You're listening to the teaching ministry of Harvest Fellowship Church in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about us on the web at www.harvestfellowshipchurch.org. We pray that through our teaching, we may present everyone mature in Christ. Well, if you would remain standing for this morning's Old Testament reading. Should be no surprise, but it comes from the book of Genesis 49, beginning at verse 13. We are in the middle of the blessings on Jacob's sons. Here now, God's holy, inspired, inerrant, and all-sufficient word. Zebulun. shall dwell at the shore of the sea. He shall become a haven for ships and his border shall be at Sidon. Issachar is a strong donkey crouching between the sheep folds. He saw that a resting place was good and that the land was pleasant. So he bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant at forced labor. Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward. I wait for your salvation, O Lord. Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels. Asher's food shall be rich and he shall yield royal delicacies. Naphtali is a dough let loose that bears beautiful fawns. Joseph is a fruitful bow, a fruitful bow by a spring. His branches run over the wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him and harassed him severely. Yet his bow remained unmoved. His arms were made agile by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob. From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel. By the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb, The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil. All these are the 12 tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of our Lord endures forever. You may be seated. Let's pray one more time, folks. Great are you, O Lord, and greatly to be praised. Your greatness is absolutely unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another. They shall declare your mighty acts. And on the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works, we will meditate. Thank you, O merciful God. for recording your great works and revealing your great glory to us through your word, both living and written. Oh, Lord, we give you thanks in Jesus name. Amen. Well, as I have quoted him so many times before in his commentary, on the book of Genesis, Kent Hughes points out that this foundational book of the Bible both begins and ends with a blessing. Remember in chapter one, on the sixth day, when God made man in his own image, he proclaimed a very rich and very extensive blessing on that man saying this, Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heaven, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And now, as we approach the end of the book, When the patriarch Jacob lay dying on his bed, he proclaimed a prophetic blessing on all 12 of his beloved sons, speaking the richest and the grandest blessing on Judah and on Joseph. Kent Hughes writes these words. He said, in sweeping terms, we can say that the book of Genesis is concerned with the blessing or gracing of mankind. The great problem that Genesis addresses is the fall of man from the blessedness of fellowship with God and the regaining of that blessing. I think that's something that we should think about as we begin this morning. To me, one of the most sad and tragic images that is described for us in this book of Genesis is found, of course, in chapter 3, where God drove Adam out of the garden. Because of his sin, his communion with God was lost. Paradise was forfeited. And naturally, Adam was reluctant to leave, as I would have been reluctant to leave that garden. And so, with some degree of force, God evicted the sinful tenants from his temple. And then, he changed the locks. In chapter 3, in verse 24, we read, east of the garden, God placed a cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. And that's what I mean when I say he changed the locks. Now, separated from God, still blaming one another, Adam and Eve have become what we might call dead men walking, their only hope. Their only hope of regaining God's blessing that had been lost rests in the words that were spoken to the serpent. In chapter 3 and verse 15, you're very familiar with this by now, where God said to the serpent, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. So it is that Kent Hughes said, man's fall was followed by an avalanche of sin that roared ever wider over the primeval world despite flashes of grace. The sin roared over the whole primeval world but there were here and there flashes of God's grace. In one of them, we see a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of hope when Eve conceives and then bears a son, names him Cain. I've born a son. She said, maybe this one, maybe this is the one who will crush the head of the serpent. But oh. Oh, how she must have mourned when the only head that her son Cain crushed was the head of his own brother Abel. The first 11 chapters of Genesis are filled with the tragic despair of man's total depravity. But in chapter 12, we get another glimmer of hope. In chapter 12, things begin to change as God speaks a word of hope, a word of renewed blessing when he comes to visit that obscure man named Abram who was living in the town of Ur of the Chaldees. And God said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing and I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse and in you, Abram, all of the families of the earth shall be blessed. The blessing of fellowship with God that was lost in chapter 3, lost, forfeited in the garden would be restored to Abram and to his descendants. But how would it be restored? Well, it would be restored by the grace of God through faith in his unchanging word. As the narrative of Abraham's life and his descendants continued, we discovered that the sovereign intervention