Tawa Baptist

Blessed

Scripture: Genesis 48:13-20

Video Link: https://youtu.be/a4dc1e1e3Rs

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Words of blessing
  • Hands of blessing
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

“A bell is no bell ‘til you ring it. A song is no song ‘til you sing it. And love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay. Love isn’t love ‘til you give it away.”

Who can tell me what stage musical that song line comes from? [Wait]

That’s right, The Sound of Music. ‘Love isn’t love ‘til you give it away.’

This morning we continue our series in the life of Joseph. Last week we heard how Jacob adopted Joseph’s sons. In today’s reading Jacob blesses Joseph and his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. We could say, “A blessing isn’t a blessing ‘til you give it away.” From Genesis 48, verse 13, we read…

13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. 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.” 17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.”  20 He blessed them that day and said, “In yourname will Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

In these verses Jacob (also known as Israel) uses his words and his hands to bless Joseph’s sons. Let’s begin with Jacob’s words of blessing.

Words of blessing:

When I think of what it means to bless someone, I imagine some kind of tangible action which makes another person’s life better, or at least less difficult. For example, mowing their lawns or cooking them a meal or listening with understanding or doing some act of service to support them. In my mind, a blessing is a practical expression of love.

But this is not exactly the kind of blessing we find in Genesis 48. Jacob doesn’t do anything practical to make Ephraim and Manasseh’s life less difficult. Jacob simply speaks good words over their lives and places his hands on them. In this process though, something unseen yet powerful & lifegiving is communicated.

At the end of the service each week, someone (usually me) speaks a benediction (or a blessing) over the congregation. The word benediction has Latin origins. ‘Bene’ means well and ‘diction’ means speaking. So, a benediction is literally, ‘speaking well’ or ‘saying good things of someone’. [1] 

Our society today tends to discount words. We often use words carelessly or cheaply. But words have a certain power of their own, like seeds planted in our soul. We need to be sowing the seed of good words in people’s lives.  

Some years ago, when I was training for ministry, I spent a summer working as a chaplain at Greenlane Hospital, visiting patients. There was one man there, around my age, who was recovering from a stab wound.

He told me he was from Maketu, in the Bay of Plenty, not far from where I used to live. Sadly, he believed he was cursed. When he was young, an old woman pointed the bone at him and said some bad words over his life, the opposite of a benediction. Since then, he had been in and out of prison.

Words can be powerful things. What he needed was a blessing. What if that woman had spoken good words over his life, words of peace conveyed with warmth and love.

In verses 15 and 16 we read the words of blessing Jacob speaks over Joseph’s sons and, by extension, Joseph himself.

What we notice with Jacob’s blessing is the way God is front and center throughout. Four times God is referred to in the space of two verses. Jacob does not try to bless Ephraim and Manasseh in his own strength. He calls upon God Almighty to bless them.

Sometimes we Christians carry a heavy burden. We may feel like the weight of responsibility for blessing others rests squarely on our shoulders. It doesn’t. Any blessing (whether in word or deed) is done by God’s grace and in his power. We are simply vessels for carrying and imparting God’s blessing.

If the blessing is the tea, then you are the tea pot. The pot does not make the tea.  The pot merely holds the blessing while it brews. God makes the tea (or the blessing) and pours it out at the right time. 

As Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, we have this treasure in jars of clay to show this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.     

In verse 15, we notice how Jacob’s words about God are not an abstract theory with no grounding in life’s realities. Jacob’s blessing comes from his own experience of God and the experience of his fathers.

Jacob begins by saying, ‘May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked…’

This speaks of a God who transcends time and geography. The God who blesses people through Jacob was around a long time before Jacob came on the scene, and he will continue to be around long after Jacob has gone.

What’s more, God is not fixed in one place like a statue or a building.

God moves around with his people. He walks with them wherever they go.

When Jacob talks about his father and grandfather walking faithfully before God, he is probably alluding to God’s covenant with Abraham. God’s covenant called for loyalty and trust. Jacob wants Ephraim and Manasseh to understand that being blessed carries a responsibility to honour the covenant with God.  

In the next line Jacob gets personal saying, ‘…the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day…’

Jacob, who made his living as a shepherd, talks about God being his shepherd.

I wonder if David took inspiration from Jacob when he wrote the 23rd Psalm. ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…’

The image here is one of security. To be blessed by God means having God lead, feed and protect you, like a shepherd. This means, for the blessing to be effective, Joseph’s sons must trust God enough to follow where he leads.

In verse 16, Jacob talks about the angel who has delivered me from all harm.

