Page 47 - Living Light 90

THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Kevin Shaw and are based on Genesis 48
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
Genesis 48 (in full)
1 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.
3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me 4 and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’”
11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children
too.” 12 Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground... 14 But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.
15 Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, 16 the Angel who has delivered me from all harm – may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.”
Sunday October 19 - Generational transitions
...“May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully... may he bless these boys.” Genesis 48:15-16
There’s no wonder the saga that is Joseph’s life spawned a hit musical! What a magnificent weaving of human drama and God’s astonishing interventions. And so, we arrive at Genesis 48, where Joseph visits his ailing father, Jacob, taking with him his sons Manasseh and Ephraim. We can’t exaggerate just how deeply symbolic Jacob blessing his grandsons is, perhaps surpassed only by how profoundly and accurately prophetic his pronouncements are. In this scene by Jacob’s sick-bed, the future biblical history of the people of Israel is projected, with words of blessing still used every Friday night by Jewish families across the world. What we are witnessing is generational transition. The passing on of God’s promise to Abraham, down through Isaac, now Jacob, and on into the future that God’s children would both endure and enjoy. In Matthew 19:13-14, Jesus is also found blessing children, but his disciples rebuke the parents. Jesus intercepts the disciples, saying, “Do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” This blessing of the next generation, as demonstrated by Jacob and Jesus, teaches us something. God’s work in the world is continued by one vehicle: generational transition. This week I hope to show that this work of transition is something natural, something spiritual, and something we have a profound responsibility to carry out.
Heavenly Father, please bless our children and grandchildren, leading them by your Spirit. Let the Kingdom come in and through them, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
45
PRAYER FOR TODAY