 49, which we'll be coming to next time. It's the deathbed scene of old Jacob. He's on his deathbed now. The other boys are called in. And you find out that he has a blessing for each one of his 12 sons. And friends, this is tremendous, because a little later on, you're going to see the 12 tribes around another man dying. Moses. And he'll bless the 12 tribes. And not only has God promised to the nation Israel certain things, but to each tribe. And the amazing thing is, he's making it good already. A great deal of it is fulfilled. And so, until next time, may the Lord richly bless you, my beloved, Throughout
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his lifetime of ministry. Dr. McGee often said that if he had just one proof the Bible is the word of God, it would be fulfilled prophecy. In our next study, we'll hear remarkable prophecies that have already been fulfilled, along with others still to come. So be sure to join us. And if you'd like to listen again to any of our studies in Genesis, well, you can find them in our app or@ttb.org or if we can help you find a resource by Dr. McGee, just call us at 1-865 Bible. I'm Steve Schwetz and I'll meet you back here next time. As we continue making our way through
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the Bible, Jesus name all to him sin had left the Crimson Sam through
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the Bible exists to take God's whole word to the whole world. And we invite you to stand with us with your faithful prayer and financial support. Where will God's Word go today.