Most commentators think the angel here is a poetic way of referring to God. The key word though is delivered. It can also be translated as redeemed.

As in the ‘kinsman redeemer’. The close relative who gets you out of trouble, who redeems your life from slavery and financial ruin. Boaz (in the story of Ruth) is the classic example of a kinsman redeemer.

Jacob knew God’s deliverance and redemption on more than one occasion. God delivered Jacob from Esau who wanted to kill him. God delivered Jacob from Laban, who wanted to cheat him. And God delivered Jacob from grief and despair by redeeming Joseph’s life.  

What we notice here is the way the God of Jacob closely resembles Jesus.

Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Jesus is our kinsman redeemer.

Jacob frames God’s blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh in terms of great increase on the earth. This probably means having lots of descendants, which did happen over the centuries that followed.

The underlying principle at work in God’s blessing is abundant life. Abundant life may blossom in a whole variety of ways. Often ways that transcend the physical.   

When we think of Jesus, we note he died relatively young and had no biological children. Nevertheless, he has millions of spiritual descendants.

Jesus came that we may have life in all its fullness. Jesus was all for abundant life and fruitfulness. However, the path to life and blessing is not always smooth or pleasant. Jesus turns our understanding of blessing on its head.

Jesus described those who are poor in spirit as blessed because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Likewise, those who mourn are blessed because they will be comforted. And so on.

To be poor in spirit and to mourn is obviously not an ideal state of being.

But, as painful as it feels, being emptied by suffering and grief prepares us to receive God’s blessing. ‘A heart that is broken is a heart that is open.’ [2]

Okay, so those are Jacob’s words of blessing for Joseph’s sons. What about Jacob’s hands of blessing.

Hands of blessing:

Are you left or right-handed? Historically the left hand often carried negative connotations. The Latin word for ‘sinister’ means ‘on the left side’. And in English the word ‘left’ comes from the old Anglo-Saxon word for ‘weak’. In contrast, the right hand is associated with virtue and honour and being right.

In the Middle Ages lefties were, at times, thought to be cursed and in league with the devil, which resulted in burning at the stake.

The stigma and superstition of being left-handed carried over into the following centuries. King George the sixth, who was monarch of England from 1936 to 1952, was left-handed but his father (king George the fifth) forced him to write with his right hand.

Even today there is a certain negativity attributed to the left hand. For those who are familiar with the dating app, Tinder, you swipe right (so I’m told) if you like someone and you swipe left if you don’t. Right for accept’. Left for reject. Sounds quite brutal.  

Perhaps all this prejudice and superstition is because left-handed people are in the minority. It is thought that somewhere between 85-90 percent of people are right-handed, with only 10-15 percent being left-handed.

Now let me say, there is nothing wrong with being left-handed. You are not bad or cursed or anything else if you happen to be left-handed. Our handedness is simply a product of the way God makes us, like eye colour or being good with numbers or preferring savoury to sweet. God likes diversity.

In verse 13 we read how Joseph took great care to line his sons up correctly for Jacob. Joseph made sure his eldest son, Manasseh, was positioned to receive the right hand of blessing and Ephraim, the younger son, was positioned to receive Jacob’s left hand. Joseph believed (like most people of his time and culture) that the right hand of blessing was somehow better than the left hand.

But Jacob upset Joseph’s careful arrangement by crossing his hands over,

so the right hand of blessing went to Ephraim (the younger son) and the left hand of blessing went to Manasseh. Jumping ahead to verse 17, we read how Joseph was displeased by this.

The English translation is a bit soft here. The original Hebrew is stronger.

It says more literally that what Jacob did was evil in Joseph’s eyes. [3] 

It was like using the wrong name at a wedding.

Do you remember that episode from the TV show, Friends, when Ross is getting married to Emily but instead of using Emily’s name in his vows he uses Rachel’s name. (Rachel was one of Ross’ old girlfriends.) What Jacob did, in blessing the younger son with his right hand, was like that. A major faux pas. 

Joseph, who we know by now is very proper and righteous in all his ways, tries to correct his father, Jacob. Joseph tries to move Jacob’s right hand off Ephraim’s head and onto Manasseh’s head. Maybe Jacob is confused. Maybe his blindness has caused the mistake.

But the old man, Jacob, knows what he is doing. This is no mistake. Jacob says to Joseph, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.”

The text does not explain why Jacob crosses his hands. His actions are inexplicable just as God’s actions are often inscrutable. The hand of God is free to move and bless and shape history as he wishes.  God’s reasons do not bow to our cultural norms or traditions. God does not need to explain himself.