of God was absolutely necessary for the preservation of God's covenant blessing from generation to generation to generation. You will remember that all three, all three of the matriarchs, Sarah, Rebecca, and of course, Rachel, they all struggled to conceive children. They all experienced a season of barrenness in their life. God specifically wanted to wait. to hold off until Sarah was physically impossible to bear children before he would bless her with laughter, with Isaac. And in this way, Sarah, well, she foreshadowed the miraculous virgin birth of our Savior, the true seed of Abraham, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as the story develops, We repeatedly saw that the sovereign grace of God is at work choosing the younger offspring over the older offspring. The son of the promise was chosen over the son of the flesh. And in this way, Moses gives us our very first glimpse into the doctrine of divine sovereign election. For reasons known only to himself and apart from any foreseen faith or inherent goodness in them." This is the BFC doctrine of election, of course. God chose Isaac over Ishmael. God chose Jacob over Esau. Well, this morning, as we return to the scene where all of Jacob's sons, all 12 of them, are gathered around his deathbed for one final blessing, it's important that we remember there are two essential elements to the Abrahamic covenant. And they are what? You should know them by now. They are land and they are blessing. Well, in Genesis 13, in verse 14, the Lord said to Abram, After Lot had separated from him, lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are. Look northward, look southward, look eastward, look westward. For all of the land that you see, I will give to you and to your offspring forever, forever. And in the very next verse, the Lord declared in verse 16, I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth. so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring can be counted. I want you to think about that every time you dust your knickknacks. Well, here in Genesis 49, the inspired prophetic blessing that Jacob declared to his sons looked ahead. It actually looked ahead. This blessing of Jacob is looking ahead prophetically 400 years to the time when they would return to Canaan and finally take possession of the promised land that was given to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all of their descendants. As for the multiplication of Abraham's offspring, well, in Egypt, in Egypt, God would multiply them. Egypt would be a kind of incubator where Jacob's 70 family members who went into Egypt would grow to more than 2 million offspring. Although some of his sons were chastened by the word that Jacob speaks to them, all of them, every one of the 12, would become a founder, a founding tribe of this great nation, and that would emerge victoriously from Egypt by the powerful arm of God and take possession of the land that he had promised to them. Well, as we saw last week, the promised seed of the woman, the Redeemer, the Messianic king, who would bless all of the nations of the world would come through the tribe of Judah. We saw that last week. His reign would be glorious and he would bring unprecedented prosperity and exceeding joy to all of the people. Now, our outline for this morning, as we go through the remaining eight sons of Jacob, as he brings this prophetic blessing to them, is three points. First, we'll look at bequest, then battle, then blessing. There's a gracious bequest. And this speaks of Israel's inheritance in the land. There is an enduring battle, an enduring battle in which Israel's fight to secure God's promise is taking place from generation after generation. And then there is that divine blessing that is on Joseph, that overflowing blessing of God's word that has come from Abraham and now Isaac and then to Jacob and now is being prayed on Joseph at the end of this text well having dealt with four of Leah's sons there are six Jacob now moves on to Zebulun and Issachar and strangely these two are addressed out of their birth order out of their birth order you see This may represent the fact that, well, Zebulun would have preeminence over Issachar, or it may simply be the way that they were aligned around his bed. We really don't know. But for some reason, Jacob addresses Zebulun before he addresses Issachar. And what does he have to say? This is interesting. In verse 13, he says, Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea. he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon." Now, this prophecy, when you think about it, seems a bit strange. It seems a bit strange when you look at the map, at the map that shows where all of the 12 tribes of Israel settled. You see the map? You see where Zebulun is? It's purple in the middle. See any beach near there? This is a little strange. It appears as if Zebulun was landlocked. So it seems hard to find beachfront property in the middle of Israel there. So, so how do we reckon the words of Jacob with what we see on this map? Well, the first thing that we must consider is the original language, the original Hebrew in which this is written. And originally, it says not at the shore, but toward the shore. Toward the shore. Now, I don't know about you, but there is a big difference between renting property that is at the shore and renting property that is toward the shore. You know, I could rent in Philadelphia. That's kind of toward the shore. Vineland might be toward the shore, but not at the shore, and it might be a little bit more affordable. The original language means toward the shore, but that doesn't solve this, does it? It doesn't solve my rental problem either. As we dig a little bit deeper, we compare Genesis 49, 13, with some of the other texts of Scripture describing