One
by one the writer of Hebrews has given his readers examples of people
who “by faith”
acted upon things they could not or did not see. His latest example
was that of “Isaac”
who “blessed Jacob and Esau”,
his sons, “concerning things to come”,
and in chapter eleven and verse twenty-one of Hebrews, the
writer shares how Jacob “blessed
both the sons of Joseph” where we read:
By faith
Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph;
and
worshiped, leaning
upon the top of his staff.
The
verse begins, “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying,
blessed both the sons of Joseph;”. The
writer began with the words, “By faith”
which means “through the conviction of the truth of anything and
belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in
God or in Christ which springs from trust in the same” “Jacob”
whose name means “heel-catcher or supplanter” and was “the
second son of Isaac”, “when he was a dying”
or “as he was perishing from life”, “blessed”
which means “invoked solemn prayers and consecration to prosper,
make happy and bestow favor upon” “both the sons” or
“each of the male descendants and children” “of
Joseph” which means “let him
add” and was “the patriarch and eleventh son of Jacob”. As did
Abraham and Isaac before him, Jacob, who was their son and grandson,
“by faith” “blessed”
each of “Joseph's sons”,
“Ephraim and Manasseh, when he was about to die. (See Genesis 48)
The
verse goes on to say, “and worshiped,
leaning upon
the top of his staff.”. The
writer continued with the words, “and
worshiped” which
means “to kiss the hand to one in token of reverence” or “give
homage, adore, reverence and prostrate oneself before”, “leaning
upon”
which means “in a position on, by, over or against” “the
top” or
“the uppermost, highest and extreme part” “of
his staff”
which refers to “of Jacob's walking stick, rod or branch”. By
pronouncing in “faith”
the “blessings”
upon Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob gave reverence and homage to God
Almighty while “leaning...on his
staff”.
When
we think through these words in Hebrews, we see how “faith”
played a role in “Jacob's” “blessing” of his
grandchildren “Ephraim and Manasseh”. Jacob was not able to see
the fulfillment of the words he put upon his grandsons, but through
“belief” that God would do as He promised, he “blessed”
them. “Faith” has been the key component in all of the
examples given by the writer of Hebrews, and “faith” is
the necessary attribute to “believe” in Jesus Christ and His
sacrifice for sins. Those who “believe in Him, should not
perish, but shall have everlasting life”, and people who
examine instances like Jacob “blessing” his grandsons have
a wonderful example of how to believe without seeing the results.
Next
time the writer shares what happened “by
faith” to
“Joseph, when he died”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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