Jacob is not startled or angry with Joseph for interrupting him.

Jacob understands Joseph’s concern, without changing the decision.

The blessing is irreversible.

To his credit Joseph, now the ruler of Egypt, does not force Jacob’s hand.

In faith Joseph humbly accepts the father’s will, even if he cannot understand it. Note though that Ephraim and Manasseh both get the same words. Both brothers are blessed for the sake of Joseph. Only the younger is put first. 

In verse 19, Jacob talks about the younger brother (Ephraim) becoming greater than his older brother. What is greatness?

I’m reminded of the request of James and John, in Mark 10, to sit on Jesus’ left and right in his glory. It seems James and John had ambitions of greatness.

Jesus is not angry or impatient with them. Jesus graciously points out that they don’t know what they are asking. Then the Lord goes on to define greatness…

“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

According to Jesus the greatest is not the most powerful or the most successful or the most popular. Rather the greatest is the servant of all.

Joseph was the Prime Minister of Egypt and yet that did not make him the greatest. Joseph was the greatest among his brothers because he was the servant of all. God blessed many thousands of people through Joseph.

Conclusion:

Love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay. Love isn’t love ‘til you give it away.

On hearing that again we might focus on the giving it away part. But before we can give love away, we must first have it put there by someone. We must be open to receive love.

Jacob puts his love in Joseph’s heart by giving Ephraim and Manasseh his blessing. And, to their credit, they receive Jacob’s blessing in an attitude of quiet trust, just as they humbly accepted Jacob’s adoption of them.

It’s quite difficult in kiwi culture to properly receive words of love and blessing. When people speak good words to us, we often deflect or minimize their comments. Good words raise a red flag. Can I trust what they say or is this a sucker punch? Tall poppies get cut down in New Zealand.

As difficult as it may be, we need to learn to accept the blessing God wants to give. We cannot give to others something we have never experienced or received ourselves. We cannot conjure up blessings out of thin air.

If the tea pot refuses to let the tea and water in to brew, it will have nothing to pour out. Before you can bless others, you must be open to receiving God’s blessing. You must let God put his love in your heart.   

God’s blessing is often communicated by the power of his Spirit, through ordinary people. So, receiving God’s blessing means letting honest, trustworthy people speak good things into your life, into your soul.

May you be blessed this week with knowing and feeling God’s love and grace for you personally, deep in your heart. Amen. 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What do you think it means to bless someone? What does it mean to be blessed by God?
  3. What difference have good words (or bad words) made in your life? What was said to you and how did that affect you?
  4. What is Jesus’ take on blessing? With Jesus’ beatitudes in mind, are you on a path to blessing?
  5. Are you left or right-handed? What difference does it make?
  6. Why does Jacob cross his hands over when blessing Ephraim and Manasseh? What might this reveal about God’s ways? 
  7. What is Jesus’ take on greatness? Why was Joseph great?   
  8. Why is it important to receive the blessing God wants to give? How might we remain open to receive God’s blessing?

Outtakes

When Jacob says, in verse 16, ‘may they be called by my name’, he means may Ephraim and Manasseh be reckoned among the twelve tribes of Israel, with a share in God’s covenant promises to Abraham. This is an affirmation of Jacob’s adoption of Joseph’s sons, which we heard about last week.

[1] Refer Henri Nouwen’s book, ‘Life of the Beloved’, page 56.

[2] This is a lyric from a U2 song, by Bono.

[3] Refer Bruce Waltke’s commentary on Genesis, page 600.

Tawa Baptist

Adopted

Scripture: Genesis 48:1-12

Video Link:  https://youtu.be/nSRh04MBs78

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Why Jacob Adopts (1-7)
  • How Jacob Adopts (8-12)
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Last week we had a dedication ceremony for Micah. And next week we have a graduation ceremony for those children moving up a level in Kids’ Church.

Ceremonies like this help to mark special occasions. Ceremonies are a way of saying this is important. This matters. More than that, ceremonies bring things into effect. They make it official. 

We have ceremonies for all sorts of occasions. Weddings, funerals, baptisms, becoming a citizen, bestowal of awards, ANZAC day, powhiri, and so on.

While people of faith usually value ceremonies and find meaning in them, mainstream society, in general, is relatively casual in its approach. Most people today don’t think the ceremony is that important.   

This is quite different from the attitude of people in the ancient world. In Biblical times things were not complete, they weren’t done properly, until a ceremony had taken place. Ceremonies were a must have.