the land of Zebulun, Jacob's prophecy is actually, well, it's actually confirmed. You see, in Joshua chapter 19 and verse 11, the tract of land that was assigned to Zebulun, it says, reaches down to the Kishon River, which was a waterway that flowed into the Mediterranean Sea. So you might put a ship there and have it go out into the Mediterranean. That might solve our problem. But then we turn to Matthew chapter 4 in verse 13, where we learn that Capernaum, by the sea of Galilee, was in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. Now, I visited Capernaum by the sea, and it is right on the sea. So there we have it, that Matthew confirms the words that were spoken to Zebulun. Again, if we do a little bit more research, there are historical studies that show that during the reign of Solomon, the borders of Zebulun actually reached as far as the Mediterranean Sea itself. I say all of this, why does this matter? Well, my friends, when you come across a verse that seems to be in conflict with the wisdom of men, or it may come in conflict with the maps that are in the back of your Bible, What I'm going to say is, don't cast the Word of God aside, okay? Dig a little deeper. In our search for truth, we know that Scripture interprets Scripture. So, if we continue to study God's Word together, we'll find an answer for those things that may seem a little bit odd when we first read them. like Zebulun at the beach. So, moving on to verse 14 and 15, Jacob addresses his son Issachar. Well, he would receive a good and pleasant land, but it seemed that he would be a bit lazy and maybe lack initiative. Maybe he was a teenager at this point. Who knew? He may have lacked initiative. In Genesis chapter 49 and verse 14, Issachar is a strong donkey. Crouching between the sheepfolds, he saw that a resting place was good and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant at forced labor." Now listen, when we say donkeys, we may think something different than they thought at this particular time. Donkeys, in fact, were great in value. because of the work that they could accomplish. But what we hear about is that this donkey is laying down, this donkey is not working, this donkey is resting between the sheepfolds, taking a siesta, if you will. So while Issachar was, in fact, a large and strong tribe, kind of like large and strong like a donkey, historically, they were, in fact, somewhat slothful. Instead of obeying the command of God to exterminate the Canaanites who dwelt in the land, this tribe was content to live side by side with the Canaanites. They didn't take the initiative to force them out of the land. So, what happened, because of their lethargy, because of their weakness, Issachar actually ended up submitting as servants to the Canaanites who lived in the land. Let's make a quick application at the end of this first point. Just as God faithfully brought Zebulun and Issachar into the land of promise, so he will bring all of those who repent of their sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ into that heavenly city. All of this land of Israel was just a type, just a shadow of that glorious city, that new Jerusalem where all of the saints of God will dwell forever together with Christ. And as we consider the lethargy, the laziness, if you will, of Issachar, then maybe we should turn to James. There's a lot of wisdom in James' writing. James chapter 2 and verse 18 says, but some will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works and I will show you my faith by my works. My friends, true and saving faith, naturally. naturally produces the fruit of good works in those who have been born of God. Not laziness, not lethargy, but true good works that are birthed by the Spirit in the new heart that show forth the redeeming work of Christ in our lives. Now, as we move on to our second point, we understand that although our citizenship is presently in heaven, here on the earth, we are engaged in what Paul would call a spiritual battle in Ephesians 6. And that brings us to the tribe of Dan, the tribe of Dan who was in a battle. Although Dan occupied what we saw on the map as the smallest territory of all of the tribes that were on the seacoast, on that Mediterranean coast, Dan proved to be a dangerous adversary to anyone who dared to come against the people of Israel. Jacob says this of Dan, he says, Dan shall judge his people. So there's a judge that will come out of Dan. Okay? Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be...well, he'll be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path that bites the horse's heel so that his rider falls backwards. Interesting. Although the tribe of Dan may be small, like a little serpent, they would, in fact, be cunning. They would be aggressive. They would be dangerous. Like a venomous snake, Dan would strike his enemies with an unexpected and deadly blow. Now, with that in mind, we understand that, well, one of the judges, one of the judges, One of the most famous heroes that come out of the tribe of Dan was a man named Samson, a man named Samson. Like a snake, God gave Samson great power. They wonder, you know, we often pictured Samson as this Arnold Schwarzenegger kind of guy, but people wonder, one of the things is they wonder, where did his strength come from? Where did that strength come from? He didn't look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. He had long hair, and the strength of God was based upon the covenant that was made. So, right here in the middle, as we're thinking about Dan, as we're thinking about the power that Dan has to overcome his enemies. Small though he is, he overcomes his enemies. Right here in the middle of this prophetic discourse, as he's lying there on his deathbed, Jacob's faith, well, Jacob's faith is aroused. His faith