Genesis 48:21-22

Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. And to you, as one who is over your brothers, I give the ridge of land I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.” (Genesis 48:21-22)

The patriarchal blessing was important and valued in Jacob’s day. It was more than just a wishful pronouncement - it carried with it the weight of prophecy. As Jacob is about to die, what he has to say is extremely significant to Joseph and the rest of Jacob’s family. Here Jacob speaks with assurance about the presence of God with his family. When he affirms confidently, “God will be with you...,” he is speaking a word of faith. I love what Jon Courson says about this passage:

“Because Jacob was one who had lots of failings, tons of shortcomings, all sorts of problems, he was one who knew that God’s faithfulness was not dependent upon his own deservedness. Jacob was a man who knew even when he was failing and faltering, that God would be faithful, that God would come through. And he passed that assurance on to his son.” (Jon Courson’s Application Commentary, Old Testament, Vol.1, P. 48)

What a gift he gave to Joseph here - absolute, Rock solid confidence that the same God who was with him his entire life - through the good, the bad, and the ugly - would continue with Jacob’s family when Jacob was gone! I am so thankful that my salvation does not depend on MY faithfulness, but on the faithfulness of the One who promised.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)

I don’t know I’m saved because of what I have done, but because of what He did for me. Jesus guaranteed my salvation so that I, like Jacob, can know without a doubt where I am headed:

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)

I have always loved that passage, and I have written next to it, in the margin of my Bible, “The Heavenly Handclasp.” I am not holding onto God with all my might - He is holding onto me with all of HIS might. Jesus says here that we are held in His hand and in the hand of the Father at the same time - and NO ONE can snatch us out of their hands! NO ONE!! This is the confidence we have in Him, and it’s the confidence that we must pass on to our children. THAT is the best blessing of all!

Don’t you want your children to know how faithful God has been to you throughout your life - and how? Tell them! Give them that blessing, so that when you die, they won’t need your life insurance, because they will have your eternal life assurance!

Have a great day reviewing the faithfulness of God in your life!