This morning we continue our series in the life of Joseph. Last week we heard about the ceremony Jacob used to update his Will. And next week we will read about Jacob’s special blessing ceremony. Today’s reading though focuses on an adoption ceremony. From Genesis 48, verse 1, we pick up the story…    

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.’ 5 “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6 Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 7 As I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

8 When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”

9 “They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.” 10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them. 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.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

In this passage Jacob adopts Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

In verses 1-7 Jacob explains why he is adopting two of his grandsons. And in verses 8-12 we read how Jacob adopts. That is, the ceremony of adoption. Let’s begin with Jacob’s explanation of why he is adopting Ephraim and Manasseh.  

Why Jacob adopts:

Normally when we think of adoption, we imagine a couple who want to have children but for whatever reason can’t, so they go through the long and difficult process of adopting kids. 

Or we might think of Whaangai, a Maori tradition, in which a child is raised by grandparents or someone in their wider whaanau.

Jacob’s adoption is not the same as either of these scenarios. It does have a formal, legal aspect to it and it is a family type adoption. However, Ephraim and Manasseh are no longer small children in need of care. Nor is Jacob able to take care of them.

We know from the end of Genesis 47 that Jacob was near death and verse 1 of Genesis 48 tells us that Jacob was ill. This is the first time in the Bible that illness is mentioned.  

Sometimes we get a warning that death is imminent. Other times death comes out of the blue, as a complete shock. Illness can serve as a prompt to get our affairs in order. It also gives family members the opportunity to say goodbye.   

In any case, Jacob is in no condition to take care of grandchildren. He needs his family to take care of him. So why is Jacob (at a 147) wanting to adopt Joseph’s sons, who are now in their early 20’s and hardly in need of looking after.

Well, in ancient times it was common practice that the eldest son received a double portion of the estate when the father died. By adopting Joseph’s sons, Jacob is effectively blessing Joseph with a double portion of the inheritance, even though Reuben is the eldest of Jacob’s sons.

To put it another way, Joseph’s two eldest sons will be reckoned as Jacob’s two eldest sons. So, the descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim will receive an allotment of land in Canaan. In this way, Jacob gives Reuben’s double share to Joseph. Reuben and Simeon don’t miss out though. They still get a share.

So as to avoid a family dispute later on, Jacob sets out a sound spiritual and legal basis for his decision.

In verses 3 and 4, Jacob remembers God’s promises to him. Although Jacob is not currently in possession of the land, he looks forward in faith to that time when God will increase his numbers and give his descendants the land as an everlasting possession.

Jacob is connecting his adoption of Joseph’s sons to God’s promises. This adoption is an example of Jacob’s faith expressing itself in love. You can’t get a better reason than that.

By quoting what God said to him, Jacob is also reminding people of his credentials. None of Jacob’s sons can say they have heard God speak to them in the way Jacob has. And since there is no higher authority than God Almighty, Jacob’s decision cannot be contested by his sons. 

In verse 7 Jacob talks about the premature death of his wife Rachel. At first glance we might think this is an old man getting a bit lost in his memories and digressing from his main point. But it’s not. Jacob is right on point with this comment about Joseph’s mother.

Jacob is drawing attention to the fact that, because Rachel died relatively young (while still of childbearing age), he missed the opportunity to have more children by her.

In the cultural thinking of the ancient near east, when Jacob adopted Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim also become Rachel’s sons. And as such they take the place (posthumously) of other children Rachel may have had to Jacob, if she had lived longer. [1]

That argument wouldn’t stand up in the family courts today, but it made for solid case law in Old Testament times.      

Did you know the head of a dandelion actually consists of many small flowers. A single dandelion head is a community of flowers. Jacob’s family in Egypt was a bit like a dandelion. It was a community of people soon to multiply and grow.

When we think of this adoption from Manasseh and Ephraim’s point of view, we begin to appreciate what Jacob did for them personally.

Joseph’s sons were not like their cousins. They had never set foot in Canaan. They had been born and raised in Egypt and they had an Egyptian mother. Maybe they struggled to speak the Hebrew language. Perhaps they felt like strangers in their own family.       

Being adopted by their grandfather would have given Manasseh and Ephraim a deep sense of belonging. It would have strengthened their Hebrew identity, giving them an honoured place in the dandelion head of Jacob’s family.   

Okay, so we have heard why Jacob adopts Joseph’s sons. Now let’s consider how Jacob adopts Ephraim and Manasseh. In verses 8-12 we catch a glimpse of the adoption ceremony.