is aroused. He's thinking about his sons going into the land, overcoming their enemies. He's thinking about the lion of the tribe of Judah as he lay there. His faith is aroused and he says, cries out at this point, in the middle of everything that he's saying, he says, I wait for your salvation, O Lord. Standing on the edge of eternity. On the edge of eternity, having run the race, having finished the course, having kept the faith, Jacob's final declaration of hope would serve to inspire all of his sons that are standing around him, as they would have to go on and continue to fight the good fight of faith. Their father cries out, I wait, I wait, for your salvation oh Lord in the same way I pray oh dear God when I am lying on my own deathbed that will I will not only have the strength but also the clarity of mind in order to declare one more time to my own children my hope in the great salvation that has been purchased for me in Jesus Christ alone. And now with what I would expect would be a little bit of renewed strength, Jacob continued to speak of the many blessings and the many victories that the Lord would provide to his 12 sons. in verse 19 he says raiders shall raid gad but he shall raid at their heels this is a word this is a word play that he's using here because the word raiders is actually gad so gad would gad here it's an interesting word play in the hebrew but he shall raid gad at their heels Asher's food shall be rich and he shall yield royal delicacies. Naphtali is a dough let loose that bears beautiful fawns. And despite the efforts of their enemies, God will sustain all of the sons of Abraham with strength for every battle and sustenance, even delicacies to enjoy in the land that they will go into and take with all of the multitude, the two million of their offspring that will go with them from Egypt. Now, although the tribe of Gad would settle in a very vulnerable Transjordan region where they would come under attack from the Ammonites, from the Moabites, from the Arameans, from the Assyrians, by the grace of God, this tribe would fight back. They would fight back with great zeal and with surprising strength and overcome their enemies. In 1 Chronicles, we learned that there was a strong contingent of warriors that came from the tribe of Gad. to help David in his time of need. In chapter 12 of verse 8, we read, from the Gadites, there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty and experienced warriors, experts with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were swift as gazelles upon the mountains. As you can see. in Jacob's prophecy. The characteristics of his sons and their descendants were often compared to, well, they were compared to wild animals in an attempt to describe their strength, in an attempt to show their agility, in an attempt to hold up their fierceness in battle. You may remember that the kingly tribe of Judah was compared to a lion. The lion of the tribe of Judah would be the king of all kings. Issachar was a strong but lazy donkey. Dan is a serpent. Naphtali is a doe. Gad is part lion and part gazelle. And Benjamin, wow, Benjamin is a ravenous wolf who shares his prey with his brothers. In Judges chapter 3, Ehud, this very large king, very large man. You can read about it in Judges chapter 3. Ehud, the son of Gerar, the Benjamite, a left-handed man, came to Eglon. Now, Eglon is the large king. I'm sorry, Ehud is the hero here. He came to Eglon, the king of Moab, and he said, I have a message from God for you. And he arose from his seat and reached with his left hand, taking a sword that was on his right thigh, and he thrust it into Eglon's belly. Interesting detail there, his belly seemed to absorb that sword. That's how large this man was. But in Judges chapter 5, again in Judges chapter 20, again in 1 Samuel chapter 9, 1 Chronicles chapter 8, and then again in chapter 12, all of these beautiful scriptures describe the great warriors that would arise out of the tribe of Benjamin. And Benjamin was not to keep all of the booty for himself. Benjamin went and shared all of the goods from his wars with all of his brothers. And who could forget? We shouldn't forget. That great warrior of the faith, the Apostle Paul, he was from the tribe of Benjamin. And he was an expert with the sword. Not necessarily the sword on his right thigh, but the sword of God's Word. And he would destroy his enemies with the power of the sword of God's Word. Well, while we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, there's no Eglon in our future, I don't believe. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood. We do face powerful opposition. According to Ephesians Chapter 6, as we seek to walk in God's covenant blessing, we don't battle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers that Christ has overcome on the cross. And like the sons of Jacob, we too must put on the full armor of God so that we will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. So you see, we have a promised land, and we too are engaged in a battle. But as we move on, we see that we are the recipients of a great and glorious blessing as well. Well, finally, as Jacob looked up from his bed, there was one profile. that was very distinct from all of the rest. There was only one beautifully shaven head, only one beardless face that was peering down at Jacob from above him. Of course, that was the face of his beloved son, the prime minister of Egypt, who is Joseph himself. Well, the blessing that Jacob declares on Joseph includes a wordplay A wordplay that was built on the name of Joseph's second son. Remember, his name was Ephraim. You may recall in chapter 41 that Joseph named his son Ephraim, and he said these words. He said, God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. So that