12/11/22 - The Eye of Faith - Genesis 48-49 - Pastor Jason Fritz

The Bible never ceases to amaze me. We find our faith’s inspiration from the real-life accounts of the men and women who have gone before us. Jacob is old and dying. His last work is to pass God’s promises of land and family to an unlikely pair of what some have called, "half-breed" grandchildren. Jacob will adopt Mannaseh and Ephraim as his own sons. One of them will have a descendant who will bring forth the Messiah, the forever king.    Both boys are brought before Jacob. Certainly, the greatest privilege will fall upon Mannaseh, the older son who is placed under Jacob’s right hand of blessing. But no. Jacob crosses his hands and once again we see the younger take precedent over the older.   The crossing of hands tells us that God’s grace arrives in surprising ways. There may be some desire in your life that you want to put forward under God’s right hand and you are displeased because the right-hand passes over that onto something or someone else. It’s not that God doesn't understand, but rather he refuses to bless that which you will covet. He will give you all you need and the grace to live without what you most earnestly desire so you must be content to trust him.   God’s grace cannot be tamed. The shocking truth is that these boys are not even fully Hebrew and the younger will have the place of preeminence. God has his own principles that cannot be confined to conventional human wisdom. It took Jacob a lifetime to learn this lesson.   Joseph’s own faith was being tested. This meant that his sons were never going to live the high life of a noble position in Egypt. They are now placed into a lowly Hebrew shepherding family and have no chance of any great future as Egyptian royalty. What Joseph and Jacob could not fully see was the dramatic work God was going to do through these two young men. But Jacob and Joseph had faith to see it through and this is why they are listed in Hebrews chapter eleven as examples for us.