How Jacob Adopts:

What do these four things have in common: a wedding, a baptism, a powhiri and a funeral? [Wait]

That’s right, they are all ceremonies. Each of these ceremonies involves spoken words and symbolic actions. And you’ll notice that each of these ceremonies create connections. They bring people together and form a bridge from one state of being to a new state of being.  

With a wedding, two people’s lives become one and two families come together. As the couple exchange vows and rings and a kiss, they enter a new state of being, marriage.

With a baptism, the person being baptized is joined to Christ and they become a part of the people of God, the church. Words are pronounced over the baptismal candidate and water is used as a symbol of cleansing and rebirth.

With a powhiri the manuhiri (or the guests) are properly welcomed onto the Marae and are joined with the mana whenua (the people of that place). Speeches and waiata are exchanged and then people line up to hongi before having a kai.  

With a funeral ceremony the body of the deceased is being returned to the earth and their spirit is committed to God. A funeral marks the transition from one state of being to another. From this life to the next. Eulogies are given, words of committal are spoken and flowers or dirt are put on the coffin.

In verses 8-12 of Genesis 48, we catch a glimpse of the formal ceremony Jacob uses to adopt Joseph’s sons. This adoption ceremony is serious business. It has all the gravity and sacredness of a marriage ceremony or a baptism. Manasseh and Ephraim enter a new state of being. They become Jacob’s sons. 

When Jacob says, in verse 8, “Who are these?” It’s not that Jacob doesn’t know who Manasseh and Ephraim are (even if he is a bit blind). It’s simply that the adoption ceremony follows this formal ritual.

Sort of like a wedding ceremony when the celebrant says, “Who gives this woman to be married?” And the parents say, “We do”.  Everyone in the room knows who the parents of the bride are but you still say the words to complete the protocol.

Joseph answers his father saying, “They are the sons God has given me here”.

Then Joseph brings his sons close to Jacob. If the boys weren’t grown men, Joseph might put them on Jacob’s knees. More likely, in this situation, Manasseh and Ephraim stand between Jacob’s knees, while Jacob sits on the edge of the bed.

The symbolism here is of a child coming from a parent’s loins. It’s like saying, ‘You have the same standing as a biological child. You are my blood’.

Jacob then embraces and kisses Joseph’s sons. Again, this might be a symbolic gesture similar to a wedding ceremony when the celebrant says, “You may kiss the bride”. Except the kiss of adoption will be that of a father and not a spouse.

And, as verse 11 indicates, the embrace and the kiss are not just for show. Jacob is expressing real warmth and love for Ephraim and Manasseh. He is also expressing gratitude to God.

For people of faith, a ceremony is empty if God is not in it. Although God is unseen, he is the most important person in the room and needs to be acknowledged as such.  

We are talking here of the sacramental aspect of ceremonies. In simple terms, a sacrament is something which conveys the presence and power of God. Christians believe it is the presence of God which makes the ceremony effective.

By way of analogy, imagine a bottle of wine. The ceremony is like the bottle and God’s presence and power is like the wine. A ceremony without God’s presence is like an empty bottle of wine. The purpose of the ceremony is only fulfilled when the wine of God’s Spirit is present.

Sacraments come in many forms. Marriage can be a divine sacrament when the Spirit of Jesus is active in the relationship to foster respect and intimacy.

Likewise, musical worship can be a sacrament when the Spirit of Jesus transports us to a place of deeper communion with God.

Enjoying a cup of tea and a good chat with a friend can also be a sacrament, when words of grace and truth are spoken, and loneliness is cast out. 

The church, the people of God, are a sacrament to the world

With any sacrament there is an element of mystery. We don’t know how God conveys his presence and power, but on a spiritual level we sense the Lord has communicated something of himself.

With Jacob’s adoption ceremony, God’s presence and power is honoured throughout. In verse 9, Joseph acknowledges that his children are a gift from God. And, in verse 11, Israel (aka Jacob) acknowledges God with gratitude for allowing him to see Joseph again and to adopt Joseph’s sons.

God’s presence and power is around us all the time, at church, at home, at school, at work, in the car or on the train. Sometimes though we are in too much of a hurry to notice the sacred in the everyday. Sometimes we need to slow down and be still so we can enjoy God’s presence in the simple things.

In verse 12, the adoption ceremony ends when Joseph removes his sons from (between) Jacob’s knees, before bowing down with his face to the ground.

It is unclear whether Joseph is bowing down to honour his father, Jacob, or to worship God. Perhaps it is both.

Joseph is thanking his father for blessing him with a double portion, by adopting his sons. And, at the same time, Joseph is acknowledging God Almighty who made this possible.