name, Ephraim, meant fruitful. It meant fruitful. Well, here in verse 22 of Genesis 49, Jacob says, Joseph is a fruitful bough. A fruitful bough by a spring. So fruitful was he that his branches actually ran over the wall. So by the hand of God's grace, Jacob is a well-watered vine that extends its branches far beyond the arbor. Think of this beautiful grape arbor that is there, but a beautiful grape arbor that is just growing wild that goes not only on the arbor but across the wall. so that those who pass by may be nourished by the satisfying fruit that is produced from Joseph's life. I don't know about you, but as I read this, I can't help but think about Psalm 1. Psalm 1, where the psalmist says, "'Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.'" What is he like? Well, he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yield its fruit in season and its leaf does not wither. All that he does, he prospers. In all that he does, he prospers. Well, Joseph's life was wonderfully blessed and uniquely productive, like a healthy fruit-laden vine whose roots were well-watered, deeply watered. whose branches extend beyond the walls providing an abundance of fruit even to those who are outside in fact If this garden wall that we're talking about here in Jacob's prophecy represented that dividing wall that separated the Jews from the Gentiles, it's easy to see in Joseph's fruitful life that it was such a great blessing, not only to the Jews, but also ran over the wall into the realm of the Gentiles. his interpretation of Pharaoh's dream and the godly wisdom with which he managed the resources of Egypt, Joseph was a great blessing, not only to his own brothers, but even more especially to all of those. All of the families of the earth were blessed by Joseph as he, in his fruitfulness, provided grain for all of the nations that were surrounding Egypt in the midst of a famine. Well, in this way, Joseph provided an early fulfillment of God's promise. Remember the promise, again, that he made to Abraham where he said, I will bless those who bless you, him who dishonors you, I will curse, and in you, all of the families of the earth shall be blessed. And this was true of Joseph. But it would be pointing us beyond Joseph to the one that Joseph was representing here, and that is Jesus Christ. in whom every nation on the earth would be blessed with salvation. Now. As you may recall, Joseph did not always stand in this position of fruitfulness. He did not always stand in this position of honor. Before he was elevated to the office of prime minister, before he possessed such a great power and influence over the world, he suffered significant wounds, significant wounds at the hands of others. And Jacob brings that out in his prophetic word in verse 23 where he says, the archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely, yet his bow remained unmoved. His arms were made agile by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob. Picture this, if you will, a young boy learning archery, and his father puts his arms around him, helps to hold the bow, helps to pull back that tight string. And so it is that we see the arms of our holy God wrapping around Joseph, pulling back the bow, preparing him for the days ahead, but he himself would endure the pain, the affliction of arrows that were shot at him. In this particular case, the arrows that are coming at him seem to represent the piercing words that were thrust at Joseph by his brothers. Those piercing words that were thrust at him by Mrs. Potiphar. And again, by all of those who represent, who resented, rather, his quick rise to power in Egypt. You know, when somebody from outside rises to power, takes the position that you always wanted, there are arrows that are going to be thrown at them. I'm sure it was with Joseph. But despite the harsh attacks that came from his enemies, Joseph remained steadfast in his faith, empowered by the mighty one of Jacob. And he was always able to give an answer for the hope that was within him with gladness and respect. All of the praiseworthy attributes that we see in Joseph's life were the result of God's powerful working in him. We can't lose sight, friends, of the fact that all of the benefits, all of the blessing, all of this that was lavished upon Joseph was all of God's grace. He did not earn it. He did not work for it. It was all of grace, the same grace that God lavished on Abraham, the same grace that God lavished on Isaac, the same grace that God lavished on Jacob was now resting in even greater fullness on this one whose name was Joseph. And in a wonderful cascade, in a glorious waterfall of divine ascriptions, Jacob prophetically declares how the great patriarchal blessing would be multiplied on Joseph. In verse 24, we read the mighty one of Jacob. From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel, by the God of your father who will help you, by the almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the beasts and breasts and of the womb. this same God who cared for Jacob like a shepherd. Remember when Jacob was standing before Pharaoh, he talked of God as his shepherd, understanding that God had cared for him all of these years with all of the difficulties that he's faced. He never faced those difficulties when God was not his good shepherd. And so we praise that same blessing on his son, Joseph. Remember when Jacob worshipped God and he held up that stone at Bethel, when God came to visit him and showed him the ladder wherein the angels of God were going up and down, bringing blessing to his people. Well, here also, not only by the shepherd, but also by the stone of Israel, the blessing of God will be upon Joseph. The God who will open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing upon him that he cannot sustain is still