We note that Ephraim and Manasseh say nothing. They are led by their father Joseph and humbly receive what their grandfather Jacob wants to give them. Throughout the process they trust themselves to Joseph and Jacob.

Ephraim and Manasseh provide a model for us. As believers in Christ, we are led by the Spirit of Jesus and we humbly receive what God the Father wants to give, in an attitude of trust.  

Conclusion:

In his letter to the Romans, Paul reminds us how we are adopted by God. From Romans 8, verse 14, we read…

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sonsand daughters of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,   

Let’s sit with that for a little bit. Through your faith in Jesus, you are adopted into God’s family. You stand to inherit the kingdom of heaven. Your identity is in Christ. Your place of belonging is the kingdom of God. You are royalty. You are special. You were bought with a price. You are loved more than you can imagine.

As those who have put their faith is Jesus, our everlasting possession is not an acreage of dirt in the middle east. Our everlasting possession is an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven.

Like Manasseh and Ephraim, we have done nothing to earn or deserve this.

It is only by the amazing grace of God. All we can do is humbly accept God’s adoption of us through faith in Jesus and by the sacrament of God’s Spirit.

May God bless you with an awareness of his presence and power at work in your life every day. Amen.    

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What is your attitude (or feeling) in relation to ceremonies? Are they a must have, or just an optional extra? Thinking of your own experience, what kinds of ceremonies have you found meaningful? Why was that?
  3. Why does Jacob adopt Joseph’s sons?
  4. Where does your sense of belonging and identity come from?
  5. What are some of the key elements in Jacob’s adoption ceremony?
  6. What is a sacrament? When are you aware of God’s presence and power at work in your life?
  7. What can we learn from Manasseh and Ephraim’s example?  

[1] Refer Bruce Waltke’s commentary on Genesis, page 597.

Tawa Baptist

Fruitful

Scripture: Genesis 41:41-57

Video Link: https://youtu.be/VTF9TNsC2-Q

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • What is fruitfulness
  • How to be fruitful
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today we continue our series in the life of Joseph.

So far it’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Joseph. He lost his mother when he was young. Was put on a pedestal by his father. Hated and sold into slavery by his brothers. Promoted to general manager of Potiphar’s household. Falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison, before being brought into Pharaoh’s presence to interpret the king’s dreams.

There’s more twists and turns in this story than a corkscrew. From Genesis chapter 41, verse 41 we pick up the story…

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.” Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt. Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout Egypt. During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure. Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.” When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s Word for us.

When you are doing your personal devotions, it’s a good idea to begin by prayerfully reading through a passage of Scripture, asking God to highlight what he wants to say. Read the passage slowly, three or four times, until you sense God’s Spirit drawing your attention to a particular verse or idea.

It’s important not to rush the process. Don’t force it. Don’t try too hard. Let the word of God come to you. Once you have the verse, sit with it for a while. Meditate on it. Make room for the word of God to take root in your mind and grow.

As I was reading through Genesis 41 in this way, earlier in the week, Joseph’s words about God making him fruitful resonated with me. I sensed a certain creative energy stirring within me when I came to verse 52.

With this in view, today’s message explores the idea of God making Joseph fruitful. How does God make Joseph fruitful? And by extension, how can we be fruitful? Before diving into those questions though, we need to ask, what does it mean to be fruitful?

What is fruitfulness:

Well, on one level, fruitfulness has to do with reproducing life. But at a deeper level, fruitfulness also has to do with fulfilling our purpose.

Take wheat for example. A stalk of wheat is fruitful when it produces many heads of grain. The grain is full of life and the DNA of the plant. It can be sown in the ground to reproduce more wheat. Or the grain can be harvested and used for food. 

Wheat is fruitful, then, when it fulfills its life-giving purpose of multiplying itself and feeding God’s creatures.

Joseph is not a stalk of wheat though. Joseph is a human being. So what does it mean for a human person to be fruitful?

Well, our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. To say it another way, we are fruitful when we reflect God’s image. For example, God is creative and life-giving, therefore we reflect God’s image when we are creative and life-giving. God is love, so it follows that we glorify God when we love our neighbour as we love ourselves.

During the week we had an afternoon tea to remember Alison who passed away last Sunday. As I reflect on Alison’s life, I am mindful of the fruits of the Holy Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.

Alison’s life was fruitful for God’s glory. She reflected God’s image in the way she related with others.

Fruitfulness, for Christians, also has to do with reproducing a life of faith.

We do that, with the help of God’s Spirit, through the process of discipleship. That is, learning to trust and obey Jesus. First Jesus says, ‘come follow me’. Then he says, ‘go make disciples.’ That’s how we reproduce Christian faith.

Returning to Joseph. God’s purpose was to use Joseph to bless the nations. Joseph was fruitful in fulfilling God’s purpose by producing and storing grain in the years of plenty so people would have bread in the years of famine.

In this way, Joseph reflects God’s image as one who provides for people. Lord, give us this day our daily bread. 

To be fruitful then, is to reproduce a life of faith and fulfill our purpose of reflecting God’s image. The next question we might ask is, how can we be fruitful? We get some clues on how to be fruitful by considering how God made Joseph fruitful.

How to be fruitful:

Wheat grows best in warm climates, between 21 and 24 degrees Celsius. Wheat needs a lot of sunshine, especially when the grains are beginning to fill out. Wheat does not thrive when conditions are too damp.

In New Zealand, most wheat is grown in the Canterbury region because Canterbury has cold winters and warm dry summers. You don’t see much (if any) wheat grown in Wellington because the climate is not right.

One thing you need for fruitfulness then, is to plant in the right place at the right time. Keeping in mind God’s purpose to save millions from starvation, Joseph needed to be in the right place at the right time.

If Joseph had stayed in Canaan with his family, he would be in the wrong place to fulfill God’s purpose. Likewise, if Joseph had stayed in the dungeon, he would be in no position to help.

God made Joseph fruitful by getting Joseph into Pharaoh’s palace at just the right time to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. Then God gave Joseph favour in Pharaoh’s eyes, so that Joseph was made Prime Minister of Egypt. God planted Joseph in Egypt and Joseph grew in Egypt.

Where has God planted you? Grow where you are planted. The place you are planted could be the neighbourhood you live in or the faith community you are part of or the organization you work for or the vocation you give your life to.   

The place God plants you might be close to family or a long way from home. It might be easy to find, or it might take years to discover. It might feel like your choice, or it might be forced on you. But in the end, when the time is ripe, the place God plants you is the place you are fruitful.

Being planted in the right place at the right time is not enough by itself. Joseph also needed the right tools to be fruitful.  

In verses 41-45, of Genesis 41, we read of all the different tools Pharaoh gave Joseph to get the job done. Pharaoh handed Joseph his signet ring so that Joseph could seal official documents and make things happen.

Pharaoh dressed Joseph in fine clothes, put a gold chain around his neck and had Joseph ride in a chariot with fanfare, to show everyone that Joseph had Pharaoh’s full support.

Pharaoh also gave Joseph an Egyptian name so that other Egyptians would accept him. And Pharaoh arranged for Joseph to marry into a noble Egyptian family, so that he would be well connected.

These things were the tools and gifts Joseph needed to be fruitful for God’s purpose in this situation. And Joseph accepted them.

We are not all given the same tools or the same gifts. This is because we each have a different job to do. So the question becomes, what tools (or gifts) has God given you? Because that’s probably a clue as to what the Lord wants you to do?  

It is not enough to plant in the right place, at the right time. Nor is it enough to have the right tools for the job. To be fruitful you also need to know how to use the tools and grow the crop. You need the right skills to get the most out of the harvest.

God didn’t just take Joseph out of Canaan and plonk him Pharaoh’s palace overnight. No. God gave Joseph the experience he needed to gain the skills to govern Egypt and manage the world’s food security.

More than simply equipping Joseph with the right skills, God developed Joseph’s character. 

Joseph was raised in a complicated, dysfunctional family with all the politics that comes with that. Then Joseph rose through the ranks as a slave in Potiphar’s household, learning the Egyptian culture and some management skills along the way.

Eventually Joseph found himself in charge of a prison, with responsibility for the pastoral care and welfare needs of the inmates. God put Joseph through the school of hard knocks so that Joseph was prepared with the skills and backbone he needed to run the country.

It’s interesting the way Joseph says (in verse 52 of Genesis 41) that God has made me fruitful, in the land of my suffering.

I’m not sure we can be fruitful without suffering. I don’t want to glorify suffering much less try to explain it. Suffering is not ideal, but it is sometimes necessary. Much like pruning a fruit tree or a grape vine is necessary to ensure a good harvest.

Suffering has a way of shaping our character and our perspective, for better or worse. Too much suffering can undermine our character, making us bitter and brittle. Just as too little suffering can make us less resilient and more entitled.

The right amount of suffering though, coupled with the right support, can make you stronger and wiser.