on him. The almighty names of God that are coming across like a waterfall here, the almighty El Shaddai, who provided a substitute for Isaac when the ram was found caught in the thicket. He will cause Joseph to be a fruitful vine and multiply him that he might inherit the land of promise. And so, my friends, there is a continuity, if you will, a continuity of blessing that God graciously provides to all of his covenant people, the blessing that God would pour out on Jacob was greater than the blessing that we have seen in Isaac's life. And now Jacob prayed that God's blessing on Joseph would be even greater, that it would exceed the height of the mountains. Look around you, there are mountains around you. May the blessing of God be greater than all of the mountains on the earth. In Genesis 49, 26, the blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers. It was the God of Jacob, the great shepherd of Israel, who became the God of Joseph. And the blessing of Jacob had been multiplied on his beloved son. Remember that God set him apart. Of course, we understand he was set apart before the foundation of the world, but God showed that he was set apart by the dreams that he gave to Joseph. that his brothers would bow down before him. Now it is this God who has set him apart from his brothers. May the blessing of God rest upon him. As we think of this fatherly blessing on all of his sons, the one thing, the one thing that is in the heart, the one thing that is in the prayer of every Christian parent is this. O gracious God, O merciful Savior, be to my child what you have been to me and even more. Be his Savior, be his Redeemer, be his comforter, be the lover of my son's soul, and be his ever-present helper when he runs into a time of trouble. Christian parents pray for their children all the time. May the God of grace, the same grace that you have lavished upon me in Christ, may it now be multiplied upon my sons and my daughters. Oh God, I plead with you. Hear my cry. Bless my children with salvation. Bless my children with sanctification. Bless my children, oh God, that we might spend eternity together worshiping around your throne. By the grace of God, Zebulun was wise in business, trading with distant lands. By the grace of God, Issachar was strong and settled in a fertile land that was greatly productive. By the grace of God, Dan judged the people in wisdom. By the grace of God, Gad and the Benjamites became decorated navy seals, if you will, with the exception of Judah and Joseph, all of Jacob's sons are observed for what we might consider natural fleshly characteristics. Their strength in battle, their good food, the delicacies. One of them was a chef, obviously. They're looked at, they're considered for their natural fleshly characteristics. And that is how many parents look at their children. I want my kids to get the best education possible. I want them to excel at sports. I want them to learn to play an instrument with skill. I want them to learn to dance. I want them to excel at everything that they do. And my friends, these are good desires, but they are earthly desires. There's something that is so much better for our children. The blessing that Jacob declares on Judah, the blessing that Jacob declares on Joseph moves far beyond any worldly acclaim that they might have. What matters most for our children is that they know the God of their fathers and that they walk in his ways. We do the best that we can to teach our children God's Word. We pray for them continually, even when they're in their 30s and 40s. We still pray for them, sometimes even more. We catechize our children. We talk to them about the Lord when they rise up and when they lie down and when we walk along the way, we talk to them about God. And by doing these things, we are laying the railroad tracks for the day when God, by his spirit, will ignite the engine of faith in their soul through the new birth so that they might motor along the ancient pathway. The blessings that Joseph experienced in his life were truly astounding, but they cannot compare to the blessings that have been poured out upon us, upon you, upon me who are in Christ Jesus today. And that's where we come back probably for the fourth or fifth time today to Ephesians chapter one. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. When we read of these rich Old Testament blessings, They're wonderful, but they cannot contain. They cannot compare to the richness of the blessing that we have in Christ. What we have is a fullness of blessing. What we have is a fullness of revelation of the God who created us. What we have is a salvation that can never be taken away because it is secured by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. He died for our sins so that we might walk with him. The blessing that God spoke to be fruitful and multiplied on Adam, the blessing that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob prayed on their children should remind us of the glorious blessing that God has given to us in Christ Jesus. Oh, Lord, we pray again this morning for our children, especially those, Lord, who have wandered, especially those who at this point are not falling on their face before you in worship. Those who are rebellious, those, oh Lord, who still need, who still need that regeneration that comes by your spirit. Oh God, our hearts cry out as parents. There are few people on the earth that we love more than the children you've given to us. So Lord, we cry out and we pray. Oh God, be merciful to them as sinners. Send your spirit, O God, to bring your truth, the gospel truth, to lighten their hearts that they, too, might walk in the blessing of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Hear our cry, O God, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.