God, in his inscrutable wisdom, deemed it necessary for Joseph to suffer as a slave for about 13 years. This crucible experience not only equipped Joseph with some valuable skills it also formed his character in a good way.

One thing that makes suffering especially hard is that we don’t necessarily know how God is going to use it for good. When you are going through a difficult time, you cannot always see the purpose.

Joseph probably didn’t understand what God was doing during those 13 years of his captivity, but he still trusted in the dream God had given him. Our dream, our hope, is based firmly on the resurrection of Christ. Jesus’ resurrection is what we trust in, through good times and bad.     

Reflecting on your own life. What skills and character-building experiences has God given you? How might you use your skills and experience in service of God’s purpose? 

Returning to our wheat metaphor. To be fruitful you need to clear the ground of rocks and obstacles. It does little good to try and sow seed on hard ground. The soil needs to be receptive to the seed.

Translating that for Joesph (and for us) ‘clearing the ground’ means forgiving the past, letting go of your hurts, accepting yourself. You cannot be very fruitful when you are carrying a chip on your shoulder.   

In verse 51 of Genesis 41, we read how Joseph named his eldest son, Manasseh saying, ‘it is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household’.

It’s not that Joseph literally doesn’t remember what his brothers did to him. It’s more that Joseph has managed, by God’s grace, to let it go.

God has compensated Joseph for the injustice he has suffered, so Joseph is able to stop dwelling on the past and enjoy life in the present.

This letting go of the troubles of his past happens before Joseph talks about God making him fruitful.

What hard ground in your soul does God want to soften? What hurts does the Lord want to heal? What do you need to let go of, from your past?  

The fifth thing required for fruitfulness is doing the work. You can be in the right place at the right time. You can have all the tools and skills you need. You can clear the ground and forgive the past, but if you don’t do the work, there will be no fruit.

In verses 48-49 of Genesis 41, we read how Joseph did the work. During the seven years of plenty he went throughout Egypt gathering grain and storing it.

There was quite a bit of effort and organization in doing this. Joseph would have arranged for silos to be built, grain to be planted and harvested and stored. I expect it was a busy time. But Joseph stuck to the plan. He did the mahi. He did the work. And he did it in a smart way.

Joseph did not put all his eggs (or grain) in one basket, so to speak. Joseph spread the risk by having grain silos throughout the country.

This was wise stewardship. If you put all the grain in one centralized place, then you make that city a target for attack. Spreading the silos also made distribution easier later on. 

Of course, the work did not stop when the seven years of plenty ended. When the famine started to bite, Joseph then had the tricky job of managing demand and supply.

Some of you may be thinking, ‘I can see how saving the excess of the good years was a helpful thing. But why does Joseph then sell it back to the same people in the years of famine? That doesn’t seem fair. Shouldn’t he have given it to them, without charging, since he took it without paying?’

Well, Joseph not only had to stockpile enough food for the famine, he also needed to make sure it lasted. Putting a price on the food enabled Joseph to control the supply in an equitable way.

Just as a bottleneck enables you to pour liquid in a controlled way.

The Reserve Bank do a similar thing to control inflation. If inflation rises, then the Reserve Bank creates a bottleneck on the flow of money by putting interest rates up.

Putting a price on the food made people more honest and realistic about their need. If Joseph gave the grain away for free, he would have no way of knowing whether some people were cheating the system by taking more than they needed.

Charging people not only made the system fairer, it also made the food last longer. Fairness and good stewardship go hand in hand with Joseph’s brand of fruitfulness.

Conclusion:

In talking about how we can be fruitful we must not miss the most important fact that it is God who made Joseph fruitful, just as it is God who makes us fruitful.

It is God who plants us in the right place at the right time to do his will.

It is God who provides the right tools together with the skills, experience and character we need to fulfil his purpose.

It is God who gives us the grace to forgive the past and the strength to complete the work.

Without God we cannot be fruitful. Therefore, it is essential that we take special care of our relationship with God, through Christ. 

In John 15, Jesus says…

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…

Let us pray…

Gracious God, help us to remain in Christ and be fruitful for your glory. Through Jesus we ask. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • How has God used you to reflect his image? How has God used you to reproduce a life of faith? (You might want to ask someone who knows you to help you answer these questions.)
  • Where has God planted you?
  • Why does God give us different tools? What tools has God given you? What is it God wants you to do? 
  • What skills and character-building experiences has God given you? How might you use your skills and experience in service of God’s purpose? 
  • What hard ground in your soul does God want to soften? What hurts does the Lord want to heal? What do you need to let go of, from your past? 
  • Why is it important that we take care of our relationship with God? How are you doing this?